The vibration Swen used to neutralize the serpent's rattle…
did not merely shatter the creature's weapon.
That sound wave seeped through the mountain's veins,
traveling upward — all the way to an ancient cave at the summit.
There, a primordial being had been sleeping for a thousand years.
Until that vibration made the cave's stone walls tremble ever so slightly.
The silence of centuries was broken by a heavy breath.
The creature inhaled — long, deep, almost in disbelief.
> "Clean…"
"So… the curse has finally ended."
Its eyelids quivered, then slowly opened.
Golden and crimson hues filled the cave.
The dragon rose; dust and stones slid off its shoulders.
Each scale glimmered like molten gold — shining like sunlight within the dark.
For the first time in a thousand years, a dragon had awakened.
At the mouth of the cave, the air was different now.
The fog of the Void had cleared, replaced by a clean wind.
It spread its wings wide — its enormous body casting a shadow over the entire mountain —
and soared into the sky.
Yet the moment it woke, it sensed something familiar.
A presence below the mountain…
the breath of another being — like one of its own kind.
> "Another dragon… awakened?" it murmured.
Excitement stirred in its chest.
But as it approached that aura, a second presence emerged.
Cold. Malignant.
The same accursed energy that had cloaked the heavens for a millennium.
The dragon's eyes narrowed.
> "So… that curse still lingers."
It beat its wings fiercely,
turning toward the source of that vile aura.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, Shinju, Koharu, and Swen had just finished collecting the serpent's venom sac.
Swen said,
> "All done! The venom sac's secured — we're good to go."
At that very moment, the heavens trembled.
A roar so powerful it shook every stone in the valley ripped through the air.
Shinju lifted his head, his eyes narrowing.
In the distance, a massive creature soared across the sky.
Its golden scales caught the sunlight, burning like fire.
> "What… is that?" Shinju said in disbelief.
"I've never seen a creature like this before."
Swen froze.
> "That's… a Yang beast? Impossible! A creature this sacred shouldn't exist on Earth!"
Koharu's voice trembled:
> "No… that's a dragon."
"The same from our legends — mankind's oldest enemy."
"It's far too powerful… we must be careful."
As the sky blazed with golden light,
the three stood in stunned silence.
Without realizing it,
they had awakened the wrath
of a dragon that had slumbered for a thousand years.