The smoke had thinned. The battlefield was silent.
Rin stood alone amidst scorched earth and broken bodies, watching the last flickers of Aelric Varane's sacrifice fade into ash.
He exhaled slowly,not just from exhaustion, but something deeper. A weariness buried in the bones.
Beside him, the two children trembled. Their bodies still adjusting, their blood now laced with the Dragon Wing Line. They had crossed a line they could never return from.
Rin looked at them.
For a moment, he didn't see pawns. Or symbols. Or weapons.
He saw what they really were,children. Small, scared, and forced to grow teeth far too early.
I live among monsters, he reminded himself. I can't forget what i really am .... a human.
He took a knee, dragon form fading, silver wings folding in like withering petals.
"You two," Rin said quietly, "do you want a peaceful life? Away from all this? If you grow up and still want to join me, I'll accept it. If not… I won't hold it against you. The weight of a country shouldn't be on the shoulders of children."
The girl hesitated. Her eyes glistened, but her voice was calm ,eerily calm.
"Where would we go?" she asked. "The Solas family owns this world. There's nowhere they won't find us."
Rin flinched. The way she said it ,it wasn't a question. It was a fact.
She was right.
Her brother stepped in front of her, legs barely holding, still trying to protect her.
"Because of our blood… we don't have a choice. We have to help our people. Please… help us."
They hated him still. He could see it. But it was buried under something heavier,duty, survival.
Rin stared at them for a long moment. Then a small, bitter smile tugged at his lips.
"This world doesn't let you run," he said. "It only gives you two paths—win, or die."
He placed a hand on each of their heads. "Good. You understand."
He stood, wings flickering behind him as if in approval.
"I'll train you. I'll give you the means to rise fast. But you'll need to disappear for a while. Stay hidden."
They both nodded.
Rin led them across the ruins toward the only man he trusted with this ,Dren.
The ex-General stood near a pile of corpses, upright but barely. His hand clutched his side, skin pale, breaths shallow.
Still, when Rin approached, Dren bowed.
"Your Highness…"
"Your soul core's intact," Rin said. "You'll recover. But it'll take time."
"If not for your gift, I'd be nothing but ash," Dren muttered. "You gave me a new future."
"I gave you a job. Fulfill it."
Rin pointed to a nearby corpse,shriveled and lifeless, but beside it lay a pool of dark, thickened blood.
"That blood holds trace purity. A fusion of dragon lines. Gather it. Burn the body. Erase all evidence."
He handed Dren a small orb. It pulsed with a dull red light.
"This will help extract the blood safely."
Dren took it and nodded. "Understood."
"These two,protect them. Hide them. Keep them far from Kaelion's reach."
"I know people," Dren said. "I'll stake my life on them."
"Good. Once you're back, meet me at the encampment. Don't be late."
Dren gave a weak salute. "Yes, sir."
---
Several Hours Later – Solas Family Branch, Droscalin
The massive golden gates of the royal guild swung open.
Rin staggered through, robes torn, blood trailing down his side. Dren limped beside him, arm slung across Rin's shoulders. Both looked barely alive ,clothes scorched, flesh burned, stinking of smoke and blood.
The guards froze.
Then panic erupted.
"His Highness!"
"Get medics ,now!"
Healers rushed forward.
Dren collapsed to one knee. His voice came out strained and rough. "We were ambushed. The others… they're all dead. Only we survived."
Gasps rippled through the hall. The air turned cold.
Rin didn't speak. He only groaned, eyes dull, a line of blood trickling from his lips. The wound on his ribs was self-inflicted. His fractured wing joint, twisted just minutes before arrival. Brutal… but necessary.
This illusion needed blood.
As the healers surrounded him, Rin let them work.
He didn't resist. He didn't speak.
But inside, his thoughts were sharp.
Kaelion made his move.
Now it's my turn.