The world behind the barrier was the harshest, most ruthless slap to the ashen grayness of the Void. Into the lungs of anyone who stepped inside, instead of the usual acidic and dusty air, flowed the forgotten scent of freshly mown grass, honeysuckle, and damp earth warmed by the sun—a fragrance so vivid it almost caused pain because it had been so long since it was felt.
In defiance of the eternal darkness outside, the sky was painted with the golden-yellow and orange hues of an unending sunset. Pollen floating slowly in the air merged with the raw light radiating from the Spear, shimmering like tiny diamond dust and veiling the field of vision in a dreamlike haze.
The trees along the road were generous, their branches drooping under the weight of fruits—plump, purple, and gold-colored fruits that could never be found in the Void. Koharu, as if hypnotized, reached out to a leaf. Instead of turning to ash between her fingers like everything else in the Void, the leaf brushed against her skin with a silky softness. Unlike the "living dead" trees outside, every branch and every vein here pulsed with life. The ground they trod upon was not made of sharp rocks, but was a carpet of cool grass that yielded with every step. The faint trickling of water from afar had replaced the ear-grating whispers that had haunted them for months, transforming into a sinister melody that numbed the soul.
As the group moved through these dreamlike gardens toward the massive pillar of light, they encountered a man under a gargantuan arch in full bloom. The middle-aged man, wearing a white robe with gold embroidery, froze the moment he saw them, as if the strength had left his knees. His face bore traces of a terror that could not be hidden, standing in total contrast to this paradise-like place.
The man's trembling gaze slid first over Aurelia's magnificent armor, then to Koharu's delicate face. But when his eyes finally rested on Swen, his pupils dilated with horror, and his breath hitched in his throat.
"One of you..." the man said, his voice trembling like a leaf. "One of you must be Swen."
The group tensed instantly, as if stopped by an invisible hand. While Swen instinctively took a step back, Koharu lunged forward, gripping the hilt of her sword. "Stop! Who are you? How do you know her name?"
The man looked as though he might collapse on the spot, unable to take his eyes off Swen. "It is not hard to know, milady," he whispered. "Inside this dome, everyone recognizes each other's breath from the moment they are born. You... you came from the outside, from the heart of that deadly darkness."
Swen asked cautiously, her brow furrowed. "I understand you realizing we are strangers. But my name... how could you possibly know my name?"
The man's face turned as white as chalk. He covered his face with his hands and let out a sound like a muffled sob. "Because Lord Mikail has been whispering only one name since the day he arrived!" the man cried, his voice now a rasping lament, a plea for help. "He gave a single order to all the people: 'If you see someone named Swen, you are to bring her before me without a second's delay!'"
Swen turned to her friends in a panic. "Lord Mikail cannot be here! We haven't seen his massive war shuttle; there was no sign of it in the sky. It's impossible..."
The man took a step closer. The tears streaming from his eyes caused Swen's words to die in her throat. "Lord Mikail said he would stay here until Swen arrived," the man whispered. "Since the day he came, these paradise lands have been secretly watered with blood. He waits like an executioner in the shadow of that sacred Spear! He is only waiting for you... He says that until you arrive, none of our lives are safe, and that every second is a mercy for us."
Swen's logic clashed with the fear in her heart. "The shuttles..." she said, her voice trembling. "How could he come here without shuttles? He doesn't move without his army."
"He doesn't need shuttles," the man said with a bitter smile. "He didn't come here as a savior; he descended from the sky like a disaster." He pointed toward the magnificent palace in the distance, where the pillar of light pierced the heavens. "Lord Mikail is waiting for you there. You are free to go or not... But know this: These people now live by the prayer of the day Swen will arrive. Do not trust the people; everyone might hand you over to that palace with their own hands just to save their own lives."
Aurelia intervened, clenching her fist with her unshakable self-confidence. "If Mikail is alone, I can defeat him. Perhaps this is the opportunity that has come to our feet to end the war."
