The wind howled among the enormous trees over 300 meters tall that marked the boundary between the possible and the impossible.
Here, at the edge of the Diamond ring forest, the air itself seemed charged with a different energy, denser, more ancient.
Sunlight refracted into millions of fragments as it passed through the enormous crystalline mountain that rose like a silent guardian between two worlds: the Platinum ring that the strongest humans could traverse, and the Diamond ring, where only dragons reigned without dispute.
Inside the mountain lay the ring, one of the 10 he needed.
Three rings gleamed on his left hand, each emitting a distinct radiance. The first was the original ring from the center of Yano, extracted from the first seed. The other two, one of aquamarine crystal and another of twisted metal that seemed to trap currents of air, were trophies from past victories against young dragons, guardians of mana arteries similar to this one.
The Dragon Tree, an impossible creature that guarded the entrance to the crystal mountain, rose like a vegetal nightmare a hundred meters tall.
It was the Guardian of Yano's Central Point, protector of one of the seven mana arteries where the internal distribution icosahedron touched the surface.
It wasn't a simple tree shaped like a dragon, but a living nexus, a central point from which the mountain guardian exercised its dominion. Twisted branches extended like gigantic arteries, each delineating a draconian feature composed entirely of living wood and leaves sharp as razors.
From the exposed roots constantly emerged the guardian's servants:
Bark Knights, humanoid warriors formed of wood harder than iron, wielding swords of vegetal obsidian. Dark hollows in their "faces" emitted a greenish glow, the dragon's will animating these constructions without minds of their own.
At the center of this vegetal maelstrom, Drag moved with the confidence and agility of someone who has danced with death too many times to fear it. His movements were precise, calculated after decades of facing beasts much more powerful than himself.
"Twenty-one attempts," he murmured to himself as his eyes evaluated the Dragon Tree's attack pattern. "And each time your forest grows more impressive. I almost feel flattered by the effort."
With a fluid movement, Drag activated his Earth Qilin. His legs fused, elongating and filling with scales, while crystalline horns sprouted from his temples, shimmering with pure elemental power. The stone beneath his hooves reverberated, responding to his will.
Simultaneously, the three rings on his left hand began to glow with increasing intensity.
The first, forged with the primordial metal of the original seed, emitted a pulse of white light.
The second, wrenched from the Water Dragon after a three-day battle in the depths of a great lake, shone with a deep blue that evoked the abyssal trenches.
The third, trophy of his victory against the Wind Dragon, seemed to contain a miniature hurricane, constantly spinning within its crystalline structure.
Drag channeled the power of the second ring, and the air around him lost its moisture. With a gesture, he manipulated this energy toward the Bark Knights advancing toward him, drying their bodies until each of their movements crackled with desiccation.
"Let's see how well your toys move when they're thirsty," he smiled, as his Azure Dragon responded to his call.
The transformation of his arms was instantaneous, bluish scales covering his skin while his fingers elongated into claws that gleamed with a blue radiance.
With a roar that rivaled the dragon's own, Drag launched himself against the Knights. He didn't fight like a duelist, nor like a soldier; he moved like a force of nature.
The Dragon Tree perceived the threat and responded. It inhaled deeply, its wooden chest expanding before releasing concentrated jets of sap that melted stone on contact.
Drag activated the third ring, and the wind around him violently swirled, forming a cyclonic shield that deflected the projectiles.
In response, the Dragon Tree deployed its most lethal card. From its central trunk emerged a figure that made even Drag momentarily pause: an Amber Knight, three times larger than the Bark ones, its body formed not of simple wood but of fossilized resin that shone with the dragon's concentrated power.
In its hands, it wielded a halberd whose blade was a petrified dragon fang; powerful enough to cleave even the scales of a Platinum tamer.
"Oh, this is new," murmured Drag, all mockery leaving his voice as he evaluated this new opponent. "Finally something interesting."
The Amber Knight advanced with surprising speed for its size, its halberd tracing a deadly arc that would have decapitated the King if not for centuries of refined instincts. Drag ducked under the attack, rolling forward and inside the colossus's reach, where its size played against it.
His blue claws struck with precision against the giant's joints, seeking weak points in the fossilized resin. To his surprise, the amber resisted, barely scratching.
"Interesting," Drag smiled, genuinely impressed while dodging a descending punch that fractured the ground. "This will take a long time."
With a fluid movement, Drag simultaneously activated all three rings. The combined power made the light around him distort, adding 200% to all his capabilities.
His Earth Qilin manifested completely, covering his lower half with living armor, while his Azure Dragon enveloped his arms and torso in blue scales. The fusion of elements created a hybrid appearance, neither fully dragon nor qilin, but something uniquely powerful.
The Dragon Tree roared, this time emitting a sound that shook the mountain itself. From the depths of the surrounding forest emerged more wooden creatures.
Drag extended his dragonized arm, channeling his own vegetal energy. Where the dragon's breath created aggressive and lethal trees, Drag's Azure Dragon commanded wood with precision. The roots at the feet of the soldiers began to burrow, responding to a different will, fighting against the dragon's control.
It was a battle of domains, two similar powers confronted in a duel of wills.
The dragon, irritated by the interference, released its breath over an enormous area. A cloud of green energy erupted from its jaws, floating like living mist toward Drag.
Drag covered himself. Immediately, small sprouts began to form on his coat, trying to root themselves in his flesh. Each seedling pulsed with the dragon's essence, seeking to transform him into another servant.
With a gesture of annoyance, Drag tore off the incipient plants and activated the wind ring. The air around him purified instantly, neutralizing the residual effects of the draconic breath.
"Always the same trick," he commented, standing up straight. "I expected something more creative after almost a year."
The guardian's entire army, summoned to stop a single man.
Drag inhaled deeply, focusing on the sensation of the rings against his skin. With each visit, with each attempt, he had learned more about the dragon's defenses, cataloging weaknesses, observing patterns.
"This time," he murmured, more to himself than to the guardian who couldn't hear him, "this time will be different."
From his position, he could see the entrance to the crystalline cavern, where the third minor ring... the fourth ring that would fall into his power awaited.
Inside, somewhere in the depths, would be the next artifact he needed: not for glory, not for power, but out of desperate necessity.
Time was running out. And without the seven rings, everything, his kingdom, his people, perhaps the world itself, would be lost.
With a cry that contained decades of unbreakable determination, Drag launched himself against the arboreal army, his fused beasts shining like a beacon of impossible defiance against the power of a dragon.
The battle for the fourth ring had begun.