The ruins of the Dragon Palace trembled beneath the weight of his power. Shadows coiled around his form, pulsing like a living entity. The warriors who had once stood against him were gone—reduced to nothing by his black flames.
Only one remained.
The crimson-scaled woman, her breath heavy, stared at him with a mix of awe and horror. "You have become something unnatural," she murmured. "Even your father… would have feared you."
The mention of his father sent a twisted smirk across his lips. "My father is dead. His ideals are dead. And now…" He raised a claw, dark energy crackling. "So are you."
He vanished—faster than she could react. One moment, he stood before her. The next, he was behind her, his claws pressed against her throat.
Her eyes widened. "Tch… so fast."
Black flames erupted from his hand, engulfing her.
She screamed—but it was not a scream of fear. It was a scream of defiance.
"I will not die like this!"
With a last surge of power, she shed her mortal form, transforming into her true dragon shape—a massive crimson beast with wings that tore through the sky. She burst from the collapsing throne room, trying to escape.
But there was nowhere to run.
The Black Dragon Sovereign spread his wings, his power blotting out the moonlight. Darkness surged around him, forming a massive vortex in the sky.
The heavens trembled as he whispered the name of his first true technique—
"Abyssal Devour."
A black storm swallowed the sky.
The crimson dragon let out a final roar before she was dragged into the abyss—her body and soul consumed, erased from existence.
Silence.
The once-great palace was no more. Only the Black Dragon Sovereign remained, standing amidst the destruction.
He had won.
But as he looked down at his claws, still pulsing with uncontrollable darkness, he realized something.
This power… was not satisfied.
It wanted more.
And deep in his soul, he wondered—was he still himself? Or had he become something else entirely?
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