Arkail rose from his stone platform.
The moment his massive body moved, the ground beneath him trembled. It was not violent, but it was strong enough for everyone present to feel it. The rock under his claws began to heat, thin cracks spreading outward from where he stood.
His heat was not visible fire, but it was unmistakable. The air around him grew heavier, as if the space itself tightened with every step he took.
Arkail moved forward slowly.
Each step left a dark mark on the ground-heated stone that cooled moments later.
He did not speak.
It was clear that he was not moving for the leaders, nor for the discussion taking place, but for something deeper.
He stopped at a lower point in the stone platform. It was not visually special, but it felt different. Here, the ground was more solid, and at the same time, hotter.
Arkail lowered himself slightly and placed one of his large claws directly against the ground.
At that exact moment, the feeling in the area changed.
The ground trembled again, but this time slowly, as if responding rather than collapsing.
A faint sound rose from within the stone—not a clear noise, but a deep vibration, like breathing.
Some dragons shifted in unease.
Others remained still, watching.
Arkail spoke in a low voice, directing his words to the ground itself.
“Ignara…”
He did not raise his voice.
He did not use flame.
His tone was steady and direct.
Before he could continue, the trembling intensified slightly. The rock beneath his claw grew hotter, as if the planet itself was responding—without words.
At that moment, Liora stepped forward.
Her movement was not a challenge, but a reaction.
“My lord…” she said, her voice clear and tense.
Arkail did not lift his claw from the ground, but he turned his head slightly toward her.
“The response isn’t calm,” Liora continued cautiously.
“The planet feels what we are trying to do.”
The tremors increased briefly, then returned to their earlier rhythm.
Before thinking too long, Liora spoke quickly, as if the idea escaped her.
“Before we ask anything of the core… we should consider another option.”
A short silence followed.
Serath stepped forward beside her.
“What option?”
“The prisoners,” Liora said.
Some of the leaders reacted at the word.
“The traitors who cooperated with the mechanical dragons,” she added.
“They are the only ones who know the details of what is being built.”
A voice from the back said,
“We don’t trust them.”
Liora replied immediately,
“And we shouldn’t trust the core either, if we are forced to pressure it.”
Arkail’s claw remained on the ground.
He did not pull away.
He did not break the connection.
“Continue,” he said calmly.
Liora took a deep breath.
“If we can extract information from them, we may learn the nature of the weapon before it is completed.”
“And if they refuse to speak?” another leader asked.
“At least we will have tried,” Liora replied,
“before risking an action that could turn the planet against us.”
The ground suddenly grew hotter, then eased again.
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Arkail slowly raised his head, his eyes fixed on the leaders.
“Ignara hears us now,” he said.
The tension became unmistakable.
“Any decision we make from this moment forward,” he added,
“will come at a cost.”
Arkail slowly lifted his claw from the ground.
The tremors gradually stopped, though the heat remained.
Ignara had neither rejected his words… nor accepted them.
Arkail turned to the leaders.
“We will wait,” he said steadily.
A brief silence followed.
“We will not approach the core now,” he continued.
“And we will not ask Ignara for more than it can endure.”
Liora stepped forward again. Her expression was tense, but controlled.
“Before we place the planet’s fate at risk,” she said,
“we need to know what the machines are truly planning.”
Arkail looked at her.
He did not interrupt.
“The traitors,” she continued,
“are the only ones who understood their movements.
They are the ones who revealed our weaknesses.”
Serath shifted and spoke sharply.
“They deserve nothing but erasure.”
“Perhaps,” Liora replied.
“But they possess knowledge we do not.”
Another silence fell.
Then Arkail spoke.
“We begin with them.”
He lifted his head and looked at both Liora and Serath.
“You will go to the prison.
Both of you, along with several leaders.”
Then he added,
“I want no empty threats.
No unnecessary violence.”
His voice hardened slightly.
“I want information.
About the weapon.
About the machines.
And about the humans behind them.”
The leaders bowed in respect.
Liora and Serath exchanged a brief look, then turned and left the stone platform with the others.
The prison was located in a low region of Ignara, far from the cities, deep within a dense forest unlike the rest of the planet.
The trees there did not glow.
They carried no heat of flame.
Their trunks were dark and tangled, overlapping to form a natural ceiling that blocked the light.
Deep within the forest stood a massive stone structure, built from black rock reinforced with ancient metallic layers.
There were no walls surrounding the prison.
The land itself was the barrier.
Deep fissures circled the area, and an uncomfortable, low heat made flying or escape nearly impossible.
Inside, the corridors were wide but dark.
The walls bore the marks of old flame-dragon fire.
One of the leaders said quietly,
“This is where those who betrayed Ignara were imprisoned.”
Liora stepped forward calmly.
“And this is where we will learn,” she said,
“whether they will betray us again…
or finally speak.”
They stopped before a large chamber.
Inside, several dragons were bound by energy chains anchored to the walls and floor.
They were not weak.
They were not small.
Their scales carried the marks of long years.
And it was clear-
They had once been leaders.
One of them slowly lifted his head and gave a faint smile.
“You’re late,” he said.
Liora did not respond immediately.
“We arrived before it was too late,” she replied calmly.
And here…
The interrogation began.
