Indura took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He rolled his neck and shoulders with casual ease, the motion carrying restrained power beneath the surface.
He then spoke to Sabrel and Vespera, his voice calm but serious.
"Listen clearly and listen well. Whatever that creature is, it is connected to the enemy of this world… my enemy. If it realizes its true purpose, it will report back to its creator. That will cause problems for everyone."
Sabrel asked immediately, her tone sharp.
"Creator? Is it the Disciple?"
Indura replied without hesitation.
"It's true. We should not let it get away. It's too early for my sightseeing to end."
Vespera gazed at the entity hovering in silence above them. It looked down with indifferent triple eyes, its dark aura pulsing lazily.
Its whole existence reeks of corruption… dark power given form.
Sabrel took a few steps forward, staring at the entity. Her white eyes narrowed with intense focus, lips pressed into a thin line of determination mixed with quiet excitement. She studied every horn, every pulsing vein, every wrong detail of the creature.
She sighed.
"Leave it to me."
Indura looked surprised, one eyebrow raised in genuine puzzlement.
Sabrel continued, her voice steady and resolute.
"I know how risky it will get once this creature flees. That's why I will do it. I will kill it."
Indura stood puzzled for a moment, clearly caught off guard by her insistence.
Sabrel turned to look at him, offering a calm, confident smile that carried both respect and fierce independence.
"I know you could kill it without breaking a sweat. But this is my chance to test myself. I wish to test my limits if possible."
Vespera smiled, then chuckled softly as she covered her mouth with the back of her hand. She quietly stepped forward, standing beside Sabrel without turning around to look at Indura.
Sabrel continued.
"Sit back and watch. We'll take care of this."
Indura looked at them both, clearly impressed — a faint, proud smile forming on his face as he crossed his arms.
He nodded.
"Do as you wish."
The True Self interrupted him internally, voice cold and commanding.
Take this seriously. Letting them fight it will take more time.
Indura calmly replied.
"It's fine. If anything happens, I'll just use the authority. It's not like it would escape while I'm around."
The True Self fell quiet, perhaps realizing the truth in his words.
Indura chuckled softly, then turned to the dragon.
"Stay still. This is not our battle."
The dragon let out a low, reluctant growl, but calmly sat down, head held high in watchful obedience, its brown eyes never leaving the hovering entity.
The entity watched from above.
It observed Indura and the dragon heading toward one of the distant dunes. It felt no threat from them — they were insignificant for now. Its triple gaze then shifted downward toward Sabrel and Vespera.
It studied Vespera intently. Its three purple eyes narrowed slightly, a faint sense of familiarity stirring within its corrupted core. There was something about her… something that felt off. Wrong in a way it couldn't quite place — like a foreign note in a perfect symphony of darkness.
Vespera met its gaze without flinching. Her golden eyes sharpened, cold and analytical as she studied the entity in return, dissecting every wrong detail of its form.
Sabrel spoke quietly, not taking her eyes off the creature.
"Will you be alright? This is something neither of us truly understands."
Vespera smiled faintly, her gaze still locked on the entity.
"In the face of such entities, one does not think."
She waved her finger gracefully. Mana surged from her body in a brilliant crimson wave. Her clothes transformed dramatically — flowing fabric shifting and hardening into sleek obsidian armor that clung to her form like a second skin. Sharp crimson accents traced along the edges, while a flowing skirt of dark red energy materialized, billowing with power. The overall look was regal, cold, and deadly — an elegant queen of blood and shadow ready for war.
She took slow, deliberate steps forward, hovering slightly above the sand.
"There's something I'm curious about with this entity... Something I must see."
The entity's gaze remained fixed on Vespera. It felt a sudden chill run down its arm. It didn't understand why or how, but it was a problem. Even born from darkness, it could feel something from her — something else. Something… alive.
It could have fled and reported to its creator, but it didn't. Curiosity held it in place. It brought its clawed fingers up to scratch its neck absentmindedly.
Vespera hovered higher into the air, mana flaring brightly around her like a crimson halo. She pointed at the entity with elegant authority.
"Come now."
There was silence.
The entity tilted its head as it looked at Vespera, its three purple eyes gleaming with a mix of curiosity and growing irritation.
"I am curious… yet I feel irritated by your existence."
Then… it snapped forward in a blur of motion.
Vespera smiled. She raised her hands, mana flaring violently from her form. Crimson tendrils sprouted from her mana, all snapping forward at the entity like living whips of blood and shadow.
The entity weaved past them in a blur, moving with unnatural speed and grace.
Vespera had anticipated this. She snapped her fingers. The tendrils erupted into thousands of tiny drops of blood floating in the air like a crimson mist.