Swen shook her head quickly. "He is an immortal, Aurelia! His power is immense, at a level we cannot even imagine. I don't think we can defeat him with brute force. Besides... I have serious doubts that the person he mentioned is actually Mikail. We cannot trust the people here, and we must enter that palace to get the Spear." She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "First, we must observe. We must find a way to contact Shinju. We must find another way, another plan."
Koharu asked in amazement, "So this man called Mikail... is he stronger than even a dragon?"
"He is an immortal, Koharu," Swen said, her voice like ice. "No one knows how old he is or how many thousands of years he has trained. He is someone who has used the unlimited resources of an entire empire to develop himself. If the one before us is truly Him... there is absolutely no direct fighting."
Just before setting off, Swen sensed that Shinju was watching them and turned back. She made a secret sign with her hands, indicating that something was wrong and that he should not take his eyes off them.
They progressed toward the rising pillar of light with a sense of dread that increased with every step. When they reached the center of the square, the sight they saw took their breath away. The pillar of light erupted from the very heart of an ancient altar; behind the altar rose a gargantuan palace built of marble and gold, defying the sky.
In front of the altar, a magnificent throne was set under the glare of the light. Around the throne, hundreds of people moved like machines in absolute silence. Dozens of servants lined up on both sides were cooling the figure sitting on the throne with massive fans; no one dared to lift their head from the ground.
When Swen looked at the man lounging on the throne, she felt the blood drain from her face. She could never forget that face, that arrogant posture. Her suspicions hit her like a slap.
"I was right..." Swen whispered, her voice shaking. "That's not Mikail. It's Mikail's most loyal and most ruthless shadow... Kaelos."
Pure hatred instantly flashed in Aurelia's eyes. "Then there's no need to wait. Let's destroy him now, right here, on that throne!"
"Wait!" Swen said, grabbing Aurelia's arm. She didn't take her eyes off Kaelos for a moment. "First, we must analyze. Something is wrong... According to their plans, they should have come at least six years later. Moreover, they are aware of my situation and that I am here. This could be a trap. We must remain cold-blooded. We need to go back to Shinju and make a plan."
At that moment, one of the servants approaching the throne was carrying fresh grapes on a silver tray. The woman's fear was so intense that her legs became entangled. A momentary imbalance brought disaster. The silver bowl hit the marble floor with a loud crash, and the purple grapes scattered across the ground.
The heavy silence in the square was shattered by the sound of metal. Kaelos, sitting on the throne, simply snapped his fingers.
Under the servant's feet, a blood-red magic circle suddenly glowed. Before the woman could even scream, she was caught in black flames rising from her body and turned into a pile of ash within seconds.
Kaelos exhaled as if he had just shooed away a fly. "I don't like the clumsy," he said in a voice that was silky but ice-cold. "Those who are flawed do not deserve to live."
In that moment of horror as the ashes were scattered, a young girl burst from the crowd. Her voice turned into a scream that tore through the sky: "MOTHER!"
Kaelos's expression didn't even change. He simply raised his index finger slightly. An invisible blade sliced through the air; the young girl's scream was cut short the moment her head was severed from her body and hit the ground. Blood flowed like a river over the white marbles.
Kaelos spoke, brushing imaginary dust off his fingers. "Didn't I tell you not to make a sound? Your voices are giving me a headache..."
The sight before her had turned the dragon blood flowing in Aurelia's veins into a river of lava. She could feel her muscles trembling under her armor. Her golden eyes glowed like embers, as if she wanted to turn that bloody throne Kaelos sat upon into ash with just a look.
"I cannot just stand here and watch this lowly display," Aurelia whispered. Her voice was like distant thunder. "I will tear him to pieces right there, on that throne!"
Swen had practically dug her claws into Aurelia's armored arm. Her fingers trembled against the metal, and her whisper was full of fear: "Aurelia, stop! We must be cold-blooded! If we ruin the plan, we all die!"
Koharu, meanwhile, had collapsed to her knees in a corner, watching this "scene" in the square with two tears rolling down her cheeks. Her soul, in pain, involuntarily triggered her Heart-Seeing Eye ability. She fixed her gaze on Kaelos's chest. But what she saw was not a heart; it was a void filled with disgusting emotions and pitch-black arrogance.
