The golden Celestial Dragons were unraveling.
You could see it in the way their wings faltered mid-beat, in the way they drifted backward through the air like leaves caught in a gale. Their eyes—once proud, crackling with thunder—now shimmered with fear.
They knew.
They knew they were outmatched.
As a force, they couldn't stand against Emerald Castle's army. Not in numbers. Not in strength. Not in resolve. A full-frontal clash would only end one way: total annihilation.
But it was too late to retreat.
The tide had already turned. Emerald Castle's forces surged forward, their power rising like a tidal wave, blotting out the sky with sheer pressure. The golden dragons were caught in it—trapped like dust in a storm, with nowhere to run.
And in the eye of that storm, Ethan moved.
