The sky was burning.
Flames stretched from horizon to horizon, clouds of ash blotting out the sun. The earth trembled beneath the march of countless wings as dragons clashed above the shattered plains, their roars drowning thunder, their breath burning forests to cinders.
And at the heart of the storm stood him.
The Dragon Lord.
Once hailed as the conqueror of skies, the breaker of chains, the man who bent dragons to his will. His armor was broken, his long crimson cloak torn and blackened by fire. Blood ran from a dozen wounds across his body, dripping down the handle of his halberd. But still, he stood tall.
Before him loomed a shadow so vast it seemed to swallow the heavens whole.
The Eternal Dragon King.
Its scales were blacker than night, each one larger than a man. Wings stretched wide, spanning mountains, blotting out all light. Its eyes—those burning red eyes—glared down with ancient hatred.
It was not a dragon born of this world. No, it was something older, something that had watched kingdoms rise and fall, something that saw mortals as insects and dragons themselves as tools.
And it was the one who had ended him once before.
The Dragon Lord tightened his grip on his halberd, ignoring the searing pain tearing through his muscles. Around him lay the corpses of his army—both men and dragonkind alike. His most loyal generals, his proudest champions, all turned to ash.
"Even at the end," he muttered, spitting blood, "I stand alone."
A laugh echoed across the battlefield, deep and thunderous, shaking the very air. The Eternal Dragon King lowered its head, its voice rumbling like an earthquake.
"You were a fool to defy me, little lord of ash. Did you truly believe you could change the order of this world? That mortals could stand above dragons? Above me?"
The Dragon Lord raised his gaze, crimson eyes burning even as his body faltered. "You mistake me, beast," he growled. "I never sought to stand above dragons. I sought to free them. To break the chains of your tyranny."
The dragon sneered, rows of teeth glinting like jagged mountains.
"Chains? There are no chains. There is only power. The weak serve. The strong rule. That is the eternal law of this world."
The Dragon Lord let out a harsh laugh, even as blood spilled from his lips. "Then I'll carve a new law… even if I must burn for it."
With a roar that tore his throat raw, he summoned the last fragments of his power. His Soul Core flared within his chest, the once-brilliant flame now flickering dimly. But even dim flames could ignite infernos.
The shattered ground trembled.
From the corpses of fallen dragons, flames erupted, twisting into spectral forms. Their roars filled the battlefield once more—shadows of dragons who had once sworn to his banner. One by one, they gathered at his side, their translucent wings spanning the horizon.
A ghostly legion of fire.
The Eternal Dragon King's eyes narrowed. "You would burn your very soul to defy me?"
The Dragon Lord smiled bitterly. "If my soul can light the path for another… then yes."
He raised his halberd high, and the ghostly dragons surged forward, a storm of flame and fury crashing against the endless black wings of the king.
The battle that followed was chaos itself.
Every clash shook mountains, every roar split the skies. The Eternal Dragon King swatted away the spectral dragons, tearing them apart with claws larger than castles. But each time one fell, another rose, summoned by the Dragon Lord's dwindling soul.
And through the chaos, he fought—halberd flashing, cutting through scales, drawing blood that fell like meteors upon the earth. Each strike cost him strength, each swing dragged him closer to death. Yet he did not falter.
"RAAAAHHH!"
He leapt, his body propelled by the last reserves of his aura, and brought his halberd down upon the Eternal Dragon King's head. Steel and flame met scale and shadow. The world itself seemed to shatter at the impact.
For the first time in centuries, the Eternal Dragon King bled.
A thin scar marred its forehead, a trickle of black blood sizzling as it fell upon the earth.
The great beast roared in fury, wings beating with such force that the sky itself cracked. The blast hurled the Dragon Lord across the battlefield, his body smashing into stone, bones shattering.
He tried to rise. His hands trembled. His halberd slipped from his grasp.
The end had come.
The Eternal Dragon King's head loomed over him, maw opening wide, revealing a furnace of endless flame.
"Burn, little lord .Burn. And be forgotten."
The Dragon Lord coughed blood, his vision blurring, yet a smile curled his lips.
"Forgotten…?" He spat crimson onto the ground, forcing his body upright one last time. His gaze met those burning red eyes, unflinching. "No. Not forgotten. Not ever."
He pressed a bloodied hand to his chest, where his Soul Core flickered its last ember.
"I will return," he whispered, voice trembling yet defiant. "Even if I must crawl back from the abyss. Even if I must be reborn in ash and chains. I… will return. And when I do…"
His crimson eyes blazed one final time, fiercer than the flames of hell itself.
"…I will tear down your throne."
The Eternal Dragon King's flame descended, swallowing him whole.
The world went white.
.....
When the flames faded, nothing remained. The Dragon Lord was gone. His army was gone. His kingdom was gone.
And yet…
Far beneath the scorched earth, in the silent ruins of a forgotten shrine, a faint ember stirred. A single spark of soul flame flickered, clinging to existence.
It pulsed once.
Twice.
And then went still.
Waiting.