On the other side of village ,Morning light filtered faintly through cracks in the ruined ceiling of the ancient chamber.
Dust floated in soft golden beams.For the first time since his awakening
There was quiet.Lyra stirred slightly on the stone platform where she had fallen asleep.
Her silver hair spilled across the dark stone like moonlight against shadow.
The crimson sky above the ruined kingdom had softened into pale dawn.
And Kaelith[ the monster] sat beside her.Awake.
Watching.Not hungrily.Not possessively.
Just… watching.
His elbow rested casually on his knee, fingers loosely intertwined.He had not moved all night. Immortality did not require rest.
And after a century of forced sleep he had no desire for it.His gaze traced her features carefully.
The curve of her cheek.The faint bruise now almost healed.The softness that contradicted the power he had felt inside her.
"She looks fragile," he murmured quietly to himself.
The bracelet on her wrist gave a faint silver pulse.
"No," he corrected softly. "She is not."
Lyra's lashes fluttered.She opened her eyes slowly.Silver met crimson.
For a second Neither spoke.
She blinked once.Then frowned slightly.
"You're staring."
His lips curved faintly.
"You were unconscious," he replied calmly. "It would have been rude to look away."
She pushed herself upright.
"How long have you been sitting there?"
"Since you slept."
Her brows knit slightly.
"You didn't sleep?"
His expression shifted just slightly.Not bitter.
Not angry.But honest.
"I have already slept enough."
The weight in those words lingered between them.
She studied him more carefully in the daylight.
Without storm.Without fury.He looked different.Still powerful.Still intimidating.
But less like a god of destruction.More like a man carrying centuries on his shoulders.
"You could have left," she said softly.
He tilted his head.
"Left?"
"Yes."
She gestured vaguely toward the open ruins beyond the chamber.
"You're free now."
A faint smirk returned.
"And abandon my kingdom again?"
Her gaze lowered slightly.
"It's broken."
He stood slowly.Tall.Unavoidable.
"So am I," he said quietly.
The air shifted.
Not with anger.With something heavier.
He stepped closer, stopping just in front of her.
"Yet we remain standing."
Lyra felt that strange pull again.The invisible thread between silver and crimson.
"You watched me all night," she said lightly, trying to ease the tension.
"I was ensuring you did not vanish," he replied.
She arched a brow.
"You think I would?"
"I think," he said calmly, "you are capable of many things you have not told me."
Silence fell again.But this time it was softer.
Less hostile.More curious.She stood as well.
Now they were almost eye-level.
Almost.
"You don't trust me," she said.
He looked directly into her eyes.
"I do not trust anyone."
A pause.
"But I did not move away."
Her breath caught slightly at that.The wind outside stirred gently through broken pillars.
For a moment it felt almost peaceful.
Then, faintlyHe sensed it.A ripple in the distance.
Golden....Watching.
His gaze shifted toward the horizon.
Lyra noticed immediately.
"What is it?"
His expression hardened slightly.
"He has returned."
The morning calm fractured.And whatever softness had begun between them Was about to be tested.
Lyra broke the silence first.She glanced down at her dress, now smeared with dust, dried blood, and ash from the ruined kingdom.
Then at him.
"You know," she said lightly, "for two beings standing in an ancient royal tragedy…"
He looked at her.
"…we are both incredibly dirty."
For a secondHe simply stared.Then a faint smirk curved his lips.
"Your priorities fascinate me."
"I prefer not to smell like ritual sacrifice," she replied calmly.
That amused him.
A low chuckle rumbled from his chest.
"Very well."
He turned without another word.
"Come."
---
The river cut through the broken kingdom like a scar of silver light.Clear.Cold.Untouched by destruction.Nature rarely cared for fallen empires.
Lyra stopped at the riverbank.
For the first time since entering this ruined world Something softened in her expression.
"It's beautiful…"
Kaelith watched her instead of the water.
"Everything untouched by betrayal usually is."
She rolled her eyes slightly.
"You truly know how to ruin peaceful moments."
"I was never designed for peace."
He stepped closer to the river.
"I will arrange new garments."
Lyra blinked.
"You're just going to leave me here?"
Crimson eyes flicked toward her.
"Do you require supervision?"
"…No."
"Then do not wander."
And with that He vanished into crimson mist.
Silence returned.Only the gentle sound of flowing water.
Lyra exhaled slowly. Then stepped forward.
The cold river kissed her skin instantly.She inhaled sharply.But did not retreat.
The white dress clung to her body as it absorbed the water, fabric turning translucent beneath the silver surface.
Moonlight hair drifting around her shoulders.
She closed her eyes.Let the water wash away dust, blood, fear, ritual, destiny.
For a few stolen seconds…She was just a girl in a river.Not a sacrifice.Not a mystery.Not a weapon.
Kaelith reappeared silently at the riverbank.
Dark garments folded loosely in one hand.
And then.....He froze.
Because the river no longer held just water.
It held her.Silver hair flowing like liquid light.
Wet fabric tracing every curve with merciless precision.Droplets sliding slowly down her skin.
Her eyes closed.Unaware.Unprotected.
For the first time
The Monster King forgot to breathe.Something primal stirred beneath his composed exterior.Not hunger.Not dominance.Something far more dangerous.
Desire.His crimson eyes darkened.
The air around him grew warmer.Unstable.
Lyra opened her eyes slowly And saw him.
Standing there.Watching.The intensity of his gaze alone made her pulse stutter.
Neither spoke.Neither moved.
The river seemed to still between them.
"You returned quietly," she said softly.
"I did not intend to disturb you."
His voice was lower now. .Rougher.
She noticed.
"And yet," she murmured, "you look very disturbed."
That snapped something in him.He stepped forward.
Water rippled violently around her as he entered the river without hesitation.Clothes discarded onto stone.Crimson markings glowing faintly beneath the surface.
Lyra's breath caught.Not from fear.
From proximity.From him.He stopped directly before her.Close.Far too close.Water drifting between heated skin.His gaze locked onto hers.Unrelenting.
"You truly are a dangerous creature."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"You've mentioned that before."
"Yes."
His fingers lifted slowly.Hovered near her jaw.
"But I had not fully understood why."
The contact came gently.
Shockingly gently.His thumb brushed away a droplet trailing down her cheek.Silver light flickered beneath her skin.Crimson pulsed beneath his.The river exploded with glowing energy.Their powers reacting violently once more.
Neither pulled away.Neither dared.
Because now It was no longer magic.It was tension.Breath mingling.Hearts unsteady.
A pull neither wished to name.
"You should not look at me like that," Lyra whispered.
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"Like what?"
"As if you intend to burn the river itself."
A slow smirk curved his lips.
"If I wished to burn something…"
His hand slid slowly from her jaw to her waist.
"…it would not be the river."
Her pulse thundered violently.The silver glow in her eyes intensified.The air thickened.
The world blurred at its edges.
For a moment
They stood suspended between restraint and surrender.Between danger and desire.Between fire and water.
Then
A distant golden pulse cut through the air like lightning.Kaelith's expression darkened instantly.The tension shattered.