Null barely had time to react. The instant the fire surged toward them, he grabbed both Jania and Kikei and shimmer-stepped away, the searing heat licking at the air where they had stood. He landed a few meters away, eyes scanning for an escape route, heart pounding. That fire hadn’t been for show. It had been meant to kill.


    The dragon’s voice echoed through their minds, ancient and resonant, like mountains shifting beneath the weight of time. “The sprout has revealed itself at last. But it is far too weak to stand here. I look forward to pruning it.”


    Null gritted his teeth, summoning his power, trying to strike back, but nothing happened. He tried everything but his body refused to act, and the very concept of violence was stripped away from him. He felt like a caged beast, all instinct and no outlet.


    A deep, rolling chuckle rumbled through the cavern. “Did you think I would allow violence in my domain?”


    Jania swore under her breath, clenching her fists. She wanted to fight. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to charge, to strike, but something unseen held her back. She turned to Null, frustration evident in her expression.


    “You can’t attack it,” she said, forcing herself to stay calm. “Violence doesn’t work here. I don’t know how, but I felt it when I tried to fight back earlier. It’s not just a rule. It’s like the world itself won’t let you.”


    Null narrowed his eyes, his fingers twitching with restless energy. He hated the idea of being unable to act, of being bound by something he didn’t understand.


    Infy wasn’t wasting time. While Null frantically searched for an escape, Infy turned inward, stretching his awareness, reaching beyond the cavern and into the voice of the universe itself. The answers were there, whispers hidden in the currents of existence.


    Something was wrong with this place.


    This wasn''t just a simple pacifist barrier. It wasn’t suppressing their aggression, no it was rewriting reality to make violence impossible.


    It had to be a field manipulation but on a scale, they couldn’t imagine.


    Not a normal one, but something close to what Zero had taught them to fear. This wasn’t just some parlour trick. It was a fundamental manipulation of the universe itself. The dragon wasn’t simply strong.


    It was rewriting the rules of existence. Null knew it had to belong to a top-tier race, maybe even a tier 1 race.


    Infy listened, absorbing what the universe had to say, while Null tested their limits, looking for a crack, any weakness in the dragon’s hold. Jania held Kikei close, eyes darting between the dragon and Null.


    The dragon was toying with them, swiping lazily with its claws, flicking its tail in amusement, never truly striking, just reminding them of how powerless they were. It was playing a game, enjoying the chase, savoring their helplessness. Jania gritted her teeth. Something about this felt wrong.


    “You call yourself a pacifist,” she said, sidestepping a claw that barely missed her. “Yet you’re attacking us, toying with us like we’re prey. Kind of hypocritical, don’t you think?”


    The dragon let out another deep, rolling laugh, the sound reverberating through the cavern walls. “I despise violence, yes. But your friend is not a natural being. He should not exist. Null is a corruption of fate itself, an anomaly that was never meant to be. Correcting such an error is not violence. It is restoration.”


    Jania clenched her fists. She wasn’t buying it. The dragon’s words were just a justification, an excuse to indulge its power. Still, keeping it talking was buying Infy time, and she could only hope he was close to figuring something out.


    Infy had been working furiously, listening to the melody of the universe, searching for the flaw in the dragon’s suppression field. And then—he found it. A note, an underlying frequency, unlike anything they had encountered before. A field outside their knowledge, one they had never manipulated, never even conceived of. They wouldn’t be able to control it, not fully, but they could shield themselves from its effects. It would be just enough.


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    The moment Infy made the adjustment, the dragon’s disposition shifted. The amusement drained from its eyes. The playful swipes stopped. It had sensed the change.


    One moment, the dragon loomed over them, its silver scales gleaming in the dim cavern light. The next, it moved—fast, impossibly fast. A blur of raw power bearing down on them with lethal intent.


    Jania saw it before it happened.


    Not with her eyes, but with something deeper. A flicker in her mind, a vision of the dragon’s movement a split second before it struck. There was no time to think, only to act.


    She grabbed Kikei and threw her aside, out of harm’s way. Then, instead of running, she stepped in front of Null.


