Seven hundred years ago, a fiend beyond comprehension—no, Hell itself in monstrous form—plunged from the void to scourge the earth, its descent a death knell for all that lived. Doom seemed absolute, a shadow swallowing the world whole. Yet, from that abyss rose five unyielding heroes, their courage a fragile ember against the dark. They named their foe "The Abyssal Flame Dragon," a title whispered in terror, as if speaking it might summon its wrath anew.
Seven centuries ago, the sky split like rotted cloth. Through the jagged maw of the heavens plunged a leviathan of flame and scale— The Abyssal Flame Dragon. Its wings blotted out the sun, each beat unleashing hurricanes of ash. Its breath carved continents into molten rivers. Armies shattered like glass beneath its claws. Kingdoms burned to skeletal husks within hours.
The dragon's rampage was relentless, a symphony of annihilation that spared no kingdom.
In Xipen, the Zarkhadrim Peaks melted under torrents of abyssal flame, their molten rivers entombing villages in glowing graves. Elven's eternal groves withered to skeletal husks, their life leeched into gray dust by the dragon's breath.
Uzwa's deserts fused into glass plains, nomads' tents swallowed by molten dunes, while Flurose's bay boiled red with the blood of sunken fleets.
Kazrundak's mountain halls collapsed under the dragon's claws, and Sapiens' golden cities crumbled into ash-choked ruins. Armies clashed against it in vain—Xipen's obsidian-clad legions swept away by a flick of its tail, Elven archers' enchanted arrows dissolving mid-flight, Uzwa's sand riders crushed beneath its shadow. Adventurers, from F-rank novices to S-rank legends, fell like moths to a pyre, their blades and spells unraveling against its infernal might.
Even Kazrundak's iron war machines buckled into slag, powerless before the Chaos-born terror. The people's cries pierced the devastation, raw with despair and rage.
"What the fuck are the Heroes doing?" bellowed a merchant in Xyrus City, his livelihood buried in ash.
"Where are the damn Heroes?!" wailed a mother in Slyvia, clutching her child beneath a burning sky.
"Cowards! They've forsaken us!" spat a Flurose fisherman as his boat sank into boiling waves.
For too long, the Heroes had stood frozen, watching from afar as fear gripped them—fear of a force so vast, so merciless, it mocked their titles and turned their courage to cinders.
"What can we do?" whispered a young woman, her voice quaking as embers streaked the horizon like fallen stars.
A man beside her tightened his fists, resolve hardening his gaze.
"What choice remains but to meet it head-on?"
"Exactly," growled another, defiance flaring in his eyes.
"If we falter now, what right have we to bear the title of Heroes?"
"He's right—let's fucking end this beast!" snarled a third, his voice a raw edge of fury.
The woman let out a wild, brittle laugh. "Hah! Then let's go!"
As their oath ignited the air, five radiant streaks blazed down from the fractured sky—celestial harbingers against the chaos below. "Foul dragon," they roared as one,
"Your reign of ruin ends here!"
Yet by then, the Abyssal Flame Dragon had already carved a scar of desolation across half the world.
Only now, with half the earth in ruins, did they descend, driven by a flickering duty to protect what remained. They were Heroes not for invincibility, but for rising when all seemed lost.
Five figures stood before a towering dragon named Chaos, its scales shimmering like molten obsidian and its presence warping the air.
Its eyes glowed with ancient malice as it surveyed its challengers. A young woman with flames flickering in her gaze stepped forward, her voice sharp and commanding.
"Stop your rampage, dragon!"
She had expected a mindless beast, but the dragon's response caught her off guard.
[So, you are the ones deemed the strongest in this world.]
Its voice rumbled like a thunderstorm, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
The group exchanged startled glances.
"It can speak?" whispered an elven man with silver hair, his tone laced with curiosity.
"Perhaps it's open to reason," murmured a swordsman, his hand resting lightly on his blade. "You're naive," hissed a shadowy man, his voice dripping with skepticism.
A tall man with an archer's stance stepped forward, his posture steady and resolute. "Yes, we are the strongest. What's your point?"
[Very well. Before I crush you like the insects you are, I wish to know your names.]
