Alvana was running behind Elena through the forest.
Aster was in Elena's arms, still a baby, quiet and unaware of everything happening around him. He did not speak, and he did not react beyond normal infant behavior.
Elena suddenly stopped.
"We are here," she said.
Alvana looked around slowly.
There was nothing unusual at first glance.
Just trees, grass, and silence.
"There is no portal here," Alvana said after a moment.
Elena smiled slightly.
"To be a king," she replied, "you must learn to see what others ignore."
She bent down and picked up a few strange looking stones from the ground.
She arranged them carefully in a pattern.
Then she tossed them gently into place.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the stones began to float.
A faint glow formed between them, linking each point together.
The air shifted.
Then suddenly, a massive beam of light shot upward into the sky.
The force of it shook the surrounding area.
Hidden figures in the forest instinctively reacted, covering their eyes as the brightness intensified.
If anyone had been nearby, they would have rushed toward it immediately, but the depth of the forest kept them hidden.
============
Far away, the princess narrowed her eyes.
She had already been closing in on their location.
The moment she saw the light, she increased her speed.
"They found it," she muttered.
Without hesitation, she signaled her hidden guards.
"Seal the area. No one enters. No one leaves."
They vanished immediately.
Back at the forest clearing, the light slowly faded.
In its place stood a massive golden door.
It did not look like something that belonged in the forest.
It felt ancient.
Alvana stared at it in silence.
Elena stood a little behind him, Aster still in her arms.
She looked at both of them for a moment.
A rare softness appeared in her expression.
They had come this far than she ever expected.
She took a slow breath.
Then she brought out the primal pearl fragments.
She glanced around carefully and there was nobody around
But she knew better than to trust that.
Elena stepped closer to Alvana and looked at him.
"A long time ago, I made a promise," she said quietly.
"I did not think I would ever reach the point where I would have to fulfill it."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"No matter what happens next… remember that I love you both."
Her hand tightened slightly around Aster.
"I will always be with you, even if I have to stand against everything in this world."
Aster remained a baby in her arms, quiet and unaware, his small hands moving slightly as infants do.
Alvana looked at her.
He could see the seriousness in her expression.
He did not interrupt.
Elena exhaled slowly.
Then she began to chant.
The words were unfamiliar and Ancient
As she spoke, strange markings began to appear around her body.
Runes slowly formed along her skin, glowing faintly.
With each rune that appeared, her voice grew stronger.
The energy in the area shifted again.
The princess had already arrived at the edge of the clearing with her hidden guards.
She stopped immediately upon seeing what was happening.
Her eyes narrowed.
She raised her hand slightly, signaling her men to hold position.
"Do not interfere yet," she said.
"I want to see this."
The guards obeyed silently.
Elena continued chanting.
The air around her began to tremble.
"Askhleim ridwaishi remumbu zerruuunda.....".
The words echoed strangely through the forest and the space around them tightened. Alvana felt it
At that moment, something changed.
Aster began to react.
Elena was performing a technique, a technique that would boost aster's growth and also enhance her powers at the cost of her lifespan.
Elena kept chanting and this time, Aster's body began to react vigourously
His small form trembled slightly in Elena's arms.
The air around him began to distort.
Elena continued chanting.
Each word caused visible changes in reality.
The forest floor cracked slightly.
Leaves above them froze mid-air for a moment before falling slowly.
Aster's body began to change. forcibly
Elena was accelerating his growth.
Trading years of her lifespan to force his awakening.
Alvana stepped forward instinctively.
"Mother..."
But she did not stop.
The runes now covered part of her body.
Her dragon maiden power was fully active.
Then the transformation began.
Aster's baby form collapsed inward.
Not violently.
But rapidly.
His body reshaped itself under the spell's influence.
Bones, form, and essence accelerated beyond natural limits.
Within moments, the small baby was gone.
In his place, a dragon form emerged apperared
red scaled with an intense aura. one that looked down on the whole world.
Aster had fully awakened
Alvana froze.
He could not comprehend what he was seeing.
after Aster transformation came elena transformation. and now there were two dragons standin in front of alvana.
Alvana stepped back slightly, shocked.
This was the first time he was seeing this form.
The full dragon manifestation.
Elena was no longer fully human.
She stood in her true form now.
Alvana stared in silence.
He could feel the pressure from her presence.
It was Majestic but familiar.
after aster's transformation, he had changed and became aware of everything happening
"We are surrounded. Prepare yourself."
Alvana froze.
That voice.
Then recognition hit him.
Aster.
His mind struggled to process it.
The baby was gone.
Replaced by this dragon.
=========
The dragon moved closer to Elena and lowered its head slightly.
"Mother," it said calmly, "your son has awakened."
Alvana's eyes widened.
"Aster?" he whispered.
Elena did not look surprised.
She simply nodded once.
"Yes," she said quietly.
Elena raised her hand.
The two fragments of the primal pearl floated out.
One moved toward Alvana.
The other toward Aster.
They stopped just before touching them.
For a moment, they hovered there.
Then they gently entered both of them and disappeared.
Alvana felt something strange in his body, Like something had always been there.
But he did not have time to think further.
Elena suddenly spoke.
"They are here."
========
A loud and wicked laughter echoed throught the forest
"So this is where you ran to."
The princess stepped forward from the trees.
Behind her, hidden guards emerged.
Her eyes scanned the scene.
Then she smiled.
"I never expected to see a dragon today," she said.
"And two, at that."
Her smile widened slightly.
"The heavens must truly be kind to me."
Elena stepped forward slightly.
"What do you want?"
The princess tilted her head.
"What do I want?"
She laughed softly.
"I want your life."
The moment she spoke, her guards spread out.
The forest filled with silent movement.
Hidden assassins had already taken position.
One of them had already moved behind Alvana without anyone noticing.
A dagger pressed lightly behind him.
Elena noticed immediately.
Her expression changed.
"A single step," the assassin said quietly, "and his head falls."
Elena's eyes darkened.
For the first time, she hesitated.
===========
Aster moved slightly.
Not as a baby anymore.
But as something else entirely.
He looked at the assassin.
Then spoke.
"Die."
The assassin's head exploded instantly.
No warning.
No sound.
The body collapsed.
Silence followed.
The princess blinked once.
Then she smiled.
"Oh," she said softly.
"This is becoming interesting."
Her expression shifted.
The temperature around her dropped instantly.
A suffocating pressure filled the area.
She stepped forward slowly.
"You seem to have forgotten something."
Her eyes sharpened.
"This princess is not ordinary."
A cold aura erupted around her.
Then she spoke again.
"Remember my name." the princess smiled wickedly
" I am The Devil's Angel."