The clash of domains had ended. Silence fell over the void, a heavy stillness that weighed on every thought. The Sage knelt on the fractured ground of his rival's Domain Cage, his aura flickering weakly. Energy crackled around him, but it was unstable now, no longer entirely under his control.
"This… is my end," he murmured, voice low but resolute.
A faint silver light began to glow along his form, pulsing with raw energy. The remnants of his cloak shredded as the air itself seemed to bend around him. Slowly, his human guise dissolved, replaced by scales that shimmered like polished silver. Massive wings unfurled from his back, their span cutting through the domain like a silver storm, and his eyes glowed with an ageless wisdom and power that could rival the sun itself.
Mila, observing from afar alongside Celeste, gasped quietly. Even from a distance, the magnitude of the transformation was undeniable.
"He… he's a dragon kin?" Mila whispered under her breath, her tail flicking nervously.
Celeste nodded, her cyan hair catching the faint light from the crackling energy. "And judging by the aura… he's on a completely different tier than anything you've faced yet, Miss Mila."
The Silver Elder Dragon rose fully, his form radiating the serene authority of countless lifetimes. His gaze swept across the domain, landing briefly on the fallen structures of the battle. Though defeated in the physical sense, his presence alone commanded awe and respect.
"I may fall here," he said, his voice echoing like a distant storm, "but I will not let my legacy end. My strength… my wisdom… it will endure."
Mila's heart pounded. She understood then that dragons like him were not just powerful they were legends, beings whose existence shaped entire worlds. And in that moment, she realized the stakes of everything she was learning, everything she was fighting for.
Celeste leaned closer. "Miss Mila… whatever happens next, remember: there are powers here that you can barely imagine. Be ready."
The Silver Elder Dragon's roar tore through the void, a sound both beautiful and terrifying. It marked the end of the battle but the beginning of a new chapter in a war that Mila had only begun to comprehend.
And somewhere deep inside, she felt the first flicker of anticipation not fear, but the thrill of what lay ahead.