The forest reacted to me differently now.
Not with fear, with recognition. Creatures that should have attacked took one look and moved aside. The trees themselves seemed to lean away, granting passage. Even the Mossbark Guardian emerged briefly, sniffed once, and sat in what looked distinctly like a bow before lumbering away.
I didn't understand it. Didn't have the energy to question it.
Every step toward home, the pressure inside me built. The Heart's power, the corruption, the three incompatible forces I'd somehow contained, they were done waiting.
[WARNING: TRANSFORMATION PRESSURE INCREASING] [ESTIMATED TIME TO FORCED EVOLUTION: 4 HOURS] [RECOMMENDATION: FIND SAFE LOCATION]
"Almost there," I muttered. "Just need to see her first."
The bond with Nyx pulsed stronger with every mile. She was moving too, coming toward me, unable to wait. I felt her anticipation, her fear, her desperate need to confirm I was real.
And underneath it all: that new thing. That deeper connection that the System had hinted at.
[COMPANION BOND STATUS: EVOLVING] [SOUL BOND COMPLETION: 87%] [NOTE: PROXIMITY WILL ACCELERATE PROCESS]
I was two miles from the grove when I felt it, Nyx's presence, massive and moving fast.
She'd grown. Significantly. I could sense it through the bond, feel the weight of her power, the size of her form. No longer the adolescent dragon I'd left behind.
She'd evolved, too, waiting for me.
Knox, her voice in my mind, breathless with joy and need. I can feel you. You're so close. Don't stop. Please don't stop.
I won't. Never again.
One mile. The pressure inside me was becoming painful. My skin felt too tight. My horns ached. The Oni runes blazed so hot they steamed in the evening air.
Half a mile. I could hear her now, the sound of something significant crashing through the underbrush with single-minded purpose.
The fairies would be with her. The grove was ahead. Safety. Home. Everything I'd fought five weeks to return to.
[WARNING: TRANSFORMATION IMMINENT]
[SOUL BOND COMPLETION: 95%]
[EMOTIONAL CATALYST: DETECTED]
[STAND BY...]
Quarter mile.
I broke into a run, abandoning caution. The power inside me surged, recognizing proximity to its catalyst. My vision started to blur at the edges. Reality bent.
And then I saw her.
Nyx burst into the clearing ahead, and time seemed to slow.
She was magnificent. Easily three times the size I'd left her, massive, powerful, her scales gleaming like polished obsidian shot through with veins of pure ember. Her wings spread wide enough to cast shadows across the entire path. Her eyes, burning gold, locked onto me with such intensity it stole my breath.
Behind her, the fairies poured into the clearing, Lira, Pip, Dewdrop, dozens of others. Elder Mirielle. The sprites. Everyone.
They saw me. Froze. Stared.
But Nyx didn't hesitate.
She moved, a surge of muscle and scales and desperate relief, closing the distance between us in heartbeats.
And the System chimed, loud and impossible to ignore:
[SOUL BOND COMPLETION: 100%]
[DRACONIC IMPRINT: PERMANENT]
[BOND TYPE: MATE]
[NOTE: THIS IS IRREVERSIBLE]
[TRANSFORMATION CATALYST: ACTIVATED]
Oh.
Oh...
Through the bond, I felt Nyx realize I'd seen the notification. Felt her certainty, her fierce possessive love, her complete lack of apology for claiming me so absolutely.
Mine, she sent. Always. Forever.
The pressure inside me broke.