Erend stepped out of the crimson portal and imdiately understood that Drakenre was suffering just as badly as Leonora.
The sky above the kingdom was scarred by multiple dark portals. Smoke rose from countless locations across the capital and beyond. Entire sections of the city burned. Magical explosions flashed between towers while distant screams and battle cries echoed through the air.
From his position high above the city, Erend could see defensive formations scattered throughout the kingdom. Knights fought desperately against waves of disturbing creatures and the mages unleashed spell after spell despite obvious exhaustion.
The situation was nearly identical to what Leonora had endured.
His expression darkened. There was no ti to waste.
Leonora had nearly collapsed before the Dragonborn intervened. If Drakenre and the other kingdoms continued fighting alone, countless more people would die before the Sky Anchor could be rewritten.
And there were still three other kingdoms beyond this one.
Erend imdiately reached out through the telepathic bond connecting the Dragonborn.
"Eccar. Aesa. Sylven."
The response ca almost instantly.
"What is it?" Eccar asked. while in the middle of battle, the sounds rumbled in the background around him.
Aesa’s voice followed. "Did sothing happen?"
Sylven sounded concerned. "Are you alright? What is it?"
Erend looked across the devastated city below him. "I’ve arrived in Drakenre."
Then Eccar imdiately understood. "It’s bad, isn’t it?"
"Just as bad as Leonora," Erend replied. "Maybe worse."
Aesa clicked her tongue. "Tch."
Erend continued. "As soon as you’re finished with Leonora, don’t return to the palace."
"Then where?" Sylven asked.
"Split up. Go directly to the other three kingdoms. Help them destroy the portals and stabilize their cities."
"Okay. Understood," Aesa replied imdiately.
Sylven nodded through the connection. "I’ll leave as soon as my area is secure."
"Yeah. I was already thinking the sa thing." Eccar answered last.
The connection faded.
Back in Leonora, Eccar stood amidst another ruined district while dozens of disturbing creatures surrounded him.
He slowly let out a long breath. The pressure of ti felt heavier than ever.
Leonora was only one kingdom of five. Five kingdoms stood between the world and disaster. And every mont they wasted allowed the Void Architect to spread further.
"We really don’t have ti for this," Eccar muttered.
The creatures charged at him. Golden and brown Dragon Magic erupted around him.
The ground exploded again and massive earth spikes burst from beneath the monsters and impaled entire groups instantly. More creatures rushed forward only to be crushed beneath collapsing stone walls and erupting pillars of earth.
Within seconds the battlefield fell silent.
Eccar imdiately turned toward the portal behind them.
He raised one hand. Hundreds of golden lights materialized around the gateway. Stone chains erupted from the earth and wrapped around the portal like before.
The dark gateway struggled for several monts before cracks spread across its surface. Then it shattered.nThe portal collapsed into itself and vanished.
Without stopping to admire the result, Eccar launched himself into the sky.
Golden-brown Dragon Magic exploded around his body as he rose high above Leonora.
His eyes swept across the capital, searching for any remaining portals.
The mont he located the next battlefield, he accelerated again.
There was no longer any room for delays when four kingdoms still needed saving.
The mont he finished speaking with the other Dragonborn, crimson fire Dragon Magic exploded around his body and he shot across the sky above the capital.
From above, the destruction appeared even worse.
Entire districts burned beneath black smoke. Defensive lines had collapsed in several locations. Countless disturbing creatures road through the streets while exhausted knights and mages desperately attempted to stop them.
Everywhere he looked, people were losing ground. Fear was spreading.
Erend’s expression hardened. Then he descended.
A group of Drakenre knights had been pushed against the remains of a wall while dozens of disturbing creatures closed in from every direction.
The defenders were exhausted and wounded. He saw one mage had already fallen unconscious.
A monstrous creature lunged forward.nThen a streak of crimson light crashed into the battlefield.
BOOM!
The street exploded. Fire and lightning erupted simultaneously and the charging creatures vanished instantly.
Several more creatures were torn apart by bolts of crimson lightning before they could even understand what had happened.
The defenders stared in shock.
"What was that?"
"Did soone cast that powerful spell?"
A second wave of creatures erged from a nearby street.
Erend moved. His body beca a blur.
One creature exploded beneath his punch. Another creature vanished beneath a torrent of Dragon Fire. Lightning jumped from target to target, reducing entire groups into ash within seconds.
The battlefield suddenly beca silent.
Only then did the defenders finally get a clear look at him.
A young knight’s eyes widened. "Wait..."
Another defender imdiately recognized the crimson scales visible across parts of Erend’s body and said, "It’s the Dragonborn."
The realization spread through the group almost instantly.
"The Dragonborn!"
Cheers erupted. Relief flooded the battlefield so quickly that several defenders nearly collapsed from it.
"We’re saved!"
"One of the Dragonborn ca here!"
"He ca to help us!"
Erend barely acknowledged the celebration. There was no ti. He simply looked toward the dark portal looming above the district.
Crimson Dragon Magic surged around him and the space around the portal distorted.
The creatures attempting to erge were imdiately crushed by overwhelming pressure.
The portal trembled violently. Cracks spread across its surface. Erend thrust his hand forward and the gateway shattered.
Dark energy imploded inward before disappearing completely.
The defenders erupted into cheers once more.
But Erend was already gone. A streak of crimson light shot toward another battlefield. Then another. And another.
Everywhere he appeared, creatures died, portals collapsed, and hope returned.
—
Far away from the kingdoms the Void Architect stirred.
Its colossal form floated within the impossible darkness where no laws of existence should have functioned.
Countless eyes opened across its body. Then several of them narrowed.
Sothing was wrong. The flow had changed. The fear, despair and hopelessness had changed.
It had consud those emotions from entire kingdoms. Every death and every mont of terror had strengthened it.
But now that stream was weakening. Not gone yet. But weakening.
Its attention shifted toward the five kingdoms. The creatures it had sent were being destroyed faster than he expected. The people it intended to break were beginning to recover hope.
The emotional energy feeding his growing power was diminishing.
His enormous body began wavering. Distortions rippled across his form. It was enough to irritate him.
Enough to anger him.
The countless eyes across its body opened wider. The surrounding darkness trembled.
An ocean of corrupted energy churned violently around the entity.
The Dragonborn were interfering with his design again.
The darkness around it twisted and writhed as though responding to his fury.
—
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