Close your eyes," I said.
"Do what you did before. Find your core. But this time, don't just draw power...find yourself. Imagine what you are."
Serie frowned. "What if I see nothing?"
"Then keep looking," I murmured. "Your real self is there. Dig for it."
She inhaled sharply, closing her eyes. Gold shimmer began to flicker beneath her skin, then darken...veins of light pulsing through her arms. For a moment she trembled, lost.
"I don't see anything," she whispered.
"Focus," I said, stepping closer. "Stop thinking. Let it show you."
Her breath came faster. The glow deepened. Then...her lips parted.
"I see… a butterfly," she breathed. "Black wings… but the tips glow gold."
My pulse stuttered.
Black butterfly, golden wings. Eyes of the dragon.
The blind man's words slammed into my skull.
No!
Couldn't be her...!
I forced my face blank. "Describe it."
"It's small, but fast. When I reach for it, it disappears. But then I'm flying with it. Like I am it."
She opened her eyes...green blazing in the dark. "I felt… free."
"Good," I said quietly. "Remember that feeling. That's your core image. Now control it."
I moved behind her, guiding her stance. "Draw the power into that form. Let it move through you. ...Guide it."
Her glow surged--dark and gold shimmering together, sparks floating like molten dust.
I reached out, my hand brushing the shimmer at her shoulders.
It was warm, alive, humming under my fingers.
She shivered, eyes still closed.
Confused, she turned slightly, seeing me at her back.
For a heartbeat she stared at my face, something flickering across hers.
"Kael…" she breathed.
Before I could speak, she turned and her lips met mine.
she kissed me...
I had been holding back, teeth gritted, keeping my distance.
That restraint cracked like stone.
Her lips were soft and hot, her glow spilling onto me.
My shadows curled instinctively, mixing with her black-gold shimmer until they swirled together in the air like ink and fire.
My inner beast stirred..its flame clawing at my chest, wanting to burn everything.
But her mouth on mine was like water poured over a blaze.
The rage died. Something else took its place.
Her hands slid under my shirt, palms against my skin, tracing the scars and muscle.
My own hands moved before I could stop them...sliding under her clothes, feeling the warmth of her trembling back.
She gasped against my mouth, and the sound nearly undid me..
Clothes rustled, fabric falling to the ground as our kiss deepened.
Her nails raked down my back, not enough to wound but enough to leave fire in their wake.
My lips found her jaw, her throat, the pulse hammering under her skin.
The bond between us pulsed harder, red threads sparking through the air.
And then...something shifted.
The aura around us flared--gold, black, red, twisting together like a living storm.
It wasn't just our powers. It was more. The air itself trembled.
The whispers of Regio Obscura grew sharper, as if leaning in.
Serie's breath hitched...
"Kael… do you...feel that?"
I stilled, my forehead resting against hers. The glow flickered on our skin, alive and watching.
"Yes," I murmured. "We're not alone."
Then....
everything went still.
The light shattered into gold dust, falling between us like embers.
A voice echoed through the misted air, low and ancient...like the earth had decided to speak.
> "So… the thread still breathes."
Serie gasped, stumbling back. The warmth around us died.
From the shadows, something moved...tall, cloaked in a thousand folds of black fabric that rippled though no wind stirred.
A face half-hidden in darkness.
Eyes like hollow fire.
The Seer....!!
He looked between us, his gaze lingering on the faint red thread still pulsing from my hand to hers.
A smile crept beneath the hood.
> "It has been centuries since I've seen a pair touched by the gods' cruelty,"
he murmured.
"Red-threaded ones. Born of fate, doomed by desire."
Serie pressed closer to me, instinctive.
I shielded her with one arm, shadows curling around us both.
"What do you want?" I demanded.
The Seer chuckled, a sound like dry leaves.
> "To remind you, Dragon-child… that every bond demands a price."
He stepped closer; the ground seemed to melt beneath his feet.
> "The ritual you seek… can only awaken under the Blood Moon.
But every secret needs payment."
My hand tightened around Serie's. "Name it."
He tilted his head.
> "Please me."
His words sank like poison.
