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Chapter 13: The Sky Tyrant
The roar did not echo.
It descended.
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Like something vast pressing down from above.
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The moment it reached the clearing—
Everything stopped.
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Not slowed.
Not startled.
Stopped.
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A mutated boar, mid-charge, froze with its hooves tearing into the ground.
A serpent, coiled to strike, collapsed flat, its body pressing instinctively into the dirt.
Even the scavengers at the edges—those that thrived on chaos—dropped low without resistance.
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Then—
One by one—
They bowed.
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Heads lowered.
Bodies trembling.
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Not out of thought.
Not out of fear alone.
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Instinct.
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Something deeper than survival.
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A command embedded into their existence.
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Submit.
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Or cease to exist.
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The battlefield—once a storm of blood and violence—
Collapsed into silence.
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At the center—
The wolf fell first.
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Its powerful frame trembled violently as frost spread uncontrollably across the ground beneath it.
Its claws dug in—
But not to attack.
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To hold itself down.
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Its head lowered.
Ears flattened.
Tail curled tightly beneath its body.
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Submission.
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The fox followed.
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A faint whimper escaped its throat—
Barely audible.
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Its flames flickered weakly—
Then dimmed.
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It lowered itself fully.
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The same creature that had moments ago made a ruthless decision—
Destroying the final fruit without hesitation—
Now lay still.
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Powerless.
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Above—
The Storm Tyrant Eagle froze.
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Mid-air.
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Its wings remained spread—
But no motion followed.
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It hovered unnaturally—
As if something invisible had seized control of the sky itself.
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Its golden eyes—
Once filled with dominance—
Now flickered.
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Not rage.
Not aggression.
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Uncertainty.
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Fear.
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For the first time since it claimed the skies—
It hesitated.
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Kael felt it.
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Not as sound.
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But as weight.
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His breath caught.
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His chest tightened—
As if something unseen pressed directly against his lungs.
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"…What… is this…"
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His voice barely formed.
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Each heartbeat slowed—
But grew heavier.
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Thump.
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Thump.
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Thump.
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Loud.
Painfully loud.
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His muscles tensed—
Then trembled violently.
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Two instincts clashed inside him.
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Run.
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Kneel.
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Cold sweat slid down his back.
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His fingers twitched—
But refused to move.
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Even breathing felt wrong.
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The air itself had changed.
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Dense.
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Heavy.
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Oppressive.
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Then—
The sky shifted.
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At first—
Subtle.
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A distortion.
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Clouds bending unnaturally.
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Then—
It spread.
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A ripple.
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A fracture in the sky itself.
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Darkness expanded—
Not because light vanished—
But because something blocked it.
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Something vast.
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The sun dimmed.
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Wind twisted violently—
No longer flowing—
But spiraling.
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Pulled.
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Drawn toward a single point.
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Leaves were ripped from branches.
Dust rose in waves.
Trees bent violently—
Some snapping under the pressure.
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The air hummed.
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Low.
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Unstable.
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Kael's pupils shrank.
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"…No way…"
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Then—
He saw it.
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Descending.
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Slow.
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Deliberate.
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A massive form emerged from the distortion above.
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Its wings spread wide—
Not feathered—
But membranous.
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Each beat warped the air itself—
Sending visible ripples outward.
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Its body—
Covered in scales.
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Dark crimson—
Layered with metallic black.
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Each scale reflecting light like forged armor.
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Perfectly aligned.
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Seamless.
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Impenetrable.
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Its limbs—
Thick.
Powerful.
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Each ending in claws that gleamed like sharpened steel.
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Its tail moved slowly—
Cutting through the air with silent precision.
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And its eyes—
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Burned.
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Molten gold.
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Not glowing.
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Burning.
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Alive.
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Aware.
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Dominant.
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Kael's breath stopped.
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One word surfaced in his mind.
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"…Dragon…"
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But something felt wrong.
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Incomplete.
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Not fully that.
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But close enough—
To terrify him.
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The creature descended lower.
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It did not rush.
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It did not need to.
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Its presence alone—
Had already conquered everything below.
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As it entered the clearing—
The pressure intensified.
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Kael's knees nearly buckled.
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"…Move…"
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"…Move!"
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His body didn't respond.
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Fear held him.
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Locked.
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Bound.
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Yet—
Beneath that fear—
Something stirred.
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A faint spark.
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Not resistance.
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Not courage.
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Something sharper.
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Curiosity.
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No—
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Ambition.
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Kael's gaze locked onto the creature.
