Rhen Plateau, Red Emperor Capital.

After a period of training, the red iron dragon was coiled within his own quarters. The interior space here was vast, enough to accommodate his massive body. At this moment, his eyes were tightly shut, his breathing even and long, having entered a deep state of sleep.

However, his consciousness was not silent.

In the dream, to the east, the red dragon Gorthax circled high in the sky.

Whoosh!

Dense, dark clouds covered the sky, and rain poured down in torrents.

The rain fell like countless silver threads, pouring from the pitch-black clouds, smashing against the ground and splashing up layers of mist. Thunder rumbled deep within the clouds, and occasionally, lightning tore across the firmament, illuminating the entire world with a ghastly white light for an instant.

Gorthax, his body covered in blood-red scales.

His form was massive and imposing, weaving through the dark clouds, his roars overpowering the thunder. He laughed wildly at Garoth.

"My obedient son, you want to face me alone? Haha, without those bothersome bugs, your father here will dote on you properly, letting you feel a father's love like never before!"

His laughter was filled with arrogance and contempt, as if the Garoth before him was nothing more than a bug that could be crushed at any moment.

To the west, above the vast ocean, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

The bronze dragon Siano Sheffield, wrapped in a storm, hovered in the air above the sea.

His scales gleamed with a cold metallic luster under the lightning's illumination. His eyes were sharp as knives, fixed intently on Garoth. The storm whirled around him, the ocean waves roared beneath his feet, and the entire world seemed to become his weapon.

"Evil dragon, this world does not permit the existence of a calamity like you."

"I, Siano Sheffield, shall, in the name of justice, deliver judgment upon you, deliver death upon you."

Garoth hovered between the two, took a deep breath, his expression solemn.

On his path of ascension, he had experienced countless battles.

Battling demons, fighting giant dragons, contending with humans... But among them, the ones that made him feel the greatest sense of pressure, the closest brushes with death, were undoubtedly these two battles.

The red dragon Gorthax.

That was his father, and also one of his greatest nightmares. Back then, he had gathered many dragons to besiege and kill him, paying a heavy price to barely achieve a dangerous victory.

The bronze dragon Siano.

This was an opponent with whom he had almost perished together, truly only a hair's breadth away from death.

The Garoth of now was already far stronger than these two former great enemies.

Scarlet Emperor Cangxing, Lord of the Northern Borders, the Undying Dragon.

His strength, his power, his status, had all far surpassed his former self.

However, in the quiet of the night, when his thoughts wandered, he couldn't help but occasionally wonder: if he had taken just one wrong step back then, would he have already died under the claws of these two?

Thus, he recreated these two within his dream.

Garoth's gaze turned eastward towards the red dragon, and he flew towards him first.

He recreated the battle scenes from back then, including his own level and power, and the gap between them and the red iron dragon.

That is to say, within this dream, his strength was suppressed to the level of that time. The difference was, this time, he was facing this Dragon Father alone.

No support from the many dragons, only him and Gorthas, and the torrential rain filling the sky.

Not long after.

A mangled corpse and the rain fell simultaneously.

Gorthax's corpse tumbled through the air, shattered scales scattered and drifted. Blood was washed away by the rain, dissipating into light before it even hit the ground.

His eyes still held a trace of disbelief.

As if he couldn't understand why, despite being stronger than the rebellious son before him, he had been beaten without any ability to fight back.

Garoth hovered in place, watching the dissipating corpse, saying nothing.

He turned and flew westward, appearing above the vast ocean, meeting the cold, sharp gaze of the legendary bronze dragon Siano.

The storm grew fiercer, the waves higher, the lightning denser. Siano, like the lord of the storm, mobilized the power of the entire world to press down upon him.

After about the same amount of time as last time, the shattered remnants of the bronze dragon crashed into the sea.

His corpse sank into the ocean depths.

Shattered scales, broken dragon bones, lifeless eyes... everything gradually blurred in the downpour, finally dissolving into points of light and being swallowed by the waves.

Rain poured down in torrents, thunder rumbled.

Garoth hovered above the sea surface, looking down at the waters that had swallowed the bronze dragon. A few last points of light still lingered on the water's surface, flickering, then completely vanishing.

The battle was over.

Two battles, totaling less than an hour combined.

Garoth closed his eyes, letting the rainstorm wash over his scales.

In the battles of that time, the pain of his body being torn by claws, the madness of the moment near death, the peril of exhausting everything for a sliver of life... every detail was etched in his memory, never fading.

But just now?

He looked down at his own dragon claws.

Same environment, same opponents, same level disparity.

But he had won with ease.

