People began to notice that, in this desert that had seen no rainfall for a hundred years, in this drought-stricken land,
Dark clouds were suddenly gathering in the sky, and even the air had turned damp.
But accidents rarely brought pleasant surprises.
When the first raindrop struck their noses, and their rough skin felt not the cold sweetness of rain but a burning, corrosive pain,
They realized that this rainfall was by no means heaven's long-awaited gift.
It was fate's mercy upon them.
"Roar!!!"
Though the desert stretched endlessly, the trembling dragon's roar still rang like thunder tearing apart the heavens, summoning clouds and rain as it echoed across the sky.
Amid the vibrations, the thunderous sound reverberated for a long time, as though it had come from the distant ancient past.
They had once been the absolute rulers of this world, millions of years ago. They had slept too long and been forgotten too long—so long that even this dumping ground, where memories themselves were about to be crushed and erased into nothingness, regarded them as nameless legends and jokes.
Now, that colossal black shadow blotted out both the sky and the storm clouds. Its dark green eyes, more sinister than the twin moons overhead, looked down disdainfully upon the yellow sands and the earth, as if proclaiming to the ignorant and insignificant masses—
They had awakened. They had returned. They had descended!
"Rumble!!!"
In the distance, a Giant Dragon grander than the city walls slammed into Wind Sand Islet's outer defenses. Its sickle-like claws smashed apart the gates that had only just been erected, turning them to dust amid the raging sands.
Beastfolk, guards, and even the civilians cowering inside their homes beyond the distant ridges looked past the swirling dust, only to see a pair of emerald