The entity ceased its movement for a moment, curiosity getting the better of it as it observed the strange phenomenon.
Vespera snapped her fingers again. The blood drops instantly formed into massive crimson spikes, overwhelming the entity and trapping it inside a dense, rotating ball of deadly spikes that closed in from every direction.
She wasn't finished. With a graceful wave of her hand, she formed a blood cage around the spiked ball — thick, pulsing bars of solidified blood energy reinforced with dark runes that squeezed inward with crushing, suffocating force.
The entity burst out unscathed.
It shattered the blood cage and spikes with raw, overwhelming power. An explosion of dark aura erupted outward, sending shards of crystallized blood flying across the plains. Cracks formed across its obsidian-like skin for a brief moment before rapidly healing as if they had never existed. It looked at Vespera with its triple eyes.
"I knew it."
Vespera knew this would happen. She took a ready stance, materializing her scythe in a flash of crimson light. She gripped the weapon firmly, her obsidian armor gleaming as she prepared for the real fight.
A tense standoff followed.
A strong gust of wind swept through the Silent Plains, kicking up pale sand between the two combatants like a curtain rising on a deadly stage.
The entity moved.
It was blindingly fast. In one heartbeat, it was hovering, the next it had closed the distance and grabbed Vespera by the neck, its clawed hand crushing with terrifying strength. They swept across the plains in a violent blur, the entity dragging her at incredible speed while dunes and cracked earth streaked past in a haze.
Then, Vespera's body dissolved into crimson smoke. The entity skidded to a brutal halt, claws still gripping empty air as it whipped its head around, searching for her.
She appeared out of nowhere behind it, her scythe already coming down in a deadly, crimson arc.
The fight exploded into motion.
Vespera spun her scythe in a whirlwind of crimson arcs, forcing the entity to block with its clawed arms. Sparks of dark energy flew as obsidian met obsidian. She twisted mid-air with elegant precision, using the momentum to deliver a spinning kick that sent the creature crashing into a dune. Sand exploded upward in a massive cloud.
The entity retaliated instantly, launching itself forward with claws extended like living blades. Vespera smiled — that cold, confident smile — and dissolved into smoke just as the claws would have torn through her. She reappeared above it and brought her scythe down in a powerful overhead strike.
The entity blocked, but the force drove it into the ground, carving a deep crater. It roared and slashed wildly in a frenzy, forcing Vespera to dance backward, her scythe spinning defensively in a blur of red and black as she parried blow after blow.
They tore across the plains in a deadly ballet. Vespera vanished into smoke to evade lethal strikes, only to reform and counter with ruthless elegance — sweeping low to cut at the legs, spinning high for the head, thrusting forward like a spear, or using the curved blade to hook and redirect the entity's momentum.
The entity's claws left deep gouges in the sand and shattered rock formations, but they couldn't scratch Vespera's obsidian armor. Every time it seemed to land a decisive blow, she was already gone, reappearing elsewhere with that same chilling smile, pressing the attack without mercy.
They leaped over craters, crashed through dunes, and exchanged blows so rapidly the eye could barely follow. The sound of their weapons rang like thunder across the once-silent plains.
Sabrel, on the other hand, hadn't moved from her spot.
The sound of distant clashes echoed across the plains — sharp rings of metal and bursts of energy. She chuckled slowly, a sound of genuine surprise, wondering why she had been ignored so completely.
She shot upward into the air in a streak of white frost and hovered high above, scanning for Vespera. There — sparks of crimson and darkness heading straight toward her.
She smiled. Her blade materialized in her grip with a flash of icy light.
The next moment, the entity and Vespera both streaked past her in a blink, the trail of wind whipping her white hair wildly.
Vespera rose higher through the thick clouds, the entity giving chase. She smiled, her body dissolving into blood and parting into countless glowing particles.
The entity slowed its chase, looking around warily.
The next moment, the blood particles glowed bright red.
Down below the clouds, on the sand, Vespera stood calmly, looking upward. She snapped her fingers.
The blood particles erupted into a cataclysmic explosion, overwhelming the entity completely. A massive shockwave ripped through the clouds and swept downward, blowing sand across the plains in a roaring storm.
Sabrel, still hovering mid-air, looked around in confusion, gripping her sword tighter as the shockwave buffeted her.
Then… a deep voice echoed from above.
"As expected… You are a threat."
What followed was a massive wave of dark mana rolling through the air like an invisible tide, heavy and suffocating.
Sabrel's eyes widened slightly, her body tensing as she felt the oppressive weight of the energy pressing down on her, making the air itself feel thicker.