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"If something like that exists…"
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His breathing steadied slightly.
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"…then this world…"
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"…is far beyond anything I imagined…"
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His fingers trembled—
But didn't lower.
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"…And if power like that can be reached…"
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His eyes hardened.
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"…then staying weak…"
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"…is not an option."
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He forced his hand upward.
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Slowly.
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Painfully.
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"…Appraisal…"
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The moment the skill activated—
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The pressure spiked.
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As if the creature itself rejected being observed.
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But the system responded.
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Information flooded in.
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Name: Juvenile Wyvern
Race: Draconic
Sex: Male
Level: 15
Rank: (C Rank)
Mutation Stage: Early Growth
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Attributes:
Strength: 28
Agility: 24
Endurance: 26
Wisdom: 14
Spirit: 18
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Skills:
• Draconic Might (Passive)
Exudes overwhelming dominance pressure
Suppresses weaker beings
Reduces movement, reaction speed, and combat ability
• Fire Breath
Releases condensed draconic flame
Capable of incinerating large areas
High energy density — destructive beyond normal fire
• Steel Wings
Wing edges function as high-speed cutting blades
Effective against armored targets
• Draconic Fury
Temporarily boosts all attributes by 50%
Greatly increases combat dominance
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Traits:
• King of the Sky
Absolute dominance over aerial creatures
Forces submission or hesitation
• Apex Predator
No natural enemies within current ecosystem
Top of the food chain
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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Kael's pupils shrank.
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"…Level… 15…"
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It wasn't just higher.
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It was overwhelming.
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A completely different existence.
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His gaze lingered on one line.
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Draconic Might.
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"…So this… pressure…"
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His body trembled again.
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"…is just its presence…?"
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He looked at the frozen eagle.
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"…Even that thing…"
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"…can't resist it…"
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Then—
Movement.
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The Storm Tyrant Eagle twitched.
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Its instincts surged.
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Survival.
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It broke.
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With a violent flap—
It turned—
And fled.
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Wind exploded behind it as it forced its body into motion.
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But Kael saw it clearly.
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"…Too late…"
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Its flight—
Unstable.
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Its wings—
Damaged.
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Its speed—
Reduced.
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It wasn't escaping.
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It was delaying.
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The Wyvern tilted its head slightly.
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Watching.
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Calm.
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Uninterested.
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Then—
It opened its mouth.
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The air warped.
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Heat gathered.
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Condensed.
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SCREEEEEECH!!!
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The sound tore through the sky—
Sharper than before.
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Focused.
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Deadly.
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Then—
It moved.
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Not like a beast.
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Not like something bound by weight.
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It launched.
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The air exploded beneath it.
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A shockwave tore through the clearing.
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Trees bent.
Branches snapped.
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Kael staggered.
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"…Too fast…!"
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In seconds—
The distance vanished.
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High above—
The eagle stopped.
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It understood.
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It couldn't escape.
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Slowly—
It turned.
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Its wings trembled—
But remained spread.
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Its eyes burned.
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Not with dominance.
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But defiance.
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If it was going to die—
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It would not die running.
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The sky fell silent.
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Two rulers faced each other.
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One—
The fallen king of this domain.
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The other—
A tyrant that had just arrived.
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Below—
Kael watched.
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"…This isn't just a fight…"
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His throat tightened.
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"…This is domination…"
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The Wyvern didn't move.
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Didn't rush.
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Its eyes remained fixed—
Certain.
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It already knew.
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How this would end.
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And still—
It waited.
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The eagle moved first.
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And the sky—
Exploded again.
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The eagle moved first.
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A piercing cry tore through the sky—
Not of dominance.
But defiance.
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Its wings expanded fully—
Despite the damage.
Despite the blood.
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Wind gathered.
Violently.
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Not wild—
Not scattered—
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Focused.
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The air around it compressed rapidly, spiraling inward as if the sky itself was being twisted into a single point.
Trees below bent under the pressure.
Loose debris lifted into the air.
Even Kael was forced to lower his body.
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"…It's forcing everything into one attack…" he muttered.
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The wind howled—
Sharper.
Denser.
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Then—
It formed.
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A single blade.
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Massive.
Condensed.
Unstable.
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Everything the eagle had left—
Poured into one strike.
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It screamed—
And released it.
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The sky split.
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A visible distortion carved through the air as the blade surged forward, tearing space apart in its path.
The pressure alone forced the ground downward.
Grass flattened.
Branches snapped.
