Days passed within the research camp.
Occasional tremors rolled through the surrounding landscape while distant mountains rumbled without warning. Roselia and the others monitored every change closely, documenting even the smallest irregularities.
Meanwhile, Anathasia and I had developed a routine of our own.
A few tables had been set up in the open field between the station and the temporary facility. Most days, we simply sat there for hours, drinking tea, testing new blends, and waiting for absolutely nothing.
Today, however, we stood several dozen meters beyond the steel walls.
Watching.
The obsidian-black dragon Anathasia had brought to life a few days earlier lay curled beside us. Despite being over a hundred meters long, it somehow resembled a giant cat more than a dragon.
Far in the distance, the mountains shifted.
"It's finally showing itself, it seems."
Anathasia crossed her arms while watching the landscape split apart.
"About time, too."
She shrugged.
"That thing's been hiding for almost half a million years."
I shot her a glance.
"The Primordial Dragon?"
"Yup."
She nodded.
"Istaroth, if I remember correctly."
Silence followed.
Then the world groaned.
The earth several kilometers away cracked apart as enormous fissures tore through the landscape. Dust and stone erupted skyward.
A moment later—
Three massive serpentine heads emerged from the depths. From this distance, they almost resembled colossal earthworms.
Almost.
Inside the facility, chaos erupted immediately.
Alarms blared.
Researchers scrambled.
Transcendents appeared atop the walls, already positioning themselves toward the direction of the manifestation. Shouts echoed from within the camp, though most were too distant to make out clearly.
"That said…"
Anathasia continued casually.
Rania and Roselia suddenly appeared beside us. Roselia immediately buried one hand in her hair while Rania calmly lifted a pair of binoculars.
"Was this part of your predictions?"
Neither woman answered right away.
Both focused on the enormous dragon slowly emerging from the fractured earth between the mountains. Above it, the orange sky darkened.
Clouds thickened.
Dark gray replaced amber.
"Not exactly," Rania finally murmured.
She lowered her binoculars slightly.
"Istaroth doesn't seem angry."
She exchanged a glance with Roselia.
"It's terrified," Roselia finished.
Her voice carried an unusual certainty.
"Terrified of something it has never encountered before."
Her gaze remained fixed on the dragon.
"And considering it predates even the first Aegean Eon..."
She trailed off.
"That says quite a lot."
Rania nodded faintly.
"It recognizes Outer Gods."
"It recognizes Roselia and me."
"And it possesses some awareness of Miss Veridielle as well."
Roselia turned toward me.
Her expression had become strangely complicated.
Then she froze.
Looking somewhere behind me.
I frowned slightly.
Roselia swallowed reluctantly.
"But Sir Kyle..."
Her voice hesitated.
"Sir Kyle doesn't belong to anything except perhaps the Foundation."
A brief pause followed.
"And even that feels insufficient."
I tilted my head.
"Meaning...?"
Before Roselia could answer, Anathasia snapped her fingers. Then pointed directly at me.
"It means you're something else entirely."
The Primordial Dragon had stopped moving altogether. The three heads remained perfectly still beneath the swirling clouds.
"Just like I told you before."
Anathasia lazily pointed her finger at me.
"You're weird."
Then she grinned.
"Honestly, we're all pretty lucky you're on our side now."
I raised an eyebrow.
"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"
Anathasia twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
"You already know what The Constant did back then."
"The erasure of distinctions."
"Even Logos disappeared."
I blinked.
"Logos?"
"Distinctions. Language. Ontology. Definition itself."
She shrugged.
"All of it ceased to exist."
I stared at her. That explanation somehow raised more questions than answers.
Anathasia continued anyway.
"You don't destroy things."
"You don't negate things."
She pointed toward the horizon.
"Your existence basically makes it so concepts like thing, is, isn't, exists, doesn't exist..."
She paused.
"…never begin in the first place."
A beat passed.
"Think of it as a universal 'No' to existence."
My hand immediately found my temple. I rubbed it slowly while staring toward the giant dragon in the distance.
"I have absolutely no idea what you just said."
A sigh escaped me.
"But it sounds horrifying."
I paused.
"So I'm choosing not to ask any more questions."
Anathasia looked very pleased with that answer.
Meanwhile, all four of us continued watching the Primordial Dragon.
Its three massive heads swayed gently beneath the storm clouds like an enormous celestial loong. Eventually, I shoved my hands into my pockets.
"So how exactly are we dealing with that thing?"
I nodded toward Istaroth.
