Mia didn't wait.
The moment his voice faded—
she moved.
A blur of black scales and violet light, tearing across the chamber with a roar that still echoed with everything she'd just felt.
Fear. Rage. Refusal.
Her claws came down—
fast. furious.
Varkryth raised a hand—
and stopped her.
Just like that.
Claws met his palm.
The impact cracked the ground beneath them.
For a heartbeat, it looked frozen—
then the floor began to slide.
Stone grinding.
Dust rising.
Varkryth's feet dragged back a few inches—
just a few—
as Mia kept pushing.
Her wings flared, mana surging harder, darker, heavier than before.
She roared again, forcing more power forward.
For the first time—
he moved.
Not by choice.
By force.
Varkryth's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Do you truly believe…"
His voice cut through the noise, calm but sharper now—
"…that anger makes you stronger?"
Mia pushed harder.
Her claws trembled with effort.
Her mana flared violently.
He tilted his head.
"Such nonsense…"
His grip tightened—
"…belongs in fairy tales."
And then—
he moved.
With a simple shift, he redirected her force—
and threw her.
Mia was sent flying across the chamber, her body crashing and skidding across the stone before she caught herself with her claws.
The ground tore beneath her.
She stopped.
Breathing hard.
Still glaring.
Still standing.
Varkryth straightened, dust sliding off his arm.
His gaze locked onto her.
Cold. Certain.
"Love does not stop a blade."
A step forward.
"Anger does not grant strength."
Another.
"Feelings…"
His voice dropped.
"…are meaningless in battle."
He raised his hand slightly, dark mana curling around it.
"Strength is everything."
Silence pressed in around them.
Behind Mia—
Ebruhan still lay on the ground, barely conscious.
In front of her—
stood something immovable.
Ancient.
Unyielding.
Varkryth's gaze settled on her like a verdict already written.
"You have much to learn, young one."
Mia answered with a roar.
Dark violet mana flared wildly around her, thick as a storm breaking loose. Dozens of spikes formed in the air at her sides, humming, trembling, waiting.
Then—
she unleashed them.
A barrage.
Fast. Relentless. Furious.
The chamber filled with streaks of purple light tearing toward Varkryth from every angle.
For a heartbeat, it looked overwhelming.
Then—
one motion.
Varkryth stepped forward and swung.
Not fast.
Not flashy.
Just… precise.
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG—
Every spike was deflected in a single sweeping arc, their trajectories shattered like glass in motion.
Some were knocked aside.
Some split apart.
Some simply vanished under the pressure of his strike.
In one movement—
her entire attack was erased.
Silence followed.
Mia's eyes widened.
(…What?)
She didn't even get time to think—
Varkryth closed the distance in a blink, obsidian blade already mid-swing.
Instinct took over.
Mia threw up a shield—
a dense wall of dark mana forming just in time.
The blade struck it.
For a fraction of a second—
it held.
Then—
CRACK.
The shield shattered like thin ice under a falling mountain.
The impact didn't stop.
BOOM—
A shockwave burst outward as the strike connected, sending Mia flying backward, her body lifted and thrown across the chamber.
She slammed into the ground, skidding hard, claws digging trenches into the stone before she finally stopped.
The air trembled.
Dust drifted.
Varkryth lowered his blade slowly.
Unharmed.
Unshaken.
Unimpressed.
"Raw power," he said calmly,
"without control…"
His eyes locked onto her again.
"…is nothing."
Mia's roar tore through the chamber again.
No hesitation now.
Only momentum.
Dark mana surged down her spine and into her wings, flaring brighter, denser—compressing into raw force. She lowered her head—
and launched.
A living projectile.
A mana-charged head strike aimed straight through Varkryth.
At the same time—
Ebruhan moved.
Somehow.
Some stubborn fragment of him dragged his body back into motion. He staggered forward, then pushed harder, forcing speed out of pain, blue mana flickering weakly around his form as he rushed in from the side.
Two attacks.
Two angles.
One moment.
It should have worked.
Varkryth watched them both.
Calm.
Measured.
And then—
he stepped aside.
Just one step.
Perfect timing.
Mia shot past him, her attack cutting nothing but air.
Her eyes widened—
Too late.
A hand closed around her tail mid-charge.
Caught.
Like grabbing a whip.
Varkryth turned—
and swung.
Mia's entire body followed the motion, redirected with brutal efficiency—
straight toward Ebruhan.
Ebruhan barely had time to register—
BOOM.
They collided.
Hard.
Two dragons smashed together and were sent flying as one, crashing into the far wall with enough force to fracture stone and shake the chamber.
Debris rained down.
Dust swallowed them both.
Silence—
Then a low groan.
They fell to the ground together, tangled, battered, struggling to breathe.
Varkryth released his grip and straightened slowly.
Unhurried.
Untouched.
He looked at them where they lay, side by side in the wreckage.
"…Coordination," he said coldly,
"requires more than desperation."
A pause.
His gaze sharpened.
"You rush blindly."
Another step forward.
"You interfere with each other."
And then, quieter—
almost disappointed.
"You fight like children."
Dust drifted down like ash from a dying fire.
Two figures stirred beneath it.
Mia pushed herself up first, claws scraping against fractured stone, her wings trembling from the impact. Pain ran through her body—but she stood.
Behind her, slower—
Ebruhan.
He coughed, one hand braced against the ground, forcing himself upright like gravity itself had a personal grudge against him.
For a moment, neither moved.
Just breathing.
Still alive.
Barely.
Mia glanced back at him, eyes tight.
"…Ebruhan."
He didn't answer immediately.
Because breathing was currently a full-time job.
She took a step toward him.
"Get out of here."
Simple.
Direct.
Desperate.
Ebruhan wiped blood from his mouth, then looked at her like she'd just suggested something incredibly stupid.
"…Without you?"
A pause.
Then he huffed weakly.
"Yeah, no."
Mia frowned.
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
He straightened a little more, ignoring everything in his body screaming at him to sit back down forever.
"I didn't come here for sightseeing."
"…You're going to die."
"Probably."
He shrugged.
"Still not leaving."
She stared at him.
Somewhere between angry and… something else.
"You're an idiot."
"Certified."
Another beat.
"…But I made a promise."
There it was again.
That stubborn, unbreakable thing.
Mia clenched her jaw, looking away for a second.
"…You really suck at self-preservation."
"And you suck at running away."
"…I'm tied to your problem right now."
"Exactly. Teamwork."
"That's not how that works."
"Too late. I decided it is."
For a brief second—
in the middle of a shattered chamber, in front of something that could erase them both—
it almost felt normal.
Almost.
Then—
footsteps.
Slow.
Certain.
Varkryth.
"…Touching."
His voice cut through the moment like a blade.
He looked at the two of them standing side by side.
Broken. Defiant. Ridiculous.
"…And completely meaningless."
Mia stepped forward slightly.
Ebruhan followed.
Neither backing down.
Varkryth tilted his head.
"Very well."
Dark mana began to gather again.
Heavy. Oppressive.
"Show me…"
A faint, dangerous smile.
"…how long your resolve lasts."