The forest was far too silent.
The tall, twisted trees formed an almost solid canopy, blocking any trace of moonlight that night. Cold seeped into the bones, and the boy's breath came out in white clouds as he advanced cautiously between frozen roots and dead leaves.
Then, the sky moved.
A beating of wings tore through the air.
Then another…
And another.
Huge shadows crossed between the trunks, and a shrill scream echoed throughout the forest.
Pterodactyls.
Dozens of them.
The creatures descended in circles, their wings slicing violently through the air. Each beat opened unstable fissures — glowing cracks in space that exploded seconds later, sending shockwaves that ripped branches apart and hurled snow and dirt in every direction.
— What do I do, Leonardo? — Frederin murmured, grinding his teeth.
The first attack came fast.
A pterodactyl dove down, opening its beak and spitting a blast of blue fire that ignited the surrounding trees. Right after that, another launched shards of ice, freezing the ground and nearly making the boy lose his balance.
— Answer me, Leonardo! — Frederin shouted. — These things spit fire and ice! Are you trying to get us killed?!
A black energy answered.
It burst out of him in an unstable, almost feral way — but it was enough.
The attack hit the first pterodactyl dead center, ripping its chest open. The creature plummeted, snapping branches before crashing into the ground with a dull thud.
A mouth opened on Frederin's cheek.
— You got my abilities for free and now you want me to teach you? — Leonardo mocked.
There was no time to answer.
Three came at once.
Frederin ran, leaping between trees as aerial explosions erupted behind him, caused by the fissures opened by the creatures' wings. One exploded too close, hurling him into a trunk.
Pain tore through his back, ripping the air from his lungs.
Even so, he stood back up.
His hands trembled.
— If I die, you die with me — he snarled. — So how do I use your abilities?!
— Foolish boy — Leonardo replied. — Luís said he would train you, but all he wants is to turn you into a weapon. A weapon to defend this kingdom.
Frederin looked up at the sky, where the pterodactyls were closing in again.
— There are a lot of weak people who need protection — he answered angrily. — Maybe I want to help. And since you won't… I'll figure it out myself.
His fists lit up.
An intense, eye-catching black light — shaped like fire.
He charged without thinking, punching the enemies one by one. Each blow generated a shockwave that sent pterodactyls flying.
Beneath a nearby tree, Luís watched.
— Well… — he thought. — He's starting to unconsciously master aura.
Luís's eyes never left Frederin.
The boy dodged freezing beams and blasts of fire, leapt from tree to tree, and whenever he found an opening, unleashed brutal blows, killing with pure physical strength.
Luís moved to another tree.
— Come to think of it… — he reflected. — He's the first human I know who skipped essence entirely. He went straight to aura. He's like a blade… he just needs to be sharpened to cut through everything.
The trees began to tremble.
— Shit… — Frederin thought. — These things are only appearing here. I need to move.
A beam of ice shot straight toward him. He leapt forward at the last second.
— Where do I go?!
He raised his gaze.
Ahead, on the forest floor, a massive hole opened between the roots. From it, pterodactyls emerged one after another, shooting upward into the sky.
— I'll go there.
Frederin jumped from tree to tree, avoiding direct confrontation. When he dropped to the ground and was about to descend into the hole, shadows fell from the sky.
The pterodactyls surrounded him.
One of them beat its wings hard and held him suspended in the air.
— Besides being prehistoric, you're annoying! — Frederin shouted. — I don't want to fight you!
Luís's voice came from the trees, dripping with mockery:
— Trying to avoid the fight, huh?
He started laughing.
— Neither you nor Leonardo want to help me win this battle! — Frederin shouted back. — So take your opinions and go to sleep!
— Boy… look ahead — Leonardo said through the mouth on his cheek.
The instant Frederin turned, a beam of fire was already coming straight at him.
He jumped, feeling the heat scrape his skin.
— Simple, huh? — he growled. — Just kill these guys… and then the leader.
Aura began to concentrate in his fists.
— Imagine a cut in front of you, boy. Just one — Leonardo interrupted.
— A cut? Just like that? Out of nowhere?
— Yes. Think of a cut that reaches your target… and make it real with your aura.
— Wouldn't it be easier for you to take control now and end this? — Frederin shot back.
— Shut up. You got my abilities on a silver platter and you're still complaining? — Leonardo snarled. — I'm not helping anymore. Figure it out.
The mouth vanished.
Silence lasted one second.
Then four attacks came at once.
Two beams of ice. Two of fire.
The ground froze and melted in sequence. Trees cracked. The air vibrated.
Frederin ran and jumped — but was stopped midair.
Something slammed into him with enough force to displace the wind around him.
A smaller, more agile pterodactyl sank its claws into his shoulder, holding him before his punch could reach the larger target.
— Now what?! — Frederin shouted.
Another came right after.
Then two more.
Wings beat around him like living blades. The forest sky turned into a vortex of shadows, screams, and cracks in space. The fissures exploded in sequence, throwing Frederin from side to side.
He twisted his body with force.
And punched.
His fist struck the smaller pterodactyl's chest.
The impact was dull.
The next instant, a second invisible explosion followed — delayed aura.
The creature's ribcage was crushed from the inside out. Bones shattered. Its body lost shape… and fell.
