The desert stretched endlessly, like a dead ocean.
The wind dragged grains of reddish sand that looked like the ashes of an ancient god.
On the horizon, scorched dunes shifted like silent waves — and the sky, dyed crimson, seemed ready to collapse.
From atop a silver cloud, Malhar watched in silence.
His expression was lazy, almost bored, yet his eyes gleamed with genuine curiosity.
The wind swirled around his body, obeying like a loyal servant. He could bend weather, twist gravity — and still, he sat there cross-legged, simply… watching.
Below him, Ignaroth and Cerberus exchanged blows that tore through reality itself.
The air burned, the sand melted, and the ground cracked beneath the weight of their clash.
---
Ignaroth, in his humanoid form, was a titan of magma and iron bones.
His body constantly emitted smoke, his face etched with glowing runes.
Each step made the ground roar.
The heat was so intense the air shimmered like molten glass.
Cerberus, on the other hand, wore a human form laced with traces of his demonic origin.
His black hair was wild, three claw-shaped scars crossed his face, and his crimson eyes burned like embers ready to explode.
Even restrained in flesh, three spectral wolf heads howled behind him — the shadows of his sealed essence.
They collided — and for a moment, the desert vanished.
Ignaroth's flaming fist clashed against Cerberus's knee, the impact exploding into a wave that swept across miles.
Dunes were shredded. Ancient stones shattered like paper.
It wasn't just a battle — it was the clash of primordial worlds.
---
> "YOU STILL OWE ME, HELL HOUND!" Ignaroth roared, his hands engulfed in flame.
"AND YOU'RE STILL AN IDIOT!" Cerberus shot back, spinning into a kick that made the sand vanish.
"YOUR PRIDE DOESN'T PAY WHAT YOU OWE!"
"AND IT NEVER WILL, YOU WALKING VOLCANO!"
Malhar sighed deeply.
> "Decades… and they're still fighting over that broken throne. Two forces capable of erasing civilizations — wasting their power like drunks in a divine tavern."
He scratched his chin, eyes half-closed.
> "Still… entertaining."
---
The fight raged on.
Ignaroth slammed his fist into the ground, summoning pillars of lava that surged to engulf Cerberus.
The demon wolf leapt, and in midair, his arm morphed into a blade of black energy, slicing the attack in half.
The sound boomed like thunder.
Dust rose, shrouding the battlefield in searing smoke.
Then, the wind stopped.
The temperature dropped.
Silence consumed the desert — and a divine pressure filled the air.
Malhar's gaze lifted.
On the horizon, a figure floated above the sands, wrapped in a silver aura that flickered between serenity and annihilation.
Hinata.
Her black cloak fluttered softly, contrasting with the metallic shimmer of her silver hair.
Golden eyes reflected the entire desert — calm, cold, judging.
She descended slowly, her feet never touching the ground.
With each step, the wind shifted, the heat dispersed, and even the sand seemed to bow in reverence.
Her presence wasn't merely magical — it was ancient.
Ignaroth and Cerberus froze.
The air thickened.
> "Who the hell is that?" Cerberus growled, eyes narrowing.
"Don't know… but my body's reacting," Ignaroth muttered, magma trembling along his arms.
"Interesting…" Malhar leaned forward. "Her pressure… almost like a Primordial's — but different. Refined."
Hinata's eyes opened slowly, and she spoke in a calm, clear tone — sweet, yet sharp as steel.
> "By Kael's command.
You two… must stop."
The Primordials exchanged glances — and laughed.
> "Kael?" Ignaroth sneered. "That insignificant human? The system's plaything?"
"If he wants to command Primordials, he should come himself," Cerberus added, flames swirling around his hands.
Hinata didn't answer.
She merely sighed — and the ground beneath her cracked without her moving.
> "I hoped you wouldn't make me insist."
---
Cerberus moved first.
A jump.
The air exploded.
He appeared behind her in an instant, unleashing a kick wrapped in black energy.
Hinata raised her hand — a translucent barrier stopped him midair.
The impact thundered outward, fracturing the ground in concentric rings.
Ignaroth seized the opening.
With a roar, he launched a stream of concentrated lava.
Hinata tilted her body slightly, and the blast tore through miles of desert before detonating against a distant mountain.
> "She's fast…" Malhar murmured, eyes narrowing. "But there's more. That energy… it's not just mana."
Ignaroth charged, his fist blazing.
Hinata raised her arm and whispered:
> "Abyssal Flow."
The ground shimmered with glowing circles.
Out of nowhere, pillars of silver light erupted, clashing against Ignaroth's strike.
