The three sisters had a specific sleeping arrangement: Noah on the left, Muen in the middle, and Aurora on the right.
On the surface, this seemed to follow their birth order, but there were practical reasons behind it.
Noah slept on the outer edge to prevent her sisters from accidentally rolling off the bed. Aurora, the youngest, slept on the innermost side, where she could quietly observe both of her older sisters and any "nighttime antics."
As for why Muen slept in the middle…
Aurora lay peacefully on her back, breathing steadily. A pair of little legs were draped over her soft belly, and Muen's arm was wrapped tightly around her shoulder, effectively using Aurora as a plush, pink-haired body pillow.
Aurora was used to this. Her second sister always needed to cling to something in her sleep.
Before Aurora was born, Muen had always clung to Noah. But after Aurora arrived, Muen began to alternate between her two sisters as her preferred "snuggle target."
This was the real reason Muen always slept in the middle.
To her left was her soft, cuddly little sister, and to her right was the classic comfort of her eldest sister. As the third princess of the Silver Dragons, Muen believed in sharing her affection equally.
Aurora had grown accustomed to this and could sleep soundly through it.
"Mmm… jerky… jerky is so yummy…" Muen mumbled in her sleep, still clinging to Aurora as she dreamt of the snacks Noah had brought back after dinner.
Aurora, however, didn't even stir. Years of experience had taught her to sleep through anything short of an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic eruption.
After a while, Muen rolled over, satisfied with her cuddle time with Aurora, and decided it was time to turn and cling to Noah instead.
But as she turned and reached out her arm, she found… nothing.
Still with her eyes closed, Muen frowned. She reached out again, but her hand only met empty sheets.
Wait… this wasn't right.
She usually only had to reach out to find her eldest sister. Could it be… that Noah had fallen off the bed?
Drowsy and only half-awake, Muen squirmed closer to the edge of the bed, blindly patting the floor. She found no sign of Noah there.
"Sis? …" she whispered.
There was no answer.
A flash of alarm jolted her fully awake. Muen sat up and, by the faint moonlight streaming through the window, scanned the room. She called out again, a little louder. "Sis?"
Still, no reply.
Now genuinely worried, Muen quietly pulled back the covers and slipped out of bed. Her bare feet padded across the floor as she checked the bathroom.
But the bathroom was dark and empty.
Noah was nowhere to be found in their room.
Rushing back to the bed, Muen knelt beside Aurora and gently shook her shoulder. "Aurora, Aurora, wake up! Big sis is missing!"
Aurora mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. "Mmm… maybe she just went to the bathroom?"
"She's not in there."
Slowly waking up, Aurora sat up and rubbed her tangled pink hair. She glanced around the empty room, and a jolt of alertness cleared the last of her drowsiness.
"Maybe she went to the dining hall for more snacks?" Aurora suggested.
Muen's eyes were wide with worry. Sure, they were safe at home… but Noah had never just vanished in the middle of the night before.
"Let's go check the dining hall," Muen proposed.
Aurora nodded. "Alright."
The two young dragons hopped out of bed, pulled on their shoes and jackets, and tiptoed past their parents' room. They hurried down the hall and the staircase, all the way to the first-floor dining hall.
But Noah wasn't there, either.
"She's vanished!" Muen slapped her hands to her cheeks, her mind immediately conjuring up tragic scenarios. "What if a monster snatched her away? Or maybe that spatial rift from before reopened and pulled her in? Or what if she left us? What if she decided to go off on her own? Or—"
"Second Sis!"
Aurora clamped her hands over Muen's soft, chubby cheeks, stopping her spiral of panic.
"First," Aurora said calmly, "no dangerous creature could get into the Silver Dragon Sanctuary. Dad would turn them into roast beef before they even got close.
"Second, that spatial rift was dealt with a long time ago. Dad handled it.
"And finally, if big sis would ever leave anyone behind, it would definitely not be you. So, relax."
Muen took a deep breath, slowly calming down under her little sister's logical reassurance.