Before it touched the ground, black fire burst from the corpse.
These were no ordinary flames.
They were dense. Heavy. Silent.
They consumed flesh, bone, and wings in seconds — and didn't go out even when touching the snow.
— What…? — Frederin murmured.
— Neutral aura — Leonardo replied, satisfied. — The fire you create… doesn't extinguish.
Another impact.
A pterodactyl struck him from behind, hurling him into a tree. The trunk cracked, scattering frozen splinters.
Frederin fell to his knees, coughing blood.
Three dove together.
He raised his arm instinctively.
His punch hit one in the neck.
Explosion.
Black fire.
The second came from the side. Frederin twisted and landed a hook. The physical impact didn't kill it.
It was the aura wave that followed, passing through the creature's body like an invisible hammer.
More fire.
The third opened its beak.
Ice.
Frederin was hit in the chest and thrown backward, rolling across the frozen ground. His breathing grew heavy. His hands trembled. The cold bit into his muscles.
He lifted his gaze.
There were still many.
At least twenty.
Flying in circles.
Waiting.
— See? — Leonardo said. — You won't win this with brute force.
Frederin spat blood into the snow.
— If you're not going to teach me… then tell me what to do.
Silence.
— It's the same thing…
Luís's voice cut through the air:
— Is this how you're going to die, Frederin? How pathetic.
Frederin turned just in time to see a blue aura sphere pierce through two pterodactyls at once.
— The ones on the ground… — he murmured, spitting blood. — They're trembling in fear. They won't mess with Luís. But with me… it's different.
— Boy… imagine — Leonardo said.
— Imagine what?!
— Cuts.
The world slowed for half a second.
— Blades appearing out of nowhere. No trajectory. No warning. Cuts that don't require movement.
Frederin closed his eyes.
Took a deep breath.
Black aura gathered around his body — denser, more stable.
When he opened his eyes—
The air split.
An invisible cut tore through a pterodactyl's neck mid-flight. The head fell before the body understood what had happened.
Another cut.
Then another.
Invisible lines appeared and vanished in fractions of a second. The creatures began to fall, one after another.
Black fire consumed everything.
The forest began to smell like ash.
Frederin started to laugh.
But the price came quickly.
He dropped to his knees.
The aura wavered.
His vision blurred.
— Don't overdo it, boy — Leonardo warned. — This consumes you too.
A louder roar echoed.
Something larger moved among the flock.
The remaining creatures pulled back.
Frederin raised his gaze, panting, his entire body in pain.
— I'll kill you…
The shadow descended slowly.
The wings were much larger.
Claws grabbed his shoulders.
The creature took flight — then dove straight down into the hole.
Other pterodactyls followed.
A roar echoed from within.
Luís, still atop a nearby tree, watched everything closely.
— Let's go… — he murmured. — I'll go in and see what happens. Hope I won't have to interfere.
He jumped.
And floated until disappearing into the hole.
The pterodactyl slammed Frederin into the ground. His body rolled several times before stopping.
Frederin struggled to his feet, injured, blood flowing from his shoulders. He looked around.
— Damn… more than forty prehistoric beings. You're a disappointment. You dragged me here just so I could finish you off.
The pterodactyls let out several threatening growls.
— Am I being too confident? — Frederin thought. — I mean… I know my body is stronger, faster, tougher, but I don't know a single useful technique.
Leonardo:
Idiot. You think too much and reach no conclusions, huh? Moron. I'll just dump several techniques directly into your mind.
Frederin:
— Thanks, Leonardo… — he sighed. — I'm starting to think you're not such a bad guy.
Leonardo:
Cool.
A wave of smoke covered the entire area.
Frederin:
— This smoke makes it hard to breathe… and to see.
The smoke began to dissipate.
Vision returned.
— Damn it… — Frederin said.
Leonardo:
It's a flying dinosaur, just with different colors, related to fire and ice. Besides stupid, you're blind too.
Frederin:
— Love you too, Leonardo… now let's win this.
In front of them stood a gigantic pterodactyl. Part of its body was red, in an intense orange hue, while its right side was blue, with ice spikes emerging from its back.
Below the creature, several smaller pterodactyls gathered.
Frederin clenched his fists. Aura flowed through his body as he assumed a combat stance.
A blue aura sphere appeared on the battlefield to the right. Soon after, another red sphere appeared to the left.
The smaller pterodactyls tried to flee.
A blue explosion happened first.
Then a red one.
The impact threw Frederin backward.
— Fight the strongest one. If you die, it means you weren't worthy to live — Luís said.
Frederin turned in shock and saw Luís floating above him.
Frederin:
— It was… you…
Luís:
— Let's go. Kill it.
Frederin turned back, uneasy, fear evident in his eyes. He looked at the corpses of pterodactyls scattered across the ground.
Frederin:
— Only the big one is still standing… Luís alone killed around seventy-eight of those things, I think. With a single attack.
Frederin began to walk forward as his aura enveloped his entire body.
Leonardo:
The first person who will die by my hand will be him.
Frederin:
— If you say so… fine. Let's kill this monster. The leader.
The massive pterodactyl merely watched Frederin approach. It opened its mouth, and a blue light began to form inside.
Luís observed everything, floating at the entrance of the cavern hole.
Luís:
— Let the battle begin. — he said, laughing.