Chapter 113: 113. Escalation

The church’s formal response arrived on the third day.

Dominus summoned them to his throne room. Vorthraxx and Owen stood before the Dragon King while he read a document with deliberate slowness. The space pressed down around them—vast ceiling, pillars carved with dragon history, the throne positioned to force visitors to look upward.

Dominus set the paper down. “The Church of the Radiant Arbiter demands Celeste Brennan’s return within thirty days. Failure to comply results in immediate trade sanctions against all dragon-affiliated commerce.”

“They can’t enforce that…” Vorthraxx said.

“They can incentivize it. The Human kingdoms depend on the church’s approval: their marriages, burials, harvest consecrations.” Dominus gestured at the document. “Kingdoms that continue dragon trade will find church services suspended. Most won’t risk that.”

“They’re using their own people as hostages.”

“They’re using the leverage. As expected.” Dominus stood and moved to the window overlooking Drak’thar. “Economic pressure I anticipated. What I didn’t anticipate was this.”

He handed Vorthraxx a second document.

Vorthraxx read it. His expression hardened. “Bounty. One hundred thousand gold for information leading to Celeste’s capture. Fifty thousand for confirmed sightings.”

“That’s generational wealth…” Owen said. “Enough to change a family’s status permanently.”

“And enough to tempt anyone.” Vorthraxx crushed the paper. “They’re turning every human in the realm into a potential bounty hunter.”

“This is war by economics,” Owen said.

“Exactly. They can’t attack dragon territory directly. So they attack our trade, our relationships, our ability to operate in human lands.” Dominus’s voice carried the weight of hard experience. “Six weeks, maybe eight, the pressure becomes unbearable. Human kingdoms will choose church over dragons. Our merchants expelled. Our diplomats recalled. Decades of relationship building, gone. Under my rule.”

“Then we give them what they want.” Vorthraxx’s voice was flat.

Both Dominus and Owen looked at him.

“We give them Celeste. Publicly. Officially. Make a show of complying.”

“You want to hand her over?” Owen asked carefully.

“I want to appear to hand her over.” Vorthraxx’s smile carried no warmth. “We create a duplicate. Illusion magic. Deliver it to church authorities with ceremony.”

“They’ll detect the illusion immediately.”

“Not if we do it right. Find a volunteer—someone terminally ill. Offer her family the bounty in exchange. Apply illusion to match Celeste’s appearance. The church gets their prisoner. We keep Celeste. Everyone wins.”

“Except the woman who dies in Celeste’s place” Owen said.

“She’s dying anyway. Her family gets wealth. Her death means something.” Vorthraxx leaned forward. “It’s not ideal, but It’s better than the alternatives.”

Dominus considered this. “The ethics are questionable.”

“The ethics of everything here are questionable. Church using economic warfare. Heaven marking innocent women. Us hiding fugitives to prevent unjust execution!.” Vorthraxx’s tail lashed. “We’re already operating in gray areas. This is just slightly darker gray!.”

“I’ll consider it.” Dominus waved them toward the door. “Leave me.”

They walked through corridors toward the archives. Vorthraxx grabbed Owen’s arm before they descended.

“He won’t approve it.”

“Probably not.”

“Which means we need other options.” Vorthraxx’s pace quickened. “How’s vast is your sovereignty, Brother. The one of time?”

“I can affect temporal flow of the space around me, send an attack a few seconds into the past. But what you’re asking me for, creating a temporal copy of a living being?” Owen shook his head. “The complexity’s enormous even in its theoretical form.”

“But… it’s impossible.”

“Maybe…in theory… eventually?.”

“Eventually isn’t soon enough, brother.”

They reached the archive level. Their research area had accumulated books and notes across three days of intensive work. Progress existed but came slowly.

Celeste was already there, studying mark comparison charts.

“Morning.” She didn’t look up. “Found something. The trigger condition logic includes geographic components.”

“What kind?” Vorthraxx moved to examine her findings.

“The mark activates in specific locations. Places with high celestial resonance.” She pulled up a list. “Cathedrals. Sacred sites. Anywhere heaven’s influence is strong.”

“Which means you’re safest here.” Owen moved beside her. “Dragon territory has minimal celestial resonance.”

“Exactly. As long as I stay here, the trigger conditions can’t be met.” She closed the chart. “But I can’t stay here forever.”

“Why not?” Vorthraxx asked.

“Because the church is using economic warfare to force my return. I heard. The dragonfolks talk.” She looked at them both. “How long before your father decides I’m not worth the political cost?”

“He won’t—”

“He absolutely will. And he should.” Celeste’s voice remained calm. “One human woman versus dragon prosperity? It’s not even a question. I return or I leave for somewhere less politically sensitive.”

“There is nowhere less politically sensitive,” Owen said. “The church has reach everywhere.”

“Then I will go somewhere they can’t follow. Wilderness. Uninhabited territories. Live as a hermit until the mark’s energy dissipates.”

“That could take decades.”

“Then decades it is.” She stood and moved to the window. “I won’t let you destroy dragon-human relations over me. That serves heaven’s purposes perfectly. Creates division. Justifies intervention.”

Before anyone could respond, alarms echoed through the palace.

Not gentle notifications. Full alert klaxons.

Dominus’s voice followed, amplified by magic: “All dragons to defensive positions. There is a Celestial manifestation in the eastern sector.”

They ran.

—

The eastern district burned with light that hurt to witness with bare eyes.

