Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory

Ethan clung to the scales for dear life.

When the claw swung upward, he released both hands with perfect timing and let the momentum carry him in an arc toward the steel bridge high above.

The instant his feet hit the bridge—

The energy inside him vanished completely.

White lightning snuffed out.

Even the four little ones’ power couldn’t be projected anymore.

The bridge trembled under his landing.

From far away it had looked as thin as a thread, but standing on it now, Ethan realized the deck was wide enough for Cindara to plant its whole body on.

And it wasn’t stone.

It was steel.

The metal surface was scarred with long, old scrape marks—utterly out of place against the ancient stone walls around the abyss.

Cindara noticed the vibration too.

It glanced once at the original corridor opening, then locked onto Ethan standing on the bridge.

Its wings hammered down.

Cindara shot straight for the bridge.

"You actually had the guts to come out?" its voice rolled through the abyss.

"How does it feel to lose your energy?"

Ethan’s eyes flickered with surprise when it spoke.

But he didn’t lower his fists.

He still tried to condense energy in his palm—again and again—and failed every time.

Cindara suddenly accelerated.

Its massive body swept over the bridge, both foreclaws reaching for Ethan’s face.

Ethan focused hard.

The white lightning inside Cindara was suppressed out here... but it hadn’t fully disappeared.

He barely managed to nudge one claw’s trajectory off-line.

The other he could only take head-on.

BAM!

Cindara’s claw collided with Ethan’s fists.

The shock rippled through the steel bridge. The deck bowed downward, and the metal connecting structures shrieked.

The claw Ethan had interfered with sliced past his side and slammed down into empty air.

Ethan’s right hand stayed clenched, swallowed by the full span of Cindara’s palm.

But his left hand snapped open, grabbing up from below and catching Cindara’s foreleg.

Cindara glanced at the claw that had missed, confused for a moment—but didn’t dwell on it.

Its head pressed down.

Its wings swept in from both sides, trying to crush Ethan in place.

Ethan held the pressure with one arm and locked his other hand tighter around Cindara’s shin.

Feet braced on the bridge.

Knees bent.

Power surged up from his legs into his waist, core, and shoulders.

Ethan let out a low shout and heaved—lifting Cindara’s entire body sideways.

The Flame Drake was slammed down by pure brute force.

Cindara finally realized something was very wrong.

Its wings stopped attacking and snapped upward instead, trying to regain the air.

Too late.

Ethan smashed it into the steel bridge under his feet.

BOOM!

Cindara’s head and half its body hit the deck head-on.

The metal caved. The whole bridge shook violently. Fire sprayed from between its scales, and the bridge surface heated until it glowed red.

Ethan released and sprang away on the rebound, leaping to a safer distance.

Cindara raised a wing and wiped blood from its head.

It stood again, icy eyes fixed on Ethan.

The small flame on its head went out.

In its place—blinding white light.

The draconic body shrank inside that glow.

Scales, wings, claws... fading away.

When Cindara stepped out of the light, she was human.

She lowered her head, flexing her hands, then rolled one shoulder with a quiet click.

"This form works better."

Cindara stepped one leg back.

She sank her center of gravity, almost like a horse stance. Her hands extended—one forward, one back—palms aimed straight at Ethan, breath settling into a steady rhythm.

Ethan watched with open interest.

He rolled his neck once.

Then set his own stance.

One fist forward, the other tucked at his side. He didn’t crouch—he stood tall, eyes fixed on Cindara’s shoulders and hands.

They stepped in at the same time.

The steel bridge boomed underfoot.

Ethan threw the first punch, knuckles driving straight for her face.

Cindara didn’t underestimate it.

She raised one hand and knocked Ethan’s wrist aside from the flank, while her other hand slid along his forearm, flowing forward.

Fingers pressed together.

Her arm path curved—loose and flexible, like a snake slipping past the punch—aiming for Ethan’s throat.

Ethan had been waiting for that.

The fist he’d kept hidden snapped out from the side and smashed directly into her reaching arm.

BAM!

The impact jarred Cindara’s wrist and forced her to retreat.

But Ethan’s first punch had already opened into a grasp.

His fingers locked around her arm, refusing to let her go.

He dropped his weight.

His shoulder drove under her centerline—about to repeat the same lift-and-slam he’d used on her dragon body.

Cindara saw it instantly.

Using the arm he’d grabbed as a lever, she jumped upward. Her free hand extended two fingers, stabbing straight for Ethan’s eyes.

Ethan braced her body with one hand.

His other hand rose to block.

And right as they were about to make contact, he felt it—

He could still influence one of her legs.

White lightning couldn’t be released normally in the abyss, but the portion that had entered her earlier hadn’t fully vanished.

It was like luck had decided to pick a side.

A thread of extremely faint energy appeared in the hand gripping her arm.

Along their point of contact, it tugged at one of Cindara’s legs.

Ethan tilted his head aside, letting the two fingers skim past his eye. His blocking hand also shifted just a little—missing the full deflection.

He wasn’t trying to throw her away.

Not yet.

This was enough.

Ethan abruptly released her.

He kicked off the bridge railing, using the recoil to shoot backward.

Cindara had been putting some of her weight onto Ethan’s supporting arm.

With that support gone, she went weightless for a split second—face-first toward the steel deck.

"Dirty!" Cindara snapped, forcing her body to adjust midair.

Her legs searched for purchase. Both hands grabbed the bridge railing. With her control, she should’ve been able to stabilize instantly.

But one leg drifted off where it should’ve landed.

Her foot slid outward by a few inches.

Half her body tipped past the bridge edge—one breath away from falling into the abyss.

Ethan was already charging back in.

Before she could fully rise, he grabbed both her legs and yanked up hard.

Her legs snapped into a straight ninety-degree angle with her torso.

She didn’t fall immediately.

Clinging with both arms to the railing, she still held her upper body at the bridge edge by sheer grip strength.

Cindara turned her head and stared back at Ethan, genuinely baffled.

Ethan stared at her in silence.

Then, without warning—

Cindara let go.

With her last support gone, Ethan tossed her straight into the abyss.

Ethan stepped to the edge and looked down.

But Cindara didn’t drop.

A pair of white wings unfolded from her back.

She hovered in the darkness, lifting her gaze to Ethan on the bridge—quiet, steady, almost unreadable.

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