The Skies of Valoon

  The portal swirled shut behind him. Isaac found himself floating high above the clouds. The sun was setting, painting the jagged peaks of Valoon in hues of blood orange and violet.

  He took a deep breath. The air here was thin, sharp, and familiar.

  He spotted the Dragon Peak in the distance and surged forward, flying at supersonic speeds.

  ~Ahhh... so we are going to talk to my nephew,~ Yu’s voice echoed playfully in his mind.

  Isaac almost stalled in mid-air.

  "Nephew?" Isaac asked aloud, the wind whipping his hair. "Yamato is your nephew?"

  ~Yep!~ Yu chirped. ~I saw him hatch. Cute little thing. I changed his diapers—well, scales—before I ran away with Nexus to the Abyss. He was always so serious.~

  Isaac shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. "I see. Small world."

  Suddenly, the weight on his back shifted.

  POOF.

  Yu materialized in her human form mid-flight. She latched onto Isaac’s back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, piggyback style.

  "WHOOOHOOO!"

  She screamed with joy, throwing one hand up in the air as they tore through the clouds.

  "Enjoying the freedom?" Isaac laughed, feeling her excitement vibrate through his armor.

  "Almost!" she yelled over the wind, resting her chin on his shoulder, her silver hair whipping against his face. "It’s too good! Flying without the annoying sound of flapping wings! It’s so smooth! Faster, Isaac! Faster!"

  Isaac grinned. He flared his mana.

  BOOM.

  They broke the sound barrier, streaking toward the castle like a blue comet. Yu laughed maniacally, the thrill of being free after three thousand years intoxicating her.

  As they approached the massive balcony of the Throne Room, Isaac slowed down.

  "Time to be serious, Yu," Isaac said.

  "Fine, fine," she pouted. "Spoilsport."

  She dissolved into light, reforming into the massive, pitch-black Abyssal Blade strapped to his back.

  Isaac pulled his hood up, shadowing his face. He landed silently on the balcony and walked in.

  The Throne Room of Valoon

  The atmosphere inside was heavy. Hundreds of dragons in their humanoid forms lined the vast hall.

  It was a Judgment.

  In the center of the room, three high-ranking generals were kneeling in chains—likely spies or traitors exposed during the recent chaos with Jin.

  On the raised dais sat the three Dragon Kings: Yamato (Center), Queen Yuno (Left), and King Yoshi (Right).

  Aiko stood near the throne, looking bored and anxious.

  Suddenly, her head snapped up. Her nostrils flared.

  That scent. It wasn't just the smell of ozone and rain anymore. It was mixed with something ancient, something like the void itself. But underneath it all... it was him.

  "ISAAC!" Aiko shouted, breaking the protocol, her eyes scanning the shadows.

  The murmur of the crowd stopped. The Generals looked up.

  Yamato raised a hand, silencing the room. He looked toward the balcony entrance where a hooded figure stood.

  "Present yourself, Isaac," Yamato commanded, his voice echoing with authority.

  The crowd gasped. The Human King? Here?

  Isaac reached up and pulled back his hood. He walked forward, the heavy boots clanking on the marble floor. He stopped in the center of the room, ignoring the glares of the guards.

  "I see you were successful in your mission," Yamato said, a hint of relief in his eyes.

  "What?" Queen Yuno slammed her fist on her armrest. "What mission? He was here, in our lands, and you didn't tell us, Yamato?"

  "Silence, Yuno," Yamato said calmly. "It does not matter. He came to me, and I assisted him. Tell me, Isaac... is that the weapon? The Abyssal Weapon?"

  A ripple of shock went through the court.

  "An Abyssal Weapon?" King Yoshi leaned forward, his eyes wide. "Impossible. Those are myths."

  Aiko stared at Isaac, her heart racing. She looked at the massive slab of black steel on his back.

  Isaac reached over his shoulder. He grabbed the hilt.

  With a heavy THUD, he slammed the tip of the giant sword into the floor. The stone cracked. The blade hummed with a terrifying, dark energy that made the nearby guards step back in fear.

  "Yu," Isaac whispered.

  The sword glowed.

  FLASH.

  The metal liquefied and expanded. In a swirl of silver and black mana, the weapon transformed.

  Standing next to Isaac was a young woman with silver hair, wearing a gothic black dress, stretching her arms and yawning.

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  The entire court froze. The mana pressure she released was suffocating—it was the aura of a Primeval Being.

