The sky of Verlyn grew darker, black clouds rolling like living creatures groaning above the city. Green flashes from the dragon pierced through the gaps in the clouds, striking old towers, shattering rooftops, and carving glowing scars across the sky. Dust and debris scattered with every impact, while the screams of the townspeople blended with the creature's rumble. The entire city felt as if it was holding its breath.
I gripped Lyona's hand tighter. Something in my chest tensed—a fear I couldn't put into words. "We have to survive… but I still don't understand who is orchestrating all this."
Lyona looked at me. Panic flickered in her eyes, but she forced herself to stay focused. "Makoto, listen carefully. This isn't Makoto B. This wave… it's different. There's something else behind it. Something that wants us to feel… tested."
I swallowed hard. The dragon dived again; its wings struck the air with a force that almost knocked us off our feet. A green flash tore through our bodies, and for a moment our shadows on the ground moved slightly backward—bending like fractured glass. Temporal distortion. Every attack from the creature seemed to tear at space and time.
"Use your crystal!" Lyona shouted when the dragon's tail slammed into the ground, destroying carts and stalls in a single sweep. Dust burst into the air. I grabbed the small crystal from the Northern Archive and pressed it as hard as I could. Blue energy burst outward, forming a semi-transparent shield in front of us. The green light that hit the shield ricocheted wildly, spraying shards of stone in every direction.
Lyona shifted her stance, her sword raised. "We have to trick its waves, not fight them head-on! Watch its attack patterns!"
I nodded. A second green flash struck the far edge of the plaza. The dragon moved quickly, but every time it appeared, the space around it trembled—small distortions repeating in a certain rhythm. I turned my head, studying its movement pattern, then pointed toward Lyona.
"We… can force it to strike the wrong path," I whispered.
Lyona gave a faint smile. There was tension she couldn't hide. "Right… but one mistake, and we're finished."
The dragon swooped again, lower this time. The wind of its descent forced us to crouch. Lyona leaped high, her sword slicing through the air. When the tip of her blade touched the dragon's light, sparks of green-blue energy burst like fireworks. I held my breath. Amid the roar, a whisper slid into my mind—cold, foreign, yet painfully clear.
"See them… see them clearly…"
The voice made time around me feel slower. In a second that stretched longer than it should, I saw the silhouette of a man standing atop one of the towers—tall, calm, his gaze locked directly onto Lyona. Not Makoto B. But somehow… familiar. As if I had seen him before, or maybe only sensed his presence in the cracks of time.
"Makoto… you saw him too, didn't you?" Lyona's voice was soft, but her hand trembled slightly.
"Yes… this isn't Makoto B. But someone… or something… is testing us," I replied, gripping her hand tighter.
The next green wave came from the east. Buildings nearby collapsed with a crashing groan. I ducked, directing the blue crystal toward the flying debris. Blue energy stretched out like a broad shield, blocking the rain of rubble and giving us a brief safe pocket. Lyona ran closer, her sword glowing as she sliced through the dragon's wave of light before it could sweep across the ground.
"We have to hold out until morning!" Lyona shouted. "If we don't… this city is finished!"
I gasped for breath, my chest tightening with the weight of the situation. Lyona's hand was still in mine—warm but trembling. Around us, the central plaza was cracking apart, its mosaic tiles broken, and its ancient statues toppled. Each attack from the dragon didn't just destroy physical structures—it tore at the stability of time itself.
And for the first time, I truly realized how small we were in this world. All the power, all the mysteries we encountered in the Northern Archive… they felt like only the surface of something far greater. This world was too vast, too dangerous, and far too full of secrets that refused to be uncovered.
Above the clouds, that silhouette appeared again—the temporal entity. It floated, unaffected by wind or explosions. Something the dragon itself seemed obedient to. Our eyes met for a split second. It felt like time stopped flowing around me.
And in that moment, I knew one thing for certain:
This was only the beginning.
The real trial… had not even started.