The resulting shockwave hurled Cerberus away and made the sky tremble.
The magma giant knelt, smoke rising from his arm.
Hinata hovered above him, expressionless.
> "Tch… She's using temporal compression magic… and elemental fusion," Malhar muttered, frowning. "That's high-tier stuff.
But what's more intriguing… is that mark around her neck."
His eyes narrowed.
Beneath her cloak, a tattoo spread across Hinata's skin — a living rune, pulsing as if it had its own will.
> "So that's it… the Curse of the Race," Malhar whispered. "The same one Yuta carried."
The wind howled.
Sand spiraled upward like a veil.
Malhar kept watching, distant.
> "That ancient race… so rare. They could bend time, distort matter.
But cursed — each spell drained the land beneath their feet.
Yuta wiped out his own clan trying to break the seal that bound that curse… and this girl… she's controlling it like nothing."
A faint smile curved his lips.
> "Is she connected to him… or just coincidence?"
---
Back on the battlefield, Cerberus was already moving again.
The shadows of his three heads merged behind him as he roared:
> "FLAMES OF ETERNAL HELL!"
Three demonic lances of energy shot toward Hinata.
She crossed her arms — a silver dome appeared, blocking them.
The impact pushed her back, cracking the desert underfoot, the earth screaming from the strain.
Hinata spun, gathering energy in her palm.
A golden circle formed around her, the rune on her neck glowing brighter.
> "Compression Ritual — Limit 5%."
The wind fell silent.
Time slowed.
She vanished — reappearing above both Primordials.
Her hands joined, forming a beam of condensed light that tore through the air.
> "Silver Purifier."
The beam fell like a divine blade, splitting the desert in two.
Ignaroth raised a wall of magma — it sliced through effortlessly.
Cerberus was thrown aside, a line of light carving through the earth.
The explosion came seconds later — like the birth of a sun.
Malhar blinked, stunned.
> "She really… matches their level."
---
Ignaroth rose from the flames, half his body charred, slowly regenerating.
Cerberus returned, growling, his spectral heads flickering behind him.
> "Damn… she's dangerous."
"You think I hadn't noticed?" the giant grunted, clenching his fists.
They exchanged glances — and, for the first time, joined forces.
Two roars echoed.
The air fractured.
Lava and darkness converged into a colossal sphere, pulsing like a heart.
Hinata remained calm.
The rune on her neck spread across her body — and the ground beneath her turned to dust.
> "The curse… is responding," Malhar whispered with a grin. "She's using the land as a catalyst."
The desert quaked.
Every grain of sand was pulled into the center, forming a vortex of energy.
Then, Hinata's eyes opened — twin golden slits shining in the air.
> "Elemental Rejection."
The massive sphere racing toward her froze midair.
Time stopped again.
Ignaroth and Cerberus's eyes widened.
> "What—?!"
Hinata raised her arm — and, with a gentle motion, sent the energy back.
The impact was cataclysmic.
The sky cracked.
Light consumed everything.
Silence devoured the world.
---
Minutes later, when the dust cleared, Hinata stood hovering above a colossal crater.
The desert was gone.
Ignaroth and Cerberus knelt, panting — yet smiling.
> "Heh… you're strong," Cerberus spat blood. "But not invincible."
"There's still our second form," Ignaroth growled, eyes burning.
Hinata's gaze stayed cold.
> "I don't need to win.
I only need to prove that Kael's command… is not negotiable."
The wind blew softly, carrying the ashes away.
She turned and began to ascend.
Malhar watched from above, smirking faintly.
> "Fascinating… a messenger with the power of a god and the curse of a demon.
Kael… what are you planning?"
Then, her voice echoed behind him — calm, cutting:
> "Will you keep watching forever, Malhar?"
He froze.
Turning, he found her there — floating so close the wind dared not pass between them.
> "You… know who I am."
"And you know why I'm here," Hinata replied, her gaze piercing through time itself.
"Kael invites you to the Great Assembly."
Malhar raised an eyebrow.
A golden gleam flashed in his eyes.
> "So… the Dragon has awakened."
He turned toward the horizon, where the desert still smoldered in ash.
> "Kael… Yuta… Lyra…
And now… her.
The pieces are back on the board."
Hinata smiled faintly.
Time warped.
And in a blink, she was gone.
Malhar stood in silence for a long while before whispering to himself:
> "Kael…
I hope you know what you're summoning.
Because this world… won't survive another awakening."
He snapped his fingers — the cloud beneath him dissolved.
The wind roared.
And the desert was swallowed by the storm.l