The library was dimly lit, the glow from the fireplace barely illuminating the tall shelves stacked with tomes and scrolls. Outside, the night pressed close against the windows, the wind rustling the branches beyond. Kael held a scroll of paintings Sebastian had provided, his crimson eyes scanning every brushstroke, every detail. Beside him, Elric stood quietly, watching him, noting the intensity in his gaze as if he could pull the scene from the painting into reality.
"This dragon," Sebastian began, his voice calm but carrying weight, "was once the guardian of this land. It lived between the human realms and the demon realms… for more than three thousand years."
Elric furrowed her brow, her gaze shifting between Kael and the scroll. "Then why… why did it suddenly attack human cities?" she asked softly, confusion and unease in her tone. "If it was supposed to be the guardian of Delcra, why bring destruction to the humans?"
Sebastian cleared his throat, a hint of sarcasm lacing his voice. "We don't know. Perhaps it began when the previous king declared war on the demon kingdom…"
Elric's glare cut through his words before he could continue. She didn't want to discuss old politics in front of Kael, especially not while he was studying the scroll so intensely.
"Perhaps you've read about it already," Sebastian continued more carefully, pulling a leather-bound book from the shelf. "The Dragon of the Sea…"
Kael's eyes flickered to the book. He had read it before, but now, as he opened it to the page with the dragon's illustration, his gaze sharpened. He compared the dragon in the book with the new scroll. Then, he froze.
The dragon in the scroll bore a fresh scar on its wing—exactly like the one in his recurring dream.
Elric noticed his stillness. "What did you find?" she asked, leaning closer, but Kael didn't answer. Instead, his hand suddenly reached toward her. "Map," he demanded.
Elric flinched. "Kael…" she whispered, unsure whether to comply. Sebastian, noticing the gesture, nodded slightly and handed over the map.
Kael's crimson eyes locked onto the parchment. He traced lines and contours with precision, recalling fragments of his dream, the memory of the battle, and the feeling of the dragon's rage. Elric stood uneasily behind him, sensing something deeper stirring within him. Even Sebastian seemed startled, observing the uncharacteristic focus in Kael's posture.
Kael's hand stopped at a mountain near the border with the demon realms. His lips barely moved, but the certainty in his eyes was clear—this was the place. His past battle with the dragon had taken place here.
"That mountain…" Sebastian said quietly, stepping closer to follow Kael's finger. "Caldery… near here." He turned to Elric, his tone dropping. "Near the Delcra estate."
Elric's heart clenched. She remembered the earthquake reported in the letter and prayed Kael didn't notice the connection. Something was wrong. Too wrong. She watched him closely, unease gnawing at her.
Kael didn't speak. His eyes never left the map, his focus absolute, almost unnerving.
Then, without warning, the library trembled. Books toppled from the shelves with a sharp clatter. Kael instinctively steadied himself against the table, but Elric and Sebastian both gripped the nearest furniture for balance.
The quake was accompanied by a deafening roar, the sound piercing through the walls, shaking the floor beneath them. Everyone covered their ears, instinctively ducking and pressing themselves low—but not Kael. He remained upright, crimson eyes narrowing, his gaze distant, fixed on something beyond sight. He knew that roar.
As the tremors continued, Kael moved with deliberate steps toward the library door. Elric noticed immediately and called out, her voice urgent. "Kael! Wait! Where are you going?"
But he didn't answer. His feet carried him steadily forward, his body tense yet controlled, as if pulled by some invisible force. Elric quickened her pace, fear pressing in her chest. The night outside was dark and stormy, but she would not let him walk into danger alone.
The quake did not stop. The ground trembled like a beast's growl rumbling from beneath the earth, but Kael's steps grew quicker, more urgent. His body moved with a strange certainty, each stride driven by instinct. Something inside him pulled forward, telling him to go where the roar came from.
Behind him, Elric staggered, one hand pressed to the wall as she fought to steady herself against the violent shaking. "Kael!" she called, her voice straining against the thunder of stone and the piercing roar that split the night. But Kael didn't turn. His crimson eyes were fixed ahead, his focus unshaken.
When he reached the grand hall, the scene unfolded before him—servants and knights huddled along the walls, their faces pale, their hands clamped desperately over their ears. The roar seemed to claw into their skulls, leaving them half-collapsed on the floor. But Kael descended the staircase as though the sound could not touch him, his figure cutting through the chaos.
