The ground was cracked and smoky beneath Enaros's scaled feet, but he didn't care about the burning beneath him… his eyes were glued onto his beloved daughter. Yet, he could barely recognize her, not with the dark, cold fury in her lifeless eyes. She didn't utter a single word.
"Focus. I mustn't let my emotions distract me. That… That isn't her… That isn't my Nara."
Across from him, Nara's scales on her neck glowed.
"F-Father! Look out!" Nix screamed in horror dozens of meters away.
FWOOOOOOOOM!
A plume of fire roared from her mouth, spiraling straight for her father. He raised his hands aimed at her, summoning a swirl of flames between his palms.
"Draconic Vortex!"
Twin columns of fire roared out, twisting around each other to form a helix of flames.
Their blasts collided midair, creating a massive explosion of fire and heat across the crumbling battlefield. Shards of molten rock and trees rained down as both slid back, their clawed feet digging into the burning ground.
As Enaros stared his daughter down, his mind brought him to a day long ago in the open training fields of orange and green grass with a young Nara. She was barely taller than his waist, eyes shining with wonder as she watched him demonstrate a basic fire breathing ability.
"Like this, Nara. Steady your breath, imagine you're drawing from your core… then let it flow out." He instructed softly.
"Draw… from my core..?" She repeated, seemingly confused.
She took a deep breath only to sputter out a puff of smoke. Enaros chuckled before placing his hand on her head.
"Hahahaha. Don't force it, Nara. One day, you'll master it better than anyone on this continent."
She flashed him a grin, her sharp teeth glistening.
"You got that right! I won't stop trying until I do and then I can beat you up one day too father!" She yelled out enthusiastically.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Beat me up one day huh?" He said while ruffling her hair.
"With your talent and no quit attitude, I would be more surprised if anyone could deal with you."
He gave her a big smile before resuming their training.
Back to reality, he realized he was on the receiving end of that terrifying talent.
"You've really become an incredible warrior Nara. Your mother would be so proud. And… I'm… so proud to be your father."
Another stream of flames erupted from Nara's mouth, ripping across the battleground. Enaros countered with his own stream of flames. The collision of flames thundered on impact.
From a distance, Nix could only watch helplessly.
"If only I could help… if only—" He murmured to himself before his eyes widened slightly.
"Wait… Tyrek! Where's Tyrek…?"
He turned to look around and then he spotted him, sitting behind a splintered giant tree trunk in rough looking shape, watching both battles rage on. He seemed like he was searching for the right moment to intervene momentarily, yet never did so. Not only that… his attention seemed to be fixed on the fight between Aqua, Elysia, and Kaito.
"No, he's not fighting because he's not fully healed. But Father… father can't do this alone… I have to do something." Nix thought to himself, his panic elevating by the second.
Back in the battle, Enaros finally saw an opening as Nara's stance faltered for a split second. His large wing unfolded and he darted straight ahead, blitzing through the air like a missile.
Time seemed to slow as the distance between the two shrunk to only a few meters. He swung his arm back, but once he got in range, his eye met hers. Once they did…
He froze.
He… couldn't do it.
His focus completely wavered.
Nara seized that opportunity. She jumped up a few meters as he flew under her before driving her sharp clawed feet into his back, sending him crashing into the ground below.
She stood on him, her claws lodged deep into his back as he groaned in agony.
But she wasn't finished yet…
The scales on her neck began to glow subtly…but before the flames came, Nix screamed out with everything he could.
"Elder sister! Stop this! You're hurting father! Stop! Stop! Please… just stop!"
The sound of his voice made her pause for a moment before turning her attention toward him.
Nix gulped hard, his scales on his neck and arms tingling. He could see glimpses of the loving sister he once knew beneath the cold, dead eyes he was staring into.
"Why… Why are you hurting father?" He asked, his voice trembling.
"This isn't like you! You're the one who taught me never to bow to bullies. So why… why are you acting like one?"
Nara stiffened up, her expression for once… changed. Her lips parted, as if she wanted to speak, but no words came out.
Nix pressed on, his emotions beginning to spill over.
"Do you remember the times we snuck off to the Aurora Coastline? When Father forbade us from going, but you insisted anyway? You said it was where the dragons soared the lowest, and we could almost touch them if we tried."
"You told me the world was vast and full of wonders, but people can be cruel. You said if you ever caught anyone bullying me, you'd make them regret it. And you did, didn't you? You beat up every kid who tormented me in lessons… every single one of them. Even though… even though it got you expelled for a quarter cycle."
Enaros was struggling to push himself off the ground with Nara on top of him, but that wasn't the only thing he was fighting against. He was fighting back tears as he listened to his son's words.
"So why… why did you become the bully elder sister?"
A faint snapping sound cut through the battlefield, almost like a string snapping in half.
But that wasn't the strangest thing. Nara's lips quivered and her eyes became watery. She scanned over the area around them—her father beneath her feet, Aqua and the others, the burned and battered battlefield, everything. Those childhood memories Nix spoke of clashed with her present reality, fueling a confusion that began to swirl behind her eyes that slowly had life returning to them.
