Golden Dragon

Location: Serenia's Domain / Forbidden City / Serenia's Mausoleum

Time: Y0000 / 29th day of the Fire Moon

A Dragon Priest, accompanied by a procession of servants, was standing in reverence at the sight before him.

Despite his harsh training, the Dragon Priest's legs were visibly trembling. He, along with everyone there was terrified by the occupant of the most luxurious structure in the Forbidden City.

Feeling the time was right, heroically overcoming his fears, the Dragon priest finally gave the order.

*whisper* "Open it." (Dragon Priest)

Walking as softly as she could, like she was afraid of breaking the floor, the ancel advanced toward a crank lever on the wall.

*look back* (Me'Ra, Ancilla)

*nod* (Dragon Priest)

The young Rat-Kin knew exactly what she was supposed to do. Even so, she looked back at the Dragon Priest. Half of her wanted to be told she was making a mistake, that she could just walk away. The other half waned nothing more than to just flee.

In the end, the harsh conditioning she want trough meant the ancilla ultimately decided to uphold her heavy responsibility.

Me'Ra firmly grasped the lever in front of her and pulled.

*turn* *screech* *gasp* (Me'Ra)

The young Rat-Kin's heart skipped a beat as she let go of the screeching lever.

Me'Ra felt like she had just committed murder.

It took a few seconds for the ancilla calm herself enough and resume her heavy duty.

Someone had to bear the burden, and it was hers this time. She knew full well she would not live to see the end of the day, and she accepted it.

The thing Me'Ra truly dreaded was not losing her life, but condemning every other Rat-Kin to die because of her incompetence. She would never be able to face her ancestors.

*open* (Hatch)

As Me'Ra turned the lever, a small hatch opened in the ceiling of the mausoleum.

The light of the sun enveloped the inside of the room revealing elaborate drawings, rich ornaments and a literal mountain of gold and treasures. And on top of the golden mountain, a creature. Coiled like a sleeping snake. With golden scales and three eyes. Gigantic in size. A Dragon.

The creature twitched, as an high pitched voice filled the room. Me'Ra hurried, taking her place amongst the other members of her order.

*hurry* (Me'Ra)

*bow* (Ancilla and Dragon Priest)

"Lady Serenia! The Apex beseech you!" (Dragon Priest)

The dragon opened one of its snake like eyes, revealing a golden iridescent iris and slit like pupil as black as the night. The pupil, at first wide, contracted as the mighty beast focused its sight on the nearby Rat-Kin.

*sweat* (Dragon Priest)

What the mighty creature saw was a minute creature, an humanoid rat, wearing gaudy red and black clothes accompanied by similarly small rats clad in white. The rats were about one meter tall, truly a minute existence compared to the two hundred meters long Dragon coiled on golden mountain.

(Serenia, Apex Dragon)

The Dragon Priest, who was already kneeling, staggered. His head fell even lower to the ground. One of the female rat lost consciousness.

It was doubtful the Dragon felt those creatures were worth speaking with. Even if it did feel that way, it was beneath the creature to use such a slow and primitive language.

Serenia was only interested in extracting information, and she did so the most efficient way possible, weaving a small spell to look at the Rat-Kin memories like one would watch a film or read a book.

The life of the insignificant rat unravelled before Serenia.

The small Rat being born, selected and put alongside other rats, learning of the Dragons and going through what can only be described as torture, everyday. The best day of his life came as the rat earned his tunic.

Finally, amongst the worthless garbage, Serenia found the information she was after. Something about an oracle. Something about doom. The Apex summoning her. And finally, the minute creature feeling of awe, terror and despair as he appearing before Serenia followed shortly after by~

*explode* (Dragon Priest)

*collapse* (Female Rats)

[... I wish my servants were sturdier ...] (Serenia)

The male rat exploded, with blood and flesh splattering all around. The female rats around fell to the ground, maybe unconscious, maybe dead. Serenia cared too little to confirm either options.

As Serenia was sifting through the information she just acquired, discarding what was too worthless to even remember, she felt insulted by the bits that mattered.

[Doom? DOOM?!? Preposterous!] (Serenia)

Dragons are unchallenged in this world. To think her brethren would believe to an Oracle divined by an existence as small and worthless as the Elven Seer! Pathetic.

Serenia will have to rectify the situation herself, as usual. Maybe she'll have to discipline the Apex to teach them a lesson. Something she looked forward to.

*float* (Serenia)

Having decided on her actions, Serenia lifted off, floating above the mountain of gold. Once in the air, the golden dragon begun flying in a trajectory along the surface of an imaginary sphere thirty meters in diameter just over the mountain of gold.

Serenia was collimating a large amount of aether. So much that the space around begun warping and distorting as it became fully depleted of aether. A feat only the strongest amongst the Dragons could accomplish.

(Serenia)

As Serenia's powerful spell activated, the space around her melted away in ripples. Glimpse of an open blue sky could be seen for a moment, and the moment after that, the giggantic creature disappeared, followed by a powerful shockwave that propagated and reverberated inside the mausoleum until it died out.

*weak voice* "Owww... What happened?" (Me'Ra)

Sometime had passed, against all odds, one of the ancilla woke up.

Me'Ra was bleeding from the nose and from the eyes. Her white fur and dress stained by the blood of the deceased Dragon Priest.

"Me'Ki'N? ... Anyone? ..." *sniff* (Me'Ra)

Me'Ra was the only survivor. Few creatures can endure the weaving of a Dragon at such short range. Me'Ra was lucky.

*stagger* "I need help... Clean up... Before She returns..." (Me'Ra)

Me'Ra was in great pain and had an head splitting headache.

Fighting through the pain, she left the mausoleum, walking unsteadily. One could only shudder at the though of what Serenia would do, had She returned to her mausoleum painted red with Rat-Kin blood and entrails.

Me'Ra couldn't know that Serenia would never return to her mausoleum again.

Summit

Location: Serenia's Domain / Black Mountain Summit

Time: Y0000 / 29th day of the Fire Moon

(Serenia)

What Serenia just weaved, was a spell that folded space, allowing the user to travel without moving. The walls of the mausoleum melted away, replaced by the skyline of far mountains and an open skies, accompanied by a powerful shockwave that reverberated through the air.

Serenia was now on top of the Black Mountain.

Or she should have been.

The mountain top was shaved off, a platform build in its place. The clearing was big enough for several Dragons to lay in coils. There were pillars with rich carvings, and patterns on the stone floor.

Serenia was impressed.

