MARVEL I AM DRAGON GOD

The sheer, terrifying presence of Great Red and Ophis was enough.

Salem, for the first time in millennia, knew genuine, bone-deep fear. The cosmic hum of their power threatened to unravel her very being, erasing her from existence.

She was not merely defeated; she was facing oblivion, a fate far worse than any death she had imagined.

Arthur watched, his expression unreadable.

"You are crucial for my growth, Salem,"

He repeated, his voice echoing with the authority of the Dragon Gods themselves.

"But even a queen can be disciplined when she steps out of line."

With a silent command, the overwhelming pressure from Great Red and Ophis receded, though their titanic forms remained, shimmering in the shattered sky above Salem's fortress.

The message was clear: a temporary reprieve, a stark reminder of her place in the grand scheme.

Arthur then turned his gaze to the tormented, shimmering form of Summer Rose.

With a gentle yet firm extension of his Soul Magic, he reached out.

The dark tendrils that bound her, the insidious manipulations woven by Salem, recoiled and snapped under the purity of his power.

Summer's soul, though weary and fragmented from its ordeal, was instantly freed.

He didn't try to fully restore her then. That would take time, and a proper vessel. Instead, with a flash of light, he drew her essence into a shimmering orb of pure energy, carefully storing it within his own being.

Her spirit would be safe, resting, and he would create a body for her later, a true vessel that could sustain her revived self.

"This is your last warning, Salem,"

Arthur stated, his eyes burning with a crimson cold fire.

"Interfere with those I protect, or desecrate the souls of the innocent again, and even your role in my destiny will not save you from a true, and permanent, end."

With that, he ascended, the two colossal Dragon Gods dissolving into motes of light and following him.

The thunderous crack in the sky mended, leaving behind only the lingering scent of ozone and an unshakeable sense of dread in Salem's fortress.

Salem, still trembling, slowly pushed herself up.

Watts and Tyrian lay unconscious.

She had pushed too far.

She had glimpsed true power, a reality far beyond her comprehension or control.

Her gamble had backfired spectacularly, not by ending in a costly battle, but by revealing the existence of forces that could erase her without effort.

The fear was cold, absolute, and utterly unlike anything she had ever known.

Arthur Leywin Stark was not just powerful; he was connected to power, to entities that defied her very understanding of existence.

The game had truly begun, but the Queen had just learned a terrifying lesson about the board she was playing on.

Far away, oblivious to the cosmic intervention that had just unfolded, Team RWBY continued their reconnaissance mission on the outskirts of Vale.

Ruby squinted through her scope, sweeping the dense forest.

"I'm still not seeing anything, Yang,"

She muttered into her comms.

"Just a lot of trees and... regular energy signatures. No weird stuff."

Yang stretched, leaning against a tree.

"Ozpin did say 'subtle,' Rubes. Maybe it's not something you can just see."

Blake, perched silently on a branch, added,

"My Faunus senses aren't picking up anything out of the ordinary either. No strange Grimm activity, no unusual smells."

Weiss, ever analytical, checked her Scroll.

"My Aura readings are consistent with the baseline. No anomalous energy spikes. Perhaps Arthur meant 'subtle' to the point of being imperceptible to our current equipment?"

Ruby sighed.

"But Arthur said it was a challenge to our perception! Doesn't that mean we're supposed to find something?"

She zoomed her scope in, then out, trying to catch any flickering anomaly.

The air felt normal, the forest sounds were just that – forest sounds. It was, frustratingly, a perfectly normal day in the wilderness.

"Maybe the weird energy has already passed through?"

Yang offered, shrugging.

"Or it's so subtle, it's like trying to hear a whisper in a thunderstorm."

Ruby tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Arthur also said 'sometimes the greatest threats are the ones you can't see.' Does that mean we're supposed to look for something that isn't there?"

Weiss rolled her eyes.

"That's a paradox, Ruby. We're looking for evidence of unusual energy. No evidence, no unusual energy."

Despite Weiss's logic, Ruby's mind kept replaying Arthur's words.

Unnatural. Doesn't belong. A ripple effect. She wished she knew what he truly meant, but for now, she was just a huntress-in-training, diligently following orders on a strangely uneventful mission.

Little did she know, the true battle had just been fought, and a soul very dear to her had been pulled back from the brink, all without her ever knowing the danger she or her mother's memory had been in.

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