The Sky Sovereign Nest
967 Words
The Sky Sovereign Mountains pierced the clouds like spears aimed at the heavens.
No roads led here.
No caravans passed through.
Only flying beasts ruled the skies.
Harold stood at the base of the highest peak, wind tearing violently against the cliffs. The Devourer Sigil Fragment rested sealed inside a spatial container at his waist. The Abyss Leviathan Core was secured.
Two ingredients down.
Three Sky Sovereign Feathers remaining.
Luke’s voice echoed calmly.
“Aerial apex-class. Faster than you. Territorial. And it hunts in three dimensions.”
Harold looked up into the endless sky.
“Good.”
A dragon-shaped shadow passed overhead.
Not the target.
Just a warning of what kind of creatures lived here.
Then—
A familiar voice called from behind.
“You really weren’t going to tell me?”
Harold didn’t turn immediately.
He knew that voice.
Lysandra.
He finally glanced back.
She stood there in battle attire—not noble dress. Light armor reinforced with dragon-scale plating. Her aura burned faint crimson-gold.
Behind her stood her butler at a distance, clearly unhappy.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Harold said evenly.
She crossed her arms.
“You said you’d pay me back.”
“This isn’t a shopping trip.”
“I know.”
She stepped forward.
“I’m not here for blood stones.”
The wind howled between them.
Luke hummed lightly.
“Interesting.”
Harold studied her aura.
It was stronger than before.
More refined.
“You’ve been training.”
She lifted her chin slightly.
“I don’t like being left behind.”
A pause.
Then she added quietly—
“And I don’t like watching you fight alone.”
Harold didn’t answer immediately.
The mountain trembled.
Above them—
A piercing screech split the sky.
The Sky Sovereign.
⸻
The Apex Descends
It was massive.
Wings spanning nearly thirty meters.
Feathers like silver blades reflecting sunlight.
Eyes sharp and calculating.
It did not roar wildly.
It observed.
Judged.
Then dove.
Harold moved instantly.
Golden aura erupted.
The Monkey King manifested partially behind him.
Lysandra didn’t hesitate.
Her Dragon Titan flared outward, crimson wings forming behind her as she launched upward to intercept.
The collision shook the mountain.
Claws met dragon projection.
Shockwaves blasted outward.
Harold used the opening.
He leapt from cliff to cliff, using afterimages to confuse the Sky Sovereign’s targeting pattern.
Luke spoke quickly.
“Its weakness isn’t physical. It’s momentum. Force it to overcommit.”
The beast screeched and spun mid-air with terrifying agility.
Faster than expected.
It slashed through two of Harold’s afterimages instantly and clipped his shoulder with a wing-blade.
Blood sprayed.
Lysandra roared in anger and unleashed a concentrated dragon-flame burst.
The Sky Sovereign twisted away mid-dive, avoiding direct impact.
Smart.
Very smart.
It wasn’t a mindless beast.
It was calculating threats.
It targeted Lysandra next.
Harold saw it immediately.
He slammed his staff into the cliffside.
Golden pillars shot upward, temporarily disrupting air currents.
The Sky Sovereign’s flight path faltered for half a second.
Lysandra seized it.
Her dragon projection bit down onto one wing.
The beast shrieked violently.
Harold moved.
Not upward.
Sideways.
He positioned himself at the beast’s blind angle and extended the staff.
Then—
He didn’t strike.
He hooked.
Using leverage and redirected force, he destabilized its aerial balance completely.
The Sky Sovereign plummeted.
The mountain shook as it crashed against a rocky outcrop.
But it wasn’t finished.
It launched upward again—injured, furious.
Its speed increased.
Desperation.
Luke’s voice sharpened.
“Now. Force overextension.”
Harold locked eyes with Lysandra mid-air.
No words needed.
She charged directly at the beast, intentionally reckless.
The Sky Sovereign took the bait.
It dove with killing intent.
At the last possible moment—
Lysandra veered sharply aside.
Harold appeared directly above the beast.
Golden aura condensed.
He brought the staff down—not in brute force—
But at the wing joint.
Precise.
Controlled.
Crack.
The wing shattered partially.
The beast spiraled downward violently.
This time—
It did not recover.
It collapsed against the mountain face.
Breathing heavily.
Defeated.
Harold landed beside it.
He didn’t kill it.
Instead, he extended his hand.
Golden energy brushed across the damaged wing.
Three pristine Sky Sovereign Feathers detached naturally.
The beast stared at him.
Then, slowly—
It lowered its head in acknowledgment.
Apex recognizes apex.
Harold stepped back.
The beast retreated into the clouds.
Alive.
But marked.
Lysandra landed beside him, breathing hard.
“You didn’t kill it.”
“No need.”
She looked at the feathers.
Then at him.
“You’re collecting monsters like trophies.”
He glanced at her faintly.
“I’m collecting doors.”
She didn’t understand fully.
But she didn’t ask.
⸻
Quiet Aftermath
As wind settled across the peak, Lysandra studied him carefully.
“You’re changing.”
“Everyone does.”
“No,” she said softly. “You’re getting… deeper.”
The abyssal mark on his chest flickered faintly beneath his shirt.
The Devourer Sigil Fragment pulsed once at his waist.
And deep inside—
The Whale Falcon’s sealed door glowed brighter.
Luke whispered quietly.
“All ingredients except blood stone requirement… secured.”
Harold looked toward the capital in the far distance.
“Two million blood stones.”
Lysandra tilted her head.
“How much?”
He didn’t answer.
She narrowed her eyes.
“…How much?”
He finally looked at her.
“Two million.”
Silence.
Then she burst out laughing.
“You really aim high.”
“That’s the minimum.”
She stared at him.
Then shook her head.
“My family can’t just hand you that.”
“I know.”
She stepped closer.
“But I can help you earn it.”
The wind carried her words between them.
For the first time—
This wasn’t debt.
This was partnership.
- Writer
