Chapter 118

***Allen***

I couldn't breathe. None of us could. We stood frozen, staring at Jane as though she were some spirit being, something beyond mortal understanding. The battlefield that had been a lifeless wasteland only moments ago was now changing before our eyes. The scorched ground softened into lush greenery, flowers blooming where bodies once fell. The very air hummed with an energy that sent shivers down my spine. "Allen," Kael muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "Are you... seeing this?" "Yeah..." I swallowed hard, trying to ground myself. "I see it." The land around us continued to shift, transforming into something breathtakingly beautiful. The rivers that had dried to dust during the war now shimmered with crystal-clear water. The sky, once a lifeless void, deepened into the purest shade of blue. But our eyes kept drifting back to Jane. She stood at the heart of it all, glowing with an otherworldly light, her golden hair floating around her as if caught in an invisible current. The wind carried her name through the air, whispered by forces beyond comprehension. But she just stood there, unmoving, watching us as much as we watched her. "Jane...?" Lyra finally dared to step forward, her voice hesitant. "Are you... are you okay?" Jane didn’t answer. Not immediately. Her radiant gaze flickered between us, then toward the sky, as if listening to something we couldn’t hear. Before we could contemplate what to do next, a commotion arose behind us. The sounds of approaching vehicles and hurried footsteps broke the uneasy silence. The newscasters had arrived, their cameras flashing as they rushed forward, their faces filled with eager desperation. "Blackstone has won! Blackstone..." One of them halted mid-sentence, his voice catching in his throat. His eyes darted across the scene, at the absence of Blackstone’s forces, at the alien beauty of the battlefield, at the powerful figures standing before him. He paled. "No… No, this isn’t right. Where are they?" Another reporter clutched her microphone, her hands shaking. "Then… who won?" That was when they truly saw us. Their gazes locked onto Jane, her transformation, her radiance. Onto me, the last heir of Drakora. They realized the truth. Dread seeped into their expressions as if they had wandered into a nightmare. And then, the dragons came. The sky darkened as the massive creatures descended. The air trembled with their arrival, their great wings sending gusts of wind rippling across the battlefield. The humans panicked, their instincts screaming at them to flee, but Allen’s human allies moved quickly, preventing them from running. "No one moves!" Lyra ordered, her voice commanding. "You will hear the truth!" The newscasters, trembling, had no choice but to comply. Jane stepped forward, her presence more commanding than ever. "For years, you have lived in ignorance," she said, her voice resonating through the air. "Your government fed you lies, told you that Blackstone was protecting you. But they were never your saviors. They were your oppressors." A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. The camera feeds were broadcasting everything live. Jane’s gaze swept over them. "You think we are different. That dragons are your enemy. But the truth is, we are one. Blackstone kept you in the dark. They made you fear what you didn’t understand." Her voice grew softer, yet it held an undeniable power. "But look around you. There is no more war. No more destruction. Blackstone is gone. And it was not they who brought peace. It was us." Silence stretched over the field before, slowly, applause broke through the crowd. It started small, hesitant, but then it grew. People began cheering. Clapping. Some even fell to their knees, overwhelmed by the realization of what had truly happened. Something changed. Jane flinched. She stumbled back slightly, her body trembling. Her golden glow intensified, flickering uncontrollably. I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was seeing. Everything we had known, everything we had fought for, had led to this moment—Jane standing at the center of a battlefield that no longer looked like one. The world itself had changed, reshaped by her power, yet I still didn’t understand what she had become. My mind raced. Jane had always been strong, but this? This was something beyond strength. She wasn’t just powerful—she was something else entirely. Her golden glow, the way the air itself bent around her, the way the battlefield responded to her presence... it was as if the world recognized her as its new ruler. But was she still Jane? I searched her face for familiarity, but her expression was unreadable. Was she still the woman I loved, or had the power consumed her? The thought twisted my stomach. I wanted to reach for her, to say something, to bring her back if she was slipping away. But what if I was too late? Then, I saw it, the faint shimmer of scales crawling up her arms. My blood ran cold. Jane wasn’t just different. She was changing. And I had no idea if I could stop it Golden scales crawled up her arms, faint at first but spreading rapidly. Her nails sharpened, glinting under the light like talons. Her pupils narrowed into slits, and a tremor ran through the earth beneath our feet. “Jane?” I stepped forward, heart pounding. “What’s happening?” She didn’t answer. Then the sky darkened. A shadow loomed overhead. Something was coming. Then, it landed. The ground shook violently as a massive, terrifying dragon touched down in the middle of the battlefield. Its scales were dark and unnatural, its eyes gleaming with a twisted light. It wasn’t just any dragon. It was the cloned dragon. Jane turned toward it, her golden glow pulsing as if reacting to its presence. We all stood frozen, staring at the creature before us.