(Within the endless void, Leo’s POV)
Moltherak came charging into the void with a frown etched deeply on his face, as the smooth, merciless slope of the endless expanse attempted to drag even his massive form forward, the fourth dimension recoiling violently at his intrusion while ancient pressure radiated from his scales and forced reality itself to bend around him instead.
"THE BOY IS UNDER MY PROTECTION!"
He declared, as his golden eyes locked onto Leo’s drifting figure, the words carrying authority rather than sound, which seemed to enrage the Void as its silent pull intensified in direct response to his defiance.
*FSSHH*
The Void strained harder, the entry tear behind Moltherak threatening to flicker and collapse as invisible forces tried to force him to turn back, yet he did not yield even a fraction, his claws slicing directly into the fabric of space as if it were something tangible rather than an untouchable dimension.
*FSSHH*
*CRASH*
Despite the danger and the void’s resistance, Moltherak forced his aura to slam outward in an absolute declaration of ownership, flooding the surrounding expanse with a presence so ancient and dominant that even the fourth dimension hesitated, its featureless smoothness rippling as though struck by a sudden, violent storm.
*BOOM*
*Step*
*Step*
Little by little, Moltherak surged forward, his movements patient and measured, until his aura wrapped around Leo’s body and anchored him firmly, at which point he turned and began to flee instead, dragging Leo back against the merciless slope.
*FSHHHHH!*
*TREMBLE*
The realm trembled as the Void resisted.
For a fleeting moment, its slope steepened further, and Leo felt the loneliness claw at him one final time, whispering that this rescue was an illusion, that nothing truly existed beyond this place, that letting go would be easier.
However, before he could believe those sweet lies, Moltherak shattered the sensation with a roar, a dragon’s call that tore through all four dimensions before reaching him.
"RAAAWWWRRR"
*Thrum*
Leo’s eyes widened in acknowledgement, as he felt his identity return to him in a sudden jolt, as although he had started to forget, there was something primal in that roar, something ancient and grounding, something that pierced straight through his wavering mind, that reminded him of who he was, and that he had Dragon in his blood.
*KABOOM*
At that very moment, thankfully for him, the tear detonated outward as Moltherak dragged him backward through it, the fourth dimension screaming in absolute silence as it was denied its prey, as he made it back to the three dimensional world instead.
*CRASH*
The colors returned in a violent rush as he slammed onto solid stone and the spatial tear sealed behind him.
"We are back..."
Moltherak said, as from the texture of the stone beneath him he could sense that they were back on the floating island.... Back inside the Stilled World.
However, the moment he realized that they were back, the aura shield that had protected him until now shattered, the impact driving every last breath from his lungs, as his body folded in on itself on instinct, while his fingers clawed weakly at the surface beneath him like someone who had nearly forgotten what solidity felt like.
Stone.
Cold.
Real.
Those sensations crashed into him all at once, overwhelming in their simplicity, yet unbelievably complex nonetheless, as his chest convulsed violently while he coughed and gasped, his vision swimming as the echo of the void still clung to the edges of his thoughts, refusing to release him entirely despite having been torn away from it.
*Tremble*
*Shiver*
His limbs trembled uncontrollably as he curled tighter, pressing his forehead against the ground as if anchoring himself through contact alone, because even now, even here, part of his mind insisted that this too was a lie, another illusion waiting to dissolve, as despite his best efforts to brush the sensation off, the loneliness still lingered.
Thankfully, it wasn’t as loud as before.
Not as suffocating either, but present nonetheless, like a shadow that had memorized the shape of his soul and refused to leave quietly, whispering that the silence would return the moment he closed his eyes.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, I could have died...."
Leo muttered, as he forced his breathing to slow.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Each breath felt stolen, dragged from somewhere deep and reluctant, as though his body had not yet accepted that survival was real and not merely a delayed sentence.
As above him, a massive presence loomed.
Moltherak stood there for several long seconds, his towering shadow swallowing Leo whole as his golden eyes studied the trembling figure on the stone, not with anger, not with relief, but with a deep, quiet disappointment that cut far sharper than any reprimand ever could.
Leo did not look up.
He could not.
His entire focus remained fixed on fighting the residual pull of the void, on resisting the temptation to let his thoughts drift back into that smooth, endless nothing where effort ceased to matter and loneliness reigned absolute.
As after observing him for a while, Moltherak turned away.
His heavy steps echoing across the floating island as he walked back toward the central chamber, wings folding slowly against his sides, as he ensured that the sound of his retreat was deliberate and unhurried, as though he knew that nothing he said now would help more than the silence he left behind.
*Tremble*
*Shiver*
Leo remained where he was.
Alone.
Curled against the cold stone.
Shaking.
As minutes passed first, then hours.
Time crawled forward in fragments as Leo lay there, fighting wave after wave of intrusive emptiness, as he gripped the ground tight whenever memories of smoothness and endless slope tried to resurface, as he reminded himself again and again that the stone beneath him was real, that the sky above him existed, that meaning still had weight.
As a full 24 hours later, only when the trembling finally began to fade, long after the echoes of Moltherak’s footsteps had vanished, did Leo manage to unclench his fingers from the island’s surface, the imprint of his grip still etched faintly into the stone and stand back up, as he dusted himself off and walked towards the central chamber to greet Moltherak, with his head once again raised high.