The dragon's arrogance sparked their defiance.
"How dare you!" growled the swordsman, his blade catching the light.
"Let's teach this overgrown lizard a lesson," snarled the shadowy man.
"Wait," said the elven man, his calm demeanor unshaken. "Let's give it our names. Even in defeat, it should know who bested it.
"The young woman smirked, flames sparking at her fingertips. "I am Uriel, the Living Flame. My fire will turn you to ash."
The elven man nodded, his presence serene yet firm. "I am Roe, the Evergreen. My strength will endure beyond your chaos."
The swordsman raised his weapon, its edge gleaming with celestial light.
"Alex, the Celestial Severer. This blade will end your reign."
The shadowy man twirled a dagger with a sly grin. "Kaelen. You'll never see me coming."
The archer drew an arrow, his aim fixed on the dragon's heart. "Suyra, Artemis' Wrath. My shot will be your final sight."
After introducing themselves like power rangers.
Suyra lowered his bow slightly, tilting his head. "And you, dragon? What's your name?"
[Though I rarely share it with those doomed to fall, your boldness intrigues me. I am Gorfu, the King of All Dragons.]
[So, let's begin the battle, shall we?]
Gorfu's voice rolled like a tidal wave, heavy with malice and challenge.
Uriel reacted in an instant, thrusting her sword skyward.
"Flame of Retribution!" she cried, her voice a fiery lash. A blazing pillar of light roared down from the heavens, striking Gorfu with a thunderous crash, flames licking the earth in a radiant inferno.
Moments later, the dragon strode forth from the dying blaze, its scales singed but defiant.
[What an intriguing spell.]
Kaelen spun his dagger with a sardonic grin.
"Figured it wouldn't be that easy."
"Hey, Uriel!"
Suyra's voice cut through the haze, sharp and urgent.
"You've still got your transformation, right?"
"Yeah," she answered, her tone resolute.
"How long?"
"Fifteen minutes."
"Alright, we'll stall Gorfu."
Suyra charged at the dragon, bow drawn taut, as Uriel stepped back, her chant weaving through the air:
"Oh, goddess of life, may I wield your power to mend the broken threads of fate and make the world flower anew…"
Alex unsheathed his sword, its celestial edge flaring. "Let's go!" he bellowed, rallying the others into a unified assault.
[Ha! Come—your death awaits!]
Gorfu's laughter erupted, a dark, guttural taunt that shook the ground.Roe raised his hands, his voice steady and commanding.
"Verdant Ensnarement: Gaia's Embrace!"
From the earth surged massive roots, thick and sinewy, twisting around Gorfu's limbs like living shackles, binding the beast in place.
Alex seized the moment, sprinting up the gnarled roots Roe had summoned. With a mighty leap, he roared,
"The Sky Splitter!"
His sword expanded, its blade stretching beyond the clouds in a shimmering arc.
He brought it crashing down onto Gorfu, the impact splitting the air with a seismic boom.
The dragon raised its horns to parry, but the overwhelming force carved a jagged gash across its crest, the earth trembling beneath the blow.
"What the hell!"
Alex shouted, his voice cracking with disbelief as he stared at Gorfu's scarred but unbroken form.
[Interesting]
the dragon rumbled, its tone laced with faint amusement. Ignoring Gorfu, Alex spun toward his ally.
"Suyra!"
Suyra had been charging his bow since Alex's Sky Splitter struck, his muscles taut as he channeled raw power into a single arrow. The shaft glowed with a searing white light, its fletching crackling with sparks of divine energy drawn from Artemis' wrathful blessing.
When he released it, the arrow blazed forth like a comet, slicing through the air at blinding speed, a sonic boom trailing in its wake.
It struck Gorfu square in the chest, piercing the dragon's obsidian scales with a sickening crunch.
A thin trickle of dark, molten blood oozed from the wound, hissing as it hit the ground.
[Amusing! Ha ha ha!]
Gorfu's laughter boomed, dark and unhinged.
[I think I've indulged your turns long enough. Now, it's mine—ha ha ha!]
With a guttural roar, Gorfu flexed its massive frame, shattering Roe's roots into splinters that rained down like broken spears.
