Several days later, in the skies above the Central City.
Evening crept over the pivotal metropolis like a whale entangled in nets of darkness.People watched the news broadcasts, which warned of unprecedented heatwaves, but the air's temperature wasn't the real source of concern. Something else, deeper and more subtle, was seeping into the very fabric of reality.
In the narrow alleys, the homeless stopped searching for food. They lifted their heads toward the sky, as if awaiting a deluge that was anything but natural.
In the upscale cafes,glasses stopped clinking, and smiles froze on faces. Even the stray cats hid beneath cars, whimpering softly as if hearing a tone human ears could not perceive.
Then it began to appear… not as an event, but as a collective dream.
It wasn't an airplane, nor a spaceship, but a being of dark light moving through the sky like a gargantuan serpent in a torn-apart night.
Its shadow behind the clouds swayed,like ribbons of liquid shadow, undulating and writhing, swimming in an ocean of cosmic mercury. Each flutter of its movement released silent thunderclaps that shook souls before ears.
Beneath this shadow, which stretched hundreds of meters, the rooftops of buildings began to melt like sugar in invisible water, leaving behind iridescent mist resembling chemical effervescence.
And as the shadow neared the government's presidential palace, it gradually shrank, until it became a nebulous point.
From within this haze, the man slid forth in front of the palace, not touching the ground, but floating meters above it, surrounded by an aura of black light.
The historic gates turned to diamond dust,and the glass windows melted into streams of liquid crystal. The guards in their advanced gear froze like statues, their eyes open onto a world of silent horror.
His movement was like a dream realized in slow motion. His body was covered in ashen skin with fiery fissures, reflecting an unbearable infernal glare. Each step he took released a faint vapor, as if the earth itself was evaporating beneath his tread.
He walked like a creature emerged from the heart of the balance between fire and volcanic lava.
But the eyes… oh, the eyes.
Two black eyes like holes in the fabric of reality,and within each eye was a draconic pupil, moving concentrically, as if scanning the horizon across parallel dimensions.
They didn't lookat you; they redefined you anew with each glance, as if rewriting your biography.
From his forehead emerged two horns that curved over his head and merged with his black hair swept back, like a crown of frozen bones.
His lustrous coat fell like a curtain between him and reality,shimmering under a radiance that emanated not from the sun, but from within him.
When his foot touched the earth, everyone standing involuntarily bowed.
Not out of respect,but an instinctive bend; their bodies suddenly remembered they were not the highest.
The ministers and officials, even the Golden-Eyed ones, felt like mere children before this presence.
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In the highest tower of the Organization, where Cain was accustomed to being the master of all he surveyed, his hands trembled over the control console.
HisGolden Eyes widened with a bewilderment he had never known before.
A bead of sweat, the first in his life, fell onto the holographic screen, creating a small ripple in the image.
"No…" he whispered faintly. "The Dragon… he has arrived… Isn't this far too early."
What alarmed him more was the second fluctuation: an opposing energy, less powerful but more pure, colliding with the Dragon's energy emanating from the city.
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In one of the Resistance's secret hideouts, beneath the rubble of an old factory, Tiflos sat with Noor, Elias, and Liam. They were planning a new strike against the Organization.
Suddenly,Tiflos's hand, which was holding a planning marker, froze. Cold sweat covered his forehead, and his Silver Eyes widened until the whites seemed to overwhelm the silver.
"What is this…" he whispered, his voice almost disappearing. "What is this thing…"
Noor reached her hand toward him. "Tiflos? What's wrong?"
Before he could reply, a reverse wave burst forth from Tiflos, and the others in the room began to feel it.
One of the guards fell to his knees,vomiting for no reason. Liam began to cry uncontrollably, as if his painful memories had returned all at once.
The air grew heavy,until breathing became a struggle.
"It's… a presence…" said Tiflos as he stood up, his body trembling like a leaf in the wind. "An entity… that doesn't belong to this world."
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In the government palace, stood a man in his fifties, tall, with sharp features as if carved from stone—Arcanus, the one-eyed Golden-Eyed president of the state of Akkad.
He was behind the heat-resistant glass,observing the scene with an eye holding a mixture of astonishment and terror.
When the Dragon entered the hall, the President did not utter a word of welcome, but said sternly:
"You are not invited here."
The Dragon showed no reaction. His dangerous eyes swept the hall, reading every face, weighing every soul.
Then he smiled—if one could call it that—at the corner of his lips,as if in challenge.
"I am not invited… I am sensed. And when evils stir, I arrive."
The President took a step forward, his Golden Eye glowing with suppressed anger. "What do you want from us?"
"I want nothing from you." replied the Dragon, his eyes turning toward the window facing the Organization's tower. "I am here because the balance is broken. Because someone is playing with a fire that should not be kindled."
Then he turned and left without asking for anything, without promising anything, leaving behind absolute terror in the hearts of those present.
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After his departure, the ministers gathered in the secret operations room, most of them with pale faces and trembling hands.
"What was that?"asked Cassander, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, his voice calm despite the panic.
"The Dragon… we thought he would be content with destroying Curio only. But we were wrong." said Arcanus.
"Is he with us? Or against us?" asked Zephus firmly, the Minister of Defense.
The President shook his head slowly."Not with anyone, and not against anyone. He sees himself as a natural force. Smarter, older, stronger… and searching for something."
"What does this mean for our war against the Organization?"
"The game has changed.The Organization and the Resistance… both have become pieces on a much larger chessboard."
And the rest of the ministers began discussing Arcanus in a panic.
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In the far north of the world, in the forest of Vinikia, the giant animals stood in the presence of a man in his late twenties on a high hill, his white hair flowing like a waterfall of timeless wisdom, and a giant crown upon his head, made of the large antlers of an elk. He was… reclining rather unceremoniously on the back of a great rhinoceros, its skin like armor of clouds embroidered with stars. But it was better described as him lounging haphazardly, rather than seated, clearly emanating profound boredom from his posture.
Yet the animals around him were silent,looking at him with submission, like those awaiting an order to carry out. The man stared toward the Central City, seeing the Dragon, Cain, and he saw Tiflos.
He whispered:"So, in the end, is this the boy who caused all this disturbance? It seems things have become rather interesting."
He pressed his legs against the sides of the rhinoceros and set off into the deep forest, toward the giant trees that touch the clouds.
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In the Central City, Tiflos stood, his body trembling, his mind trying to comprehend what had happened.
"I felt it…"he said to Noor, his voice faint. "I felt it like an endless wave."
Noor held his hand. "What does this mean, Tiflos?"
"I don't know…" he answered, his eyes gleaming with a new insight. "But I know something major is about to happen, and we are a part of it."
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In the Organization's tower, Cain was studying the data coming from the monitoring devices. His face was pale, and his eyes glowed with a new interest.
"The Dragon…did he discover my location? And that person… and Tiflos… It seems all the pieces are moving."
Then he looked at the screen showing Orion training,and smiled a smile full of hidden intentions:
"My game isn't over yet…it has only begun, and become far more thrilling."
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