And then he saw it.
A single crimson butterfly fluttering through the storm-tossed air inside the hall, hovering near the front doors. Its wings glimmered faintly, its movement slow, deliberate—as though beckoning him. Kael's steps didn't falter. He walked straight toward it.
"Kael! Wait!" Elric's voice was sharp, desperate. She stumbled on the staircase, her footing slipping as the quake rattled the rails. Just as her body pitched forward, an arm caught her. Robert's.
"Careful!" Robert gritted his teeth, tightening his hold around her shoulders. His own body swayed as he struggled to keep them both upright.
Elric's breath hitched, panic flashing in her eyes as she pointed past the trembling hall. "Kael… Follow him!" she cried, her voice raised to be heard over the roar.
Robert turned his head in time to see Kael's pale figure vanish through the front doors.
Outside, the storm swallowed him whole. The rain crashed down in torrents, soaking through his clothes instantly, plastering the fabric to his thin frame. But he didn't slow, didn't shield himself from the cold. His gaze remained locked on the butterfly as it drifted forward into the storm, and he followed without hesitation.
Behind him, the rumble began to fade. The earthquake eased, the shuddering in the ground quieting until it was gone. The roar that had split the night ceased as suddenly as it had begun. The silence left in its wake was deafening.
"Elric!" Robert called as he dragged her to the doorway. They burst into the downpour, their hair and clothes instantly drenched. Kael was already a distant silhouette moving deeper into the storm, his white hair barely visible through sheets of rain.
They pushed forward, their boots sinking into mud, their eyes straining against the darkness. No moonlight, no lightning—only the black void of the storm.
"Where is he?!" Robert shouted, his voice carried away by the howling wind. His eyes searched frantically, but Kael was slipping further into the shadows with every step.
Elric's teeth clenched, her fists tightening until her knuckles turned white. She could still feel the tremor in her chest, the echo of that roar lingering in her ears. She knew this wasn't something ordinary. Kael wasn't moving at random—something was leading him.
Finally, she exhaled sharply, her decision made. "It's useless if we keep walking in the dark like this," she snapped, grabbing Robert's arm. Her eyes blazed with urgency. "We must call the guards! I think… I think I know where to find him!"
Robert nodded, though worry shadowed his features. Together, they turned back, the storm still lashing against them, while Kael's figure disappeared completely into the night.
-----------------------------------------
The crimson butterfly fluttered steadily through the storm, its wings glowing faintly in the darkness. The downpour lashed down in heavy sheets, yet the raindrops never touched it. It drifted forward as though moving in a world of its own, untouchable by the storm's fury.
Kael followed without pause, his pale figure vanishing deeper into the night. He did not question. Something inside him whispered that this butterfly would lead him where he needed to be. Perhaps to the truth of the dream. Perhaps to something more.
But the storm was merciless. Hours passed beneath the blackened sky, the rain soaking him until his clothes clung heavily to his body, weighing down every step. The ground turned to mud, sucking at his boots, forcing his legs to strain against each dragging movement. His breath grew uneven, his chest tightening with each inhalation.
At last, pain seared through him. He staggered, one hand flying to his chest as if to steady the frantic pounding of his heart. His knees trembled beneath him. The storm roared in his ears, drowning out everything but the sound of his own strained breathing. He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to find calm in the suffocating night.
When he opened them again, the rain had softened into a light drizzle. Mist curled low to the ground, clinging to jagged rocks and skeletal trees. Kael lifted his head, recognition dawning in his eyes. The landscape… It was the same. The same as the place in his dreams—the battlefield where he had stood against the dragon.
The butterfly circled once in the air before descending slowly. Its wings shimmered crimson as it alighted gently on Kael's forehead. The moment it touched him, a shiver ran through his body.
His strength failed.
His knees buckled, collapsing against the sodden earth. He fell forward, the world spinning as his vision blurred. The cold seeped into his bones as the last of his consciousness slipped away.
And then—shadows loomed. Figures in armor rushed toward him, their boots splashing through the mud. The torchlight they carried flickered in the storm, illuminating the crest on their breastplates—the Delcra sigil, proud and unmistakable.
It was the last thing Kael saw before the darkness swallowed him whole.