As we soared through the endless expanse of space, the glow of distant battles flickered in the distance. I marveled at the sheer number of dragons engaged in combat against the Shades, far more than I had ever imagined. Grandfather had warned us that the battles we saw were merely the tip of the iceberg, and I couldn't fathom the scale of the higher-level fights.

I always thought that there were few dragons in existence, I knew that most were fighting this never-ending battle, but I had underestimated the sheer size of it all.

Not to mention, what we were seeing was nothing but relatively low-level battlefields. Truly, what sort of fight was the elder dragons engaged in?

It didn't take long before, we arrived at a platform similar to the one we had left. However, this one was worn down, and its teleportation gate shimmered in and out of existence.

Standing beside it was a massive dragon, towering almost as tall as Grandfather. His scales gleamed a dim gold, and he had three backward-curving horns and a piercing set of dark green eyes. Surprisingly, however, the dragon had no wings on his back, not even the remnants of ones. It didn't look like they were ripped off or anything, more like he never had them in the first place.

As soon as we landed, the dragon turned his attention toward us and spoke, "My eyes deceive me, is that a goddess riding on your back?" The dragon grinned, amused.

Grandfather didn't bother to reply, instead, he used his mana to send us off his back. The second we landed on the platform, his figure almost disappeared as he shot toward the golden dragon with a speed impossible to follow.

My eyes widened in shock at the absurdity of the situation. The golden dragon seemed just as surprised, he quickly used his claw to slash at my grandfather.

Despite his massive size, Grandfather easily evaded the attack and spun around using his tail to swat the dragon to the ground. A whimper escaped from his mouth as he crashed head-first.

"Know your place, Eliax. I am not your friend," Grandfather spoke, his voice bringing a chill down my spine. Breta frowned by my side, while Sidus's body was shaking in excitement.

The dragon, Eliax, lowered his head with a frown and refrained from saying anything.

"They are to be sent to Valtariel," he said motioning for us to approach. Eliax nodded, "I understand," he said.

"You will be their link, should anything go wrong, you will pull them out. Understand?" Grandfather added, his voice serious as he glared at the dragon.

Seemingly sensing grandfather's seriousness, Eliax simply nodded solemnly. "I understand."

Grandfather then lowered his head and leaned closer to the golden dragon before continuing, "Should anything, and I mean, anything happen to them, Eliax, I will make sure to rip you apart one scale at a time. Do not mess up."

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The golden dragon's frown deepened as he glanced at the three of us with a complicated gaze before answering, "I will not."

"Very well," Grandfather then turned his gaze towards us, his piercing eyes glinting with wisdom. "The fate of Valtariel rests upon your shoulders. Remember, the stakes are high and the enemies are many. You must not falter in the face of danger."

I bowed my head respectfully, my heart swelling with pride as I replied, "Fear not, Grandfather. Our resolve is unbreakable, and we shall not disappoint you."

Breta and Sidus nodded in agreement, their fierce eyes betraying their determination to succeed.

Grandfather observed us for a moment, his expression unreadable, before he finally spoke, "See that you don't. And don't die, you brats."

With those final words, Grandfather took to the air, his massive wings beating a thunderous rhythm as he soared off into the void, leaving us to face our destiny.

Eliax glanced at us thoughtfully as soon as Grandfather left and asked in a deep, rumbling voice, "Pray tell, who are you?" His attitude vastly different.

Confused, I tilted my head and replied, "I am Aether."

"Sidus," piped up my brother.

Breta did not reply and remained silent, casting a suspicious gaze towards the towering dragon.

Eliax's eyes lit up in understanding, as he spoke, "Ah, I see. No wonder. You are the grandsons of the great Destroyer."

Eliax shook his head, his horns glinting under the starry sky, and motioned toward the gate with his claw. "Then, go ahead. The gate will teleport you directly above the plane. I don't think I need to tell you what your mission is," he said, his voice deep and resounding.

We nodded in understanding and stepped towards the gate, its light pulsing and flickering with an otherworldly energy. As we passed through, a sudden jolt ran through my body, and I felt as though I was falling through space. For a moment, everything was dark, and then, suddenly, we were ther.

My body trembled with an intense energy. The sudden change in magic swirling around me was almost suffocating, and I struggled to maintain my balance in the air. Beside me, Sidus flapped his wings with a determined look on his face, and I could feel Breta, now in her small form hovering at my side.

As we emerged from the gate, the landscape below us was a desolate wasteland. The very air was thick with a foul, dark aura that made my scales crawl. I looked around, taking in the bleak, twisted landscape with a sense of apprehension.

"Disgusting," I whispered, "this place reeks."

Sidus nodded in agreement, his eyes darting around the horizon. "We must be careful," he cautioned, "the Shades are everywhere."

Breta, in her human form hovering at my side, looked down at the land below with a look of disgust. "It is a foul place," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

The land below was desolate and barren, filled with twisted and gnarled trees withered by the malevolent energy that pervaded the air. The ground was cracked and broken, and the earth was blackened and scorched, as if some great inferno had consumed the land. The sky was a sickly gray, and the clouds that hung low were tinged with shades of black and red.

As we descended closer, my eyes widened in surprise as we could see the corpses of the shades, humans, and beasts scattered across the ground. The shades lay twisted and broken, their once-darkened auras now snuffed out completely. The humans were barely recognizable, their bodies mangled and torn, their faces twisted in expressions of agony and fear. Beasts of all sorts, from what looked like oversized wolves to griffins, lay dead among the wreckage.

The stench of death was overwhelming, and the ground was slick with blood and other bodily fluids. The only sound was the howling wind, and the occasional moan of the wounded or dying. It was clear that a great battle had taken place here, and that the shades had been pushed back, but at a terrible cost.

"It looks like, there still exists resistance in this world," I said, my eyes scanning the desolate landscape below us.

"Yes," Sidus agreed, his gaze also taking in the scene. "But their efforts seem to be in vain."