Two weeks since Shadeclaw's failed assassination.
Two weeks since Danny's full Golden Integration.
Two weeks since the Wolf King felt true fear for the first time in his life — not fear of death, not fear of defeat, but fear of a predator greater than himself.
The truce still held.
But the world was changing under it.
The Buddies fortified their borders.
The Wolf King's pack grew restless.
And in the Dragon Dojo, three young dragons pushed closer to destiny every hour.
And destiny… pushed back.
1. The Wolf King's FuryDeep in the Riftlands, the Wolf King shredded a boulder the size of a house with one swipe. The stone hissed, melted, and oozed into a molten pool.
He paced the cavern, flames rolling off him like waves.
His lieutenants kept their distance.
Shadeclaw stood the farthest away.
Though he had reformed completely, his limbs trembled when Danny's scent brushed his memory. His voice cracked like a broken record. His eyes wouldn't stay still.
The Wolf King stopped pacing and faced him.
"Shadeclaw."
Shadeclaw bowed instinctively. "My king… I have healed. I am ready—"
The Wolf King's palm closed around his throat.
Shadeclaw choked, feet barely touching the ground.
"You are not ready.
You faced the golden one…
and lived.
But you did not return victorious."
Shadeclaw squirmed.
"H-he was… he is… beyond strength—"
The Wolf King squeezed harder.
Shadeclaw's shadow-edge skin began to crack.
Then, suddenly, the Wolf King dropped him.
Shadeclaw fell, gasping.
The Wolf King turned away.
"Good.
Fear sharpens the hunters.
And we will need all our teeth sharpened.
Because the golden dragon is no longer prey.
He is the sun."
Red Howler cracked his knuckles, heat building beneath his veins.
"Then let us storm the human world. Break the truce. Burn the dojo to ash."
The Wolf King didn't look at him.
"No."
Red Howler growled in confusion.
Hallowjaw tilted his head sideways, ribcage rattling.
Shadeclaw swallowed in terror.
The Wolf King stared at the wall — but not at the stone.
At a vision.
A memory.
The golden light that had destroyed Shadeclaw in one effortless motion.
"We do not chase the sun.
We wait until it descends upon the arena.
And then…
we tear the heavens open."
His claws glowed molten.
"Train.
Hunt.
Strengthen.
But do not break the truce.
I want them all in one place.
I want a feast.
I want the dragons' power in front of every universe."
His smile cut across the firelight.
"I want the moment the world realizes destruction has a new king."
His pack howled in approval.
But the Wolf King's flames dimmed for a moment — contemplative.
Because if Danny could one-shot Shadeclaw…
Then he needed more power.
More mutation.
More chaos.
He needed to become something that not even a Golden Dragon could erase.
And the truce gave him time.
Two months.
Just enough.
2. Danny's New WeightDanny stood alone on the cliff behind the Dragon Dojo.
His aura was almost gone now — not because his power had faded, but because it had become so stable it no longer leaked.
Golden markings covered his arms and collarbone like ancient inscriptions.
He exhaled slowly.
When he breathed out, the air shimmered like heat mirages.
Master Oro approached quietly.
"You are troubled," Oro said.
Danny didn't look away from the mountains.
"I feel too much," he whispered.
"Too much power?"
Danny shook his head.
"Too much… everything."
He placed a hand on his chest.
"When Shadeclaw came, I felt him before he arrived. Before he even entered Earth. I felt his path through dimensions."
He swallowed.
"And that wasn't even the strongest sensation."
Oro closed his eyes.
"The Wolf King."
Danny nodded.
"He's not here. He's not even close. But I feel him burning. I feel him wanting. I feel him training. Like he's… calling me."
Oro stepped beside him.
"That connection is ancient."
Danny frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Golden Dragons and Destroyers are bound by creation and ruin. Opposites. Mirrors. The strongest of each lineage always feel each other."
Danny stiffened.
"So he knows I'm getting stronger."
"More than that," Oro warned. "He feels each of your breakthroughs. Every moment you rise forces him to rise with you."
Danny's throat tightened.
"I'm… feeding him?"
"Not directly. But the Wolf King grows in response to your evolution."
Oro placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"And you grow in response to his."
Danny closed his eyes.
"I don't want to fight him."
"I know."
"I don't want to kill him."
"I know."
Danny exhaled.
"But I will."
3. Swift's Silver Trial: Part IIInside the dojo, Swift held his Silver Crescent Staff across his knees, eyes closed, breathing slow.
The Silver Trial Part I had broken his chains.
Now Part II had to sharpen him into a weapon.
Oro's voice echoed in his head:
"Your fear is gone.
Now destroy your hesitation."
Swift took a deep breath.
His mind drifted back to Espearia — the burning forests, the falling citadels, the screams of people he couldn't save.
Not because he was weak.
Because he hesitated.
Hesitated to act.
Hesitated to move.
Hesitated to believe he was enough.
Swift opened his eyes.
