Night fell slowly, like it was afraid to arrive too fast.
Kael and Ravik made camp at the edge of the cracked plain, where black stone met living soil. A small fire burned between them, its light calm and steady. The silence of the land was no longer heavy, but it was still watching.
Kael sat on a fallen stone, his sword resting across his knees. He was not tired, but his mind was awake in a way sleep could not touch.
"The presence we met today," Ravik said quietly, staring into the fire, "most people never survive even standing before it."
Kael did not look at him. "It didn't want survival."
Ravik nodded. "No. It wanted truth."
Above them, the stars shifted. The sky looked deeper here, as if the world had fewer layers between earth and the heavens.
Kael felt it again.
That pull.
The same feeling he had known since the beginning. Since before the city. Since before the trials.
Something vast was near.
"Ravik," Kael said, standing slowly. "If I tell you to stay back, will you listen?"
Ravik gave a short smile. "I stopped listening the day I chose to follow you."
Kael almost smiled—but then the air changed.
The fire bent sideways.
The ground trembled, not like an earthquake, but like a giant breathing beneath the land.
The stars above dimmed, one by one.
Then the sky tore open.
Not with lightning. Not with thunder.
But with wings.
A massive shape descended from the clouds, blocking the moon. Scales like molten gold and dark shadow reflected the firelight. The wind from its wings crushed the grass flat and sent sparks flying into the night.
Ravik fell to one knee without thinking.
Kael did not move.
The dragon landed before them, the ground cracking under its weight. Its head lowered slowly, eyes glowing like twin suns held back by ancient control.
This was no beast.
This was Vryllos Belyx.
Its voice did not come from its mouth. It came from everywhere—inside Kael's bones, inside the sky, inside the silence itself.
"YOU WALK AHEAD OF ME."
Kael met its gaze.
"Yes."
The dragon's nostrils flared. Heat rolled across the ground, but Kael stood firm.
"YOU SPEAK TO COURTS THAT JUDGE GODS."
"Yes."
"YOU DO NOT TREMBLE."
"No."
For a long moment, the world held still.
Then the dragon laughed.
It was not loud. It was deep. Ancient. Like mountains grinding together.
"MANY HAVE STOOD WHERE YOU STAND," Vryllos said.
"ALL OF THEM KNEELED."
Kael's voice was calm. "I am not here to kneel."
The dragon's eyes narrowed, not in anger—but in focus.
"THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE?"
Kael did not answer at once.
He thought of the futures shown to him. Of fear and loss. Of cities burning and cities standing. Of power taken and power carried.
"I am here," he said slowly, "because you will move. And when you do, the world will change. I need to know if that change will destroy everything… or teach it."
The dragon stepped closer. Its shadow covered Kael completely.
Ravik wanted to shout. To move. To do something.
Kael raised one hand—just slightly.
Ravik froze.
"YOU DARE ASK A DRAGON TO EXPLAIN ITSELF?" Vryllos asked.
"I dare ask," Kael replied, "because dragons don't wake without reason."
Silence followed.
Then Vryllos lowered its massive head until one glowing eye was level with Kael's face.
"I AM NOT WAKING," the dragon said.
"I AM RESPONDING."
"To what?" Kael asked.
"TO YOU."
Kael's heart beat once. Strong. Steady.
"I didn't call you," he said.
"NO," Vryllos agreed.
"YOU BECAME LOUD ENOUGH."
The dragon pulled back slightly and spread its wings. Symbols burned briefly along its scales—ancient marks of oath and ruin.
"THE KLYN MOVES," Vryllos said.
"THRAXXIS SHAPES THE BOARD."
Ravik sucked in a breath. "So it's true…"
Kael's eyes stayed on the dragon. "Then why haven't you burned it all down already?"
The dragon's wings folded.
"BECAUSE DESTRUCTION IS EASY," it said.
"AND I AM TIRED OF EASY."
Vryllos lifted one claw and pressed it into the ground. The earth split, revealing glowing stone beneath.
"I HAVE SEEN WORLDS RULED BY FEAR," it continued.
"AND WORLDS RULED BY HEROES."
Kael waited.
"THEY BOTH FAIL," the dragon said.
"Then what remains?" Kael asked.
The dragon's gaze sharpened.
"THOSE WHO DO NOT SEEK TO RULE."
The wind calmed.
The fire straightened.
The night breathed again.
Vryllos Belyx rose to its full height and bowed its head—not in submission, but in acknowledgment.
Ravik's eyes widened.
Kael felt the weight of the moment press into his chest.
"I WILL NOT BOW TO YOU," the dragon said.
"BUT I WILL WALK THE SAME SKY."
"That's all I ask," Kael replied.
The dragon turned, wings unfolding once more.
"WHEN THE KLYN STRIKES," Vryllos said as it lifted into the air,
"DO NOT STAND IN FRONT OF ME."
Kael watched the great shape rise back into the clouds.
"I won't," he said quietly. "I'll stand beside you."
The sky closed.
The stars returned.
The night was silent again—but it was no longer empty.
Ravik finally stood. "You just spoke to a legend… and it didn't kill us."
Kael sat back down by the fire.
"That's how I knew it was listening."
Far away, unseen, forces older than kingdoms shifted their plans.
Because the dragon had noticed the man.
And the man had not bowed.
Kael finally meets the dragon the world fears most—and discovers it fears something else entirely.