Having finished with the spider—and her lunch—Vena resumed her journey toward the sky-piercing mountain.
Moving at speeds that most beings could not even fathom, she eventually came across what appeared to be a man-made house.
Cautiously, she approached and opened its door. Inside, she found what looked like a human being, covered in a cloak made of wood and leaves. This was strange—far too strange. From what Vena knew, humans were supposed to be gone. Even if they weren't, no ordinary human could survive in such a hostile environment.
The figure stirred, awakened by Vena's presence, and their eyes met.
"Ah, a visitor," the human said with a calm voice. "Please, make yourself at home. I don't have much to offer, though, so I apologize in advance."
"Who are you? And how have you survived in this place?" Vena asked, her tone sharp and direct.
"The creatures here don't seem to like salt for some reason. I've spread it all around my surroundings, covering a one-kilometer radius, just in case the bigger ones need to see it too," the man explained with a faint smile.
"You haven't answered my first question," Vena said coldly.
"You may call me Dart. Who am I? Just a survivor."
"The human race is supposed to be gone. Are there others like you here?" Vena asked.
"Gone, you say?" Dart raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure about that. From the way you worded it, it sounds like some great event happened, but I wouldn't know about it. I ended up here after unintentionally entering a crack in space. Whatever you're talking about must have happened after I got trapped."
If what Dart said was true, it could mean that some humans like him had been separated from the main group responsible for abandoning their biological forms, Vena thought.
Alternatively, there could be different variations of what is considered "the human race" across different worlds, with the Hex being the result of only one of those.
"Interesting," she murmured. "But I don't have time to ponder that right now. Do you know what lies at the top of that mountain?" she asked, pointing toward the colossal peak piercing the sky.
"Ah, yes," Dart replied. "There are many carvings about it, made by the barely-sentient creatures of this world. Their fear of the being at the summit must have been so profound that they etched warnings into stone for future generations. From what I know, it's the strongest creature in this world—the Dragon Emperor, Yezod."
-------------------------------------------------------
Dart gave Vena a brief history of Yezod. He was an ancient winged creature, older than the universe itself, who claimed this planet as his territory. Yezod typically slept at the mountain's peak, guarding countless treasures of unimaginable variety and value.
Satisfied with the information, Vena left Dart's house and resumed her journey.
As she climbed the mountain, the environment grew increasingly hostile. Thunderclouds began to gather, their presence intensifying with every step she took. Lightning tore through the sky, and thunderclaps shook the earth below, as if the mountain itself was warning her to turn back.
This mountain was so massive that stacking a hundred galaxies atop one another would not amount to even 10% of its height.
However, this was not a relevant problem for Vena, who could increase her speed at will.
After a relative time of exactly one minute, she reached its top.
Not too far from her location, she could see hills and mountains of gold and other artifacts that could only be described as heavenly treasures. It was an ocean of jewelries.
And at the center of this sea of gold was a creature laying down. The body was easily big enough to dwarf a hundred mountains. It had two wings, skin of pitch-black color, and hardened scales that gave an air of indestructibility.
The creature stirred, quickly sensing Vena's presence. Its sharp, purple eyes snapped open.
The clouds above the mountain thickened, swirling ominously as they crackled with raging purple lightning. The dragon's very presence was warping the weather of the entire world.
*TOOM*
The whole mountain quaked as the dragon stomped one of its massive feet.
"ROOOOOOAAAAARRRGGG"
The deafening roar echoed across the land, releasing a powerful aura of pure intimidation. Even creatures millions of kilometers away—beings completely unaware of Yezod's existence—were struck with a primal terror that shook them to their cores.
This was Yezod, the Dragon Emperor. The undisputed King of Malkhar.