Dawn had barely broken over the plains of Saturn, tinting the endless grass with gold and purple, when our four heroes crossed the threshold into Kong.
Before them, the city sprawled not like a construction of man, but like a natural inevitability. Its concentric circles of pale stone and light clay seemed to ripple under the constant wind. There was no cold metal here, no arrogant glass like in the Saturnine City; everything was curves, softness, and memory carved into rock.
Léopold, though a native of the industrial city of Cavally, observed the place with silent reverence. His face, usually etched with worry for his mother, lit up with profound respect.
"The City of Kong..." he whispered, eyes wide. "I've never set foot here, but the legends travel even through the walls of the industrial cities."
"Really?" Angel asked, his curiosity piqued. "Tell us."
"They say the majority of the great Conquerors of END passed through here," Léopold explained as they walked. "They come seeking the blessing of the earth. The rituals of Kong are sacred."
He described the customs, his voice taking on the solemn tone of a storyteller: the Rite of Dawn, a silent thanks to the Ancient Essences; the Rite of Names, where the light decides a newborn's identity; and the Vigil of Ancestors, where the entire city goes dark to honor the dead.
"But the one that interests us," Léopold continued, "is the Rite of Explorers. Before a great journey, one consults a Sage to receive protection."
"If I understand correctly," Rhea said thoughtfully, "anyone can undergo this rite? Even strangers like us?"
"Obviously. The people of Kong are anchored in tradition: hospitality is their law."
"That's cool," Angel said with a relaxed smile.
"Maybe," Yabal cut in, his gaze scanning the labyrinthine architecture. "But that doesn't tell us how to find the portal to the moon Europe."
Silence fell. The urgency of their mission finding the Sacred Fire for Léopold's mother and traces of the Lunains for Rhea weighed heavily on their shoulders.
"I have no idea..." Léopold admitted, looking defeated.
" This is starting badly," sighed Angel.
Yabal closed his eyes for a moment, connecting to the presence now vibrating deep within his soul.
The Sacred Beast's reply echoed in his mind, clear and ancient:
The fox paused, sounding amused.
He opened his eyes and proposed, feigning improvisation:
"We should split up and ask around. Meet back here in an hour."
The hour that followed was a strange interlude of calm. While Angel admired the wall carvings and Léopold worried, Rhea made a culinary discovery. When they regrouped, she was holding a steaming package.
"I bought Oribelle Galettes! Apparently, they're divine."
They took a bite. The explosion of flavor was instantaneous. The dough melted on the tongue, and the Oribelle released a sweet nectar that seemed to wash away the fatigue of their journey. For a moment, they weren't fugitives or saviors, just four teenagers sharing a snack in the sun.
Angel, mouth full, recited what he had learned about the city's three circles, unknowingly confirming Angeles's intel.
"Ah, right!" Yabal exclaimed, seizing the opportunity. "That matches exactly what an old craftsman told me! He mentioned a certain Vayûra in the center..."
Guided by Yabal's "intel," they quickly traversed the circles to the sacred heart of the city. There, sitting in meditation on a slab engraved with spirals, was the Grand Vayûra.
He radiated an aura of peace so dense it was almost palpable.
Rhea stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, Grand Vayûra. We are explorers. We need to go to the moon Europe. We need your power."
The Ancient opened his eyes. His gaze was as unfathomable as space.
"The destinations to Europe are closed, young girl. The inhabitants of the Moon have chosen isolation. I will not violate their will."
"Please!" Léopold implored, his voice cracking. "It is a vital emergency!"
"The emergency of one cannot break the law of all. It is not possible."
BOOM.
A heavy impact shook the air, though the sacred ground of Kong, hard as diamond, did not crack. A man had just fallen from the sky, landing on his feet with terrifying arrogance.
He had flaming red hair and wore the black uniform of the Sparts.
"So, you want to go to Europe?" he sneered, a predatory smile on his lips. "Travel isn't free around old Vayûra..."
Rhea froze, her blood running cold. She recognized him.
"How... how did you find me?"
"You poked your nose where it didn't belong, brat. You saw secrets that deserve death."
"Who is this guy?" Angel asked, dropping into a combat stance.
"That's Rousse," Rhea whispered, trembling. "A General of the Spart Army. He works directly for Tiger."
Without warning, Rousse materialized a dense block of stone and propelled it forward. The group barely dodged.
"Fighting is forbidden in Kong!" Vayûra thundered. "You will be cursed if"
"Shut up, you old fossil!" Rousse roared.
The murderous aura of the General was so intense that Grand Vayûra, sensing the danger to the city, stepped back, powerless.
"I'm going to lock you all up, you filthy brats!"
Léopold stepped forward. The fear for his mother morphed into a cold rage. Bolt, his dragon, dove from the sky to fuse with him.
