The firmament darkened.
And then, the meteors descended.
Shards of destruction rained down upon Veldora, streaking through the atmosphere like spears of judgment—disintegrating animals, vaporizing forests, and ripping mountains from their very roots.
Veldora raised his gaze. His pupils, thin vertical slits, narrowed with fury as his aura erupted. Layer upon layer of draconic magic wove around him, forming a dome of golden light entwined with writhing shadows.
The first impact struck.
The blast abolished sound itself. Miles away, mountains melted like wax, rivers of molten rock surging across the plains.
Veldora endured. His feet sank meters deep into the fractured earth. His mana shield quivered, golden cracks spreading like webs across its surface. The impacts kept coming, relentless.
Five.
Ten.
Fifteen.
The dome shattered. The final meteor broke through—a searing pillar of light that struck the dragon squarely in the chest.
Veldora's body was hurled miles back, his silhouette carving craters and shattering mountains in its wake. His torso, blackened and fractured, oozed thick drops of crimson blood.
Yet still, he rose. His breathing was heavy, but his eyes… his eyes burned with exhilaration. A wild grin curled his jaws.
"Hoh… that stung a little," he growled, cracking his neck as residual energy crackled across his scales. "You're entertaining me far more than I expected, demon."
His aura surged once more. This time, denser. Heavier. The ground collapsed beneath him; storm clouds gathered spontaneously across hundreds of kilometers. Even space itself fractured around him, the boundaries of the world straining under his growing power.
Before him, Goetia watched silently.
His breathing remained steady, but his body was beginning to falter. The energy of his Saint Graph slowly unraveled. And just as the demon thought the battle would continue—
A blue flash streaked across the sky.
A crimson burst followed.
Two presences descended, tearing through the air with devastating precision.
The ground froze beneath one.
It ignited beneath the other.
"Veldora."
The voice cut through the air like shattering glass. Cold. Irrefutable.
Veldora froze instantly. His aura extinguished like a snuffed flame. The wounds on his body healed rapidly under the pressure of the new presence.
Velzard, the True Dragon of Ice, stood tall. Her immaculate figure projected such perfect stillness that even willpower itself seemed to freeze.
"I sent you to gauge his strength, not to devastate the region," she said, her golden eyes locked on her brother.
Beside her, a second voice rose—warm and scorching.
"Not to cause panic in the capital either… but then again, what can we expect from you, brother?" Velgrynd spoke, her gaze flashing with impatience.
Veldora frowned and averted his gaze.
"What's that supposed to mean? I had everything under control… I just got a little excited," he muttered.
Velzard didn't respond. Her eyes swept over the surrounding devastation: ruins, ashes, utter silence.
"When we return, we'll continue your lessons in self-control," she declared. Then her gaze shifted to Goetia, who silently began to heal his wounds.
"You. Outsider. My elder brother wishes to see you."
The air around her crystallized instantly, solidifying even the ambient mana. Her blue stare cut sharper than any forged blade.
"And before you invent excuses or try to resist… I'm indifferent to bringing you in pieces. I know you can regenerate."
Silence fell—heavy as lead.
Goetia did not avert his gaze. His eyes narrowed, assessing the sisters. Unlike Veldora, he sensed experience in them—precise calculation and cold supremacy.
He knew he couldn't defeat Veldora in his exhausted state. Let alone both of them.
Deep within him, something long-forgotten opened a single eye. A fleeting red glow before vanishing.
At last, Goetia exhaled and nodded, his voice grave and fatigued, yet still commanding.
"Take me to him."
Velzard inclined her head slightly. Velgrynd smirked.
"Perfect. Let's go."
Veldora approached, unfazed by the gravity of the moment. His wide grin bared sharp teeth.
"Well done, demon. You actually forced me to move seriously. Few can say the same. You have my respect."
He didn't finish the sentence. Velgrynd appeared behind him in a blink and, with a single punch, sent him flying through the last intact mountain.
"He acts like a child. Foolish," she muttered.
Without wasting time, she followed him.
Velzard, unshaken, fixed her attention once more on Goetia. He held her gaze without wavering.
After a few moments, she spoke.
"You're not from this world."
It wasn't a question. It was truth itself—naked and absolute.
Goetia didn't respond immediately. He calmly walked over to a fractured boulder, adjusted the folds of his robe, and sat down. His gaze swept over the desolation they had caused.
"And how did you reach that conclusion?"
His voice rumbled as ashes danced in the wind.
Velzard walked to his side, sat with glacial grace, and spoke without looking away.
"No one fights my brother to this extent… not with a soul as worn as yours. And yet, you dominated him for most of the battle. Purely through experience.
Of course," she added, a hint of a smile on her lips, "if he had fought seriously from the start…"
"I would have been annihilated. I know. That's why I exploited his pathetic habit of wasting energy," Goetia calmly interrupted.
Velzard smiled faintly, satisfied with his candor. Her gaze lifted to the sky, where remnants of magical circuits faded.
"That magic you used… I've never seen anything like it. It's not the work of humans or simple demons."
Her gaze returned to him.
"It's one of the most powerful and beautiful arts I've ever witnessed. But it's incomplete, isn't it?"
Goetia narrowed his eyes, evaluating her. She's sharp… far sharper than her brother.
"To perfect it, I require deep knowledge of this world's constellations. I don't have it yet."
