"So… how did you end up with Him?"
No one answered for a moment.
Then Silver's voice rumbled quietly from the dark.
"He offered me something I never had."
Sid turned toward him.
"What's that?"
"Family."
Sid blinked. "Just like that?"
"No." Silver smirked faintly. "I almost tore his throat out."
Avi let out a soft, amused breath. Smiling faintly at Silver seemingly thinking of the past.
"He resists everything first," she said. "Even kindness."
"He found me in the Neutral depths," Silver continued. "I was alone. Last of my bloodline. He asked me if I wanted to stop being alone. I told him no. Then he brought out Shiva… and Avi. After some futile resistance, suddenly I wonder what kind of man could earn their loyalty. Especially that frightening one."
He paused.
"So I made a pact with him. And here we are." a rare smile then formed on Silver's lips. This alone hints that he made the right decision.
Sid looked at Avi.
"What about you Aunty?"
Her voice was calm, but there was something behind it. Something distant.
"Three hundred years ago, I was being hunted. My people — children of phoenix blood twisted by forbidden lineage — we were marked for extinction. We were always running. World to world. Never staying."
"And then?"
"One day, we got cornered. No way out. That's when your uncle showed up."
"He saved you?"
"Well, it was purely coincidence. He said he got lost. And then, yes, he gave us a hand." Avi said with a small smirk. "He summoned Shiva right away. If only you could see those beasts' faces the moment he appeared. Hahaha." she let out a laughter. Then realizing she lose it quite a bit, she calmed herself down and continued,
"After that… I followed him. I had to know why a Dragon would serve a man."
Sid leaned back, staring at the fire.
"He's strong... but he never talks about how he got them," he muttered.
"Them?" Avi asked, glancing his way.
"Those scars on his back," Sid said, voice quieter now. "Is that—?"
Avi chuckled, interrupting.
"That's Shiva's, haha."
She leaned back on one arm, gaze drifting again.
"You know, it's not always an easy start. They never told me the full story either, but... you can get the gist just from looking at those scars."
Silver spoke next, his voice low and certain.
"Respect isn't given. Not even to him. He bled for it."
Sid stared into the fire again. The image of his uncle — laughing, reckless, untouchable — flickered in his head. But now… there was more to that image. Scars. Struggle. A man who earned loyalty not with strength, but with who he was.
He let out a slow breath.
"One day," he said, "I want to form a pact like that too."
Avi's smile returned, quiet and warm.
"Then train. Bleed. Survive. Like he did."
Silver added, his tone calm but sharp.
"And when the time comes, don't ask someone to follow you. Be someone worth following."
The fire cracked again.
And for the first time that night…
Sid knew exactly where his path needed to begin.