The Lich King moved with a terrifying, unnatural swiftness that utterly defied the massive, bulky mass of his ancient iron frame. Without a warning gesture, he swept his glacier-forged greatsword through the howling air, sending a devastating wave of absolute zero cold rippling violently across the mirror-like amphitheater floor.The frost didn't merely freeze the surface stone—it fractured the atmosphere itself, creating jagged, razor-sharp spires of black ice that erupted instantly from the frozen ground, hurtling directly toward Samson’s chest like a volley of poisoned lances.Samson stood his ground, his eyes fixed on the oncoming death. He brought the Holy Light Sword up in a lightning-fast, sharp diagonal parry.CLANG!The impact rang out like a dying, hollow bell across the high mountain summit. The immense wave of absolute cold crashed head-on against Samson’s golden aura, hissing violently as raw, blistering molten heat met ancient, unyielding frost. The sheer kinetic force f

The ocean below had long since lost its natural luster, turned instead to the bruised, unholy color of dark iron and curdled oil.As Ignis soared eastward over the usually vibrant expanse of the Sapphire Gulf, the calm, crystalline blue waters violently gave way to black, churning swells. Thick, tar-like Abyssal residue floated upon the surface of the waves, choking the once-abundant marine life and sending endless schools of silver fish floating belly-up in its wake. The very breath of the ocean felt heavy, choked by the necrotic poison leaking from the newly torn spatial wound miles to the south.Ahead, piercing through the dense, salt-heavy fog of the horizon, rose the jagged volcanic peaks of the Dragon’s Roost—a treacherous archipelago of stark basalt pillars surrounded by boiling, subterranean sea-trenches. For three thousand long years, ever since the catastrophic fall of the First Empire, no human boot had ever touched these forbidden shores. The ancient, proud dragons who roo