Dragons are legendary creatures.
From West to East, from mountains to oceans, from ancient murals to yellowed parchment scrolls.
Almost every civilization, every people, has records of these beings.
Some say they are symbols of emperors, others say they are embodiments of calamity.
But no matter what.
They should not exist in this world…
In the pitch-black darkness, a pair of gleaming golden eyes suddenly opened.
An ancient and majestic presence, like solidified magma, like a sun sinking into the sea.
It had no warmth, yet it made the whole world feel like it was burning.
It made no sound, yet the entire dream trembled.
“Are you really… human?”
The immense pressure made it hard for Meng Mo to breathe. The shudder rising from the depths of her soul made standing up straight a luxury.
She was afraid.
But she didn’t understand.
This was supposed to be her domain—the dream realm.
The dream was her world, her dominion.
She had always been the one to dominate everything, toy with everything, devour everything.
Yet this human had repeatedly done things she never expected.
Breaking free from her restraints, striking her body, and now summoning something like this…
Something that shouldn’t exist.
Meng Mo clenched her teeth, forcing herself to stay steady.
‘No, I have to calm down.’
She took a deep breath, forcing her gaze away from those golden eyes.
The opponent’s consciousness was isolated now, his body firmly locked down.
How much trouble could an unconscious person cause?
Yes, that’s right.
She was the powerful Meng Mo, the queen of dreams.
What did she have to fear?
Meng Mo slowly straightened up, the crimson light in her eyes rekindling.
She spread her wings, and dark purple mist surged around her.
“In the name of Isadora Mayfield…”
Her voice echoed in the darkness, every syllable carrying undeniable power.
“I acknowledge your strength.”
She raised her head, her scarlet pupils reflecting the pair of golden eyes.
“But two tigers cannot share one mountain. I will not allow you to challenge my authority in my world!”
She suppressed her fear inch by inch, replaced by a nearly maddening desire.
As long as she defeated this human and absorbed all his life force,
that unfathomable power would become hers.
Meng Mo licked her lips, her wings fully extended.
Boom—!
A white light exploded in the darkness, illuminating the pitch-black dream like daylight.
“What now?!”
Meng Mo waved her hand fiercely, her voice brimming with anger.
“Enough is enough!”
The light dimmed under her furious shout, but not because of her power.
It was because something was actively devouring it.
An existence darker than black slowly rose from the center of the light.
The white lights vanished silently, like being sucked into a black hole, leaving not even a trace of afterglow.
Meng Mo squinted, finally making out the figure in the darkness.
Pitch-black metal armor clicked into place, the sound of metal clashing crisp and clear.
The chest plate locked, the shoulder guards settled, and the arm guards tightened along the contours of his fingers into sharp edges.
Finally, the deep red visor closed, and those eyes lit up.
A form completely different from the original Flame Knight.
The silver-gray was gone. The blazing red was gone.
In their place stood an icy, black figure like the abyss itself.
The knight stood not far away, motionless.
No flame, no extra sound.
He just stood there, like a black wall rising from the ground.
Meng Mo stared at the figure. The courage she had mustered moments ago had vanished without a trace.
She had never seen such an existence—one that required no words, no actions, to make someone feel despair from the depths of their soul.
Her instincts screamed at her.
Run.
Run now.
Her whole body trembled. This opponent was no longer someone she could handle.
As long as the green hills remain, there’s no need to worry about firewood.
Meng Mo shifted her right leg, quietly stepping back.
The next instant, the black knight was right in front of her.
No warning, no trajectory—like a skipped frame.
The deep red visor was inches away, reflecting her terrified face.
“!”
Without thinking, Meng Mo swung her hand, and the dream twisted wildly under her will.
In an instant, the world turned upside down.
Gravity flipped, the ground became the sky, and the sky fell into the abyss.
The entire world was wrung like a rope by a giant hand, all directions distorted.
But the knight’s distance from her did not change.
No matter how she twisted the dream, flipped directions, or hid herself in layer upon layer of void,
that pitch-black figure was always behind her, always just one step away.
It was as if an invisible thread connected her heart to his palm, impossible to break free.
Meng Mo turned and tore open an exit.
She didn’t care anymore. She was full enough today. No need to fight this madman.
He could do whatever he wanted. She was out of here…
Suddenly, something grabbed her wings from behind.
The knight’s five fingers tightened, sinking into the wing membrane, clamping onto her most vulnerable part like iron pincers.
Before Meng Mo could react, the hand yanked downward.
Rip—!
Pain shot like lightning from her shoulder blades into her spine, spreading through every nerve.
“Gyaaaah—!”
Her scream tore through the air, the intense agony making it hard to think.
Purple blood mist permeated the dream, shredded wing membranes scattered in the air.
Clutching the wound on her back, she stumbled toward the exit, her face soaked with tears.
“J-just you wait!”
She screamed on the edge of collapse.
“One day, you’ll pay—!”
She tumbled through the exit, and the dream began to collapse behind her.
Huge chunks of darkness shattered, fragments falling from the dome and turning to nothing in midair.
The ground split open, void pouring from the cracks, devouring every last trace of light and shadow.
The knight stood motionless at the center of the collapse.
Fragments fell around him. The deep red visor glowed in the darkness, calmly watching the direction where Meng Mo had disappeared.
Then the ground beneath his feet shattered, and he fell with the fragments into the abyss.
Like an extinguished star, like a sheathed blade.
…
On the other side.
White Li crouched in front of the fake Lin Du, grabbing his face with both hands and pulling it outward like kneading dough.
The smile on that face was stretched into all sorts of funny shapes—sometimes like a persimmon flattened by a door, sometimes like a pufferfish puffing its cheeks, sometimes like a piece of rubber that had been stepped on.
“Hee hee hee hee!”
She pulled harder and harder, the grin on her own face nearly reaching her ears.
She really wished Lin Du could see this fake version of himself now. What kind of expression would he make?
Probably a disgusted look saying, “What the hell is that thing?”
She couldn’t help but laugh out loud, about to adjust her angle for more fun.
Suddenly, the fake Lin Du froze.
Like a marionette whose strings had been cut, he instantly lost all vitality, even the silly smile disappeared.
“Hey, why aren’t you laughing?”
White Li poked his stiff face, tilting her head.
Crack.
Where her finger touched came a faint, crisp sound.
She froze for a moment, and before she could pull her hand back, more cracks spread from the point of contact, quickly covering the fake Lin Du’s entire body.
“Crack, crack… crash…”
White Li jumped back several steps, watching the fake crumble into a pile of debris in front of her.
“Whoa, scared me.”
She patted her chest, about to sigh in relief, when the ground beneath her foot gave way.
White Li looked down. A piece of the dream floor had somehow disappeared.
And her left foot was stuck right in that gap, dangling in midair with nothing to step on.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Before she could finish, cracks exploded from that gap in all directions.
The entire dream floor shattered into countless pieces, and White Li fell along with them.
She looked around—nothing. Just a bottomless void.
“Aaaah—!”