The dojo was gone.
He stood in a moonlit void filled with illusions of enemies — Bones, the Wolf King, distorted dragons, twisted memories.
They surrounded him.
Swift's heart accelerated.
He lifted his staff.
"No more hesitation."
They attacked.
Swift moved.
Not with fear.
Not with panic.
But with clarity.
Silver arcs sliced illusions apart.
His footwork was precise, sharp, flowing.
He weaved through shadows like a moonbeam weaving through clouds.
One illusion reached for his throat.
Swift spun, staff whirling, striking its chest with lunar force that shattered it.
He didn't hesitate.
He didn't slow.
He didn't fear.
He flowed.
Moonlight danced across his skin, forming thin streaks of silver flame along his arms.
His staff glowed blinding white.
When the final illusion lunged, Swift whispered:
"Enough."
He thrust his palm forward.
A pillar of condensed silver chi erupted from his hand, piercing the illusion cleanly.
Silence fell.
And Swift stood alone, stronger, sharper, finally free of doubt.
4. Jake's Titan RiseJake trained in the canyon behind the dojo — the only place rugged enough to withstand his new power.
Sedge Hat stood nearby, floating on a mechanical hover-chair, sipping tea.
Jake grunted as he punched through a six-foot-thick boulder.
Sedge Hat grinned. "Oh ho! Progress!"
Jake collapsed onto a rock, panting.
"I thought… the Titan thing… was supposed to make me stronger."
"It does," Sedge Hat said. "But! It also forces you to grow through challenge! Your Bronze lineage demands pressure!"
Jake groaned. "Then can't I take a break from all the—"
A boulder slammed toward him — Sedge Hat hurled it with zero warning.
Jake yelled and dove aside.
"Hey!"
"Oh ho!" Sedge Hat laughed. "No breaks!"
Jake's aura flared. Bronze lines appeared across his arms. His eyes glowed molten copper.
He dashed forward and punched the boulder so hard it shattered midair.
Sedge Hat clapped.
Jake flexed his fingers, wincing.
"I'm getting stronger… but Danny's still on another level."
Sedge Hat's eyes narrowed — surprisingly serious.
"Your job is not to match Danny.
Your job is to stand beside him.
And survive what he cannot."
Jake's breath hitched.
"Survive… the Wolf King?"
Sedge Hat nodded.
"Danny will face him head-on.
You will face the ones Danny cannot see coming."
Jake leaned back, staring at the sky.
"I can do that."
His bronze aura surged in response.
"Yes," Sedge Hat whispered. "You can."
5. None of Them See the SpyUp in the rafters of the dojo, an insect no bigger than a fingernail clung to the wood.
It wasn't organic.
It wasn't from Earth.
It wasn't harmless.
A mutated wolf-fly — a hybrid with a hardened carapace and glowing red eyes — watched everything with eerie intelligence.
Sent by Shadeclaw.
Not to kill.
To learn.
To report.
It clicked softly, wings vibrating once, twice.
Then it vanished into a micro-rift — carrying the image of Danny's integrated form with it.
6. The Wolf King Sees DannyShadeclaw knelt before the Wolf King, shaking.
The wolf-fly landed on Shadeclaw's wrist.
Its wings projected a hologram of Danny one-shotting Shadeclaw.
His golden aura.
His dragon markings.
His ease.
Shadeclaw bowed deeply.
"My king… he has grown even more."
The Wolf King stared at the image.
Unblinking.
Unmoving.
Unbreathing.
Then slowly…
His lips curled.
"Excellent.
He shines brighter every day.
He rises higher every dawn."
The Wolf King lifted the wolf-fly — and crushed it.
"And the brighter he burns…
the more satisfying it will be to tear out his heart."
He turned to his lieutenants.
"We train harder.
Deeper.
Past the edge of death.
We will not be overshadowed.
We will become a storm fit to swallow the sun."
Red Howler roared.
Hallowjaw rattled his ribs.
Shadeclaw bowed.
But the Wolf King whispered under his breath — too quiet for them to hear:
"Two months.
Prepare, Golden One.
Prepare Swift.
Prepare Jake.
Become everything you can."
His eyes glowed molten.
"I want the greatest hunt ever recorded in the multiverse."
7. The Dragons Feel the ShiftDanny, Swift, and Jake stood atop the dojo cliff again — their auras glowing in three colors.
Gold.
Silver.
Bronze.
Swift whispered, "Do you feel that?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah. Something's… watching."
Danny exhaled.
"It's him."
Oro stepped behind them.
"The Wolf King?"
Danny nodded.
"Yes."
Oro stood beside them.
"Then the next two months will decide everything."
Swift clutched his staff.
Jake tightened his fists.
Danny whispered:
"Then we don't waste a single second."
The three dragon warriors watched the horizon.
The Wolf King watched them from the other side of the multiverse.
And the clock continued ticking toward the tournament.
Toward the inevitable clash.
Toward destiny.