"Ah, so you got her at last," rumbled the massive black Indoraptor, its deep crimson eyes glowing like embers in the dim light. The creature's form loomed over the gathered dragons, its scales glinting ominously as its razor-sharp claws tapped against the stone floor with an unsettling rhythm.

The sleek blue dragon standing beside the SandWing gave a sly grin, her tail lashing in satisfaction. "Yeah, we did, boss," she confirmed, a spark of triumph lighting her silver eyes. "Sent one of her own dragons to nab her. The queen didn't see it coming."

She turned her gaze to the hooded SandWing, who dipped into a deep bow, his tail curled tightly to his side in submission. "At your service, my liege," the SandWing said with a voice that carried both deference and a hint of pride. "But be cautious. The queen is no ordinary dragon. She's quick and strong. It took everything I had to subdue her."

The Indoraptor leaned down, its massive snout mere inches from the hooded dragon. Its hot, acrid breath filled the space between them. "Strong, you say?" it mused, its lips curling into a jagged grin that revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth. "Good. I like prey that puts up a fight."

Its tail swished with a slow, deliberate menace, the spines along its length gleaming dangerously in the dim light. The air in the chamber seemed to grow heavier as the Indoraptor's laughter echoed off the walls, a sound that promised nothing but chaos and pain.

"Keep her alive for now," it commanded, rising to its full, towering height. "I want to see just how strong this queen really is."

The blue dragon and the SandWing exchanged uneasy glances but quickly nodded. Neither dared to question their leader, whose power and fury were as legendary as they were terrifying.

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Sera groaned as she woke up, her head pounding like a war drum. Her vision was blurry at first, but the searing pain radiating from her temples forced her to focus. She gingerly touched her head, her claws coming away sticky with blood. Her midnight blue scales were speckled with crimson, and she hissed in frustration.

She tried to sit up, only to feel the cold bite of iron around her limbs. Chains. Thick, rusted chains pinned her to a rough brick wall that reeked of damp and decay. Her wings twitched instinctively, but the chains held firm.

A smooth, almost mocking voice cut through the dim silence. "I wouldn't get too cozy in there, little queen. Especially not near the grate."

Sera's golden eyes darted toward the sound. Beyond the cell bars, in the dim, flickering torchlight, stood a raptor-like creature. Its sleek gray scales shimmered faintly, a stripe of electric blue running from its eye to the tip of its tail. It was gnawing on what appeared to be... a rat? Or at least what was left of one, judging by the skeletal remains hanging from its blood-smeared jaws.

Sera's lip curled in disgust, her golden eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice low and dangerous despite the ache in her head.

The raptor paused mid-chew, then smirked—a chilling expression that somehow managed to look both amused and threatening. Its blood-stained snout crinkled as it laughed softly, the sound low and mocking.

"Me?" it drawled, tossing the half-eaten carcass aside with a casual flick of its claw. "I'm Blue."

The way it said its name was almost a challenge, as if daring Sera to ask more. The torchlight caught the gleam of its sharp teeth as it leaned closer to the bars, its sharp eyes glinting with curiosity and malice.

"And you," Blue added, voice dripping with sarcasm, "must be the legendary Queen of the Stars. Though, I've gotta say... you don't look so regal chained to a wall."

Sera's tail lashed against the stone floor, her glare sharp enough to cut steel. "Let me out of here, and we'll see how regal I look when I tear you apart."

Blue snorted, clearly unimpressed. "Feisty. I like that." It leaned back, crossing its arms as it perched on its haunches. "But here's the thing, darling queen—you're not exactly in a position to make threats. So, why don't you just sit tight and enjoy the ambiance? You'll be seeing him soon enough."

A chill ran down Sera's spine, though she refused to let it show. Her chains clinked as she shifted, her mind racing for a plan. Whatever game Blue and their mysterious "him" were playing, she wasn't about to lose.

Blue gave a dismissive flick of her tail and let out a sharp laugh. "Well, I'll be off then. See you around, rat," she mocked, her voice dripping with amusement. Without waiting for a response, she darted off, her lithe form disappearing into the shadows of the dungeon.

Sera, still chained to the wall, seethed with frustration. The sound of Blue's footsteps faded, leaving her alone in the cold, damp cell. She tried to shift her wings but was immediately reminded of the weight of the chains that bound her. She gritted her teeth, determination flaring within her.

Sera of the Sky doesn't stay trapped for long.

She tested the chains again, straining against their grip, but the metal was thick and unyielding. There was no escaping from them—not yet. But there was something in her, something fierce, that refused to accept defeat.

Her golden eyes flicked over the cell, scanning for anything useful. The walls were made of stone, worn with age, but there were no obvious gaps or weaknesses. The grate in the corner was her only real hope, but it was too small to fit through.

Still, she couldn't afford to waste time feeling sorry for herself. She needed to focus, to think.

"Rat," she muttered under her breath with a sneer, as if the insult could somehow fuel her anger. I'll show them. I'll show all of them.

Her tail flicked, and despite the chains, a plan began to form in her mind. She wasn't done yet.

◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥◤◢◣◥

Later, Sera heard the unmistakable click of claws scraping against stone, the sound echoing through the dim, cold dungeon. The air shifted with a sense of foreboding as something—or someone—approached.

A new figure emerged from the shadows, larger than Blue, with the same eerie features, but somehow more menacing. This raptor's scales were a dark, murky shade, and his eyes gleamed a fiery red from beneath a black face. A streak of gold ran from the corner of his eyes, down his neck, and along his tail, though it only served to emphasize the sinister presence he exuded.

