Adam doubled over, a sharp impact slamming into his stomach that sent him stumbling backward through a tangle of unfamiliar vegetation. His instincts screamedâattack!âand his body coiled to retaliate, scales already rippling across his skin.
"Adam! Adam, are you okay?!"
Ignisâs voice cut through the adrenaline, and Adam froze mid-strike. The "attack" was Ignis herself, wrapped around his torso like an overgrown lizard, her face buried against his chest. Her flames flickered erratically, more from emotion than combat readiness.
"Ignis?" Adamâs arms came up slowly, carefully, paturing her back. "Iâm fine. Iâm fine. Calm down."
Ignis squeezed tighter, her voice muffled against his clothes. "Adam... I thought... when that light hit us, I thought I lost you too..."
Adam let her cling, his own heart still pounding from the teleportation and the sudden impact. After a long moment, he gently pried her loose enough to look around.
They were in a forest. Dense, ancient, with trees so tall their canopies blotted out most of the sky. Sunlight filtered through in scattered golden shafts, illuminating undergrowth that looked nothing like the rocky terrain of the Ghostwind Gorge.
[Ellen (Lv. 54) and Westin (Lv. 57) defeated by party members]
[+658 EXP | +520 EP]
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Level: 69 - > 70]
[EXP: 20/620 -> 678/640]
[Skill Point Gained: +1]
[Total Skill Points: 10]
[Evolution Points: 4584 -> 5104]
Adam blinked at the notification. "Because there is no notification it seems Derekâs still alive." His jaw tightened. "That bastard..."
Ignis finally pulled back, her eyes red-rimmed but fierce. "Where are we? Is this the same forest? Can we go back?"
Adam shook his head slowly, his Hunterâs Tri-Sense pushing outwardâand finding nothing familiar. Just the rustle of leaves, the distant call of birds, the whisper of wind through alien trees.
"This isnât the same forest. Different ecosystem, different mana signature." He closed his eyes, reaching through the mental links he shared with his companions.
Silence.
He tried Lilithâs threadânothing. Ignisâs was there, humming with her presence beside him, but Lilithâs end of the connection was simply... gone. Beyond range. Severed by distance or some interference.
"I canât reach Lilith," Adam said quietly, opening his eyes. "Weâre outside her range. Way outside."
Ignisâs face crumpled for just a moment before she forced it back into determination. "Lilith... is she okay? She was fighting so many of them..."
Adam placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Lilithâs strong. Stronger than anyone gives her credit for. She can handle herself." His eyes darkened. "But Elise and Seraphina... theyâre not. And if that Lich is still watching, still waiting for an opportunity..." He didnât finish the thought. He didnât need to.
Ignisâs flames flickered brighter. "Then we have to go back! Right now! Iâll change and fly usâ"
"No need."
Ignis blinked. "Huh?"
Adamâs lips curved into a faint, determined smile. "I can fly too, remember?"
Ignis stared at him for a moment, then her face flushed. "Oh. Right. I forgot." She scuffed the ground with her foot, suddenly embarrassed.
Adamâs smile softened. "Itâs fine. Come on." He extended a hand toward her. "Weâre going to find a way back. And when we do, weâre going to rescue them. Together."
Ignis took his hand, her grip warm and steady. "Together."
Adamâs wings snapped openâa magnificent span of obsidian scales and shadowy membrane that caught the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy. Beside him, Ignisâs own wings unfurled, crimson and gold, blazing like living fire against the green of the ancient trees.
They shot upward, bursting through the canopy and into the open sky.
Adamâs breath caught.
Forest. Endless forest.
The treetops stretched in every direction like a green ocean, rolling hills of foliage that disappeared into the distant haze. No mountains. No canyons. No familiar landmarks. Just... trees.
"This is..." Adamâs voice trailed off. "Where are we? This isnât anywhere near the gorge."
Ignis hovered beside him, her flames flickering with confusion. "I donât recognize this place either. But..." She tilted her head, nostrils flaring. "I feel something familiar here."
Adam turned to her, brow furrowing. "Familiar how? Can youâ"
FWOOOM!
Something slammed into Adam from the side with the force of a falling meteor. He didnât see it comingâdidnât sense it, didnât register any threat until the moment of impact. His body folded around the strike, wings snapping shut involuntarily as he hurtled toward the ground like a comet.
CRASHâBOOMâCRUNCH!
Trees exploded as he tore through them, branch after branch, trunk after trunk, carving a swath of destruction through the ancient forest. He hit the ground hard enough to crater it, stone and soil erupting around him in a spray of debris.
