Ti... stood still.
Not in taphor. Not in awe.
It truly halted—caught in the breathless space between now and never—as the dragon’s maw, mid-roar, froze in midair. Its attack, a devastating spiral of death, halted inches from consuming all in its path.
And above them... it descended.
A giant, translucent creature—neither bird nor fish, yet sohow both—floated with divine grace in the storm-ripped sky. Vast ethereal wings shimred with golden runes, each one ancient as stars, unfolding with celestial elegance. Its limbless body, tinged with hues of oceanic blue and faint violet, pulsed like the mory of a forgotten dream. The clouds parted for it, as if the world itself dared not block its path.
Murmurs of awe rippled through the battlefield.
"What is that...?"
"Is that...a spirit?"
"No, it’s sothing else... sothing beyond..."
Even the priests and war generals, hardened by countless battles, were silenced. Their gazes locked on the beast and the lone boy standing beside it—purple-haired, eyes like dusk before a storm, twin sabers glowing faintly at his side.
Luca.
He didn’t look at them. He looked only at her.
"Aurelia," he whispered. She was standing there, trembling, blood-soaked, her eyes dazed and vacant.
"KUNPENG," Luca said, his voice urgent, "take to her."
The great beast turned its massive head slightly, its voice echoing inside Luca’s mind like the whispers of a sea beyond ti.
"Hurry. I can’t hold the dragon long. This is my limit."
Without hesitation, Luca leapt toward Aurelia. The beast moved with him, gliding smoothly through the suspended mont. He landed beside her, gently pulling her into his arms, her Kirin whimpering softly beside her.
"I’ve got you," he said softly. "It’s okay now."
And just as he leapt away with her—
Ti resud.
The dragon’s attack ripped into the space where Aurelia had been, the ground exploding into dust and chaos. But no one was hard. Luca and Aurelia were safe.
The Dragon snarled.
Its gaze turned skyward—to Kunpeng. Its golden eyes filled with ancient fury. It lunged.
The beast weaved upward, avoiding the blow, its wing brushing against reality itself as ti warped for a heartbeat.
The others, who had been frozen by the spectacle, finally stirred.
"Attack! Attack now!" soone shouted.
Spells began to fly. Swords were raised once more. The battle resud.
Luca’s heart thundered as he held Aurelia for a mont longer, then carefully laid her down near the healers.
What now?
What could he do?
He looked toward Kunpeng, still struggling against the dragon’s relentless wrath.
"Can you beat him?" Luca asked aloud.
"Are you an idiot?" Kunpeng’s voice rumbled inside his mind again. "I’m still a baby. That dragon—’Grandpa’—he’s more than 7000 years old!"
"What?! Then how can we defeat him ?"
"Didn’t you see it in the vision?! Grandpa Dragon’s soul has an injury. One that can’t be healed. That’s his weakness. Even a basic soul attack could make him scream!"
Luca’s eyes widened. "That’s it... I forgot! That’s the key—"
He asked the kunpeng as he moved ,"But how do you what I saw in vision, is it because you are a Ti beast as well."
Kunpeng giggled like a child beside Luca as it said"Hmm, you are not that much of an idiot, there is more to it, but I don’t think we have ti for it now."
Luca jumped to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"ATTACK ITS SOUL! If anyone can attack the soul—DO IT!!"
But in the clamor of battle, his voice was lost.
He spotted the Knight Commander—a scarred war veteran—locked in brutal combat with the beast near its right flank. Without wasting a second, Luca raced forward, calling out over the chaos. As he ran, Kunpeng shrank, per Luca’s wish, making itself small enough to avoid drawing too much attention as it hovered above him in a wispy form.
He reached the commander’s side.
"Sir! Please! If there’s anyone who can attack its soul—we can bring it down!"
The Knight Commander grunted, still swinging his blade, not sparing Luca a glance.
"Is this another whim, boy? You know what I’ve already lost!"
"I know," Luca shouted, slashing alongside him with his sabers. "But just once—please, trust . If you just try—if you attack its soul just once—"
The commander’s brows furrowed. For a mont, he hesitated... and then, with a guttural roar, he raised his sword.
"Soul Crusher!!"
The blade glead with a ghostly light as it sliced through the air—and struck true.
The dragon reeled.
A scream unlike any it had ever let out before erupted across the sky. It wasn’t physical. It was deep—a scream from its soul.
The Knight Commander’s eyes lit up.
"...It worked," he whispered. "It worked!"
Hope, long buried, surged anew in his chest.
The Knight Commander’s eyes lit up with sudden realization as he roared—louder than even Luca—
"Anyone who can target the soul, attack the dragon’s soul!"
For a mont, the battlefield quieted. Then, like a ripple of new hope, soul-based attacks surged forward. The dragon writhed in visible agony, its ethereal form shuddering, but its rage only grew more feral. It thrashed with desperation, and the number of injured soared. Even the mages who had been preparing for a massive arcane strike changed tactics, now focusing all they had on the beast’s soul.
Luca, watching the chaos unfold, backed away slightly and glanced at Kunpeng.
"Why isn’t it dying?" he asked.
Kunpeng floated silently beside him, its great celestial wings casting glimrs of gold and blue across the battlefield.
"Hmm..." it mused,
"Well, it’s still a dragon that has lived for thousands of years. And those capable of striking the soul? Too few. Frankly... you’re all too weak. We need sothing stronger. A real finishing blow. A soul technique, sothing powerful."
Luca frowned, his hand instinctively tightening around his sabers.
