Chapter 115: Chapter 110: Wings Against the Storm
The enormous Soul Raven hung motionless above the battlefield.
Its wings stretched across the sky like a living eclipse, blotting out the golden radiance of the hidden realm. Black mist coiled around its body, and every beat of its wings scattered feathers that dissolved into clouds of corruption before reaching the ground.
Four crimson eyes fixed upon John.
They were not the eyes of a beast.
They were intelligent.
Watching.
Judging.
Then the creature spoke again.
**"The Dragon... must not... pass."**
Its voice echoed across the floating islands.
John hovered in the air, his wings beating steadily.
"You can speak."
The Soul Raven tilted its head.
For a brief instant, the crimson glow within one of its eyes dimmed.
"...Once..."
It paused, as though searching through forgotten memories.
"...I... could."
Lythriel frowned.
"That’s not a monster talking."
Aerion’s expression became solemn.
"No."
"It isn’t."
The elf lowered his sword slightly.
"You were one of the guardians."
The raven remained silent.
Fragments of golden light briefly shimmered beneath the corruption covering its feathers.
Then the darkness surged again.
"...Guardian..."
"...Warden..."
"...Failure..."
The creature’s voice became strained.
"I... failed..."
John’s heart sank.
The First Warden’s words echoed within his mind.
**Many powerful warriors have reached this place. Few passed.**
Perhaps...
Not everyone who protected the Heart had fallen in battle.
Some had remained.
Corrupted.
Twisted into eternal sentinels.
---
Below them, the legion of corrupted champions had halted.
Instead of pursuing the group, every warrior knelt upon one knee.
Weapons lowered.
Heads bowed.
None dared interfere.
Lythriel looked down in confusion.
"They’re stopping?"
Aerion nodded slowly.
"They recognize this guardian’s authority."
Sylvara observed the army carefully.
"They’re waiting."
"For what?"
"The outcome."
John looked back toward the World Tree.
Its massive branches continued shedding glowing leaves into the air.
The hidden realm was becoming quieter.
Even the corruption seemed to pause.
Almost as if the entire prison was watching.
---
The Soul Raven slowly opened its enormous wings.
A wave of black feathers drifted across the sky.
Each feather transformed into tiny runes before disappearing.
Sylvara stared in amazement.
"Those aren’t ordinary feathers."
"They’re fragments of sealing magic."
Aerion looked toward the creature.
"It was created to guard this path."
John narrowed his eyes.
"But Cassian corrupted it."
The raven lowered its head.
"...Protect..."
"...Protect..."
Its voice trembled.
"...Cannot... remember..."
John understood.
The guardian was still trying to fulfill its purpose.
It simply no longer knew who the enemy truly was.
---
"We don’t have to kill it," John said quietly.
Lythriel looked at him.
"It’s standing between us and Cassian."
"I know."
"But look at it."
The raven’s massive body was covered in deep cracks.
Golden light escaped from some of them.
Black corruption leaked from others.
The two powers were constantly fighting inside it.
"It’s suffering."
Sylvara nodded sadly.
"The corruption is forcing it to fight."
Aerion sheathed his sword halfway.
"Then perhaps..."
"...we can free it."
Lythriel sighed.
"You three always make things complicated."
Despite her complaint, she smiled.
"I suppose freeing ancient guardians is more heroic than smashing them."
John laughed softly.
"Exactly."
---
The Soul Raven suddenly screeched.
The corruption pulsed violently.
Its hesitation vanished.
The four crimson eyes flared brighter than ever.
Without warning—
It disappeared.
John’s instincts exploded.
"Scatter!"
The group split apart.
A massive claw tore through the space where they had been hovering.
The attack shattered the air itself.
Floating crystal fragments rained downward.
"So fast!"
Lythriel twisted around another strike, barely avoiding the creature’s beak.
Aerion countered with a crescent of silver light.
The raven folded one wing.
The attack glanced harmlessly off black feathers.
"It’s stronger than the champions," Aerion muttered.
John agreed.
Much stronger.
This creature wasn’t merely another guardian.
It was one of the original protectors of the Heart.
---
The battle spread across the skies.
The raven moved with astonishing speed for something so enormous.
Every flap of its wings created storms.
Every cry sent waves of corrupted mana across the floating islands.
John dove beneath another attack.
