As we walked, I kept looking around. People were moving here and there — some looked like soldiers, wearing rough armor, standing straight and alert. Others were just regular folks, bundled up in layers and layers of clothes. Everyone was covered head to toe, and yet, somehow, I wasn't cold at all. Not even a little. And I was completely naked. That's when it hit me — why don't I feel cold?
We came up to this weird building that stood out from the rest. It wasn't really a building — more like a cage made of metal bars. No walls, just bars all around. Then, before I could say anything, I got shoved inside.
"Stay in there and don't try anything stupid or your head's coming off," Aldir warned.
Well, I wasn't about to cause trouble. I'm here to help these people, not make enemies. So, I just sat down and waited. Then I heard a shaky voice.
"Hey, you!"
I turned to see a man standing nearby, shaking so bad I thought he'd fall over. His hair looked frozen stiff, and his hands and lips were this weird purple color — like he'd been out in the cold way too long.
"You need something?" I asked.
He nodded, his voice barely a whisper. "How… how aren't you cold?"
Now that he said it out loud, I wasn't sure what to say. So I just told him what I'd been told before, like some excuse: "Maybe it's because I'm fused with a dragon's body?"
He didn't seem to buy it, and honestly, I wasn't sure if I did either. He went quiet after that, like talking was too much for him.
Time dragged on and I started getting bored. Then I remembered something the goddess told me — about checking your stats, like in a game or something. You just say "Status" and it shows up.
I gave it a shot: "Status."
Right in front of me, a list appeared.
STATUS
Strength: B (Max S)
Agility: A (Max SS)
Stamina: B (Max A)
Mana: A (Max SS)
Intelligence: C (Max B)
Abilities:
High fire affinity
Dragon's eyes
Partial transformation
I'd never played games like this, never read novels about stuff like that — never even moved properly before now. But somehow, it was easy enough to understand.
Lost in thought, I looked up and noticed a group coming my way. The status screen disappeared, and my eyes landed on a young woman dressed all in white. She looked like a nun from something I saw on TV, with black hair and huge dark bags under her eyes like she might collapse any second.
Behind her were soldiers, but two stood out — the captain who brought me here and another guy with green hair and a smirk like he knew some secret.
"Hey, friend," the green-haired guy said, grinning. "Looks like we kept you waiting."
----
She watched him from just outside the cage, her eyes tracing the lines of his figure. He looked to be in his early twenties, but there was something unsettling about him that made her stomach tighten. His hair was a pale blonde, almost too bright under the dim light, but it was his eyes that caught her off guard. They were black — not just dark brown or hazel, but truly black — like bottomless wells that didn't quite belong to someone so young, or human.
There was an eerie stillness in the way he sat, calm yet watchful, as if waiting for something unseen. His skin was bare and pale, contrasting sharply with the cold metal bars surrounding him. The way those dark eyes scanned the room made her feel exposed, like he could see past the surface, into the truth no one else wanted to face.
Most people here were worn down by cold and fear, their faces marked with exhaustion. But his presence was different — unsettling in a way she couldn't explain. She felt a chill run down her spine, and not from the cold air.
Glancing quickly at the captain beside her, she tried to steady her nerves. The captain seemed unfazed, even amused by the man's quiet intensity. The other man, with the green hair and smirk, looked more intrigued than anything.
"Who is he?" she asked softly, unable to keep the tension from her voice.
The captain's eyes darkened. "He's the one we've been waiting for. As Aroon is saying he's fused with a dragon. If that's true, he's not just another prisoner — he's something else entirely."
She swallowed hard and looked back at him again. Something about the way he held himself, the strange contrast in his eyes and hair, told her this was only the beginning of something far bigger and far more dangerous than she had imagined.
voice softer now, trying to steady itself despite the unease twisting inside her. "What's your name?"
The man's dark eyes flicked toward her, calm and unreadable. After a brief pause, he answered, "Liam."
The name felt almost too ordinary for someone who looked so out of place here — like a quiet storm wrapped in flesh.
Liam's gaze met hers again, steady and sharp, and for a moment, the chill that had gripped her loosened just a little. There was something in him that refused to be broken, even behind the bars.
The woman nodded slowly, committing the name to memory. "Liam," she repeated quietly. "I'm called Saint." She hesitated, then added, "We'll need to understand what you really are — if what they say is true."
Behind her, the captain's eyes gleamed with something like anticipation, while the man with green hair just smirked wider.
The man with green hair stepped forward, pushing past the others with an easy confidence that made the cold air seem warmer somehow. He glanced at Liam with a playful smirk.
"Well, Liam," he said, voice smooth like silk, "I'm Kael. That's the captain over there — Nolan." He nodded toward the stern man standing tall beside him. "We're the ones in charge here."
Kael's eyes flicked over Liam, sizing him up like a chess player eyeing a new piece on the board. "Looks like you're more than just a prisoner. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're really made of."
Aldir didn't smile, but there was a sharp edge to his gaze as he added, "You're coming with us. Time to see what you can do."
With that, Kael unlocked the cage and swung the heavy door open. Liam rose slowly, eyes calm but alert. The chill of the bars faded as he stepped out, standing tall between the two men who now held his fate.