He leaned casually against the bars, his sharp claws tapping against the metal with a rhythmic clink. The sound was as grating as his voice, which followed soon after.

"Ah, hello there, darling," he sneered, his voice smooth but laced with malice. "I am Ripper, the King of Darkness, you see." He chuckled darkly, the sound almost vibrating through the stone walls. He stepped closer, his eyes fixed on Sera with cruel amusement.

"You're my prisoner now, little dragon," he said, a mocking grin spreading across his face. With a dramatic flourish, he tapped the bars of the cell with his obsidian claws. "These chains? These bars? They're coated in Nightshade—deadly to dragons. I'm sure you've heard of it. A slow, painful death, just waiting for the right moment."

He leaned in even closer, his breath heavy and stinking of decay. Sera could almost feel the oppressive weight of his presence, the air growing thicker as he loomed over her.

"What do you think of that, hmm?" he taunted, his golden streaked tail swishing behind him. "You thought you were clever, didn't you? The mighty Sera of the Sky. But here you are, at my mercy."

Sera narrowed her eyes, her body tense beneath the chains, but she refused to let fear show. She'd survived worse, and she wasn't going to let a pathetic little tyrant like Ripper break her spirit.

"You're going to regret this," she said coldly, her voice steady, despite the growing tension in the room.

Ripper tilted his head slightly, eyeing her with a mixture of amusement and contempt. "Oh, I doubt that, darling," he drawled. "I'm sure you'll prove quite entertaining before you finally succumb. But don't worry. I'll be here to watch."

He stepped back, the sinister smirk never leaving his face as he turned away. "Rest well, little queen. You'll need all the strength you can muster for what's to come."

As Ripper turned away, his movements eerily fluid and snake-like, Sera's voice broke the stillness of the stone cell, sharp and potent as a dagger made of obsidian. "What do you want with me? Why am I here?" Her words reverberated off the cold, damp walls, a mixture of seething frustration and confusion, as if she was clawing at the very air around her to get answers.

Ripper stopped mid-stride, his body tensing as the weight of her question seemed to amuse him. He let out a low, mocking chuckle, an arrogant smirk curling at the corners of his scaly snout. With all the dramatic grandeur only a creature of his ridiculous self-importance could muster, he slowly half-turned, the shadows of the dimly lit room dancing across his ancient, jagged features like the markings of some forgotten god. He paused, letting the silence stretch between them like a taut wire.

"What do I want, you ask?" Ripper drawled, his voice dripping with a theatrical malice that only seemed to grow the longer he spoke. He let his words hang in the air like poison, as if they were an executioner's sentence rather than a mere explanation. "I want your continent, Pantala, to fall back under our rightful rule. Dinosaurs—we—are the reigning species now. Dragons?" He sneered, his lips curling back to reveal rows of jagged, yellow teeth. "Mere whispers of a long-dead era. Their tribes? Extinguished. Erased. Obliterated."

Each syllable he spoke was like venom, oozing from his mouth with sadistic pleasure. Ripper's eyes gleamed as he continued, the satisfaction in his voice palpable, as though he were recounting the details of some twisted bedtime story told by flickering flamelight. "HiveWings, LeafWings, SilkWings—all snuffed out. One by one," he purred, each word a cruel caress that dripped with an arrogance that made Sera's skin crawl.

Sera's blood ran cold, her emotions now a storm raging deep inside her chest. Anger, grief, and disbelief fused into one volatile ball of fire as the name of Cricket—and Blue's tribe—burned in her mind. "Why?" she asked, her voice trembling with a mixture of fury and desperation. She could hardly believe the nightmare he was describing. Her wings twitched involuntarily against their chains. "Why would you do this? How dare you destroy everything they worked for?"

Ripper turned back slowly, a smirk still plastered across his face, as though he were savoring her shock. His voice took on a mocking lilt, each word coated with disdain. "Why?" he echoed, the question dripping from his lips like poison. "Why?" he repeated, his tone adopting an exaggerated innocence that barely concealed the malice underneath. His claw tapped against the stone floor in a steady rhythm, each tap a reminder of the predator before her.

And then, with a grace that could only be described as absurd for a creature of his size, he stood up on his hind legs—an act that was at once a parody and a grotesque spectacle of evolution. His massive form loomed over her, as if he were performing for an invisible audience.

"Simply put," he continued, his voice now adopting a mockingly regal tone, "dragons had their day in the sun. Now, it is time for the true rulers to take back what was always meant to be ours. Dinosaurs—we—are the rightful rulers of this world." His chest puffed out in exaggerated pride, his claws tapping against the stone as if his point was too grand to be contained. "It's time for the dragons to be forgotten, and for my kind to rise once more. After all, we are the ones that survived—unlike your fragile, fleeting tribes."

He stood there, basking in the delusion of his own superiority, convinced that his reign was inevitable, that the dragons' time had come to an end. To him, the destruction of entire tribes seemed like a simple and justified act—a stepping stone to his imagined empire.

But Sera, though still shackled and furious, only stared at him, her eyes burning with an intensity that seemed to radiate from her very core. She wanted to laugh at how utterly ridiculous he sounded. Dinosaurs? Take over the world?

Her wings twitched again, a flare of blue flickering in the dim light. If there was one thing that Sera knew, it was this: the fire of dragons burned brighter than any false monarch could ever hope to extinguish. And Ripper, standing there so proud and foolish, would soon learn that no amount of venomous pride could ever match the strength of her resolve.