The words hit Keiser like a hammer to the chest. For a heartbeat, his pulse spiked, loud and frantic in his ears. His breath caught halfway through, and his hand, still hovering over the bars of the cage, froze in place, fingers curling uselessly against the air as if even touching it might set the whole place in fire.
A dragon.
Not a beast.
Not even a child.
Something far, far worse. Something sacred and dangerous.
Keiser's gaze darted back to the small figure within the cage, the dim light flickering across a face half-shrouded by tangled red hair. Too red. Not the copper or auburn, but a deep, burning hue, like coals that refused to die out.
The air around the cage hummed faintly, the mana sigils along the iron bars pulsing in irregular waves, reacting to whatever was inside.
He took a step closer despite himself, his throat tightening.
"…No way," he muttered, almost a whisper, almost a prayer.
It couldn't be.