Just seven decades had passed since she ordered the Rat-kins to build this platform. Her servants already completed the task in such short time.

[My servants managed not to disappoint my expectations, this time.] (Serenia)

For the first time after her awakening, Serenia relaxed. She loved watching her domain from the top of the Black Mountain. A mountain she personally charred black with her flames, to mark her domain.

Serenia looked far with two of her powerful Dragon eyes, but couldn't see anything amiss in the large plain surrounding her in all directions.

(Serenia)

Wanting to know more, Serenia weaved a new spell. She refined countless magic threads that extended like tendrils, reaching to the far ends of her domain in all directions, hundreds of km away.

Trees, Rat Kin, Houses, Dragons she could sense everything. After a few minutes of searching, with still nothing out of the ordinary coming up, she rescinded the spell.

[Everything is as it should. My brethren better have an explanation.] (Serenia)

****ROOOOOOOAAARRR**** (Serenia)

Serenia let out a thundering roar. One that shook the cloud and could be heard in every corner of her Domain. A call for The Apex to assemble.

Serenia only saw the memories of a servant about doom, and a request from The Apex to wake her up. Apparently The Apex has proof. Hopefully for Them, it will justify waking her up.

Even The Apex wouldn't escape severe punishment, otherwise.

Serenia coiled down in the middle of the platform, enjoying the warmth of the sun, the view and the breeze. Dragons with their long lives have a different perception of time. It may take many hours for The Apex to fully assemble.

It won't be a problem. Even if doom really is approaching. A being strong enough to challenge Serenia simply does not exists in this world. She made sure of that.

The Apex

Location: Serenia's Domain / Black Mountain Summit

Time: Y0000 / 29th day of the Fire Moon

"Lady Serenia. I, Altamir, heed your call and pledge my loyalty." (Altamir, Apex Dragon)

The fifth and last member of The Apex touched down, coiling in a corner of the platform.

In Dragon culture, strength is everything. When dragons meet, either one pledge loyalty, or fight. Needless to say, challenging Serenia would be nothing short of suicide.

"Veridion. Altamir. Telluria. Kastah. Explain." (Serenia)

Serenia asked the obvious question. A lean red dragon, about fifty meter long, the youngest smallest member of The Apex, answered.

"I shall speak, Mother." (Kastah, Apex Dragon)

Both dragons leapt in the air. Dragons have no wings, they fly by manipulating the air and the force of gravity with magic. Rather than fly, one can say Dragons swim in the air, their flight is almost like a dance, beautiful and mesmerizing.

As for the reason of their leap, that's simple. Strength. Dragons need to prove that their words are worth listening.

The Red Dragon and the giant Golden Dragon fought in the sky.

Their fight shook the earth and scattered the clouds. Thunderous roars filled the air. No magic was involved. Serenia and Kastah were fighting with fangs, teeth and breaths. Each trying to sink the other to the ground.

*crash down* (Kastah)

The fight lasted only a few minutes. Kastah fell from the sky, roughly hitting the platform, cracking the thick stone tiles and making plumes of dust puffs from the dusty floor. Serenia, gracefully coiled down at the centre of the platform moments later.

(Veridion, Apex Dragon)

Kastah had deep cuts, bites and charred scales all over her body. Her life was not in danger of course. The vitality of a dragon is nothing to sneer at.

Still, Veridion, the largest and oldest living Dragon, healed Kastah's battered body for her.

Serenia was unharmed, of course.

"Kastah, you have grown. You truly earned your place in The Apex." (Serenia)

"Thank you, Mother. I'm unworthy." *lowers head* (Kastah)

"Regarding the matter of the Elven Seer ~ You are fools!" (Serenia)

This statement shook The Apex. Dragon are fearless and confident by nature, a result of their unchallenged supremacy. But an angry Serenia is something no creature would ever want to face.

"Kastah shared with me the memories of this Elven Seer.

Even if the Oracle is accurate, and my Domain is doomed, it would be of no consequence. We can easily endure the destruction.

I welcome it even! I hadn't had a fair challenge in millennia! We shall burn the enemies and their folly!

Let them come! Let my stale Domain burns!

We will set off to new lands and beat new servants into submission!

I will have a new Domain!" (Serenia)

****ROAAAARRRR**** (Serenia)

Serenia's words were no mere boast.

[Twenty millennia ago, Serenia bested in combat even the . To think an existence even greater than that could have eluded our sight for so long and is about to attack. And win! Against Serenia!!! That IS Impossible...] (Veridion)

Veridion was there. He saw what Serenia is truly capable of. Nothing can possibly oppose her in this world. Even if all Dragons banded together with all this world's living creatures to fight her, Serenia would still prevail. Veridion doubted Serenia would even have to unleash her full power to do so.

As long as Serenia is awake, there can be no meaningful opposition. There was no room for doubt in Veridion's mind. Every Dragon would feel the same way.

"The Apex hears and agrees with your every word, Mother." (Kastah)

"Indeed. Let this Domain be burnt by our flames along with our enemies. Five decades ago I saw a Domain worth conquering. I will show you." (Altamir, Apex Dragon)

"With this matter decided, let us feast Lady Serenia. Your servants prepared an offering for your awakening. Your golden bed will grow taller." (Telluria, Apex Dragon)

"I miss exchanging blows with you, my Lady Serenia. After the feast, I would like to speak with you." (Veridion)

"I look forward to it, old friend. Let us feast, now!" (Serenia)

[An enemy that think they can win against me! Turning their hope into despair will be pleasing indeed.] (Serenia)

Serenia was in a good mood now. Her strength was so overwhelming that no enemy dared mount an attack on her in millennia.

This enemy would allow the Golden Dragon to show off some of her powers. Even Serenia herself didn't know how much stronger she got in this times of relative peace.

Still, for all her incredible strength, Serenia was not omniscient. Unknown to Her, somewhere far above her head, somewhere nobody would think to look, a plan put in motion so very long ago was nearing fruition.

The time for talks was over, the Apex took to the skies, headed for the Forbidden City.

Offering

Location: Serenia's Domain / Forbidden City / Dragon Plaza

Time: Y0000 / 29th day of the Fire Moon / Night

It was night time.

**murmur** (Rat-Kins)

The Rat-Kins, hungry and tired were still gathered around the Dragon Plaza, trying to endure their plight to the best of their abilities.

**silence** (Rat-Kins)

Five dots appeared in the skies and closed in from the Black Mountain. As the population of the Forbidden City begun to take notice and look up, the whole plain became eerily silent. A silence broken only by the cries of newborn youth or by screams of people succumbing to the psychological pressure of the stressful situation.

