The silence that followed the Arkadius System's disappearance was profound. Klaus sat on the stone bench, the phantom blue light of the status window gone, leaving only the real world's late afternoon sun and the enormous, comforting presence of the creature beside him. He had just confirmed his own inhuman status, measured Dudu's terrifying growth, and understood that the next destination held the key to his next evolution: the Raikra Empire.
But first, the North.
The low, steady rumble of the Night Dragon's breath, which had served as a soft drumbeat to Klaus's transcendent thought process, suddenly hitched. The huge body stirred.
Dudu was waking up.
The creature's true scale was always shocking. Even curled and drowsy, it was a mountain range of black scales. The head, massive and impossibly ancient-looking, lifted slowly from the green grass. It turned, and in a movement of surprising, fragile care, gently brushed the side of its head against Klaus.
