Chapter 26

Dylan takes a deep breath, his sharp gaze locked onto the Overseer. This battle is different. He can feel it in the air—the suffocating pressure of his missing half, the weight of a past he still doesn't fully understand.

The Overseer smirks. "Oh? Are you finally getting serious, Kaelen—no, Dylan?"

Dylan doesn't respond. His stance shifts.

A low vibration hums through his body as his arms begin to change—his flesh morphing, bones expanding, scales forming over his hands and forearms like a layer of impenetrable armor.

His fingers lengthen into sharp, dragon-like claws. The power within him surges—his blood igniting like a forgotten wildfire.

Then, he moves.

"Dragon Fist Technique: First Form—Crimson Fang!"

In a blur, he closes the distance, twisting his body as his clawed fist rips through the air like a comet. The Overseer barely raises his steel claws in time to block, but the force behind the impact sends shockwaves through the warehouse.

The floor beneath them cracks.The walls tremble.

Dylan doesn't stop. His movements become fluid, seamless—each strike flowing into the next like a raging current.

"Second Form—Raging Fire Fist!"

He spins, delivering a brutal elbow strike followed by a clawed uppercut, the sheer force lifting the Overseer off his feet for a split second before he lands with a heavy thud.

The Overseer wipes a thin line of blood from his cheek, eyes narrowing.

"Interesting. You fight like a beast trying to reclaim its lost throne." He flexes his own claws, grinning. "Shall we see if you are worthy of the name 'Dragon'?"

Dylan tightens his fists. His dragon blood roars within him.

The Void's Grasp

A sinister chuckle escapes the Overseer's lips as he raises one hand, his steel claws shimmering with dark energy. The air around them shifts—distorts.

Dylan feels it instantly.

A force—cold, suffocating—pulls at him, dragging him into an abyss.

The world around him darkens, the walls of the warehouse fading into an endless void. His limbs feel heavier, as if the very air is pressing against him, trying to crush him from all sides. His movements become sluggish, as though he is wading through thick, unseen chains.

"Welcome to my Void Illusion." The Overseer's voice echoes, layered and fragmented, as if coming from every direction at once. "Here, you are nothing but prey."

Then, he moves.

A blur of shadows—no, multiple shadows—surge toward Dylan with impossible speed. Clawed hands slash at him from all angles, his mind struggling to keep up. The Overseer is everywhere and nowhere.

Dylan barely blocks a strike from behind, only to feel a sharp pain on his side as another attack lands before he can react. Damn it… he's too fast!

The weight of the void presses harder, his vision swimming. Is this an illusion? Or has he truly fallen into another dimension?

But Dylan grits his teeth.

No. He won't lose.

A deep growl rumbles in his chest as his dragon blood ignites once more. He forces himself to stand straight, digging his claws into his own palm—a sharp sting of pain snapping him back to reality.

"Illusions… tricks… You think this will break me?" His eyes flash a deep crimson as his breath steadies. "You underestimate the power of a dragon."

The Overseer appears before him in a blur, smirking."Then let's see if your fire can burn away the void itself."

The Overseer's smirk widens as he steps forward, his movements unnaturally graceful, as if he's gliding through reality itself. The void around them hums with energy, the oppressive force growing stronger.

"Dance of the Void—First Step: Void Sonata."

A chilling melody seems to play in the background—an eerie, soundless tune that vibrates in Dylan's bones. The Overseer disappears.

Before Dylan can react, a devastating force slams into his ribs from the left, followed by another crushing impact to his back. The speed is unreal.The Overseer moves like a phantom, striking from impossible angles, each hit landing like a hammer against steel.

"Tch—!" Dylan grits his teeth, his body buckling under the assault. He barely manages to cross his arms in defense, but the relentless barrage continues.

"Pathetic." The Overseer's voice drifts through the void. "Even with your dragon power, you can't match my speed."

Dylan inhales sharply and forces himself to move.

"Dragon Fist Technique—Third Form: Iron Dragon King Armor!"

A metallic sheen flashes across his body as his dragon scales harden, becoming nearly indestructible. The next strike from the Overseer lands, but instead of sending Dylan staggering, the impact barely dents his armor-like scales.

Dylan smirks. "Your tricks won't work on me twice."

The Overseer chuckles. "Good. Then let's raise the tempo."

He raises both arms, spinning in a fluid motion, and the void ripples violently around them.

"Dance of the Void—Second Step: Death Rhapsody."

Suddenly, countless void-like tendrils burst forth from the darkness, each one twisting unpredictably, moving faster than the eye can follow. Dylan shifts his stance, preparing to block—

But it's too late.

The tendrils slam into him all at once, a force so overwhelming that even his dragon scales crack under the sheer weight of the attack. The air is knocked from his lungs as he's sent flying, crashing through the void field like a meteor.

He tumbles violently, the world spinning around him, before he slams into a solid surface—if there is such a thing in the void.

Pain explodes through his body, his vision flickering.

The Overseer slowly approaches, his footsteps echoing through the emptiness. "You should have stayed in the shadows, Dylan."

Dylan coughs, forcing himself to rise despite the pain. His hands clench into fists.

"I'm not done yet." His dragon blood surges again, his aura burning even fiercer.

