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Before the Howling Abyss appeared a surging sea of fire, dyeing the entire horizon orange and turning the shadow dragons and shadow spirits transparent.

These shadow creatures let out cries of agony, writhing painfully under the blazing light of the fire, emitting a sizzling sound. Mist continuously rose from their bodies, making them appear even more ephemeral.

Under this raging Cleansing Flame, all shadows had nowhere to hide.

"Mortifer—"

"If you still want to stay a coward, I will destroy everything you hold dear!"

Cassius laughed maniacally, suddenly flapping his wings, transforming into a massive red figure that darted across the sky above Dragons Shadow City.

Wherever the red dragon flew, there was the burning fire of chaos.

As he flapped his wings, the furious, blood-tinged hurricane swept across the city, fueling the blaze.

Half of the city looked like it had plunged into the apocalypse, with ancient buildings engulfed in flames, every house filled with screams of despair, curses, and cries of agony.

Apart from humans, drow, and purely shadow creatures, the primary inhabitants of Dragons Shadow City were drow elves who possessed shadow dragon bloodlines.

These elves, caught between shadow creatures and ordinary beings, were known as "Darkshadow Elves." Over the centuries, these elves had long submitted to the rule of the shadow dragons. They were proficient in shadow magic and were loyal followers under Mortifer’s rule, often becoming accomplices in the shadow dragons’ invasions of the surface world.

"No, I don’t want to die—"

"The fire, it’s coming!"

"Lord Mortifer, my supreme ancestor, save us!"

"Damn it! None of it works! No spell is effective!"

"By Lolth... is this the judgment from the gods?"

Under the effect of the Breath of Chaos, the shadow Weave had become chaotic. Even the most basic spell models collapsed instantly. Before they could even cast their shadow spells, they were swallowed by the encroaching Cleansing Fire.

Watching the fire consume everything in the distance, Ferriton could not help but laugh.

"Hahaha! Those shadow bastards, they’re finally paying the price!"

"Better they all burn to death!"

Ferriton used to be a somewhat renowned mercenary in the Underdark, but during one of Dragons Shadow City’s expansions, his lover and children had all been turned into undead shadows. Since then, his only goal had been to destroy Dragons Shadow City and kill the shadow dragon.

His heart was filled with unrelenting hatred toward Mortifer.

But Danyal looked solemnly into the distance, murmuring, "That dragon seems intent on destroying everything."

Ferriton’s smile froze, and the battle-hardened warrior quickly asked, "Can’t we use magic to get out of here? Like before, where you would take me through the Shadow Plane?"

Danyal’s face tensed, and he shook his head.

"You’re not a caster, so you probably can’t feel it—the Weave here has turned to utter chaos, as if we’ve fallen into the Sea of Chaos. At least, I can’t cast any spells in this condition."

Ferriton’s face turned pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead, though whether from the spreading heat or extreme fear was uncertain.

He asked weakly, "Can we contact that dragon? The enemy of our enemy is a friend. We are also rebels..."

Suddenly, a terrifying fluctuation spread.

The sky around them darkened abruptly. Ferriton and Danyal quickly looked up.

Ferriton’s face filled with terror, as if he was remembering the night when everyone around him had been turned into undead shadows.

"That..."

"It’s Mortifer. He’s here."

Danyal murmured softly.

Half the sky began shifting into the Shadowfell—a deep, silent darkness full of monotonous black and white.

Twisted, gnarled branches appeared in Dragons Shadow City, howling shadow spirits emerged in the alleys, and the sky became shrouded in endless shadow, like a pitch-black dome, with distant, indistinct black mountains beyond.

Dragons Shadow City already lay at the boundary between the Material Plane and the Shadow Plane. By night, it often fell into the Shadowfell.

For centuries, the shadow dragon had been pushing the city further into the Shadow Plane using undead shadows, and now it seemed he was using all his power to descend his true domain over Dragons Shadow City.

Thousands of shadows rose into the sky, forming a swirling vortex nearly a hundred meters in diameter over the city.

With a long howl, a shadow dragon with blackened scales like embers and wings made of translucent matter appeared in the center of the vortex.

This was "Voice of Night" Mortifer, the shadow nightmare that had once left Cassius in fear—the supreme ruler of this city.

"Mortifer, rat hiding in the shadows, you’ve finally decided to come out."

"If you still refuse to face me—"

"Everything you’ve built over the centuries will be reduced to ashes."

Cassius looked down from above at the shadow dragon.

The once unbeatable foe now seemed like nothing more than a poisonous black bat, feeble and small compared to the current him.

The shadow dragon’s pale, gray eyes seemed to burn with ghostly fire, full of resentment, anger—and disbelief.

The young red dragon, once utterly powerless before him, had grown into a thirty-meter-long monster, as mighty as the most arrogant of ancient red dragons. Such rapid growth was unheard of even among the legendary dragon breeds.

Mortifer let out a guttural growl. "How is this possible—"

"It has only been a few short years. How did you gain such power?! Even Tiamat’s Chosen could not receive such blessings!"

As a black dragon of lowly status—barely more esteemed than white dragons—he had been unable to resist the allure of power and thus pledged himself to the Shadowfell, becoming an immortal shadow dragon.

Even then, it had taken him centuries to reach his current state.

He couldn’t believe, let alone accept, that this red dragon had surpassed him in just a few years, rendering his centuries of accumulation worthless.

Cassius sneered, flapping his wings and summoning a gale that swept across the ground.

"My power doesn’t come from that old relic."

"And crushing a pathetic rat like you is more than enough."

The pale, gray eyes of Mortifer once again ignited with ghostly green flames, full of jealousy and malice. He let out a low, menacing roar:

"You shall become the mightiest shadow under my control!"

"And I—I shall prove my power to Her Majesty the Dragon Queen and become Her new favorite!"

In the next instant, the shadow dragon spread his spirit-like translucent wings, stretching his thin neck skyward and letting out a shrill screech—a sound like the pained cries of countless souls being turned into undead shadows, the very embodiment of the fear of death.

The sound seemed to come from an eternal darkness, mixed with the groans of thousands of undead shadows, embodying the shadow dragon’s infinite hatred for light and life, as well as boundless greed.

A unique ninth-circle spell of the shadow dragon.

—[Mortifer’s Descent of Shadow]

The pitch-black dome above began to descend.

Distant shadowy mountains drew nearer, like a cage encircling the world.

Tens of thousands of shadow creatures howled, surging like tides, revealing their twisted, black mist forms.

Mortifer himself transformed into an enormous shadow, merging his body with the sky above, controlling this fearsome domain within the darkness.