Effortlessly.

He could predict Gorthax's every move before he made it, find the most minute flaw the instant the storm descended, and seize absolute initiative in every exchange.

Those dangers that once brought him to the brink of death now seemed like nothing more than routine attacks to be avoided.

Gorthax was still that Gorthax, Siano was still that Siano.

But he was no longer the him of back then.

"Yesterday revisited, but I am ultimately the me of today."

He murmured, his voice swallowed by the rainstorm.

Gorthax, Siano, they were once mountains he looked up to, perilous peaks he had to exert all his strength to surmount. But now, they were merely mounds of earth beneath his feet.

"If the me of back then saw the me of now, what would he think?"

He asked himself.

The answer was simple.

The him of back then would be shocked and awed, would desperately want to reach this height.

But he would never be satisfied.

Because he himself was not satisfied now either.

"Again."

Garoth looked forward.

With ripples spreading out one after another, the giant dragon's form coalesced once more.

This time, he made a change.

That dragon was covered in blood-red scales, its form even more massive and imposing than the previous Gorthax, its aura reaching the crown-level, and it bore traits belonging to demons: curved horns, burning eyes, black light faintly flowing between its scales.

Recounting the past, his battles with powerful dragonkind were the most tense and fierce.

Even demons paled in comparison.

Thus, Garoth merged the traits of each powerful enemy, constructing a brand new Gorthax. Then, he used it as his training partner.

"Let me kill you ten thousand more times."

The red iron dragon whispered, then beat his wings and charged towards the blood-red dragon.

The battle began again.

An unknown amount of time later, the storm quietly subsided.

Gorthax's figure also vanished along with it.

The dark clouds dispersed, revealing an azure sky. A ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining upon the red iron dragon's scales.

The wounds torn in battle, the traces of bloodshed, healed and disappeared as the dream calmed.

"Let's stop here for now."

A lazy voice came from the side.

Garoth turned his head.

The green dragon was lying on a cloud that had appeared out of thin air.

The cloud was soft and fluffy, like a giant mattress, pure white without a single impurity.

She lay on it, her two front claws crossed, her chin resting on them, her tail swaying leisurely. Her emerald green eyes were blinking as she looked at him. The sunlight shone on her scales, reflecting a warm, jade-green luster.

"Constructing this kind of dream is tiring, especially for you, fighting so fiercely without a moment's pause."

She gave a small yawn, revealing sharp teeth.

"Take a rest, let's chat."

She stood up from the cloud, stretching out in an enormous, lazy stretch.

Her emerald green scales glittered in the sunlight, her body curves elegant and graceful, from her slender neck to her smooth spine, from her folded wings to her gently swaying tail, every part was just right.

Simultaneously, she waved a claw.

The surrounding scenery instantly changed.

The storm, dark clouds, vast ocean all vanished, replaced by a grassy field blooming with wildflowers.

The grassland stretched to the horizon, colorful flowers swaying in the gentle breeze, like a colorful carpet spread towards the edge of the sky. The sunlight was warm, the breeze mild. In the distance, a small stream meandered past, its water tinkling, clear enough to see the bottom.

That cloud bed was still there, but now it had landed on the grass.

Amidst the clusters of countless flowers, it looked even softer and more comfortable.

Cerora landed on the bed, lying down comfortably, and patted the spot beside her with a claw.

"Come sit. This cloud bed is my favorite, fluffy, soft, perfectly comfortable."

She invited warmly, the tip of her tail lightly raised, as if beckoning an old friend.

Garoth moved closer.

But he did not sit on that cloud bed. The thing looked too soft, and he preferred beds with a firmer texture. So he simply coiled down on the grass beside it, adjusting his body to a comfortable angle, then looked at the green dragon.

"What do you want to talk about?"

He asked.

Cerora blinked her eyes, not insisting he come up. She settled back down, chin on her claws, her gaze resting on him.

"That blood-red dragon just now, what's his relationship with you?"

Her voice held curiosity. "I can sense your feelings towards him are different, not like an ordinary enemy. When you killed him, each time there was a slightly different emotion. Can't quite put my finger on what it was, but definitely not just simple sparring."

Garoth was silent for a moment.

"His name is Gorthax, my father."

"Between us, fire and water could not coexist. In the end, I personally wrenched off his head."

The content of the words was not simple, but his tone was flat, as if discussing today's weather, or what he had just eaten.

Hearing this, Cerora's reaction was somewhat odd.

She didn't show surprise, nor did she express sympathy or comfort. Instead, her eyes brightened a little, as if she had heard something that interested her.

"So that's how it is."

