The chamber turned into a storm again.
Clash after clash—
steel and mana, claws and fists—
and every exchange ended the same way.
Impact.
Loss.
Silence.
Mia lunged—
caught.
Thrown.
She hit the ground hard, skidding across shattered stone, her body finally refusing to rise the way it had before. Her wings twitched, claws digging weakly into the floor—
but nothing came.
Pain flooded everything.
She stayed down.
Across the chamber—
Ebruhan attacked again.
And again.
And again—
Each time met with the same answer.
A punch.
A throw.
A wall.
He was sent crashing back once more, body slamming into stone before dropping heavily to the ground.
For a second—
he didn't move.
Then—
his hand twitched.
He dragged himself up.
Slow.
Unsteady.
He wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, breath shaking but still there.
Still stubborn.
Still refusing.
Varkryth watched him.
Unmoved.
Unhurried.
"How long…"
He stepped forward, each footfall echoing.
"…do you intend to last, Blue Dot?"
Ebruhan didn't answer right away.
Because standing was currently a negotiation with his own body.
He exhaled.
Looked up.
Eyes still burning through the exhaustion.
"…Long enough."
A pause.
He straightened a little more, even if it hurt.
"…to be annoying."
Silence.
Then—
Varkryth's gaze sharpened slightly.
Not anger.
Not surprise.
Something quieter.
"…I see."
Behind him, Mia struggled, barely lifting her head, vision swimming.
"…Ebruhan…"
But he didn't look back.
Couldn't afford to.
Because if he did—
he might stop.
And stopping was not an option he allowed himself.
He stepped forward again.
One more time.
Broken.
Bleeding.
Unyielding.
Because the promise wasn't done yet.
Ebruhan inhaled once.
Sharp. Painful.
Enough.
Then he moved.
Again.
Blue mana gathered around his fist, tighter than before, denser—like he was forcing everything he had left into one single point.
No hesitation now.
No plan.
Just forward.
Varkryth watched him come.
Didn't move.
Just tilted his head slightly, as if curious what this broken dragon could possibly do next.
Ebruhan closed the distance in a blink.
His fist came forward—
BOOM.
The impact rang through the chamber.
A shield had formed in Varkryth's hand at the last moment—dark, solid, absolute.
Ebruhan's punch slammed into it.
Shockwave exploded outward, stone cracking beneath their feet, air ripping away from the center of impact.
For a moment—
it held.
Ebruhan's arm trembled, mana surging violently around his fist.
He pushed harder.
Teeth clenched.
Everything he had left—
into that one strike.
CRACK.
A thin line spread across the shield.
Varkryth's eyes flickered.
CRACK—CRACK—
The shield began to fracture.
For the first time—
his expression changed.
Surprise.
SHATTER.
The barrier broke.
Ebruhan's fist pushed through—
past the point it should have stopped—
aimed straight for Varkryth.
For one impossible moment—
it might have worked.
Then—
THUD.
Varkryth's fist hit first.
A clean counter.
Straight to Ebruhan's face.
The force snapped his head back, body lifting slightly before crashing to the ground.
Hard.
The chamber went quiet again.
Ebruhan lay there, unmoving for a second, mana flickering out around him.
Varkryth lowered his hand slowly.
The faintest crack of something thoughtful passed through his gaze.
"…Interesting."
He looked down at the shattered remnants of his own shield.
Then back at the dragon on the ground.
"…So you can still bite."
A pause.
Then colder—
"But not enough."
Ebruhan groaned faintly, trying to move again—
because of course he would.
Because stopping was apparently illegal for him.
And somewhere behind all that pain—
Mia saw it.
That moment.
That crack.
That proof—
that even something like Varkryth…
could be touched.
Varkryth lowered his gaze.
For a moment—just a moment—he looked at his own palm.
A thin line of red traced across it.
Blood.
Real.
It lingered for barely a breath—
then vanished, the wound sealing as if it had never dared to exist.
But it had.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Then lifted.
Ebruhan was still there.
On his feet—somehow.
Swaying. Bleeding. Barely holding together.
But standing.
And beside him—
Mia.
Wings tense, mana flickering, body trembling but refusing to step back.
Still ready.
Still defiant.
Still choosing to fight.
Varkryth stared at them.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Then—
he smiled.
Slowly.
And then—
he laughed.
"HAHAHAHAHA—!"
The sound filled the chamber, deep and echoing, carrying something heavier than mockery.
Amusement.
Approval.
Danger.
"Such attitude…"
He stepped forward, rolling his shoulder once, as if loosening something old and long unused.
Purple eyes gleamed brighter now.
"Broken bodies."
"Cracked bones."
"And yet—"
He pointed the obsidian blade loosely toward them.
"You still stand."
A pause.
His smile sharpened.
"Good."
The air shifted.
He wasn't just testing anymore.
He was interested.
"Perhaps…"
His voice dropped, quieter now, but far more dangerous.
"…this will not be entirely boring after all."
Dark mana began to rise again, thicker than before, coiling around him like a living shadow.
Mia's eyes widened.
Ebruhan forced himself upright again.
Instinct screamed the same thing in both of them.
Brace.
They raised their defenses—
Mia's shield flickering into place, unstable but stubborn.
Ebruhan dragged what little mana he had left into a barrier, breathing uneven, preparing for the inevitable—
Annihilation.
Varkryth lifted his hand.
The air went still.
Then—
A magic circle appear under them both
Mia froze.
Ebruhan blinked.
Their wounds—
closed.
Cracked scales sealed. Bruises faded. Breathing steadied.
Pain…completely gone
Mia slowly lowered her guard, confusion written all over her face.
"…What…?"
Ebruhan stared at his own hands, flexing them slightly, as if unsure this was real.
Varkryth lowered his arm.
Calm again.
Like the storm had never gathered.
"Well done, Blue Dot."
His voice echoed, almost casual.
"You managed to scratch me."
A faint smile.
Not mocking this time.
Acknowledging.
He shifted his gaze to Mia briefly—
then back to Ebruhan.
"I will honor my word."
A pause.
Heavy.
Measured.
"You may leave."
Silence.
The kind that doesn't feel real at first.
Because it shouldn't be happening.
But it was.
Varkryth turned slightly, already losing interest in the fight.
"Take her."
Another step.
"As promised."
And just like that—
the battlefield… stopped.
The silence lingered a second too long.
Mia and Ebruhan didn't move.
Didn't lower their guard.
Because nothing about this made sense.
Varkryth watched them, expression unreadable.
Then he spoke again.
Clear.
Final.
"You are free to follow this blue dragon."
The words landed—
but didn't settle.
Mia blinked.
"…What?"
Ebruhan frowned, still half-ready to get punched again out of habit.
Varkryth's gaze shifted to her.
"And you, Mia."
A brief pause.
Not soft—
but not cold either.
"Go."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Say goodbye to your mother."
That one hit differently.
The chamber went quiet again.
Mia froze.
"…Goodbye…?"
The word felt heavy in her mouth.
Because goodbye meant—
this was real.
This wasn't another test.
This wasn't another fight.
This was… a choice being forced into existence.
Ebruhan glanced at her, then back at Varkryth, suspicion written all over his face.
"…You're just letting us go?"
Varkryth didn't look at him.
"My word was given."
That was the only answer.
Enough said.
Mia stood there, caught between two worlds in a single moment.
Behind her—
the Abyss. Her blood. Her mother.
Beside her—
Ebruhan. Her promise. Her choice.
Varkryth turned away slightly, already done with the discussion.
"Do not waste my time."