CHAPTER 29: THE DAY WHEN THE HEAVENS BURNED

Watching their friend getting swallowed giant creature wasn’t a good feeling, and even though Arnold reassured them, they couldn’t help but worry about Aegon.

"But Grandpa, I’ve read that a Dragon’s insides are the hottest, and even volcanic lava pales in comparison. Will Aegon really be alright?" Elara asked in concern.

This was what worried them the most.

Arnold just smiled faintly and answered, "That’s the last thing you need to be worried about. He’s a true Valerian. A true Dragonborne. That blood makes one immune to fire and heat. Even if Aura released her hottest flames at him, he would be completely fine."

"That’s possible?" Lunara asked in shock. "Little Gon is so powerful?"

"Yes. He’ll be fine," Arnold said firmly, his eyes fixed on Auranyth, who raised her massive head after swallowing the ice cubicle properly.

Then, she flapped her colossal wings, sending torrents of embers across Mooncrest Mansion before soaring into the sky. Her form began to grow larger once again, creating the illusion that she was simply stretching without moving from her place.

She climbed higher and higher, piercing through the clouds, then went even higher still. Arnold and the others could only see a glowing dot in the distance, making them confused about what the dragon planned to do.

On the other side, Auranyth stopped only after gaining enough altitude. Her golden eyes gleamed with intense determination as she raised her head high.

Her entire body shook, and then she opened her terrifying maw, letting out a sky-piercing screech. Along with that screech came the infamous attack that had terrorized countless beings across the ages—

Dragon’s Breath.

Like a spiraling beam of crimson plasma, flames shot out of her gigantic mouth, devouring all the clouds in their path as they tore rapidly across the Moonrise Kingdom.

The flames were so hot and vast that they altered the weather itself wherever they passed. On that day, all the people of the Moonrise Kingdom saw a streak of crimson burn across the heavens, as if the skies themselves were bleeding from a wound.

But the flames didn’t stop there.

Auranyth didn’t stop there.

She increased the intensity of her Dragon’s Breath even further, making the flames turn paler, hotter, and more destructive. The streak of crimson widened until it seemed to cover a massive portion of the sky, visible to all who dared to look.

The inferno traveled further still, reaching beyond the borders of the Moonrise Kingdom and streaking across numerous smaller kingdoms and states in its path.

If Auranyth hadn’t chosen to unleash her Dragon’s Breath high above in the upper skies, countless villages and towns would have been reduced to ashes and vanished from the face of the Triana Continent.

People came out of their homes to witness this terrifying, mesmerizing display, the heavens themselves burning under the breath of the Dragon Queen.

Top powerhouses who once felt arrogant about their strength could only stand helplessly, staring at the heavens as if the world itself had been cleaved in two. For the first time in their lives, they felt like mere ants who could be crushed at any moment.

Kings, rulers, nobles—everyone prayed to their gods for the safety of their realms.

The Triana Continent was once again reminded why Dragons were called rulers of Heaven and Earth. And then, they remembered the last Valerian, one who bore the potential to command all of these mighty beasts.

The Dragon’s Breath was so intense that it roared past countless kingdoms and even tore across the vast skies above the Great Solar Empire.

The strongest human empire gazed up at its heavens, now scarred by a burning wound, and even they felt powerless in its presence. Only a few dared to raise their heads and wonder, if such a force descended upon them, could anything stop it?

A robust middle-aged man sat atop his grand residence, one hand gripping a wine gourd tightly while his golden eyes remained locked on the bleeding sky.

"I already noticed the abnormalities of the Sun," he muttered bitterly. "So, what did you do now? You damned Arnold... what kind of monster have you unleashed upon this world?"

Elsewhere, a gaunt man with a black beard matching his cold, black eyes stood atop the massive carcass of a ten-meter demon. His expression was indifferent, but as he sensed the changes in the world, he raised his head.

The flames cut the sky in two, and for the first time, his gaze flickered. A brief moment of weakness washed over him.

"Aegon... are you alright?"

Far away, atop a lonely mountain peak, stood a small wooden cottage. Outside it sat a woman so breathtakingly beautiful that even nature itself might have felt ashamed in her presence.

But when she saw the heavens tear open, her serene expression shattered. She leapt to her feet, heart trembling.

"My child... are you safe?"

Under the dark skies of the demon realm, a magnificent palace loomed, its obsidian-black walls glistening with an eerie glow. Atop this palace, a figure with twin horns protruding from his forehead observed everything with a calm, relaxed expression.

[Are you going to do something?]

"Not for now," the horned figure answered. His voice was calm, but his eyes gleaming with amusement. "I don’t want the Golden Crown to shine upon Cezrex anytime soon."

[But the boy is growing up with the humans.]

"That is indeed a problem," the figure muttered to himself. "But haste would only worsen things. Patience is the key. We eliminated Olena last time... we can do the same with this one."

[Then, I’ll be waiting.]

The figure hummed softly, his gaze drifting back to the fiery rupture in the skies, which continued to grow wider, reaching even into the territories of demons.

"Aegon Valeria Augustus... you have managed to catch my attention." His pale lips tugged into a chilling smile.

At the extreme northern ends of the Triana Continent lay a towering mountain range, its countless volcanoes spewing ashes into the skies all year round—

The Ashfall Mountain Range.

Deep inside the largest volcano at its center, two vertical eyes snapped open within the eternal darkness. A low, guttural growl rumbled from the owner of those eyes, shaking the entire Ashfall range to its core.

That day, the entire continent witnessed the heavens split apart in fire.

Generations yet to come remembered it as—

The Day When the Heavens Burned.