Sythen's body crashed into the ruined earth with a heavy thud, blood spraying across the shattered ground. The Curse Lord, one of the feared Seven Deadly Sins was left beaten beyond recognition, her body trembling, her mind fractured. The arrogance that once shaped her every expression was gone, replaced by the hollow stare of soone broken and terrified.
All because of him.
Kaen.
He was no longer the Kaen they knew. No longer a warrior, no longer human. What stood there now was sothing else entirely. The Voidborn.
His wings, blackened and warped, hissed with flas that were not fire but a twisted void. He grabbed Sythen by the throat, lifting her effortlessly, before hurling her aside like she was nothing more than a useless doll. Her body vanished into the rubble, discarded and forgotten.
Slowly, his head turned. His burning eyes fixed themselves on one man
Khael Corzedar.
For a heartbeat, the battlefield froze. The storm within Khael t the abyss within Kaen, their clash unspoken but deafening in its weight.
Khael clenched his teeth. (Tsk… if only we had arrived sooner… maybe it wouldn't have turned out like this. Damn it, those gates… sealing them took too long. Harder than I thought. But excuses won't help now. He tightened his fists, faint dragon sigils glowing along his arms like fading embers. Kaen… you've fallen into the Voidborn. I have no choice. I need to stop you… before you lose everything.)
Kaen let out a roar that was no longer human. It wasn't a voice, it was the corrupted scream of Shinrei itself, bursting from his body in waves that shook the air. He lunged forward, claws tearing through the ground as shadefire trailed in his wake.
"Ceyla! Juno!" Khael's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding. "Take care of Rael and Lira! The rest of you—stand back! This is not a fight you can handle!"
The team hesitated, fear flashing in their eyes. Ceyla muttered a curse under her breath but obeyed, stormlight crackling at her fingertips as she rushed toward Lira. Juno pulled Rael away, his body still trembling from his wounds.
And then… silence fell.
It was just them now.
Kaen and Khael.
The Voidborn and the hidden Dragon Knight.
Kaen's claw ca down with a force that could split the battlefield in two—
But Khael moved. His body blurred as the wind twisted and coiled around him like a living serpent. He slipped through the strike with inches to spare, carried by the Dragon Wind Style.
The ground erupted. Dust, stone, and broken earth exploded outward as Kaen's blow shattered the terrain.
The others looked on, stunned. None of them had seen that movent before. None of them could even na it. Even Sythen, though broken and trembling, had never recognized it.
But Khael knew the truth.
(Damn it… if I reveal my full form, everything will be exposed. The Dragon Knight isn't supposed to exist anymore—not in this era. If I transform here, my identity will be lost forever.)
Kaen shrieked once more, voidflas bursting from his body and spreading like a storm.
(Think, Khael… The Severing Seal of Azael won't work. Not now. Not against this level of corruption. His flow is fractured, unstable. If I try to force the seal, it will rebound. He'll die—and the Voidrot will spread even further.)
Khael's grip on his blade trembled. The wind curled around him, alive, ancient, whispering secrets older than the world itself.
The choice stood before him.
Stay hidden.
Or reveal the dragon within.
Then Isen's words returned to him, carved deep into mory.
"It's about ti, Khael. Stop hiding your strength."
He could still see his master's calm, unyielding eyes.
"If you reveal yourself, your path will not be easy. Many will turn their eyes to you. So will bow. So will curse. So will hunt you. That weight will crush lesser n… but that is what life is."
Khael's throat tightened. His whispered fear slipped free.
"…If I show it… if I reveal the dragon within… will I even remain myself?"
For once, Isen had answered without riddles.
"That depends entirely on you."
…
[Back to the present]
Khael shut his eyes. He could hear Kaen's roar, feel the void gnawing at his friend's soul.
"(Master… seems like this is the ti I reveal myself. I can't let Kaen die, can't let him be consud. He's the protagonist of this world. Without him, everything ends. I may just be an 'extra'... but even so, I want to save this world. Starting with you, Kaen… I will save you.)"
The Fifth Gate ignited.
His veins blazed with Shinrei, light and shadow converging. The winds howled, fla spiraled, and together they folded into a crescent eclipse—neither day nor night, but sothing far older.
Khael stepped forward. His armor ford from scales of starlit silver, wings of storm-fire unfurling at his back. His eyes burned with draconic glow—half sorrow, half fury.
He was no longer just Khael.
He was the Eclipse Dragon Knight.
anwhile From the ridge, the air quivered with power.
Lira's hands clasped tightly to her chest, her Shinrei trembling as if it were afraid. Her voice broke, barely above a whisper.
"…He… what is that?"
Rael's eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat. He had seen many horrors, many miracles, but this—this was different.
"…No way…" he muttered, his gaze locked on Khael's shining transformation.
Beside him, Ceyla's storm-colored eyes narrowed. There was no fear in her tone, only a strange familiarity.
"…It's familiar."
Juno exhaled slowly, his posture rigid, the seasoned warrior in him unsettled by the recognition.
"…Yeah. Familiar."
Rael's head turned sharply, eyes seeking the echo spirit that lingered within him.
"…Seraphis… is that what I think—?"
The spirit's answer was for him alone, its voice resonating deep inside his soul. His face paled, and silence fell heavy upon him.
Everyone watched him, waiting.
At last, Rael's lips parted, his words heavy with revelation.
"…That is the symbol of a Dragon Knight. Scales that shimr like the void, wings that rend the skies, and eyes… eyes that burn with the blood of dragons."
Ceyla's sharp voice cracked the silence, disbelief spilling into every syllable.
"…What? A Dragon Knight?"
Juno shook his head, his fists clenching tighter.
"…Impossible. I thought it was only a myth."
Lira's voice trembled as she stared at the battlefield, her tears catching the shimr of the flas.
"…Then… all those legends… they're true?"
The silence that followed was crushing. The storm raged above, Kaen's roar tearing through the ruins, yet all eyes were fixed on Khael.
The air cracked as Khael's blade ignited with dragonfire.
This… is the clash between a Protagonist and an 'Extra.
To be continue
Reviews
All reviews (0)