Fallen Chronicles

 - Imperial Capital.

Late at night, a dragon's roar awakens countless people of the Imperial Capital from their sleep, leaving them confused and dazed, unsure of what's happening.

But a few, like Charl, who's unusually at the Dragon Residence at this time, knew better. This minister held an urgent report, the top line mentioning the "Sealed City."

The Sealed City, Charl's financial stronghold, demanded his attention. He'd been informed immediately when chaos erupted in the city during the Blood Sacrifice.

Unfortunately, when the massive Miasma from the Blood Sacrifice turned into a dome, enveloping the Sealed City, all communications ceased. No information could get in or out.

Anxious, Charl rushed to the Dragon Residence at night, suspecting General Long, who had proposed reforms for the Sealed City at the great hall, might be behind this.

Then, a soul-stirring dragon's roar emanated from the Imperial Palace. Both General Long and Charl's expressions changed, sensing the Empress's disturbance was definitely related to the current situation in the Sealed City.

They hurried out, intending to rush to the Imperial Palace. The Empress, always so low-key for the past five hundred years, was making such a high-profile move today.

As if

she deliberately wanted everyone to know, she was about to do something big.

But just as they stepped out, they, like every citizen of the Imperial Capital at that moment, stopped and did the same thing.

They looked up, craned their necks, and gazed at the fiery red figure rising rapidly from the Imperial Palace, illuminating the night sky.

It was a...

Dragon.

A Red Dragon.

Its body as large as the Imperial Palace itself, its crimson wings lighting up the night of the Imperial Capital.

Underneath its wings, intense flames burned fiercely, the scorching heat dispelling the night's chill, waves of heat sweeping across the Imperial Capital. Had it not been carefully controlled, anywhere the wings passed would have turned into a sea of fire.

Clearly, the Imperial Palace could neither hold nor contain such a Red Dragon. This was a summoned creature of fire.

But soon, the Red Dragon lowered its majestic head, waiting for a woman in military uniform to step onto its back. Once she was aboard, the dragon raised its head again, letting out a deafening roar.

In the next moment, it soared into the sky, like a fiery meteor streaking across the heavens, carrying its master towards a certain direction, a certain city, a certain... person, approaching at an incredibly terrifying speed.

It took General Long and Charl a few seconds to recover from this unforgettable, shocking scene.

They quickly realized a fact that could shake the entire Dragon Nation.

'The Empress...'

'The Empress had actually left the Imperial Palace!?'

'Where was she going?'

General Long was the first to react. He glanced at Charl's report on the "Sealed City," then at the red trail left in the night sky by the dragon, heading towards...

The Sealed City!

General Long made a snap decision, directing his steps not towards the Imperial Palace but towards the Dragon Gate Army.

Urgent orders were issued from the Imperial Capital. All Dragon Gate forces near the Sealed City received the highest military command from General Long.

"Drop everything, immediately organize the troops, muster the forces, and head towards the Sealed City at full speed!"

...….

"Cough, cough, cough"

Roca awoke faintly from the ruins. His surroundings were the same, but strangely, many people were missing - the human young noble, the revolutionary demi-humans, and more importantly...

The memories before his fainting surged back, making Roca both angry and panicked.

'Where is my Forgotten Spirit!? Where did he go!?'

Fortunately...

Roca quickly looked up at the brown dome covering the night sky of the Sealed City, a symbol of the Blood Sacrifice. The surrounding chaos and flames indicated that the city was still in chaos. Waves of Miasma born from the chaos continued to rise, proving his Blood Sacrifice was still effective.

"That's... that's great!"

As long as the Blood Sacrifice continued, the Forgotten Spirit was still there. Roca didn't know what trick the nobleman had used to attract the Forgotten Spirit he had summoned with so much effort, but his survival meant the youth couldn't really take it away.

"In that case, once the Blood Sacrifice was complete, no matter what that nobleman did, the Forgotten Spirit would still belong to me!"

"No one!"

"No one can stop this grand, ancient blood..."

"Uh…"

Roca suddenly rubbed his eyes.

He Rubbed them again.

And even...

