The silence of the sky was broken only by the sound of wind tearing through the air at high speed.
Strax, in his Serpentine-Dragon form, soared through the heavens like a comet of shadows and power. His scaly skin shimmered with a dull crimson glow, and his eyes—once ferocious and draconic—now reflected the weight of what was to come.
On his broad back, Xenovia and Scarlet sat. The starry sky stretched above them like an eternal veil, and the world below seemed small… almost irrelevant in the face of the journey still ahead.
Scarlet tugged her hood back slightly, her red hair whipping wildly in the wind.
"He was serious, wasn't he? Ares… he wants a duel. A real one," she asked. Unlike Xenovia, Scarlet could see the System.
Xenovia scoffed, arms crossed. "That Ares can want whatever he likes. He's just another god trying to mask arrogance as courage. But…" she looked up at the stars. "He'll get what he wants. Sooner or later."