Nix ran forward, stopping in front of her with his fists raised and his tiny wings stretched as wide as he could. Enaros, still on the ground, spoke weakly.
"Nix, no… Run. You… must get away… son."
"Never!" Nix rebutted, tears streaming down his partially scaled face.
"Elder sister, if you want to hurt father again… you'll have to kill me first!"
Tyrek observed the situation from a distance in complete shock.
"What's that kid think he's doing!? He's going to get himself killed! No… no, I can't let that happen! I can't lose Nix after waiting this long. I have to intervene somehow…"
Nix stood firm, still staring up at Nara.
"You always told me if I needed help, all I had to do was ask you. You said you'd always be there." His voice cracked, tears dripping down his scaled chin onto the charred ground.
"I… I need you now. So please… please stop hurting my father and help my friend Kaito! Elder Sister… PLEASE!"
There was a gentle night breeze across the Aurora Coastline. Nara and Nix sat side by side on a rocky outcrop overlooking the water. Above them, the sky wasn't just scattered with stars, it was alive with dragons of all colors, shapes, and sizes gliding overhead.
"Elder sister…" Nix began to ask hesitantly.
"I've always wondered… what are your dreams? What do you truly long for beyond your daily battles and endless training? Are you going to follow father's footsteps and become the head of the village?
Nara's head tilted to the side slightly, being caught off guard by the sudden question before smirking.
"Have you ever heard of the legendary world of Zephyros?" She asked.
"Zephyros? The world of legends? Father mentioned it once or twice, but I never really understood."
"Get this then. Imagine a world where the sky is not only the normal blue like we get here during light out, but a sky that changes colors throughout the day. A world where the plants are nothing like the ones you've seen here, trees with leaves that sing in the wind, and mountains so tall that you can nearly touch the stars…."
Her voice dropped to a mischievous whisper as she continued.
"And that's not all. The creatures are as diverse as they are mysterious… winged beasts with scales of pure light, giants that roam its vast valleys… and even beings that look eerily familiar to us, said to possess unique draconic blood in their veins, who can harness their fire in ways we can barely imagine."
Nix listened in complete shock as he stared at her.
After a moment, Nara leaned forward, chin propped on her knees. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she stared up at the night sky and dragons above.
"I've always wanted to visit the world of the Zephyros… see if those old stories are true." She paused, staring intently at the stars.
"And if there are other worlds out there—worlds like ours, but different. I want to travel to all of them. Find their strongest warriors—and fight them!"
Nix let out a hesitant laugh, a little wave of unease running through him as he side-eyed her.
"All you ever think about is fighting, right elder sister?"
She shrugged, not even pretending to deny it.
"Yup. Fighting is a way to understand another's true emotions."
She looked down at her fist.
"A good fight never lies."
Nix fell quiet as he pondered her words before a dragon swooped low, nearly on the same level as them. The rainbow lights danced across its scaled body. A rush of awe took over him before he remembered he wanted to ask something.
"Elder sister… do you really think there are other worlds out there? With real people like us?"
"Of course I do. I believe the universe isn't just us. There's gotta be more… more fighters, more unknown lands, more… all sorts of things."
Nix chuckled softly, but it faded into a heavy silence as he fiddled with a small rock in his hand, rolling it between his fingers. Nara noticed the change in his mood, tilting her head at him.
"What's up little bro, everything okay?"
He exhaled slowly, almost like he was scared to speak.
"I… I was just thinking about my own dream. It's nothing big, but—"
"Don't say that. Dreams are dreams, big or small." Nara cut him off, her tone firm.
He stopped playing with the rock, slightly startled by her voice, but smiled weakly.
"Well… I guess… my dream is just to find real friends. I've never had any, you know? Everyone in the village either teases me or ignores me because I can't breathe fire like the rest of you."
Nara froze.
"I know it sounds pathetic. But Father's this famous warrior, leader of our village. Mother had those special healing abilities no one else had seen in generations. You, elder sister… you're the strongest fire-breather in the entire southern continent—they even call you the Princess of the Dragons. Meanwhile, I'm just… me. No fire. No special abilities. No skills… Am I… a failure?"
It went silent between them. The waves crashing below the only thing heard besides the random roars of dragons overhead. Without warning, Nara reached out and flicked him on the forehead… pretty hard.
"Ow!!" Nix yelped, hands flying up to rub the spot.
"What was that for elder sister!?"
"That's for the crap coming out of your mouth!" She fired back with no hesitation..
"Who said you need to be like father, mother, or me anyway? Your path is your own." She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Listen, little brother. One day you'll find friends… Real friends. You'll find where you belong. And if any so-called friend walks away or hurts you—" She raised her fist as the scales on her arm began to glow.
"They'll have to deal with me."
"B-But that's not how friendships work, elder sister. You can't just beat people up who don't want to be friends with you."
"That's how mine works." Nara shot back, crossing her arms.
"Pretty sure they're not your friends if you threaten them."
They went on like that for a while as the dragons above circled.
In the present moment, Nix's tears blurred his vision as he watched Nara stand on their father, head down and shoulders tense. Despite the tears streaming down his cheeks, he refused to back away.