She smiled slightly. "We share similar pasts."

"What?"

The green dragon's smile widened a bit, revealing sharp teeth.

"Like you, I also personally killed my own Dragon Father."

She paused, then added, "Not just the Dragon Father."

"My mother also died under my claws."

Her tone was as flat as Garoth's, equally as if discussing the weather.

"We once inhabited the same forest. I was still young then, didn't yet know how to hide myself. And as I rose, they felt threatened. In their eyes, I was an increasingly dangerous, unfamiliar dragon."

"So they tried to kill me."

"But they didn't get their wish."

Cerora looked at the red iron dragon with a smiling gaze, her tail swaying gently.

"You only killed your father, while I killed both father and mother. Garoth, my past seems a bit more difficult than yours."

Was this a misery competition?

How childish.

Garoth raised his head slightly, glancing at the green dragon.

"My mother is indeed still alive, and within my kingdom."

"However, that doesn't mean I enjoyed much protection."

"Shortly after I left the hatchling period, I was driven out of my territory, forced to survive alone in the Ser Wilderness. I was still small then, didn't yet understand what true danger was, but I learned quickly."

"At that time, the various nations were carving up the wilderness lands, dangerous strongholds and garrisons were everywhere."

"Each side had its own sphere of influence, each side was full of hostility towards dragonkind. Besides that, there were countless ferocious beasts. Those things didn't care if you were a hatchling or not; if they saw you, they'd chase you down."

"On the wilderness, there was basically no environment for weak dragonkind to survive."

"My path ahead was full of thorns and swamps, not knowing if I could keep going tomorrow, countless times close to death."

He stopped here.

The green dragon nodded, taking over. "Sounds like you went through many hardships."

"However, I'm not much better."

Her voice paused slightly, then Cerora changed the subject, speaking of herself.

"As for me, I was abandoned right after hatching."

"I was dumped in an inconspicuous swamp, surrounded by mud and rotting plants. No parents, no siblings, nothing."

"Even worse, from a young age, I couldn't distinguish reality from dreams."

"Like drake beasts."

"Sometimes, I thought I was eating, but I was actually dreaming while hungry. When I woke up, my stomach was empty, nothing around. Sometimes, I thought I was sleeping, but I was actually wandering in reality, staggering around for half a day, suddenly realizing I wasn't in a dream at all."

"This feeling was truly awful."

Then, as if remembering something amusing, the corners of her mouth lifted in a smile.

"Once, I was caught by a few ogres."

"Because at the time I was too scrawny and dried up, completely lacking a dragon's appearance. My scales were dull gray, my body thin as a twig, my wing membranes wrinkled and clinging to my body. They thought I was some strange lizard, planning to make soup."

"I was tied to a rack, a pot of boiling water beneath me, steam rising up, making it hard to keep my eyes open."

"I was still thinking, is this real or fake? Could it be another dream?"

"If it's a dream, I'll wake up soon, no need to be afraid."

"Later, when the water scalded my tail, I vaguely felt it might be real. Or rather, I was afraid it was real, afraid I might really die."

She looked at Garoth and smiled. "I struggled and ran."

"Bit through the rope, fell from the rack, then ran desperately outward, ran all night. The ogres' shouts chased me all night. I didn't dare stop, didn't dare look back, just knew to run. Finally hid in a tree hollow and passed out."

"When I woke up, I found myself in a warm place, my body no longer hurt."

"I knew that was a dream, because my reality had never held warmth. But I didn't dare wake up, because waking up might mean pain again, might mean being caught by the ogres again, might be worse."

Garoth listened quietly.

"What happened later?"

He asked.

"Later, well, I slowly grew up, slowly learned to control my abilities, slowly grew stronger."

Cerora rolled over, lying on her back on the cloud bed, looking at the azure sky.

"It took me a long time to learn to distinguish dreams from reality, and another long time to learn to use this ability in reverse, pulling others into my dreams, or sneaking into theirs."

"Then, I encountered my parents one after another."

"They had forgotten me. Or rather, they never remembered me from the start. In their eyes, I was just a suddenly appearing, unfamiliar green dragon, posing a threat to them, wanting to eliminate me."

"So, I killed them first."

"Killed them in their sleep, didn't let them wake up."

Garoth didn't speak, just looked at her.

In the sunlight, Cerora's scales glowed with a warm luster. Her eyes looked at the sky, who knows what she was seeing. Her tail rested on the edge of the cloud bed, the tip occasionally giving a gentle flick.

"Are we competing over who had a worse past?"

Garoth spoke.

Cerora turned her head, looking at him.