The five dots became bigger and bigger.

It was The Apex, swimming silently and majestically in the air, amongst the even deeper silence of a crowd of hundreds of thousands of Rat-Kins.

The five gigantic Dragons touched down in the Dragon Plaza, coiling around an altar erected at its center. The plaza was littered with small mountains of food, herds of live cattle, and piles of gold and trinkets.

“You~ Your servants kneel to your power!” *gulp* (Dragon Priest)

**kneel** (Rat-Kins)

The voice of the lone Dragon Priest could be heard only by a few, those that were closest to the plaza, but that was enough. Seeing their kin kneel, was enough to make the nearby citizen kneel as well. Soon, the sea of Rat-Kins, the whole population of the Forbidden City, was now kneeling in the plains sorroundings the Dragon Plaza.

*sweat* *tremble* (Dragon Priest)

A small creature, the Dragon Priest was kneeling on top of the altar at the center of the plaza, ready to listen to whatever unreasonable request would come from The Apex.

It took decades for the Rat Kin to gather this much wealth. Raids ordered by the Dragons leading to catastrophic causalities. Food from their stores. All their cattle.

This offering will all be used up in one day. The awakening of Serenia was not planned for another thirty years at earliest. Stuck between a rock and an hard place, the Rat-Kins could only hope the Golden Dragon would be reasonable and accept their comparatively meagre offering, given the circumstances.

*look around* (Serenia)

The mighty golden dragon learned not to weave magic too early when talking with her weak servants. She looked around using just her sight to evaluate the worth of her offering.

One would get the feeling that the younger smaller Dragons and Dragons of all ages that were flying above the plaza were trying their best not be noticed by Serenia, like one tries to blend in and disappear in a crowd.

*sweat profusely* [I must hold on! Ancestors! Give me strength!!!] *shiver* (Dragon Priest)

As Serenia's discontent grew, so did the oppressive aura she let out unconsciously. The Dragon Priest could literally feel the pressure of her disappointment and fought not to give in to despair. That was his sole purpose in life, the task entrusted to him.

The fate of his kin depended on his results today.

*stare* (Serenia)

With two of her eyes open, the Golden Dragon lowered her head so that she could look directly at the minute creature on the altar. Serenia's huge visage now filled the field of vision of the Dragon Priest as he pushed his forehead on the ground in deference.

The Dragon Priest would never know, but he is the first Rat-Kin to successfully endure this kind of pressure in the long history of submission of his kin. Many of his predecessors gave in and collapsed for much less.

Too bad the best a Rat-Kin could muster was still insignificant in the face of the absolute power staring at him. Even still, the Dragon Priest endured.

"Where is my offering?" *glare* (Serenia)

The powerful words spoken by Serenia rippled through the very flesh of the Dragon Priest. Only willpower and conditioning compelled the Dragon Priest not to lose it at this critical moment. His excruciating training had not been for naught. The defining moment of his life has come.

*shiver* *sweat* "Lady. Serenia. That's All We. We~ Have!!!” *pant* *pant* “Your~ Awakening.” *ragged breath* “Unexpect~ *explode* (Dragon Priest)

It was truly impressive that the Dragon Priest could even speak, given the incredible pressure he was subjected to. His heart was racing, his veins were bulging and pulsing, he was bleeding from the nose and his mind was clouded.

Despite overwhelming odds, the Dragon Priest retained enough of his consciousness to push on and fulfill his role.

"You blame me? ME?!?" (Serenia)

With her temper coming up, Serenia unconsciously let out a little too much power. The physical pressure exerted by Her presence made the the Dragon Priest explode from the inside.

One wonders if words that would sooth Serenia even existed. It may have been an impossible task to begin with, but Rat-Kins have stopped believing in fairness long ago, those days just try to appease their oppressors, no matter the odds.

This time they failed. Serenia was now vivid.

The fact that her servant blamed the failure of his kind on Her was beyond unacceptable. In Her mercy she let the Rat-Kins live in her domain as cattle, and they dared talk back.

Time for talk was over.

Serenia's servants had to be punished!

The Golden Dragon lifted her head and started collimating aether.

A tangle of magic threads growing in size was now hovering over Serenia's head. Thousand of Rat Kin near the Dragon Plaza collapsed and died due to aether depletion.

They were the lucky ones.

(Serenia)

**wail** (Rat-Kins)

In an instant, an immense wall of flames half a km high, engulfed the kneeling servants around the plaza. Tens of thousand of Rat Kins were incinerated on the spot. Thousand more, furtherer away from the flames, suffered severe burning due to the intensity of the fire.

**flee** (Rat-Kins)

The remainder started fleeing.

The oldest Dragon of the Apex, Veridion, looked at the carnage.

[Is this the Oracle? Serenia burning her own domain?] (Veridion)

He felt no pity, those creatures had it coming. Weaklings have no right. The Rat-Kins only had themselves to blame for their weakness. He was more concerned with the images divined by the elven seer.

Seeing glimpses of the future to come is something not even He could do. That's why they reshaped some Elves to achieve this feat. An effort considered mostly a failure by Serenia.

"My Brethren!” (Serenia)

Serenia was not satisfied at all with the punishment she inflicted. She lifted her head, recalling the attention of every Dragon.

“Hunt the vermi~ *look up* (Serenia)

Serenia stopped mid sentence. Something had changed and Serenia's aura disappeared in an instant, as did her anger.

[Something is not right. What do you see, my Lady Serenia?] (Veridion)

The lesser Dragons who were ready to dive and hunt the Rat-Kins for sport, paused.

The Apex was as confused as the rest of their brethren.

Surviving Rat-Kins, unaware of this change, kept running for their lives.

Serenia was looking up.

Omen

Location: Forbidden City / Dragon Plaza

Time: Y0000 / 29th day of the Fire Moon / Night

Five full minutes had passed.

The world was still frozen as Serenia kept her gaze fixed on the night sky, nobody daring to interrupt the Golden Dragon as she was clearly giving her full attention to something unknown. Something unseen.

With the minutes passing and tension building up, finally, someone gathered the courage to speak up.

"Mother! What is it that you see???" (Kastah)

For an instant Serenia glanced at her offspring, immediately returning her focus to a point high up in the skies.

"My instinct. My instinct is warning me. Something I haven't felt in tens of millennia. Danger. From the sky." (Serenia)

Serenia focused the entirety of her being, trying to give shape to this threat.

Another long minute passed.