"I would’ve used Moonslayer. It’s insanely powerful... but it’s not a soul technique. Worse, it could shatter my mana circuit if I push it."
Kunpeng tilted its massive head with a glint of amusent in its shimring eyes.
"Tell about this Moonslayer."
Luca quickly explained the technique, its structure, its usage, everything as he knew from the ancient texts.
Kunpeng let out a soft laugh—deep, reverberating, almost playful.
"Idiot. The moon is tied to the Po soul—the soul of the body. Moonslayeris a soul attack. What you used before was just... brute force. Crude."
Luca blinked.
"But I followed the technique exactly how it was written in the book."
Kunpeng laughed again.
"And you think books are always right?"
Then, with a playful grin, it added,
"Let guide you. Do it my way, and I’ll freeze your mana circuit in ti. It won’t break this ti."
Luca’s eyes widened.
"Seriously?! You can do that?"
Kunpeng nodded proudly.
"Of course I can. I am Kunpeng. Though... after today, I might not be able to use that power again for a while. I’m still young, after all."
Luca gave a soft, grateful nod.
"I understand. Thank you."
But Kunpeng frowned slightly.
"Even so, how do we get close enough? Its next attack could wipe us out before we land the blow."
A confident smile tugged at Luca’s lips.
"Leave that to ."
He called out to Eric, who rushed to his side. Luca whispered sothing in his ear.
Eric grinned wide.
"Consider it done."
Luca turned to Kunpeng.
"Let’s go."
As Luca stepped before the dragon, the battlefield held its breath.
The demonic beast, mid-rampage just seconds ago, froze at the sight of him. Its massive eyes widened, and to everyone’s shock, tears welled up.
Everyone else stopped attacking as they watched the scene with surprise in their eyes.
A low, mournful voice echoed from the dragon’s mouth—
"Raymond..."
Luca’s expression softened.
"Why are you doing this, Veynar?" he asked gently.
The dragon blinked in confusion, its gaze sweeping over the battlefield drenched in blood and destruction.
"I... I did this?" Veynar stamred.
"I don’t know why... Why did I do this?"
Its voice cracked with sorrow as tears began falling freely.
"I’m sorry... please, forgive ..."
A deep ache tugged at Luca’s heart. He had seen the bond between Raymond and Veynar through echoes of the past. As a single tear unknowingly slipped down his cheek, even he was surprised by the raw emotion he felt.
"Please... kill , Raymond," Veynar pleaded, his voice trembling.
"Please... end this... before I lose myself again."
Madness began to creep back into his eyes.
Kunpeng’s voice urged urgently,
"Strike now, before it’s too late!"
Luca’s hands trembled as they gripped the hilt of his saber.
"Am I doing the right thing...?" he whispered.
Kunpeng replied softly,
"Right now, the right thing is to free Grandpa Dragon from his pain."
Luca nodded, steadying himself.
"I’m ready."
Guided by Kunpeng’s will, Luca stepped forward, wind howling around him as if the world itself held its breath. He raised his twin sabers—gleaming with a divine shimr—and crossed them slowly before his chest.
"Now," Kunpeng whispered.
And Luca moved.
The sabers glowed with ethereal light, silver and azure intertwining like threads of destiny. Then—with a roar that split the heavens—he unleashed the technique.
A blinding, celestial arc of energy surged forth in the shape of a radiant cross, the very fabric of ti trembling as the technique tore through the battlefield.
SOULSLAYER.
It wasn’t just a strike—it was judgnt.
The divine slash pierced through Veynar’s soul directly. The demonic dragon howled, a cry so thunderous and ancient it echoed across the mountains and skies. His massive body trembled, then crashed to the earth with a shudder that silenced the world.
Cheers erupted in the battlefield as the dragon finally collapsed.
Luca rushed to his side. "I’m sorry... I’m truly sorry, Veynar."
The dragon’s eyes, now dim and flickering, looked into Luca’s. His voice ca not as a thunderous growl anymore, but a frail whisper carried on shallow breaths.
"Get up... child... I knew... you weren’t Raymond... the mont I saw you..."
Luca’s eyes widened. "T-Then why did you...?"
A pained breath escaped the dragon’s lungs, slow and wheezing. "I was... controlled by the blood crystal... but... that doesn’t erase what I’ve done... all this blood... this ruin..."
Tears stread down from his massive eyes as he coughed, blood trickling from his fanged mouth.
Kunpeng appeared beside Luca, the cursed blood crystal floating in its grasp. "What should I do with this?"
Luca clenched his jaw, his rage boiling over. With a burst of silver light, he slashed the crystal into pieces, shattering it mid-air.
Veynar gave a faint, almost relieved smile. "It’s been... so long since Raymond left. I don’t know... how you know him... and the kunpeng beside you... proves you are a good person."
He shifted slightly, revealing sothing nestled under. A large, black-golden egg, warm and humming with ancient power.
"Take it..." Veynar whispered, each word slower, heavier. "My... egg. Guard it... let no one else... take it. Please... protect it... in my stead."
Luca gently received the egg, holding it close. "I will. I swear it."
The dragon’s eyes softened, glistening with the last shimr of soul. "Then... I can rest... at last."
Golden flas, gentle and sacred, began to flicker across his body as it slowly disintegrated into light. His final breath was barely audible—just a murmur in the wind.
As golden flas devoured his body, fragnts of light rose toward the heavens—like a soul finally freed.
His voice, peaceful at last, echoed across the battlefield—
"I’m coming to you, my friend. Let us bond together in our next life as well..."
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