  Yu smiled, looked up at the dais, and skipped happily toward the Kings.

  "Hello, Yamato!" she chirped, waving casually. "Good to see you, Nephew! Yuno... Yoshi... look how big you've all grown! Good to see you all!"

  Yamato stood up so fast his throne nearly tipped over. His eyes were popping out of his skull.

  Queen Yuno and King Yoshi turned pale, trembling in their seats.

  "Who... who is that, Mother?" Aiko whispered, gripping Sasaki’s arm.

  Sasaki was breathing heavily, her eyes wide with recognition and reverence.

  "That is..." Sasaki stammered. "That is your Father's Aunt. She is Yurihime. The Youngest Daughter of the First Dragon."

  Sasaki looked at Isaac, then at Yu.

  "She is an Ancestral Dragon."

  Yamato stepped down from the high dais, his heavy cape dragging on the marble. He stopped a few feet from the silver-haired girl, his eyes wide with a mixture of fear and nostalgia.

  "Yu... is it really you?" Yamato’s voice trembled, losing its regal edge. "I thought you were dead. We all did... for thousands of years."

  Yu grinned, flashing her sharp, draconic canines. She placed her hands on her hips.

  "Dead? Me?" She laughed, a sound like wind chimes in a storm. "Please, Nephew. I am an Ancestral. Death is a concept for lesser beings. I was merely... detained."

  She gestured to Isaac.

  "Trapped in the form of a sword by a nasty Guardian in the Abyss. Until this handsome King here pulled me out."

  THUD.

  Queen Yuno and King Yoshi fell to their knees instantly. The pressure of her presence was undeniable. It wasn't just mana; it was the weight of their bloodline.

  "Great Aunt..." Yuno stammered, head bowed low. "Forgive our insolence. We did not know."

  "Ancestral Yurihime," Yoshi added, sweating profusely. "To think you were the weapon... it is an honor."

  The entire court followed suit. Generals, guards, spies—everyone knelt. Even Aiko and Sasaki bowed their heads in reverence.

  "Stand up, all of you," Yu waved her hand dismissively. "I hate this bowing nonsense. Besides..."

  She walked back to Isaac, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning her head on his shoulder.

  "I am not your Ancestral Leader anymore. I am a Weapon."

  She looked at the Dragon Kings with glowing violet eyes.

  "I have sworn a Blood Pact with Isaac. My life, my soul, and my sharp edges belong to him. If you bow to me, you bow to him."

  The silence in the room was deafening.

  Yamato looked at Isaac. The realization hit him. Isaac didn't just have a powerful sword; he commanded a god-tier entity. The balance of power in Mundus had just shifted violently.

  "You have tamed an Ancestral..." Yamato whispered, a proud smirk forming on his face. "You really are full of surprises son."

  "I didn't tame her," Isaac corrected calmly. "She chose this."

  Isaac looked around the room.

  "I didn't come here for a family reunion. I came to tell you that the pieces are moving. The Abyss is active. The Entities are watching."

  He looked at Yamato.

  "Remember your promise, Yamato."

  Yamato straightened his back, the Overlord returning.

  "I remember. The Dragon Legions will be ready. When you give the signal, the skies of Olympia will turn black with our wings."

  "Good."

  Isaac turned to leave. Aiko stepped forward, breaking the line.

  "Isaac!"

  Isaac stopped. Yu looked at Aiko, then at Isaac. She sniffed the air again.

  "She smells like heartbreak and hope," Yu whispered to Isaac, giggling. "She's cute."

  Isaac ignored Yu's teasing and looked at the Princess.

  "I have to go, Aiko," he said softly. "Stay safe. War is coming."

  Aiko wanted to run to him, to hug him, but under the gaze of the Ancestral and the Court, she held her ground. She nodded, her eyes burning with determination.

  "I will be ready too," she vowed.

  Isaac nodded.

  "Yu."

  "On it, Boss!"

  FLASH.

  Yu dissolved into a swirling vortex of black and silver light. The mana coalesced instantly into the massive Abyssal Greatsword.

  CLANK.

  It locked onto Isaac's back with a heavy, metallic sound that echoed through the hall.

  Isaac turned his back on the Kings. He walked to the balcony.

  He looked at the setting sun one last time.

  WHOOSH.

  He launched himself into the sky, a streak of blue lightning, leaving the Dragon Court in stunned silence, staring at the empty space where a King and a God had just stood.

