Chapter 3

A thunderous roar suddenly ripped across the sky above the Dark Realm, powerful enough to shake the mountains and sea.

It was not a sound any ordinary dragon could make.

It was...

Thor, the Dragon God.

Kaelorn's body jolted hard, fear flashing through his blind eye.

"Elara..." His voice was dry and strained. "He's here."

I looked up.

The dark sky was lit by golden divine fire, and a pillar of gold descended from the clouds, stretching from heaven to earth.

Behind it came countless giant dragons circling in the air in golden armor.

Their wings blotted out the sky, and dragonfire scorched the air.

The ground of the Dark Realm trembled.

Thor's voice pressed down from the heavens.

"Elara—"

"You abandoned me for a serpent?"

The rage in that voice was enough to shatter a soul.

Kaelorn clutched my wrist tightly, but his whole body was shaking. "He won't let you go... He'll drag you back..."

I looked at the sky.

I had known Thor would come.

But I hadn't expected him to come like this—

as if he meant to wipe out the Dark Realm.

"Dragon host, hear my command—"

Thor's voice became divine judgment.

"Surround the Dark Realm."

"Take Elara alive."

"Strip her soul. Break her bones."

"Imprison her for all eternity."

I stopped breathing for a moment.

Around us, the serpent race immediately fell into chaos:

"The Dragon God is going to destroy us!"

"Run! They're going to burn the whole Dark Realm to ash!"

"Who is that human-born Serpentkin?! The Dragon God is moving against us himself because of her!"

But before anyone could escape—

golden dragonfire crashed down from the sky, igniting the entire forest of the Dark Realm.

The sea of flames spread instantly.

The air filled with screams, the sound of shattering bones, and the stench of burning scales.

Before I could even steady myself, a dragon general had already dived down, his claws aimed straight at me.

"Elara! By order of the Dragon God—you will return!"

Kaelorn suddenly threw himself in front of me.

"Kaelorn—!"

The impact shattered half his ribs, and blood burst from him like water from a cracked spring.

The dragon general dragged his thin body across the ground, gouging a deep trench behind him.

But Kaelorn still forced himself up and wrapped his severed tail around my waist, shielding me beneath his broken body.

"Don't... hurt her."

The dragon general sneered. "A crippled snake dares stand in the way of the Dragon God's will?"

With the next strike, his claw pierced Kaelorn's shoulder blade.

Kaelorn convulsed in agony, but he still clenched his teeth and refused to fall.

"Elara... don't move... I-I can still... hold them off..."

It felt as if my chest were being split open with a blade.

"Kaelorn, let me go!"

"Can't..." He spat out bloody foam. "You'll die."

The dragon army pressed closer and closer. The sea of fire poured into the cave, and the blistering air felt like it wanted to peel the skin from my body.

Every dragon's eyes were locked on me.

I knew—

Thor was watching me.

He had been watching me all along.

Thor's voice came down with the arrogance of someone looking from above, full of possession and command.

"Elara, come back."

"Otherwise, I will burn this filthy place—and every last serpent in it—to nothing."

My fingertips turned cold.

Kaelorn suddenly tightened his hold on me, his voice hoarse. "Elara... don't look at him."

"Look at me."

His trembling fingertips brushed my cheek.

He was blind in one eye, yet it felt as if he could see straight through me.

"You... are my light."

"Not the Dragon God's cage."

I froze.

The next instant—

the golden light in the sky suddenly gathered into a bolt of destructive lightning.

Thor was delivering divine punishment himself.

"Elara—you dare betray me?"

The golden light struck straight toward the center of my forehead.

I had no time to dodge.

In that instant, the whole world went silent.

The only thing I heard was Kaelorn's soul-rending scream.

"No—!!!"

He twisted around and threw his entire body over mine.

The golden divine punishment struck his back.

Boom—!!!

Kaelorn's body was blasted clean through, blood and spirit power scattering at once.

The shock made me cough up blood, yet he still held me tightly beneath him.

I could hear every inch of his soul breaking apart.

I cried so hard I could barely see. "Kaelorn—let me go! You'll die!"

He lifted his face. There was light in his blind eye.

His voice was so soft I could barely hear it.

"Elara."

"In the darkness... I waited for you through three lifetimes..."

"This time..."

"I'll protect you with my life."

"Even if my soul is shattered—"

"I still won't let you... suffer even the slightest harm."

And then I saw it.

The serpent markings inside him, once dim and faded, were awakened by the divine punishment.

It was like an ancient primordial serpent slowly opening its golden eyes.

Every serpent in the Dark Realm dropped to their knees at the same moment.

"The Serpent God...!"

Cold swept through my whole body.

Kaelorn... had actually used the divine soul of the ancient Serpent God... to block Thor's punishment?!

But because of that...

he was now on the verge of total soul destruction.

I held his shattered body and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Kaelorn, don't fall asleep... please... don't close your eyes..."

He gave a faint smile.

"Elara... don't cry."

That smile took the last of his strength.

"When you cry... it hurts me..."

His final words faded beside my ear.

Above us, Thor's furious roar split across the heavens for thousands of miles.

"That crippled snake—he dared use his divine soul... to protect her?!"

"Elara, just you wait—I'll kill him with my own hands!"

I held Kaelorn's dying body, my fingertips trembling so hard they felt like wind.

Something inside me was torn completely open.

Kaelorn was dying.

Lyra was watching from high above the Dragon Palace, full of triumph.

Thor was drawing closer.

And for the first time—

I wanted to destroy the entire Realm of Light.