Chapter 37 – Clash of the Tamed Titans
Scene One: The Arena of Titans
The floating island was a marvel—layers of ancient magic woven with elemental ley lines, rotating battlefields suspended above the clouds. Each platform was a biome of its own: desert storms, glacial cliffs, molten pits, and even mirrored voids where illusions twisted reality.
Evan stood on Platform 3—The Storm Cradle—a howling sphere of air currents, lightning clouds, and jagged floating rocks.
Opposite him: Prince Veydran of the Drakos Empire.
The dragonkin prince stood bare-chested, his bronze scales glinting under sunlight, arms crossed. Coiled beside him was a Thunder Drake, not just Legendary-ranked, but rumored to have once served under a Dragon God.
Crowds roared from distant sky platforms. Names were chanted. Bets were cast in golden spirit coins.
But Evan only heard Nex's voice inside him.
"This one will not kneel easily."
Evan nodded.
Neither would he.
Scene Two: The First Exchange
The duel began with no warning.
Lightning erupted from Veydran's palm. His Thunder Drake soared with a roar that split the clouds.
Evan countered immediately—Nex shot from his bondspace, his scales rippling with emerald and violet light, eyes flashing with Divine pressure. With a hiss that bent the wind, Nex shattered the first bolt midair.
"Basilisk?!" Veydran sneered. "Not even a dragon. You insult me."
Evan didn't reply.
Instead, Nex opened his maw—and unleashed a void beam laced with petrifying mana, searing through the air. The Thunder Drake twisted, struck, but not downed. Scales cracked.
The crowd gasped.
They expected Evan to last a minute. He had just traded evenly with a dragonkin champion.
Scene Three: Breaking the Sky
Veydran shouted in Draconic, summoning a storm vortex. It swallowed the battlefield, wind lashing, lightning dancing like serpents.
He vanished into it.
Then struck—a meteor punch reinforced by beast aura, aimed at Evan's blind spot.
But Evan had trained for this.
With a thought, Nex wrapped around him, his tail forming a barrier. Evan redirected the punch, catching Veydran mid-spin—and slammed a beast-forged spellblade into his shoulder.
Blood scattered in the air.
"You're fast," Evan said. "But I fight with more than muscle."
Rage flashed in Veydran's eyes.
He roared—and his beast transformed.
Thunder Drake, Phase II: Storm Tyrant Form.
Scene Four: Divine Beast Unleashed
The Storm Tyrant screeched—horns elongating, wings turning to thunder-blades, eyes glowing with primal fury.
The battlefield shattered.
Evan knew it was time.
He stepped forward—and fully awakened Nex.
The Basilisk's body grew, wings forming of crystalized light, eyes erupting with dual-elemental rage. Every spectator could feel it:
Divine pressure. Pure. Terrifying.
Gasps echoed across noble boxes. Even kings stood.
Nex roared, and the world responded.
Storm and silence collided.
Two titanic beasts clashed midair, beams, claws, and elemental wrath breaking through shields. Cracks formed in the floating arena.
One strike from Nex's tail knocked the Storm Tyrant into a lightning spire. The dragon shrieked in pain.
But Veydran refused to fall.
Both riders leapt into the fray—swords, fists, spells—man and beast moving in unity.
This was no longer a duel.
It was war.
Scene Five: The Victor
The final clash sent both beasts hurtling apart.
Veydran lay on one knee, his dragon barely conscious.
Evan stood, bloodied but firm, Nex circling above.
The referee hesitated—then raised his hand.
"Victory: Evan of Aflety!"
The arena exploded in disbelief.
Cheers. Shock. Awe.
A non-dragon had bested a dragonkin prince on equal terms.
But Evan didn't celebrate. He turned his eyes to the sky.
Because through the rift forming above the arena… he saw them.
Black feathers.
Dozens.
Watching.
Waiting.
And smiling.
[End of Chapter 37]