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Kael dropped to one knee.
"…This is insane…!"
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Above—
The Wyvern watched.
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Unmoving.
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Then—
It reacted.
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Its body tightened.
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And the pressure—
Exploded.
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Kael's breath hitched violently.
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The air became heavier—
Crushing.
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His vision blurred.
His chest tightened.
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"…I can't… breathe…"
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Even the beasts below pressed deeper into the ground.
The wolf trembled.
The fox flattened completely.
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Above—
The Wyvern opened its jaws.
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The air twisted.
Heat gathered.
Compressed.
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"Fire Breath."
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It released.
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A torrent of blazing fire surged forward—
Not a stream—
A wave.
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The sky erupted.
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Wind and flame collided violently.
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Explosions rippled across the air as the massive wind blade tore into the inferno.
For a moment—
They held.
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Balanced.
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Then—
The flames pushed forward.
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Devouring.
Overpowering.
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The wind blade shattered.
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But—
Not completely.
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Fragments broke through.
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Striking the Wyvern.
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Its body jerked slightly mid-air.
A shallow cut tore across its scales.
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The Eagle's attack—
Had landed.
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For the first time—
The Wyvern was touched.
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The eagle saw it.
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And surged forward.
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Desperate.
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Its wings beat violently despite the damage.
Blood scattered behind it.
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It wasn't retreating.
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It was gambling everything.
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Closing distance.
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One final attempt.
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Kael's eyes widened.
"…It's still fighting…?!"
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The Wyvern's gaze sharpened.
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For the first time—
There was reaction.
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Not anger.
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Acknowledgment.
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Then—
It moved.
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Faster than before.
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Gone—
Then there.
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Right in front of the eagle.
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No hesitation.
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No pause.
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"Steel Wings."
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The motion was simple.
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One clean sweep.
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Silent.
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Absolute.
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The sky froze.
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Then—
A line appeared.
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Across the eagle's body.
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Time seemed to stop.
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The eagle's eyes remained open—
Still burning with defiance.
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Then—
Blood followed.
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Its body split.
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Clean.
Effortless.
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Two halves.
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No scream.
No resistance.
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Just—
End.
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Kael's heart skipped.
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"…It… died just like that…"
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The Wyvern caught both halves mid-air—
One in each claw.
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Its wings moved slowly.
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Calm.
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Unbothered.
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As if nothing meaningful had happened.
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Silence spread.
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Complete.
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No wind.
No fire.
No movement.
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Only dominance.
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Below—
Every creature remained still.
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No one dared move.
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No one dared breathe loudly.
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Kael stared upward.
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His body trembled uncontrollably.
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Fear gripped him—
Cold.
Heavy.
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But beneath it—
Something else burned.
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He had seen it.
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Power.
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Not struggle.
Not survival.
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Dominance.
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Absolute.
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His fists clenched.
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"If… I had that power…"
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His thoughts raced.
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No fear.
No hiding.
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Only control.
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Only strength.
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He shook slightly.
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"No…"
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His breath steadied.
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"I need that power."
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Above—
The Wyvern let out a low growl.
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Not loud.
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But final.
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Then—
With a single powerful beat of its wings—
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It turned.
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And left.
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Carrying the eagle's corpse.
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Its massive form moved toward the distant mountains—
Growing smaller—
Then disappearing into the horizon.
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And slowly—
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The pressure faded.
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The air lightened.
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The weight lifted.
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Kael collapsed to one knee.
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Gasping.
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Sweat drenched his body.
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"…It's gone…"
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Around him—
The forest began to move again.
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Creatures slowly raised their heads.
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Confusion.
Fear.
Relief.
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None fought.
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None attacked.
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The battlefield—
Was over.
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The wolf and fox remained still for a long moment.
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Then—
Slowly—
They lifted their heads.
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Not to fight.
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Only to confirm—
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The tyrant had truly left.
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Kael looked at the sky.
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Empty.
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But it didn't feel empty anymore.
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It felt—
Endless.
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Dangerous.
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Unreachable.
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His chest tightened slightly.
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"…This world…"
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He whispered.
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"…is far bigger than I thought…"
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And far more dangerous.
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But his fear—
Had changed.
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It no longer held him back.
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It pushed him forward.
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His eyes hardened.
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A silent vow formed.
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He would not remain weak.
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No matter what it took.
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The wind passed through the ruined clearing.
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Soft.
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Carrying the scent of blood and ash.
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The night was ending.
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And what came next
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Would not be survival.
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But growth.
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