"HYBRID MODE: THUNDER DRAGON MODE, RISING STORM FORM."
The sky answered instantly. Lightning didn't just fall; it crashed onto Léopold. His companions recoiled, blinded. Electric arcs erupted from the ground, from his skin, from the very air.
When the light faded, Léopold was transformed. His body was covered in crackling scales, his hair stood in gravity-defying triangular spikes, and his eyes... his eyes had become two orbs of pure gold.
"Woah..." Angel breathed. "He looks so cool."
The fight began at supersonic speed. Léopold was a living lightning bolt. He struck, but at every impact, a wall of stone surged up to protect Rousse. The Spart General didn't even seem to be attacking; he was playing.
Suddenly, Rousse vanished.
Léopold scanned the horizon, panicked. He didn't see Rousse's face appear in the ground, right beneath his feet. The rock opened like a maw, spitting out stone spikes.
With superhuman reflexes, Léopold dodged and blasted the ground with lightning, electrocuting Rousse and forcing him out of the earth.
Léopold leaped, chaining powerful electric strikes. Rousse parried, tanked the hits, and laughed.
"Too slow!"
In a flash, blood sprayed. A stone spike had just pierced Léopold's arm. The boy screamed but didn't retreat.
He opened his mouth, blood and electricity dripping from his chin.
[Skill: STORMSEER EYES]
"When Leopold activates this power, his sclera turned ink-black and his pupils glow golden. With this ability, Leopold can see the flow of electricity in his opponent's muscles, predicting every movement as if time itself has slowed down. He can use this skill for a maximum of 15 minutes."
The tide of battle turned. Léopold dodged everything, danced between rocks, and finally swept Rousse off his feet with a thunderous punch. The General was sent flying but recovered by sliding along the ground.
Dozens of stone spikes rose around him, floating like missiles.
"You're going to suffer so much, kid..."
He launched them. Léopold dodged the first wave, but the stones, guided by a will of their own, pulled a U-turn.
Impact. Impact. Impact.
His hands and feet were crushed by the rock. Léopold collapsed. In a last-ditch effort, he spat a laser of lightning, but Rousse wrapped his legs in stone and propelled himself through the beam, kicking Léopold with full force.
The boy's body flew across the square and crashed outside the city limits.
"LÉOPOLD!" Rhea screamed.
Angel didn't think. He lunged, a flurry of punches ready to fly.
But Rousse didn't flinch. He tanked the first hit without blinking, and with a backhand covered in granite, he struck Angel in the face.
The sound was dry. Violent.
Angel crumbled, unconscious. Instant K.O.
"ANGEL!!!" Yabal and Rhea shouted in unison.
Rousse dusted himself off, disdainful. He walked toward the last two survivors.
"First you read the words of the Dolphin Tree... then you infiltrate the government... You are some serious scum."
He glanced at Angel's inert body and muttered to himself:
"I'll knock you all out, but I'll go easy on him. I won't risk killing the Grand Master's double... "
"We don't care about your threats," Yabal spat.
The young man was trembling, not from fear, but from a black rage. He stepped in front of Rhea, protective.
A dense, mystical purple light condensed beside Yabal. Angeles appeared.
"Huh? What is that animal?" Rhea gasped, stunned, clutching Angel to her chest.
Rousse narrowed his eyes, his smile fading for the first time.
"A fox... with multiple tails? Wow... Don't tell me that's..."
The wind picked up.
It wasn't a breeze. It was a crushing atmospheric pressure that seemed to come from the depths of the ages. Angeles, graceful and smiling, floated near Yabal. Their auras fused.
"HYBRID MODE: SOULBIND, FOX GENESIS."
"WHAAAAAT?!!!!" Rhea screamed, pinned to the ground by the sheer power being released.
The moment the transformation completed, a sound tore through the sky of Saturn.
It wasn't thunder. It was a deep, vibrating, melancholic, and powerful sound. As if someone had just blown into a foghorn the size of a planet.
DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The sound traveled around the globe.
In Kong, the inhabitants stopped everything. Upon hearing the song of the horn, they instinctively began to dance and sing, tears in their eyes, possessed by an ancient joy. The Grand Vayûra, witnessing the scene, opened his eyes wide in stupor:
"They have arrived..." the wind sang.
In the Capital, in his office at the top of the world, Tiger sat on his immense throne. He stopped reading his report. He turned his head toward the window, and a small, enigmatic smile stretched his lips. Around him, his advisors trembled in pure terror.
In the deep forests, every animal, from the smallest insect to the largest predator, bowed in the direction of Kong.
And somewhere, a tiny old man, whose skin was made only of bark and millennial vines, stopped walking. He raised his wooden face toward the vibrating sky and whispered:
"Things are about to change on this planet. Now that these three children... THE CHILDREN OF THE END, HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED HERE."