"This place... it’s actually where I was born, too."
Thandor lifted his head, slowly scanning the surroundings. Deep in his eyes, a flicker of old mories stirred—distant, but unmistakably vivid.
"Back then, there was nothing here. Just endless desert. And ? I was nothing more than a forgotten dragon egg, buried beneath the sands, completely unremarkable..."
"Until one day, my master stumbled upon by chance. And that’s when he brought into the world."
As Thandor spoke, Ethan blinked, caught off guard. For a split second, he thought he saw sothing shift in Thandor’s eyes—like a spark of life, a glimr of emotion breaking through the stillness. But maybe it was just his imagination. Even he couldn’t be sure.
"And then?" Seraphina suddenly asked, her voice soft but insistent. "If that’s how it started, you two must’ve been really close, right?"
She couldn’t help but see herself in his story.
She thought of her own bond with Ethan—how he’d found her when she was still in her egg, how he’d raised her, protected her. Now, they were inseparable. Like family.
But if Thandor’s story was the sa...
Then why the betrayal?
She just couldn’t wrap her head around it.
"You’re right. At first, we were incredibly close. Like family," Thandor said with a slow nod, his expression complicated, voice low. "Even now, I still think of him as the only family I have in this world. I would’ve given my life for him..."
"Then why—?" Seraphina’s confusion only deepened, her brows furrowed.
"Seraphina, let’s just listen for now. Let Thandor speak," Cicero cut in before Thandor could answer.
Unlike Seraphina, Cicero understood. Thandor wasn’t looking for answers—he just needed soone to listen. And sotis, that’s all you had to do. No questions. No interruptions.
"...Fine," Seraphina muttered, pouting slightly, but she didn’t argue.
Ethan, too, stayed silent. He just listened, quietly, not saying a word.
Thandor continued, his voice softer now, almost nostalgic. "I rember when he first hatched ... we were both overjoyed. We cherished each other. We leaned on each other. He took , newly born, and left this place, searching for sowhere we could call ho..."
"But after wandering for a while, we ended up coming back here. Back to the place where we first t. It ant sothing to us. It felt right to build our future here. To grow stronger together."
"From that mont on, we fought side by side. We built everything together. We grew stronger, together. We were inseparable."
"This place, once just a sea of sand, began to change. Mountains rose. Forests flourished. Towering trees spread across the land. Everything seed to be moving in the right direction."
"Even the na—Sylvanwood—that was his idea. He nad it himself. He wanted to be like the elves of AvLee. He wanted to be one with the forest, to feel the beauty of nature like they did."
"But then... we hit a wall."
"And that’s when the real trouble started—AvLee."
"AvLee?"
Ethan blinked, his eyes narrowing slightly as the na stirred sothing in his mory.
"Yeah..." Thandor nodded slowly, his gaze distant, voice low and heavy. "AvLee is the na of the Forest faction’s main kingdom in the world of Ashan. Think of it like the Divine Angel Empire for the Castle faction, or the Seven Cities Alliance for the Tower mages. It’s a powerhouse—imnse strength, ancient roots, and terrifying influence."
"But because we expanded too fast... and got too confident, we ended up pushing into their territory. That’s when they noticed us. I still rember the envoy they sent—so arrogant elf, representing AvLee’s ruling council. He gave us two choices."
"Submit... or go to war."
Thandor’s voice dropped, a bitter edge creeping in.
"I was furious. I an, really furious. I wanted to fight them, to show them we weren’t afraid. I was ready to go to war with AvLee, no matter the cost. But my master... he stopped . He made the call."
"He chose to submit. To join them. To beco part of AvLee."
...
"I didn’t take it well at the ti. I thought it was cowardice. But looking back now... it wasn’t a bad decision. In fact, it might’ve been the best thing that ever happened to us."
"With AvLee’s backing—under the Forest faction’s protection—we grew stronger than ever. Our power exploded. We even founded a kingdom of our own... Aeloris."
He hadn’t even finished the sentence when Cicero’s expression shifted sharply, his eyes widening in shock.
"Aeloris?" he repeated, stunned.
"What is it, Cicero?" Ethan asked, turning to him.
"Master... Aeloris was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the entire history of the Sacred Continent," Cicero said, his voice low and tense. "Its strength was at least ten tis that of the Holy Griffon Empire at its peak. They had over five Crimson-ranked Ultimate heroes—at least! And as for Legendary-ranked heroes... they had so many, no one could even keep count."
"But what’s even more insane is... Aeloris existed nearly three hundred thousand years ago."
"Three hundred thousand years?!" Ethan reeled, his whole body tensing as the weight of that number hit him like a hamr. His eyes locked onto Thandor, disbelief and awe battling in his expression.
...
But Thandor didn’t react at all to Cicero and Ethan’s shock.
It was like he hadn’t even heard them. His expression remained calm, detached, as he continued speaking, voice steady and distant.
"The founding of Aeloris went smoothly. Its rise was just as fast. In almost no ti, it beca one of the most powerful nations on the Sacred Continent—second only to the core kingdoms ruled directly by the major factions."
"Over the long years that followed, my old friends, and my master as well, all rose through the ranks. They beca King-tier powerhouses within the Forest faction—so even part of the inner circle. To put it plainly, we’d climbed all the way to the top."
"But that’s when the problems started."
Thandor’s face darkened, and a shadow crept into his eyes.
"Reaching the top... it leaves you with a strange kind of emptiness."
"Because unless we could evolve into Tier 14 Mythic Units—true Hero Units—there was nowhere else to go. No higher peak to climb. And becoming a Tier 14 Mythic Unit... that’s damn near impossible."
"In the world of Glory Lords X, Mythic Units are the Creator’s chosen. The absolute favorites of the gods."
"They’re born with everything—status, power, potential, talent. All of it."
"In fact, the title of Overlord, the highest rank in any faction, was practically made for them."
"And that’s the thing. The door to that level isn’t completely shut... but trying to reach it through evolution? Through sheer effort? The odds are so low, it might as well be impossible."
"So when the path forward is blocked, and you’ve already reached the peak of power and influence... what’s left? What do you do when there’s nothing more to chase?"
"Most people would call that fulfillnt. But for us... it was just confusion. Emptiness."
"And that’s exactly what happened. We hit a wall. A long, painful period of aimlessness. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves anymore."
Thandor paused, his voice dropping lower, more bitter.
"Until one day... my master discovered a new desire."
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