The Descending Firmament

Cassius unfurled his vast, sky-blotting wings, looking down upon the living creatures below through pale gold pupils. Countless gazes—some reverent, some terrified—turned upward toward the magnificent dragon. "By Amaunator..." "Ye gods..." "It's His Majesty Cassius! It's His Majesty Cassius! This war is finally coming to an end!" After a brief, stunned silence, accompanied by a clamor of conflicting voices, everyone began to clearly see the true form of the Cinder Emperor. Over fifty meters long, the red dragon had his back to the sun, his massive frame silhouetted against the bright radiance, the edges of his figure lined with a shimmering rim of gold. He beat his wings slowly. With each downstroke, cascades of dragonflame poured forth, sending scorching heatwaves sweeping across the sky and staining half the heavens in brilliant orange-red. Most striking of all was the dragon crystal embedded in his chest. It released a blinding brilliance like a second sun in the sky, faintly outshining even the distant daylight. Ironically, judging by appearances alone, the Cinder Emperor looked far more worthy of being called an avatar of the Sun God than any angelic godblood of North Aethel. "Eternal Lord of Radiance, Golden Shining One, revered God of Law and the Sun, please grant me the strength to vanquish our foe..." Upon seeing the Cinder Emperor's true form, Duke Walter's sinking heart plummeted to the absolute bottom. Abandoning any lingering sliver of hope, he offered a silent prayer. Though not quite as exaggerated as the spectral phantasm earlier, the red dragon's body was indisputably fifty meters long. There was no deception, no trickery whatsoever. A fifty-meter dragon—what did that even mean? Even Crassus, the great wyrm gold dragon dwelling in Mercuria whom Walter had once visited—the famed Gilded Sage and Archon of the Gold Dragon Council—measured barely over thirty meters. Compared to this red dragon, Crassus would look practically petite. On the Material Plane, great wyrms were already exceedingly rare. They slumbered for centuries, almost never showing themselves. Yet the monster before him had already surpassed the realm of a great wyrm. The enemy he faced today might very well be the mightiest dragon to set foot on the continent of Feanso since the dawn of the Third Age. Walter looked up into the sky and exhaled a long, deep breath. A glint of steely resolve shone in his eyes. Clearly, he was already prepared to die. "Th-this..." Staring at the distant red dragon from the city wall, Archmage Zalan drew a sharp breath, only to cough up a mouthful of crimson blood with a muffled gasp. Just moments ago, he had routinely probed outward with True Seeing, only to suffer an unimaginable mental backlash. It felt as though an illusory dragon had roared and lunged at him, tearing his mind to ribbons with razor-sharp fangs. *By Mystra!* *This red dragon is a caster beyond legendary—a being who has touched the Source!* Zalan screamed silently in his heart, wiping the blood from his lips with trembling fingers. His legs shook so violently he could hardly keep his footing. A profound sense of helplessness washed over him. The red dragon's true might far exceeded the intelligence provided by the City of All Laws. ... Under the gaze of tens of thousands, Cassius beat his wings and glided forward on a blistering gale. A terrifying dragon aura descended, blanketing the entire battlefield. At this moment, the red dragon was a walking catastrophe. Under the apocalyptic pressure, the coalition soldiers, already battered and broken by the war, finally shattered completely. Weapons clattered to the ground in droves. "What... what kind of monster is that?!" "Ye gods... this isn't an enemy we can defeat! Devils, explosions, dragons... dying for no reason at all... damn it, I've had enough of this! I'm getting out of here!" Coalition soldiers either fled frantically toward the city of Corinth or fell to their knees. Some even fainted dead away on the spot, treating this brutal war as nothing more than a waking nightmare. High above, Cassius finally parted his jaws, his deep, resonant voice rumbling from his throat. "Ignorant mortals, the outcome is plain to see. The coalition's defeat is inevitable. Will you still stubbornly resist? "Are you truly willing to throw away your lives for the phantom of the Fadlan Empire—for the selfish desires of a handful of godblood nobles? "Face reality! Sacred Fadlan fell long ago, and North Aethel exists now in name only. Submitting to the Cinder Empire is your only choice!" His thunderous voice rolled across the scarred, devastated battlefield, shaking the minds and resolve of every coalition soldier present. Indeed... were they truly going to give their lives for an ethereal, long-dead "Fadlan"? "Enough! Do not listen to his deceit—" Suddenly, an immensely resonant, majestic voice carried from the clouds above the coalition lines, descending like an unquestionable command. *Holy Word.