Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The top of the ruined tower had become silent except for the distant sound of burning fire and collapsing stone.
The cold wind howled through the broken walls of the castle like the cries of dead souls.
Everyone stared at the same thing.
The Skelet Dragon.
And Noah's legless body lying beside it in a pool of blood.
The dragon slowly turned its skull toward the rest of the group.
Its hollow green eyes glowed brighter.
Hungrier.
Crueler.
Then it roared.
A deafening sound that shook the tower beneath their feet.
The creature began charging toward them.
But nobody moved.
Anna stood frozen in horror.
Johann's breathing became uneven.
Heinrich looked completely broken.
Even Karoschi remained motionless.
Shock had consumed them.
Meanwhile—
Noah slowly opened his eyes.
Darkness.
Nothing but endless darkness surrounded him.
No pain.
No sound.
No cold.
It felt as though time itself had stopped.
Then—
a voice echoed through the void.
Calm.
„Elias: Noah… stand up."
Noah slowly lifted his head.
A man stood before him within the darkness.
Tall.
Wearing damaged armor covered in old scars.
His eyes carried both exhaustion and hope.
„Noah: …Who are you?"
The man stepped closer.
„Elias: You already know me."
Noah's eyes widened slightly.
„Noah: The Hero from 50 years ago…"
The legendary hero smiled faintly.
But there was sadness behind it.
„Elias: You can't give up now."
„Elias: Take our sword."
Suddenly—
more figures emerged from the darkness behind Elias.
Men and women.
Warriors.
Broken soldiers covered in scars and blood.
The remnants of the past.
„Elias: Did you really think I defeated monsters like Karag alone?"
Noah stared silently.
„Elias: But we failed to destroy him forever."
The darkness around them trembled slightly.
„Elias: Noah… Karag must be stopped once and for all."
He stepped closer.
„Elias: We couldn't finish this war."
Then Elias placed the nexometal sword into Noah's hands.
„Elias: But you can."
Noah looked down weakly.
„Noah: …I can't."
His voice trembled slightly.
„Noah: My legs are gone."
Elias smiled faintly.
Not mockingly.
But with complete certainty.
„Elias: Then trust the sword."
The figures behind him slowly began fading away into the darkness.
One by one.
„Elias: We believe in you, Noah."
The darkness suddenly shattered apart.
Reality returned instantly.
The Skelet Dragon opened its jaws.
Green fire gathered inside its mouth once more.
The group realized too late what was about to happen.
Then suddenly—
BOOOOM!!
A massive shockwave exploded across the tower.
Bright magenta light erupted everywhere.
The Skelet Dragon was violently blasted backward away from the group.
Everyone stared in shock.
Noah's body slowly rose into the air.
Magenta light surrounded him completely.
Like burning energy flowing through his veins.
Then—
his legs began regenerating.
Bones.
Muscles.
Skin.
Growing back within seconds.
Johann's jaw dropped completely.
„Johann: WHAT THE HELL?!"
Noah's eyes slowly opened again.
But now—
they glowed entirely magenta.
Anna stared at him speechlessly.
„Anna: Noah…?"
Noah landed softly back onto the stone floor.
Then vanished.
The ground beneath him exploded from the speed alone.
The Skelet Dragon barely reacted before Noah appeared directly in front of it.
The dragon's hollow eyes widened.
For the first time—
fear appeared inside them.
It understood.
Something had changed.
The dragon tried spewing green fire—
but Noah was faster.
With one devastating slash—
he struck the dragon across the skull and launched it completely off the tower.
The creature roared furiously as it spread its wings and flew upward again.
Then it unleashed another torrent of green flames directly toward Noah.
But Noah didn't dodge.
He jumped straight into the fire.
The others watched in complete disbelief.
The flames split apart around him.
Cut open by the energy surrounding his sword.
Then Noah appeared through the fire itself—
and struck the dragon directly in the head.
CRACK!!
A massive fracture spread across the dragon's skull.
The creature crashed violently onto the tower floor.
„Karoschi: NOW!!"
The others immediately charged forward.
Anna stabbed into its ribs.
Johann shattered pieces of bone with furious strikes.
Even Heinrich forced himself to attack despite still shaking from pain.
The dragon roared wildly and swung its tail—
throwing all of them backward again.
But before it could recover—
Noah appeared once more.
The dragon immediately tried escaping into the sky.
Then suddenly—
BOOOOM!!
Barry ripped a massive chunk of broken stone from the tower—
and hurled it directly into the dragon.
The impact crushed part of its body instantly.
The creature lost balance and crashed back onto the tower.
Large pieces of its skeleton fell into the abyss below.
Noah slowly walked toward it.
The magenta glow around him burned brighter.
The dragon weakly opened its jaws.
Green fire began gathering one last time.
But Noah raised his sword.
And struck downward with overwhelming force.
The dragon's skull began splitting apart.
Cracks spread everywhere.
Then—
the entire head shattered into thousands of pieces.
Silence.
The dragon's body stopped moving.
Slowly—
the entire creature began dissolving into glowing green dust.
Only two things remained behind.
Its glowing eyes.
And a strange green stone hidden deep inside its throat.
The magenta light surrounding Noah slowly disappeared.
His eyes returned to normal.
Then suddenly—
his body collapsed.
„Anna: NOAH!!"
„Johann: Oh shit!!"
The others immediately rushed toward him.
Karoschi knelt beside him carefully.
„Karoschi: Noah… are you alright?"
Noah slowly opened one eye.
„Noah: …Yeah."
A weak breath escaped him.
„Noah: I think so."
Johann stared at him like he had just witnessed a miracle.
„Johann: BRO… WHAT WAS THAT?!"
„Johann: You literally flew through the tower and beat the hell out of that thing!"
Karoschi slowly picked up the dragon's glowing eye.
„Karoschi: You just brought us one step closer to Karag."
„Karoschi: And now… we have the Eye of the Skelet Dragon."
Heinrich carefully picked up the glowing stone.
„Heinrich: What even is this thing?"
„Karoschi: A Soul Stone."
The green light reflected in his eyes.
„Karoschi: That's what it used to summon the Soul Vectors."
Heinrich looked at it nervously.
„Heinrich: …Would you mind if I keep it?"
Karoschi shrugged slightly.
„Karoschi: Go ahead."
The group slowly helped Noah back onto his feet.
Exhausted.
Broken.
Covered in blood.
But alive.
Barry carefully lowered his massive arm beside them.
The group climbed onto it weakly.
Then Barry carried them down from the ruined tower and back onto the cold ground below.
Johann looked back at the destroyed castle one final time.
„Johann: Finally."
He exhaled deeply.
„Johann: Get me the hell away from this creepy-ass castle."
The cold morning wind blew across the valley.
The ruined castle stood silently behind them.
And somewhere far beyond the mountains—
Karag was waiting.
But now—
they were one step closer to him.
And one step closer…
to the truth behind the monsters.