With tear-filled eyes, she asked, "Then… where could she be?"
Aurora rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "She's been eating a lot lately, saying it's because her training has increased. Maybe… she's out training on her own right now?"
Muen's eyes lit up with realization. "That's possible! Let's go check the training grounds!"
"Right!"
The two little dragonesses hurried to the sanctuary's outdoor training grounds.
Sure enough, under the shelter of a towering ancient tree, they spotted a lone figure.
It was Noah.
Muen's face brightened, and she opened her mouth to call out. "Sis!—mmph!"
Her shout was quickly muffled as Aurora clamped a hand over her mouth and pulled her behind a nearby tree. Together, they peeked out to observe their sister.
"What's wrong?" Muen whispered, confused.
"Look at her," Aurora whispered back. "She doesn't seem to be doing normal physical training."
Muen looked more closely. Noah was sitting cross-legged under the tree, her eyes closed. A faint, shimmering aura of energy drifted around her, lightly ruffling her hair.
It didn't look like physical exercise. It seemed more like she was gathering mana.
"Is she practicing magic condensation?" Muen guessed.
Aurora shook her head, her expression serious. "Big sis's magic attribute is thunder. If she were gathering mana, we would see signs of the thunder element around her. But there's no elemental reaction at all."
Though Noah wasn't gathering thunder magic, both sisters could sense a subtle, powerful energy pulsing around her.
What kind of energy was it…?
Their thoughts were interrupted as Noah's voice suddenly cut through the quiet night.
"Who's there?!"
Startled, the two sisters sheepishly peeked out from behind the tree and stepped into the open.
Recognizing her little sisters, Noah's defensive posture relaxed. She stood up and walked toward them.
"What are you two doing up in the middle of the night?" she asked.
"We… we couldn't find you in the room," Muen explained, her voice still shaky. "We thought something had happened, so we came looking for you…"
"Something happened? What could possibly happen to me?" Noah said, reaching out to pat Muen's cheek reassuringly. "Everything's fine. You should go back to bed."
"Really?" Muen's wide, watery eyes were still full of concern.
Noah placed one hand on her hip and waved with the other. "Yes, really. Now go to sleep."
"Then let's all go back together." Muen took her sister's hand.
Noah hesitated for a split second, her body tensing as if to pull her hand away, but she stopped herself.
Her gaze seemed to flicker. After a brief pause, she said, "Alright, let's go."
With that, she led Muen back toward the sanctuary.
Aurora followed a few steps behind, her eyes fixed intently on her eldest sister's back, a pensive frown on her face.
Did big sis just refer to herself in a weird way? Or did I mishear…?
She scratched her head, shook off the thought, and hurried to catch up with her sisters.
Back in their bedroom, Noah watched as Muen and Aurora climbed back into bed.
"I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be back soon," she told them.
Muen clutched the edge of her blanket. "Okay, but come back quickly."
Noah nodded and slipped into the bathroom.
She quietly closed the door, turned on the light, and stood in front of the mirror over the sink, staring at her own reflection.
The cheerful, reassuring smile she had worn for her sisters faded away. In its place was a look of cold, ancient detachment.
This wasn't Noah's usual "trying to act grown-up" expression. It was the calm, distant gaze of someone who had seen countless lifetimes—someone familiar with every sorrow and joy the world had to offer.
"Though this body is female, just as mine was, adapting is not difficult," the reflection murmured, the voice Noah's, but the cadence entirely foreign. "But this child… she is still so young. It will take time to fully restore my strength."
Noah looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers as she tried to channel the strange power she had been gathering.
But suddenly, a sharp, stabbing pain echoed in her mind.
She massaged her temples, clicking her tongue in irritation.
"It seems this child possesses a strong will… I can only maintain control for less than two hours while she is asleep."
A slow, calculated smile spread across her face—a expression that was utterly alien on the young dragoness.
"Well then, until my full power is restored, I suppose I will just have to stay here temporarily."
She met her own eyes in the mirror, the smile turning icy.
"Consider it… a fee for using my name without permission."