The skies above Ashen rumbled like a slumbering beast.
Clouds coiled around crimson peaks while a wind heavy with magic swept across the ancient stones of the dragon realm.
Ryo walked on without hesitation.
He knew he wasn't supposed to be there.
The Guardians of Ashen had ordered him to leave — but he had disobeyed.
Not out of defiance, but because something deeper pulled him forward… an invisible force calling him toward the heart of the realm.
The further he went, the denser the air became.
The ground itself seemed to breathe, pulsing with ancient energy.
And then, he saw him.
At the center of a vast plateau, surrounded by floating flames and crystalline spires, stood a man with silver hair and golden eyes.
His draconic aura filled the space — crushing sky and earth alike.
It was Azdrael, the Dragon King — the eternal sovereign of Ashen.
Their eyes met.
A shiver ran through the air.
The flames dimmed. The wind ceased.
For a moment, even time seemed to bow before them.
> "You are not from this land, human," said the king, his voice deep and thunderous.
"I'm not here to cause trouble," Ryo replied simply.
"And yet trouble follows you. Your aura… it has no nature. No fire, no ice, no light. What you are should not exist."
The Dragon King took a step forward.
The ground cracked. The air burned.
Golden scales spread across his arms, his eyes gleamed like molten suns, and wings burst open in a roar that shook all of Ashen.
He entered his Draconic Combat Form — a sacred state reserved for sovereigns.
Ryo raised his head, unfazed.
A flicker of admiration crossed his gaze.
He envied that tangible strength, that form born of nature itself.
He had none of it — no transformation, no heritage.
Only a cold, silent power he'd never asked for.
The Dragon King struck.
His draconic fist fell like a meteor, carrying the might to erase a city.
Ryo lifted a hand — and Isolation awakened.
The world vanished.
No wind. No sound. Nothing but stillness — and the two of them.
> "I told you," Ryo said calmly, "I don't want to hurt anyone."
The impact was invisible, yet all of Ashen felt it.
The earth groaned, the heavens screamed.
The Dragon King was thrown back, crashing into a crater of light.
His body trembled — not from pain, but from fear.
In thousands of years, he had never felt such terror.
When silence returned, Ryo stepped closer, a trace of regret in his eyes.
> "I warned you."
Azdrael, breathing heavily, raised his head — and to Ryo's surprise, a faint smile appeared on his face.
> "You're strong… beyond anything I've ever known. And yet, you spared me."
Ryo looked away.
"I only kill when I must."
The Dragon King laughed — a deep, thunderous sound that rolled across the valley.
Then, to everyone's astonishment — even Ryo's — he knelt slightly before him.
> "Listen to me, stranger. I don't care where you come from or what you are. Power like yours deserves respect, not fear."
His golden eyes softened.
"Ryo, man of no world… will you accept my friendship?"
Ryo stood silent for a moment, studying the kneeling king.
Then, slowly, he extended his hand.
> "If it means avoiding another war… then yes."
Their hands met.
And in that instant, a friendship was born — between an ancient king and a man without a past.
A bond the world was not yet ready to understand.