The wind howled around Kael'thir as he soared through the open sky, his wings cutting through the clouds with ease.
But this time, it wasn't just the thrill of flight that filled him.
It was something more.
Something new.
The mana from the fallen warrior still pulsed within him, burning like a second heartbeat.
But unlike the beasts he'd devoured, this mana carried more than just raw energy.
It carried memories.
Fragments of knowledge.
Echoes of power long buried within the figure's soul.
Kael'thir could feel it, whispering at the edges of his mind, like distant voices carried on the wind.
Not words.
Not clear thoughts.
But instincts that didn't belong to him—yet felt as though they'd always been there.
Sword techniques he had never seen.
Footwork patterns designed for battles he had never fought.
And something deeper.
A faint, lingering connection to a power beyond mana itself.
Kael'thir's wings faltered for a brief moment as the sensations surged through him.
His mind burned with flashes of images—realms layered atop one another, cities floating amidst stars, gods carved from light and shadow.
It was overwhelming.
Infuriating.
He was a dragon, not a fragile creature plagued by the ghosts of the past.
His body was meant for power, not for drowning in the remnants of some lesser being's memories.
Kael'thir roared, shaking the skies with his fury, trying to silence the echoes.
But they remained.
Not to torment him.
Not to distract.
But to teach.
Because within those memories was a glimpse of something he'd felt before—
Space.
And something even greater—
Time.
Kael'thir landed hard atop a jagged cliff, his claws digging into the stone as he tried to center himself.
The power inside him wasn't settling like mana usually did.
It was fighting him.
Or rather—
It was waiting for him to understand.
Kael'thir closed his eyes, focusing inward.
Letting the echoes flow.
And for the first time—
He didn't resist.
The shift was immediate.
His mind expanded, not just within his body but beyond it.
He could feel the space around him—the distance between points, the fabric of reality stretched thin in certain places.
He could sense how fragile it truly was.
Like a thin sheet of glass, ready to shatter if pressed just right.
And within that space—
Time pulsed, not as a constant flow but as something fluid, something that could bend and twist under the right pressure.
Kael'thir's eyes snapped open, glowing with a deeper crimson now, tinged with faint streaks of violet.
He lifted a claw, focusing on a distant rock at the edge of the cliff.
And he willed it to move.
Not with strength.
Not with force.
But by bending the space between him and it.
For a brief second—
The air distorted.
The space rippled like water disturbed by a falling stone.
And the rock shifted.
Not because he touched it.
But because the space it occupied was no longer the same.
Kael'thir stepped back, his heart pounding.
The realization hit him harder than any blow he'd ever taken.
This wasn't just mana.
This was something else.
Something greater.
The faint distortions he'd felt during his previous evolutions—
They weren't accidents.
They were the first signs of his true nature.
Not just a dragon.
Not just a predator.
But a being connected to the very fabric of reality.
Space.
Time.
And he was only just beginning to scratch the surface.
Kael'thir spread his wings again, feeling the wind respond not just to his physical form but to the presence of his will.
He wasn't bound by the same rules as the creatures below anymore.
The sky wasn't his limit.
It was just another threshold to break.
The world was vast.
Realms stacked upon realms, hidden from each other by veils of space and time.
And he would tear through all of them.
Not just to conquer.
Not just to devour.
But to understand what he was truly capable of.
Kael'thir launched himself into the air, flying higher than he ever had before, his mind racing with possibilities.
He wasn't just hunting for mana anymore.
He was hunting for answers.
For beings that could challenge him.
For powers that could force him to grow.
The gods themselves might sit atop their thrones, thinking they were untouchable.
But Kael'thir would find them.
And when he did—
He would remind them that even gods could be devoured.
As he flew eastward, following the faint pull of something ancient in the distance, Kael'thir felt the fox's presence once again.
She was still following.
Still watching.
But for the first time—
She wasn't just a silent observer.
He could feel her mana shifting.
Changing.
Awakening.
Kael'thir grinned, his fangs glinting in the fading light.
The world was changing.
And he was the reason why.
The hunt continued.
And soon—
It would lead him to his next challenge.