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The landscape stretched out in a warped, nightmarish expanse. Jagged mountain peaks rose in the distance like broken teeth, their edges uneven and unnatural, while the waters below churned with a dark, vicious current that seemed to move with intent rather than flow.
The energy in the air was different. It was oppressive, and volatile enough to kill an ordinary being with a single breath. But Entares wasn't an 'ordinary being'.
He hovered above it all, unaffected, his presence steady against the chaos around him as he drifted forward at an unhurried pace.
From the mountains, something stirred. A Void Dragon, its presence unmistakable, tore through the sky and made its way towards him, its size and aura marking it as an A-Tier Void Dragon. It moved as though responding to his arrival, drawn out to confront him.
"I don't have time for this."
He muttered.
He raised his hand slightly, and darkness surged outward from his palm, spreading across the space in an instant. It didn't expand wildly but swallowed everything in its path with quiet certainty.
The dragon barely had time to react before it was consumed, its massive form disappearing into the encroaching tide as though it had never existed, absorbed completely into the darkness that now lingered where it once flew.
Noticing what had happened, the few remaining dragon-kin didn't hesitate. They pulled back at once, retreating into the jagged mountains, and he continued forward as though they had never been there.
He came to a stop at the edge of the shore, his gaze settling on the waters ahead. Far in the distance, a palace rose into view, perched atop the colossal skeleton of a dragon, its structure blending unnervingly with the remains beneath it.
Without a second thought, he stepped forward and lifted into the air, gliding smoothly across the river's surface. The dark waters shifted beneath him, restless and heavy, but he paid them little attention until something changed.
A sudden surge in the current caught his eye. The water rose unnaturally fast, forming a wave that moved with intent rather than force. He turned slightly, raising his fingers and tracing a sigil through the air in a fluid motion.
Before the symbol could fully take effect, the river below convulsed violently. A colossal maw burst through the surface, jaws opening wide enough to swallow him whole as it lunged upward.
"You damn Vhaegon."
He muttered under his breath.
He flash-stepped to the side, the attack missing him by a fraction, and his body shifted mid-air as he clenched his fist, ready to drive it straight into the creature's scales.
Just before the strike could land, a massive eye snapped open. In the next instant, the creature vanished.
The impact came from nowhere. A violent force slammed into him, sending him hurtling through the air before he could even register what had hit him.
'Impossible… that's the exact force I calculated for my own punch.'
Below him, the river began to boil, and then he felt it. His instincts flared, and he shot upward, but it was too late. The world around him suddenly sank into darkness.
"Weird. I got transported to its belly. Perhaps the river itself was part of it. Well, this just made things easier."
He said with a grin.
From the outside, one can tell the Vhaegon Family writhed in agony, its screech tearing through the air. From its head down to its tail, thick black rods burst outward, followed by a clean internal rupture that split its body neatly in two.
From within the gory divide, Entares emerged, his form untouched. Without sparing the corpse a glance, he ascended toward the palace, landing before its great doors before calmly stepping inside.
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To be continued...