"My Lady Serenia. I can feel it too, now. I can't give shape to the Enemy, yet. But they are coming indeed." (Veridion)

Nothing with the strength to challenge the Dragons should exist. Let alone something with the strength to challenge Serenia herself. The Golden Dragon was beginning to doubt her instincts. Had she lost her edge after millennia of peace?

[Of course.] (Serenia)

Veridion statement confirmed that was not the case. Even the second strongest Dragon needed this much longer to confirm the threat. This is just how overwelming Her egemony was. An hint of satisfaction could be seen on Serenia's expression.

"Telluria. Take to the skies. Lead our brethren how you see fit. Annihilate the enemies. With extreme prejudice." (Serenia)

"It will be done!" **ROARRRRR** *take off* (Telluria)

As a member of the Apex, Telluria was an overwelminghly powerful existance, wielding extreme magic powers. It's just His magic wasn't anything special compared to other existences in the Apex. Someone had to lead the rank and files. Such was his role.

"Veridion. Kastah. Altamir. Link your Dragon Hearts with mine. Give me Aether. All of it." (Serenia)

This was like a different Serenia. Focused, strategic and efficient.

A threat to Her existence had appeared, at last. The Dragons would welcome that threat with their full might.

Veridion, Kastah and Altamir took off with their gigantic bodies, preparing to fulfill Serenia's order.

When they reached an height of about one hundred meters, they begun flying, following a random trajectory along the surface of an immaginary sphere. The smallest sphere being Kastah's, the biggest being Veridion's.

(Veridion, Kastah, Altamir)

Serenia was the strongest magic caster in existence. There was no doubt about that. Even so, Serenia was not so foolish as to act alone.

The potency of Her spells could be boosted to an even greater degree if other Dragons collimate aether in Her place. This way Serenia could focus on weaving more complex and larger scale spells.

With now active those gifted with magic sight would be able to see three incredible streams of collimated aether flowing into Serenia.

This formation is what allowed her to best the twenty millennia before.

There is no overkill in war. Only victory or defeat. Serenia looked forward to release the full measure of her powers once more. It made Her heart flutters with anticipation.

(Veridion, Kastah, Altamir)

Serenia didn't ask for some aether. She asked for ALL of it. It wasn't a figure of speech. Her domain was not just an imaginary boundary. A gargantuan enchantment was weaved over the centuries in the ground itself, reaching out to the most remote corners of the lands.

Upon activating aether flowed from locations hundreds of kilometres away, depleting a large chunk of the continent.

Veridion, Kastah and Altamir collimated that aether, gathering it for Serenia's own use. Around the four Dragons a tangle almost a Km wide of highly dense magic threads formed.

The preparations other Dragons made for battle paled in comparison. Dozens of Dragons of all sizes collimated ether on a much smaller scale. Most Dragon were now flying in sphere like patterns, holding to their own magic. Whatever little the Apex didn't gobble for themselves.

Living creatures naturally produce aether as by-product of their metabolism. The dragons long discovered this connection, and this whole Domain was nothing more than an aether farm for them.

The Rat-Kin tribe had been only their latest in a long series of cattle.

Not anymore. As result of , every living being down to the bacteria, in hundreds of Km, died. Aether depletion is lethal to most life.

The lifeforms in Serenia's domain merely fulfilled their role in the food chain.

"Now come, my enemies. We Dragons are ready for you." *look up* (Serenia)

Initial preparations were now complete. The enemies would surely be shocked that their surprise is no more.

Had a living creature be there to see the scene before them with their magic sight, they would have seen a small sun like light floating above the forbidden city, and dozen smaller lights in the sky.

Everything was calm now.

The calm before the storm.

Cataclysm

Location: Forbidden City / Dragon Plaza

Time: Y0000 / 29th day of the Fire Moon / Night

"Here they come!" (Serenia)

The night sky lighted up in a ghastly red hue.

Meteors touched the upper atmosphere of Arcania and became fiery balls of fire, leaving smoky trails behind.

First one, then two, then dozens!

The first impact was no more than twenty seconds away at the speed they travel.

[Falling stars? But how?] (Veridion)

Veridion was surprised. He had seen falling stars before, but it never occurred to him that they could be used as weapons. He didn't even how to make falling stars in the first place.

Yet, there were no doubt this was the Enemy's doing. Their opening gambit and probably their best shot.

And Serenia had the perfect counter.

(Serenia)

Aether flew in rivers from the three Dragon Casters of the Apex to Serenia who begun weaving a spell. Her mind dealing with countless adjustments as she pictured the outcome of the spell in her superior mind.

The gargantuan tangle of magic threads around The Apex visibly shrunk, as an unbelievably large dome two hundreds Km in diameter and ten Km high begun forming out off thin air.

It was like watching ice forms in an fast forward. Over a whole country. Like a translucent glass dome emitting a faint golden light.

It's size was beyond imagining.

Had any Rat Kin still be alive, it would have blown their little minds away. Not that they could have survived the flow of aether either.

“It is done.” (Serenia)

All it took Serenia was ten seconds, and now her entire domain was protected by a barrier powerful enough to shake even the biggest falling star Serenia had witnessed in her long life.

The sky became more and more red and bright as the the meteors hurled down toward the ground. They were all headed toward Serenia's domain of course.

"My brethren. Wait out the Starfall under my " (Serenia)

Seven long seconds passed as Serenia and her brethren awaited for the meteors to impact the dome.

**GREEN FLASH** **PUNCH THROUGH** (Meteor)

The first meteor impacted Serenia's barrier.

Sounds travels so very slowly and by the time someone hears the noise the collision made, the meteor will have already fallen. It was aiming for an unremarkable location roughly twenty Km away from the Forbidden City.

A green flash of light was the only indication an impact had happened. The light died soon after, when the barrier was already punctured. The meteor was still hurling down like nothing had happened.

[Impossible. My Lady Serenia's barrier is of no use!] (Veridion)

[I see. The Enemy anticipated my move. They are worthy adversaries.] (Serenia)

Just like rain, after the first meteor hit, dozens others followed. Like fireworks, green lights in the skies heralded doom approaching.

[The Apex magic was not powerful enough!!!] (Young Dragon)

Lesser Dragons were deeply affected by this turn of events. The original plan devised by the Apex had been foiled, they now faced countless falling stars.

The meteors were moving at five Km per second. The closest meteor to the ground was less than ten Km from impact. Only two seconds before the lush plains and mountain ranges are transformed in an hellish landscape of fire and death.