The entity descended from the sky. Its body began shifting — becoming much leaner, more elongated, and wrong. Its obsidian armor was refined into sharper, more angular plates that gleamed with malevolent energy. Three dark orbs materialized behind its back, swirling with unstable purple energy that crackled like contained lightning.
Sabrel locked her eyes on the entity and drew a slow, steady breath.
The next instant, frost exploded beneath her feet.
She vanished.
A streak of white shot across the Plains, her sword raised overhead as freezing winds screamed in her wake.
The entity's third eye slid toward her before the other two even followed.
Without changing its expression, it lazily raised one hand.
Its finger flicked forward.
The air folded.
A deafening shockwave erupted outward, slamming into Sabrel before her blade could descend. Her eyes widened as her charge was torn apart. She was hurled across the plains like a falling star, crashing violently into the pale sand before skipping across the ground again and again. A massive trench ripped through the Silent Plains behind her, stretching for miles before she finally disappeared into the dust.
The entity slowly turned its gaze toward Vespera, a grin spreading across its lipless mouth, exposing rows of needle-like teeth.
"Whatever that was… it wasn't any serious."
Vespera's expression hardened.
Crimson magic circles bloomed around her one after another until the sky behind her glowed like a blood-red constellation.
She lifted a hand.
"Do not underestimate her."
The entity's grin widened.
The two dark orbs drifted into its waiting palms.
The wind swept across the battlefield.
Then…
Everything became still.
Vespera lowered her hand. Every magic circle fired at once. Dozens of crimson beams ripped across the sky, converging upon the entity in a blinding torrent of destructive light.
The entity calmly pressed the two orbs together. They merged into a single sphere.
The incoming beams disappeared into it.
The orb swelled. It pulsed brighter.
Every beam Vespera poured into it only fed its growth.
Her eyes narrowed.
So that is how it is!
She changed tactics instantly.
With a single step, she disappeared.
Space folded around her as she reappeared high above the entity. New circles spun into existence around her while the old ones shifted positions across the battlefield.
Crimson tendrils burst from them, snapping through the air like living whips.
Blood-red explosions erupted one after another, swallowing entire sections of the sky before blooming into violent storms of crimson flame.
Spatial circles twisted open around the battlefield, bending attacks away from her while creating impossible angles for her own.
The entity answered immediately.
Its remaining orb trembled.
Dark lances erupted from it with piercing shrieks, tearing through the sky like corrupted spears.
Vespera refused to yield.
She blinked through space again.
A beam missed her by inches before slamming into a spatial gate and emerging from another behind the entity. Crimson tendrils wrapped around the dark lances, exploding into showers of scarlet light as blood magic collided violently against corruption. More circles opened around the battlefield, each unleashing another relentless volley while explosions continued to blossom around the entity from every direction.
The sky became a battlefield of crimson and violet.
Shockwaves rolled endlessly across the plains.
Light swallowed darkness.
Darkness tore through light.
Neither side gave the other a single moment to breathe.
Then—
One dark beam pierced through the storm.
It shattered the final layer of crimson circles protecting Vespera before crashing directly into her.
Her body disappeared into the explosion.
A heartbeat later, she burst from the smoke, hurtling helplessly across the Silent Plains before crashing hard into the sand. She tumbled several times before finally digging her fingers into the ground to stop herself.
Cracks spread across her obsidian armor with sharp, brittle snaps.
She slowly pushed herself upright.
Dark energy hissed across her shoulder before dissolving into the air.
A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she steadied her breathing, golden eyes never leaving the entity.
Vespera let out a dry cough as she rose to her feet, dusting sand off her cracked obsidian armor while gazing steadily at the entity.
The entity hovered lower, its three purple eyes looking down at her with detached arrogance.
"Are you done?" it asked.
Vespera closed her eyes for a moment.
The entity smiled, its needle-like teeth glinting.
"Yes... All will be well. You fought hard and well, but even you were never—"
It was cut off by a laugh.
Vespera chuckled, then laughed openly, the sound carrying across the plains.
"Forgive me for my rudeness," she said, still smiling, "but I just couldn't contain myself."
The entity gave her a cold, confused stare, its third eye narrowing in irritation while the other two remained fixed on her.
Vespera finally sighed and looked at it directly.
"I was curious about you earlier… and now I already have what I needed."
She spread out her hand. A white orb materialized in her palm, glowing with contained power and a dark rune embedded on its surface.
The entity's triple eyes widened in shock and raw recognition. Its body tensed visibly, dark energy flickering erratically across its form.
Vespera smiled.
