Blood and dust swirled in the air, and the monsters’ screams rent the night sky.

Kael stood at the front; his sword parried blow after blow. Sweat poured from his forehead, his arms trembled under the weight, but he did not give way. As Mayuri created new barriers, her body shook with exhaustion, yet every time she fell, she raised another shield.

Arwen, wild and swift, struck from the flanks. Her daggers slit throats and severed tendons, but each new beast seemed stronger, more ferocious.

Noah roared with rage, his hands burning like torches. He shot flames, turning his enemies to ash, but the magic was eating him from the inside. His chest burned, and his breathing was labored.

“Where is he?!” — Noah shouted, fending off an attacker with a fireball.

“He left us, and we’re dying here!” — Noah added.

“Shut up and fight!” — Kael snarled, blocking another blow. — “Trust him!”

“Easy for you to say!” — Noah spat out blood but raised his hands again. — “I’m not going to die for someone else’s holy visions!”

Arwen snorted, leaping onto the monster’s back and plunging her daggers into its neck.

“It’s not a vision, you idiot. It’s our only chance.”

Mayuri sank to her knees; her body trembled, and blood appeared on her lips. — “If he doesn’t make it in time… those barriers will finally break.”

Kael looked at her, then roared, parrying another attack.

“That’s exactly why we have to hold out! He’s running, and we’re buying him time.”

Valdor ran through the ruins.

Every step thundered in his ears. Monsters leaped out of the shadows all around him, but his sword blazed, slicing them in half with a single stroke. The dragon’s aura surrounded him like armor, and the echo of the dragons’ roar bounced off the walls.

His heart pounded like a hammer. He saw a pulsing light ahead of him—the source. Each flash shattered his thoughts, as if something were calling his name.

“Valdor…” — the voice echoed in his head, dark and seductive. — “Leave them… come to me…”

He clenched his teeth and ran on, cutting down more monsters in his path.

“No… never.”

On the front lines, Noah roared and unleashed a wave of fire that incinerated a dozen or so beasts. But immediately afterward, he fell to one knee, panting heavily.

“I can’t do this…”

Mayuri knelt beside him, placed her hand on his shoulder, and began to cast a healing spell.

“Hang in there…”

“Mayuri…” — Noah whispered. — “I won’t let myself be defeated…”

Kael shouted as he blocked two swords at once, and Arwen, with a frenzied howl, charged into the flank, tearing through more monsters.

Meanwhile, Valdor reached the heart of the ruins.

Before him floated a crystal, pulsing with red light. It was as tall as a man, and with every flash, it sent out waves of energy that shook the ground. Monsters writhed around it, as if defending their source.

Valdor stood, sword in hand, heart ablaze.

“So it’s you… you’re feeding them…”

The crystal howled, and a voice echoed in his mind:

“Join us… I’ll help you…”

Valdor raised his sword. And he prepared for battle.

"No… My comrades are dying there. I won’t leave them without vengeance. I’ll kill you!”

And he charged toward the spring.

At the same time, the group was fighting with their last ounce of strength. Noah, barely conscious, was propping himself up on his hands. Arwen was gasping for breath; her whole body was trembling with pain. Mayuri was kneeling, and this time she was using

“Valdor…” — she whispered. — “Hurry…”

Valdor swung his sword and struck the crystal.

Instead of shattering into fine dust, the stone burst into a red light so blinding that Valdor had to shield his eyes. A low, rumbling roar emanated from within — a sound that seemed to come not only from the air but from the earth itself.

The crystal pulsed faster and faster. Cracks spread across its surface like a spider’s web, and a black, sticky substance began to ooze from them.

“What the...” — Valdor growled, taking a step back.

Suddenly, the entire crystal exploded upward, and shards rose into the air and hovered as if frozen in time. A figure emerged from their center.

It was a great dragon. Its body was made of a black shell and living fire. The crystal that had struck Valdor a moment ago now lay deep within its chest, glowing with a pulsating, sinister light.

The dragon’s eyes were like two hellish suns. Its roar shook the ruins, and a wave of energy knocked Valdor back, shattering columns and smashing walls.

On the front lines, Kael and the others felt the shock, and the monsters howled even louder for a moment, as if the new power had given them strength.

“What was that?!” — Noah shouted, fending off the attacker with a fireball.

Mayuri looked toward the heart of the ruins and grew worried.

“Valdor...”

Deep within the ruins, Valdor stood, gripping his sword tighter. Before him hovered a monstrous creature, twice the size of a man, with a crystal pulsing in its chest.

“A dragon…” — Valdor hissed.

The dragon roared and charged toward him, each step rumbling like thunder.

Valdor assumed a fighting stance. The dragon core within him activated.

“In that case… I will destroy you, and with you, this cursed source!”

Valdor charged at it