The silence that followed their disappearance was heavy almost unnatural.

The battlefield that once screamed with thunder and flame now only echoed with the faint hiss of cooling stone.

Ash drifted like snow. The air itself seemed too tired to move.

Kaen exhaled, his sword dropping to his side. "...They're gone?"

Rael's eyes narrowed, his Shinrei still humming faintly. "Yeah. That woman, she's one of them, I'm sure of it."

Kenji leaned on his weapon, laughing softly through exhaustion. "Tch... Hollow Nine, Voidflame Titan, Eclipse forms, what's next? The gods themselves?"

Lira didn't answer. She was too busy holding her barrier over the wounded. Her expression, however, betrayed unease.

Ceyla was quiet, looking toward the horizon, where the faint golden aura of stone and divinity pulsed.

Even her heart already strained by battle beat faster.

"That presence…" she whispered. "It's… calm, but enormous."

Rael looked at her, then at the distant figure standing beyond the smoke. His tone was steady, but even he couldn't hide his awe.

"That's not just any aura. That's… Gorou Kanzaki, isn't it?"

The name rippled through the group like a shockwave.

Juno blinked, disbelief flickering across his face. "Wait, the Gorou Kanzaki? The 'Immovable Stone of the Vanguards'?!"

Kaen scoffed, shaking his head. "Why would he be here? This is Tildaroot, not some grand Eclipse front."

Shigeo crossed his arms, eyes faintly glowing as he analyzed the residual energy in the air. "His Shinrei signature is beyond anything measurable... even my Thousand Way can't predict his motion pattern. It's... absolute."

Saya, still in her Eclipse Form, looked toward the glow, her voice soft but serious.

"So... the strongest Eclipse Vanguard finally moves. Something bigger is coming."

The group fell silent again as the golden light drew nearer step by step, the earth solidifying beneath each footfall.

Even the molten stone obeyed him, cooling and hardening where he passed.

Then they saw him clearly a man wrapped in monk-like robes of faded gray and brown,

his aura flowing like a calm tide.

Gorou Kanzaki, the Stone Vein of Dawn.

The Brawler and a Defender who once faced both Strong Voidborn during war at the age of 14 and lived.

The man whose presence alone once ended a war.

Lira whispered, almost reverently, "...He's a real deal."

Kaen let out a low whistle. "No wonder even Bakuza backed off."

But while everyone stared in awe, one person's expression changed — not from reverence, but from familiarity.

Khael still kneeling, his Draconic energy fading to embers raised his head. His eyes widened slightly, and a faint, nostalgic smile tugged at his lips.

That aura... that calm, immovable warmth beneath the crushing pressure — he knew it.

He felt it once, years ago.

Khael's voice was hoarse but firm.

"…Big bro."

Everyone turned to him in shock.

Ceyla blinked. "Wait… you know him?"

Kaen's brow furrowed. "Bro? As in—"

Khael smiled faintly through the pain, his aura flickering with warmth now instead of cold.

"He's the one who trained me," Khael said, voice hoarse but proud. "Alongside Master Isen… two years ago."

Gorou's calm smile returned when he heard that voice.

"I see… so the little hatchling learned to roar after all."

Lira's eyes widened. "No way… you're saying he trained you?!"

Rael crossed his arms, half-smirking. "That explains the insane growth in your Shinrei control."

Juno glanced between Khael and Gorou, quietly realizing just how deep Khael's training lineage truly ran.

Shigeo looked contemplative. "So Master Isen wasn't your only teacher…"

Khael nodded faintly, eyes softening as the wind carried the scent of dust and calm stone.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "well, Master Isen taught me how to fight.

But  Brother Gorou… taught me how to stand."

The others looked between the calm, approaching figure and the boy who had just stood against gods.

Kaen gave a low whistle. "That explains it," he muttered. "That pressure… same kind of resolve."

Lira's eyes softened, realization dawning. "So that's why your Shinrei felt so… grounded even in chaos."

Ceyla exhaled shakily, her heart thumping again as she looked at Khael's faint smile.

Juno glanced at her, then at Khael, and said quietly, "Guess we just met the man who helped forged a dragon."

Shigeo nodded once, his expression serious. "Then this battlefield… might finally rest."

The ground trembled one last time as Gorou stepped closer, his aura easing the lingering chaos like dawn washing away a storm.

He looked over the group their battered forms, their exhausted eyes and smiled softly, his tone as steady as ever.

"You all did well," he said, voice deep and calm. "Rest now. I'll take it from here."

And in that moment with the sky clearing, and the world still breathing —

Khael bowed his head slightly, eyes closing.

For the first time in the endless night,

the Dragon Knight felt… safe.

The dust finally began to settle over Tildaroot, the once-bright village now half-buried under broken stone and burned earth.

But through the smoke… the villagers started to emerge.

One by one, faces streaked with ash, eyes wide in awe and disbelief.

A child was the first to speak — his voice small, trembling with excitement:

"...They saved us…"

Then another shouted, "They protected Tildaroot!"

And suddenly, the square filled with life again hands clapping, voices rising, the sound echoing through the ruins like the return of hope itself.

"Dragon Knight!" someone cried out.

"Dragon Knight! Dragon Knight!"

The chant grew louder, rippling through the crowd until every villager joined in —

their voices lifting, tears falling freely as they looked at the young warriors who had stood against monsters that could burn worlds.

Khael Corzedar stood quietly at first, still catching his breath.

His armor was cracked, his wings faintly flickering with blue light.

But as he looked at the villagers at their joy, their gratitude something inside him softened.

He smiled.

Not the confident smile of a fighter,

but the humble, tired, human smile of someone who finally understood why he fought.

Beside him, Kaen Suro scratched his head with a half-grin.

"Guess they like you," he teased, elbowing Khael.

"'But Rael… Looks like they thanked us this time.. not scoffed us."

Rael Eluron, still pale from his injuries, crossed his arms and smirked.

"Of course they do."

Lira Valenne wiped her tears quietly as she watched the crowd, whispering a soft prayer of thanks under her breath.

She turned to heal one last villager, her light shining gently against the ruins.

"They believe in us…." she said softly. "After everything… they believe in us again Kaen, Rael."

Kaen and Rael nodded

Ceyla Nox, arms folded, glanced away cheeks slightly flushed as she muttered,

"Idiot… show-off…"

But her heart thumped again as she looked at Khael surrounded by the light of the people he'd saved.

Juno Arkai chuckled faintly from where he sat, watching her reaction.

"Guess the hero finally got his chorus." he said, half-smiling through the pain.

Kenji Gas leaned against a rock, grinning tiredly. "Heh. Didn't think I'd live to see the day we're the good guys in a story."

Saya Kurenai nodded beside Shigeo, her voice soft. "They needed a symbol. And he gave them one."

Shigeo Motome adjusted his cracked glasses, watching Khael silently. His expression was unreadable calculating, yes, but beneath it, there was pride.

"Symbols," he murmured, "can move nations. That's the first step."

The village elder, trembling with emotion, stepped forward and bowed deeply to them all to the exhausted young warriors who had stood between his people and annihilation.

"On behalf of Tildaroot," he said, voice breaking, "we thank the Blue Veinwalkers. And to the Dragon Knight our eternal gratitude."

The crowd erupted again.

"Dragon Knight!"

"Dragon Knight!"

Khael looked down for a moment then raised his hand weakly, not as a warrior, but as a boy who'd fought for something greater.

The cheer grew even louder, echoing into the clear night sky.

And for the first time since the Hollow descended…

Tildaroot was filled not with fear,

but with hope.

To be continue