Chapter 53: The Heart Behind the Dragon's Fury

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Empty Void shook once more.

Golden flames surged across infinity.

Chronofractures spread through countless timelines.

Worldscars appeared across distant Reality Weaves.

Genesis Echoes rippled throughout the Existence Lattice.

Yet despite the overwhelming destruction-

Neither combatant paid attention.

Because the battle had never truly been about power.

It had never been about victory.

And it had certainly never been about proving who was stronger.

The strongest dragon in existence already knew she couldn’t defeat Vlox.

The creator of the Omniverse already knew Astraith couldn’t defeat him.

Neither cared.

Because the battle was about something else.

Something far more dangerous.

Emotion.

CRAAAAASH!

Astraith’s fist collided against Vlox’s palm.

The resulting shockwave tore through higher existence.

Void Horizons trembled.

Origin Threads vibrated.

The Empty Void itself groaned beneath the pressure.

Golden light erupted endlessly.

The dragon pushed forward.

Harder.

Harder.

Harder.

Yet Vlox remained exactly where he stood.

Unmoving.

Unshaken.

Silent.

And that silence was beginning to annoy Astraith more than anything else.

The dragon’s golden eyes narrowed.

“Say something.”

Vlox looked at her.

Then blinked.

“…Something.”

Silence.

The Empty Void became strangely quiet.

Astraith stared.

Vlox stared back.

For perhaps three entire seconds-

Neither moved.

Then-

BOOOOOOOM!

The dragon’s aura exploded.

Several Reality Weaves folded inward.

A distant Chronostream shattered.

Golden flames surged across infinity.

“VLOX!”

“What?”

“That doesn’t count!”

“I technically said something.”

The dragon looked genuinely offended.

The creator of the Omniverse somehow managed to make things worse without even trying.

A remarkable talent.

One he possessed in terrifying abundance.

The Empty Void trembled.

Astraith vanished.

The concept of distance disappeared.

One moment she stood before him.

The next-

CRAAAAASH!

Another punch collided against his palm.

The impact generated a massive Genesis Echo.

The resulting shockwave spread endlessly.

Worldscars multiplied.

Reality Weaves shook violently.

Yet Vlox simply sighed.

The dragon immediately became more annoyed.

“Stop sighing.”

“I wasn’t aware sighing was illegal.”

“It should be.”

“…”

The creator of the Omniverse decided remaining silent was probably safer.

Unfortunately-

That only made Astraith angrier.

Golden flames erupted around her body.

The Empty Void became brighter.

Brighter.

Brighter.

Until countless Origin Threads became visible throughout infinity.

Ancient structures stretched endlessly across existence.

Threads from which realities were born.

Foundations supporting worlds.

The roots of countless universes.

Normally invisible.

Now completely exposed by Astraith’s overwhelming aura.

The dragon attacked again.

And again.

And again.

Every punch carried enough force to devastate realities.

Every kick generated Chronofractures.

Every collision sent Genesis Echoes rippling across higher existence.

The battle escalated continuously.

Yet Vlox never attacked.

Not once.

He blocked.

Dodged.

Deflected.

But never counterattacked.

At first Astraith ignored it.

Then she noticed.

Then she became annoyed by it.

Then she became extremely annoyed by it.

Finally-

She stopped.

The Empty Void fell silent.

Golden energy slowly swirled around her.

Vlox lowered his hand.

For several moments-

Neither spoke.

Then Astraith pointed directly at him.

“You aren’t fighting.”

“I am.”

“No.”

The answer came instantly.

The dragon crossed her arms.

Silver hair drifted through the golden storm surrounding her.

“You aren’t taking this seriously.”

Vlox remained silent.

A dangerous decision.

The dragon immediately interpreted that silence as confirmation.

“I knew it.”

Astraith’s eyes narrowed.

“Knew what?”

Astraith tightened her fist, she stared directly at Vlox, After a brief silence, she finally said,

“You think this is a joke.”

“No.”

“You do.”

Her jaw tightened.

“No.”

“You absolutely do.”

The air between them grew heavy.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Vlox said.

“…A little.”

Silence.

“A little?”

“I said a little.”

Her expression hardened.

The Empty Void exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

A nearby Reality Weave nearly folded in half.

Several Origin Threads fled.

Actually fled.

Vlox watched them leave.

Then blinked.

“…I didn’t know they could do that.”

“STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT!”

The dragon pointed at him accusingly.

The creator of the Omniverse rubbed his forehead.

Again.

At this point-

His forehead deserved recognition for enduring so much abuse.

The dragon stared at him.

Then looked away.

Then stared again.

Then looked away again.

Vlox noticed immediately.

“Astraith.”

“No.”

The answer came automatically.

Almost by instinct.

“Astraith.”

“No.”

“Astraith.”

“…No.”

The response was slightly weaker this time.

Vlox raised an eyebrow.

The dragon noticed.

And immediately looked elsewhere.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

For the first time since the battle began-

Vlox realized something.

