The journey began at dawn.
The skies above the Skyfire Kingdom still carried the scars of battle. Dark cracks stretched faintly across the horizon, remnants of the Shadow Titan's arrival. Though the immediate danger had passed, the air itself felt different—heavier, as if the world had become aware of a greater conflict unfolding.
A cold wind swept across the broken towers.
Ash drifted slowly through the air.
Kim Woo Bin stood at the edge of the floating kingdom, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
Far away—
A jagged range of mountains tore into the sky like a wall of darkness.
The Ashen Mountains.
Even from this distance, they looked lifeless.
No green.
No rivers.
No signs of life.
Just endless gray stone and shadows.
Woo Bin crossed his arms.
"So that's our next destination…"
Beside him, Arin nodded quietly.
"Yes."
Her gaze didn't move.
"There's a reason no one goes there."
Woo Bin glanced at her.
"Let me guess… dangerous?"
Arin didn't smile.
"Worse."
A brief silence passed.
"People who enter the Ashen Mountains often disappear."
Woo Bin raised an eyebrow.
"Disappear? Like… monsters?"
Astrael stepped forward behind them, his silver wings shifting slightly in the wind.
"Not just monsters," he said.
His voice was calm—but serious.
"The land itself is unstable."
Woo Bin turned.
"Unstable?"
Astrael nodded.
"The Ashen Mountains were once the center of a great battle during the age of dragons."
Woo Bin's expression changed.
"The same war… where the Dragon Crown was destroyed?"
"Yes."
Astrael looked toward the distant mountains.
"The energy released during that war never fully faded."
Woo Bin exhaled slowly.
"So we're basically going into a place filled with leftover ancient power…"
Arin added quietly:
"And things that survived it."
Woo Bin smirked.
"Perfect."
Moments later, Astrael spread his massive wings.
"Hold on."
Woo Bin and Arin climbed onto his back.
With a powerful surge—
Astrael launched into the air.
The wind roared past them as they rose higher and higher, leaving the Skyfire Kingdom behind.
Woo Bin looked back briefly.
The kingdom looked smaller now.
Damaged.
But still standing.
"We'll fix everything," he muttered.
Arin heard him.
"We will."
As they flew farther, the world below began to change.
The green fields slowly disappeared.
Rivers thinned into narrow lines before vanishing completely.
Villages became fewer—then gone.
The land turned gray.
Then darker.
Then completely lifeless.
Woo Bin leaned forward slightly.
"It feels… wrong."
Astrael nodded.
"You're sensing it."
Woo Bin frowned.
"Sensing what?"
"The energy of the land."
Woo Bin focused.
At first, he felt nothing.
Then—
A faint pressure.
Like something invisible pressing against him.
"…Yeah."
He clenched his fist slightly.
"I feel it."
Arin looked down.
"The closer we get, the stronger it becomes."
Woo Bin smirked.
"Good. That means we're going the right way."
Hours passed.
The mountains grew larger.
Closer.
More terrifying.
Massive black peaks stretched endlessly, their tops hidden behind dark clouds.
No sunlight reached them.
The air grew colder.
Thicker.
Even Astrael slowed down.
"We're here," he said.
He descended slowly.
The moment they landed—
CRUNCH.
Ash shifted beneath their feet.
Woo Bin looked down.
The ground was covered in gray dust.
Not soil.
Not sand.
Ash.
Endless ash.
"…This place is creepy."
Arin nodded.
"Stay alert."
Astrael looked around carefully.
"I will remain close."
The mountains were silent.
Too silent.
No wind.
No animals.
No sound at all.
Even their footsteps felt unnaturally loud.
Woo Bin glanced around.
"I don't like this."
Arin agreed.
"It's too quiet."
They began walking deeper into the mountains.
The path was uneven, filled with broken rocks and cracks in the ground.
Some of the cracks glowed faintly red—
Like something burned beneath the surface.
Woo Bin noticed.
"Is that lava?"
Astrael shook his head.
"No."
"That is leftover energy from the ancient war."
Woo Bin stared.
"…That's not comforting."
They walked for what felt like hours.
Then—
A sound.
A low rumble.
Woo Bin stopped.
"You heard that?"
Arin nodded.
"Yes."
The ground trembled slightly.
Again.
Stronger this time.
Astrael's eyes narrowed.
"Something is coming."
Woo Bin cracked his knuckles.
"Finally."
The ground in front of them—
Moved.
Then—
It broke open.
BOOM.
A massive creature burst out from beneath the ash.
It wasn't a dragon.
Not exactly.
Its body was made of dark stone, with glowing red cracks running across it.
Its eyes burned like fire.
Woo Bin stepped back slightly.
"…Okay. That's new."
Arin raised her blade.
"A magma beast."
The creature roared.
The sound echoed through the mountains.
Woo Bin smirked.
"Alright then."
"Let's do this."
The beast charged.
Fast.
Faster than something that size should move.
Woo Bin jumped aside just in time.
"Whoa!"
The creature slammed into the ground, sending ash flying everywhere.
Arin attacked from the side.
Her blade cut across its arm—
But sparks flew instead of blood.
"It's too hard!"
Woo Bin frowned.
"Then we break it harder."
He raised his hand.
Energy gathered.
Blue and gold.
"Dragon Pulse!"
He fired.
The blast hit the creature—
But only pushed it back slightly.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Astrael stepped forward.
"Its body is reinforced by ancient energy."
Woo Bin grinned.
"Good."
"That means I can test something new."
Woo Bin focused.
He remembered the control he learned.
Instead of releasing energy wildly—
He condensed it.
Sharpened it.
"Focused Strike…"
A thin beam of energy formed.
He fired.
This time—
The beam pierced through the creature's arm.
CRACK.
The stone shattered.
The beast roared in pain.
Woo Bin smiled.
"Yeah… that works."
"Arin!" he shouted.
"Now!"
She understood immediately.
She leaped forward, flames surrounding her blade.
"Flame Slash!"
She struck the weakened area.
The creature's arm broke completely.
Astrael followed.
He unleashed a burst of dragon fire.
The flames hit the creature directly.
It staggered.
Woo Bin jumped high into the air.
"This ends now!"
He gathered energy into his fist.
Then—
"Dragon Strike!"
He slammed down.
BOOM.
The ground cracked.
The creature shattered into pieces.
Silence returned.
Woo Bin landed, breathing heavily.
"…That was tougher than expected."
Arin nodded.
"And that was just one."
Woo Bin looked around.
"…You think there are more?"
Astrael answered.
"Yes."
Woo Bin sighed.
"Of course there are."
As they continued forward—
None of them noticed—
A figure watching from a distant cliff.
Hidden in shadows.
Kael.
His eyes glowed faintly with dark energy.
"So… you've gotten stronger."
He smirked.
"Good."
The dark energy around him pulsed.
"This will be more interesting."
Back with Woo Bin—
He stopped suddenly.
"…I feel it."
Arin looked at him.
"The fragment?"
He nodded.
"It's close."
Astrael confirmed.
"Yes."
Woo Bin smiled.
"Then let's finish this."
He looked ahead.
Into the darkness of the Ashen Mountains.
"Whatever's waiting for us…"
"I'm ready."