Ashen Dragon

A vast sea of fire appeared before the Howling Abyss, dyeing the entire horizon an orange-red and illuminating the shadow dragons and shadow spirits to transparency.

The shadow creatures emitted painful wails, their bodies twitching in the firelight, making "sizzling" sounds. Mist continuously emanated from their bodies, rendering them even more ephemeral.

In the blaze of the Purifying Wildfire, no shadow could escape.

"Mortifael—"

"If you continue to cower like a turtle, I'll destroy everything you hold dear!"

Cassius laughed maniacally, suddenly flapping his wings, transforming into a massive red figure, swiftly sweeping across the skies of Dragon Shadow City.

Wherever the Red Dragon passed, Chaos Flame burned everywhere.

As he flapped his wings, a wild, bloody hurricane swept through the city, further fueling the fire.

Half of the city resembled an apocalyptic scene, with ancient buildings engulfed in flames, every house filled with sounds of miserable wails, curses, and desperate screams.

Apart from humans, Drow Elves, and those pure shadow creatures, the main inhabitants of Dragon Shadow City were the Drow Elves with shadow dragon bloodline.

These elves, straddling the line between shadow creatures and ordinary beings, were also known as "Shadow Elves." For centuries, they had submitted to the rule of the shadow dragons. They were proficient in shadow magic and were Mortifael's loyal subjects, often becoming accomplices in the shadow dragons' invasions of the surface world.

"No, I don't want to die—"

"Fire, it's coming!"

"Lord Mortifael, my supreme ancestor, save us!"

"Damn it! Nothing works! Any spell is useless!"

"By Rose... is this punishment from the gods?"

Under the influence of the Breath of Chaos, the surrounding shadow Magic Web was in chaos. Even the most basic spell prototypes would be instantly dismantled. They couldn't even cast shadow magic before being swallowed by the ever-spreading Purifying Wildfire.

...

Watching the distant flames that devoured everything, Feridon couldn't help but laugh.

"Hahahahaha! These shadow bastards, they should've paid long ago!"

"It's best if they all burn to death!"

Feridon, once a well-known mercenary in the Gloomy Region, had lost his lover and children to undead shadows during one of Dragon Shadow City's expansions. Since then, his life's greatest goal had been to destroy Dragon Shadow City and kill that shadow dragon.

His heart was filled with an unquenchable hatred for Mortifael.

But Daniel gazed into the distance with a grave expression, muttering to himself, "This dragon... seems bent on destroying everything."

Feridon's smile froze on his face. The battle-hardened warrior quickly asked, "Can't we use spells to leave? Like we usually do, you take me into the Shadow Plane."

Daniel shook his head nervously.

"You're not a spellcaster, so you might not sense it. The Magic Web here is already in chaos, like plunging into the Sea of Chaos. Even someone like me can't cast any spells."

Feridon's face turned pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead, either from the spreading heat or extreme anxiety.

He asked with some effort, "Can we make contact with that dragon? The enemy of our enemy is our friend, after all. We are also rebels..."

Suddenly, a terrifying ripple spread out.

The sky darkened instantly, and Feridon and Daniel looked up quickly.

Feridon's face was filled with terror, as if recalling the night when everyone around him was turned into undead shadows.
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"That is..."

"It's Mortifael. He's here."

Daniel murmured softly.

...

Half the sky was transforming into the Nether Shadow Realm—a place deep and silent, filled with monochrome black and white. Twisted, ghastly branches appeared in Dragon Shadow City, howling shadow spirits emerged in the alleys, the sky was shrouded in endless shadows like a black dome, and the distant black mountains were shrouded in mist.

Dragon Shadow City, already perched on the edge between the Material Plane and the Shadow Realm, would frequently slip into the Nether Shadow Realm at night.

For centuries, the shadow dragons had been driving the city towards the Shadow Plane with undead shadows. Now, Mortifael was nearly exhausting his power to bring his true domain into Dragon Shadow City.

Over a thousand shadows rose into the sky, forming a giant vortex nearly a hundred meters in diameter above the city.

With a long roar, the shadow dragon, covered in coal-black scales with wings of a translucent substance, appeared in the vortex.

It was "Voice of the Night" Mortifael, the shadow nightmare that had once terrified Cassius, and the supreme ruler of this city.

"Mortifael, you rat hiding in the shadows, you've finally decided to show yourself."

"If you don't appear before me..."

"Your centuries of work will turn to ashes."

Cassius watched the shadow dragon from above with a condescending gaze.

—That once invincible being now appeared as a black, venomous bat, weak and frail before him.

The shadow dragon's dim gray eyes seemed to burn with ghostly flames, filled with resentment, anger, and disbelief.

The young Red Dragon, once powerless before him, had now grown into a thirty-meter-long monster, robust as those prideful ancient Red Dragons. Such a terrifying growth rate was unheard of even among the legendary dragon breeds.

Mortifael let out a hoarse roar, "How is this possible..."

"In just a few short years, how could you have attained such power! Even as Tiamat's chosen, such a blessing is impossible!"

As an underappreciated Black Dragon, only slightly higher in status than the White Dragons, Mortifael had succumbed to the allure of power, choosing the embrace of the Nether Shadow Realm and being transformed into an eternal shadow dragon.

Yet even so, it had taken him several centuries to reach his current level.

He couldn't believe it, nor accept that this Red Dragon could surpass him in just a few short years, treating his centuries of accumulation as nothing.

Cassius sneered, flapping his wings to create a gale sweeping across the land.

"My power doesn't come from that old thing."

"Crushing a pitiful rat is more than enough."

Mortifael's gray eyes reignited with ghostly green flames, full of jealousy and malice. He let out a subdued roar:

"You will become the strongest shadow I control!"

"And I will use this to prove my power to Her Majesty the Dragon Queen, becoming Her new favorite!"

In the next moment, the shadow dragon flapped its spirit-like translucent wings, raising its slender neck to the sky, emitting a piercing scream—that sound was like the painful wails of countless beings just before being turned into undead shadows, a concentrated fear of death.

That sound seemed to come from ancient darkness, mixed with the agonizing wails of thousands of undead shadows. It contained the shadow dragon's boundless hatred for light and life, as well as endless greed.

Unique Ninth Tier Spell of the shadow dragon.

—[Mortifael's Shadow Descending Spell]

The black dome in the sky even began to slowly descend.

The shadowy mountains in the distance gradually closed in, resembling a prison cage trapping the world.

Tens of thousands of shadow creatures wailed, surging like a tide, revealing their twisted forms of black mist.

And Mortifael, transformed into a vast shadow, melded his body into the sky, controlling that dreadful domain in the darkness.