Zael looked over the devastated battlefield silently.
The ruins had been almost completely erased during the fight. Massive craters covered the area while faint traces of crimson-black lightning still crawled across broken stone occasionally before fading away.
The surviving awakened were exhausted.
Some sat directly on the ground trying to process the fact they were still alive. Others stared toward the massive crater where the dragon had fallen, their expressions filled with disbelief.
Because regardless of how it happened—
Zael had killed it.
A dragon.
And he was still standing afterward.
Meanwhile beneath his calm expression, Zael could feel something shifting continuously inside his body. Streams of violent energy moved through his veins and bones, merging deeper and deeper into him with every passing second.
The sensation wasn't stable.
His instincts immediately told him one thing.
He needed time.
Time alone preferably.
Auralis walked over first, still dragging the massive crimson hammer behind her.
"You look weird."
Zael glanced at her lazily.
"That's rude."
"No seriously," she continued. "You look like you're trying very hard not to explode."
Lily immediately looked more concerned afterward.
"…Should we be worried?"
Zael flexed his fingers slowly as faint traces of crimson lightning flickered briefly beneath his skin before disappearing again.
"Not immediately."
"That is somehow worse," Lily muttered.
Nearby, Aurelia observed quietly before speaking in her usual calm tone.
"You probably overstrained yourself fighting that thing."
Zael looked at her briefly.
Their eyes met for a second.
Aurelia's expression remained perfectly composed, giving away absolutely nothing.
But Zael noticed the subtle implication instantly.
She knew something was wrong.
Or at least suspected it.
Still—
She intentionally phrased it vaguely.
Not asking questions.
Not exposing anything.
Zael understood immediately.
And appreciated it.
"…Yeah," he replied casually. "Something like that."
Auralis exhaled loudly afterward.
"Well whatever it is, do it after we find somewhere safer. I'm officially tired of fighting for my life every ten minutes."
"For once," Lily added, "I agree with her."
The group left the battlefield soon afterward.
The dungeon had become much quieter following the dragon's death. Most remaining beasts either hid or fled entirely after losing the overwhelming pressure that had dominated the ruins earlier.
Eventually they found refuge inside a partially collapsed temple hidden beneath layers of broken stone structures.
Unlike most places inside the dungeon, this area remained strangely intact.
Ancient runes glowed faintly across the walls while the atmosphere felt isolated from the rest of the ruins.
Aurelia inspected the surroundings briefly before nodding.
"This place should be stable enough."
Zael stepped toward the center of the chamber slowly.
The deeper he moved inside—
The stronger the reaction within his body became.
Crimson-black lightning flickered briefly around his arm again before disappearing.
Lily noticed immediately.
"…Zael?"
"I'm fine."
It was automatic at this point.
Auralis folded her arms suspiciously.
"You say that way too often for someone who's clearly not fine."
Zael ignored her completely before sitting cross-legged near the center of the chamber.
The moment he closed his eyes—
The energy inside him surged violently again.
He suppressed the reaction immediately before anyone could notice too much.
Then began focusing inward.
The moment he did—
Darkness swallowed everything.
Not physical darkness.
Internal.
Mental.
Spiritual.
His consciousness appeared within a storm-filled void where crimson-black lightning surged endlessly across the skies above. The atmosphere itself felt violent, unstable, like two different existences were colliding against each other repeatedly.
Then Zael saw it.
A massive draconic silhouette.
The Blood Thunder Dragon.
Or rather—
What remained of its will.
Its enormous crimson eyes opened slowly within the storm before locking onto him immediately. Even as a remnant, the pressure pouring from it was overwhelming.
The dragon roared.
And the internal world shook violently.
Zael remained standing calmly.
"…So this is the last resistance."
He wasn't surprised.
A creature like that wouldn't simply disappear quietly after being absorbed.
Especially not a dragon.
The draconic will descended from the skies instantly afterward, lightning erupting around its massive body while murderous intent flooded the entire space.
Zael didn't move.
Not immediately.
Because something else appeared too.
Golden-black energy slowly emerged around him, pulsing quietly beneath his skin like a sleeping god awakening.
The Origin bloodline.
The moment it appeared—
The dragon hesitated.
Its instincts screamed.
Fear.
Suppression.
Inferiority.
But dragons were proud creatures even in death.
So instead of retreating—
It attacked.
BOOOOOOM!!
The dragon lunged downward violently, jaws wide open while blood thunder lightning tore across the void.
Zael finally moved.
Void Step activated instinctively even within the mental world as he vanished from its path before reappearing directly above the dragon's skull.
Then he punched downward.
BOOOOM!!
The dragon crashed into the storm-filled ground below.
But immediately retaliated.
Lightning erupted upward endlessly while draconic pressure crashed into Zael from all directions.
Unlike outside—
There was nowhere to dodge here forever.
This battle wasn't physical.
It was dominance.
Assimilation.
Control.
The dragon roared again as blood thunder flooded the void entirely.
Zael felt pain explode through his consciousness instantly afterward. His muscles tensed in the real world while crimson-black lightning crackled violently around his seated body outside the temple chamber.
Lily immediately stepped back.
"…That definitely doesn't look normal."
Auralis frowned nervously.
"You think?"
Nearby, Aurelia remained silent while watching Zael carefully.
Inside the mental world—
Zael wiped blood from the corner of his mouth slowly.
Then smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"…You're already dead."
The Origin bloodline surged violently afterward.
Golden-black energy exploded across the void as countless swirling geometric patterns appeared behind Zael's eyes.
The dragon roared furiously.
But this time—
There was hesitation within it.
Because instinctively—
It understood something terrifying.
This wasn't a battle it could win.
Not against Origin.