"Did you feel any different earlier? With how you fought?" She continued calmly. "I never gave my all. I was simply after this."
She revealed it plainly.
"Isn't this your core? The true blessing… more like a curse."
The entity's expression grew cold, a hint of wariness flashing across its face for the first time.
"How were you able to get that?" it asked coldly.
Vespera replied warmly.
"You should never try taking on attacks you don't understand. Each attack carries different intentions."
A heavy silence fell over the battlefield. The wind died down completely. The entity's face showed clear signs of frustration — cracks slowly forming across its obsidian-like skin as dark energy flickered erratically.
Vespera studied it carefully.
Its power is real, for sure… but it lacks the true power of its creator. If it had any of that, it would have been a problem. It doesn't carry divinity at all, nor real mana. This is just dark energy itself — an energy of another world.
She placed a finger on her lip.
Dark Magic is refined, shaped by will and intent. Flexible. Elegant in combat. Dark Energy is raw, chaotic, and powerful… but crude. Harder to control precisely, more destructive, but far less adaptable. That's why it couldn't fully counter my blood magic earlier.
The entity spoke, its tone low and cold.
"Give it back."
Vespera's face turned cold.
"You would die here anyway. This fight is pointless."
She turned toward a distance and smiled.
"If you want your core… Are you willing to risk it all for it?"
She threw the core with casual strength. It tore through the air at blinding speed, heading toward a distant dune.
In the distance, Indura and the dragon sat calmly. He raised his hand and caught the core effortlessly. The trail of wind swayed his crimson hair. He looked at the orb with mild curiosity, somehow knowing exactly what it was.
On the battlefield, the entity saw exactly where the core had gone. Frustration reached its peak.
It brought its two orbs together, enlarging them dramatically. The air around the growing sphere distorted violently, space itself warping as dark energy crackled wildly.
The entity's voice became a cold, murderous threat.
"You... I will kill you."
Vespera replied with a calm smile.
"Kill me?"
She waved her hand. Her armor dissolved smoothly, and her dress took back its original, elegant form.
She continued, her tone mocking yet composed.
"If my memory serves me right, I have killed a few followers of Dark Haven, but none of them seemed to have such a manifestation. It was different back then. Your power is dark, but even it cannot reach the level of a named dragon. You are just an entity. Just a fragment of what is, and nothing more. Even you can be killed."
The entity lost it.
With a desperate, furious shout, it swung down, bringing the massive orb crashing toward Vespera with overwhelming force, space itself warping under the pressure.
Vespera showed a small, knowing grin.
"But you see... I am not your opponent."
She vanished. Her crimson mana dissolved into the air like fading mist.
The entity watched where she had been in confusion, the orb still descending with devastating power.
Then… a light flashed in the corner of its eye.
It turned.
A bright, blinding beam of pure white and silver light overwhelmed it whole.
The massive beam tore straight through the entity, through the orb, and continued forward through the plains. The clouds parted violently in its wake, revealing a clear path of destruction that stretched far into the horizon. The beam carved a deep, glowing trench through the sand, steam rising in massive plumes as the ground melted and reformed into glass-like shards from the intense heat.
Vespera reappeared in the sky, a light smile on her lips.
She murmured to herself.
"Ah... She's pissed."
As the smoke and dust cleared, there, lying in the trench, was the entity — or what was left of it. Its head alone remained, charred and unrecognizable, its two main eyes melted into black sludge. The third eye flickered weakly.
Its third eye twitched, rotating left and right. Purple light flickering from its edges... like trying to transmit something.
Then, it felt something massive move from above.
It turned its remaining eye upward.
A massive claw came down on it.
The impact slammed into the entity with apocalyptic force, sending a powerful shockwave rippling outward across the plains, kicking up sand and debris in a roaring storm.
As the dust cleared, her true form was revealed — a majestic serpentine dragon with shimmering white and silver scales that gleamed like moonlight on fresh snow. A long, flowing white hair-like mane cascaded along her elegant body, and her eyes glowed with pure, piercing white light. Four powerful legs supported her graceful, Eastern-style draconic form — long, serpentine, and radiating overwhelming power and fury.
Sabrel stared down at what was left of the entity, her face filled with pure, unrestrained rage.
"How… How dare you… you insignificant…"
She lifted her massive claw and slammed down with unrestrained fury, again and again. Each devastating strike shook the ground violently, sending shockwaves through the Silent Plains and crushing what remained of the entity into oblivion.
In the distance, Indura laughed, the sound carrying clearly across the plains.
He murmured to himself with genuine amusement.
"That was nice to watch."
He continued, addressing the True Self internally.
