That day, Max moved faster than he ever had before.

He had only one goal in mind, and that was to take over the last dragon empire in the region before the gods, the Arbiters, or whatever force stood behind Aurelian could descend upon them.

There was no longer time to move slowly, no longer time to pretend that the world would wait for him to finish building his kingdom properly. If he wanted to survive, if he wanted his women, his unborn children, his people, and everything he had claimed to survive, then Voidstar could no longer remain a young kingdom struggling to stand on its own feet.

It had to become an empire.

He led Agnia and the dragon army back to the new capital city, where he stayed only long enough to give orders to the rest. The city was still not much of a city yet. It was an empty field stretching across wide plains, covered only by grass and open sky, without a single tree standing in sight. But to Max, this empty land was a beginning. A place where something new would rise by the hands of the people who chose to follow him.

Every dragon of the Voidstar Kingdom had gathered there.

Max stood before them with Agnia nearby and the army behind him, his body still wounded from the battle against the Arbiter, yet his back remained straight, and his black eyes swept across the crowd with a weight that made the entire field fall silent.

When he spoke, his voice was carried by powerful void winds, spreading across the plains for hundreds of kilometers.

"Every single dragon of the Voidstar Kingdom must work fast, and work hard. The four great family houses must be built. The new capital must rise. Roads must be carved into this land, homes must be raised, walls must be prepared, and every empty piece of this field must become proof that Voidstar is no longer a passing dream born from war, but a kingdom that will stand even when the heavens themselves look down upon us."

His voice deepened, and the void winds around him moved with it, carrying his will.

"Do not fret. Your hard work will not be overlooked. None of you will be treated as nameless hands used and forgotten. Each one of you will be paid. Each one of you will be remembered. And when the history of Voidstar is written, your names will not be buried beneath mine. They will be etched beside the birth of this kingdom, as founders, as builders, as the first people who raised their hands when our land had nothing but grass, blood, and hope."

The people of Voidstar listened in silence at first, but Max could feel their gazes sharpening, their hearts slowly answering his words.

"My people," Max continued, his voice carrying even farther. "Today, I shall unite the rest of the dragon nations. Today, the last empire in this region will either kneel willingly or be broken beneath our feet. Today, the scattered flames of the dragons will become one fire. No more divided clans. No more borders drawn by ancient pride. No more rulers who starve their own people while calling themselves kings. From this day forward, there will be one banner, one law, one future, and one name that every enemy of this land will remember."

He raised his hand slowly, and black mist curled around his fingers like a living crown of darkness.

"Voidstar."

The name rolled across the plains.

"As long as I am alive, none of you will be abandoned. None of you will be left to starve while nobles feast behind closed gates. None of you will have to bow your heads to enemies who come to take your homes, your children, or your future. I cannot promise you peace, because peace is not something weak rulers can beg for and receive. Peace is something the strong carve out with blood, power, and unity. But I can promise you this."

Max’s eyes grew colder, and his voice became low enough to make every word feel heavier.

"As your ruler, I will stand before you when danger comes. I will bleed before I let this kingdom fall. I will grow stronger, I will make this army stronger, and I will make Voidstar so powerful that no empire, no kingdom, no ancient bloodline, and no god hiding above the clouds will dare look down upon my people again."

For a moment, only the wind moved across the plains.

Then the people of Voidstar erupted.

Claps, roars, and voices of approval rose together, shaking the empty field that would one day become their capital. It was not only praise. It was belief. It was the sound of a young kingdom accepting the weight of its own future, and for the first time, Max felt that this empty land truly belonged to him.

But he did not allow himself to enjoy it for long, because there was no time left for him to stand there and bask in their belief.

If he wanted to grow stronger, if he wanted his legion to grow strong enough to face the threat that was now coming for him, then he had to first become the ruler of all dragon lands in this region. In his mind, there was no other path to victory. Personal strength was no longer enough. A powerful bloodline was no longer enough. Even the void itself would not be enough if he stood alone against the gods.

He needed generals who could command without fear, warriors who would fight without breaking. And he also needed builders, smiths, healers, merchants, roads, walls, food, coin, weapons, and a powerful economy that could support endless war if endless war was what the heavens forced upon him.

Max turned away from the cheering crowd and looked toward the direction of the last dragon empire.

His expression hardened.

Voidstar had to become more than a kingdom. It had to become a force the world could no longer ignore.

Max did not explain anything to Rosalia. He did not tell her what had happened to him, where he had been, why he had returned so soon, or why the smell of blood, dust, and something far more terrifying than dragon magic still lingered around him. He did not tell her about Henry either, or how he had met that rotten man again inside the Wind Dragon Empire, because that was a conversation he could not afford to have now.

All of that had to wait.

The details about the fight with the Arbiter, the gods, and the danger that now loomed over all of them, he left for Agnia to explain. She had been there. She had seen enough. And more importantly, Max no longer had the time or patience to stand around repeating what had already happened while the future moved toward his throat like a blade waiting to fall.

He moved fast.

Before Freya could even understand what he intended to do, Max had already stepped toward her and taken her away, leaving no room for refusal or questions. She was a key. A weakness connected to Thor, one Max could use whether through her life, her death, or even through the simple fear of what might happen if the Thunder Dragon Emperor refused to kneel.

Max knew it was cruel. He knew it was ugly. But he had already had enough.

The world had stopped giving him clean choices a long time ago, and after facing Aurelian, after hearing that the gods themselves would soon come looking for him, Max no longer cared what evil he had to touch if that evil helped him force the last dragon empire to submit willingly. If he had to become a tyrant for one day so his people could survive for generations, then so be it.

Black winds wrapped around his body and lifted him into the sky.

Freya barely had time to gasp before the ground vanished beneath them. The new capital shrank behind them as Max flew toward the horizon with terrifying speed, carrying her in his arms.

Yet despite the danger of the situation, Freya’s face slowly flushed.

She was a mature dragon woman, proud, elegant, and old enough to know better than to let herself be shaken by the arms of a younger man, yet the feeling still caught her off guard.

Even her husband had not carried her like this in a long time. Not with such strength. Not with such confidence. Not as if the world itself had no right to take her away from him once he had already decided she belonged in his grasp.

Her hands pressed against Max’s chest at first, intending to push him away, but the black winds struck against her body, the air roared around them, and his arms only held her more firmly.

The heat in her face deepened despite herself, her heart beating faster than she wished to admit as she found herself carried through the sky by a wounded, handsome, and terrifying young king who looked as if he would burn every empire in the region before allowing fate to chain him again.