Some of the soldiers retreated backward out of sheer terror, their boots scraping against the jagged asteroid surfaces as they stumbled away from the shadowed horror before them.
Panic etched deep lines on their faces, breaths coming in ragged gasps through sealed helmets, hearts pounding like war drums in their chests.
But as they turned, hoping for escape into the vast emptiness, they met only more opposition,.another wave of their own comrades fleeing in the opposite direction.
Those soldiers were backing away from Flameborn, the dragon's massive silhouette dominating the northern flank like a living storm.
His wings flexed slightly, casting elongated shadows that danced across the rocks, and the heat from his body warped the nearby void, creating faint mirages in the cold vacuum.
The retreating groups collided in confusion, a chaotic tangle of armored bodies bumping and shoving, realization dawning in their wide eyes.