"What kind of heart is this..." Koharu sobbed. "There isn't a shred of mercy. Inside is only decay and darkness... He isn't a human; he is just a nightmare that feeds on pain."
In the center of the square, Kaelos slowly swirled the silver goblet in his hand and turned to the terrified crowd around him. His voice was like a silky but sharp blade: "Remove these corpses from my sight immediately. They spoil my view. This is a paradise, not a slaughterhouse."
Several people from the crowd stepped forward with trembling hands. As they bent down to take the bodies, one of them looked up at Kaelos with an uncontrollable hatred and hardness. Kaelos noticed this instantly. He fixed his eyes on the man and smiled slightly.
"You, wait a moment..." Kaelos said. "This look... it carries a familiar pain. Are those on the ground your relatives?"
The man fell to his knees before the executioner he thought was Lord Mikail. As his tears dripped onto the marble floor, his voice was choked with sobs: "Yes... Lord Mikail. They were my sister and my little niece."
Kaelos leaned in with mocking curiosity. "Are you angry with me?"
The man answered with a trembling voice in a desperate attempt to save his life; "What right do I have, Lord Mikail... They found their deserved end by disturbing you and ruining your sacred peace. Forgive us..."
Kaelos began to laugh. His laughter echoed through the square, chilling one to the bone. "Hahaha! It seems you will miss them very much. I'd better send you to join them as a favor, wouldn't you say?"
The expression on the man's face turned to absolute devastation. "Please... Have mercy, Lord Mikail! Please!" he cried, throwing himself at Kaelos's feet.
Kaelos's face turned to ice in an instant. "I didn't like your look. Now, you will kiss my foot and beg for my forgiveness without stopping. The moment you stop, I will send you to join your sister."
The man, to save his life, began to kiss Kaelos's foot and beg for forgiveness amidst his sobs. This was one of the most painful moments in which a human's dignity was leveled to the ground.
For Aurelia, this was the final straw. Kaelos's sadistic pleasure had awakened her ancient dragon honor. She didn't even hear Swen's cry of "Don't!" She burst from her hiding place like an arrow.
Aurelia, tearing through the air, unleashed a massive wave of fire toward Kaelos, who sat upon the throne. Golden flames illuminated the square. Although Kaelos noticed the attack at the last moment and shifted slightly to the side, he could not entirely escape the scorching heat of the dragon's fire.
When the flames subsided, Kaelos was still standing; however, his right arm and the white robe on his chest were burnt, and slight burn marks had formed on his skin. The silky expression in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a cold and lethal astonishment.
Kaelos looked at his burning garment with a mocking expression, his composure unshaken. "A dragon... what a primitive power," he said coldly. "The greatest problem with you dragons is this mercy... Had you launched your surprise attack with full strength, perhaps you could have caused me some real harm. But because of these ants around me, you missed that chance."
As he spoke, the burns on his body began to heal at a visible speed. Realizing this, Aurelia wasted no time and began to attack with kicks and punches. Every single one of her blows was so powerful that they created shockwaves in the square, flinging objects meters away. Yet, Kaelos parried these devastating attacks as easily as if he were playing with a child.
"Tsk, tsk... so weak," Kaelos said calmly. "These hands have torn apart hundreds of dragons far stronger than you."
Enraged by these words, Aurelia saw that the crowd had moved away and gathered all her strength to release her purest dragon breath. The flames completely engulfed Kaelos; the square transformed into a gargantuan pillar of fire. Aurelia was certain that no living being could withstand such heat. She thought Kaelos had been turned to ash.
However, as the smoke from the fire began to clear, it was revealed that Kaelos had formed an energy shield by bracing his elbow forward at the moment of the attack. Before the flames had even fully died out, a hand lunged from within that hellish heat and gripped Aurelia's throat.
