Isolde stared at the massive dragon rampaging through the city, her pale eyes wide with disbelief. The ice spread with every beat of its wings, consuming buildings, streets, people, nothing was spared.
"Thatâs... thatâs impossible." Her voice was barely a whisper. "A human cannot become a full dragon."
Lilith appeared beside her, silver-threaded gown scorched, but her crimson eyes still sharp. Her gaze fixed on Croftâs transformed form.
"Itâs possible now." She gestured toward the destruction. "That young manâs light skill [The Harvest], it gathered enough energy to push the merchantâs borrowed power past its limits." Her lips curved into a thin, cold smile. "Or perhaps the dragonâs power within the oath was always there, waiting for enough fuel to awaken completely. The childâs light simply... provided it."
Ignis landed beside them, flames flickering, golden eyes fixed on the dragon. Her voice was tight.
"His aura... itâs a dragonâs aura. But different from mine. Itâs... colder. More distant. Like it doesnât fully belong to him." She shook her head. "Itâs mixed. Tainted."
The dragon raised its head. Frost gathered around its jaws, and a beam of pale blue light shot into the sky. The clouds darkened, thickened, and thenâ
Hail began to fall.
Ice crystals, sharp as daggers, rained down on the city. They pierced roofs, shattered windows, cut through flesh. The screams of the dying filled the air, rising above the howl of the wind.
Isolde raised her blood, forming a barrier above them. The hail struck the crimson shield and shattered, but the impact drove her to her knees.
"We need to retreat!" Her voice cracked with desperation. "Leave this city! Now!"
Lilith shook her head, her silver hair whipping in the frozen wind. "We still need the compass."
"The compass is broken! Itâs useless!"
"Perhaps." Lilithâs voice was calm, unmoved. "But I refuse to give up so easily."
Another volley of ice spears shot toward them.
Ignisâs flames erupted, meeting the projectiles mid-air. Steam exploded between them, obscuring the street, the buildings, the dragon itself.
"We canât keep arguing!" Ignisâs voice rang out, sharp and commanding. "Iâll confront the dragon! You find the compass!"
Before anyone could argue, her body began to shift. Flames rippled across her skin, scales replacing flesh, her form expanding until a true dragon stood before them. Her crimson scales gleamed in the fading light, her wings spreading wide.
Isolde stared at Ignisâs transformed form, then turned to Lilith.
"What about Adam?" Her voice was tight. "If he dies, the poison in my body willâ"
Lilithâs eyes met hers, calm and certain.
"Adam is still alive." Her gaze drifted toward the fallen wall where Adam had dragged himself. "I can feel his presence. Focus on the compass. It must be nearby."
Isoldeâs jaw tightened. Her internal voice was a frantic whisper.
âHeâs alive. For now. But if the cold spreads further...â
She pushed the thought aside and turned toward the remains of the building.
"Fine. But make it quick," Isolde said, her pale eyes already scanning the debris.
Lilithâs lips curved into a thin smile. "Patience, vampire. The compass will not simply present itself. We must dig."
She raised her hand, and threads shot from her fingersâsilver strands that burrowed into the rubble, lifting stones, shifting debris. Isoldeâs blood answered her call, rising from the fallen soldiers, forming tendrils that helped clear the wreckage.
Above them, Ignisâs roar echoed across the city.
Ignis launched herself at the ice dragon without hesitation, her flames blazing brighter than ever before. The heat rolling off her body melted the frost coating the cobblestones, turning ice to water, water to steam. She opened her jaws wide and unleashed a torrent of solar fire directly at Croftâs transformed face.
"BURN!"
The flames struck the ice dragonâs snout, and for a moment, the frost covering his scales hissed and cracked. Croft recoiled, shaking his massive head, but the damage was superficialâice reformed almost instantly, crawling back across his hide like living armor.
"Annoying insect," Croftâs voice rumbled, distorted by his draconic form. His jaws parted, and a blast of frozen wind exploded from his throat, catching Ignis mid-flight.
The cold slammed into her chest, and she gasped as ice crystallized across her scales. Her flames flickered, struggling against the sudden temperature drop. She beat her wings, trying to retreat, but the frost was spreading, weighing her down.
"Is that all youâve got?" Ignis snarled, forcing fire back into her veins. Her flames surged, melting the ice, and she opened her mouth to counterattack.
[Solar Flare].
A beam of concentrated light and heat shot toward Croftâs chest.
Croft didnât dodge. He raised a clawed hand, and a wall of ice materialized before him, absorbing the blast. Steam exploded between them, obscuring the battlefield.
Ignis pressed forward, flames wreathing her body. She slammed into the ice wall, shattering it, and drove her claws into Croftâs shoulder. The ice dragon roared, twisting, trying to shake her off.
[Dragonâs Will: Solar Claw].
Her claws blazed with solar fire, digging deeper into his flesh. Croftâs scales cracked. Blackened blood seeped from the wounds.
"Persistent," Croft growled. His tail whipped around, slamming into Ignisâs side.
She flew backward, crashing through a building, her body tumbling across the rubble. She pushed herself up, shaking debris from her wings, but her flames were dimmer now. Her chest heaved.
âHeâs too strong. My energy is running out.â
Croft didnât give her time to recover. His jaws opened, and a beam of pale blue light shot toward herâ[Absolute Zero Cannon].
Ignisâs eyes widened. She tried to dodge, but her body was too slow. The beam struck her shoulder, and ice exploded across her form, freezing her wing, her arm, her chest.
She fell.
Before she could hit the ground, Croftâs tail swept toward her again, a killing blow aimed at her skull.
Ignis closed her eyes.
CLANG.
Ignisâs eyes snapped open. A massive serpentine body had interposed itself between her and Croftâs tail. Scales, black as midnight streaked with veins of silver, gleamed in the fading light. The tail struck the serpentâs flank, and the dragonâs momentum halted, the force of the blow absorbed by scales that had weathered worse.
The serpent turned its massive head.
Crimson eyes, flecked with gold, met Ignisâs gaze. A low rumble emanated from its chest.
Ignisâs breath caught. "Adam..."
The Ouroboros Progenitor reared back, his serpentine form coiling with power. His wings, tattered and torn from the earlier battle, spread wide. His jaws opened, and from his throat, a roar emerged.
"ROOOOOAAARRR!"
The sound shook the city. The buildings that still stood trembled. The ice that coated the streets cracked. Croftâs massive form stumbled back, his pale reptilian eyes widening.
Adamâs transformation was not yet completeâhis left arm, vaporized by Caelumâs blast, was still a stump of half-formed flesh. His scales were cracked, blackened, still healing. But his wings, though torn, held him aloft. And his eyes, burning with hunger, fixed on the ice dragon with absolute, unwavering focus.
Croftâs voice emerged as a growl, edged with disbelief.
"You should be dead."
Adamâs mental voice brushed against the ice dragonâs mind, cold and sharp.
âSo should you.â