"Nix please… run." Enaros weakly pleaded… blood pooling beneath his body.
Suddenly, Nara's wings flared open and she flew up a couple meters, unlodging her feet from her father's back before landing right in front of Nix. She took a deliberate step forward, then another, and another. Nix clenched his fists, squeezing his eyes shut as hard as he could, bracing for the worst.
But instead of pain, he felt a familiar stinging sensation upside his head.
"Oww!"
He opened his teary eyes slowly before they widened as much as they could.
Aqua—who stood dozens of meters away, hand raised over the unconscious Kaito, CPI scanner began to flicker in her eyes.
Nara: 425,000… 450,000… 500,000 CPI
She whipped her head around only to see Nara standing there staring right at her, Nix and Enaros behind her slightly flared wings.
"Huh? Di–Did she break free from Sera's control? That's… impossible. No one's ever freed themselves from Sera's hold willingly… This can't be good. Is Sera alright?" She thought to herself before speaking out loud.
"What are you doing, Nara? You're not following the plan. Enaros and that boy—those are your priorities, remember?"
Nara exhaled, a thin cloud of smoke escaping her mouth.
"Looks like there's been a change of plans…" She said calmly with a small smirk crawling up her face.
Aqua's widened hearing those words. Sensing the danger, she leapt backward from everyone, trying to create distance.
"No. This can't be right—she's back to normal… but how?"
Without hesitation, her essence flared.
"Glacial Eruption!"
Ice roared from the ground like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path as it rushed forward to Nara.
Elysia, still mostly frozen, let out a startled breath.
"If that wave of ice hits…"
But mid-thought, she felt something else—a strange energy in the air that made her skin prickle.
Her eyes shot to Nara who stood staring down the surge of ice. A faint glow came over her scaled neck, so intense that it seemed to light her entire body up from within. She took a deep breath before—
"Draconic Inferno."
She blew out a focused thin stream of flames, but it rapidly spread into a massive wall of fire that dwarfed the battlefield. The inferno met Aqua's wave of ice head-on, seemingly melting and destroying it on contact. Steam hissed and exploded in all directions, drenching the area in boiling droplets.
Aqua leapt high into the air at the last second, but the moment she felt safe, Nara appeared right in front of her.
"Not good. I need to—"
But her thoughts were cut short as Nara slammed a vicious kick into her stomach, nearly folding her in half.
The kick sent her hurtling downward, crashing so hard into the ground beneath her that nearby trees were obliterated on impact.
The next moment, Nara dove down, both feet driving into her gut a second time.
Aqua choked on her own blood, her eyes flickering as she dipped in and out of consciousness.
Nara grabbed her by her white hair and dragged her across the scorched dirt, grinding her face against the ground the entire way.
Desperate, Aqua clutched at her wrist and ice crept up her arm. Seeing this, Nara let go, leaping back to land in front of Elysia and the unconscious Kaito.
Elysia, forced to watch behind her icy prison, stared at Nara's back in pure astonishment.
"This girl… It doesn't feel like she's using nature energy like her brother, it feels like something else. Was that why she turned back to normal? Not only that, I thought she was strong before, but now it feels like she's gotten stronger."
Dozens of meters away, Nix squatted next to his father, both of them transfixed by the sight of Nara.
Aqua, struggling to stand on her two feet, spit blood onto the ground. Her entire body ached with unrelenting pain.
"Tsk. My essence is drained from fighting that idiot and the others… that's the only reason I'm losing ground. I need to get back to the others and—"
In the moment of thinking, she felt a crushing sense of panic that overshadowed every single one of her other thoughts followed by a familiar voice drenched in pure terror.
"AQUA! AQUA! PLEASE HELP ME, AQUA!!"
"That voice… That's— Sera?!" She thought to herself, her blood running cold.
"What's going on!? I knew something wasn't right! I need to go now!"
Without even paying any mind to the others, she flash-stepped away.
"Get back here, fish-ears! I'm not done with you yet!" Nara screamed out taking flight after leaving the others behind.
"And now we're here." Nara finished her story to Talon.
Talon sucked her teeth and shook her head.
"Those idiots! Do I have to do everyone's job around here?" She mumbled annoyedly before speaking out loud again.
"You Nara, I need your help. I need you to hold off Aqua for a bit. Can you do that?"
"Depends." Nara responded bluntly.
"HUHHH!? Depends on what exactly?"
"Are you Kaito's friend?"
Talon's cheeks blushed red instantly.
"Wh–wh-what kind of question even is that in a situation like this? Are you okay in the head? He's my crewmate, THAT'S ALL! Seriously! Why does everyone care about that idiot and I!?"
Nara's head tilted to the side curiously.
"Ahhh okay… So he's your boyfriend. Got it."
"HE'S NOT—" Talon began to yell out.
"If you're a friend of his then you're a friend of Nix, which makes you a friend of mine." Nara stated calmly.
"I'll help you."
Talon opened her mouth to say something, but took a deep breath instead.
"Good."
She turned her eyes back to Sera who was nearly enveloped by the shadows of Kaeline's ability, covered from the chest down.
"The credits are about to roll."