The aftermath of the portal onslaught was chaos, yet controlled. Hunters moved quickly, organizing themselves into groups to tackle each remaining portal. Reports of the monstrous hordes poured in, and city defenses scrambled to respond.
I watched them from the shadows, violet sparks dancing faintly along my arms. The dragon portal was the last, its swirling energy darker than the others, veins of raw lightning streaking across its surface.
A whisper, faint but unmistakable, threaded through my mind.
"Ashura… test."
The Nameless God.
I smirked. So this was it. My test. Not with hordes, not with half-hearted creatures, but the dragon itself. Alone.
The hunters readied themselves. Leaders shouted orders, organizing squads, attempting to enter the dragon portal. As the first of them approached, a barrier shimmered into existence—purple lightning sparking across the surface, forming a web of energy that repelled them.
"What the…" one of the senior hunters muttered, stepping back. The rest stared, confusion and fear evident.
I didn't hesitate. With a casual grin, I slipped forward, unnoticed, shadows of my wraiths hiding my presence. The storm inside me pulsed with anticipation.
"Always like to do things my way," I murmured. "Let's see what you've got."
The moment I stepped through the portal, the air changed. Thick, oppressive, alive with heat and lightning. Mountains cracked under the dragon's massive form, and its wings stirred storms in the sky. Its eyes—burning like twin suns—locked on me.
"You dare enter?" the dragon's voice thundered, deep and resonant. "The storm approaches… but will you endure?"
I twirled my sword in a single fluid motion. "If you wanna test me, I hope you're ready to regret it."
Lightning flared along my arms. Storm Veins surged, the air around me vibrating with energy. My wraiths materialized fully, Shadow lunging toward the dragon's legs, Rift striking from above, and Obsidian guarding my flank.
The dragon roared, fire, ice, and shadow streaking toward me in impossible arcs. I didn't dodge. I absorbed the elemental barrage with Aether Conduction, redirecting it through Judgment Spark into its chest. The creature screeched as purple lightning tore through its scales.
It lashed its tail, swinging with the force of a gale. I vaulted over it, landing atop a jagged boulder, wraiths shadowing its path. My sword pulsed, Abyssstorm erupting. Lightning tentacles struck the dragon from multiple directions simultaneously, ripping through its defenses.
It tried to ascend, using wings to summon storms of wind, but I leapt from wraith to wraith, violet sparks igniting the air around me. A strike to the heart with Judgment Spark, followed by a coiling Abyssstorm, brought the dragon crashing into the ground.
The battlefield shook violently. Rocks split, fire and lightning collided, and yet I stood, boots planted, sword glowing with the Nameless God's approval.
The dragon roared one last time before collapsing, its massive chest heaving as the portal began to destabilize.
I stepped back as the swirling vortex flickered violently, lightning arcs scattering in every direction. With a deafening crack, the portal imploded, leaving nothing but debris and scorched earth.
A voice echoed in my mind—calm, omnipotent, yet filled with weight:
"You have passed. You are worthy."
Immediately, I felt something shift. A new authority flowed into me, a resonance that allowed me to command storms and shadows with absolute precision. My body hummed with latent power, stronger, faster, untouchable.
And a title formed in the depths of my system:
Title Acquired: Storm Warden of the Nameless Abyss
Authority: Nameless Dominion — grants subtle control over natural and supernatural storms within range, amplifying existing abilities, and strengthening wraith synchronization.
I smirked, stormlight crackling faintly over my arms. "Not bad," I muttered to myself. "Another step up. And they said this would be difficult."
Back outside, hunters and citizens stared in awe, unsure if they had witnessed a miracle or a nightmare. I sheathed my sword, wraiths retreating to shadows, leaving nothing but a faint violet glow lingering in the sky.
"Looks like they'll have stories to tell for a long time," I said, voice low, almost to myself.