A pillar of white fire descended from Drak’thar’s artificial sky. Where it touched ground, reality warped. Buildings dissolved. Stone transmuted to crystal. Dragons caught in the radius screamed as their forms altered against their will.

Dominus appeared beside them in full dragon form. “It’s converting dragons into celestial constructs. We need to shut it down.”

“How?” Vorthraxx asked.

Owen activated his Dragon’s Eye. The pillar’s structure was sophisticated—anchored in multiple dimensions simultaneously. “Sovereignty of Space-Time. If I can destabilize its dimensional anchors—”

“Then do it.” Dominus gestured. Zephron, Verida, and Glacius joined them. “Greater Dragons provide cover. Go.”

They launched together.

The light intensified as Owen approached. His scales burned, not physical fire, but conceptual burning. His Existence itself rejecting proximity to the divine presence.

He pushed through. Activated Sovereignty of Space-Time.

The world slowed. The pillar’s structure became visible in frozen time. Multiple dimensional anchors, exactly as suspected. Each one a connection point to the celestial realm.

Owen targeted the nearest anchor and pulled with a claw coated with mana.

Reality stretched and the connection strained.

The pillar responded. Tendrils of light lashed out. Zephron intercepted with lightning. Verida countered with toxic mist. Glacius erected ice barriers.

Owen pulled harder. The anchor began to fray.

Then pain exploded through his chest.

A spear of light had punched through his scales and emerged from his back.

The pillar had manifested a weapon. Struck him directly.

His sovereignty collapsed. Time resumed. He fell.

Vorthraxx caught him before he hit ground. “OWEN!”

“I’m fine.” Regeneration worked. The wound closed. But the pain remained. “That thing fights back.”

“We need a different approach.” Dominus circled the pillar. “Brute force isn’t working.”

“Then try precision.” Celeste’s voice came from below.

They all looked down. She stood at the pillar’s base, her hand pressed against the light.

“CELESTE GET AWAY!” Vorthraxx dove.

“It’s not hurting me.” She looked up. “The mark is resonating with it. I can feel the connection.”

“That’s because it’s celestial—”

“No. It’s more than that.” Celeste’s eyes widened. “This pillar is part of the same system. The mark and the manifestation—they’re connected. The Arbiter is using me as a secondary anchor point.”

Understanding hit Owen. “It’s exploiting the summoning circle on you. Using it to stabilize.”

“Can you close the connection?” Dominus asked.

“I don’t know how.”

“Then get away before—”

The mark on Celeste’s sternum began to glow. Bright enough to see through her clothing. Through flesh. Geometric patterns visible as light radiating from her chest.

The pillar responded. Its intensity doubled. The radius expanded. More dragons caught in transformation light.

“It’s feeding off her!” Verida shouted. “The mark is amplifying the manifestation!”

Owen moved without a conscious decision. He dove toward Celeste, activated Sovereignty of Destruction.

His body expanded. Power surged as his rational mind began degrading.

But before berserk state fully claimed him, he grabbed Celeste and threw her away from the pillar.

The connection broke.

The pillar flickered. Weakened.

Dominus struck. Pure draconic king authority enforced against celestial will. His roar carried power that made reality bend.

The pillar shattered.

Light exploded outward. Then collapsed. Then vanished entirely.

The eastern district lay scarred. Buildings damaged. Street crystal where stone had been. Seventeen dragons unconscious where they had been partially converted before the pillar fell.

Owen’s Sovereignty deactivated then He collapsed.

—

He woke on the ground with Vorthraxx crouched over him.

“Alive?”

“Barely.” Owen pushed himself up. His body ached. His mana reserves read single digits. “Celeste?”

“Over there. She’s Unharmed.” Vorthraxx nodded toward where she stood with Dominus.

Celeste touched her sternum. The mark had stopped glowing. “It used me. The manifestation used my mark as a power source.”

“Which means staying in Drak’thar isn’t safe.” Dominus’s voice was heavy. “As long as you’re here, the Arbiter can use you to attack my realm.”

“I’ll leave.” Celeste said it immediately. No hesitation.

“Where?”

“Anywhere. Somewhere my presence can’t be exploited.”

“That’s exile, Celeste” Vorthraxx protested.

“That’s survival.” Celeste met his eyes. “The church wants me. Heaven wants me. Everyone who shelters me becomes a target.” She looked at Dominus. “I’m grateful for your hospitality. I won’t let you pay the price for protecting me.”

Dominus nodded slowly. “I’ll provide supplies. Transportation to neutral territory. After that—”

“After that I’m on my own. I understand.”

She walked toward the palace. Vorthraxx followed.

Owen stayed on the ground, letting his regeneration work.

Dominus sat beside him. “This is escalating faster than anticipated.”

“The Arbiter isn’t patient. It wants this resolved.”

“Then it will be. One way or another.” Dominus looked at the scarred district. “I cannot allow more attacks on my realm. If Celeste won’t leave voluntarily, I’ll have to force her departure.”

“She’s already agreed to go.”

“Which solves the immediate crisis, not the underlying problem. She’s still marked. Still targeted. Eventually she’ll trigger whether in wilderness or civilization.”

“We’re working on its removal.”

“Work faster.” Dominus stood. “You have one week. After that, she leaves Drak’thar regardless of whether you’ve found a solution.”

He flew back to the palace.

Owen lay on scorched ground and processed the new timeline.

One week.

Not six months. Not the reduced three months political pressure would have forced.

One week to crack a celestial binding that had baffled scholars for years.

One week to save Celeste’s life.

After that, she was on her own against heaven.

And heaven was clearly done being patient.

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