That One Time I Married A Crazy Goddess

The battlefield had no ground. It was the sky itself, a vast and endless expanse of molten gold and swirling black clouds pierced by the oppressive, blinding light of the sun. The air was searing, heavy with the choking heat of the Sun-Drake's divine flames, and the only solid footing was what Xyenn could create with his wings and momentum. 

High above, the Sun-Drake floated like a god of destruction. His massive form was a silhouette of black, glowing with the golden fire of the sun. Around him, the flaming runes twisted and spiraled in jagged, erratic patterns, their forms sharp and ancient as if carved by the hands of time itself: 

ᛉ ✹ ᚠ ᛗ ᚺ † ᚷ ᛟ ᛝ 

The runes burned brighter and twisted faster with every word the Sun-Drake spoke. His voice was a deep, resonant vibration that made the sky ripple and tremble like a canvas stretched too thin, each syllable carrying an unbearable weight. 

"The sky is the flame's cradle. The fire knows no bounds. It consumes, it devours, it purifies."

Xyenn hovered in the air, his wings outstretched, their reddish-black and dark pink flames licking at the wind. His scythes—four jagged, curved blades—glowed faintly with the same fiery energy, the edges shimmering as if eager to taste blood. His body bore the marks of the battle already fought: deep, charred gashes where the Berserkers had grazed him, his left arm bloodied and mangled, his flesh burned by explosions of dark sunlight. Yet his eye—his one remaining eye—burned with unrelenting fury. 

His left eye was gone, the socket bleeding.

Xyenn's adrenaline was pumping, he knew his left eye was gone, but that wasn't going to stop him.

'I gotta hurry! I'll save that woman! With Yuuna's knowledge of the Dragon gods, knowledge about their power and weakness comes in handy.'

Above him, stretching in all directions, were the Berserkers of the Flame—dozens, if not hundreds of them. They floated in the air, unmoving, their hands clasped in prayer and their heads bowed toward the Sun-Drake. Their forms were eerily still, their glowing cracks of molten light pulsing in time with the Sun-Drake's voice. 

"Unworthy are we, yet still we burn. Unworthy are we, yet still we serve." They claimed.

But Xyenn could feel their desire to be free. Being forced to worship the Sun-Drake against their will as Berserkers. 

"Help us…"

The words dripped from their mouths in unison, a low, haunting chant that reverberated through the burning sky. Xyenn gritted his teeth, his claws tightening around the handles of his scythes as he stared at them, his ears filling with their whispers. 

'I'm gonna save them…I am. We have to win quick, I'll save everyone. Not doing anything reckless like before, the dragon god of the sun is more powerful now since he manifested outside of the draconic law…and the dragon god of blood is trying to help

Quinara. Why can't he help us in battle? Doesn't matter! Doesn't matter now..I got this. I can't always be looking for help, there will be times when I have to take care of things myself. Isn't that..what a man does?!'

Then the Berserkers moved. 

The stillness shattered in an instant. Their prayer stances snapped into horrifying, jerking motion as they hurled themselves toward Xyenn, their hands outstretched. Dozens of them came at him all at once, their bodies twisting unnaturally as they moved, their speed so blinding it seemed as though they flickered in and out of existence. 

Xyenn roared, his wings propelling him forward as he tore into their ranks. His first scythe slashed clean through a Berserker's chest, splitting it open as molten blood sprayed across his face and arms. He twisted his body, bringing another scythe upward to sever a second Berserker's head from its shoulders. The creature's glowing, cracked face screamed for help even as it disintegrated into ash. 

Another Berserker came for him from the side, and Xyenn spun sharply, his tail cracking through the air like a whip and slamming into its torso. The impact sent the Berserker's body hurtling into two others, all three of them erupting into explosions of dark sunlight on impact. The force from the blast rocked Xyenn's body, but he didn't stop. 

Yuuna's voice rang in his mind, sharp and commanding. "Xyenn! Don't let them surround you! You know what happens if they touch you! Keep moving—don't give them even a second!"

"They're keeping me from getting to the Sun-Drake…it's gotta be something dormant in him that knows something about us is strong and won't take the risk of fighting us himself…"

"The dragon gods are cunning. They aren't idiots. They know when someone is strong. And as for us, we're strong."

He snarled in response, his wings snapping open in a burst of fiery momentum as he darted to the side, barely avoiding a cluster of Berserkers that lunged for him. Their hands clawed at empty air, the space where he'd been just moments before. 

But they didn't stop—they never stopped. 

Another wave of them came, faster this time, their movements more coordinated. Xyenn brought his scythes up in a deadly, slashing motion, the blades carving through three Berserkers at once. Their bodies erupted into blood and molten chunks, the remains scattering across the sky. Yet for every one he killed, three more took their place. 

'I'm saving them…I'm saving them….they scream for help before I slash them…but I'm saving them! If there was any other way to do this instead of brutally cutting them down, I'd take it! I'm getting distracted…focus!'

One Berserker came from above, its hands grasping for his neck. Xyenn twisted midair, his tail whipping around to deflect the attack, but another Berserker was already at his back. Its hand grazed his shoulder. 

The explosion of dark sunlight was immediate and devastating. Xyenn roared in pain as the flames tore through his scales and flesh, burning deep into his shoulder. Blood poured from the wound, and for a moment, his vision went red from the pain. He staggered, his wings faltering, but he didn't fall. 

Above him, the Sun-Drake's eyes never left him.

"The flame does not falter. It does not forgive. All things return to its embrace."

The runes around the Sun-Drake glowed brighter, their jagged shapes twisting into new, sharper patterns. The fiery eye on the surface of the sun pulsed again, and with each pulse, the Berserkers grew faster and more ferocious. 

They swarmed him, dozens at a time, their bodies flickering like shadows as they closed in. Xyenn roared, stabbing one of his scythes into his own chest. The moment the blade pierced his flesh, the black and dark-pink flaming dragon crests erupted around him, their fiery edges forming temporary barriers in the air. 

He darted through the crests at breakneck speed, his body flickering in and out of sight as he moved. Each time he emerged, another Berserker fell, their bodies torn apart by his scythes. Blood and molten chunks rained down from the sky, the air filled with the sound of their dying screams. 

"Help me…"

"I don't want to die..."

"This isn't me..."

"Kill him!"

The voices clawed at his mind, each plea hitting like a dagger to the heart. For a brief, agonizing moment, Xyenn hesitated. His scythes faltered mid-swing as the screams grew louder, and in that instant, a Berserker's hand grazed his leg. 

'What am I doing…?'

The explosion tore through him. His left leg erupted in flames, the dark sunlight searing through his flesh and bone. Xyenn roared in agony, his wings faltering as he struggled to stay airborne. Blood poured from the wound, but he forced himself to keep moving. 

Yuuna's voice screamed in his mind. "Xyenn! Darling….Snap out of it! They're already gone—there's nothing left of them! Stop hesitating, or you're going to die! We can do this! We just need to get up there! We need to reach the sun! That's his heart!"

He growled, his grip tightening on his scythes as he pushed the voices aside. He couldn't afford to stop. Not now. 

"I'm sorry, Yuuna." Xyenn pleaded softly.

Yuuna responded, "You got this, I believe in you. I always have. But you're the one steering us, you're in control, I'm just the bridge for our power. We've fought many beings, let's win this one okay?"

Above, the Sun-Drake's voice thundered again. 

"The unworthy burn. The worthy rise. Through fire, the sun remakes all."

Another ripple of golden energy surged from the sun, and this time, massive beams of sunlight shot down in rapid succession. The beams tore through the sky, each one exploding on impact and sending shockwaves rippling outward. Xyenn dodged the first beam, his wings propelling him to the side just as the space he'd been occupying erupted into flames. 

'His so-called proverb is commanding the sun to attack us as well! His heart.'

Yuuna called out, "When he looks at the sun and gives a command, a beam will come for us."

"OH YEAH?!" Xyenn proclaimed sarcastically.

"Shut up shut up shut up go left and right to dodge them, don't go up or down, because the beam first pierces the ground then carves its way towards us. To him and his nature, sin begins from the ground up, and once the sun hits it, the heart purges the sun from the land and its people. Always dodge left to right!"

Another beam came immediately after, and Xyenn twisted, his body narrowly avoiding the searing light. But the shockwave from the explosion caught him, sending him hurtling backward. He crashed into a cluster of Berserkers, their hands immediately reaching for him. 

Xyenn roared, his scythes slashing wildly as he tore through them. Blood sprayed across his body, the air thick with the metallic scent of it. But the Berserkers didn't stop—they kept coming, their bodies flickering and shifting as they swarmed him. 

One of them managed to grab hold of his face. 

The explosion was blinding. Xyenn screamed as the dark sunlight tore through his left eye, the searing pain nearly overwhelming him. Blood poured down his face, his vision reduced to a single, burning point of focus. 

Down below, Orin had been yelling to them, he was desperate now. "You can't let him reach the sun! If he fully absorbs into it at this power, Quinara will die! The mark of the Eternal Flame is still binding her to his power—if he ascends, his energy will flow back through the connection and destroy her from the inside out!" 

Xyenn's remaining eye burned with fury. His wings snapped open, flames erupting around him as he charged forward, his scythes tearing through the Berserkers with brutal efficiency. 

Above, the Sun-Drake's eyes never wavered.

"The flame purifies. The flame destroys. Through destruction, it is eternal."

The air around Xyenn was suffocating, the golden light of the sun pressing down on him like the weight of an entire star. His wings, shredded at the edges from countless close calls with the Berserkers, twitched as he hovered midair, blood dripping from the gashes running along his arms and chest. His scythes, glowing faintly with his fiery black and pink energy, were slick with the molten blood of the creatures he'd slaughtered. 

Above him, Yuuna's voice sounded in his mind, steady yet tinged with urgency. 

"Xyenn, listen. We can't keep fighting like this. The Berserkers aren't here to kill you—they're here to stall you. The Sun-Drake knows you're coming for him, and he's using them to keep you away. But…" her voice hesitated for a moment, before growing resolute, "I think I know how to end this." 

Xyenn breathed heavily, his remaining eye narrowing as he locked onto the Sun-Drake in the distance. The berserkers were already regrouping, dozens of them floating in the burning sky, their grotesque bodies silhouetted against the molten light of the sun. 

"Spit it out, Yuuna," he growled, his voice rasping with exhaustion. 

Yuuna didn't waste another second. "The sun isn't just his source of power. It's his heart, Xyenn. That's how he sustains himself, how he fuels his control over the Berserkers. If we destroy the sun, we wound him—cripple him. But we have to get close. Really close."

Xyenn's wings flared, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten as her words sank in. "You're saying the only way to beat him is to fly into the sun?" There was a bitter edge to his voice, but he already knew she was right. 

'Isn't that suicide?'

"There's no other way. But if we're going to pull this off, we need to do it smart. No mistakes." Her voice softened, but there was a weight behind her words. "Xyenn, I can transform into my dragon form. It'll make us faster, tougher—we'll have the power to reach him. But it's risky. Once I shift back, I'll be out of it for a long time."

Xyenn grunted, his grip tightening on the scythes. "Then we don't screw it up. What's the plan?" 

"Damn right, darling."

The Berserkers were already shifting, their heads bowed in prayer to the Sun-Drake, their bodies flickering with unnatural light as they prepared to attack again. Above, the Sun-Drake continued to watch, his eyes unblinking, his towering, flaming form radiating unbearable heat. 

Yuuna's voice was calm, focused. "We'll have to use everything we've got. First, we thin the Berserkers enough to create a hole in their ranks. I'll shift into dragon form at the last second to break through the rest. Once we get close, I'll handle the speed and maneuvering while you focus on clearing a path. When we're right on him, I'll draw his attention. That's when we make our move."

"Why not use the crest to get there?"

"The Berserkers are literally shattering them, and their speed is enough to reach us when we come out of them. Their awareness is insanely formidable!"

Xyenn smirked through the pain, flames licking at the corners of his mouth. "No pressure." 

The Berserkers moved. 

Dozens of them broke from their prayer stances, their grotesque forms snapping into motion as they hurled themselves toward Xyenn. Their hands, glowing with the energy of the sun, reached for him, their hollow, glowing eyes locked onto him with unrelenting hatred. 

Xyenn roared, his wings propelling him upward as he charged into their ranks. His scythes swung in wide, brutal motions, carving through the first wave with savage precision. Blood and molten flesh rained down around him as his blades tore through torsos and severed limbs. 

Another wave came from above, and Xyenn spun sharply, his tail whipping through the air like a battering ram and smashing into a cluster of Berserkers. Two of them exploded on impact, their bodies disintegrating into fiery ash, but the rest kept coming. 

Yuuna's voice cut through the chaos. "They're trying to pin you down! Keep moving!" 

Xyenn growled, his wings flaring as he darted to the side, narrowly avoiding a pair of Berserkers that lunged for his back. He twisted midair, bringing both scythes down in a vicious arc that split one of them in half. Another came at him from below, and he slammed his heel into its face, shattering its skull with a sickening crack. 

But there were too many. 

A cluster of Berserkers swarmed him from behind, their hands grabbing at his wings, his legs, his shoulders. Their collective weight dragged him downward, their molten blood burning into his flesh as they clawed at him. Xyenn roared in fury, his flames surging outward in a violent explosion that sent the creatures flying. 

He was breathing hard now, his body trembling from exhaustion and pain. His vision blurred, the edges of his remaining eye swimming with red. 

Above, the Sun-Drake continued to watch, his gaze cold and unwavering. 

"The flame does not waver. It does not falter. It is eternal. Its light consumes, and through consumption, it creates."

Xyenn roared, "AGHHH! Stop spouting bullshit! No one's listening!"

The Sun-Drake raised one massive hand, and the runes around him began to twist and swirl, reshaping themselves into intricate, glowing patterns. The sun itself pulsed violently, beams of light shooting outward in rapid succession, hitting the ground firat, then each one tearing through the sky with devastating force. 

"Xyenn!" Yuuna's voice screamed in his head. "It's time!"

"Wait! Are you sure we won't.."

"Go crazy like I did in my dragon form when you were with Haldrek? No. We won't. I'm not in my rage state, we will be fine. Now come on!"

Xyenn didn't hesitate. His body erupted in flames, the searing heat blinding as his form began to shift. His wings grew larger, their fiery edges sharper, and his scythes melted into his body as it elongated, twisting into the monstrous, serpentine form of a black and pink flaming dragon. Yuuna's energy surged through him, her voice becoming one with his as they completed the transformation. 

The moment their dragon form stabilized, they vanished. 

The Sun-Drake's attack obliterated the Berserkers closest to him, their bodies disintegrating into ash as the beams tore through them, but the Sun-Drake didn't care. His focus was on Xyenn and Yuuna, his unblinking eyes tracking their movements as they darted toward him. 

The air around them was chaos, beams of sunlight raining down in rapid succession as they twisted and turned, barely avoiding the onslaught. Each near miss left their scales scorched, their flesh torn and bleeding, but they didn't stop. 

Yuuna's voice was sharp in Xyenn's mind. "Hold steady! We're almost there! We're gonna blow his heart to bits!"

The Sun-Drake's hand began to glow brighter, the runes swirling faster as he prepared another devastating attack. His voice boomed, his words a mixture of ancient proverbs and draconic language that tore through the air like a storm. 

"The flame is the beginning and the end. It consumes, it destroys, it gives. In its light, all things are revealed. In its embrace, all things are undone. ✹ ᛉ ᚺ ᛗ ᚾ ✹ ᚷ ᛟ ᛉ ✹."

Xyenn gasped, thinking, 'His body…it's slowly turning towards us..he's gonna react to our speed! Yuuna doesn't even notice! There's only one thing I can do..this bastard is gonna wait until we get super close to do what he has to, he's luring us in and we're falling for it.'

Xyenn roared, his flames surging as he forced himself to separate from the dragon form at the last possible second. The transformation split like a violent explosion, Yuuna's dragon form remaining as the kickback pushed her back, as Xyenn's body launched forward with blinding speed. 

The Sun-Drake's hand came down, his attack narrowly missing Xyenn as he hurled himself forward, his scythes igniting with black and pink flames. 

"Fuck you!" Xyenn roared. 

His scythes struck true, the blades burying themselves deep into the Sun-Drake's face. The force of the impact sent both of them hurtling backward, their massive forms crashing into the surface of the sun itself. 

The explosion was devastating. 

The sun erupted in a violent shockwave, its golden surface rippling as molten fire and black energy surged outward. Yuuna screamed from above, her dragon form trembling as the shockwave tore through the sky, scattering what remained of the Berserkers. 

"Xyenn!"

'That caught Sun-Drake off guard, but still…Xyenn will die in there! Did Xyenn see something I didn't? He wouldn't do crazy things like this if he didn't have a reason, right? If anything, I can continue to destroy the outer layers of the sun, that'll eventually kill the god completely. I know Xyenn will survive, he always does.'

When the chaos settled, Xyenn stood, his body battered and broken, his flames flickering weakly. The Sun-Drake, now the same height as Xyenn, rose slowly, his once-massive form diminished but still powerful. 

They both stood in the sun itself, standing on a steaming platform with smoking surrounding them and the cracked domain of the sun around them.

'Like Orin's domain, this has to be this god's domain. But he made it to where he crafted his own heart into a domain, and still linked with it. Yuuna was right..destroying the sun will weaken him and eventually kill him.'

The Sun-Drake stood there, his eyes staring into Xyenn's, his body was steaming, causing some parts of his body to crack; the cracks glowing with sunlight. His dragon horns doing the same, and his body wings.

"How did I get here…?"

Xyenn grunted, as he felt that his own body, the wounds he suffered from the Berserkers earlier had caught fire with sunlight flames; being inside of the Sun-Drake's heart, it was wearing Xyenn as well.

'I can't stall…but something in me is making me want to hear what he says..zzm

They locked eyes, their gazes filled with unrelenting resolve. Xyenn's scythes hung loosely in his hands, his body trembling but still standing. 

"Don't have long…" Xyenn muttered, his voice low and rasping. He tightened his grip on his weapons, blood dripping from his wounds as he took a step forward. "Gotta end this quickly." 

The Sun-Drake's body burned with black flames, his molten form cracking and bleeding light, but his voice was still steady, still unyielding. 

"The flame does not die. It is reborn. Through destruction, it rises anew—AGH!"

Xyenn gasped, the Sun-Drake held his own head, roaring loudly. He heard whispers in his head, whispers that pierced his carnal mind with malicious intent:

"Get out of my head…who the hell are you all?! Speak one at a time!"

Xyenn heard him, saying, "Who's talking to him…?!"

The Sun-Drake stood motionless for a moment, his molten, towering form blazing with golden fire, his once unshakable presence suddenly faltering. His unblinking, godlike gaze shifted as if looking at something unseen, something far away. Then, without warning, his head snapped to the side, his massive claws gripping at his temples.

Xyenn, battered and bloodied, stood frozen in the sun a short distance away, his remaining eye narrowing as he watched the god's sudden distress. The Sun-Drake's booming voice, which had commanded the battlefield with unwavering authority, now cracked and trembled.

"No... No! I don't serve you! I work for no one! I AM THE GOD OF THE SUN!"

The words tore through the sky like a thunderclap, but beneath them, faint, eerie whispers seemed to ripple through the air, unheard yet undeniably present. Xyenn's ears twitched as he caught the faintest sensation of the voices, like a cold wind brushing past his mind. They weren't speaking to him—no, they were speaking at the Sun-Drake.

The god's claws dug into the sides of his head, his molten, flaming form flickering erratically as though he were fighting something deep within. His glowing eyes flared brighter, his voice rising in desperation.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I AM THE ETERNAL FLAME! I AM YOUR SUPERIOR! I AM ABOVE YOU ALL! You say you paved the way for my freedom..you fucking didn't!"

The whispers grew louder, though still incomprehensible, and the Sun-Drake's entire body began to convulse, his molten surface cracking and bleeding streams of black fire. His golden light dimmed, overtaken by a creeping, sinister darkness that spread across his form like a plague.

Xyenn hovered in silence, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His scythes hung at his sides, the fiery blades flickering weakly, and for the first time in the brutal battle, a pang of something foreign gripped his heart—fear.

"Yuuna…" he muttered through gritted teeth, his voice low and strained. "What the hell is happening to him?"

Before Yuuna could answer, the Sun-Drake's body erupted in a violent surge of energy. Massive cracks ran along his molten surface, spilling black fire and dark yellow sunlight that twisted and coiled like living serpents. His wings, once blazing with golden flames, disintegrated in a burst of ash before reforming as jagged, skeletal appendages wreathed in pitch-black fire. The runes that circled him dissolved, replaced by a chaotic swarm of black and dark yellow crests that pulsed and twisted around his form like orbiting fragments of a shattered star.

The transformation wasn't instantaneous—it was agonizingly slow, every moment filled with the Sun-Drake's tortured roars and the eerie, unrelenting whispers of the elder dragon gods. His molten form began to stretch and reshape, his limbs elongating, his body twisting into something far more monstrous.

When the light finally dimmed, the Sun-Drake's true form stood revealed.

His body was massive, far larger than before, his serpentine frame coiled like a storm in the air. His scales, once molten and golden, were now a deep, obsidian black, each one etched with faint veins of glowing, dark-yellow light that pulsed like a dying star. His wings, jagged and skeletal, stretched impossibly wide, their edges crackling with dark sunlight that bled into the sky like ink spreading through water.

His head was draconic, but grotesquely elongated, his jaw lined with serrated, uneven teeth that dripped with molten fire. His glowing eyes were now split into four, arranged in a vertical pattern down his face, each one blazing with a fierce and unrelenting hunger. Above his head floated a black and dark-yellow sunlit halo, jagged and cracked, its edges radiating chaotic energy.

And when he roared, the sound was deafening, an unholy cacophony of rage and anguish that tore through the sky like a hurricane. Waves of black and yellow fire rippled outward from his body, consuming everything in their path.

Xyenn remained frozen, his scythes trembling in his hands as he stared at the god-made-monster before him. His instincts screamed at him to run, but his body wouldn't move. His remaining eye locked onto the Sun-Drake, and for the first time, he felt the full weight of the god's presence bearing down on him.

"Xyenn!" Yuuna's voice snapped him out of his daze.

He turned just in time to see her dragon form hurtling toward him, her massive, serpentine body wreathed in dark-pink and black flames. Without hesitation, he leapt onto her back, his claws digging into her scales as she carried him higher into the sky, away from the Sun-Drake's destructive aura.

"What the hell was that?" he growled, his voice rough and shaken.

Yuuna's voice, usually calm and steady, was filled with anger. "The elder dragon gods. They're talking to him. They've been using him as a test subject, Xyenn. They wanted him to die and be reborn outside the cycle of rebirth—to break free of it entirely. That's what this is about. You know this already but—."

Xyenn snarled, his claws tightening on her scales. "And it worked…they'll use this method then…"

"They will," Yuuna confirmed, her voice grim. "And I don't know how to stop it.."

Xyenn's jaw tightened. "They'd have to use curses for that, right? I mean, binding someone's essence like this—there's no way they could do it without help."

Yuuna nodded. "They'd need to make contracts with the Monarchs of Hell. That's how they cursed Quinara with the Mark of the Eternal Flame. It's the only way they could bind her essence to the Sun-Drake. Her race of Quen, even though blessed by the moon goddesses moonlight, are able to withstand the soul of a draconic deity. The Sun-Drake..he was made an anomaly by the elders. The Prophets warned the Light Born of it, and they chose Kassius as their enforcer as you know already. He's supposed to be here and kill him. This was planned all along."

Xyenn growled low in his throat. "So the elders are working with demons now. Great. Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse."

Yuuna didn't respond immediately, her serpentine body twisting through the air to avoid a stray wave of black fire from the Sun-Drake. Then, as she leveled out, she spoke again, her tone softer.

"Why did you force the split earlier?"

Xyenn let out a low growl. "He was gonna anticipate our speed, react before we could hit him. I didn't wanna risk it. We're running on borrowed time."

Yuuna was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I get it. Just…I don't wanna lose you again. It scared the shit out of me."

Xyenn smirked faintly, his claws loosening their grip as he readied his scythes. "Got it got it."

Below them, the Sun-Drake unleashed another deafening roar, his four eyes locking onto them as his jagged wings stretched wide. The black and dark-yellow crests orbiting his body began to spin faster, their chaotic energy warping the air around him. His halo pulsed with power, and the flames surrounding him surged outward in a violent storm.

Xyenn and Yuuna didn't wait.

With a thunderous roar of her own, Yuuna dove toward the Sun-Drake, her massive wings propelling her forward with blinding speed. Xyenn clung to her back, his scythes igniting with black and pink flames as they closed the distance.

The Sun-Drake roared in response, his massive form twisting to meet them head-on. His wings beat once, sending a shockwave of dark sunlight rippling outward, and the crests around him flared with violent energy.

Black and dark-yellow beams of sunlight shot toward Yuuna and Xyenn in rapid succession, each one tearing through the sky with devastating force. Yuuna twisted and turned, her body weaving through the onslaught with breathtaking precision, but the beams came faster and faster.

One grazed her wing, tearing through the membrane and sending a spray of blood into the air. Another clipped Xyenn's shoulder, the searing heat burning deep into his flesh.

But still, they didn't stop.

The Sun-Drake's roar shook the heavens as he raised one massive claw, the halo above his head glowing brighter as he prepared another devastating attack.

Yuuna surged forward, her flames blazing as she closed the final gap.

The Sun-Drake lunged to meet them, his massive jaws opening wide as the two dragons collided in a cataclysmic clash of flame and fury.