DOG IN A DRAGONS DEN

Nova howled—raw, primal rage tearing from his throat—as he launched himself at Iris, fangs bared and ready to rip her apart.

[DRAGON RUNE ARCANA: STONE WYRM SHACKLES!]

With a thunderous roar, stone wyrms—serpentine dragons of rock—erupted from the earth. They coiled around Nova's arms and waist like chains, yanking him mid-air and slamming him to a halt.

[DRAGON RUNE ARCANA: BONE DRAGON AVATAR!]

The ground split again. A colossal dragon skeleton rose, glowing with arcane sigils. With a single swing of its decayed claw, it backhanded Nova, launching him to the ground

CRASH!

Nova hit the earth hard, dirt and debris exploding around him in a cloud of dust.

As it slowly settled, Iris narrowed her eyes. Nova was lying still... staring directly at her.

His gaze wasn't angry or panicked.

It was bored.

Like he didn't have time for this.

That alone made Iris snap.

"You look so unamused, huh?! How about we change that, you mangy mutt!!" she screamed, fury twisting her expression.

Three more bone dragons surged toward Nova, claws tearing through the air. They struck in unison—boom!—the ground splitting under the force.

Dust swallowed everything.

But when it cleared...

Nova was gone.

"What—?!" Iris's words caught in her throat.

A spine-chilling howl erupted right behind her.

[MAD DOG HOWL!]

Nova reappeared in a flash, unleashing a deafening blast straight at her back.

But she was ready.

[STONE WYRM GUARD!]

A stone wyrm coiled in front of her like a shield, absorbing the blast. Iris turned with a grin. "You really thought that would work? I'm not one of those brainless dungeon beasts, you freak!"

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Her ears twitched.

Something was coming.

But she was too late.

CHOMP!

"AAAGHH!!"

Iris screamed as sharp fangs sank deep into her side. Blood sprayed as a second Nova—no, a clone—bit into her waist.

[FANG SHARPNESS +1]

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "W-What?! Where the hell did that mutt come from?!"

On Nova's shoulder, Kan Sha cackled.

"Hah... not bad, kid. You Used [Pack Call] to spawn a clone... then [Echo Step] to blink behind her and fire off Mad Dog Howl as a feint... all while your clone circled in for the bite with Dark Matter Fang."

His grin widened, full of teeth.

"NOW THAT'S HOW YOU HUNT!"

"DIE, YOU MUTT!!" Iris screamed, her voice echoing through the battlefield.

One of the stone wyrms lunged, jaws snapping down on Nova's clone. With a burst of dark mist, the clone vanished—devoured by the wyrm's crushing bite.

Iris didn't stop.

Raising both hands above her head, her fingers twisted into a complex hand sign.

[DRAGON RUNE ARCANA: SPECTRAL DRAKE BREATH!]

A massive dragon head—ethereal and skeletal—materialized behind her, its hollow eyes glowing crimson. It opened its jaws and unleashed a torrent of black-and-red flames, the infernal blaze roaring straight at Nova.

[ECHO STEP!]

Flick!

Nova vanished in a blink, reappearing a few meters to the side—just barely dodging the hellfire.

But Iris wasn't finished.

She turned with the flames.

The spectral dragon head followed Nova's every movement, sweeping the deadly breath across the field like a flaming scythe.

Nova flickered again—and again—blinking in and out of reality, sparks and embers chasing his heels.

The heat was unbearable. The earth behind him blackened and cracked with every missed breath. Sweat trickled down his brow, but his expression stayed cold.

One final [Echo Step]—and Nova teleported just out of range, landing silently atop a random dragon skeleton.

The flames finally ceased.

Smoke coiled around him as Nova stood tall, barely winded.

Below, Iris panted, eyes locked on him with fury and disbelief.

"You just don't know when to die," she spat.

Nova didn't respond.

He just cracked his neck…

Nova looked toward Iris, absolutely unamused. His voice was flat, cold, like he was done playing games.

"Alright, kid. It's about time we end this."

[ELUSIVE EYE.]

A red rune flared to life in Nova's pupils—spinning like a cursed gear of fate. Iris's body jolted as the illusion took hold. Her eyes glazed over, frozen in place mid-air.

To her, the battlefield vanished.

And in its place—her life began to unravel.

She saw herself standing proudly in her family estate. Opulence. Status. Power. A childhood wrapped in silk and lies.

Then—ripped away.

The crest of her noble house was burned, trampled beneath the boots of higher-ranking nobles. Their lands seized. Their accounts drained. Her family's name reduced to a whisper of shame.

Her brother—dragged away in chains. Screaming. Begging. Sold into slavery to pay debts they never truly owed.

Her father, once proud and poised, turned to wine and rage. She saw him strike her mother across the face. Again. And again. Until she was sold, too. Traded like meat to keep his title from vanishing completely.

Then it was Iris.

Stripped of everything—power, pride, purpose. Beaten. Collared. Her noble blood didn't matter when she was nothing more than merchandise.

She watched herself used. Degraded.

Just like Nix.

A twisted mirror.

"No… no… NO!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "This isn't real! THIS ISN'T REAL!!"

But the illusion showed her a truth deeper than pain.

It showed her helplessness.

Outside the illusion, Nova stood unmoving, eyes glowing with that same cold red rune.

Kan Sha's voice was hushed. "That's the eye of prey, Iris. The moment the beast stares into your soul and sees what you really are."

Suddenly—

CRACK!

The illusion shattered.

Iris dropped from the air, landing on her knees. Breathing ragged. Eyes wide in horror. Trembling like a cornered animal.

