Inside the control deck—
every instinct screamed.
Kaelira felt ice crawl down her spine.
"…Why is it looking at us now?"
The answer came immediately.
The storm cracked apart above the ship.
An ocean of silver lightning descended toward the fortress like the wrath of an ancient god.
Then—
BOOOOOOM—
A crimson explosion erupted upward through the storm.
Aldric intercepted it head-on.
His poleaxe carved a bloody arc through the sky while crimson mana detonated against the descending sea of lightning in a catastrophic collision that lit the entire Veil Sea crimson and silver.
The impact blasted him backward through the storm currents.
His wings strained violently against the force.
"WHAT THE HELL—?!"
Aldric skidded across the air itself before finally stabilizing.
Far below—
the ship continued fleeing through the storm under Draven's control.
Far above—
the Veil Serpent watched everything.
Its endless silver eyes glowed through the vortex clouds like moons buried beneath the sky.
Aldric stared upward.
Then finally clicked his tongue.
"…What the hell."
For the first time since the battle began—
he actually looked irritated.
"That thing's damn huge."
The storm rumbled around him.
Crimson mana still burned across his body in violent waves while silver lightning crawled endlessly through the clouds.
Aldric rolled one shoulder slowly.
"…I poured that much mana into the attack and it barely did anything."
His grip tightened around the poleaxe.
"Half my damn mana's gone already."
The Veil Serpent moved again.
Its colossal body shifted through the storm currents with horrifying slowness.
Watching him.
Watching the ship.
Watching everything.
Then—
Aldric froze.
A voice echoed inside his mind.
Not heard through sound.
Felt.
Ancient.
Vast.
Cold enough to make the storm itself feel warm.
"What do you seek?"
The clouds trembled.
Silver lightning flickered silently across the heavens.
"Why do you encroach upon my domain?"
Aldric blinked once.
Then stared upward in disbelief.
"…What the hell."
The poleaxe lowered slightly.
"It can talk?"
The storm pulsed violently.
The voice returned instantly.
This time colder.
Sharper.
Filled with ancient hostility.
"You carry his scent. I cannot mistake it."
Silver lightning exploded across the clouds.
"The one who shattered the Sky Gates."
Far beneath the storm—
the black ocean churned violently.
The Veil Serpent's silver eyes narrowed.
"Why have you returned?"
Aldric stared blankly for half a second.
Then pointed at himself.
"…I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
The storm vibrated.
A dangerous pressure spread through the air.
Aldric gestured vaguely downward toward the fleeing ship.
"We were literally just passing through."
Silver lightning arced violently around the serpent's body.
Aldric kept talking anyway.
"Then you attacked us with the storm."
Silence.
Then—
the voice became glacial.
"You dare lie?"
BOOOOOOM—
The storm detonated.
Every silver eye opened simultaneously throughout the vortex.
The pressure flooding the sky multiplied instantly.
Aldric's wings strained violently just to keep him airborne.
The Veil Serpent's voice echoed again—
this time carrying fury ancient enough to distort reality itself.
"The blood of the Sky-Destroyers stains his soul."
The storm spiraled faster.
Silver lightning bent inward toward the serpent's body in continent-sized rivers.
"He carries the Crown of Ruin."
Far below—
inside the ship—
Draven's eyes narrowed slightly.
The black cat lifted its head higher.
The Veil Serpent's voice continued.
The pressure in the air around Aldric thickened suddenly.
The serpent's silver eyes locked onto the ship.
Silence.
Aldric frowned.
"…What the hell is with the names?"
The storm actually paused.
As if the ancient calamity itself hadn't expected that response.
Aldric pointed the poleaxe upward.
"I don't know who any of those bastards are."
Crimson mana flared again around him.
"But if you're done screaming random nonsense into my skull—"
His grin slowly returned.
Sharp.
Violent.
"—either move out of the way…"
The poleaxe spun once in his hand.
Orbits of blood-red mana spiraled around the blade.
"…or let's keep going."
For several long seconds—
the Veil Serpent said nothing.
The storm churned silently around its colossal body.
Then—
something changed.
The silver eyes narrowed further.
Not in rage.
Recognition.
And for the first time—
the ancient creature sounded uncertain.
"…You truly do not wish to show yourself."
The storm fell silent.
Not calm.
Silent.
The kind of silence that forms when something ancient makes a decision.
Then—
the Veil Serpent spoke again.
Its voice no longer carried uncertainty.
Only inevitability.
"…So be it."
Silver lightning crawled across the endless vortex.
The clouds darkened further.
The pressure flooding the Veil Sea deepened until the air itself distorted.
"I shall make you remember."
BOOOOOOM—
The storm rotated faster.
Entire layers of the vortex began collapsing inward around the serpent's colossal body while continent-sized rivers of silver lightning converged toward its endless eyes.
Inside the ship—
everyone heard the voice.
Not through their ears.
Inside their minds.
Kaelira clutched the railing tightly.
"What is it TALKING about?!"
Another pulse rolled through the ship.
The black ocean below twisted violently beneath the storm while the fortress continued cutting through unstable currents under Draven's control.
Lyriana's crimson barrier flickered again.
Even she looked tense now.
The cultist had gone completely pale.
"The Sky Gates…"
Her grip around the wrapped artifact tightened.
"Those are ancient myths…"
Aldric hovered motionless within the storm currents.
Crimson wings spread behind him.
Poleaxe resting loosely across one shoulder.
Then he laughed softly.
A wide grin returning.
"…You know," he said calmly, staring up at the Veil Serpent,
"it really doesn't look like you're talking to me."
Silver eyes narrowed across the storm.
Aldric pointed the poleaxe lazily toward the serpent.
"But I'm definitely talking to you."
Crimson mana pulsed around him again.
Violent.
Heavy.
The surrounding storm currents bent outward under its pressure.
"So don't get ahead of yourself."
His grin widened further.
Sharp teeth visible now.
"Our playtime isn't over yet."
The Veil Serpent's enormous body shifted slowly through the vortex.
Watching him.
Waiting.
Then—
Aldric moved.
Not forward.
Not upward.
The poleaxe vanished into crimson particles behind him.
Both arms rose slowly instead.
His right hand formed a thumbs-up.
His left palm flattened above it.
Inside the ship—
Kaelira blinked.
"…What is he doing?"
No one answered.
Because the mana pressure changed instantly.
The storm reacted.
Silver lightning twisted violently away from Aldric as dense crimson mana began gathering between his hands in spiraling layers.
Not explosive mana.
Compressed mana.
Dangerously compressed.
Aldric's grin remained wide.
Then—
he pressed his thumb into his palm.
CRRRRK—
The flesh split instantly.
Blood flowed.
Not falling.
Floating.
Dark crimson blood spiraled upward between his hands as vast amounts of mana surged directly from his body into the wound.
The air screamed.
Actually screamed.
The surrounding storm warped violently as the blood stretched into rotating crimson symbols.
Ancient symbols.
Wrong symbols.
Kaelira felt every hair on her body rise.
"…I don't like that."
Neither did the storm.