* Immediately following it, a soaring holy hymn resonated across the earth. Miraculous light descended from above, washing over every coalition soldier, bringing peace to their spirits and gradually restoring their sanity. Such was the power of the Lord of the Silver Heaven. With simple, unadorned speech alone, he could rally tens of thousands of hearts. At the distant edge of the sky, white clouds gathered to form an aerial corridor. As the hymns continued to swell, Barachiel, Lord of the Herald, stepped forward amidst a host of celestial elites clad in ornate armor and brandishing gleaming weapons. The immense white-feathered wings on his shoulders flapped slowly. In his hand, a longsword crackled with lightning, pointing straight at the distant red dragon. Barachiel said coldly, "Cassius, I have heard of you. You once led your empire to repel a demonic invasion and even slew an Abyssal Lord. That was indeed praiseworthy. "I thought you might gradually walk the righteous path and become a friend of Mount Celestia. I never expected that you still could not shed the chaotic evil nature of a red dragon, choosing instead to stand in opposition to order and justice." "Chaotic evil?" Cassius sneered, then roared, "Herald of Mount Celestia! I am a hero who stood against the Abyss, a defender of the multiverse! What right do you have to define me?" Duke Walter could endure it no longer. Raising his longsword, he cried out in bitter grief and indignation, "Are your acts of invasion not evil enough?!" "Roar—!" Titus, the ancient gold dragon, also stepped forward, beating his golden wings and releasing a timely roar of fury. "Foul spawn tainted with the blood of Tiamat! Put away your wicked pretense!" Yet the corners of Cassius's mouth curled upward slightly as he spoke with righteous conviction: "A century ago, the Sacred Fadlan Empire seized North Aethel by force of arms, bringing a hundred years of peace and stability to its people. "Now Fadlan is dead, and its current rulers lack the strength to preserve North Aethel's peace. The Cinder Empire, possessing greater might, has both the duty and the obligation to defend that peace! "All that I do is to establish a new order. My heart and my actions are clear as a mirror, and everything I do is justice!" Cassius's words rang out with ringing conviction, echoing across the vast battlefield. Coalition soldiers, godblood nobles, and even celestial warriors stood dumbfounded. Some even found themselves pondering his words, subtly swayed by his logic. Duke Walter cursed furiously in his heart. How could this red dragon be so utterly shameless?! He had twisted an act of naked aggression into "protection," even declaring it the righteous duty of the Cinder Empire! Yet while this war of words unfolded, Cassius had his eyes narrowed, carefully scrutinizing the two enemies before him—especially the Lord of the Silver Heaven. The Cataclysmic Dragon Eye floating beside him flickered continuously. *Wing of Fadlan – Walter Graham (Challenge Rating: 24)* As the former "Wing of Fadlan" and a noble Angelic Duke, Walter was undoubtedly an absolute powerhouse among legendaries, rivaling a great wyrm. Yet to the current Cassius, Walter was merely an inconsequential sideshow, while the ancient gold dragon Titus was an undercover operative he had placed himself. The only one worthy of his true attention was Barachiel, the Herald. Even before his own allies, Barachiel rarely revealed himself, remaining shrouded in mystery. Not even Cassius's gold dragon avatar had been able to glean much about him. Now, Cassius finally saw his true strength. *The Herald – Barachiel (Challenge Rating: 30)* *Now this... is an opponent worth fighting.* Cassius could not help licking his lips, an inexplicable glimmer surging within his golden slitted pupils—the primal desire inherent to all red dragons to clash against mighty foes. Ever since defeating Jerlazax, Cassius had gone a long time without meeting an equal adversary, as very few beings on the Material Plane could stand against him. The Barachiel before him was unquestionably one of them. "Everyone, forward!" Duke Walter ordered fiercely, brandishing his longsword. Titus threw his head back and bellowed, "Yes, let us strike together and make this wicked dragon pay the price!" Seeing this, horns sounded across both the Cinder Empire and coalition lines, and the soldiers clashed once more. Artillery thundered, engines roared, and battle cries erupted in a deafening, continuous cacophony. In an instant, the battlefield that had momentarily fallen quiet descended back into chaos. At the highest point above the battlefield, Cassius stood hundreds of meters apart from Barachiel, Walter, and Titus. Though they had not yet made physical contact, the clash between their immense auras caused space itself to groan. The overwhelmingly potent aura of justice stretched