His claws carved across one enormous leg.
Golden sparks erupted.
The wound closed almost immediately.
Sylvara quickly analyzed the injury.
"The corruption keeps repairing it."
John frowned.
"Just like the champions."
"But stronger."
She pointed toward the creature’s chest.
"There!"
Hidden beneath layers of feathers...
A faint golden crystal pulsed.
Unlike the crimson crystals embedded in the champions...
This one remained pure.
Black tendrils wrapped around it like chains.
Aerion understood immediately.
"That’s not its weakness."
"It’s its prison."
John looked at him.
"If we destroy the corruption around the crystal..."
"We free the guardian."
---
The raven attacked again.
This time John didn’t dodge.
He flew straight toward it.
Dark mana gathered around both claws.
"Abyssal Claw!"
He struck.
Instead of aiming for the guardian...
He targeted the black tendrils wrapped around the crystal.
His claws collided with the corruption.
The sky erupted.
Darkness and abyssal mana clashed violently.
The tendrils recoiled.
One snapped apart.
The Soul Raven screamed.
Not in rage.
In pain.
Golden light burst from the broken chain.
For the first time...
One of its four crimson eyes turned completely gold.
The guardian froze.
"...Dragon..."
Its voice had changed.
Clearer.
"...Help..."
Then the corruption surged again.
The golden eye became crimson once more.
The raven roared.
John backed away.
"It worked."
Sylvara smiled.
"We can save it."
---
Far beneath the World Tree...
Cassian stood before the remaining chains.
Only two remained intact.
The True Heart pulsed behind them like a miniature sun.
Its light illuminated the vast underground cathedral.
Darkness spread across the floor.
The imprisoned presence beyond the seal stirred again.
Cassian raised both hands.
"The guardian still resists."
Black mana gathered around him.
"Very well."
He smiled.
"I’ll lend it more power."
The crystal embedded in his chest glowed.
Thousands of crimson threads spread outward.
High above...
They reached the Soul Raven.
The guardian convulsed.
Its scream shook the heavens.
The corruption thickened.
Its body doubled in size.
Additional wings erupted from its back.
Its feathers transformed into jagged crystal blades.
Lythriel’s smile disappeared.
"That’s... cheating."
Aerion’s face hardened.
"Cassian is strengthening it."
John looked toward the distant World Tree.
"If this continues..."
"He’ll turn every guardian into something worse."
---
The hidden realm trembled.
Another heartbeat echoed beneath the roots.
This one was faster.
Stronger.
The World Tree shed another rain of glowing leaves.
One drifted slowly past John’s face.
Unlike the previous one...
This leaf carried no warning.
Instead...
It showed a vision.
John saw an enormous stone gate standing beyond endless mountains.
Behind it rose gleaming towers unlike anything he had ever seen.
A vast kingdom stretched beyond the gate, hidden beneath shimmering barriers.
The vision lasted only a heartbeat before fading.
John blinked.
"What was that?"
Sylvara caught another falling leaf.
Her eyes widened.
"I saw it too."
"A city."
Aerion nodded.
"So did I."
Lythriel frowned.
"I only saw mountains."
The elf looked toward the World Tree.
"It wasn’t showing memories."
"It was showing possibilities."
John looked once more toward the distant gate that had appeared in the vision.
It was unlike any kingdom recorded in the Eternal Archive.
Before he could think further—
The vision disappeared completely.
The leaf dissolved into golden dust.
Sylvara whispered thoughtfully,
"The World Tree is trying to tell us something..."
Aerion’s silver eyes remained fixed on the distant roots.
"If we survive this..."
"...I think our journey will extend far beyond the lands we know."
John silently committed the image to memory.
Whatever that hidden kingdom was...
Its time had not yet come.
Right now—
Only one objective mattered.
He turned back toward the colossal Soul Raven, whose corrupted aura now covered half the sky.
Dark mana surged around John’s body as he lowered himself into a battle stance.
"We free the guardian."
"Then we stop Cassian."
The three beside him nodded without hesitation.
Together, they flew once more toward the ancient protector as the skies above the World Tree erupted into another storm of light and darkness. The fate of the hidden realm rested not on destroying its greatest guardian...
...but on saving it before the corruption consumed what remained of its soul.
---
100 ps = 1 extra Chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter
Comments