Chapter 6: The Broken Chains, The Rising King

The world trembled.

Above the Sacred Bloom Grove, the sky turned a strange color — half night, half burning gold — as Arjun faced Lord Raven.

The masked assassin floated a few meters above the ground, dark robes billowing, surrounded by black mist.

Arjun, wings flared wide, radiated pure golden light, feathers humming with raw energy.

One was the terror of the underworld. The other was the rising monarch of the skies.

Both knew — Only one would leave this place alive.

---

The First Strike

Lord Raven moved first.

With a flick of his hand, dozens of shadow blades materialized midair, sharp enough to split spirit stones.

They shot toward Arjun like a rain of death.

Arjun beat his wings once.

A blast of golden wind tore through the blades, shattering them into harmless sparks.

Before the pieces even fell, Arjun charged.

He flew low, fast, claws extended.

Lord Raven smirked and raised his hand again — black chains surged from the earth, trying to bind Arjun's wings.

But Arjun twisted mid-flight, a maneuver impossible for a normal eagle, and slashed the chains apart with a strike of pure wind energy.

He closed the distance in a heartbeat.

Talons clashed against a shield of darkness.

A shockwave erupted.

The trees nearby exploded into splinters. The spirit flowers were ripped from the ground, petals scattering like a storm.

The force of the impact hurled both fighters backward.

---

Awakening

The girl — still lying on the glowing lotus — gasped.

Her eyelashes fluttered.

The jade pendant around her neck blazed even brighter, responding to Arjun's fierce will.

"Who...?"

"Where am I...?"

Her vision was blurry, but she could see a golden figure battling a monster in black.

A familiar warmth touched her heart.

Tears welled up, though she didn’t know why.

Somehow, deep down, she knew —

That eagle was protecting her.

---

Meanwhile, Arjun felt something inside him snap.

A second flood of power poured through his blood, richer and more ancient than anything he had ever touched before.

His body burned — feathers melting into flesh in places — bone reshaping itself.

Pain.

Agony.

But he embraced it.

From his massive eagle form, Arjun's body shrank slightly, becoming more compact, more powerful.

Golden armor-like scales appeared over his chest. His talons shifted, becoming golden boots wrapped in radiant energy. His wings became smaller but sharper, glowing blades behind him.

And for the first time —

Arjun stood on two legs.

A partial human form.

Still more beast than man — but unmistakably evolving.

Lord Raven stumbled back, genuinely shocked.

"Impossible!"

"A mere beast... achieving a Divine Transformation?!"

Arjun's new eyes — deep golden, burning with a royal light — stared him down.

He opened his mouth —

And spoke.

A single word, rough and broken but clear:

"Die."

---

The True Battle

Arjun attacked.

No longer just slashing with talons — He moved like a warrior.

His fists, coated in golden energy, struck with thunderous force. His wings slashed the air, sending invisible blades outward that cut trees and rocks alike.

Lord Raven retaliated, summoning massive black golems to fight for him.

Arjun tore through them like paper.

Each punch shattered stone. Each kick split the earth.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The battlefield became a ruin of craters, broken trees, and rivers of blood.

The assassins who had stayed to watch fled in terror, realizing this fight was beyond them.

---

Lord Raven grew desperate.

He shed his robe, revealing a monstrous body stitched together from hundreds of beast parts — claws, fangs, scaled skin — all stolen through dark arts.

He had sacrificed his humanity long ago for power.

"You are a mistake!" Lord Raven howled, charging.

Arjun said nothing…

(End of Chapter 6)