Velzard nodded, understanding clearly.
"Then you'll have to teach me more about that magic…"
"Goetia."
"Goetia…" Velzard repeated softly, committing the name to memory. "I'm interested in hearing from you. In return, I can provide you with knowledge of this world."
Goetia considered silently.
A fair exchange… and a useful one.
"Books distort the truth," he finally said, nodding slightly. "I prefer your words."
Velzard let out a faint laugh—a cold echo.
"I like your pragmatism."
At that moment, Velgrynd returned, carrying an unconscious and battered Veldora.
"I think he's learned his lesson. It's time to leave."
Velzard nodded. Velgrynd's eyes locked onto Goetia, evaluating him now with sharper attention. Her instincts told her this being concealed far more than he revealed.
"Let's go," Velzard ordered, opening an ethereal portal.
Goetia analyzed it carefully for traps.
Both sisters smiled.
"If we wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead," Velgrynd joked, stepping through the threshold.
Goetia exhaled slowly and followed them.
Before them stood a golden gate, carved with intertwined dragons and ancient runes. The light emanating from it was like the dawn itself.
Velzard and Velgrynd pushed the doors open effortlessly. They made no sound.
As they parted, Goetia stepped through behind them, his gaze unwavering.
Upon crossing the threshold, a vast azure corridor unfolded before him, stretching endlessly in all directions. They walked for several minutes without anyone uttering a word.
The only sound breaking the silence was the clicking of Velzard and Velgrynd's heels against the floor and Veldora's soft snores.
Curiously, Goetia's footsteps made no noise. If Velzard had not had her universal sense active, she might have thought Goetia had vanished entirely.
Finally, they reached the end of the corridor, where they were met by a man of androgynous features, pale skin, and long hair as dark as the void, speckled with motes that resembled stars suspended in his hair.
He wore a blue robe adorned with white accents and intricate decorations. The man smiled warmly as he took a seat in one of the nearby chairs.
"Welcome back. I see you've brought… Veldora unconscious, and our uninvited guest."
The man's kind words and gentle smile made Goetia narrow his eyes slightly. His lips moved at a speed barely perceptible to those present.
At that moment, the man chuckled softly and shook his head.
"Come now, there's no need to prepare escape spells. I won't harm you. I simply wish to talk — to understand how and why you're here, in my world."
The man's gaze grew serious, his voice deepened, and his aura shifted drastically.
Yet despite the pressure emanating from him, Goetia showed no reaction. Unfazed, he walked beside the sisters and sat in a chair across from the man.
"I am Veldanava — but I suppose you already know that, don't you?" the man, now identified as Veldanava, asked as he stared directly at Goetia.
Goetia murmured a response.
"I've read some books. You're the creator of this world, aren't you?" His words sounded casual, as if he were speaking to any ordinary person.
This made the sisters tense, ready to act. However, Veldanava raised a hand, signaling them to stand down, while keeping his gaze fixed on Goetia.
"That's right, I am. But you don't seem surprised. Perhaps I'm not what you expected?"
"If the books are true, then you're just another god among the many I've encountered," Goetia replied with a relaxed tone.
Goetia's words made Veldanava raise an eyebrow.
"In your world, there are beings like me? How fascinating. But I doubt they're as powerful as I am, hahaha!" he said, attempting to lighten the mood, though his tone remained serious.
Goetia stared at him indifferently.
"I came to this world… without my consent. Someone sent me here, but I don't know why or for what purpose. Nor do I care to find out, if that's what you want to know."
Veldanava listened to his words and dismissed them with a wave of his hand as he rose from his chair.
"I know. I felt the disturbance in space-time. Yet even I couldn't locate the source of who sent you. Still, I sense no desire for destruction from you toward this world."
Veldanava gestured to Velzard and Velgrynd.
"Ladies, please leave us."
"Understood, brother. We'll take Veldora to the training grounds," Velzard replied as she departed with Velgrynd and Veldora.
Once the women had left, Veldanava looked directly at Goetia.
"I can see your soul, Goetia. You're incomplete, lost, fragmented…" His words were like daggers piercing into Goetia.
"But unlike the mindless beast that entered my world seeking only destruction, you…" —he pointed at Goetia— "you seek redemption. No matter how much you deny it, you're searching for salvation."
"And I can offer it to you."
"How?" Goetia whispered, his eyes locked on Veldanava. His tone betrayed a faint glimmer of hope.
"I'll let you live in my world. I'll allow you to learn from it, to build a new life, to erase your past. In return, I want you to become my Vigilant ."
Veldanava sat back in his chair, waiting for Goetia's answer.
"What would my task as 'Vigilant' be?" Goetia asked, his tone inquisitive.
Veldanava clapped his hands lightly.
"Simple. To protect the world from threats that endanger its existence, or any being anomalous to it."
Goetia studied him. He wasn't lying — at least, not in any obvious way. Yet Goetia himself was no longer in his own world; he didn't even exist there anymore. Even if the ritual to turn back time had failed, human history — past, present, and future — had ceased to exist.
Thinking of this, Goetia glanced at his missing arm and the burns that still marred his body. Then, he fixed his eyes on Veldanava.
"I accept."
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Author: Okay, one more chapter... calm down. Ugh, how tiring and complicated it is to maintain coherence with the Goetia personality, very limiting.