"I mean, we do have people like Yukihime here."
"That probably won't be necessary."
Anathasia waved dismissively.
"You're here."
She sounded entirely unconcerned.
"Stillness and Cessation would never allow a battle to happen in the first place."
Then she shrugged.
"So let's just wait for it to calm down."
A brief silence followed.
I glanced toward Rania, who still had the binoculars hanging around her neck while squinting at the distant dragon.
"Say," I began, looking at Istaroth's flowing serpentine necks. "I thought this thing couldn't properly settle in The Woodlands?"
"Why's it here then?"
Rania didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she lowered her gaze slightly, seemingly gathering her thoughts.
Nearby, Roselia and Anathasia had already shifted their attention to the obsidian-black dragon resting beside us. At some point, Anathasia had somehow climbed onto its back.
The dragon didn't seem particularly concerned.
"It did tell me it was having difficulties settling within The Woodlands," Rania finally said.
She lifted her gaze toward the Primordial Dragon once more.
"It also warned me about the possibility of unpredictable dangers hidden within both The Woodlands and Heagviegiel."
A brief pause followed.
"But not for my own safety."
Her chin came to rest atop her finger.
"It understood I already existed beyond the scope of Demiurges and similar beings."
She looked thoughtful.
"It wanted to warn the world."
"Aegea."
"About what might be hidden within those lands."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Though primarily The Woodlands."
"Heagviegiel is gradually becoming accessible to Transcendents already."
Silence settled between us for a few moments.
My attention drifted away from the conversation.
Toward Anathasia.
Who now looked way smaller than before.
Again.
She couldn't have been more than fifty centimeters tall at this point.
For reasons known only to herself, she was currently hanging from one of the black dragon's antler-like horns. Meanwhile, Roselia stood nearby, absentmindedly tracing a hand across the dragon's obsidian scales.
Then the ground trembled.
All of us turned immediately.
Anathasia flickered out of existence and instantly reappeared beside me in her usual appearance. Squinting toward the horizon.
"Oh?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"It's finally moving again."
A moment later, her gaze shifted.
Not toward the Primordial Dragon.
But toward something else.
"…Ah."
She sounded almost amused.
"Those things are moving now too."
I followed her gaze.
A massive wave of entities was advancing across the landscape.
Not a single creature.
Not even a group of creatures.
It looked more like countless malformed beings compressed together into one impossible mass.
Roselia glanced at Anathasia and sighed.
"Why does Miss Veridielle sound somewhat excited about this...?"
Nobody answered.
Then—
—the Primordial Dragon moved.
Its impossibly long tail rose into the air like a divine whip. For a brief moment, the world seemed to pause.
Then the tail came crashing down.
A single sweep.
That's all it took.
The entire wave of entities disappeared beneath the impact. Dust exploded outward across the horizon.
We all froze.
Watching.
The dragon slowly retracted its tail.
Then continued walking toward us as if nothing had happened.
The dust gradually settled.
And when it did—
Nothing remained.
Not a single entity.
Not even debris.
Just empty land.
For once, even Anathasia looked surprised.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Then a whistle escaped her lips.
A small clap followed.
"…Primordial Dragon for a reason, I see."
The massive dragon continued moving toward us. But after advancing another kilometer, it suddenly stopped.
Then its body began shrinking.
The colossal form rapidly diminished in size as scales folded inward and the immense serpentine frame condensed upon itself.
A few moments later, only a tall woman with dark green-and-black hair remained standing where the Primordial Dragon had been.
"Oh?"
Anathasia lightly tapped her cheek.
"So she has a humanoid form too?"
The woman began walking toward us.
Rania stepped forward first, extending a hand in greeting. As the distance between us closed, I squinted slightly.
Something about her felt familiar.
Then realization struck.
"…Wait."
Anathasia and Roselia both glanced at me.
"What's wrong?" Roselia asked.
I pointed toward the approaching woman.
"That's the weird woman I met a few days ago."
Their attention immediately shifted toward her.
Anathasia watched the woman for a moment before slowly nodding.
Meanwhile, Istaroth briefly glanced in my direction.
The moment our eyes met, she immediately looked away again. Her shoulders visibly stiffened. Anathasia didn't miss it. A small smile curved across her lips.
"Oh well…"
She turned toward Roselia beside her.
"Istaroth is practically omniscient within Aegea, isn't she?"
Roselia nodded slightly.
"More or less."
Anathasia's smile widened just a little.
"Then maybe she'll know a few things we don't."