  Outside the Castle

  High in the air, the wind roared.

  ~So, where to now, Master?~ Yu’s voice resonated in his mind.

  "To the meeting point," Isaac replied, focusing on his flight path.

  "We are going to Olympia," Isaac said, his eyes narrowing. "But first... we need the rest of the team."

  The Whispering Peaks – En Route to Olympia

  The night was silent, save for the wind howling through the jagged rocks. They were high up—above the cloud layer—where the stars felt close enough to touch.

  Isaac sat on the edge of a cliff, legs dangling over the abyss. He was cleaning his armor, wiping away the dust of Verdantia and the soot of Valoon.

  The massive black sword, Yu, was leaning against a rock nearby, humming softly.

  ~You are thinking about her, aren't you?~ Yu’s voice echoed in his mind, teasing.

  "I'm thinking about a lot of things, Yu," Isaac replied aloud. "Mostly about how heavy this pouch is."

  He reached into his bag and pulled out the object he had retrieved from Orion’s Castle: The Pendant.

  It was a small, unassuming jewel, pulsating with a faint, rhythmic white light. It didn't look like much, but holding it felt like holding a sleeping galaxy.

  "Time to pay the rent," Isaac whispered.

  He held the pendant up to the starlight.

  "Arian."

  The wind stopped. The clouds below froze. The sound of the world was muted.

  Space folded.

  A tear in reality opened in front of Isaac. Stepping out of it was a figure of blinding beauty. She wore robes made of shifting nebulae, her hair floating as if underwater. Her eyes were galaxies.

  Arian, the Supreme Entity.

  She hovered a few inches off the ground, looking down at Isaac with an expression that was both ancient and youthful.

  "Hello Isaac" Her voice was a melody that bypassed the ears and spoke directly to the soul.

  Isaac didn't stand. He simply tossed the pendant to her.

  Arian caught it.

  The moment the jewel touched her skin, the nebula-robes solidified into elegant white silk. Her floating hair settled. Her eyes, swirling with chaos, focused into a piercing, intelligent blue. The overwhelming pressure of her presence stabilized.

  She let out a breath she had been holding for eons. She clasped the pendant around her neck.

  "Thank you," she whispered, her voice no longer echoing, but clear and present. "You have done a great service to the Balance."

  "You sent me to hole and back for that thing," Isaac said, leaning back on his hands. "Orion wasn't exactly happy to see me. Why is it so important? It looks like cheap jewelry."

  Arian smiled, fingering the stone.

  "To you, it is a trinket. To me... it is my Anchor."

  "Your Anchor?"

  "We, the Supreme Entities, are vast," Arian explained, sitting down on the air as if it were a chair. "We are consciousness without form. We exist everywhere and nowhere. But to intervene in the mortal realm... to have a 'Self'... we need to focus our existence."

  She tapped the pendant.

  "This stone contains the memory of who I am. Without it, my consciousness would expand infinitely. I would forget my name. I would forget my purpose. I would dissolve into the background radiation of the universe."

  Isaac raised an eyebrow. "So Orion stole it..."

  "To erase me," Arian finished, her eyes cold. "He wanted me to ascend prematurely. To become pure energy so I could no longer interfere with his plans or my Mother’s order. He wanted to make me a silent observer."

  "Well," Isaac stood up, dusting off his pants. "You aren't silent anymore. And you owe me."

  "I do," Arian nodded. "The debt is acknowledged. When the time comes, call my name. I will answer once."

  She looked at the black sword.

  "I see you have made friends with the Abyss," she noted, amused. "Yurihime. It has been a long time."

  The sword vibrated. ~Hello, Glitter-Girl. Try not to get erased again.~

  Arian laughed softly.

  "You are heading to Olympia," she stated. "To war."

  "Yes."

  "Be careful, Isaac," Arian warned, her form beginning to fade back into starlight. "My Mother, Luminem... she knows you are coming. And she is not like Orion. She does not make mistakes."

  "Neither do I," Isaac replied.

  Arian smiled one last time.

  "We shall see. Goodbye, King."

  FLASH.

  She vanished in a burst of stardust, leaving Isaac alone on the cliff.

  The wind returned. The clouds began to move again.

  Isaac picked up the sword and strapped it to his back.

  "Alright, Yu," Isaac looked north, toward the horizon where the faint lights of a massive continent glowed. "One loose end down. Now... let's go find the others."