Chapter 495: Temporalis
Strax remained silent for a few monts, observing the corrupted sky, the ruined streets, the empty eyes of the children. Sothing was growing inside him. It wasn’t just anger. It was a certainty—a fla igniting in the depths of his being, ancient and inevitable.
He closed his eyes.
He felt the pulse of the world. The imbalance in the magical lines. The open wounds not only in the people, but in the very essence of the city.
Then he spoke, to himself, in a whisper laden with decision:
“Enough.”
Cristine and Yennifer turned when they heard him. But there was no longer any human expression on his face—only absolute focus.
“Stay behind ,” he ordered, his voice as firm as living stone.
Cristine’s eyes widened. “Strax, what are you going to—?”
But he had already begun.
The ground shook.
The air beca heavy as liquid lead.
A golden circle expanded beneath their feet, growing at absurd speed until it enveloped the entire block. The runes of the Dragon’s Word began to burn around them, appearing in the air, on the ground, in the skies. A silent symphony of ancient power resonated between the worlds.
And then… Strax leaped.
It was a single movent—powerful, violent, elegant as the blossoming of a star.
He rose into the skies like a reverse lightning bolt, crossing the floors of the destroyed buildings, piercing the black clouds with his own body. And up there, above everything, his form began to change.
Ancient runes burned around him in golden spirals. Bones expanded, scales appeared, skin glowed like living tal. In seconds, the warrior ceased to exist—and in his place, a colossal dragon spread its wings before the world.
A dragon completely black.
Not just a mythological being — but a living entity of primal power. The size of Eldoria itself. Its wings could cover entire neighborhoods with a single flap. Its eyes — golden lights like suns in the darkness — looked with compassion… and judgnt.
The city panicked.
Screams. Running. Guards wielded weapons, towers fired magic arrows, mages began defensive spells. Everyone thought the sa thing:
“Another enemy. A new attack.”
Yennifer, however, stood still.
Cristine kept her gaze on that form she didn’t like to see, after all, it was as if he was suffering from that power.
“He shouldn’t be using that form,” she said, with a lump in her throat.
“Let’s see if I can do this…” Strax hovered above the clouds now, his resplendent aura growing until it beca visible even to the non-sensitives. Living magic danced in the air like fire and dawn. And then he opened his mouth, and the entire city shook.
“TEMPORALIS.”
The word ca out like crystal-clear thunder, pure and absolute. But it wasn’t sound. It was raw power, pouring down from the sky.
The dragon’s aura exploded in a wave of golden light that descended like a reverse storm. It engulfed the entire city of Eldoria in a matter of seconds. Streets, buildings, people, plants, spirits — everything was touched by that impossible light.
And then… it began.
The destroyed buildings began to be rebuilt, stone by stone, wood by wood. The broken windows returned to their fras. The bridges were restored. The walls returned to their place.
The decapitated statues raised their heads again. The libraries once again contained entire books, the taverns once again smiled in their living architecture. Even the burnt grass sprouted again, green and full of dew.
More than that—people began to heal.
Wounds disappeared. Blood evaporated like mist. Bones realigned. Even the scars of the soul began to fade, softened by a peace that ca not only from healing, but from restored hope.
An old woman who hadn’t walked in years sat down, confused. A boy with severe burns began to laugh, as if he had never felt pain. The woman with the amulet looked at her own hands, not understanding why she was no longer thirsty. The boy with the broken sword — now whole — raised it with a gleam in his eyes.
Everyone stopped running. Silence. The entire city was suspended in a second that seed to last an eternity.
The golden light remained for a few monts, then began to recede. Gently. Naturally.
And then… like a reverse lightning bolt, Strax plumted from the sky.
The draconic form dissolved in the air, with thousands of shiny scales falling like petals. He fell like a cot, but slowed down at the last mont, landing in the center of the restored city with the lightness of a feather.
On his knees.
Breathing heavily.
His clothes were burned in places. His body was sweaty and trembling. But alive.
Cristine ran to him.
“STRAX!”