The dragon's wings unfurled, vast and leathery, each flap whipping up a gale that tore at the earth below. It soared into the sky, ascending with terrifying grace, its silhouette framed against the roiling clouds.
Energy began to coalesce around it—crimson and black tendrils of power swirling tighter, crackling with an unholy heat that warped the air. Gorfu's scales pulsed with a molten glow, its jaws parting as it gathered the essence of its fiery wrath, the atmosphere trembling under the weight of its imminent strike.
"Shit! So much energy's gathering around its body!" Kaelen yelled, emerging from a shadowed nook, his dagger still in hand.
"Why the hell are you only showing up now?!"
Suyra snapped, his voice sharp with frustration.
"I was setting up a sneak attack—wait, that's not the point! What matters is we're all dead if we don't act. Can't you feel that ominous energy?"
Kaelen shot back, his eyes wide with urgency.
"Roe, can you do something?" Alex asked, his grip tightening on his sword
"Do you really think I can do anything about it?" Roe retorted.
"We have to try," Suyra urged, nocking another arrow.
Roe groaned, his silver hair whipping in the wind. "Ugh, fine. But if we die, don't blame me—blame yourselves for staying instead of running. Mark my words."
With a resigned breath, he began chanting, his voice rising against the chaos just as Gorfu unleashed a fire so fierce it scorched the very atmosphere, a blazing maelstrom that devoured light itself.
"Shit! I didn't think it'd come this fast!" Roe cursed, panic fraying his calm as he wove protective spells in rapid succession.
"Geovallum!" A jagged dome of earth erupted around them, its surface hardening like ancient stone. "Pyroclasm!" A second layer flared to life, a swirling shield of flame to counter the dragon's heat. "Zephyr!" A third barrier of whirling air spiraled upward, deflecting the searing winds.
"Abyssal Tide!" A final wall of dark water surged forth, hissing as it met the onslaught, steam billowing in a desperate stand against annihilation.
Before Gorfu's blazing torrent could sear Roe's barriers, a rival flame surged from an unseen source, clashing with the dragon's inferno in a violent burst of light and heat.
The two fires annulled each other, leaving a haze of steam and embers.
"Uriel!" Alex shouted, his voice a mix of relief and awe.
[Amusing]
Gorfu rumbled, undeterred. With a guttural snarl, it unleashed another wave of flame, a roaring tide of destruction. Uriel stood unflinching, raising her sword toward the onslaught.
"Flame of Purification" she intoned, her voice serene yet commanding. A white flame—divine and ethereal—erupted from her blade, neither hot nor cold, yet it consumed all in its path. The radiant fire met Gorfu's blaze head-on, dissolving it into wisps of fading shadow.
[Ha ha ha! Come, human!]
Gorfu's roar shook the heavens, a challenge laced with wild delight.
Uriel, the Living Flame, was no ordinary warrior. Blessed by the Goddess of Life herself, she wielded a fifth of the deity's boundless power—a fraction in measure, but a force of unparalleled might on this mortal plane.
Her emerald eyes locked onto Gorfu, gleaming with unyielding resolve.
"I will defeat you, Gorfu," she declared, her calm words cutting through the chaos.
[Ha! Try me if you can!]
The dragon's bellow reverberated, daring her to strike. Uriel spread her wings—radiant and angelic, shimmering with a soft, otherworldly glow—and ascended into the sky. She rose to meet Gorfu face-to-face, a lone figure against the towering beast. With a surge of speed, she charged, her flame-wreathed sword slashing at the dragon.
Gorfu parried with its claws, but the divine edge sheared through, severing the talons in a spray of molten ichor.
[GOOD! You are a worthy foe. In honor of this duel, I shall unveil my true might!]
Gorfu's voice deepened, a prelude to something cataclysmic.The air grew thick with an oppressive weight as Gorfu's form began to shift.
Its scales rippled like liquid shadow, folding inward with a sound like cracking stone. A vortex of crimson and black energy spiraled around it, the sky darkening as if choked by an unseen hand. The dragon's wings shrank and fused into its body, while its massive frame contorted, shrinking yet intensifying in presence. Horns twisted upward, jagged and crowned with embers, as its snout receded into a humanoid visage. When the transformation completed, Gorfu stood as a man—tall and imposing, his hair a cascade of hellfire red, his eyes burning with the same infernal hue. Claws, a foot long and sharp as obsidian blades, gleamed at his fingertips, and an aura of raw, draconic power pulsed from him, warping the ground beneath his feet into scorched fissures.