    The dragon’s massive claws connected with her full force.


    Pain exploded through her body as she was flung backward, crashing hard against the cavern wall. Her suit absorbed some of the impact, but not enough. The breath was knocked from her lungs, and for a terrifying moment, she couldn''t move.


    Null''s head snapped toward her, his glowing eyes wide with something close to panic.


    The dragon tilted its head, golden eyes gleaming with curiosity. Fascinating.


    Jania groaned, forcing herself to sit up despite the throbbing in her ribs. She couldn’t feel her legs. Her vision swam, but she managed a glare.


    The dragon’s amusement vanished in an instant. Its massive form tensed, golden eyes narrowing as it peered into Null’s glowing eyes. It took a small step back, seemingly startled by something unforeseen.


    "You wouldn’t dare," it rumbled, the certainty in its voice cracking with unease.


    Null didn’t blink. His whole body burned with barely contained rage, Infy’s energy wrapping around him in waves of luminous white. He knelt beside Jania, Kikei gripping her uninjured hand with wide, terrified eyes.


    Jania’s breathing was shallow, her skin clammy beneath her suit. She couldn’t stand. She could barely move. And Null and Infy could feel it. Her life slipping through their fingers.


    That was unacceptable. They couldn’t allow it to happen. They needed to get her back to the ship to a healing pod. The dragon had hurt their friend


    That was a crime that could not go unpunished.


    "You think we’re helpless here?" Infy’s voice was cold, devoid of its usual lighthearted cadence. "You think we’ve just been sitting around waiting for things to fall into place?"


    The dragon’s head jerked up slightly. A flicker of something—concern.


    "We figured out the barrier days ago," Null continued, standing now, stepping in front of Jania like a sentinel of judgment. "We couldn’t break it." His eyes burned brighter. "So we found another way."


    Infy finished the thought. "If we can''t get through a wall, we’ll just tear the whole thing down."


    The cavern trembled, a low vibration that wasn’t coming from the dragon. It was coming from above.


    The dragon turned its gaze skyward, as if seeing past the cavern roof, past the clouds, past the atmosphere itself. Its slitted pupils dilated.


    The sky was falling.


    Large asteroids over a dozen of them had been locked in a perfect gravitational trajectory. Each one was carefully guided, positioned, and accelerated. Null and Infy were the masters of gravity. And if Jania died, so did this planet. Small asteroids were breaking up in the atmosphere, their impacts causing a deep, resonant rumbling that vibrated through the ground.


    "You think we wouldn’t dare?" Infy asked, his voice sharp with something darker than anger. "Try us."


    meanwhile


    Kikei barely heard the standoff between Null and the dragon. Her mind was spinning, trapped in the words the Child of Fate had whispered to her before all of this began.


    "The fate of the galaxy will rest upon you and Jania. You will be given a chance to save her. But you must be brave enough to take it."


    At the time, she hadn’t understood. But now, watching Jania’s aura flicker like a dying flame, she knew exactly what the voice had meant.


    The dragon’s last attack had blasted open part of the cavern wall, revealing a winding passage leading into the unknown. It was an escape route. No one was paying attention to her. She could run. She could survive.


    No one would blame her.


    Except she would blame herself.


    Kikei tensed her whole body to the point it was trembling. She had always followed the path laid before her, let others decide her fate. But not today. Not this time.


    Jania was dying, and Kikei could see it. Her aura, once strong and vibrant, was slipping away like water through cupped hands.


    But it didn’t have to.


    She didn’t know why she was so certain. She had never been trained for this, never even considered that she had any special abilities. But something deep inside her knew what to do.


    She reached out but not in a physical sense, but with something else, something unseen.


    Her aura stretched toward Jania’s, flickering uncertainly at first. But where they touched, something happened. The unravelling slowed. The cracks sealed, if only partially.


    Kikei grit her teeth, focusing harder, willing it to work. Hold on, Jania. I’ve got you.


    She didn’t know if it would be enough. But she refused to let go.