Before anyone could steady their breath, the very air above the capital, Arian Core, cracked open. With each tremor, the fractures spiderwebbed outward—staining the sky with dread.
"What is that?" Prince Orion gasped, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Lord Seraphyx... is the barrier around this space being tampered with?" asked King Orion, his voice sharp with alarm.
Before Seraphyx could answer, the crack shattered completely—a hole torn through the heavens, exposing the world beyond. From within echoed the unearthly cry of a dragon.
Emerging through the rift was a disfigured, black skeletal dragon, its massive body wreathed in decay and flame. Glowing red eyes burned with fury, and long, twisted veins pulsed through the membranes of its wings. Its size rivaled that of Dragonspine itself—thankfully far too immense to pass fully through into Arian.
As its cry echoed through the sky, the crowd broke into panic. Rifthounds began pouring through the hole, bodies twitching unnaturally as they floated in search of prey.
"What's happening? What are these things?" Prince Orion cried, horror gripping his voice.
The skeletal dragon's eyes flared with rage, unleashing a roar so immense that it sent tremors through the land—shaking the bones and hearts of everyone below.
Fear sank its claws into the people of Arian. They stared skyward, eyes filled with terror.
"King Orion, gather the soldiers and evacuate my children to safety. Prince Orion—come with me." Seraphyx's voice was heavy and urgent as he seized the prince and soared toward the highest spire of Arian.
Back on the Royal Podium, King Orion rallied the defenders.
"Knights of Arian! Through the Cold-Blazen War and the love of our Mother, we have endured the trials of time. Now, we must rise once more—to protect the people we hold dear!"
His command was a clarion call, and the knights swiftly moved to escort the panicked civilians toward the castle's protective shelters.
"AAAAAGGGHHHHH!" screamed a young man as a Rifthound tore into him, ripping off his leg. Blood pooled as he writhed in agony.
"W-where… are the… g-guards?" whimpered a young girl, cornered in the countryside by a pack of hounds. Chaos erupted across the kingdom.
In the plaza, Royal Knights fought valiantly, fending off beasts as they ushered the people to safety.
Meanwhile, atop the castle—at the highest point in Arian—
"Orion," Seraphyx said, his voice low and burdened, "I need you to seal the rift while I hold them back. I wouldn't ask this of you unless the threat were… endless."
His eyes burned with worry as he added, "This is a command. You remember the instructions I gave you in the illusion, don't you?"
"Yes, Lord Seraphyx." Prince Orion knelt without hesitation.
Seraphyx took off, wings slicing the air—only to be halted mid-flight by a towering, radiant figure.
The newcomer stood tall, his crimson hair cascading like molten lava, glowing faintly at the tips. His face mirrored Seraphyx's—a divine resemblance marked by sharp elegance and piercing eyes.
"Ignarion?" Seraphyx growled, fury in his gaze. "What are you doing here?"
"I am the Fifth of VlastMoroz's Emblem—Crown of the Silent Reign," Ignarion declared, his voice like thunder. "You, Seraphyx—Second of the Emblem, Plume of Drakon—should know better than to charge into a battle meant for me."
Seraphyx clenched his jaw. "This is no time for idle proclamations. Arian is under siege, and you know the rule—you're not to reveal yourself to the public."
Ignarion stepped forward, heat rippling from his form.
"And yet here I stand. Lord Rosen does not currently dwell within you, and if I do not act, this kingdom will fall. I will bend rules, Seraphyx—but never let them shatter what we are meant to protect."
He fell from the heavens like a divine executioner, a meteor of fire and fury. The marble plaza exploded beneath his feet.
Rifthounds were flung into buildings like broken toys.
A knight stumbled back, sword shaking. "Wh-Who are you…?"
Ignarion didn't spare a glance. He grabbed a lunging beast and ripped it in half mid-air, blood misting the cobblestones.
His voice rolled out—deep, harsh, with an edge that scraped your spine like steel dragged over bone.
