Ethan flinched, instantly cutting off his energy.
The token crumbled to ash in his hand.
Silence followed—brief, taut.
Then he let out a quiet laugh.
"So that's how it is."
A wind swept in from the distance, brushing past his shoulders, carrying the dry, scorched scent of the desert.
"Their sky's already starting to crack."
He looked up, eyes locking on the distant fortress that hovered eternally among the clouds.
A glint sparked in his gaze—sharp, unsettling.
"Then we'll climb. One layer at a time."
He turned away.
Behind him, the battle flag of Emerald Castle snapped in the wind.
"If they still dare to come down… then let them fall, one by one."
. . .
Days later,
the castle finally settled into a rare, welcome calm.
Everyone had returned to their Creature Dwellings and training grounds—
summoning, refining, evolving.
The hum of energy pulsed through the air like a heartbeat,
a quiet rhythm of growth and preparation.