"So, this is your true form, Gorfu," Uriel said, hovering midair, her wings steady.
[Be proud, human. You are only the second to witness this visage in eons,]
Gorfu replied, his voice now a velvet growl, laced with menace and pride.
"Wow, I feel so honored," Uriel shot back, her tone dripping with mockery, a faint smirk curling her lips.
Gorfu's laughter erupted, a wild, guttural sound, as he charged at Uriel. His claws lashed out, each slash a blur of demonic fury that unleashed shockwaves, rending the air and shattering the earth below into jagged fissures.
Uriel parried with serene precision, her flame-wreathed sword meeting each strike, though the relentless onslaught tested her calm.
[Ha ha ha! I haven't felt this alive in a thousand years!]
Gorfu roared, his excitement palpable as his attacks grew swifter, a storm of claws that blurred into a deadly dance.
Uriel's composure wavered, her blade trembling under the mounting pressure, each block harder to maintain.
[What's the matter, losing your edge so soon?] Gorfu taunted, his voice dripping with mockery. She offered no reply, her emerald eyes narrowing in focus.
Below, as Uriel and Gorfu clashed in the sky, the four heroes huddled in urgent debate.
"What the hell—did that dragon just turn into a human?" Suyra exclaimed, his voice sharp with disbelief.
"Looks like it," Alex replied, his gaze fixed on the aerial duel.
"We should help her" Kaelen urged, his tone edged with resolve.
"But how?" Suyra shot back, frustration creasing his brow.
"We do what we can" Alex said firmly.
"Roe, you support us from the ground."
"Got it" Roe nodded, stepping back as Suyra, Alex, and Kaelen launched skyward, their forms cutting through the wind toward the battle above.
After the hero left,
Roe planted his feet, silver hair whipping in the gale, and raised his hands to the heavens. His voice rang out, steady and resonant, weaving a chant that thrummed with ancient power:
"I am Roe, the Evergreen,
Child of primal soil, bearer of endless green.
From roots that pierce the earth's deep heart,
And leaves that span the sky's vast arc,
Awaken, O Staff of the World Tree,
Bind the threads of fate to me!"
The air shuddered as the ground beneath him cracked, tendrils of verdant energy spiraling upward. A pulse of light erupted, and in his right hand materialized the Staff of the World Tree—a gnarled, majestic relic of living wood, its surface etched with runes that glowed like captured starlight. Vines coiled around it, pulsing with the lifeblood of creation itself, for this was no mere weapon: the World Tree was the pillar of existence, its branches cradling all realms, and Roe now wielded a fragment of its boundless might.
"May the World Tree grant me its power!" Roe intoned, slamming the staff into the earth. The ground quaked as a frigid mist gathered, coalescing into massive ice spikes—each a crystalline spear, ten feet long and sharp as winter's bite—hovering behind him like a frozen arsenal.
"Fire!" he commanded, thrusting the staff forward. The ice spikes launched with a sonic crack, streaking past the ascending heroes in a deadly volley aimed at Gorfu.
Their surfaces shimmered with an eerie blue glow, trails of frost tracing their path as they cut through the sky, a testament to Roe's mastery over nature's wrath.
"Wow, he's already making his move" Suyra remarked, glancing back mid-flight.
"That's Roe for us" Kaelen replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips as they closed in on the fray.
Uriel reeled under Gorfu's relentless assault, his claws hammering her defenses with brutal precision, each blow a thunderclap that tested her resolve. [What's the matter, human? Can't keep up?]
Gorfu taunted, his voice a mocking growl. Uriel offered no reply, her emerald eyes narrowing as she channeled her strength.
"Seraphic Blaze!"
she Intoned, her voice cutting through the chaos. Her sword ignited with divine fire—a radiant, white-hot flame that pulsed with celestial fury.