Slap!*

Roca harshly slapped himself, but the pain on his face confirmed he wasn't dreaming.

Then...

What was this Red Dragon hovering above the Sealed City, circling outside his Blood Sacrifice's dome?!!!

If that wasn't shocking enough.

Next...

The Red Dragon finally hovered silently in the air, and then, a fiery figure emerged, so striking under the night sky.

It was beyond visual impression. No matter how far one was, as long as they were within the Sealed City, they could see the woman descending from the Red Dragon.

Like the dragon's roar a moment ago, this was Nova's deliberate act. She never beat around the bush; she played her cards openly.

At the Imperial Palace, whether at the initial Dragon Council or the subsequent banquet, Nova always appeared lazy and unkempt, her messy hair barely touched. But now, it was different.

Her silky, fire-red hair, with an effect like curling waves, cascaded down her back. Her proud figure wrapped in a red uniform, standing erect mid-air, her ample chest partially covered in red scales, and her long legs accentuated by battle boots, exuding strength. And not to mention the blazing, shiny, real-burning dragon horns on her head.

Of course, the majority of people weren't admiring her beauty at this moment. Their attention was entirely captured by her identity, their minds blank.

"The Empress?!"

"Her Majesty?!!"

Thud, thud, thud!*

On the ground, Roca's eyes widened in terror. Just seeing her figure made him step back several times, even losing his balance and sitting down hard.

He had only fainted for a short while, right?

'How did the Empress arrive?'

"Wasn't she in deep sleep in the Imperial Palace for hundreds of years, never caring about the affairs of the Dragon Nation?"

"What happened!"

"What exactly happened during the time I was unconscious?"

….

'Run!'

'I must run quickly!'

'While the Blood Sacrifice still kept the Empress outside the Sealed City, even she couldn't break through the barrier of the Blood Sacrifice so easily, right?'

That was Roca's prayer.

Until he saw the Empress in the sky, raising her fist towards the Blood Sacrifice's dome.

….

Nova took a deep breath.

People in the current era, having never experienced such phenomena, were unaware of what was resisting Nova, preventing all outsiders from entering the Sealed City.

[The Miasma Death Zone]

When Miasma pollution peaks beyond an A-level, it undergoes a transformation from quantity to quality, forming what is known as the [Miasma Death Zone]

The Miasma Death Zone is divided into three levels: [Well], [Ring], and the highest level, [Abyss].

The current situation, with a brown dome covering a city of hundreds of thousands, though referred to as the Blood Sacrifice by Roca and the ancients, Nova knew its true name was — [Well] zone.

Once formed, everything within the [Well] zone becomes part of Miasma. Therefore, like an eggshell needed for hatching, the dome served as protection to prevent outsiders from interfering with the Miasma's consumption of the Sealed City.

However,

Whether it's a [Well] or even an [Abyss] zone reappearing, if her Master is inside, she would tear it apart.

'No one... nothing can stop me from finding My Lord'

Boom!*

Below, Roca and many others struggling within the [Well] zone in the Sealed City, witnessed their Empress striking the brown barrier with a punch.

A bright red light, like daylight, burst upon the brown barrier following her punch. From below, it seemed as though a small sun had appeared in the night sky.

Then, as the light faded...

 Crack... crackle, crack!*

First a single point, then like a spider web, cracks spread rapidly across the entire brown sky covering the Sealed City and, in the next second...

Snap!*

 The Well zone... shattered.

An entire Miasma Death Zone over the Sealed City, obliterated by a single punch from Nova.

But for the Dragon Lady, it seemed like a simple task. What really concerned and occupied her mind was what came next.

Not possessing exceptional perception as a Vanguard, Nova had to use a more straightforward method, scanning the entire Sealed City with her gaze.

Fortunately,

It didn't take long for her purple eyes to lock onto a very conspicuous shadow.

In an instant, the Empress's figure vanished from the sky and entered the Sealed City, arriving in front of Karl.

Her first words were simple.

Even ignoring how Karl came to be there, why he was in the Sealed City, what exactly had happened there, and why there was a Miasma Death Zone, Nova didn't care.

She was only concerned about one thing.

"Where is Master Ashen?"