Chapter 25
The colossal shadow kept rising.
The sky seemed to bend around it as the creature forced its way through the Abyss gate. Its massive body pushed against the clouds, dark wings unfolding slowly like mountains moving through the air.
Even the royal dragons stopped attacking.
For the first time since the battle began,
the sky fell silent.
Ariana stared upward.
The creature was enormous.
Bigger than the Dragon King.
Bigger than the palace towers.
Its body looked like living darkness, scales formed from black crystal and smoke. Long claws tore through the clouds as it climbed fully into the world.
Silver eyes opened.
Cold.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Kael exhaled slowly beside her.
"Okay."
He scratched the back of his neck.
"That's… not ideal."
The Dragon King stepped forward, his massive wings spreading across the terrace like golden walls.
His gaze remained fixed on the colossal creature above.
An Abyss Titan.
Ariana swallowed.
"That's a titan?"
Yes.
The Dragon King's voice rumbled inside her mind.
And we are not ready to fight it.
The words struck her harder than the monster itself.
Not ready.
Above them, the Abyss Titan released a roar that shook the mountains.
The sound felt wrong.
Not just loud.
Unnatural.
Like the sky itself was tearing apart.
Several royal dragons scattered as the creature stretched its enormous wings.
Augustus hovered nearby, watching the titan with quiet satisfaction.
"Well," he said casually.
"Now the real battle begins."
Kael stepped forward.
His wolf growled beneath his skin.
"Let's kill him before he summons anything else."
But the Dragon King moved suddenly.
His enormous tail blocked Kael's path.
No.
Kael frowned.
"We don't have time to debate strategy."
This is not strategy.
The Dragon King turned his massive head toward Ariana.
This is survival.
Ariana felt her chest tighten.
"What do you mean?"
The ancient dragon's golden eyes burned.
You must leave.
The words echoed inside her mind like thunder.
Ariana blinked.
"Leave?"
Kael shook his head immediately.
"No."
The Dragon King's voice hardened.
If the Fifth Blood dies here, the world dies with it.
The titan roared again above them.
Ariana felt the vibration deep in her bones.
"But you can't fight that alone," she said.
The Dragon King slowly lifted his wings.
Golden fire began building between his jaws.
That is not your concern.
Kael crossed his arms.
"Yeah, it kind of is."
The Dragon King's enormous eyes shifted toward him.
Storm Wolf.
Kael raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
Your duty is no longer this battlefield.
The dragon's gaze moved between him and Ariana.
Your duty is her.
Kael fell silent.
The bond between him and Ariana pulsed faintly.
The Dragon King continued.
You two together may still end this war.
Ariana's voice softened.
"And if we stay?"
The Dragon King did not hesitate.
You will both die.
Above them, the Abyss Titan suddenly slammed one massive claw into a royal dragon.
The dragon's roar cut off instantly as it was thrown across the sky like a broken toy.
The titan turned its silver eyes toward the palace.
Toward Ariana.
Kael's wolf snarled.
"Yeah."
He sighed.
"That thing definitely wants you."
Augustus laughed from above.
"Of course it does."
His golden eyes gleamed.
"The Void can smell Sovereign blood from miles away."
Ariana felt cold.
The Dragon King stepped forward again.
Go.
The word carried the weight of a command.
Now.
Ariana hesitated.
"But the legion"
The royal dragons knew the cost when they answered your call.
Golden fire exploded from the Dragon King's jaws as he launched himself into the sky.
His enormous wings beat once,
twice,
and the ancient dragon shot upward toward the Abyss Titan.
The royal legion followed immediately.
Hundreds of golden dragons surged into the air behind him.
The sky erupted into chaos again.
Roars.
Fire.
Darkness.
The Dragon King slammed directly into the titan's chest.
The impact shook the mountains.
Kael grabbed Ariana's wrist.
"Time to go."
She looked back once.
The sky had become a storm of dragons and shadow.
"What if they lose?" she whispered.
Kael pulled her toward the shattered palace hallway.
"Then we make sure it wasn't for nothing."
They ran.
Behind them, the battle exploded.
The ground trembled as another dragon crashed somewhere beyond the palace walls.
Kael pushed open a massive stone door at the end of the corridor.
Darkness stretched beyond it.
A tunnel.
Ariana frowned.
"You knew about this?"
Kael nodded once.
"Old Alpha maps."
He grabbed a torch from the wall.
"This place is older than the city."
They stepped into the tunnel.
The air inside felt ancient.
Cold.
Quiet.
Behind them, the distant roars of dragons echoed through the mountain.
Ariana's chest tightened.
She could still feel the Dragon King through their bond.
Fighting.
Holding the titan back.
"For how long?" she asked softly.
Kael didn't answer.
They walked deeper into the tunnel.
Strange carvings covered the stone walls.
Dragons.
Stars.
Crowns.
Ariana slowed.
"What are these?"
Kael lifted the torch.
The golden carvings glowed faintly under the light.
Then Ariana noticed something.
Every dragon in the carvings was bowing.
Not to a king.
To a woman.
Ariana's breath caught.
The woman in the carvings stood at the center of every image.
Her hands raised.
Wings of light behind her.
And a crown made of fire.
Kael stared at the wall.
"Well."
He glanced at Ariana.
"Guess we just found out who built this place."
Ariana's heart began pounding again.
Because the woman carved into the ancient stone,
looked exactly like her.