She launched into a frenzied onslaught, slashing at Gorfu without pause, each strike a streak of blazing light. Yet Gorfu parried effortlessly, his claws a blur of demonic steel.
[Is this all you've got, human? Ha ha ha!]
Gorfu's laughter boomed, a sound of unbridled arrogance. Just then, Roe's ice spikes streaked through the sky, their crystalline tips glinting with frostborn menace. Launched from the ground, they hurtled toward Gorfu in a synchronized volley, each spike a shard of winter's wrath aimed at his flanks. But Gorfu's claws flashed, shattering them into a glittering mist with contemptuous ease.
[Oh, a sneak attack, is it?]
Gorfu sneered. As he spoke, an arrow screamed through the air, fired by Suyra from a distant perch. The shaft glowed with Artemis' wrath, a concentrated beam of energy that sliced the wind, targeting Gorfu's head. Yet again, the dragon's claw intercepted it, deflecting the projectile into a burst of sparks, all while fending off Uriel's relentless strikes.
"Uriel, I'll help!" Alex shouted, charging skyward with his sword aglow, its celestial edge humming with power.
[Ha ha ha~~] Gorfu's laughter swelled, a manic crescendo.
In that moment, Kaelen materialized behind him, dagger poised for a lethal strike. The blade met an invisible barrier, shimmering briefly as it repelled the attack with a dull hum, leaving Kaelen cursing under his breath.
[Ha ha ha! Another one? Come!] Gorfu roared, his voice a challenge that shook the heavens. He stood as a whirlwind of defense, his claws and barrier warding off Uriel's divine slashes, Alex's charging thrusts, Kaelen's stealthy jabs, Roe's icy barrage, and Suyra's piercing arrows—all at once.
In the air, Uriel led the melee assault, her blazing sword the heart of the trio's offensive, with Alex and Kaelen flanking her in a desperate bid to break Gorfu's guard.
Uriel hammered Gorfu with ceaseless strikes, her divine flame blazing, but the dragon parried each blow with effortless grace.
[I must admit, you are formidable]
Gorfu rumbled, his voice a grudging nod to her power. Then, with a sudden roar, he unleashed a devastating surge—a shockwave of crimson energy that erupted from his claws, hurling Uriel backward through the sky. She crashed near Alex, her wings flaring to steady herself.
"Alex," she rasped, her gaze flicking to Gorfu, who now clashed with Kaelen's daggers, Suyra's arrows, and Roe's relentless ice spikes.
"You need to use your special move," Uriel pressed, her emerald eyes locked on the dragon."
I already did," Alex replied, his voice heavy with defeat.
"The Sky Splitter—he blocked it like it was nothing."
"This time, I'll infuse my sword with the Goddess' power," she said, her tone resolute. "It'll be enough to mark him, at least."
Alex's mind churned with questions—how could Uriel share divine might?—but he swallowed them, nodding. "Alright," he said, trusting her, unaware that fate would soon silence his curiosity forever.
Uriel placed her hand on his blade, murmuring an incantation too soft to catch. Her palm glowed with a radiant light, tendrils of divine essence flowing from her into the steel, igniting it with a faint, holy shimmer.
"It's done," she said after mere seconds.
"That was fast," Alex remarked, gripping the newly empowered weapon.
Together, they charged Gorfu, Alex taking the lead this time.
"The Sky Splitter!" he bellowed, his sword swelling to a colossal size, its edge piercing the clouds with a celestial hum. He swung it down with titanic force, the air splitting in its wake. Kaelen and Suyra darted aside just as the blade slammed into Gorfu—only for the dragon's claws to meet it, deflecting the strike with a resounding clang.
"How?" Alex whispered, his voice breaking with despair.
[I conclude you wield but one trick, human. You bore me now,]
Gorfu sneered, his red eyes glinting with disdain. In a flash, he surged forward at blinding speed, a streak of hellfire and shadow too swift to track.
"Oh shit!" Alex's cry was cut short—no time to raise his sword, no chance to dodge. Gorfu's claws descended in a savage arc, a torrent of dark energy trailing their path. The strike tore through Alex's armor like paper, rending flesh and bone in a brutal, diagonal gash from shoulder to hip. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc, staining the sky as he spiraled downward, a broken comet crashing to the earth below. The ground shuddered with his impact, dust and debris erupting around his crumpled form, his sword clattering uselessly beside him.
