Up ahead, Tia was almost done fighting the Zombie Drake. The undead creature was a half-rotted corpse of a lesser drake, patches of skeleton showing through its worn flesh. One of its eyes was missing from its socket, and its jaw hung loose and unhinged while its wings were far too tattered to attempt anything remotely capable of flight.

But still, it was a drake, and with that title came access to Dragonsbreath. Though much of its physical abilities might have deteriorated, it had access to a special undead breath that constantly leaked from its broken mouth in the form of a green gas that was corrosive enough to melt the stone floor.

Tia, however, took zero damage from the breath, immune as she was to poison. Instead, she dodged the zombie drake's awkward swipes, but Li quickly realized she was not tearing into the undead with the same gusto she had shown all the other unfortunate specimen before her.

Flanking the drake's huge, lumbering form were roughly hewn stone pillars standing tall, and around the pillars, the haze concentrated into a raging whirlwind that was physically impenetrable by regular means. The only access point was through the stone pillars, and they formed a natural chokepoint guarded by the drake.

Old Thane and the beastwomen could not approach too close for fear of the gas, and it was evident he was thinking of a way around this. For this zombie drake was the last thing standing between everyone and the eye of the haze where the Oculon resided.

But Li took concern for Tia and decided to break his non-intervention, floating past Old Thane and travelling into the noxious green gas. He took zero damage and instead jumped down to the ground, right beside Tia.

Tia saw him and stopped, staring at him with questioning eyes tinged with confusion. Tia by now had engaged more and more of her powers and draconic side. Her horns were larger, crackling with arcs of magical energy. Most of her skin was covered in scales, and her claws were black now, longer and more deadly. Spikes jutted from her tail.

Her wings were far larger, and two bony spikes protruded from their ends. Her jaws, in particular, had grown, and the teeth were so large that they almost seemed to spill out from her mouth as the line between her human form and draconic one began to break down.

The zombie drake saw the stopped movement and attempted to swipe down on Tia with its hand, but Li slapped the drake's hand away. Perhaps with a little too much force, as the slap completely dislodged the drake's hand from its arm, sending it splattering into the pillars beside it.

"Tia, what's bothering you?" said Li. "Is it the drake? Does it bother you because it looks like you? If so, have no worry, for in undeath, it is basically just the same as the rocks you stand on."

Tia shook her head.

"This…this-," She motioned all around her, and Li realized she was referencing the green gas. "Very familiar. Make me curious, but also sad. Don't know why." She breathed in and cocked her head, furrowing her scaled brows. "Know this. I do. Like it. Feels warm. Little like papa, but not really."

Li began to realize what she was talking about. He put a hand to Tia's shoulder. "Tia, dear." He tried to find words but realized he did not know exactly how to skirt around topics like this. "I know it is a little late, but I can explain why this feels familiar. It is about your mother. I know I have never told you about it, but when this is all over, I promise I will. Okay?"

Tia brightened up, for the topic of her mother was always one she was curious about, but one that Li had not given direct answer to yet. "Okay, papa. Just have to beat thing after this one, right?"

Li nodded and pulled Tia to his side for a short hug, wondering how she would respond to the reality of her circumstances. First off, that she was not truly Li's child. Secondly, that her mother likely was not alive or, at the least, not searching for her any longer. These were topics he knew he had to talk about but still did not want to approach as even if he had godlike power at his fingertips, that changed nothing about him being a father.

"Something wrong, papa?" she asked, curious as to why Li would show affection when usually he was more reserved about it, but ultimately, she did not mind, nuzzling her cheek into his chest, taking care that her horns did not hit him.

"No, Tia, it's nothing," said Li. He patted her back and pointed forwards. The zombie drake was readying another swipe. "But remember, we still have a problem to deal with, don't we?"

Tia nodded vigorously as she broke off from Li's embrace and began to fight seriously. She stood in front of Li, her arms opened wide as she readied herself to take the incoming blow from the drake's claws. She caught the enormous reptilian hand with a grunt of exertion, straining against a hand that dwarfed her entirely in size.

The zombie drake loosed a rattling echo – what it could muster up as a growl from its thoroughly mangled throat and jaw – as it exerted force, trying to crush Tia with all its weight and remaining might. She stood under the giant hand, her own two arms raised up to press the crushing weight away from her.

