Three days earlier.
A lizardman draped in a grayish-brown cloak arrived silently at the crater of Mount Maxy.
His steps were steady, his expression solemn, and he held a leaf glowing with a faint green halo.
It was a leaf from the World Tree. Merely drawing near it was enough to sense the surging vitality contained within.
Petersong, the Flame Lizard Dragon, had long sensed the visitor.
His consciousness slowly awakened deep within the lava. His enormous dragon body rolled through the scorching magma, and his eyes quietly opened, fixed firmly on the movement above.
The lizardman did not pause. He raised the World Tree leaf high, then threw it into the volcanic crater.
The leaf cut through the heat waves and slowly descended. As it neared the lava, it suddenly burst forth with a brilliant green light.
Within the dazzling radiance, a figure slowly appeared in midair—Therese, the legendary powerhouse of the lizardman race. She stood quietly above the lava, looking down below.
"Petersong, come out and see me." Her voice was cold and forceful, carrying an unquestionable pressure as it echoed through the volcano.
After a brief silence, the depths of the crater exploded with a boom. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, followed by a massive dragon head covered in lava-like scales.
Petersong emerged from the magma, his eyes burning like flames as they locked firmly onto Therese.
"Therese, I didn't go looking for trouble with you, yet you came knocking on my door. You've got some nerve." Petersong's voice was low as thunder, filled with mockery.
Therese gave a cold snort, her gaze sharp. "I need you to hunt down a human."
Disdain flashed through Petersong's eyes. "Why not send your tribe after him?"
"He fled into the Fett Mountains."
Petersong's gaze tightened, his