Meanwhile with the group, they continued their path in search for clues of the Shadow dragons possible location and even lair. Just then they saw a foot print on the ground. The foot print was too big to belong to a ice dragon but lacks the scorch marks fire dragons leave behind. Vera took careful observation of foot print and base on her knowledge on dragon species it belonged to the Shadow dragon. Glacious sniffed the track and with his great sense of smell he is able to get an idea of the Shadow dragons location. Before they could make haste, a shadow flies over them before landing in front of them with a loud thud. As the dust settles, red scales could be seen along with massive wings, orange spikes on its back and orange eyes. The group looks on and witness creature lift its head and release a powerful roar. The creature they are looking at was a fire dragon, the most aggressive species of dragon. As they ready themselves for a fight, the dragon lowered its head and a rider in red armor walks off the dragon and lands in front of them. "Your a dragon rider! We thought this was a wild dragon." Said Eren. "I can assure you this dragon is domesticated. The name is Maxwell, Maxwell Burner." Said the Red rider as he removed his helmet.

Maxwell points behind him towards the fire dragon. "The big red lizard over there is Inferno. Not the kind of dragon your drake wants to piss off." Said Maxwell. Glacious growls in annoyance before Eren gestures the ice drake to calm down. "I take it your not here to be a nuisence for my partner. Why did Vilhelm send you here?" Asked Eren. Maxwell explains that he was sent to meet with other riders for clues on the Shadow dragons location. Eren points towards the tracks before telling him to leave. Maxwell got on Inferno and proceeded to follow the tracks. "I take it your not a fan of him." Said Vera smuggly. "Thats how people like him are. Big ego with of superiority complex." Replied an annoyed Eren. "He didn't seem too bad." Said Ellena. "Thats because I didn't give him the opportunity to be an ass." Said Eren. The group got back on Glacious and began to make their way towards the Shadow dragons location.

The group continued their journey, following the large tracks and Glacious' instincts. Just then they feel the ground underneath them. They don't show any concern since its likely to just be an earth dragon or earth drake digging through the ground. As they continued, the ground began to shake harder than before. A booming sound was made as the ground began to crumble. The group looked down before falling into the shadowy abyss. Their screams of shock echos throughout the fall in the massive hole. One by one they hit the ground and go unconscious. Eren wakes up and sees Vera still out cold. Concerned, Eren tries to wake Vera up. So enough, she awakes and sees a worried Eren. The two of them looked around and see that they are in a large cave. They also notice that Glacious and Ellena are missing. They called out their names to no avail, nothing but echos and the dripping of water. Knowing they need to find their friends, Eren and Vera head deeper into the cave in hopes of finding their friends or an exit.