A deep frustration surged in Rayder's heart, as if all the effort he had poured into the last six months, the hard-earned peace, and the achievements he had made were nothing more than a cruel joke. All of it felt like a fragile illusion shattered in an instant.
He didn't know what awaited him in the days ahead, but one thing was certain—he wouldn't be returning to this place any time soon.
He sat down on a dry, weathered stone, high atop the mountain ridge, letting the cold wind of the Valyria Ruins whip through his tangled hair. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the sound of the wind and the distant groaning of the earth far below.
Taking advantage of this rare moment of stillness, Rayder forced himself to calm down. He needed to think, to process everything that had happened. He began to carefully go over the strange and disturbing events that had unfolded since arriving in Valyria.
Again and again, his mind circled back to the three abnormal volcanic eruptions he had experienced—the most recent one especially vivid. That final explosion had unleashed a cataclysmic force, tearing open the land itself. The raw, unrelenting power that burst forth from the earth bore a terrifying resemblance to the great catastrophe that had annihilated the Valyrian Freehold—a disaster whispered about in fragmented texts and ancient legends.
One chilling possibility became more and more clear.
The force behind these events—the destructive power that had targeted him repeatedly—might not be random.
It could be the same hidden deity that had brought about the end of ancient Valyria.
A being of immense power, capable of destroying an entire empire, now seemed to have its eyes locked on him.
Rayder's breath quickened as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.
Had he done something to provoke the wrath of this god?
He recalled his every action during these past six months: the careful exploration of the ruins, the excavation of lost dragon eggs, the collection of ancient and forbidden texts, and even his hunts of the cursed creatures that roamed the scorched and twisted land.
Could these seemingly harmless deeds—done out of survival and curiosity—have stirred the attention of a deity?
Perhaps his activities were like tiny sparks in the dark, drawing the gaze of something ancient and watching. Something that considered him a threat, or worse, a trespasser.
But it didn't make sense. Deities, by their nature, were supposed to be aloof—above mortal affairs. Why would a god intervene so directly and violently against someone like him?
Why would a divine being waste power and attention on someone so insignificant?
He thought about his own bloodline—distant, but undeniably related to the ancient Dragon Lords of Valyria. Could it be that this remnant of a long-extinct lineage was what triggered the deity's ire?
To some great entity, maybe even a single drop of that blood was intolerable—a blight that must be purged.
Or could it have been the dragon eggs and books he had unearthed?
Maybe those objects contained forbidden knowledge or ancient powers that were never meant to be uncovered. Perhaps the deity was not protecting a land, but guarding secrets that should have remained buried.
Then again, what if the problem lay in his excessive killing of the cursed creatures that inhabited this land?
Though monstrous and dangerous, those beings were still part of the ecosystem. Had his violence upset the balance of an ancient taboo? Had he broken some hidden law, and now the guardian deity had risen to correct the imbalance?
Countless questions swirled in his mind, overlapping and feeding off one another. Each theory seemed more plausible than the last, but none offered him a solid answer. He had no way of knowing the truth. Only one thing was certain—the Valyria Ruins were far more dangerous and far more significant than they appeared.
He had unknowingly stepped into a realm sacred or forbidden, one protected or watched over by a god.
Whether that god cared for the land, the knowledge, the dragons, or something else entirely, Rayder didn't know.
But he was sure of one terrifying fact: he now had the attention of a divine being—and not in a good way.
That realization made every step forward perilous.
The deity's gaze might be intangible, but it weighed heavily on Rayder's soul. It was like a cold blade pressed against his throat—silent, invisible, and always ready to strike without warning.
Time passed slowly atop the peak.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, staining the sky with hues of crimson and gold, Rayder finally stirred from his thoughts. He blinked, as though waking from a dream, and looked up at the vast heavens.
He still had no idea which god considered him an enemy, nor what he had done to incur such hatred.
The uncertainty of it all was suffocating.
But now wasn't the time for answers.
He needed to leave—now.
"I'll figure it out later," he muttered to himself, voice low but determined. "When I'm strong enough to challenge a god, then I'll find the truth. And when that time comes... I'll make him pay a thousandfold."
For a brief moment, his eyes flickered with burning defiance. But that light was quickly extinguished by the reality of his situation. Strength meant nothing if he didn't survive the night.
He looked once more toward the fading sunlight. The day was ending. Shadows stretched across the land, and soon, the treacherous night of Valyria would rise.
Rayder's heart sank. He had seen what lurked in the dark corners of this place. The cursed beasts were more active at night, their monstrous cries echoing through the valleys and peaks. And in a land under divine observation, the dark could become an even more dangerous time.
"I can't stay here."
Without another second of hesitation, he turned to his dragons, who lay resting nearby.
"Im! Yigen! Get up! We're leaving!"
The two dragons stirred groggily. Their massive wings flexed, and low groans of pain escaped their throats. Their injuries hadn't fully healed. Flight would be difficult—but necessary.
Even with the risk of worsening their wounds, they had to leave.
Together, they rose and stretched their wings, limping toward the edge of the peak. With Rayder on Im's back, they pushed off and slowly took to the air, the great wings slicing through the sky with labored effort.
They left behind the ominous mountain range that had witnessed their arrival, their struggles, and now, their escape.
Ahead lay the vast, dangerous stretch of the Yan Sea.
Rayder glanced behind him once, then turned his eyes forward.
When he first came to the Valyria Ruins, the journey had taken weeks on foot through hostile terrain. Now, he crossed that same land within hours, soaring on dragon wings.
There was a certain satisfaction in that. But it didn't last.
Worry quickly overtook him.
"The Yan Sea…" he muttered.
It was no ordinary body of water. The Yan Sea was filled with active volcanoes, endless steam vents, and jagged black reefs. Even flying above its surface posed a danger—volcanic ash could blind them, eruptions could strike from below, and unseen dangers might lurk within the choking mist.
And there was still the most terrifying unknown—the deity.
Rayder didn't even know its name, let alone its purpose. He couldn't guess its methods or predict its attacks.
Deities were beyond mortal comprehension.
What other tricks did it have up its sleeve?
What other horrors could it summon?
The unknown was always the most terrifying thing.
Rayder gripped Im's scales tightly as they soared above the sea, eyes scanning the mist-shrouded waters and black islands below.
Every shadow in the clouds, every shift in the wind made him tense.
Would this flight be safe?
Would they survive long enough to uncover the truth?
Would he ever be strong enough to fight back?
He didn't know.
But for now, all he could do was keep moving—forward, away from the ruins, away from the gaze of the god—into the vast, uncertain future that lay beyond the Yan Sea.
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