[We shall have to do this the hard way.] (Serenia)

Serenia's pupils contracted as her sense of time compressed. Those days, Dragons are an uncontested apex predator, but in ancient times even Dragons had to fight against great beings who threatened them. Their battle senses rose up to the challenge.

Time is the resources that is most valuable in war, and time had become flexible to Dragons.

In time of peace, An hour can feel like a second, allowing Dragons to meditate, slowly absorb aether and grow in size and power as millennia pass by.

In battle, the opposite is true. A Dragon sense of time compresses and the world comes to an halt. Seconds become minutes.

(Serenia)

Sound was now too slow to convey orders in Serenia's compressed time frame. A limitation easily overcome with magic.

[My brethren. Our enemy is worth defeating! Dodge the falling stars while I take them head on!] (Serenia)

[As you will.] (Telluria)

As the one with command over all lesser Dragons, Telluria begun directing his charges accordingly. The shower of falling stars had to end, sooner of later. It was just a matter of surviving until then.

[Veridion, the enemy gave the Falling Stars a remarkable barrier piercing attribute. We cannot leave, lest we will lose the aether we collimated. It is time for my trump card! The Enemy is worthy of it!] (Serenia)

[I agree with your judgment, My Lady Serenia. Even the of the was unable to overcome your final defence. We'll give you our everything. Defeat The Enemy.] (Veridion)

With little more than one seconds of real time left on the clock, Serenia's mind went in overdrive as she pictured in her thoughts the most complex spell ever weaved by a living being.

The huge amount of aether used to sustain the was cut, causing the shattering barrier to slowly wither away as the mateors punched it full of holes. Even more aether was funneled into Serenia by the Apex. Serenia was siphoning an incredible amount of magic power to fuel her new spell causing the one Km wide tangle of highly refined magic threads to shrunk to half of it's size.

(Serenia)

What Serenia just weaved was a much smaller but fundamentally different barrier. This defense was the culmination of Serenia's studies in dimensional magic. The conclusion was simple: Space is absolute.

Every attack must end where space do. Carefully, using magic, Serenia managed to literally cuts the dimensions and fold space itself.

A full second of real time passed while Serenia carefully handled all the intricacies of the weaving in her compressed relative time. One could tell this was hard even for a being of her level as her flight path became more erratic, ever so slightly so.

**pop up** (Black Sphere)

One instant the Dragon plaza and four Apex Dragons, along with their gigantic mass of magic were there. The next instant, a black sphere two Km in diameter appeared into existence in their place. Its surface seemingly eating light itself, the blackest of black.

Serenia was now hidden behind the new curvature she carved in the universe.

Untouchable by any physical or magical mean.

Only another mage wielding dimensional magic would have been able to cut through space and dimensions and reach her.

(Serenia)

And yet, Serenia's mastery of dimensional magic meant she could still weave magic in the now outside world while hidden behind the new curvature of the universe.

Untouchable, yet able to touch. With a sphere half a kilometre wide of highly dense magic threads to fuel her attacks and four Dragon Hearts holding millennia worth of aether in solid form at her disposal.

A formation so overwhelming that even the were defeated by this combination twenty millennia before.

*pop up* *pop up* *pop up* (Golden Light)

Countless golden orbs appeared from nothingness around the black sphere. Lesser Dragons that originally flew closer to the sphere hoping to take advantage of Serenia's protection quickly changed their mind. Their flight space just became a mine field.

The light, danced around aimlessly for an heartbeat, after appearing. With the nearing doom approaching, seemingly awakening, the lights rose up in the sky at an impressive speed.

**BOOM** **BOOM BOOOOM** (Wisps)

Countless meteor hurling down, and now moments from impacts and countless small light raising up. As the two groups encountered powerful flashes of yellow and green lights brightened up the day.

*impact* *fall* (Dragon)

The first causality of the war came as a young Dragon no more then five decades in age got disoriented by the flashes and shockwaves happening around him, leading him right in the middle of the path of a small meteor. The Dragon was torn to shreds while the meteor barely changed course, impacting the ground moments after.

**BOOM** **BOOM** **BOOOOM** (Meteors)

Another second of real time passed. Meteors started touching down, releasing plumes of fires and fireballs. The ground shocking with each impact. The majestic structures the Rat-Kin had built at the behest of the dragons were quickly consumed and returned to the dirt they came from, undoing all the sacrifices that went in their construction. Without physical recorde, and with their population extinguished, nobody will ever know the Rat-Kin even existed in this world.

Serenia's spell was still active, with countless light appearing, raising and exploding against a meteor, over and over again. But the meteors were sturdy and fast. The ones that actually got destroyed, only released more fragments turning the air into even more of a flight hazard!

Dragons weren't faring much better than the structures. While older Dragons still had enough experience, endurance and magic to tank a direct it from a small meteor, most couldn't. But by this points, lesser Dragons were panicking. None of the adult Dragon were helping their youngling either.

[My orbs are only causing the falling stars to explode in fragments~ The Enemy gave me an idea for a new spell! If I could tear reality in their path, the falling star would be sent into oblivion!] (Serenia)

As her Domain was turning into a burial ground, Serenia was musing on her magic research. She had little to fear as she was in her own little world, cut away from reality.

**BOOOOOOM** **BOOM** **BOOOOOOM** (Meteors)

A volley of large meteors just impacted her black dome. The only results was the ground around the sphere cracking due to the weight pressure of the explosions.

Physical objects could never reach Serenia.

The GOlden Dragon could sense her brethren dying out there, of course, but cared little for it. Other Dragons only had their own weakness to blame.

[Mother. The Starfall keeps growing in intensity.] (Kastah)

Seeing the outside world through the link with her mother's mind, Kastah saw the sky was filled with countless trails of smoke and fire.

The night became day lighted by explosions of every color.

Dust was released after each impact only to be dispersed by the shockwave of the next one. The canyon that harboured the Forbidden City just minutes ago was no more.

***KA-BOOOM*** (Large Meteor)

A big meteor, at least half a Km wide, took head on many of Serenia's orbs, fragmented, and hit the Black mountain in a scatter shot.

Large spherical shockwaves expanded in every direction. A nuclear cloud formed and rose in the sky. The Black Mountain, Serenia's favourite spot was collapsing and being flattened into a hill in a series of landslides that could be seen through opening in the dust clouds caused by following meteors.

Serenia, still mostly focused on her spells couldn't help but pause for an instant at the sight of her mountain disappearing forever, in slow motion.

When the slow travelling shockwaves coming from the Black NMountain reached the black sphere, they bounced back. Space ended there after all, there was nowhere to go but back. The sphere was absolute.

