Kael returned to the cave entrance and watched as the sea level continued to rise.
What had once been the vast, open Wildspire Waste was now being swallowed by seawater.
Countless creatures wailed upon the surface.
Flying monsters desperately wished they had another pair of wings as they struggled upward against the raging winds.
More than a dozen Rathians cried out in agony, their powerful talons clutching only as many hatchlings as they could, desperately fleeing from what was becoming an ocean.
The water kept rising.
Before long, it reached the base of the cliff beneath their nest, swallowing the pool below.
Kael didn't know how much higher it would climb.
But they had to prepare.
Aji took the lead, holding one hatchling in her mouth and another in her claws as she flew out.
Kael followed suit, grabbing two small herbivores and flying after her to the top of the cliff.
Kushala Daora halted its advance.
Its cold eyes locked onto the direction of the Ancient Forest.
Wrapped in flowing water, another Elder Dragon spread wings like stars in a dark night—mysterious and dangerous.
It stepped upon towering waves, carrying thunder as it charged toward Kushala Daora.
Though it had reached old age, its armored edges already tinged with white, Kushala Daora showed no fear.
Its roar pierced the storm.
Cyclones rose, drawing seawater into sky-reaching water spouts.
The Wind Dragon fully unleashed its life energy and met the challenge head-on.
From high above, Kael stood in the downpour, rain pelting his body, eyes fixed on the distant battlefield.
Yet amid the gales and surging waves, even his sharp vision couldn't discern the fight.
A battle between Elder Dragons…
He wasn't even qualified to watch it.
The clash between Kushala Daora and Namielle lasted a long time.
In the end, Kushala Daora retreated.
Its Elder Crossing had failed.
Namielle, as always, arrived in mystery and departed in mystery, never to be seen again.
With the battle's end, the storm dissipated.
Sunlight returned.
The waters receded.
Submerged land reemerged.
With nature's powerful regenerative ability, vegetation and life would soon return to these ravaged areas.
Along the coast where the Ancient Forest met the Wildspire Waste, the massive dragonbone ship remained forever stranded atop a mountain.
The dream-filled youths and elite specialists, after receiving a brutal lesson from nature, did not give up.
They regrouped, rebuilt their confidence, and used the Ship of the Star as their core, gathering supplies and constructing outposts adapted to local conditions.
Kael and Aji returned to their nest.
They had been lucky.
The sea level had nearly reached their home.
Although storm-driven waves had flooded part of the cave, the water later drained away through the internal stream.
Kael lay on a high ledge inside, lost in thought.
Aji dismantled the old nest and repeatedly went out to bring back fresh branches, rebuilding it.
Reality wasn't a game.
And Elder Dragons weren't foolish creatures that merely spat fire, summoned a few tornadoes, and then brawled mindlessly.
The battle between Kushala Daora and Namielle had been an overwhelming release of elemental energy.
Storms.
Seas.
Lightning.
That was their battlefield.
Ordinary wyverns couldn't even dream of close combat with Elder Dragons.
Getting near was already a luxury.
Though Kael hadn't seen their direct clash, he had watched a massive Diablos get swept into the sky by a water tornado.
It likely hadn't survived.
And that was only collateral damage.
Perhaps these two Elder Dragons were exceptional.
Maybe not all Elder Dragons were that terrifying.
After all, even among ordinary monsters, individuals varied greatly.
But one thing was undeniable—
Those who commanded disasters stood firmly at the top of the food chain.
At that moment, Kael deeply realized his own insignificance.
And the terrifying power of the world's ecosystem.
Even a being capable of changing the weather like Kushala Daora could be checked by another.
As long as one existed within the ecosystem, one would be bound by it.
Perhaps only those "Forbidden" beings that transcended the world and stood outside the food chain were truly unconstrained.
The war of Elder Dragons passed.
Life went on.
Because vast areas of the forest and waste had been flooded, living space was severely compressed.
The remaining regions descended into chaos.
Herbivores searched desperately for new habitats.
Carnivores fought for new territories.
A new round of slaughter was inevitable.
The winners would live.
The losers would become nourishment for the New World.
None of this concerned Kael and Aji.
Their superior intelligence had led them to stockpile food early.
While other monsters fought themselves bloody, they simply stayed in their nest and waited it out.
Time flew.
Five years passed.
Under the New World's powerful self-regulation, damaged regions revived.
Countless creatures returned.
The ecosystem was rebuilt.
Now, besides the native monsters, there was also the Research Commission.
High in the sky, a Rathalos nearly nine meters long circled overhead.
His crimson scales were spotless.
His powerful body was perfectly proportioned, like a living golden ratio.
Beneath that form lay muscles capable of explosive strength.
Cold light gleamed from his spines.
Though still lean compared to massive adults, he already carried the bearing of a true King of the Skies.
Target locked.
Acceleration.
Dive.
Like a flaming meteor, he appeared above his prey in an instant.
Sharp talons clamped onto the herbivore's neck.
Before he even moved further, its hide began to burn.
Flames coiled around Kael's body, incinerating anything that dared approach.
[Flame Body: Upon entering combat, flames envelop the host, burning all objects that make contact. Flame temperature scales with the host's fire power.]
With a thought, the flames were absorbed into the gaps between his scales, and the heat faded into the wind.
[Flash Fire: Absorbs flames to strengthen fire-based techniques. Absorption capacity increases with the host's physique.]
Flame Body and Flash Fire were traits he had acquired over the past five years.
Through practice, Kael had learned to trigger Flash Fire actively—and even absorb the flames from Flame Body.
Flame Body didn't just provide burning aura.
It also drastically increased his fire resistance.
At one point, he even suspected he was immune to fire.
That was, until he got bored one day and went to provoke a certain hot-tempered Anjanath.
Only then did he realize—
Anjanath's full-powered flames could still make him feel pain.
Mm.
Just "hot," though.