Ethan frowned.
The man in the sky drifted down slowly.
Nothing supported him.
Thunder held him up—
like the sky was where he belonged.
"His na is Caelion," Thalorien said. "A friend of mine."
"And his personality... he’s actually pretty gentle."
Ethan didn’t answer right away.
But he did rein in so of his power, little by little.
At the sa ti, the entire Thalaryn tribe was boiling over.
Cheers echoed through the sea.
The way they looked at Ethan wasn’t just respect anymore.
It was awe.
Even—worship.
What he’d just done...
had saved their civilization.
And then, without warning, the air went tight again.
Caelion had landed in front of Ethan.
Only nine feet away.
Too close.
Close enough that Ethan could see the blue gemstone hanging at Caelion’s throat.
Inside it, lightning rotated slowly—
like a miniature storm core.
Then—
Caelion lifted a hand.
No warning at all.
BOOM!
Thunder spread in an instant, forming a sealed energy domain that wrapped around Ethan completely.
Ethan’s pupils contracted.
His body reacted on instinct.
Power started cycling inside him.
But Caelion didn’t attack.
He just stared at Ethan.
Those eyes were cold and focused—
like he was feeling sothing.
A few seconds later, he spoke.
His voice was low.
No anger.
Only certainty.
"The power inside you..."
He paused.
"Part of it cos from the Infernal Abyss."
The sea seed to freeze.
Every Thalaryn around them fell silent.
Even Thalorien’s face changed.
Caelion went on, "That’s power that isn’t allowed to exist here."
His voice stayed calm—
but the lightning was starting to destabilize.
"You need to leave."
No threatening tone.
No room for negotiation.
Ethan froze for a beat.
Then his eyes shifted.
He turned his head slowly toward Thalorien, the look practically asking:
This is your idea of ’gentle’?
Thalorien’s mouth opened.
No words ca out.
Because he knew it.
Caelion didn’t make judgnts lightly.
But once he did—
he didn’t change them.
Ethan looked back at Caelion.
His breathing steadied.
Then he took one step back.
Not retreating.
Just—resetting the distance.
The newly fused power inside him began to spin.
The air vibrated again.
A compressed sphere of energy ford slowly in his palm.
Caelion’s expression shifted slightly.
Lightning gathered around his body.
Thalorien’s heart dropped.
"No—"
Too late.
BOOM!
Both forces erupted at the sa ti!
Ethan shot toward the sky.
Caelion rose to et him.
They collided midair—
energy and thunder slamming together head-on!
The shockwave blasted outward!
Seawater was shoved back by brute force!
Far-off buildings began to shake!
"You don’t get to decide whether I stay or go!" Ethan’s voice rang through the energy storm.
Caelion didn’t respond.
He only lifted his hand.
More lightning poured out of the gemstone.
The fight—
truly erupted.
Infernal Primordial Power and thunder crashed into each other like rabid tides. Every impact made the entire Thalaryn world shudder.
The clansn retreated in panic.
They couldn’t get close.
Couldn’t stop it.
Because this was no longer a battle they could participate in.
This was—
a war belonging to higher-tier existences.
And their civilization—
was caught on the edge of it, teetering.
"Both of you—STOP!"
For the first ti, Thalorien’s voice carried real authority.
He shot up into the sky.
His robe snapped and whipped inside the energy storm.
His hands ca together fast.
A snow-white bead of energy condensed in his palms.
It wasn’t large.
But it radiated an unnervingly stable light.
No violence.
No chaos.
Only absolute order.
He didn’t hesitate.
He threw it straight between them.
The next second—
THUD!!!
Not an explosion.
A suppression.
A ring-shaped shockwave expanded outward instantly.
Thunder and Infernal Primordial Power were forced apart at the sa ti—
like two beasts locked in a death-bite, ripped away from each other by sothing higher.
Ethan was driven back dozens of feet.
The lightning around Caelion stuttered in brief disarray.
For the first ti—
the sea-region went quiet.
Thalorien hovered between them.
His expression had never been this severe.
"What do you think you’re doing?"
His voice wasn’t loud.
But it carried an unmistakable will that didn’t allow disobedience.
"Our enemy is Nexaris."
He paused.
Far off, the Thalaryn bowed their heads as one.
"Nexaris and their chanoid legions are closing in, day by day."
"And you two—"
His gaze swept across them.
"—are here destroying each other."
Ethan let out a cold snort.
He didn’t put his power away.
He just kept it within a controllable range.
"I didn’t start it."
His eyes locked onto Caelion.
"He tried to drive out first."
The air tightened again.
Caelion didn’t deny it.
He only raised a hand.
Lightning gathered in his palm once more.
But this ti—
its color changed.
Not blue anymore.
Gold.
Pure gold.
That wasn’t ordinary thunder.
It was a higher-tier form of energy.
In the distance, the Thalaryn wore expressions of reverence.
Ethan’s pupils tightened.
He’d seen power like this before.
At Erald Castle, when Queen Seraphine unleashed light-aspected thunder.
That kind of force—
belonged only to the true top-tier beings.
He can use thunder like that too...
A flicker of shock passed through Ethan.
For a heartbeat, a thought surfaced on instinct.
If this man stood on Erald Castle’s side...
their overall strength would jump enormously.
But the thought died just as quickly.
Ethan already understood it.
Caelion wasn’t the kind of existence that would submit to anyone.
He was a guardian.
Not a soldier.
And then—
the atmosphere changed again.
Not from an energy blast.
From pressure.
A pressure that felt older.
The crowd in the distance parted automatically.
No orders.
No shouting.
Just instinct.
As if they were making room for sothing higher to pass.
Ethan’s attention snapped over.
He turned.
And saw the figure.
A being with a dragon’s head and a man’s body.
His fra was old—
but his existence itself felt more stable than anyone else’s.
His scales were dark silver, like they’d been washed by countless ages.
His eyes swept across the battlefield.
He didn’t release any power—
yet the entire space fell quiet.
The lightning around Caelion weakened on its own.
The power inside Ethan slowed as well, instinctively.
It wasn’t suppression.
It was—
the natural effect of a higher-level existence simply being present.
Every Thalaryn bowed their heads.
No exceptions.
Even Thalorien dipped into a respectful salute.
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