The ancient roads of Nairon trembled violently beneath the heavy march of armies.
Three colossal royal carriages carved their way through the dust toward the palace gates.
Behind each one stretched endless, sweeping convoys of sorcerers, fairies, elite warriors, and mythical beasts.
They had been summoned from distant, forgotten lands for a single, terrifying purpose:
To stand against only four Big Dragons.
In the grand throne hall, the three allied kings gathered around the King of Nairon.
A massive war map lay open before them. Their voices rose, sharp with desperate urgency.
For they all knew the bitter, unyielding truth:
This was not a battle for triumph. This was a brutal battle for survival.
— "The water fairies shall quench the flames and shield the helpless villages." — "The ice sorcerers will freeze the very heavens if they must, and bind the wings of these beasts." — "And we, the wind warriors, will tear the skies with our storms and drive them away."
There was but one chilling certainty within those stone walls:
If they failed tonight, there would be absolutely nothing left to defend at dawn.
Beyond the palace walls, the heavens themselves became a chaotic battlefield of wind, ice, and roaring fire.
What remained of Nairon's proud army had entirely withdrawn from the bloodstained frontlines.
They were entrusted with a higher, sacred duty—the absolute protection of their people.
Through burning streets and dark alleys, soldiers gathered weeping children and terrified families.
They guided them deep into the subterranean shelters carved beneath the kingdom's foundations.
There, a fleeting safety was all they could grant.
But their vow was crystal clear: No one shall be left behind.
And for a brief, beautiful moment… hope flickered.
The water fairies successfully doused the burning forests.
The ice sorcerers chained the dragons' lethal flames in frost.
And the violent storms of Zephyra ripped through the skies, scattering their massive wings.
Slowly… the suffocating kingdom seemed to breathe again.
The fires dimmed. The terrifying roars of the Big Dragons began to wane.
But peace is an ever-fragile thing.
Suddenly, the sky itself howled with absolute fury.
Elinor unleashed her ultimate wrath.
She exhaled a monstrous torrent of pure fire. It was vast enough to consume an entire empire, tearing through the magical defenses and drowning countless lives in liquid flame.
Panic swept through the ranks like a plague. Hearts faltered. Royal lines broke.
And worse still…
Another ancient dragon shattered the grand wall of ice with its blazing breath, tearing ruthlessly through the eastern border.
A royal guard burst into the throne hall, his breath ragged, his voice shaking with terror: — "My liege… the borders have fallen! The true peril begins now!"
At that exact, devastating moment, Fairo returned.
His body was broken and bloodied. It bore the heavy weight of his defiance, for he had stubbornly insisted on standing with the common soldiers to shield his people.
Laid heavily upon his bed, he forced his eyes open at last.
He whispered with rapidly fading strength: — "Bring Dalirina… we cannot prevail without her."
But the king's face darkened into pure shadow. His voice thundered through the chamber with explosive anger: — "I will not summon her! She betrayed us—just as that traitorous fairy once did in this very kingdom. All that we suffer now… it is her doing!"
Fairo's gaze instantly sharpened, glowing like dying embers. His voice came out hoarse, yet completely unyielding: — "And who told you this, my king? Who whispered such deadly poison into your heart?"
And there, in the dim light of the falling kingdom, the truth finally revealed itself.
That fateful day, when the queen had leaned close to the king's ear… her words were not royal counsel.
They were pure, calculated treachery.
She had planted the venomous lie that Dalirina secretly longed for the throne, branding the innocent girl a traitor unworthy of trust.
From that single whisper onward, truth was twisted into a living nightmare.
And the absolute ruin of this day… was born from that single, hidden deceit.