The savannah pulsed with the heartbeat of war, its skies fractured by storms that mirrored Saphira's grief. Veyla's death scarred her soul, the Iron Fang's curse now a whisper of triumph: She's gone. You're alone. Burn them all. Yet the coalition rallied, their roars a tide of unity—Khyra's lions, Tormen's antelopes, Zyra's serpents, Sylra's eagles—marching toward the Human Ruins, where the prophecy's final trial, the shadow's choice, awaited. The ruins loomed on the savannah's edge, a sprawl of shattered towers and rusted machines, their shadows pulsing with human runes that sang to the Fang. Maku's flood surged closer, its lava tides scorching the plains, while Kael's army massed at Roaring Rock, his fire magic a beacon of tyranny. Xajin's shadow stalked the coalition, his emerald eyes a promise of death.
Saphira's fire burned, her wounds aching, Veyla's absence a wound deeper than claws. Sylra soared above, her sky magic scattering Zara's illusions, while Khyra's fire lit the ruins' paths, her silver pelt a steady flame. Tormen's antelopes anchored the ground, their earth magic shielding against tremors, and Zyra's serpents wove storm-fire through the wreckage, their scales glowing like molten stars. A new ally emerged from the ruins—a rogue crocodile, his hide armored with tidal runes, his jaws dripping with sea magic.
"I am Krovar, exile of the Coastal Clans," he rumbled, his voice a tide. "Maku's flood drowned my kin, and I seek vengeance. My sea magic can turn his tides, but the ruins hold death, lioness. Lead us true." His eyes gleamed, a predator's hunger tempered by loss, and Saphira nodded, her fire coiling, the Fang's curse whispering: He'll drown you. Burn him first.
The ruins' heart was a coliseum of steel and bone, its arena pulsing with human runes, a platform rising to reveal a human relic—a crystal orb, its surface swirling with shadow magic, the prophecy's voice echoing: The flame-bearer chooses: wield the Fang to burn the savannah and end the human tide, or shatter it to save the beasts, but lose the crown. Saphira's heart raced, the Fang's runes flaring, visions flooding her—a savannah united, but herself ash; a crown won, but the ruins alive with human machines.
Before she could choose, Xajin struck, his smoke magic cloaking the arena, his obsidian dagger slashing from shadows. Saphira roared, her flames meeting his smoke, the Fang's storm shattering his illusions. Sylra's sky magic unleashed a tempest, scattering his shadows, while Khyra's fire and Zyra's storm-fire burned his path. Krovar's sea magic surged, a tide that pinned Xajin, but his laughter was a blade: "The Fang's curse owns you, lioness. Choose, and die."
The coalition fought, their roars a symphony of fire, earth, storm, and sea, but Maku's vanguard breached the ruins, their lava tides scorching the steel. Saphira faced the orb, the prophecy's choice clear: burn or break. The Fang's curse screamed—Wield me. Rule alone—but Veyla's purr echoed, her sacrifice a light. Saphira roared, her fire blazing, and shattered the Fang against the orb, its runes exploding in a storm of light and shadow. The ruins trembled, machines stalling, the human tide silenced, but Saphira's fire dimmed, her crown lost, her body collapsing.
Khyra's roar rallied the coalition, their magic driving Maku's vanguard back, Xajin vanishing into smoke, his laughter a vow: "The savannah burns without you, cub." Sylra's wings shielded Saphira, Krovar's tides cooling her wounds, and Tormen's earth magic sealed the coliseum, buying time. Zyra's serpents hissed, their storm-fire a promise: "Your flame lives, lioness. The savannah needs you."
Saphira rose, her fire a spark, the Fang's shards glinting at her paws. The prophecy was fulfilled, the human tide stopped, but Maku's flood and Kael's fire loomed, the savannah divided. She roared, her voice a flame: "The Dawn Coalition is our crown. We march to Roaring Rock, to burn the lies and save our home!" The coalition's roars shook the ruins, their unity a tide, but Xajin's shadow lingered, and Maku's grin widened in Mudspire, his flood unstoppable.