[Half our brethren has died already.] (Altamir)

[They were the weak ones.] (Veridion)

Things was getting scary even for an Apex Dragon like Telluria. The surviving Dragons flying in hell were doing their best trying to avoid the meteors. Weaving magic to evade, protect themselves and attack the incoming falling stars.

[Mother!] (Kastah)

[I see it. It won't be needed, but it won't hurt to be prepared either. Our enemy has earned this much.] (Serenia)

An especially large meteor, two Km in diameter was hurling down at a speed of ten Km per seconds, headed directly toward Serenia's little world.

(Serenia)

Serenia weaved an enchantment to reinforce her own body, since it acted as the core of the barrier. She had no intention of underestimating The Enemy she faced.

The huge meteor came at an angle, leaving a remarkable trail that could be seen from anyone in the hemisphere.

**BOOM** **BOOM BOOOOM** (Wisps)

At Serenia's behest, thousands of Wisps weaved by Serenia changed their target, all aiming for the largest threat yet. Like an unstoppable juggernout, the fiery meteor trampled all the pitiful lights, and kept hurling toward Serenia's own little world.

****KA-BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM**** (Meteor)

The moment the two Km wide hunk of rock touched the two Km wide black sphere, all hell came loose. Neither object was willing to give in, letting off the most powerful shockwaves yet, powerful enough to sweep away the surrounding dust. Fires were put out, and the very crust shook at the impact.

[Something is not right. No. How can this be???] (Serenia)

The meteor had not shatter.

The blinding light of the impact subsided. Soon, fire as hot as the sun erupted as the air turned into plasma. Fire that was killed by the shockwaves just revived, stronger than ever.

A mushroom cloud rose in the sky. One not with just one head, but many as the meteor was still impacting and letting out more.

*creeaaak* *give in* (Ground)

*dive* (Black Sphere)

The large meteor was still in one piece and pushing down on the Black Sphere with all it's weight an momentum still intact. A physical impossibility.

The weakest link had just become the solid rocky plateau the black sphere was standing on. Serenia's World had been uprooted and begun sinking in.

[AHHHHH!!!!] (Serenia)

[My Lady!] (Veridion)

[Hold on, Mother!] (Kastah)

[Reinforce the barrier! Use aether from my Dragon Heart!] (Altamir)

An unbelievable sight was presented to the few Dragons still living outside Serenia's own World.

A two Km wide hunk of red hot rock, covered in hexagonal patterns of blinding green light pushing vertically against the top of a two Km wide black sphere.

The point where the two objects touched was a crucible expelling an immense amount of fire, heat and pressure waves in equal parts.

The hexagonal pattern were lighting up and dying down cyclically every few seconds. And with each peak in the light another huge shockwave followed.

Incredibly, the momentum of the meteor was still intact. Even Serenia couldn't understand the means despite her vast knowledge and understanding of magic.

Serenia could only endure, from now on.

[How long can this falling star last???] (Serenia)

The ground below the Black Sphere couldn't possibly sustain the pressure.

The sphere sunk deeply into the ground as plumes of dust and molten rocks raised into the sky. Shockwaves propagated in all direction. Heat and destruction pulverizing the ground on a large scale.

The sphere gathered more and more speed, pushed by the meteor. Forming a crater that grew in size for each meter the black sphere sunk.

An unstoppable force, or an unbreakable object.

Which would have given in first?

**CREAK** (???)

A subtle but terrible sound could be heard everywhere on Arcania, neither louder nor quieter. It was the same, no matter the distance from Serenia's Domain.

The sound was accompained by hairline fractures appearing in the air all around the black sphere. As the huge meteor relentlessly pushed the sphere down, sinking it deeper and deeper, the cracks expanded like roots.

A blinding whiteness filtered from whatever was on the other side of the cracks. It was a cold white light.

As the sphere sunk, the cracks left behind in mid air would heal back, sealing the white light forever. New cracks appeared wherever the sphere would pass.

By now, Serenia's world, a two Km wide black sphere, had already formed a crater twenty Km in diameter and was below what was just a little while ago the underground.

*groan* (Serenia)

*grin teeth* [Mother can't bear anymore of this!] (Kastah)

[My Lady Serenia is not so weak as to fall to something of this level.] (Veridion)

[The falling star can't keep this up forever. Keep going!] (Altamir)

The Dragons inside were feeling the pressure. Had someone told them a force existed in this world that could push the four of them so far, they would have laughed at the fool.

Truth was they were facing such force right now. Altamir, Veridion and Kastah were expending unhealthy amount of aether to feed Serenia's hunger for magic.

The one who had it worst was Serenia herself. As the core of the spell, she was flattened against the Dragon Plaza being preserved inside her world, Her body taking the brunt of whatever the barrier could not negate. She had to keep weaving magic to heal and repair her body and sustain the immensely complex spell all at once.

For the second time in her long life, Serenia finally felt the limits of her own powers. She desired a challenge, and she had found it.

**SNAP** **SHATTER** (Black Sphere)

The cracks in the air surrounding the sphere healed back in a snap, closing the curtains on the white light that rested underneath.

An heartbeat later, the outermost fold of finally gave in, disappearing from reality.

****KA-BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM**** (Black Sphere)

The fractures in the dimensions healed.

Space unfolded and the universe relaxed back to its original curvature.

The disappearing black surface revealed a sea of blinding white light hiding underneath.

All the force that barrier had to shoulder so far was released all at once.

The sphere become a new sun for a split of a second.

[Ahhhh~ (Telluria)

[No! cut off! I have to weav~] (Kastah)

[Our brethren has fallen. Focus on Lady Serenia who still lives.] (Veridion)

The new sun was short lived. It faded away leaving behind a crater of molten rocks fifty Km wide.

was still there, as was the huge meteor, whose hexagonal green pattern was brighter than ever. Surely even the meteor had felt such a release of energy.

The black sphere, for the first time since the attack begun, was not resting on the ground. The explosion had evaporated all the rocks surrounding it, and the Serenia's World was now in free fall, gathering speed even more quickly than before. A few Km down was the new bottom of the crater, closing in at an impressive rate.

Most Dragons, several ancient ones amongst them fell lifeless from the air, their corpses being eaten away by the plasma of rock vapour that was what the new atmosphere in that region.

Telluria, a proud and immensely powerful Dragon part of the Apex was amongst them. He had trusted in his body too much. Being just twenty Km away from the sumo battle between and the meteor proved lethal even for a Dragon of his standing. Having exhausted all the aether he refined and within his Dragon Heart, his life expired.