"Seems like it."

Her dragon snout lifted slightly as she said, "You struggled to survive in the cracks, I was abandoned and almost made into soup. Neither of us should laugh at the other."

"Alright."

He said.

Beside him, Cerora rolled over again, settling back down.

She extended a claw, plucked a small wildflower from the grass. It was red, with five petals, looking particularly bright under the sunlight. She brought the flower to her nose, sniffed it, then placed it back on the grass.

"Thanks."

She suddenly said.

Garoth asked, "For what?"

Cerora blinked her eyes, her gaze resting on him.

"Thanks for listening to me talk about these things, and thanks for telling me about your own."

"Not many dragons can talk to me about these things. Many only know that the Greenwild Kingdom has a powerful Dragon Queen, but they don't know this queen also once knew fear and struggle."

"Sometimes, I feel like I'm the only dragon who has experienced these things."

"But today I found out I'm not."

Garoth nodded, not saying anything.

Some words don't need to be said too much; hinting at them is enough.

The green dragon changed the subject.

"Alright, do you want to keep training? Or shall we stop here for now?"

She glanced at the surrounding environment.

Grassland, wildflowers, stream, warm sunlight.

"If you want to continue, we can reconstruct the scene. If you want to rest, this place is quite comfortable too."

Garoth thought for a moment. "Let's stop here. I should wake up."

He paused, then added, "Wait until I fall asleep next time, we'll meet again in dreams."

The green dragon was slightly taken aback.

Then, the tip of her tail lifted, swaying gently, like a happy cat, revealing a pleased smile.

"Are you inviting me on a date? I accept."

Without waiting for the red iron dragon's response, she added, "See you in dreams."

Simultaneously, Garoth's consciousness began to rise.

At the peak of the dragon court, the high-altitude winds howled ceaselessly.

After waking up, Garoth came to this place.

As usual, he liked to appreciate the expansive scenery here before officially starting his training, to look down and survey his territory, adjusting his physical and mental state to the best.

On the eastern horizon, a sliver of fish-belly white was slowly spreading. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Night was retreating, dawn was approaching. A sea of clouds churned beneath his feet, like boundless white cotton wool, layer upon layer, stretching all the way to the horizon. Occasionally, a crack would appear, revealing the outline of the Rhen Plateau below.

Mountains, rivers, forests, fields, and the awakening cities of Aola.

In a little while, the sun would rise, dyeing the kingdom gold.

Garoth took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill his lungs.

Every day at this time was his most relaxed moment.

No need to think about the future, no need to deal with enemies. He only needed to stand here, look at the world beneath his feet, and feel his own existence.

Then, his gaze froze.

Southern sky.

In the direction of the central continent.

A black dot was falling from above the cloud layer.

Another Sky City.

Garoth's pupils abruptly contracted.

The True Eye automatically activated, pulling in and magnifying the details of that black dot. His vision instantly became crystal clear, as if that city were right before his eyes.

Yes, that's right.

Halden's Sky City was falling.

The city's outline was still intact, not disintegrating mid-air like the previous two times. It maintained its complete form, but it was descending, faster and faster, dragging clouds with it, tearing through the air, plummeting towards the earth.

"This is the third one."

Garoth's gaze turned grave as he looked towards the horizon.

If Sky Cities fell one after another, each fall accompanied by a large-scale Abyssal Rift, if this pattern continued, if the frequency of falls kept accelerating...

It was foreseeable that the world's chaos level would continuously rise until it formed a vicious cycle difficult to contain.

Garoth's gaze grew profound.

"The interval between the falls of the previous two Sky Cities was over a year, but this time it's been less than half a year."

"Developing like this, Atlan will soon become a playground for demons, becoming dozens of times more dangerous than Arotala in an extremely short time."

"Perhaps it's time to retreat now."

Just as this thought arose, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

That Sky City's falling speed was slowing.

Garoth narrowed his eyes, staring intently.

Originally, that straight, plummeting trajectory was becoming gentler.

A faint light appeared around the Sky City, enveloping its periphery, as if some force was holding it up, supporting this falling city.

Then, it stopped.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The Sky City hovered in mid-air, no longer descending. Light emanated from around it, appearing especially conspicuous in the sky.

Then, it began to rise.

Very slowly, like a drowning person floating to the surface, bit by bit, struggling upward. And that light grew brighter, stronger, like an invisible pair of hands holding it, lifting it back towards the high altitude.

Garoth's gaze followed the Sky City's trajectory until it returned to its original great height.

It stopped there at its original altitude, floating quietly like the other Sky Cities, as if nothing had happened.