Aurelia could not breathe; she was frozen in the face of the pure power in Kaelos's hand. With his other hand, Kaelos delivered a series of strikes to Aurelia's energy points, paralyzing her on the spot. As Aurelia's body collapsed like a lifeless puppet, Kaelos called out to the crowd trembling in fear:
"And so, our expected guest has arrived... Swen must be around here too. Bring her to me immediately! Once I have taken Swen, I will leave this place. Otherwise..." His gaze swept across the square. "...I will erase this place from the map entirely."
Through Shinju's Eyes
The leaden gray of the Void was cut like a knife by the radiance of the golden dome. Shinju, perched like a shadow atop a rocky cliff, focused his Dragon Eye deep into the dome. Below, he watched the progress of his friends inside that "false paradise." His vision was so clear that he could make out the hesitation in Koharu's fingertips as she touched a leaf, and Aurelia's shoulders, which stood upright as always but were slightly more tense under this alien light.
Shinju held his breath as the group stopped under the flowered arch. He could see the mouth of the white-robed man moving rapidly, his body trembling like a leaf. Shinju could not hear what they were saying, but his brow furrowed when he saw the man's knees buckle.
Then came the moment.
Swen turned slightly back. Though her gaze didn't exactly find the spot where Shinju was, she paused for a brief second as if she felt his presence. With her hand close to her hip, at an angle her companions wouldn't see, she gave Shinju that secret signal. That rhythmic, almost imperceptible motion drawn with the tips of her fingers: "Do not take your eyes off us. Something is very wrong here."
Shinju's right eye twitched slightly. "What is wrong?" he thought. He scanned the group quickly. Aurelia was there; after all, she was a dragon. Koharu was beside her. But the deathly pale expression on Swen's face... She was a woman of logic, and right now, she was facing something that her logic could not grasp.
As the group moved toward the square, Shinju followed them from above the rocks.
When the square became sharp under the lens of the Dragon Eye, Shinju saw that figure. The man lounging on the throne. "So that's the king," he thought, his lips barely moving. The false peace radiating from the man made Shinju uneasy. Yet, he was still at ease; after all, who could stand against the ancient, scorching power of Aurelia?
But the scene turned into a bloody nightmare in an instant.
Shinju saw the servant carrying the silver tray stumble. Goblets and grapes scattered across the marble floor. There was no sound. Only images. The man on the throne—Kaelos—snapped his fingers. Shinju stood up as he saw the blood-red magic circle glow beneath the servant's feet. Within seconds, the woman transformed into a pillar of black flame without being able to make a single sound, collapsing into a pile of ash.
Shinju's blood ran cold. Then he saw the little girl burst from the crowd. He could tell she was screaming from the shape of her mouth, but that scream reached only his mind, not his ears. He watched Kaelos raise his index finger.
An invisible blade... and the silent fall of the girl's head from her shoulders.
"That is not a human," Shinju whispered. "That is something darker than even the Void."
When he saw Aurelia lunge forward, he was filled with a momentary hope. Golden flames swallowed the square, turning Kaelos's position into a furnace. Shinju thought, "It's over. No one survives a dragon's breath."
But when the smoke cleared and he saw Kaelos brushing the burns off his robe and his skin healing with that terrifying speed, Shinju's hands clenched hard enough to crush the rock beneath them. He watched Kaelos parry Aurelia's fiercest blows—the punches that could shatter worlds—as if he were merely shooing away a fly.
And then, that scene...
That hand gripping Aurelia's throat. The dragon princess being lifted off the ground, her body shaking like a puppet before suddenly going paralyzed and collapsing... From above, Shinju saw the last spark in Aurelia's eyes fade. He saw Swen sink to her knees in despair and Koharu cover her face with her hands.
Silence was no longer a wall for Shinju; it was a grave.
"They are going to die," Shinju said, his voice lost in the wind of the Void. "If I don't go there, he will tear them all apart inside that golden cage."
The analysis was over. The strategy had collapsed.
Shinju glided down the rock like a shadow. His heart had shattered into a thousand pieces with Aurelia's fall. He ran to the very base of the golden dome, to the boundary where the false heaven of light met the true darkness of the Void.
He pressed his fingers against the barrier. The "sacred" heat of the dome scorched his fingertips, the smell of burning flesh rising from his skin. But Shinju did not pull back.