Huuuu—

The blazing black current that had been rising like a funeral flame was suddenly pushed back.

And then—

The head of the colossal beast rose again.

Higher.

100,000 feet into the sky.

Its monstrous eyes swept across the world in utter disregard, and then—wings.

With a slow, spine-chilling grace, an enormous pair of wings began to unfurl from behind the ancient creature's back.

Wings like no one had ever imagined—so vast they seemed to split the sky itself.

And when they spread—

The heavens responded.

BOOOOOOM!!

The clouds scattered, ripped apart like paper.

The black fog churned violently, shredded by the sheer force of its unfolding.

Rocks from distant cliffs lifted into the air like feathers in a breeze.

Mountains— actual mountains—torn up, flung into the sky like debris.

The world was being undone.

Harry's face twisted in horror as he shouted, "Watch out!!"

But it was too late.

With a single sweep of those unfurled wings, the terrifying stormfront generated from the beast's emergence came roaring forward like an angry god. A storm unlike anything they had ever felt before.

WHOOM!!!

400 miles collapsed into a blink.

And then it hit.

BANG!

The ground ruptured, fissures racing across the blackened land like lightning bolts. The very earth split beneath their feet.

Max and the five nearest to him were launched into the sky, tossed like straw in a hurricane.

Not a single one of them could resist. Not Max. Not Crown Prince Aelric. Not even Jack. They were just… gone.

Harry's heart sank.

'No! If they get separated—here, in this cursed zone—'

They wouldn't be able to find each other again.

Not in this twisted space.

And without Max, there was no hope of escape.

"Come to me!" Harry roared.

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

From his outstretched arms, five radiant chains of mana shot out, coiling through the storm like golden spirit serpents. Each one lashed out and latched onto one of the five flying geniuses midair.

Max included.

With a sharp tug, all six were dragged back—but not gently.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

They smashed into the earth like meteors, skidding across cracked stone and shattered black rock, finally tumbling to a stop in a field of dust and smoke.

The terrain around them had been leveled.

Aelric coughed, spitting out a mouthful of dirt and blood.

"Holy f*ck! What in the actual hell was that thing!?"

Jack groaned beside him, dazed and bruised. He wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and slowly turned his gaze back toward the horizon.

And there—half-submerged in the black fog of the Mourning Depths—it was gone.

The great beast had turned, its monstrous head vanishing once more into the abyss, as silently as it had come. Only its tail remained, stretching high into the sky like a towering pillar, as if it were holding up the heavens themselves.

Even after it disappeared, the air trembled, the ground wept, and the hearts of everyone present beat with fear.

That thing had been over 400 miles away.

And still… just gazing upon it had left them vomiting blood.

Max lay on the cracked ground, eyes narrowed, heart pounding.

'What kind of existence… could carry that much power?'

He didn't know.

But he was sure of one thing—

They had just glimpsed something that should not exist in the mortal world.

"Max, are you alright?"

Blob's voice echoed through Max's mind, strained with concern.

"What happened to you just now? I warned you not to keep looking at that dragon… but you—you acted like you weren't even here. Like your mind had drifted somewhere else."

Max let out a soft chuckle, his lips curling into a smile despite the blood still drying at the corners of his eyes.

"Blob… you won't believe it," he said quietly. "I didn't just see that monster we all saw... I saw something else—a dragon. A real one. Not the ancient beast we just witnessed, but something far more... divine."

He paused, his eyes distant, as if still half-lost in that moment.

"The aura I felt from it… it was beyond anything I've ever known. Like I was standing in front of something… greater. Something holy. It didn't just radiate power—it radiated truth. Like I was staring at a god, if such a thing exists."

Blob was silent for a beat.

Then, his voice returned—muted, almost disbelieving.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

Max shook his head slowly, the smile still tugging at his lips.

"No dream could feel like that. And it spoke to me."

He exhaled, a flicker of awe still glowing in his gaze.

"It told me how to get us out of this place… out of this situation. I don't know if it will work. But right now, it's the only thing we've got."

Blob paused again, then sighed with resignation.

"Well… I've been with you through a lot, and even I can't do a thing about the mess we're in now. So I guess… if a dragon's giving out directions, we might as well take them."

Max stood up slowly, brushing the dust from his coat.

His voice rang out clearly over the group:

"Everyone, listen up! I found a way. I can't promise we'll escape the forbidden zone entirely, but I'm confident we can at least get out of this current trap."

Without hesitation, Harry stepped forward.

"Let's move," he said firmly. "We've already seen two nightmares I don't ever want to see again. If there's a chance to escape, we're taking it."

The others nodded in agreement, some pale, others still shaking—but hope was stronger than fear.

Max turned toward the thick fog surrounding them.

The dragon's words echoed in his mind:

"Close your eyes… and see the true path through your heart—not your eyes."

He had doubted it at first. The words were poetic, vague… but they had come from that presence. He had felt its truth. He had believed.

Max slowly closed his eyes.

And everything went dark.

But not for long.

Within the void of his inner vision, his Three Dimensional Body activated. And in that higher layer of perception… he saw it.

A tiny creature emerged from the darkness.

A small dragon, no larger than his hand. Its body shimmered with translucent light, delicate like a dream and beautiful like a memory. It flitted through the air with grace, circling around him like a tiny, ancient spirit.

Max couldn't see it with his eyes.

But his soul—his essence—knew it was real.

And strangely… no one else noticed it.

To the rest, he was just standing there in silence.

But to Max—this little dragon was dancing in the fog, beckoning him forward.

Then, it turned and began to drift ahead.

Max followed.

And behind him, the others—trusting him, fearing the alternative—began to move too.

The little dragon drifted ahead like a wisp of light through the endless fog—graceful, silent, and entirely unconcerned with the laws of direction.

Sometimes it glided left.

Other times it suddenly zipped right.

At moments, it backtracked completely, circling around as if chasing its own tail—only to shoot forward again, straight into the mist without warning.

To Max, it felt like being taken on a rollercoaster through a dream. His boots crunched over unfamiliar terrain, the fog curling around him like a living veil, hiding the world beyond.

There were times he thought the dragon was playing with him.

'Is this thing leading me… or just having fun?'

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay