The night was thick with the scent of blood and charred earth. The battlefield where Kong had met his end was silent now, the remnants of his struggle reduced to nothing more than ash and scattered debris.
Agni Igris stood at the heart of the chaos, his golden eyes dimly reflecting the moonlight as he absorbed the last fragments of Kong's Astral Heart.
The sheer volume of power flowing into him sent ripples through the air, his aura growing heavier, more oppressive.
Aura, standing a few paces away, watched with a careful eye. She knew her mate well—this was not a moment of victory for him, but necessity.
Kong had forced his own downfall, and Agni Igris had done what was needed. Yet, the weight of rulership did not lessen with each victory.
"His strength was wasted," Agni murmured, flexing his fingers as a deep crimson glow flickered along his veins.
The leveling system finished informing him of his gains as notifications rang in his mind.
[Level Up!] [+25 Strength, +30 Ki Control, +15 Vitality]
Aura tilted her head, her black-and-white scales shimmering under the faint glow of the moon. "You were expecting more?"
"Not from him," Agni replied whimsically. "But from what he represented. A kingdom does not thrive with weak rulers beneath its throne. Kong was a warrior, but not a leader. We need someone who is both to replace his as the 10th king."
Aura exhaled through her nostrils, her fiery breath briefly illuminating the darkness. "Shogun the bear has the respect of many clans. Perhaps it's time we see if his ambition matches his strength."
Agni nodded but did not respond immediately.
Aura bobbed her horned-head as if remembering something. "Speaking of conflict, the dragons are growing restless. The eastern territories can no longer sustain them. They are too many, too strong. They've begun fighting among themselves for more space."
Agni Igris finally spoke. "Their numbers have grown, and they demand more territory. But space is finite."
Aura's tail flicked in irritation as she confirmed, "They won't stop fighting among themselves. I had to mediate an escalating conflict every other second. I'm not a damned nanny!"
Agni Igris chuckled at her cute display of aggression as he said, "Tensions rise when bodies are cramped together like caged beasts. We must either expand or regulate their movement before blood is spilled needlessly."
"The Beast Lands are vast, but not infinite. Expansion isn't an option unless we challenge the borders of the human or elven territories."
Agni's gaze darkened slightly. "And that would mean war."
Aura considered his words before replying, "And what of the pentagrams you found?"
Agni's expression darkened slightly. "Unsettling. There are no clues to follow. There is a pattern but there's no way to use those"
Aura's expression stayed neutral as she asked, "What kind of patterns?"
Agni Igris explained that a few patterns could be observed at all 8 pentagrams in the beastly highlands.
At least, the ones he has found so far.
One is the negatively charged Ki signature.
All Ki signatures, when strong enough, leave positive, neutral, or negative charges on the world around them in any area that this Ki is manifested in.
When manifested through a channel, Ki becomes an element of some kind but Ki by itself is nothing but a massive source of energy. Of matter.
And that matter, when manipulated in certain ways, affects everything it touches.
This variant of negatively charged Ki is leavnig the ground and flora dead and desolate. The ground is drying up and cracking and all plant life is whithered.
The Ki is coming from the pentagram, so Agni Igris can't trace it anywhere or to any other source.
The other pattern is that he can't find any of the beasts that he was sure used to inhabit the area surrounding the petagrams. He thought that they might've been used as a sacrifice, but he couldn't find any bodies or blood at all.
He sensed a faint trace of Blood Ki in the ink for the pentagram but as already stated, the petagram had no leads.
He didn't think much of the beast disappearance angle, however, as it was usually the weaker beasts territories, where the beasts were still mindless and had yet to gain consciousness that were targeted.
Aura's gaze sharpened. "Do you suspect anyone from the Highlands?"
"I suspect that we are being watched by an outside entity. Who or what ever made those things is waiting for a chance to strike." He responded with a hint of aggravation.
For a moment, the night itself seemed to still.
The black-reddish pentagrams had appeared without warning, each one etched deep into the land as if burned into existence by some unknown force.
There were eight in total, spread across different territories of the Beast Lands. Their presence was an enigma, a growing shadow over the realm.
Aura turned, her expression unreadable. "Perhaps the pentagrams are connected to the growing aggression and restlessness of the beasts?"
"The shrines closest to the pentagrams have weakened, their blessings fading. Even the air around them feels… wrong."
Agni's voice was low, contemplative. "Decaying energy. Dying crops. Increasing tensions. The energy disturbances are too frequent to be coincidence."
"And the beasts," Aura added. "Even the most docile creatures have grown aggressive near the sites."
His eyes narrowed as he said, "Something is using those pentagrams to scare us. This is the first attack. A war is coming. They are pushing us towards a war and we have fallen in line so far"
Aura scowled as she put all of the peices together as well. She was angry that they hadn't caught it sooner and even more angry at the position that they now found themselves in.
The two stood in silence for a moment, the weight of their realization settling upon them.
To ensure the safety of their kingdom, themselves, and now their family. They would need to conclude one of their theories sooner than later.
For a moment, neither spoke. The air was thick with unspoken tension, an acknowledgment that they were at the edge of something far greater than mere territorial disputes.
"We need answers," Agni finally said. "Before this becomes something we cannot control."
Then, with a slow exhale, Agni shifted his stance. "The children saw what true battle looks like today."
Aura chuckled. "And now they will try to mimic it."
"Good, they will need strength for what I believe is to come" Agni Igris said with pride and a hint of worry.
As expected, Rudra, Thor, and Iris stood within the training grounds, each replaying Agni Igris' battle in their minds, dissecting every movement, every tactic.
Rudra clenched his fists, his mind racing. 'He controlled the battlefield like it was nothing. Every attack forced Kong into a weaker position, cutting away his strength piece by piece.'
His heart pounded as he took his stance, imagining himself in his father's place.
He felt the burn of frustration and excitement all at once.
He wanted to be that strong—to command a fight with absolute confidence.
The fire within him surged, demanding he push harder, train longer, until there was no one who could match him.
Iris, ever the strategist, was running through the battle with cold analysis.
'Father didn't just attack—he dictated Kong's movements. Every wound was placed with purpose, every feint leading to an unavoidable outcome.
If Kong had recognized it earlier… he might have fled.' She felt a chill at the realization.
There had been no moment where Kong had a real chance to turn the tide. Agni Igris had suffocated him, made him fight for every breath until there was nothing left.
That level of control was terrifying, but also mesmerizing. 'I need to refine my own tactics. Reacting isn't enough—I have to lead my opponent exactly where I want them.'
Thor, silent as always, simply adjusted his stance and breathed deeply.
He hadn't needed his eyes to witness the battle. He had felt every shift in Agni Igris' energy, every controlled burst of power.
'Efficiency. Absolute control. That's what separates a true king from a brute.'
But more than anything, he had felt the oppressive weight of his father's presence. It wasn't just power; it was inevitability.
That was what he needed to reach—an unshakable, immovable force that dictated the pace of battle without ever faltering.
The road to that level of mastery was long, but Thor had no intention of falling behind.
Rudra exhaled sharply. "We're still far from that level."
Iris smirked. "Then we train. Harder. Smarter."
Thor nodded. "Because one day, we won't just be watching."
As the three prepared to push themselves further, the weight of what they had witnessed settled in.
Their father had shown them what it truly meant to rule through strength and intelligence.
Now, it was up to them to rise to that level—or be left behind.
The battle had been a spark that ignited a blazing passion in them. They all wanted it desperately, their hearts lit ablaze with determination as they all thought the same time. Strived for the same goal, now.
The Peak!
*****
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