He didn’t respond imdiately. He just leaned on his arms, panting, his eyes still burning gold, but returning to normal. Blood dripped from his nose. A small crack in his aura still glowed on his shoulder.
Yennifer arrived shortly after, kneeling beside him.
“Idiot… You almost broke yourself into a thousand pieces,” she said, trying to hold back her tears.
“Maybe,” he muttered. “But it was worth the test… now I know how strong I am.”
People began to approach. Slowly. So knelt. Others just stared. A boy ran up to Strax, the sa one with the sword, and hugged his arm without saying a word.
“They… they’ll survive,” whispered Cristine, her voice breaking.
Strax raised his eyes to the sky, now clear. The red was gone. The gray was gone. Only soft clouds and the glow of the golden sunset remained. As if ti had been reset.
But he knew.
It had co at a cost.
“Using dragon runes on a city scale…” he muttered. “It was like touching the heart of the world with a blade. I hope it doesn’t cause us any problems…”
…
[Unknown Location]
“Hmm?” A dragonoid with long blue hair narrowed her eyes at the vast holographic screen hovering before her. The lines of the star map pulsed softly in shades of blue, but it was a specific point, shining with unusual intensity, that caught her attention.
“Isn’t that the sector where… Dante went to pay a ‘visit’?” she muttered, frowning.
“Xyphon!” she called suddenly, firmly.
In response, a woman hurried across the elevated platform of the command center and bowed before her. Her orange hair flew forward with the sudden movent, montarily obscuring her vision.
“Y-Yes, General Zhatana!” she said with a trembling voice, remaining bowed.
“Who is assigned to that sector?” Zhatana asked, crossing her arms. Her expression was serious, but laden with growing curiosity. The highlighted area was well known to Xyphon, one of the restricted access sectors.
“One mont…” Xyphon replied, typing quickly on the floating panel. With two precise taps, she enlarged the highlighted region. “Sector classified under passive surveillance. Entity present: Strax Vorah, also known as Antares. Threat class: Class A Demonic Dragon. Identification code: 0920000.”
Zhatana raised an eyebrow. “Class A? And they left him there alone?”
Xyphon hesitated. “There is… a note recorded in the file.”
“Note?” Zhatana repeated, with more emphasis.
“Yes, ma’am. A special note… recorded personally by Dante Scarlet.”
The dragonoid leaned forward slightly, interested.
“Open it.”
Xyphon swallowed hard, clicking on the note. A holographic ssage appeared in the air, written in an unmistakably casual tone—and unmistakably his:
“Hello, dear administrators.
This is your beloved Emperor, Dante Scarlet.
Please: do not touch this sector until the boy reaches adulthood. That should take… about two thousand years. Easy, right? Until then, please do not interfere.
In fact, take the opportunity to work better, because, honestly, even my daughters have been doing better than you. And they don’t even get a salary!
I recomnd that, instead of poking around here, you take care of the areas that really need supervision. Like the ones where Angra Mainyu is devouring everything, rember? That’s what’s urgent.
Thanks for nothing.
— Signed: Dante Scarlet, Demon Dragon Emperor.
P.S.: You’re welco.”
Zhatana was silent for a mont. Her gaze fixed on the hologram, which now displayed the Emperor’s vibrant signature.
“…Of course. It had to be him.”
Xyphon, still bowed, whispered cautiously, “Should we… notify the High Council?”
Zhatana sighed, crossing her arms more tightly. “Notify? No. What are we going to say? ‘The Emperor made a joke and isolated an entire sector so that a demon dragon could grow in peace’? They would laugh… or die of fear. Maybe both.”
Xyphon looked up through her hair. “But what if… he awakens earlier than expected?”
Zhatana looked again at the bright spot on the map. The aura emanating from that sector seed… alive. Sothing was changing there. Sothing ancient.
“If he awakened…” said Zhatana, in a low, almost reverent tone, “Well, fuck it, right? Dante said not to interfere, so we don’t interfere.”
“Is that really okay?” Xyphon asked,
“You can go interfere if you want, I don’t want to deal with Dante again!”
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