across thousands of meters, standing toe-to-toe against the red dragon's terrifying dragon aura. What appeared to be a three-on-one battle was, in truth, a duel between the Cinder Emperor and the Lord of Lunia alone. Titus was an undercover agent, and Walter was largely inconsequential. In fact, the proud and formidable Lord of the Silver Heaven thought the very same thing. In a state of heightened focus, neither Cassius nor Barachiel saw anything else. Only the other's figure remained in their sight. Pale gold vertical pupils locked with dark purple eyes in a tense, razor-sharp standoff. *As expected of the Lord of the Silver Heaven. Truly... unprecedentedly powerful,* Cassius mused inwardly. In Cassius's eyes, Barachiel was completely enveloped in the light of Order. Whether it was the lightning-crackling longsword, the star-adorned robes, or the gleaming silver horn at his waist, each was an incarnation of the essence of Heaven, possessing power bordering on divine artifacts. The Celestial Hebdomad had granted Barachiel dominion over an entire layer of Mount Celestia. Though suppressed by the Material Plane, he could undoubtedly still channel a portion of Heaven's power. Mount Celestia was an Outer Plane that symbolized order and good; standing against its fundamental essence was no simple task. Yet to the red dragon, the planar power of these laws of Order was also a delectable delicacy. At that thought, a glint of greed flickered in Cassius's eyes, and he grew eager to begin. Above the coalition lines, Barachiel's silver skin gleamed resplendently, starlight swirling in his dark purple eyes as he gazed impassively at the red dragon. It was indeed a formidable red dragon, its muscular frame wound with the radiant auras of diverse spells. Even among the chosen of Bahamut, he would likely stand out as an exceptional specimen. To possess such power on the Material Plane without being expelled was practically unbelievable. So Barachiel thought to himself. Yet having roughly gauged the dragon's strength, his resolve to fight only hardened. A dragon wielding such power could never be allowed to run rampant! Still, feeling the suppression of the Material Plane, the Lord of the Silver Heaven remained somewhat ill at ease, unable to unleash the full extent of his celestial might here. ... High in the sky, Cassius let out a soft chuckle and taunted first, "Three against one—is this how self-proclaimed paragons of justice conduct themselves?" Walter stepped forward with raised blade, snapping fiercely, "Because the righteous never walk alone!" Titus beat his wings as well, rebuking with fiery indignation, "When dealing with a scoundrel like you, why should anyone adhere to rules?!" Seeming to sense the contempt in Cassius's gaze, Barachiel stepped forward a few paces and said solemnly, "In the name of Mount Celestia, if I cannot turn you back to the righteous path, I shall grant you your end. "And through this—let mortals understand the importance of justice and order, and know that eternal, immutable righteousness still endures in this world!" Anger finally welled in those tranquil, dark purple eyes. He took the silver horn from his waist, raised it to his lips, and blew with all his might. *Wuuu—* A long, deep blast resounded. The angels involuntarily raised their voices in sacred hymn, and an irresistible power of Order suffused the sky, gathering until it temporarily suppressed Cassius's dragon aura. Immediately after, the heavens darkened like nightfall, blotting out the sun, until only the space around Cassius remained illuminated by dragonflame. In an instant, everyone looked up in astonishment toward the sky. Within this eternal night lay no terrifying darkness, but rather the pleasant warmth of a summer evening. The entire expanse was filled with shimmering starlight and silver moonlight, with angels gliding gracefully through the air. In the distance, a sacred mountain reaching to the heavens came into view, alongside magnificent silver citadels and ocean bays filled with holy water. "This is..." Walter's mouth fell open in wonder. Everything before him was unmistakably the breathtaking scenery of Lunia! A Celestial Vision. Summoned by Barachiel's silver horn, the first layer of Mount Celestia—the Silver Heaven of Lunia—had descended upon the Material Plane! Barachiel fastened the silver horn back at his waist and gripped his lightning-wreathed sword. Looking ahead impassively, he said softly, "Cassius, I gave you a chance to repent. And now—you have no hope left." Yet Cassius showed no panic. He merely looked around at the exquisite scenery, feeling the overwhelming celestial power flooding toward him from all sides. "So this is Mount Celestia? Truly a magnificent, beautiful sight..." He bared his jaws, revealing a maw of dagger-like teeth. A savage, menacing grin spread across the dragon's face, and Cassius roared: "It almost makes me reluctant—to tear it to pieces!"