Few survivors, old Dragons who were at least fifty Km away from the crucible of the battle, kept refining aether and weaved new barriers, desperately trying to fly away from the new explosion that was sure to follow soon, carefully dodging meteors in their way.

With the earth scarred so deeply, one could be forgiven for thinking that the world was coming to an end. At this scale, even people on the opposite side of the planet would feel something of cataclysmic proportions was going on.

The black sphere and the green meteor gathered more and more speed.

****BOOOOOOOOOMMMM**** (Black Sphere)

The moment impacted bottom of the newly created craters, a new explosion ensued, resulting in the black sphere being buried in the red hot rock bed. Compared to the collapse of the outer membrane of it wasn't much, which speaks volumes to the intensity of the events unfolding.

Once the light and fire dissipated in a new mushroom cloud, the black sphere resumed its dive underground. The crust of the planet will not be able to take much more of this, the mantle would be laid bare soon at this rate.

**CREAK** (???)

Once again, the terrible unidentified sound resounded everywere heralding what was about to happen.

**SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

The had meteor won again and another layer of Serenia's worlds gave in, releasing another devastating shockwave of destruction, even bigger than before.

Once more the black sphere and the meteor were in free fall. The release of power had shaved several more Km of from the bottom, causing the huge crater to increase in size even more.

Hot winds were blowing in every direction, and every combustible material was catching fire even hundreds of Km away. Forest burned all over the continent before huge shockwaves uprooted the trees.

**CREAK** **SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

This time the outer layer of Serenia's world gave in on impact with the new bottom, a turbulent sea of lava.

Once again a blinding white light was released, causing untold destruction. The semi liquid rocks evaporated at the release of energy, with a huge pressure wave carrying away the plasma.

Another Mushroom cloud rose up, expanding underneath the ones that came before. A matrioska of nuclear mushroom clouds.

Seven folds left.

**CREAK** **SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

Six folds left.

**CREAK** **SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

**CREAK** **SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

Four folds left.

**CREAK** **SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

Three folds left!

The explosions got bigger and bigger.

The meteor was not giving any sign of yielding, unlike or Serenia herself. The Golden Dragon was giving it her all, but despite the enchantment and all other spells she weaved upon herself, her body was breaking.

No living Dragon, or living creature of any kind could be found in hundreds of Km. A testament to the extreme defensive capability of Serenia's spell.

It's just defence was clearly not the correct move in this battle, but the dice was cast. Serenia couldn't leave using . Her world would collapse before the spell completes.

The Apex could only endure.

[I'm Serenia! Head of the Apex! I alone stand at the top of food chain! I will not yield!!!] (Serenia)

Serenia's spirit wasn't flagging even with her body breaking apart and her Dragon Heart running on fumes.

She let out a defiant cry as her world impacted the bottom at the new depth.

**CREAK** (???)

This time, the fold didn't fail on impact. The meteor didn't care, and pushed relentlessly, burying the black sphere into the hot and turbulent magma.

**SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

The pressure and heat did the rest. Serenia's best wasn't enough. The meteor kept winning the sumo contest.

Just two folds left!!

**CREAK** **SNAP **KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM** (Black Sphere)

One fold left!!!

*weak thought* [I still have some life left in me. Take it, My Lady Serenia. It was yours to begin with.] (Veridion)

*weak thought* [So be it. I open my Dragon Heart to you. Have your fill, Serenia. Use my powers to live on and avenge me.] (Altamir)

The four Apex Dragons were on their ropes, flattened on the floor of the only surviving structure in thousand of Km. They had funnelled the every iota of aether gathered from Serenia's Domain and the content of their Dragon Hesarts into Serenia's , keeping only enough to survive.

Had the spell failed now, it would have meant the demise of the Dragon race. They cared not for their kin, but losing this war~ that was not something a Dragon could accept.

lighted up as Veridion and Altamir closed their eyes for the last time.

[Rest easy my brethren. I shall not lose!] (Serenia)

Serenia didn't let the opportunity slip by. Her body was in tatters, but her mind was as sharp as ever. She made full use of the last wind of the two martyrs.

**CREAK** (???)

As the black sphere touched down on the new bottom left by the last fold's collapse, the raising, incandescent and liquid magma splashed upward hundreds of meters, letting the black sphere and the meteor sink inside the mantle of the planet.

The Apex last powers reinforcing the last fold proved enough, if just barely. The black sphere held, but tale telling white cracks in the reality around the sphere begun to form once more in an all too well known pattern.

****dive**** (Black Sphere)

The sphere and the meteors seemed inseparable, and kept gathering speed.

Had this been the air, a sonic boom would have been released by now, but magma is much denser. For how fast the two were sinking, it was still not supersonic down there.

Forces of the depth that would have crushed everything had this been a normal situation parted way for the two object to sink to even deeper hells. Those forces meant nothing in the face of the two absolute objects battling for supremacy.

[NOT YET!!! I'M NOT DONE YET!!!] (Serenia)

There was so little left of Serenia's seemingly bottomless power in her Dragon Heart. Kastah and the Golden Dragon kept pouring every ounce of their strength on .

For all they knew, the meteor power was infinite. Maybe the meteor would not give in for as long as Serenia drew breath.

The Golden Dragon wouldn't care less.

This is a war and she'll fight to the very end.

**flicker** (Meteor)

Serenia's perseverance seemed to finally pay off. The hexagonal patterns covering the meteor had been letting out a potent green light for a while, and just now they dimmed for the first time since the first fold of had been released.

[Just a little more!] (Kastah)

Kastah was unable to see past the curvature in the universe she was in. Serenia could, and the two had their minds and hearts linked.

Kastah hoped the meteor couldn't keep this up much longer.

**flicker** *green patterns fade away** (Meteor)

Surely enough, the green patterns vanished.

Just like that.

The hunk of rock was now just that. An hunk of rock.

Even after being pushed so far, Serenia's was a place removed from space, hidden behind a new curvature carved in the universe. Without help from the mysteryous hexagonal green pattern, the meteor stood no chance.

**slow down** **fragment** (Meteor)

For the first time the meteor and the black sphere separated. Mantle magma filled in the gaps and attacked the rock from every side.

The huge meteor slowed down and fragmented, scattering in the lava.

**green flash** (Meteor)

Seemingly, in a last act defiance, a green flash lighted up from the now bare core of the meteor.

****KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM**** (Meteor)

The meteor self distructed, releasing the largest explosion yet.

Things on the surface were about to find a new equilibrium so to say. Difficult since the planet had a scar fifty Km deep and a three hundreds Km wide were Serenia's Domain was supposed to be.

