Kaelen rode on Seraphis’s back as they soared above Ravetham, the early morning sunlight bathing the city in a soft golden glow. From the skies, the full extent of the mayhem below became clear. Traffic was snarled in all directions, with cars piled up at every major intersection. The malfunctioning stoplights had thrown the streets into chaos, and accidents littered the roads. Police and military were on the ground, trying to bring order, but it was an uphill battle.

He didn’t want to be a hero, but Kaelen knew he couldn’t stand by while his neighborhood descended into ruin. “Let’s help clear this up, Sera,” he said, his voice calm but resolute.

Seraphis responded with a low rumble of agreement. She swooped down toward the ground, her massive wings stirring the air, and began lifting overturned vehicles effortlessly with her claws. The weight of the metal was nothing to her draconic strength, and she moved the wreckage with surprising grace. Kaelen kept an eye out, directing her to the worst of the pileups. The pedestrians who had gathered around the scene watched in awe, many of them recording with their phones. A few even cheered, but Kaelen didn’t let it go to his head. He wasn’t doing this for praise; he just didn’t want to see his home torn apart.

Sheriff Holden was on the scene, his face set in a grim frown as he oversaw the situation. He caught Kaelen’s eye for a moment, but despite everything that had happened—the crimes the doppelgänger had committed in his name—the sheriff didn’t make a move to arrest him. Not with Kaelen’s grandmother, Matron Zelyndra Nyxaris, still in town. Holden knew better than to provoke the Drow matriarch.

The military had set up a perimeter, their presence thick across the streets of Ravetham. Soldiers were directing traffic, their authoritative shouts adding to the noise. They had shut down the traffic lights entirely, working to manually guide the cars that were still functional. Slowly, order began to emerge from the chaos. Cars moved, albeit sluggishly, but the gridlock was beginning to break.

Just as things started to settle, the air grew unnaturally still. Kaelen felt a shift—a tension, as though the very fabric of reality was bending under some immense pressure. He looked up at the sky and saw it: a swirling vortex tearing open the heavens. His heart sank. From the tear in the sky descended an angelic figure, but this was no ordinary angel. It had six wings, each covered in pristine white feathers that seemed to glow with divine radiance. More of its kind followed, their presence awe-inspiring and terrifying.

But something else was with them.

From the vortex emerged a creature that defied understanding—a circular, twisted object that made Kaelen’s stomach churn just to look at. Its form was impossible to grasp, shifting between shapes that hurt his mind to even comprehend. His vision blurred, and suddenly his eyes began to burn. He blinked rapidly, feeling the hot sting of blood trickling down his face.

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Seraphis growled in fury. “I’ve had enough of this,” she snarled, her voice vibrating with raw power. She reared back and unleashed a torrent of pink flames at the eldritch abomination, the fire burning hotter than the sun itself.

But it was no use. The flames passed through the creature as though it wasn’t there. Kaelen wiped the blood from his eyes, his vision clearing as a strange white glow pulsed from within him. His bleeding eyes healed instantly, but the sight that met him was even more disturbing. The angel and the abomination seemed untouched, existing on a different plane altogether. They were present in this world, yet not fully here, untouchable by Seraphis’s draconic wrath.

As Seraphis snarled in frustration, a sudden flash of light streaked across the sky. Kaelen looked up just in time to see Cygnus. She wielded some sort of artifact, its presence rippling through reality itself. With a single gesture, the angelic beings and the abomination vanished, as though they had never been there at all.

Cygnus turned to leave, her mission seemingly complete, but Seraphis wasn’t about to let her escape so easily. With a roar of fury, Seraphis lunged into the sky, her massive form cutting through the clouds. She fired a jet of pink flames at Cygnus, but the space swan was too fast. Cygnus darted out of the way with supernatural speed, her wings shimmering as she flew off into the horizon, disappearing in a blur of white light.

Seraphis roared in frustration, her anger shaking the very air around them. But before she could give chase, the military helicopters on the ground sprang into action. The soldiers, seeing Seraphis’s massive form as a potential threat, opened fire. Gunfire echoed through the streets as bullets whizzed past Kaelen, barely missing him as they aimed for the dragon he rode upon.

“Seraphis! Stop! Don’t engage!” Kaelen shouted, panic rising in his voice. They couldn’t afford to fight the military here—not with the streets already in chaos.

Seraphis hesitated for a moment, her instincts warring with Kaelen’s plea. But then, with a snort of frustration, she folded her wings and dove toward the ground, landing heavily on the street. She shifted back into her human form with a sigh, her eyes still glowing with fury, but she listened to him. Together, they bolted on foot toward the Black Fang, trying to stay out of sight.

Pedestrians scattered as they ran, fear etched on their faces as they saw Seraphis’s hulking form sprinting through the streets. Kaelen kept his head down, trying to avoid drawing more attention, but the helicopters circled above, tracking them for only a few minutes before something—Kaelen didn’t know what—made them suddenly pull back.

Panting slightly, they made it to the alley behind the Black Fang, ducking out of sight. The roar of helicopters faded as Kaelen leaned against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

“What the hell just happened?” he muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.