She looked up at Nova, voice broken.

"Why… why did you show me that…?"

Nova didn't answer with words.

He stepped forward.

Claws ready.

Aura rising.

"Release the pocket dimension," Nova said coldly, voice dripping with mockery, "and I won't make you live through that nightmare again... and again... and again."

Iris scoffed, wiping blood and tears from her face, trying to compose herself. "You think... a little illusion like that will break my spirit?"

Nova tilted his head, eyes glowing with detached calm. "Suit yourself."

[ELUSIVE EYE.]

The rune in his eye flared red once more—and just like that, she was back in the illusion.

But this time… Nova didn't pull her out.

He let it continue.

Years passed inside the illusion. Decades.

Iris watched herself sink deeper into filth and suffering. Her beauty faded. Her pride shattered. Day after day, she begged for scraps. Was dragged by chains. Kicked in the mud. Sold from one master to another like worn-out trash. The nobles who once praised her now spat on her name.

She watched her reflection age. Wrinkles formed. Her voice grew hoarse. Her back bent.

Her heart broke.

Until finally—after twenty-five years of suffering inside that mental prison—

She snapped.

The illusion shattered on its own, not from Nova's control—but from her own surrender.

Iris dropped to the ground, eyes wide with terror, body shaking violently. "PLEASE! Stop—please, please—I'll do it!! I'll release the pocket dimension! Just… don't put me back in there!! PLEASE!!"

Nova walked toward her slowly, like a predator calmly watching its prey give up.

"Release it," he said simply. "Now."

With trembling fingers, Iris choked out the arcane command, the final seal unraveling as the air twisted and cracked. The pocket dimension holding nova and Irsis began to dissolve, fragments of magic unraveling like broken chains.

Snap.

It was over.

Iris collapsed, sobbing into the dirt, curled up and broken. Her power gone. Her pride shattered.

Just like how she and her family had shattered Nova.

Just like what they did to Nix.

Nova stared down at her without a word.

Instead, Nova whispered—barely audible, voice like frost.

"System… take her Arcana."

> [TARGET IS DEFEATED. REQUIREMENTS MET. SHE WILL NOT RESIST.]

[ACTIVATING: DEVOUR.]

A low growl echoed through the hall .

From behind Nova, the spectral wolf appeared—ghost-white, enormous, eyes glowing like coals in a blizzard. It didn't snarl. It didn't bark.

It simply moved—silent as death itself.

It lunged.

Iris let out a choked scream as the wolf phased through her chest. No blood, No wound, But She felt something rip free.

Not her life…

Her power.

Her bond to the Dragon Rune Arcana .

> [ARCANA ACQUIRED: DRAGON RUNE]

[ALL ABILITIES COMPATIBLE. NO MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED.]

[NEW ABILITIES UNLOCKED]

STONE WYRM SHACKLES:

Create stone statues of wyrm dragons that can be used to attack, defend, or restrain enemies.

BONE DRAGON AVATAR:

Summon a skeletal dragon that can be used to attack enemies or act as a shield.

DRACONIC GRAVEYARD:

Creates a pocket dimension filled with dragon skeletons. In this dimension, BONE DRAGON AVATAR gains a 10× power increase, and all other dragon abilities get a 3× power boost.

The spectral wolf returned to Nova's side, then vanished into him—its glow merging with his aura.

Iris collapsed.

Utterly still.

Her breathing shallow. Her eyes vacant.

She didn't yet know it—couldn't comprehend it—but her Arcana was gone. Her soul no longer sang with runes, no longer hummed with inherited power. The bond her bloodline had for generations had been stolen

And soon…

Her status, her name, her legacy…

Would follow.

She whimpered, curling in on herself, trembling like a leaf in the gutter.

"I… I can't feel it… I can't feel anything…"

Nova said nothing.

He turned his back on her.

Letting her drown in silence.

Nova turned toward a towering set of ornate doors at the far end of the ballroom.

Nova's eyes narrowed.

His voice rose—sharp, venomous.

"That's his office. He should be right through there."

Then he bared his teeth and howled.

"HEY, BALROCK! GET OUT HERE, YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN!!"

The echo of his voice cracked across the ruined chamber like thunder.

For a moment—nothing.

Then—

Creeeeaaaak…

The doors groaned open on their hinges.

From the shadows stepped a mountain of a man.

Broad as a carriage, tall enough to brush the archway with his crown of spiked, crimson-red hair. His coat—long, black, and trimmed in infernal gold—billowed as if caught in a breeze that wasn't there. Glowing clockwork runes floated around his body, spinning with eerie precision, like relics of some Victorian-age nightmare.

his eyes

They locked onto Nova like a predator spotting movement in tall grass.

Cold. Calculated. Ready.

Nova didn't flinch.

Not until—

CRACK!

In the blink of an eye, Balrock was in front of him.

No flash. No sound.

Just a shift in space.

And suddenly, Nova was off the ground—dangling.

Balrock's massive hand clamped tight around his throat, lifting him like a doll. Nova's boots kicked at air, claws instinctively ready—but frozen.

Not by fear.

By force.

Balrock's grip wasn't just physical. It pressed down on reality itself.

Like gravity had turned sideways.

TIME ARCANA:CRONO SHIFT

"So," Balrock said, voice deep as an old bell. "You're the mutt causing all this noise."

His eyes burned brighter.

" UH..Weres all that confidence."

Nova snarled—blood trickling from the side of his mouth.

As he stared down at Balrock.