The crimson sky above the eastern ocean was a chaotic, swirling canvas of absolute destruction. The violent, gale force winds whipped mercilessly across the jagged obsidian cliffs of the Pearl Kingdom coastline, carrying the deafening sounds of clashing steel, explosive artillery, and the agonised shrieks of shattered biomechanical machines. Yet, high above the churning, freezing waters of the bay, a completely different, infinitely more perilous battle was just beginning to unfold.
Raven, the newly thirteen year old Pearl King, clung tightly to the thick, muscular neck of the massive black dragon, Azar. The divine beast beat its colossal wings with a rhythmic, thunderous power, propelling them upward at a truly terrifying velocity. The cold, damp air rushed past them in a roaring torrent, biting sharply into their exposed skin, but the intense, internal heat radiating from the dragon provided a deeply comforting thermal barrier against the coastal chill.
