-Whirr.
What was that sound? Fernandez frowned in the dark. Whirr, whirr. The sound of chains dragging or metal clashing echoed from all directions.
-Flicker.
Soon, a torch lit itself in the distance. Only then did the surroundings faintly brighten. Gold, everything was filled with gold.
Coins from some era, relics from another, jewels and burial items from yet another world… All sorts of treasures without unity were lined up everywhere.
-Clang.
A helmet rolled down from the pile of treasures surrounding him, making a clear sound. The helmet, beautifully crafted with gold, silver, and jewels, seemed more ceremonial than for battle.
Fernandez bent down and picked up the helmet. It was an art piece intricately engraved with dragons and demons.
-Squelch.
From the empty visor of the helmet, a stream of blood trickled down, staining his hand. When Fernandez threw the helmet and picked up another treasure, the same thing happened.
Every art piece in this place was bleeding on its own. The massive hill of treasures, illuminated by the torch, was gushing out as much blood as its existence. Blood and gold flowed everywhere.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? That is your sin.”
And from above. At the peak of the treasure hill, a voice came from a massive throne woven with gold and silver. Fernandez clenched his blood-stained hand and looked up at her.
“Confused, aren’t you? You’ve been to the Realm of the Imagination of dragons before. Who was it? Abelesas? That foolish woman’s world?”
-Creak.
Sadarkelisa, a woman resembling a serpent, smiled bitterly as she swept her hand over the relics at her feet. Her white hand was stained red with blood.
“How was that woman’s world? Were there rows of preserved human souls? Tell me, what was in that fool’s head?”
“There were tombs.”
“Ha. Tombs. Typical of Abelesas. Did she dress them in shrouds and mourn? Sitting by the graves of the bugs she called her ‘children,’ nurturing them? Forever? Foolish.”
-Boom!
As the serpent stepped forward, some of the piled relics exploded with a loud noise. Among them, a massive eye was revealed, gleaming.
A huge, burning red eye stared straight at Fernandez, hissing. Between the blazing pupils, a terrible madness, sticky and deadly, overflowed.
[We are dragons! Atailatl, Lindwurm, Dragon, yes. Call us whatever! We are the dominant species, and dominators rule, never becoming minions of slaves! That fool Abelesas chose to be the lowest slave herself! Enchanted by treasures like humans? Yes, that can happen! But dragons are never subjugated by treasures!]
-Boom! Crash!
It was nothing short of a rampage. The dragon thrashed, crushing and scattering the treasures piled around. The dragon’s massive body, hidden beneath the jewels, was fully revealed, and blood and gold cascaded like a waterfall.
Fernandez stood silently, not even thinking of blocking, watching her rage. After a while, Sadarkelisa, who had been stomping and fuming, paused and looked down at him.
[Have you come to kill Sadarkelisa? To seize your petty glory over Sadarkelisa? Look, look at your hand!]
At those words, Fernandez glanced at his hand. It was a rough hand, drenched in blood.
[Look at your sin. Face your madness! Look at the slaughter you’ve piled up to survive! Did you call it judgment? Did you call for repentance? Did you? Who dares judge whom! That heaven? Even the great gods of the Temple of the Gods, are they without sin? Who, with what right! How dare!]
-Roar!
Sadarkelisa’s frenzy grew. As anger materialized, she glared with blazing red eyes, crimson flames dripping from her mouth, and screamed.
[Life inevitably consumes the death of others! You who have killed as long as you’ve lived. Before discussing Sadarkelisa’s sins, face your own hypocrisy!]
-Roar!
Sadarkelisa spewed flames toward the ceiling. The massive pillar of fire from her mouth shattered the ceiling, scattering into the distant sky, beyond the starry night.
A massive void, with a corner of the night sky spread above. Sadarkelisa screamed toward the night sky.
[I will destroy all hypocrites in this world and thousands of worlds, obliterating all their traces! Sadarkelisa is the ultimate end of all things!]
-Thud!
Sadarkelisa’s foreleg landed in front of Fernandez. Beneath it, gold and jewels were crushed into powder under her claws.
[I will kill you and escape from here! Your efforts are meaningless, your will futile! Faijashi! Nightmare of the era! Filthy blooded Dark Mage! Head of the Kalimburg Academy, envoy of the five kings… Leave your last words here!]
-Rumble!
As the dragon screamed and thrashed, everything around her shattered, twisted, and bled. The dragon, engulfed in madness, swung her tail, legs, and wings.
The world was collapsing. Intense vibrations, pressure, and the madness and anger that burned even the soul were suffocating Fernandez.
[I will enjoy your final trace! Crushing, trampling, devouring you! After this, you will cease to exist, and all you cherish will follow the same path as your end!]
“You’re scared.”
At Fernandez’s cold words, Sadarkelisa’s body stiffened. Fernandez took another step forward and spoke.
“What are you afraid of, dragon? When persuasion fails, you resort to threats.”
