(Planet Ixtal, Soron's POV)

Soron lay submerged up to his chest in a wide basin carved from dark stone, the surface of the herbal bath rippling faintly as warm steam curled upward and clung to the vaulted ceiling, while crushed leaves, roots, and glowing petals drifted lazily through the water, their medicinal scent thick enough to sting his nose as his battered body slowly absorbed their restorative essence.

His eyes remained half-closed as he rested there, one arm draped over the edge of the basin, his breathing slow and uneven, as though even stillness demanded effort from him now.

'If there is one thing I will miss about life, it's these warm baths….'

He thought, as he submerged himself deeper into the water, the water surface now rising up to his nose, as he rested there to momentarily forget the pain of his scars.

*Ripple…*

The water stirred.

Soron's eyes opened.

Not fully at first, just enough for awareness to sharpen, as something brushed against the edges of his perception, faint and uncertain, like a shadow that had not existed a moment ago.

Then it solidified.

A presence.

There.

Abrupt.

Complete.

As though it had skipped the space in between.

Soron's fingers tightened against the stone rim as his senses surged outward instinctively, retracing the flow of mana across the planet, across the skies, across the layered currents of reality itself, while his heartbeat thudded once, heavy and disbelieving.

"Impossible…."

Soron muttered, as his brows knit together and his gaze lifted toward the open skylight above the chamber, steam parting around his face as he focused harder, because he knew with absolute certainty that Leo Skyshard had not been there one moment ago.

There had been no approach.

No gradual encroachment.

No ripple of movement.

One breath there was nothing.

The next, Leo existed on Ixtal.

And from his many years existing as a God, he knew for sure that was not how space worked.

Unless—

His chest tightened suddenly, and he coughed, the sound rough and involuntary, as pain flared beneath his ribs, forcing him to brace himself against the basin's edge, as droplets splashed outward while the herbal water churned around him.

"Have my senses begun to betray me already?" Soron asked quietly, as he steadied his breathing with effort, "or has Skyshard become something beyond my expectations?"

The thought lingered, heavy and unsettling, as he leaned forward slightly, shoulders tensing, while the realization took shape in his mind with chilling clarity.

There was only one way a presence could appear like that.

Only one method that ignored distance entirely.

Which was travelling through the fourth dimension.

*Huff–*

Soron exhaled slowly, sinking back into the bath as the steam swallowed him again, a faint, weary smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite the ache in his body.

"So you've learned to walk through forbidden paths already…" he murmured, as another cough shook him and left him momentarily breathless, "that eases my mind slightly…. No, that eases my mind a lot."

His fingers curled slightly beneath the water, his gaze distant now, as hope and concern twisted together inside his chest.

"I don't know how much longer this body of mine will hold out… and in you I finally see a worthy successor…."

He murmured, as he closed his eyes again, and waited for Leo to eventually approach his castle doors.

—---------------------

(Meanwhile, Dumpy, Amanda, Su Pei and the kids)

Caleb darted past the low stone benches with a laugh, his feet barely touching the ground as Mairon chased after him with wild determination, the two children weaving around each other in clumsy arcs as their game of tag spilled across the open clearing, their voices echoing brightly against the distant cliffs while the sky above remained calm and blue, betraying nothing of the forces moving through it.

"No fair, big brother cheated!" Mairon shouted, as he lunged forward and nearly tripped, only to catch himself at the last second before bursting into laughter again.

"I did not, you're just slow!" Caleb replied, as he skidded to a stop behind Amanda and stuck his tongue out triumphantly, using her as a temporary shield.

Amanda sighed softly, though the corner of her lips curved upward despite herself, as she rested one hand on Caleb's shoulder and gently nudged him back toward the open space.

"Careful," she said, as her eyes never stopped tracking both children at once, "if either of you fall again, you're done playing for the day."

"Yes, yes," Caleb groaned dramatically, as he broke free and ran again, the game resuming without pause.

A short distance away, Dumpy sat with his legs tucked beneath him, his wide body still as stone while his gaze remained unfocused, as though he were listening to something no one else could hear, while beside him Su Pei leaned back against a smooth slab of rock, arms crossed loosely as he watched the children with a quiet, guarded expression.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then Dumpy smiled.

It was not his usual mild curve of amusement, nor the faint politeness he sometimes forced when conversation demanded it, but a broad, unrestrained grin that split his face wide open, stretching from cheek to cheek with a joy so sudden and so genuine that it seemed almost out of place on him.

Su Pei noticed immediately.

"What happened?" Su Pei asked, as he turned his head sharply to look at Dumpy. "What's funny?"

Dumpy did not answer right away.

Instead, he scoffed softly, shaking his head as though disappointed, his eyes lifting slowly toward the open sky above them.

"What?" Su Pei pressed, as confusion crept into his tone. "Care to tell me what it is? I'm curious, because since we've been together, I don't think I've seen you smile even once like that. But now you're grinning ear to ear."

Dumpy finally looked at him then, the joy in his expression undiminished.

"He's here," Dumpy said simply, as his voice carried a quiet certainty that made Su Pei's spine stiffen.

"Lord Father… my master… is here."

He said with reverence, as Su Pei froze.

His gaze snapped upward instantly as he spread his senses outward in reflex, mana unfurling like a net cast into the sky, searching, probing, reaching farther and farther than he normally dared.

And then he felt it.

A presence descending at terrifying speed.

Focused. Unmistakable. Overwhelmingly familiar.

Su Pei stood up at once, his posture straightening into rigid attention as shock flickered across his face, his eyes locked on a distant point in the heavens where the air itself seemed to tremble.

"He really is…" Su Pei muttered, as his breath caught in his throat.

The Shadow Dragon had returned to Ixtal.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.