Chapter 3289 There Be Dragons (Part 4) 'Eph- Solus, five Awakened with the mass of Divine Beasts and cores exceeding the bright violet just tried and failed.' Ripha replied while catching the Furies on the fly and slamming them on the ground, unleashing concentric shockwaves that bought her a few seconds. 'We wouldn't stand a c-' The tremors reached the World Tree, bringing the Puppets to a halt. "No, no, no!" The Yggdrasill was confined to the Fringe, but they could see the area outside their domain if so they wanted. "Damn Dragonspeed!" There was a reason the ding of battle had ceased and the forces defending the Fringe had retreated even though they outnumbered and outmatched the invaders. A second sun was rising at the horizon and it was rising fast. The new solar disc shone with multi-colored light from the brightest white to the deepest black. It grew wider and closer at a speed visible to the naked eye, blotting out the sky. When the new sun eclipsed the old one, the valley in front of the Fringe was painted in prismatic colors as sunlight bounced from scale to scale before being suffused to the ground. The greeds of Dragons moved through a series of Warping arrays left open by the first to arrive, crossing hundreds of kilometers with a single flap of their wings. Their supersonic flight plus the arrays allowed the latecomers to catch up with the others, giving rise to the phenomenon called Burning Skies. The Dragons on the front weaved more Warping arrays leading as far as they could see. They let the others in first so that fresh Dragons would take charge while they recovered their strength with Invigoration. With the three great countries opening their respective Gate Networks it took a Dragon from Verendi, Jiera, and any part of Garlen but one step to reach the borders with Chalal. From there, Dragonspeed did the rest. Just a handful of seconds had passed since Radoghorn's flames had died but ruin was already knocking on the World Tree's door. The incoming Dragons didn't care about Solus, the Ears, or Lith. They had come the avenge the Father of Fire and watch the Yggdrasill burn. The greeds of Dragons wouldn't leave until the Fringe was turned into ashes or the spark of the last of them went out. *** "What do you want to do, son?" Radoghorn asked. "The Tiamat is still alive and we are still here. We can go back if you want. We can still fight!" The Champion of Fire clenched his fist, releasing violet flames from his hand, white ones from his mouth, and emerald flames from his heart. "You would do that for me, Father?" In the Mindscape, Valtak's soul bore the appearance the Elder Wyrm had during his prime. That of an adult Fire Dragon with ruby scales and no beard. His body brimmed with the energy of youth and he felt like he could breathe Origin Flames for months before needing to rest. "What a stupid question." Radoghorn snorted. "I came back to help you and I'm not leaving until you are done. This is your fight, Whelp, and it will end only on your terms." Two sets of black chains coiled around the Fire Wyrms, offering them power and another chance on the battlefield. "It's over, Dad." Valtak slapped the chain clinging to him and it shattered into sparks of black light. "I'm done." "Are you sure?" Radoghorn moved his eyes from his son to his chain. "The Hatchling is still not done. His princess still needs rescue. Together, we can help him." "No, we can't." Valtak shook his head. "If our brethren see us, if they see me, the fire of their revenge would go out. They could just drag Lith outside to safety to keep me undead or maybe even attack him for desecrating my soul with his weird necromantic powers. "If I'm gone, instead, they can only blame the World Tree. A touch of Dragon scales will tell them that Lith's grief is no lesser than theirs. That he didn't want me to die. That will make them oath brothers." As Valtak talked, Radoghorn nodded for him to continue. "Besides, I bet that Mom is already pissed off at us big time. I've refused to meet her for months now and you stood her up to come here. It's better not to make her worry longer. Mom must be worried sick." "You've thought of everything, child." Radoghorn patted Valtak's shoulder as he laughed. "Damn, you are much smarter than me. Let's go, then. You first. If Tharma is busy babying you, she won't pay attention to me. "By the time she is done stuffing you with food and you two catching up, most of her fury will be spent." The two Wyrms slowly faded through Mogar's veil toward the beyond. "What if after all that Mom is still angry?" Valtak chuckled. "Don't worry about me, Whelp." The Champion of Fire tutted. "I've learned how to tune her out and nod long before you were born." *** The incoming wave of Dragons shrunk their size to that of a bird to quickly pass through the Chaos Dimension. They charged past the safety of Tezka's spells and spread out far away enough not to hinder those behind them before reverting to their full height. The temperature of the Fringe rose with every Wyrm who stepped in, bringing their fire with them. Daylight paled in front of the radiance released by hundreds and hundreds of Dragons brimming with power and spells. "Valtak!" Quashol refused to believe his communication amulet until he entered the Fringe and his eyes spotted the Father of Fire's corpse drenched in a pool of his own blood. "You fool! You idiot! How dare you leave me alone?" "He's dead. He's really dead." Irslak, Father of All the Storm Dragons could barely contain his fury. "Our brother is dead!" "Make the Yggdrasill's screams be Valtak's dirge, my children!" Ananta's roar joined the others. "Send the Yggdrasill and their precious elves to accompany our fallen brother in his final journey. Kill them all!" The Dragon Patriarchs and Matriarchs took point, followed by their honor guards. Thunderous clouds and violent winds accompanied the Storm Dragons as their aura spread through the Fringe. Dreadwing shifted the Origin Flames of the Black Dragons from darkness and back, allowing them to penetrate any barrier. The Ice Dragons robbed the heat of everything they touched and added it to their inner fire, keeping themselves warm. Their Origin Flames left frostbite on their victims instead of burns and made the hardest of steel as brittle as glass. Yet none of that worried the World Tree. No kind of Origin Flames was more dangerous than the Fire Dragons' Primal Spark and despite their powerful bloodline abilities, the newcomers lacked the defence of the Golden Dragons. It would take but one well-placed spell to kill a Dragon, one Tower Tier Spell to kill a Patriarch, and one anti-Guardian spell not blocked by a Bastion to decimate their greeds. As long as the world energy was under the Yggdrasill's control, breathing techniques, bloodline abilities, and elemental spells had their efficiency halved. Even after the world energy entered the body of a Divine Beast, the will of the World Tree remained.