A Message for Qian VI

Blue, like something out of a dream, filled the sky.

Behind Charles, one glittering summoning circle after another appeared in succession. Swimming out of them were creatures as dreamlike and illusory as they were legendary. They were lifeforms composed purely of energy, existing somewhere between the tangible and intangible. They existed in the material world, yet also did not. Every moment, every second, they constantly changed their properties and forms. Visitors from beyond the boundaries of this world—these were Aether Dragons.

They had the forms of dragons, yet possessed bat-ray-like wings. Their entire bodies were transparent, like soft glass, or jellyfish suspended in the air. Yet even these forms were unstable, constantly shifting and transforming, as though they were rainbows set against a blue-green backdrop.

The Cruzian wizards stopped their spells one after another when they realized their magic had no effect whatsoever on these strange creatures. The creatures themselves were part of energy, as if they did not exist in the present world. Sharp Law Lines and violent elemental magic tore across their dreamlike bodies, yet could not harm them in the slightest. It was as though they had struck an illusion, passing straight through their transparent forms.

Everyone gradually discovered this fact. Their attacks could not harm these "dragons" at all, and the battlefield slowly fell into a strange stillness. The wizards and Imperial soldiers stopped in confusion, some quietly watching everything unfold, gazing at the magnificent sight.

But eventually, someone realized what they were.

"These are..."

"Aether Dragons..."

"I never thought they truly existed. The Fannur records weren't absurd legends after all."

The wizards whispered among themselves, privately passing along secret knowledge known only to them. Meanwhile, the Imperial commander atop Black Sword Bastion was livid. He had no interest whatsoever in such knowledge or legends, but