Meteors were still raining down, but unlike before, the destruction they brought was indistinguishable from how things already were down there. There was no meaningful difference between two similar hells.

The air outside was not something living creatures could breath. Hot and filled with all kinds of toxic gasses. Debris and droplets of lava fell like rain on a continental scale. Huge black clouds of material were raising up in the atmosphere propelled by ascensional currents. Some of the material had been ejected so hard by the explosions that it reached escape velocity and was now in orbit.

The bare mantle was covered by the clouds, with the level of magma quickly raising, trying to equalize the pressure and fill the huge depression.

Void left by the magma caused stress to build up in the crust. The planet was shook by a never ending series of catastrophic earthquakes.

*bubble* *inflate* (Magma)

As all of this was happening, the final act of destruction brought by the meteor that scarred Arcania so deeply, manifested itself.

A bubble in the magma at the bottom of the crater grew in size with each passing second.

After the bubble increased the level of the magma by a about a hundred meters, it burst, letting out jets of rock vapour and plasma.

The shockwaves from the final explosion could be felt all over Arcania, circling the planet many times.

A jet of magma travelling at fantastic speeds, overtook the debris tht were on the way to leave the atmosphere of the planet. A gigantic fountain of magma rose up, filling the horizons and splashing down huge doses of lethal overheated material.

[Mother. Are you still there?] (Kastah)

*open eyes* [I am, Kastah. I'm just resting.] (Serenia)

*emerge* (Black Sphere)

Despite the damage sustained, the black sphere was still there.

It seems the last explosion had no effect on it, unlike the sumo match that preceded it.

Without the green hexagonal pattern, the meteor was just a regular overgrown hunk of rock. Such a plain object had no right of affecting .

Few minutes passed, and finally emerged from the depth below the mantle, leaping in the air, and bouncing down on the sea of magma. Soon, it was effortlessly floating on the hellish red lake. For all practical purposes, the black sphere had no weight.

Unfortunately all the damage suffered by the black sphere up to that point was still there. It was surrounded by cracks and hairline fractures propagating tens of meters in all directions.

As the black sphere floated and drifted on the turbulent magma, the cracks healed and opened, following the sphere.

**disappear** (World's Boundary)

The blackness quietly disappeared like it had never been there at all.

At Serenia's behest, the final fold that separated her world from Arcania vanished. The last fractures in the dimensions started to heal and space folded back to it's original curvature, leaving the universe as flat as it was before the ordeal.

The Dragon Plaza with some foundation below it was only remaining recognizable artificial structure in hundreds, perhaps thousands of Km, and it was floating in hell.

(Kastah)

Around The Apex was not air, but plasma, thousands of degrees hot.

The Dragon plaza, or even the Apex Dragons themselves could only survive so long in such environment.

Kastah effortlessly erected a barrier. It was a simple matter for a being such as her to protect herself against something on this level, which speaks volume of the unthinkable display of power, skills and strategic thinking The Enemy just displayed.

[To think The Enemy could push us this far~ Just who are they?] (Kastah)

Kastah finally had a moment to collect herself. She looked around, and the true depth of the events that just unfolded sunk in.

*rumble* *rumble* *crack* (Dragon Plaza)

The Dragon Plaza was still a large one km wide structure. Even with the protection of the barrier, the ground could only take that level of heat that seeped in for so long. The terrain submerged under the lava was quickly melting away and the ebbs and flow of the turbulent sea of magma rocked the most unbelievable boat, making cracks appear all over the plaza.

[Kastah, I cut the before the end. You have enough power left to leave.] (Serenia)

The tangle of magic threads that was originally one kilometre wide had all but disappeared. Serenia used it all up in a desperate attempt to sustain her own little world.

It wasn't enough, and she ended up using the aether stored within the Dragon Hearts of The Apex Dragons as well. It was enough, but just barely.

[I'll try, Mother. I'll find The Enemy and destroy them!] *ROOOOAAARRRR* (Kastah)

Veridion and Altamir lost consciousness and died when their Dragon Hearts became fully depleted.

Serenia was still conscious, but her once beautiful body clad in golden scales was now wounded and charred, with large chunks of it missing. She was the core of the , and had to shoulder whatever forces the her little world could not negate.

[Yes. This is an enemy worth defeating indeed.] (Serenia)

Had Serenia suspected such an enchantment as the green hexagon could even exist, she would have left using to formulate a different strategy.

It was a failure of imagination.

How could a being capable of mounting such an attack have escaped her sight? She was the top existence in this world, and by such a large margin as to make even other Dragons in the apex look like weaklings.

(Serenia)

Even in such a dire state, Serenia was still able to function as a mage. Having had a few minutes of pause, Serenia begun weaving restoration magic to repair her body in preparation for the next assault. The destruction wrought to this world ensured some aether was now available.

Still, the battered Golden Dragon was nowhere near the state that would allow her to relocate or fly, unlike Kastah.

Serenia's own offspring had been refining aether for a while. Ready, she unsteadily lifted off from the crumbling platform, and begun flying in a chaotic trajectory around the surface of an immaginary sphere twenty meters wide.

(Kastah)

[But where I'll go??? One hundred kilometres? No. One thousand? Not enough?!?] (Kastah)

Kastah was one of the few Dragons able to weave space magic, although she was not as skilled as Serenia with it. Of course being able to travel means little without knowing where to go. On top of preparing her relocation magic, Kastah weaved detection magic to look as far as she could, searching for a safe spot.

Everywhere she looked, there was only fire and hell.

And the meteors were still raining down!

The reason they couldn't reach down there was due to the absurd hostility of the current hell. Meteors exploded in the air, fragmenting against the countless debris that were thrown up by the cataclysmic events that just unfolded.

[Fine! I'll just go as far as I possibly can and endure it with my body!!] (Kastah)

(Kastah)

*rumble* (Dragon Plaza)

*creak* (Barrier)

It was a battle against time. Against the meteors. Against the plasma and the magma that was eating the barrier away. Against the heat that seeped in.

There was no guarantee Serenia would make it. Kastah was, for all practical puropses the last living Dragon.

Above the surface, the meteors kept falling, with no end in sight. Immense columns of magma rose high, tens of kilometres in the sky. Volcanic clouds darked the horizon, and earthquakes could be felt all over Arcania.

Humans, Elves, Moles, Rat Kins and more, from all corners of Arcania looked at the red light beyond the horizon. The ominous black cloud slowly expanding. Wondering it the end had come.