"Alex!!" Uriel, Suyra, and Kaelen's voices rang out in unison, a chorus of shock and fury as they rushed toward Gorfu.
"Kaelen, Suyra—go to Alex! I'll hold him off!" Uriel commanded, her wings flaring as she faced the dragon alone.Kaelen and Suyra hesitated, worry etching their faces, but nodded and veered toward their fallen comrade.
"You piece of shit!" Uriel snarled, her calm shattering into rage. She launched at Gorfu with reckless abandon, her flame-wreathed sword a storm of vengeance.
Alex plummeted from the sky, his slashed form crashing near Roe with a bone-jarring thud, blood pooling beneath him. Kaelen and Suyra landed beside him instants later, their faces taut with urgency.
"Roe, do something!" Suyra urged, his voice sharp and breathless.
"Alright," Roe replied, kneeling swiftly.
Kaelen propped Alex up, pressing a hand to his chest. "He's still breathing,"
he said, relief warring with dread. Roe's silver hair fell across his face as he assessed the wounds—deep gashes weeping crimson.
"I'll try what I can, but these injuries… they're grave. I don't know if it'll work."
"We have to try," Suyra insisted, his tone unyielding. Roe raised his Staff of the World Tree over Alex's broken body, its wood humming with latent power. His voice rose, steady and solemn:
"O ancient forces of light and life,
By the stars that weave the threads of fate,
I summon the essence of renewal and rebirth.
Let rivers of vitality flow through this vessel,
Mend the flesh, soothe the soul, banish affliction.
In the name of balance and harmony,
I command thee—heal and restore!"
The staff glowed with a verdant light, tendrils of green energy spiraling down to envelop Alex. The light pulsed over his wounds, but the gashes remained, unyielding to the spell's touch.
"It didn't work," Roe said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
"Don't you have anything else—spells, items?" Kaelen pressed, desperation creeping in.
"Wait—I have an elixir." Roe fumbled within his robe, withdrawing a tiny glass vial, its contents shimmering with a faint golden hue. He handed it to Kaelen, who tilted Alex's head back and poured the liquid down his throat.
"His wounds are starting to close,"
Suyra observed, watching as the elixir's power knitted torn flesh with agonizing slowness.
"I see it," Roe said, "but he'll stay unconscious for a while."
Suyra glanced skyward, where Uriel battled Gorfu in a fading struggle. "Now what?"
"We can't do anything," Kaelen muttered, his voice bitter.
"That thing's too strong."
"Actually, there is something," Roe countered, reaching into his pocket. He drew forth an object—the sealing sphere—and held it aloft.
It was a relic of eerie beauty: a foot tall, carved from a dark, glassy stone that shimmered like polished obsidian under faint light. At its base, two skeletal hands, delicate yet menacing, clutched small orbs—one pulsing red, the other a deep blue—cradling them as if guarding forbidden secrets. Rising from the center, a larger orb dominated the sphere, a swirling vortex of silver and shadow, its surface alive with shifting runes that whispered of ancient containment. Crowning it all was the head of a goat, its eyes hollow sockets that seemed to stare through the soul, horns curling backward in a silent promise of power. The air around it thrummed faintly, as if the sphere itself breathed with latent intent.
"This is a sealing sphere," Roe explained, his voice low with reverence.
"It can bind anything, but it demands mana—scaled to the target's strength."Kaelen eyed it warily.
"How much mana to seal that monstrosity?"
Roe studied Gorfu for a long moment, his face tightening. "An enormous amount."
Suyra stayed silent as Roe and Kaelen spoke, his gaze drifting between the sphere and the sky. Then he broke in, "Will the four of us be enough?"
Roe blinked, startled, and glanced at them—unconscious Alex, Suyra, Kaelen, and Uriel aloft.
"If you four are willing to sacrifice yourselves, it could suffice."
"No need to debate—I'll do it," Suyra said firmly. "You, Kaelen?"
"Of course," Kaelen replied, his jaw set.