"You were overreacting earlier. Whatever that was couldn't really handle those women, let alone a dragon."
The True Self remained silent.
Indura continued laughing softly.
The last traces of dark energy dissolved into the wind.
Silence reclaimed the Silent Plains.
Only drifting dust and fading wisps of purple smoke remained where the entity had once hovered. The oppressive weight hanging over the world slowly lifted, allowing the crimson sky to reveal itself once more as the unnatural clouds gradually dispersed.
Sabrel remained in her dragon form for several long moments, one massive claw still pressed into the shattered ground. Her breathing was heavy, each slow exhale escaping as pale mist. The fury burning in her white eyes lingered stubbornly before gradually fading.
She closed her eyes.
Her colossal body was swallowed by gentle white light.
The light folded inward until only Sabrel remained, landing softly upon the sand. She stood quietly, staring at the crater left behind. Her grip around her sword tightened briefly before she dismissed the weapon with a small sigh.
"...I overreacted."
Vespera descended gracefully beside her.
"You did."
Sabrel looked away with mild embarrassment.
"It irritated me."
"I noticed."
A small smile escaped Vespera.
"You always lose your temper, my dear."
Sabrel folded her arms.
"...It happens."
Vespera let out a quiet laugh.
Across the plains, Indura applauded.
Once.
The sharp clap echoed surprisingly far across the empty landscape.
"That," he said with an amused smile, "was enjoyable."
Sabrel rubbed the back of her neck.
"I was supposed to test myself."
"You did."
"I failed."
"You survived."
Sabrel paused.
"...Fair enough."
Indura walked toward the crater, hands behind his back, studying what little remained.
"So this is all that remains of a manifested blessing."
He crouched slightly, watching the last strands of dark aura disappear into the air.
"It vanished completely..."
He stood again, thoughtful.
"No corpse."
"No mana."
"Nothing."
Vespera nodded.
"Dark energy returns to where it came from."
Indura smiled faintly.
"Another mystery."
A gentle breeze swept across the Silent Plains.
For the first time since arriving, the land felt... peaceful.
No pressure. No killing intent. Only the endless whisper of sand moving beneath the crimson sky.
Then...
The dragon's ears twitched. Its head slowly lifted toward the heavens. A low growl rumbled deep within its chest.
Vespera's expression changed.
She looked upward.
"...Someone's coming."
At first, there was nothing except clouds. Then… from the clouds, a small figure tore through, wings flapping powerfully as it headed straight toward them.
Indura turned to the sky, his expression calm and curious. He looked at the approaching figure, then smiled.
He told the dragon calmly.
"Ease down, little one. That is not an enemy."
He folded his arms as the figure drew closer.
The figure finally flew above them — a dark horse with dark aura flaring from its form. It had six glowing eyes, four powerful wings spread wide as it hovered. It looked at Vespera, then at Sabrel, then turned to Indura. A joyous expression formed in its eyes.
Then it turned to the dragon beside him.
The horse descended, landing with a loud thud before the dragon.
The dragon stood over it, its piercing eyes studying the horse intensely. The two creatures faced off in a heavy, tense standoff, auras clashing silently.
It was interrupted when Indura walked forward with a bright smile.
"It really has been a while. Where have you been… Shadow?"
The horse looked at Indura. Its form shifted smoothly — dark aura condensing into a tall, handsome man with silver eyes, long dark hair flowing past his shoulders, and a pale, refined face. He looked slightly different now — more striking, with sharper features and an air of quiet elegance.
He bowed low.
"It has been a while, Great Dragon."
He raised his head and looked at the dragon.
Indura noticed and said with a chuckle.
"It's a long story. One we would have to go over with a meal."
Shadow calmly replied.
"I understand."
He studied Indura's appearance.
"You look… different."
Indura smiled.
"That too... is a story."
Shadow let out a soft laugh, then asked.
"What happened? About the war and the sky warriors."
Indura simply replied.
"It all ended quickly, you see. Their Commander got what they wanted and… fled. I mean, left. Yes… It all ended with no trouble at all."
Shadow calmly nodded, believing every word.
Indura then asked him.
"Where have you been?"
Shadow replied.
"Well… you see… I was fighting off a few sky warriors too, and... got lost during the fight."
There was a heavy silence.
Indura nodded.
"I actually understand you."
He believed every word, too.
Shadow turned to Vespera, who stood a short distance away.
"Why is the Blood Queen here… and that dragon?"
Indura gently tapped his shoulder.
"... That my friend... is another long story too."
Shadow looked back at the destruction, then at the dragon near Indura, and sighed.
What the hell happened while I was gone?