"Ignisâ!" The name tore from his throat even as his body screamed in protest. His regeneration kicked in, knitting torn flesh and cracked scalesâbut slower than usual. Too slow. His energy reserves were dangerously low after the battle.
Above him, Ignis had barely begun to react when a second strike caught her. She twisted, flames flaring in a desperate defensive burst, but the force was overwhelming. She plummeted, crashing through the canopy and slamming into the earth not far from Adamâs crater.
Adam pushed himself up, shaking off debris, his crimson eyes scanning for the attacker. His body achedâevery nerve firing with pain that his depleted reserves couldnât fully suppress.
âWhat was that? Too fastâI couldnât track it at all. My regeneration is slow. Iâm running on empty.â
A flicker of movement. Adamâs instincts screamed. Mirage Cascadeâhe blurred into afterimages, scattering in three directions.
The attack still found him.
Somethingâa hand? a claw?âslammed into his ribs from an angle he hadnât anticipated, lifting him off his feet and hurling him sideways into a massive tree trunk. Wood exploded, and Adam crumpled at its base, gasping.
Through the haze of pain, he finally saw his attacker.
The figure stood in a shaft of golden sunlight, and everything about him screamed ancient power. Long white hair cascaded past his shoulders, framing a face that was both beautiful and terribleâageless, weathered by centuries, with features sharp as carved jade. Twin horns rose from his temples, curving back like a dragonâs crown, their surface polished to gleaming ebony. His eyes... his eyes were molten gold, slitted like a serpentâs, burning with an intelligence that had watched empires rise and fall.
Scales covered parts of his bodyâcrimson and deep, peeking from beneath robes that had once been magnificent but were now worn by time. His frame was tall, lean but corded with the kind of strength that came from millennia, not mere training. When he moved, the air itself seemed to bend around him, acknowledging something older than the forest itself.
Adamâs mind raced, even as his body screamed. âThis is bad. This is really bad.â
The ancient being advanced toward Adam, his golden eyes fixed on the fallen serpent with an expression that held no emotion at all. His hand raised, power already gatheringâ
"Ignis!â"
A blazing comet intercepted him.
Ignis slammed into the ancientâs side with all the force she could muster, her body wreathed in solar fire, her draconic features fully manifest. Flames erupted in a concentrated burst meant to incinerate anything in its path.
"Donât you TOUCH Adam!"
The ancient being didnât even look at her.
His hand snapped up, catching Ignisâs fiery fist with casual ease. The flames that should have burned through anything splashed against his palm like water against stone, dissipating harmlessly. His golden eyes finally moved, fixing on the young drake with an expression that might have been... curiosity?
"Cease your pointless resistance," the ancient said, his voice deep and resonant, carrying the weight of ages. "You cannot harm me."
He flicked his wrist.
Ignis went flying with the casual dismissal of someone swatting an insect. She tumbled through the air, crashing through several trees before finally coming to a halt against a massive trunk, her flames guttering.
"IGNIS!" Adamâs roar tore from his throat as he watched her fall. Something inside him snapped.
His aura erupted.
It wasnât controlled. It wasnât measured. It was pure, raw, desperate fury given formâthe same sovereign pressure that had made lesser beings flee, but now amplified by rage and fear and the absolute refusal to lose anyone else. The Crown of the Hollow Glutton blazed on his brow, its hunger momentarily sated but its presence unmistakable.
"You BASTARD!" Adamâs voice carried the weight of Progenitorâs wrath. "I donât know who you are, but youâre going to PAY for hurting her!"
He surged forward, every ounce of remaining power channeled into a single strikeâMonarchâs Pierce, aimed at the ancientâs heart.
The ancient being watched him come.
And for the first time, something shifted in those golden eyes. Not fear. Not concern. But... interest.
"Progenitorâs bloodline," he murmured, almost to himself. "How curious. And the girlâBlazeheart lineage, but tainted with something else." His head tilted, studying Adamâs approach with the detached fascination of a scholar examining a specimen. "What are you, I wonder?"
Adamâs fist drove toward his chest.
The ancient caught it.
He simply reached out and caught Adamâs fist in his palm, halting the strike cold. The impact that should have shattered mountains dissipated against his grip like a wave against a cliff.
Adamâs eyes went wide. His fist was trapped, immovable, held by fingers that felt like forged divine steel.
"Impressive, for one so young," the ancient observed. "But young you are. And tired. And far from home." His golden eyes bored into Adamâs crimson ones. "Tell me, hatchlingâhow did you come to be in my forest?"