I felt Serie stiffen beside me. The Seer's eyes gleamed...mocking, ancient, cruel.
> "Show me the truth of your bond. Show me if the flame burns bright enough to deserve freedom."
The bond between us flared red, stinging, almost alive. Serie's pulse raced against mine.
We hesitated caught between anger and the pull of something far older than both of us.
Then she turned, eyes fierce, and her hand rose to my face.
Her touch was shaking, but her voice wasn't.
"Then watch," she whispered.
Her lips met mine again.
Softer this time but the bond burned hotter, red threads coiling like fire around our wrists. The air shimmered, humming with something close to magic.
The Seer's laughter cut through the silence..low, hollow.
> "Not yet. You burn, but you are not one."
And then he was gone....vanished like smoke torn apart by wind.
The night fell silent again, leaving only our ragged breathing, our fingers still entwined, and the crimson light fading slowly between us.
I looked at her.
She looked back.
Neither of us spoke.
But I knew ,whatever the Seer meant… the Blood Moon wasn't far.
We were both clueless....two fools dancing around riddles and half-truths.
Whatever the Seer said had left more questions than answers.
And that final whisper still echoed in my mind:
> "You burn, but you are not one."
Neither of us spoke for a while. The path through Regio Obscura stretched ahead..silent, endless, and heavy.
Finally, she broke the silence.
"We'll train again tomorrow," she said softly. "I'll push harder. Maybe then we'll find the rest of the answer… maybe the thread will finally break."
Something twisted in my chest, sharp and unfamiliar. I told myself it was relief but it didn't feel like relief.
She gave me a faint, unreadable smile.
"Yeah," she whispered. "Maybe then… this feeling will be gone."
The word feeling cut deeper than it should have.
Like she wanted to erase it.
Like it was something she shouldn't have felt at all.
I looked away, trying to focus on anything else. But before I could speak, she added quietly--
"I have a match tomorrow."
That caught me off guard.
She continued, her tone careful, testing.
"I'm not asking you to come watch, but… if you want to, you can."
There was something in her voice...a challenge, or maybe a dare.
But before I could reply, she spoke again, softer, almost to herself.
"Anyway, if anything happens, Davi..."
I stopped walking.
The thread on my ring finger pulsed hot—sharp, warning.
"Again?" My voice came out lower than I meant.
"You really want to say that name in front of me?"
She blinked. "What's your problem, Kael...!"
I didn't let her finish.
I caught her wrist and pinned her against the cold stone wall. The sound echoed through the ruins, and her breath hitched sharply.
"Ouch! I'm not sorry, Kael!" she snapped, fire sparking in her green eyes.
"Yeah, we've got mutual feelings...fine! But you also agreed on something! I never mentioned David, but you can walk into cafés with Erina, right?"
Her voice rose...fierce, trembling, alive.
"You lie, and that's fine, but the moment I say his name—you lose your damn temper?"
I stared at her, heartbeat hammering, the thread between us burning red-hot..
Then I laughed.
The sound tore out of me...low, rough, almost mocking.
"Me? Erina?" I said between breaths. "You really think I'd ever pick her?"
Her glare faltered, just a fraction.
I leaned closer, lowering my voice until it was almost a growl.
"You're jealous."
"No, I'm not....!"
"Then say his name again."
Her lips parted...
I didn't wait.
I kissed her.
Swallowed her words, silenced her fire.
She didn't push me away.
The silence between us said everything.
When I pulled back, my forehead rested against hers.
Her pulse raced beneath my hand, wild and uneven.
The air between us burned, thick with tension and something neither of us dared to name.
Neither of us moved.
Neither of us breathed.
Only the whispering ruins and the faint, cursed thrum of the red thread connecting us.
Finally, I stepped back, my voice quieter now.
"Come on. It's getting late."
She didn't argue.
I helped her across the broken bridge near the well of Regio Obscura, steadying her hand when she slipped on the stone.
Once across, she glanced back, her expression unreadable.
Then she turned, walking toward the South Wing without another word.
I watched her go.....
until the thread between us stopped tugging.
Then I turned north, toward my side of the night.