"If you need to ask, you don't deserve to know. Back away. You'll only slow me down."
He moved like a storm—savage, fluid, unstoppable.
A woman screamed as her child was yanked from her arms by a snarling Rifthound.
CRACK.
The beast exploded into flame and ash before it could bite down.
Ignarion landed among them like a god of war. His crimson hair crackled, the tips glowing as if dipped in a forge.
He tore through the monsters with his bare hands, impaling one on a broken beam and swinging it like a flail into the next.
The woman sobbed. "W-Who saved us…?"
But when they looked around there was no one there to answer.
Dozens of Rifthounds flooded the fields, tearing through farmers and livestock.
A barn exploded in a pillar of flame—Ignarion emerged from it, coated in ash, dripping with black blood.
He seized a beast by the skull and slammed it into the ground until it shattered like glass, then hurled its corpse into a cluster of others.
A bleeding soldier watched, awe-struck. "A-Are you a god…?"
But before they could ask more, Ignarion vanished leaving a scorch on the ground.
Perched upon the shattered spire of the royal palace, Seraphyx narrowed his eyes, the cold wind tugging at his silvery robes.
Far below, chaos raged… but amidst it—a blur of red.
In one breath, Ignarion cleaved through a horde near the plaza—the ground rupturing with each strike.
In the next, he reappeared on the countryside ridge—dozens of Rifthounds exploding in a wave of molten flame.
He was everywhere.
Like fire given form, a divine force unchained.
Seraphyx's expression was unreadable—equal parts awe, fury, and reluctant respect. His eyes glinted as the blur of crimson ripped through another beast without breaking stride.
"Tch…" Seraphyx exhaled, voice laced with bitterness. "Still so reckless… Still so fast."
A distant scream was cut off mid-air—Ignarion had already been there.
And as the carnage continued, Seraphyx tightened his grip on the frozen railing.
"...But even I can't deny it. No one dances with death like him."
On the other hand, as Ignarion tore through the swarms of monsters, Prince Orion stood atop the castle, awestruck by the chaos unfolding below.
"Oh no, I need to focus. Alright, remember the instructions—whenever I want to open or close a rift, I just need to chant the spell."
Orion took a deep breath and extended his hands forward.
"To the Third of VlastMoroz's Emblem, Frozen Pendulum, Morven—heed my call, and close all of the rifts surrounding the space of Arian."
As the words left his lips, the waterfalls froze mid-flow. Even Ignarion, who was cutting down hordes of Rifthounds, found his battlefield stilled—the blood of the beasts suspended in mid-air.
Within the frozen world, a presence appeared beside Orion. Tall and ethereal, the figure had semi-transparent skin, like frosted glass threaded with glowing blue veins that pulsed softly. His long silver hair drifted weightlessly, shimmering like moonlight on still water. Though he shared the divine grace of Seraphyx, his aura was quieter—calm, distant, and introverted. His glacial cyan eyes held a deep, unreadable silence, and his robes, woven from mist and fading starlight, floated gently around him.
"I am Morven. You called for me, so I came," he spoke in a soft, husky voice. "Though... you won't hear me right now."
Raising a hand, Morven traced a circular glyph of Cryo in the air. The sigil shimmered with temporal frost as he cast the spell, sealing the rifts and closing the tears in Arian's skies.
"There you go. I'll be leaving now," he murmured, vanishing as silently as he had appeared.
Time resumed.
Orion's eyes widened as he looked up—the sky above Arian was whole again, and every rift had vanished.
Meanwhile, Seraphyx watched as Ignarion felled the last of the Rifthounds. The dragon then soared back up to meet him.
"Did you keep count?" Ignarion asked casually.
"10,345 in three minutes," Seraphyx replied with mild annoyance. "A bit rusty, if you ask me."
"Well, not bad," Ignarion smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me—I need to deal with that black skeletal dragon who started this mess in the first place."
A rift tore open behind him, and with a flick of his wings, Ignarion vanished into the void.