The dragon’s attacks were becoming weaker.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

The anger was fading.

Something else was taking its place.

Something she had been hiding from the beginning.

Something much harder to confront.

Fear.

The realization caused his expression to soften.

Unfortunately-

Astraith noticed.

The dragon immediately became defensive.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“You looked at me.”

“I always look at you.”

“That sounded weird.”

“…”

“…”

For perhaps the first time in existence-

Vlox wished he could rewind a conversation.

The dragon’s face turned slightly red.

Then she became annoyed about being embarrassed.

Then she became annoyed about being annoyed.

The result was predictable.

BOOOOOOOM!

Golden flames erupted again.

The Empty Void shook.

Reality Weaves trembled.

Origin Threads scattered.

Vlox sighed internally.

This was becoming complicated.

Not because of the battle.

The battle itself was easy.

The emotions behind it were not.

The dragon charged again.

CRAAAAASH!

Another collision erupted.

Another Genesis Echo spread across existence.

Another shockwave tore through higher reality.

Yet this time-

Something felt different.

Astraith wasn’t looking at his hand.

She wasn’t looking at his defenses.

She wasn’t looking at the battle.

She was looking directly into his eyes.

The realization made Vlox pause.

For the briefest moment-

Their gazes met.

And suddenly-

He understood.

The dragon wasn’t asking him to fight.

She wasn’t asking him to defend himself.

She wasn’t even asking him to take the battle seriously.

She wanted him to understand.

The anger.

The fear.

The frustration.

Everything she had kept buried for years.

The dragon attacked again.

But this time-

Her voice emerged alongside the strike.

“Do you know what it’s like?”

CRAAAAASH!

The Empty Void trembled.

Vlox remained silent.

Astraith continued.

“Do you know what it’s like waiting?”

Another attack.

BOOOOOOOM!

Reality Weaves shook violently.

“Do you know what it’s like wondering whether you’ll come back?”

CRAAAAASH!

A massive Genesis Echo erupted.

The Existence Lattice trembled.

The dragon’s voice became quieter.

Softer.

Yet somehow-

More painful.

“Do you know what it’s like watching years pass alone?”

Another strike.

“Decades?”

Another strike.

“Centuries?”

Another strike.

Each question struck harder than the attacks themselves.

Because Vlox didn’t have an answer.

Not really.

The dragon lowered her head slightly.

Golden flames flickered around her body.

For the first time-

The anger disappeared completely.

Only hurt remained.

“When you leave…”

Her voice became quieter.

The Empty Void gradually became silent.

The battle slowed.

The destruction faded.

Even the Genesis Echoes seemed more distant.

Astraith clenched her fists.

“I tell myself you’ll come back.”

The dragon laughed softly.

A sad laugh.

One that didn’t belong to her.

“I tell myself that every single time.”

Silence.

The Empty Void listened.

Reality listened.

Existence listened.

Everything became still.

Then Astraith looked up.

Golden eyes slightly trembling.

“And you always do.”

Vlox remained silent.

The dragon smiled weakly.

“But that doesn’t stop me from being afraid.”

The words lingered.

Heavy.

Painful.

Honest.

For the first time since the battle began-

No one moved.

No one attacked.

No one spoke.

The Empty Void remained completely silent.

Then Astraith finally asked the question she had been avoiding.

The question hidden beneath every attack.

Every argument.

Every complaint.

Every fear.

“What happens if one day you don’t?”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The Existence Lattice stopped trembling.

The Reality Weaves became still.

The Origin Threads drifted quietly through infinity.

Even the Void Horizons seemed frozen.

Vlox looked at her.

The dragon looked back.

Waiting.

Not for an answer.

For honesty.

The creator of the Omniverse slowly closed his eyes.

For the first time since the battle began-

The smile disappeared from his face.

Completely.

When his eyes opened again-

They were calm.

Ancient.

Serious.

The atmosphere changed.

The Empty Void itself seemed to notice.

Astraith froze.

Because she immediately understood.

Vlox was finally taking this seriously.

“Astraith.”

His voice echoed softly across infinity.

The dragon didn’t respond.

For once-

She couldn’t.

The creator of the Omniverse took a step forward.

Then another.

Then another.

Until only a few steps separated them.

The Empty Void remained silent.

No explosions.

No shockwaves.

No Genesis Echoes.

No destruction.

Just silence.

And two figures standing within infinity.

Then Vlox spoke.

“Astraith…”

The dragon’s heart tightened.

Something about his voice felt different.

He wasn’t speaking as the Creator.

He wasn’t speaking as the strongest being in existence.

He was speaking as Vlox.

And somehow-

That felt far more dangerous.

The silence stretched.

The Empty Void waited.

Astraith waited.

Existence waited.

Then Vlox finally raised his hand.

Not to attack.

Not to defend.

Simply raising it between them.

And for the first time since the battle began-

The dragon felt nervous.

Because she suddenly realized something.

The next words were going to change everything.

And she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear them.

Hello readers,

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