"They're all dead!""It seems... this really is the end for us!"Disciples from both nations stood like kites with severed strings, spirits shattered, their eyes vacant as if the life had just been drained from them. Some murmured to themselves, others clutched the sleeves of their companions with trembling hands, fingers ice-cold, drained of strength.But the Dragon-Slayer Squad never wavered. Blades and flames kept advancing, a relentless storm tearing apart the last resistance of the Demon-Sealing Sect and Flying Star Island. The air reeked of scorched blood, and the ground was slick with mud, squelching underfoot with a sickening sound.In the end, as the slaughter drew to a close, dozens suddenly dropped to their knees, the thud of kneecaps hitting earth echoing in unison—thump, thump, thump—like a pounding war drum, laced with sobs and shivers, cowardly and disheveled."No turning back"—those five words were etched deeper than ever into every face."Please don't kill us!""We wo

The atmosphere, too, lifted subtly with her voice. The clink of aluminum cans on wood, the crackle of oil in the fire—all of it became part of the picture her song painted. In that moment, she wasn’t a warrior clad in armor, but a songstress weathered by life’s storms, plucking strings with a flick, letting her heart chase after the man she held dear.It was the first time Anthony had heard her sing—and it moved him. Not a surface-level surprise, but a deep, quiet shift, like a stone sinking to the seafloor brushing against something soft and alive.Dragon-Slayer grabbed Anthony’s hand, eyes gleaming. "Come on, let’s head up front." He tugged him toward a small mound by the stage, gravel crunching underfoot.Anthony didn’t resist. He followed silently. From up close, the music was clearer, and so was she. The light traced the curve of Charlotte’s nose and the subtle lift of her lips—every detail illuminated. Standing in the night breeze, Anthony felt something stir—not outwardly, but

"Anthony... from today on, we’re one," she whispered, eyes burning with passion. "I love you. Take me."The fire in him had long been lit. Reason teetered on the edge. He murmured, "Miss Iverson..."Charlotte shivered, struck by his voice like a call from deep within. Her eyes brightened, soul rising with emotion. She reached for his clothes, fingers trembling with urgency.That night, two souls collided and intertwined. Outside, the stars watched in silence. Inside, breath rose and fell—sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Love and desire surged, wave after wave, until they flowed in the same direction....The next morning, a sliver of golden light slipped through the curtain, gently slicing the edge of night. Anthony opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the scent—warm milk, toasted bread, a hint of butter. It smelled like home.He sat up, dressed, and followed the aroma downstairs. In the kitchen, steam curled like soft clouds. A figure moved gracefully at the stove—white T-s

Dragon-Slayer threw back his head and laughed, the sound knifing the night and scoring the clouds above. His shoulders lifted with each burst, the tendons along his neck drawn taut like bowstrings; excitement threaded red veins at the corners of his eyes, bright as cuts in the cold wind. When he looked back, a wild grin split his mouth, teeth flashing cold and white in the moonlight, a row of honed blades. “Mr. Jones, what are we waiting for? Let’s get it done!”He’d always been a powder keg—no drag, no dithering. When the fire caught, the thunder fell. Before the last word finished, he’d drawn a deep breath. A clear, fierce shout broke from his chest, rolling along the cliff like a stormball of thunder bounding through a thousand valleys, startling night birds into a frenzied flutter. He bent his knees and stamped down; his body sank and then shot up, an arrow leaving the bow with a harsh hiss. The mountain wind split before him; gravel burst to powder beneath his feet, spitting spar

And then—A roar.A golden dragon arced up from the shield and coiled above. Scales rippled in plates; light ran along their ridges like starlight over a black river. It raised its head and opened its jaws; its cry shook mountains and sea. Whiskers streamed; its eyes burned like lamps. Its pressure fell in breaking waves. The ghosts that had surfaced around them convulsed under the dragon’s voice, twisting, breaking; the cold tide reeled back yards at a blow.“This—” several elders gasped at once, faces draining. Their certainty collapsed in a blink. With the dragon’s might upon them, their momentum broke like a rotten spear.Qi crossed in the night sky—silent lightning colliding. Light burst without sound. The air thrummed under compression; chips of stone lifted and dropped, clinking across the rock.Boom.A blast rolled the summit. Old pines shuddered together; needles hissed down and paved the ground in green.“Damn it.” The color bled from Matthew’s face. Something in the array s