After burning through a massive portion of its power to breach the World-Seal Canvas, the purge slammed into Rowan's grand ward.
This time, it did not collapse instantly.
The barrier held.
For several seconds, lightning and ward clashed in a violent stalemate.
Then the ward detonated layer by layer, shattering in controlled succession.
Each collapse peeled away more of the purge's force.
Even so, the watching figures felt their stomachs sink.
If a barrier of that magnitude could only delay it briefly…
How terrifying was this purge, really?
The diminished lightning struck Rowan's Uru cage.
And stopped.
Not dissipated.
Not deflected.
Stopped.
The metal lattice glowed white-hot, humming as vast electrical currents were siphoned, grounded, and dispersed.
The cage held far longer than anyone expected.
Longer than Rowan's grand ward.
Nearly as long as the World-Seal Canvas itself.
Eventually, the Uru framework warped.
Cracks spread.
The structure collapsed into molten fragments.
But when it failed, the lightning had been weakened again.
Glacien roared.
"Wyrm Sovereign Aegis!"
Thousands of spectral dragon scales erupted outward, interlocking above Pyros and the others, forming a colossal draconic canopy.
A deafening dragon cry echoed through the domain as the scales met the descending lightning.
For several heartbeats, it held.
Then the scales began to fracture.
Shards of luminous draconic metal rained downward.
The canopy disintegrated.
The purge remained.
But now…
It was thin.
Focused.
Manageable.
Rowan's eyes lit with calm confidence.
"This is well within tolerances."
Rowan stepped forward.
Electricity surged around his body, not violently, but obediently.
He had spent lifetimes studying storm-based forces.
Manipulating them.
Absorbing them.
Feeding on them.
To him, lightning was less a weapon and more a language.
Pyros expanded in size as he released a portion of his sealed strength.
Glacien raised his twin war hammers.
Vexar coiled his lightning whip, entering a defensive stance.
Solarian held the Prismatic Lotus, ready to preserve souls if the worst occurred.
They were prepared to endure the final impact together.
They never got the chance.
Rowan's neck elongated.
His form warped.
Black scales rippled across his skin.
His head reshaped into that of a colossal black dragon.
Rowan opened his jaws.
The remaining lightning was swallowed whole.
Silence fell.
Residual sparks faded into nothing.
The purge was gone.
Rowan shifted back to human form, exhaling softly.
"Not exactly apocalyptic," he said mildly.
Inside, he felt relief.
Had the purge not been weakened repeatedly, the outcome would have been very different.
Vexar stared at him, eyes wide.
"You're… dragonkin."
Rowan nodded.
"My true form is draconic."
"I've lived in isolation for a long time. I don't involve myself in clan politics."
"You can call me Blackwyrm."
The admission landed heavily.
Vexar's wariness softened.
If Rowan was dragonkin, then at minimum he wasn't aligned exclusively with Solarian's faction.
That mattered.
Solarian collapsed onto the ground, laughing weakly.
"It's over…"
Glacien bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Blackwyrm."
Pyros shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing aside.
"…Yeah. Thanks."
Outside the Canvas, Pyros's parents rushed forward and pulled him into a fierce embrace.
Tears flowed freely.
Rowan lifted a hand.
Reality rippled.
Shattered structures, scorched ground, and collapsed buildings rewound into pristine condition.
Solarian stared.
"That restoration technique…"
"It resembles high-order temporal reconstruction."
Rowan smiled.
"I've picked up a few things."
The crisis had passed.
But the ripples of this moment would echo far into the future.