The Overseer laughs, his voice reverberating through the void like a haunting echo.

"Good, it's too early for you to die, Dylan. We're just getting started. Humor me more with your pathetic struggle."

He spreads his arms, and the void itself shudders. The space around them distorts, as if reality is being rewritten at his whim.

"Dance of the Void—Third Step: Void Requiem."

A deep resonating hum fills the space, an eerie silence pressing in before—

A monstrous wave of black energy erupts from the Overseer's form.

The force isn't just an attack—it's a complete erasure of everything in its path. The swirling void expands outward, consuming all light, all sound, all existence. The sheer pressure makes Dylan's bones feel like they're about to snap.

Dylan barely has time to react before the void slams into him. His dragon scales crack further, and a cold sensation spreads through his limbs, paralyzing him in midair. His vision flickers, the darkness creeping into his mind like a slow poison.

For the first time, a warning bell rings in his head.

"Damn it—this technique… it's different."

The Overseer steps forward, his grin widening. "Can you feel it, Dylan? Your very essence fading into nothingness?" His voice is calm, almost mocking. "Void Requiem doesn't just crush the body—it erases your very presence from existence."

Dylan's fingers twitch, his body struggling against the overwhelming force pulling him into the abyss. His mind screams at him to fight, but his body refuses to obey. His dragon blood burns within him, trying to resist—

But the void is absolute.

Is this it?

His vision dims, his strength fading. The Overseer lifts a hand, gathering even more power, ready to end him for good—

But then—

A pulse.

Deep inside Dylan's core, something stirs.

A power older than his hybrid existence, a force buried within his bloodline, a remnant of Kaelen's true might.

Dylan's lips curl into a defiant smirk.

"You talk too much, Overseer."

His dragon scales ignite with golden energy, a fierce heat pushing back against the void's consuming force. His arms move, slow at first, then with power—

Dylan's body trembles as the **void claws at his existence**, trying to erase him completely. The Overseer watches with amusement, confident in his victory.

But deep within Dylan's core, **something ancient stirs.**

A long-dormant power, buried within his **very bloodline.**

His lips curl into a smirk. **"You talk too much, Overseer."**

The Overseer's expression shifts slightly, sensing the sudden surge of power radiating from Dylan.

**Golden energy erupts from Dylan's body,** his once-cracked dragon scales mending instantly, glowing with an intense radiance. The oppressive void trembles—**no, it recoils.**

Dylan **spreads his arms wide,** his voice echoing with an otherworldly resonance.

**"Dragon King—Full Form."**

A roar thunders through the void, shaking reality itself. His body elongates, twisting into a colossal, divine form. Glimmering red scales cover his body, each one shining like tempered steel under the light of creation itself. His arms stretch into powerful limbs, his fingers morphing into razor-sharp claws.

Two majestic horns extend from his forehead, pulsating with untamed energy. His once-human face reshapes into something truly draconic, his eyes burning with primordial fury.

Large, celestial wings burst from his back, their sheer presence dispelling the remaining void energy around him. With each beat, golden light surges outward, ripping apart the darkness the Overseer had woven.

The Overseer takes a step back.

For the first time—he looks uncertain.

Dylan—no, the true Dragon King—speaks.

"You made a mistake, Overseer." His voice booms like rolling thunder, carrying the weight of an unshakable will.

"You thought I was only half a man.

You forgot that I am still a dragon."

With an earth-shattering roar, Dylan charges forward, his form cutting through the void like a falling sun.

The Overseer throws his head back and laughs, his voice dripping with mockery.

"Half-cooked, incomplete, weak—Dylan, you are nothing without your essence!" His eyes glint with malice. "Your other half is still rotting in that subspace, and without it, your so-called 'Dragon King Form' is just a flickering candle in my void."

Dylan growls, but before he can respond, the air around them shudders.

A suffocating darkness bleeds into existence, swallowing even the light radiating from Dylan's scales. The very space around them fractures, warping and distorting as if reality itself is rejecting what is about to manifest.

The Overseer lifts his arms, his voice resonating with pure dominance.

"Now, allow me to educate you on what a true form looks like."

The void trembles. A presence unlike anything before descends upon the battlefield.

"Void Emperor—True Form."

A deafening boom erupts as his body is engulfed in endless black flames, twisting and reforming into something monstrous. His flesh disintegrates,replaced by an ethereal, ever-shifting darkness that seems to stretch into infinity.

Multiple glowing crimson eyes open across his body, each pulsating with a cold, eerie light. His once-human figure elongates, his limbs stretching unnaturally as his fingers extend into razor-thin void talons, each one capable of slicing through existence itself.

A crown of jagged obsidian spikes forms upon his head, pulsating with the very essence of nothingness. His body no longer casts a shadow—he has become the void itself.

The world bends around him.

The mere presence of his true form erases everything in its vicinity, consuming all light, energy, and even time itself.

Dylan, despite his dragon instincts, stiffens.

For the first time since their battle began… he feels it.

A predator far beyond him.

The Overseer grins, revealing rows of endless razor-sharp void fangs.His voice rumbles, layered with a thousand whispers from the abyss itself.

"Now, Dragon King…" He lifts one clawed hand, and reality itself begins to crumble.

"Kneel."