I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1248: Their Own Battle

Down below, Thar’Zul-Vekar continued to anchor the battlefield with sprawling roots of living light. They surged upward like luminous veins, intercepting falling debris before it could reach the ground, crushing and dissolving shattered fragments of sky into harmless sparks.

The defense held steady. More than that, it felt easier than expected.

At the beginning, Thar’Zul-Vekar had prepared for an endless rain of destruction. The battle above had promised catastrophe without pause.

Yet as time passed, the debris thinned. The roots still moved constantly but the strain never reached the burden they had anticipated.

Something had changed in the clash above. The violence had not lessened, but it had changed. The battle had become different now.

Upon a broad platform woven from those same light roots, Erend lay resting while Aurdis worked tirelessly to heal him.

Soft waves of Elven healing Magic flowed from her hands into his body, knitting the scorched flesh in his body and calming fractured energy paths, and steadying his breath.

The pain Erend suffered had dulled. His strength had begun to return, slow but undeniable.

Even so, Erend’s gaze never stayed down for long.

He kept looking up, eyes fixed on the distant chaos in the fractured skies with an expression so tight with worry.

Every tremor in the air, every distant roar, made his fingers twitch. He feared what might happen without him there. Feared that a single misstep above could cost them everything while he lay below, unable to act.

Aurdis of course noticed it all.

She paused briefly, her hands still glowing against his chest, and let out a quiet sigh.

Seeing him like this hurt more than she wanted to admit. The man she loved was wounded, grounded, and filled with helpless concern instead of action.

"Don’t worry too much," she said gently. "They are strong, Erend. Just focus on your recovery first."

Her voice was calm and reassuring, but her heart was not. She knew what he was. The savior. The one who had overturned impossible battles before. The one whose presence alone could change the flow of fate. She understood his fear because she shared it.

Knowing that did not make it easier.

Then she felt it.

Erend’s hand tightened around her hand. It felt warm despite everything. The squeeze was firm, steady, and grounding.

Aurdis looked up in surprise and met his eyes.

He was smiling at her. Tired, worn, but he was smiling softly.

"I’m sorry," Erend said quietly. "I made you worry too much."

Aurdis swallowed, her chest tightening as she held his gaze.

The sky above still raged, the battle still threatened everything they loved, but for a brief moment, sitting on a platform of light beneath a broken world, she held onto his hand.

"Yes," Aurdis said, a small smile finally breaking through. "You do make me worry too much. Stop doing that."

The words were gentle, lightly scolding, but they carried warmth. And to her surprise, they made Erend smile as well.

It was a quiet and genuine smile. One that reached deeper than pain or exhaustion he felt.

For a brief moment, it felt to him like finding water after wandering through a desert for far too long. Not a rush or relief so strong it overwhelmed him. Just enough to remind him that he had been parched in the first place.

He had been pushing forward without pause, without rest, without allowing himself even a breath. Only now, seeing Aurdis smile like this, did he realize how tightly he had been holding everything inside.

That small moment eased something in his chest.

Then the world roared again above him.

A violent explosion thundered from above, and a shockwave rolled down.

The platform of light trembled beneath them, roots of light flexing as they absorbed the force. The air itself shuddered.

Erend’s expression hardened instantly.

He felt it. Not just with his senses, but deep in his bones. The pressure and the instability. The way the sky seemed to scream again.

The battle above had reached its climax.

Erend drew in a slow breath and tested his body. The pain was still there but much better now.

His Magic flowed more cleanly now. His strength was also back. Not fully restored, but this was enough.

He looked at Aurdis.

"That’s enough," he said quietly.

She hesitated for just a moment, then the healing light faded from her hands.

The glow softened and vanished, leaving only the ambient light of the roots around them.

"I need to go back to the fight now," Erend said.

Aurdis nodded, even though her fingers tightened briefly in her lap.

"I think I should rest here for now."

"Yes," Erend replied without hesitation. "You should. Thank you."

He leaned forward before doubt could catch him.

Their lips met.

It was not rushed or desperate. Just warm, steady, and full of things neither of them had time to say.

Neither wanted to let go. But the world did not wait.

Erend pulled back slowly, resting his forehead against hers for a short second before straightening.

He looked up toward the broken sky.

Power surged.

Dragon wings burst from his back in a flare of Magic, scales catching the light as they unfurled wide.

With a powerful beat, he rose from the platform, cutting upward into the chaos without looking back.

Aurdis watched him go.

She remained on the platform of light, her eyes fixed on the shrinking figure flying toward the storm, her heart heavy but she chose to believe in Erend and the others.

—

Erend surged back into the fractured sky, his Dragon wings cutting through distorted air as he closed the distance in seconds.

The battlefield spread before him in full clarity.

Eccar and Aesa pressed Zerathul from above and the sides. Below and around them, King Gulben and the others continued their assault, Magic striking in layered waves.

Khepra Ankh’s severance white light still bore down from the front, carving away necrotic power with merciless precision.

And Zerathul did not retaliate as he once had.

His counterattacks came slower and sloppier. The necrotic surges flared only to collapse moments later.

Time power also no longer snapped into dominance but hesitated, fractured.

His every attempt to retaliate met disruption, interference, or outright failure.

Erend felt Zerathul was weakening instantly.

Then a presence brushed against his consciousness.

"Erend. My time was up."

Khepra Ankh’s voice came through their link.

Erend did not slow. He had expected this moment.

"Alright," he answered firmly. "Thank you for your help. We will take care of it from here."

There was no reply. The white light began to recede.

Not violently or in collapse. It simply withdrew, the glow folding inward.

The overwhelming radiance faded, leaving behind space that felt suddenly heavier.

Khepra Ankh’s yellow-robed figure dissolved with the light, unraveling into drifting motes before vanishing completely.

Erend felt it settle across the battlefield like a weight being placed upon their shoulders again.

No external force remained to tilt the scales or the borrowed power stood between them and the enemy anymore.

This was their battle now.

Eccar felt it too and roared, Earth Dragon power surging anew. Aesa’s wings beat harder, ice light flaring brighter as she tightened the encirclement.

The others adjusted instantly, closing ranks without hesitation.

Erend pulled ahead, fire, lightning, and water Magic now igniting across his body as his Full Dragon form was back.

His gaze locked onto Zerathul.

—