"And Alex?" Roe asked, nodding toward the fallen warrior.
"No need to ask," Kaelen said, glancing at Alex's still form. "He'd want this."
"Then it's settled," Roe declared. "I'll begin the sealing process, but it'll take time."
"We'll tell Uriel," Suyra said, already turning skyward. With that, he and Kaelen launched into the air, streaking toward where Uriel clashed with Gorfu, her strength visibly waning under the dragon's onslaught.
[What's the matter, aren't you the strongest?]
Gorfu's voice sneered, a taunt dripping with malice as his claws slashed at Uriel.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Uriel roared, her voice raw with fury, parrying each strike with her flame-wreathed sword. An arrow streaked toward Gorfu's face, a glowing shaft of Artemis' wrath, only to shatter against an invisible barrier with a burst of sparks.
[You again?]
Gorfu growled, his red eyes flicking toward the source.
"Suyra, Kaelen—what are you doing here? What about Alex?" Uriel demanded, her wings faltering as she deflected another blow.
[No time for chatter!]
Gorfu bellowed, lunging at her with a devastating slash. The force—a shockwave of dark energy—sent Uriel reeling through the sky, her form a blur of feathers and fire. Kaelen seized the moment, darting into the fray with daggers flashing.
"CHAOS FLAME!" he chanted, his blades igniting with a searing blue inferno. He struck at Gorfu with lightning speed, a whirlwind of azure slashes, yet each met the dragon's claws or barrier, deflected with disdainful ease.
[Ha ha! You think yourself worthy to face me?] Gorfu mocked."No," Kaelen retorted, breathless but defiant,
"but I've earned the right to try."
[Interesting]
Gorfu rumbled, his tone a mix of amusement and scorn. Kaelen grit his teeth—"Is 'interesting' all you've got to say?"—but no reply came.
Suyra landed beside Uriel, steadying her as she regained her footing midair.
"We've found a way to end this dragon," he said, his gaze fixed on Kaelen's struggle.
"What way?" Uriel asked, her voice taut.
"We become the sacrifice,"
Suyra replied, resolute.
"What do you mean?"
Roe has a sealing sphere—it can bind Gorfu, but it demands immense mana. We have that power within us."
Uriel nodded, her emerald eyes hardening.
"Alright."
"I knew you'd agree,"
Suyra said, a faint, grim smile crossing his lips.A voice pierced their minds—Roe's, steady and telepathic:
"The preparation is complete. Shall I proceed?"
"Yes," the three answered as one, their resolve echoing in unison. Below, Roe gripped the sealing sphere, its obsidian surface pulsing with an eerie light. He raised it high, his voice thundering with ancient authority:
"By the primal pact of shadow and radiance,
I summon the binding forces of the eternal abyss.
Chains of fate, forged in the crucible of time,
Rise and ensnare that which defies the cosmos!
Seal the chaos, entomb the void,
Let this bond stand unbreakable—
By my will, so it shall be!"
The sphere erupted in a blinding blaze, its central orb flaring with a silver tempest, the goat head's hollow eyes igniting with spectral flame. A lattice of luminous threads—golden and black, woven from the fabric of reality itself—burst forth, spiraling skyward with a deafening hum. The net expanded, a shimmering dome stretching fifty meters wide, its edges crackling with arcs of raw mana.
It enveloped Gorfu in an instant, ensnaring him mid-laughter, his form thrashing against the tightening bonds. The lattice pulsed, drawing in Uriel, Kaelen, Suyra, and the unconscious Alex below, sealing them within its radiant grasp. Roe stood outside, the sphere trembling in his hands as the light faded, leaving an eerie silence.
"Well, it's our last goodbye," Suyra said, his voice calm as he hovered within the shrinking prison.
"Yeah," Uriel replied, her wings dimming, her gaze locked on Gorfu.The dragon writhed, his human form straining against the chains.
[What is this!?] he roared, panic seeping into his fury.
"Your eternal prison," Kaelen answered, hid voice a quiet blade of triumph. The lattice constricted, a final flash swallowing the dragon and the four heroes into an abyss of light, their silhouettes vanishing as the sphere sealed shut with a resonant toll, like the closing of a cosmic gate.