(Author POV)
Currently, Elira was sitting on a sofa in one of the rooms inside the Airfly. The soft cushions sank slightly beneath her weight, comfortable in a way she wasn't used to, but she barely noticed it. Her attention was elsewhere—her body present, but her mind far from still.
When she had first entered, she realized something strange almost immediately. The inside didn't match the outside. It felt… expanded. Like space itself had been stretched. There were multiple rooms, long halls, open sections—far too many for what should have been its size. Not small… but definitely not big enough to contain all of this.
"How does this even work…" she had muttered earlier, glancing around with narrowed eyes. "Is this thing bigger on the inside or something?"
Cain had only smirked slightly. "You're getting used to impossible things pretty fast."
Elira had rolled her eyes at that, but she didn't deny it. At this point, questioning everything felt pointless.
Now, she sat quietly, her gaze fixed on the floor-to-ceiling window beside her. Outside, the world of Auroraea moved freely—endlessly alive. Floating lands drifted in the distance, some closer, others far enough to blur into the horizon. The sky wasn't empty—it was filled with motion, with life.
Some people with fur-like wings soared effortlessly through the air, gliding as if the sky belonged to them. Others walked across the floating lands, their laughter faint but visible in their expressions. A few sped past in smaller flying vehicles, racing each other with reckless excitement.
Everything looked… normal.
For them.
But not for Elira.
She wasn't really seeing any of it. Not truly. Her eyes followed the movement, but her thoughts were somewhere else entirely—trapped in the conversation she had just had with Maria and Cain.
Earlier…
After Cain had gestured for her to follow, they had led her into a quieter part of the Airfly—a room isolated enough to keep distractions away. The moment she stepped inside, she knew something serious was coming.
"Sit," Maria had said gently.
Elira didn't hesitate. She sat down, her posture straight, her expression no longer curious or playful—but focused.
"I still haven't asked," she said, her voice steady but firm. "Who am I? Why did you bring me here? And most importantly…"
She paused slightly, her eyes locking onto them.
"…what is happening?"
She emphasized the last question deliberately.
Because she already knew.
There was more.
There had always been more.
And her instincts—those sharp, unexplainable instincts—told her that whatever truth they were about to reveal… it would change everything.
Cain had looked at her then—not with his usual teasing expression, but something more serious. Something grounded.
"It's a long story," he said. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Elira didn't even blink.
"Yes."
No hesitation. No doubt.
Just certainty.
Cain nodded slightly, as if he had expected that answer.
"It started sixteen years ago," he began, his voice lower now. "There was another planet, outside the Circle System—Throkos. The planet of demons."
The name alone felt heavy.
Elira didn't interrupt. She didn't shift. She just listened.
Cain's gaze drifted slightly toward the window, like he wasn't just telling the story—he was remembering it. Living it again.
"One day, without warning… they attacked," he continued. "All seven realms. At once."
Elira's fingers tightened slightly against her lap, but she stayed silent.
Maria stepped forward then, her expression no longer soft, but firm—serious in a way Elira hadn't seen before.
"There is a Royal Court at the center of Auroraea," she said. "As Cain told you earlier, this is the Capital Planet. Every ruler gathers there to govern the system."
She paused briefly, as if choosing her words carefully.
"When news of the attacks spread, every king and queen came to the Royal Court. There was no delay. No hesitation. And then… they all joined the battlefield."
Her voice hardened slightly.
"No one understood why the demons attacked. Thousands of years ago, after the Primordial Rift War between our ancestors, a peace treaty was signed. Throkos and the Circle System agreed to coexist peacefully. No interference. No conflict."
Elira frowned slightly. "Then why did they attack?"
Maria shook her head slowly. "No one knows."
Her jaw tightened, just a little, as she looked at Cain briefly when Elira was not looking.
"They attacked like there was no tomorrow… like something had driven them beyond reason. We tried to contact the Demon King. We tried to stop it before it became a full war."
She exhaled quietly.
"But he didn't stop them."
Silence settled over the room—heavy and suffocating.
"After thousands of years of peace," Maria continued, her voice quieter now but heavier, "this became the bloodiest war we had ever seen. That why they start calling it Sundering War."
Elira swallowed slightly, but didn't look away.
Then—
Maria's gaze shifted toward her, something unreadable flickering in her eyes.
"That's when the King of Kraelion—King Kral Crimson—made a decision," she said. "He declared that the Royal Dragon would enter the battlefield."
The words lingered in the air.
"Everyone knew what that meant," Maria continued. "The Royal Dragon… isn't just powerful. It's something else entirely. The other rulers agreed. At that point… he was the only hope left."
Elira's hands slowly curled into fists, resting against her knees.
She didn't know why.
But something inside her reacted.
Maria noticed—but she didn't stop.
"And then…" she said softly, taking a small breath, "the Queen of Kraelion—Queen Charlotte Crimson—stepped forward."
The room felt colder.
"She announced that she would fight alongside him."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
And then—
"They are your parents."
Everything stopped.
Elira's breath caught in her throat, her entire body going still as the words settled in.
Crimson.
That name…
It echoed in her mind, repeating itself, connecting pieces she hadn't even realized were there. It was the same name.
The one they had been calling her.
Slowly—very slowly—she turned her head, her golden eyes lifting toward Cain. Because he was the one who had just dropped that truth on her. The one who had just shattered everything she thought she knew.