The moment Natasha uttered that unavoidable name, the atmosphere grew heavy.
The eyes of the entire continent were fixed upon it.
His arrival would undoubtedly ignite the storm brewing over the Empire—everyone agreed on that much.
Aurek's gaze turned icy cold.
"The dragon soaring in the heavens… would it ever lower its eyes to notice a cricket chirping in the grass?"
His tone was calm, but the contempt beneath it was unmistakable.
Natasha fell silent.
Like most others, she too had been pondering the same question, paying close attention to that man's arrival, treating the impending clash as some grand spectacle.
But to Aurek, all of this was utterly ordinary.
Not even a ripple stirred in his heart.
If he allowed small, insignificant figures to disturb his mind, to cloud his vision—then how could he possibly flatten the towering mountains standing before his Empire?
How could he ever forge an immortal dynasty?
How could he resist the unstoppable tides of an entire era?
