LYRIAN AND REONE
"Transform!"
Lyrian's voice rang through the clearing, her form lighting up in a flurry of blue and silver. Resonance pulsed around her like waves of sound, and her glowing wings made their beautiful appearance.
Reone crouched low, his muscles tight with anticipation, ready for anything. His eyes locked on the enormous serpent gliding just a few meters away. Its scales shimmered in deep shades of green and black, catching every beam of light. It was both mesmerizing and terrifying—a creature that radiated majestic power.
A low hiss from the serpent trembled through the air, like a warning.
"Don't move. It might go away," Reone said quietly.
"Okay," Lyrian whispered.
The next moment, the huge serpent opened its jaws, and the small sac beneath its lower jaw contracted, pumping liquid up into its mouth before the serpent blasted it in a jet straight toward them.
They dodged, and the liquid hit the rocks behind them. It sizzled against the stone, eating through moss and rock alike.
Reone's eyes widened. "What the hell—?"
"We need cover!" Lyrian shouted. She grabbed Reone's arm, dragging him behind a huge boulder just before another acidic spurt hit them. She silently hoped the boulder could withstand the serpent's attack.
Hiding, they coughed as noxious fumes curled around them.
"What the hell is that thing?" Reone croaked.
"Seren once told me about it. It's a Noxshade… a rare guardian species."
The creature coiled above the pool, its movements almost hypnotic. Even through the tension, Lyrian could sense the resonance of its magic—ancient, harmonious, perfectly balanced. Its energy pulsed like a steady rhythm beneath the chaos.
"They regulate the forest's energy," she said softly, almost in awe. "Their presence keeps everything peaceful—including other creatures. That's probably why this place is so calm despite being the habitat of the most dangerous magical creatures. The Noxshade maintains it."
Reone raised a brow. "Well, it's being really peaceful right now," he muttered.
"It's not normally violent," Lyrian explained. "Unless someone enters its territory…" Her voice trailed off as realization hit. "Reone, I think we're trespassing."
"How unfortunate for it," Reone said, tightening his grip on his weapon. "Guess we'll have to take it down."
Lyrian's head snapped toward him. "No! We can't. We're the ones who came to its home. And if we hurt it, the balance of this forest could collapse. Everything living here would be thrown into chaos."
Before Reone could reply, the Noxshade struck again—a blur of motion and color. Lyrian raised her hand, forming a shield just in time. The acid splashed harmlessly across the shimmering barrier, leaving trails of sizzling smoke.
"Looks like we don't have a choice!" Reone shouted as he sprang from cover. He hurled his Spiral. It sliced through the air, but the Noxshade twisted, impossibly quick. The Spiral missed its head and disappeared into the mist. Then, like a boomerang, the weapon curved back, glowing faintly, and struck the small sac under the creature's jaw.
Reone's face fell,as he caught his spiral, thinking that he had missed his mark—but almost immediately, the serpent bagan shrieking and recoiling and a thin pale liquid leaked from its wound.
Its next attack misfired entirely: instead of a clean jet, the acid sputtered in broken bursts, splashing back into its own mouth with a sickening sizzle. The creature shriekied and thrashed wildly, confused and enraged, its motions jerky and unfocused as the damaged sac beneath its jaw pulsed in frantic, uneven contractions.
But the disruption didn't last. After a few violent spasms, the leak slowed to a stop. The serpent forced its coils still, drawing in a ragged breath before steadying.
Reone stared, stunned by the brief chaos he'd caused. He replayed the moment in his mind: the sharp contraction, the sudden leak, the way the serpent's entire attack pattern collapsed for a heartbeat.
And then it clicked.
That sac…
It wasn't just another piece of the serpents anatomy, he realized. It was its Achilles heel—its weakness.
Reone instinctively knew that to bring the serpent down, he would have to pierce that sac clean through.
"Lyrian,I think I found its weak spot!" Reone shouted,clutching his spiral.
"Go for the sac under the—"
"No!" Lyrian cried. "We can't kill it!"
The creature recovered, looking weaker but angrier. Reone barely rolled aside as a spurt of acid narrowly missed him. Thinking on his feet, he activated the gauntlet on his wrist, launching a metallic coil into the serpent's flank, which immediately gave it a minor electric shock. The Noxshade spasmed and went down, struggling in the water.
"Now's my chance," Reone thought. He got to his feet and charged.
But before he could deliver the final blow with the Spiral, Lyrian darted between them.
"Stop!"
Reone froze mid-swing, his blade inches from her.
"Lyrian, what—what are you doing?" he barked, confused.
"I'm not letting you hurt it!"
At that moment, the Noxshade recovered, looming over them menacingly. Reone swore under his breath.
"Lyrian," he murmured, the edge in his tone betraying both frustration and concern.
At the very last second, Lyrian lifted her hands, closed her eyes, and began to sing—a low, resonant note that echoed through the clearing like a living spell.
The serpent faltered, its coils loosening, movements slowing. Its tail pulsed with the same rhythm as her song, caught in a trance.
"Run, Reone!" she gasped when she finished. "I've hypnotized it—but it won't last long!"
They sprinted out of the pool, splashing through the shallow water. But as Lyrian reached for their clothes, the hypnotizing spell broke—and the Noxshade instantly snapped out of it.
It locked onto the spot where Lyrian had been. She froze.
"Lyrian, move!" Reone shouted. He shoved her aside just as another acidic stream scorched the spot where she'd been. Then he grabbed her and dove behind a massive tree trunk. The Noxshade's acid sizzled against the bark.
The serpent let out one last, low growl, glaring at the forest around it with eerie intelligence before slithering back into the shadows.
Lyrian peeked out cautiously. "Looks like it gave up," she whispered. "It's finally over."
"Next time, I'll take your advice. No swimming," she said with a laugh.
Still looking ahead, she missed the pissed-off look on Reone's face. He stepped in front of her, fury burning in his eyes.
"What the hell was that, Lyrian?"
She blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You almost got us killed back there when you stopped me from taking that thing down." His tone was low, sharp—the kind that cut more than it yelled.
"I told you," Lyrian said firmly, "that thing is vital to the ecosystem here. I wasn't going to let you destroy it."
"Yeah? And you almost let it destroy us!" Reone shot back, caging her with his hands.
"But it didn't," she countered, refusing to back down. "We're fine."
"We got lucky. Next time, things might be different. And next time," he growled, "I expect you not to stop me from doing what needs to be done."
Lyrian's anger flared. "If you think I'm ever going to stand by and watch you do something wrong, you're horribly mistaken."
"Since when is fighting for our lives wrong?"
"It's not wrong, Reone. My problem is when you choose violence even when it's unnecessary," she snapped. "There are better ways to handle conflict—ways that don't destroy everything around us. Can you understand that?"
"Oh, I understand it just fine. But you don't seem to get that our enemies are cruel and without mercy. They won't stop until we're eliminated. If you hope to win against them, you have to fight fire with fire!" he shouted. "Stop being so naïve."
Her jaw tightened. "I'm not naïve. You're being a selfish, inconsiderate jerk, as usual."
A heavy silence settled, humming with tension and hurt.
Finally, Reone stepped back. "You know what, Lyrian? You do what you have to do. And I'll do the same. Just stay out of my way."
"No promises," she muttered, shoving past him.
Lyrian stomped forward until the pile of wood she'd gathered earlier came into view.
Stopping, she transformed back and picked up the pile.
She gave Reone a cold once-over before marching on, her footsteps loud in the quiet forest.