"My Lord…My Lord...My Lorrrd—!"
The words pulled me from the depths of darkness.
My eyes fluttered open, greeted by streaks of sunlight trickling through towering pine trees. The warm rays kissed my skin—gentle, golden—but they couldn't reach the storm still raging inside me.
The forest was calm. Peaceful. But my heart was anything but.
The moment I tried to rise, I realized my head rested in her lap.
Nara.
Her voice, trembling with relief, echoed through the air as I blinked up at her.
"My Lord," she whispered again, her glowing blue eyes scanning my face with worry. Her soft pink hair fell over her shoulder, brushing against my forehead. Her hands trembled slightly as they moved to check for wounds—my chest, my arms, my face. Everywhere.
I couldn't speak. I just watched her, the sunlight dancing across her skin like she was made of it.
"We're out," she finally said, her voice breaking into a smile. "We made it out of the library. You… helped us."
I blinked. "Me?"
I tried to sit up, groaning as pain surged through my back. My body felt… wrong. Heavy. As if something ancient had been awakened inside me. Something I couldn't fully grasp.
And then, I noticed her forehead.
A gash ran across it—thin but deep. Like a claw had grazed her.
"What happened?" I asked, my voice hoarse.
She shook her head slowly. "You don't remember, do you?"
"…No."
Her eyes softened even more. "It wasn't you… not the you I know. But something… powerful took over. A dragon. A true beast. And still… you protected us."
I stared at my hands. At the faint glimmer of silver on my fingertips. Claw marks… fading now. But real.
"I… I don't understand," I whispered.
"You don't need to," she said, brushing my hair back. "All you need to know is… you saved us."
But all I could think of… was her.
Chrysantha.
And the hole her absence had carved inside my soul.
"It's good to see you're regaining your powers," the priest said, his voice calm as he approached from behind and sat beside Nara. "But don't push yourself too much, my Lord."
I turned to look at him. "Did I really become a dragon? Like—a real, massive one?" I asked, eyes wide with disbelief, sounding more like a child asking their parents about some forgotten dream.
They both chuckled.
"Of course," Nara said, grinning. "You're the Dragon King. In your previous life, you were the strongest among us. Sometimes, you'd even enter the tournaments we held in our dynasty."
"And the most interesting part—" she glanced at the priest, both of them smiling now, "—you never lost. Not even once."
I folded my legs and sat upright. "Can you tell me more? In my dreams, I saw a battlefield where swords—and their souls—were fighting. And at the end… I chose Chrysantha."
The priest nodded. "Ah… that was the first day you revealed yourself. Back then, you were still a prince, on the verge of ascending the throne. You had all your swords—except Petra and Chrysantha."
"I remember that day," Nara added with a fond smile. "You won Chrysantha from everyone. And the way you introduced her to us… she was hiding behind your robe, so shy."
We laughed.
"Hey, do you remember how she almost cut off my pinky because I accidentally hit the Lord during practice?" the priest said, chuckling.
I laughed harder. "Who's Petra, though? I've heard a lot about Chrysantha, but not her."
Nara raised a brow. "Well, how would you know if you never ask? You have seven swords—Teresina, Yolanthe, Petra, Hespera, Obelia, me…" she smirked, "and of course, your beloved Chrysantha. If you only dream about her, how would you remember the others?"
"Hey, I'm not doing it on purpose," I muttered, scratching my head. "It's just… she's the only one who appears in my dreams."
The priest laughed and tossed an apple toward me. "Finish it. You need to eat if you want to recover properly. The good news is, your bruises and scars are healing on their own. Your mana's stabilizing too—look." He pointed at my wrist.
I turned my hand over.
It was glowing. And heavier somehow. As if something ancient was slowly awakening in my veins.
"If my body's healing on its own," I whispered, "shouldn't I be able to heal others too…?"
They both looked at me, puzzled.
"Wait—can I try something?" I asked, moving closer to Nara.
"What are you—" she began, but I gently pressed my palm to her forehead.
A soft light pulsed from my hand.
Then… her wound began to fade.
"Oh my gods—it's working!" I shouted. "I can heal!"
Nara and the priest looked at each other, eyes wide with shock.