Tia growled back, and hers was truly what one would expect from a dragon. It was a deep rumble more powerful than any engine Li knew, and it had weight behind it, rattling the bones of all those that heard. Her arms began to shudder as her scales started to grow, layering on like plate mail before starting to protrude in spikes around her forearm and elbow.

Her draconic blood manifested more and more, and her eyes gleamed with ferocity, one of her eyes shining green, the other black. She flashed an ear-to-ear grin filled with protruding teeth as she pushed out one huge burst of force, sending the impressive weight of the drake toppling back.

She did not have enough strength to entirely collapse the drake, but its malformed and rotted legs provided little in the way of balance, and it rattled as it began to topple backwards almost in slow motion on account of its size.

Light began to form around Tia' sternum, a brilliant bright strip of white light travelling up to across he neck, spilling out in blinding rays through her teeth. 

"Control, Tia, remember," said Li, for he knew if she used the full strength of her dragonsbreath, she would be left with no magical energy for the threat beyond the drake.

Tia nodded in understanding before unleashing her attack. When her mouth opened, it was not explosive light that shot forwards, but instead a raging torrent of green flame. Unlike the shade of green of the mist around them that oozed with noxious gleam, this was a more vibrant green, one verdant and lively, the same shade that would find its home at the healthy heart of a forest.

Nevertheless, even if the fire had all the life-infused power of nature behind it, one would find themselves instantly reminded why nature as a pure force was feared.

The fire swarmed over the zombie drake's form, easily catching to its rotted and dried flesh in an enormous conflagration that swelled in a roaring, crackling pillar that reached high up into the sky, sending out a signal light of green that drowned out even the thick purple haze.

The drake rattled again as its existence began to break down, the life energy infused fire directly countering its undead nature. Malevolent spirits that had swarmed around the near area, drawn to the fight like moths to a flame, immediately shrieked and floated away, terrified at light that broke against the dark of the haze.

"A wondrous show, little dragon," said Old Thane as he moved up with the beastwomen. The toxic gas from the zombie drake had disappeared, pushed away by the force of impact from Tia's fire igniting the zombie drake's flesh.

"Dragon," said Vilga reverently with a short bow of her head, and Sheela followed suit, and Li knew this was because to beastmen tribes of the north, the dragons were considered terrifying forces of nature to be respected.

Tia cocked her head and put a shy hand behind it. "Hehe, nothing, really. Just me fighting! Old man have fun too, right?"

Old Thane laughed. "Certainly! It has been long since I have worked these old bones as hard. But the fun may draw to an end, I am afraid. Beyond lies a presence that shall require all our full mights."

"Ahead," said Sheela, pointing a claw beyond the zombie drake's burned out corpse where the two pillars stood tall, heralding an entrance blocked by a raging whirlwind of haze so thick it formed a natural barrier. "Bad. Far, far stronger than this."

Vilga only snarled at the haze, sensing by instinct that Sheela was right but not possessing the shamanic knowledge that would have let her know in more detail about the threat of undeath. After all, much of her fighting had been limited to the pits of the arenas which were more like exhibition matches and duels rather than anything like this.

Li looked at the barrier of haze. If it operated the same as it did in Elden World, then it was basically the entranceway to the boss arena where the entity or area creating the haze could be confronted. But in this world, things were a little different.

He could tell with his enhanced sight that passing through the extreme concentration of undead haze would be quite damaging, and there was even an instant kill effect added into it that could certainly be resisted with levels or defenses, but he would use this as an convenient excuse to get Tia to do this fight by herself.

After all, much of the reason why he had decided to step back on helping was because he wanted Tia to go all out and truly live up to what her draconic bloodline demanded of her.

"The barrier above is dangerous to regular mortal flesh," said Li. "Old man, Sheela, Vilga, you three stay here. Guard this area. Do not let more undead wander in. I will have the Vukanovi on standby beside you to defend you, and soon, I should assume that Asala and the two brothers will arrive.

Tia's magic resistant dragon scales can pierce through the haze, and I need not say anything about me. We will go and confront the eye of this haze and put an end to it."