Techyon looked at the high-ranking noble in front of him, his white and blue aura flickering with distrust. "How can I believe you? You're an Arcon. You could be weaving a story just to use me."
Neweland didn't argue. He reached into a hidden compartment of his desk and pulled out a weathered, silver-framed photograph. In it, a woman with eyes as bright as Techyon's held a two-year-old child. The baby was sleeping peacefully, a small spark of static electricity dancing between his tiny fingers.
"Can you believe me now?" Neweland asked softly.
Techyon's breath hitched. He had never seen his mother's face. Before he could speak, the heavy palace doors burst open.
"Father! Is he here?" a girl's voice rang out, high and desperate. "I heard from the maids... is he really here?"
Techyon turned. The girl was a mirror of Neweland—stark white hair and deep, oceanic blue eyes. She didn't hesitate. She threw herself at Techyon, sobbing into his shoulder. "We thought you were dead! Techyon, I missed you so much!"
Techyon, stunned, pushed her back gently. "Who are you now?"
The girl froze, her face turning pale with shock. "You... you forgot my name?"
Neweland stepped forward, resting a hand on her shoulder. "This is my daughter, Alya."
Alya's eyes filled with tears. "How can you forget your bride's name?"
"Bride?!" Techyon stepped back, his face heating up. "I'm sixteen! How can you be my bride?"
"Your father and I decided it long ago," Neweland explained. "Our bloodlines were meant to be joined. It was Arax's wish."
"I don't care whose wish it was," Techyon snapped, his heart racing. "I'm not marrying someone just because a king says so. I don't even know you!"
Alya let out a choked sob, turned, and sprinted down the corridor, her white hair flying behind her.
"Alya! Stop!" Neweland screamed, before looking back at Techyon with a pained expression. "Stay here. I have to comfort her. We will talk more."
Techyon stood alone in the hall for what felt like hours. When Neweland finally returned, Techyon didn't wait for pleasantries. "Fine. If you knew my family... then you know about my older sister. Where is she?"
Neweland sighed. "I don't know exactly where she is hiding now. But I know someone who does."
"Take me to them," Techyon demanded, his eyes glowing. "Right now."
"Very well. Let's—"
Before the Arcon could finish, the palace windows rattled with a roar that shook the very foundation of the Hydro City. A guard burst into the room, his armor scorched and his face twisted in terror.
"Great Arcon! An Ancient Dragon! It's attacking the harbor! The tankers are burning!"
"A blue flaming body..." the guard gasped, clutching his scorched chest. "With purple armor made of... of bone."
The air in the palace throne room suddenly felt like it was boiling. Techyon's vision blurred as a name clawed its way up from his darkest memories.
Rax.
Images flashed through his mind like a broken film reel: his friend Kin, reaching out before being vaporized. His mentor, Cinder, standing tall until the blue flames turned him to ash. Techyon had stood there, paralyzed, a helpless witness to the end of everything he loved.
"Where is it?" Techyon's voice was a low, dangerous growl.
"Near the hydro tankers..."
Techyon didn't wait. He became a blur of white and blue electricity , tearing through the palace gates at a speed that shattered the marble floors.
The Docks: The Draining
At the harbor, the massive Rax was coiled around the primary tanker. The blue flames of its body flickered against the bone-purple armor, sucking the raw hydro-energy directly from the city's reserves.
"More..." Rax hissed, his draconic voice vibrating the metal. "I need more power... that red-haired woman... she will pay for the humiliation..."
Suddenly, a flash of white-blue light streaked across the sky.
Rax turned his massive head, his eyes slitting. "Long time no see, little insect. Tell me... what is your name again? I don't bother remembering the names of the weak."
"You monster!" Techyon screamed, his golden aura exploding. "You're going to pay for Kin! You're going to pay for Cinder!"
Rax let out a mocking laugh and unleashed a wave of Blue Dragon Breath, melting the nearby tankers into slag. "And how will you make me pay, kid? By dying like the others?"
Techyon charged. As the wall of flame roared toward him, he manifested two shimmering daggers of pure energy, slicing through the heat with a desperate strike. But the temperature was staggering—his skin felt like it was bubbling.
Rax didn't even flinch. He whipped his massive, bone-armored tail, slamming into Techyon's chest. The boy was sent flying, crashing through a brick warehouse like a ragdoll.
Techyon coughed up blood, struggling to stand. I can't lose... not again...
"Bro, you didn't call us?" a bored, familiar voice echoed from above. "Having fun alone isn't very 'best friend' of you."
Techyon looked up. Hovering in the air, with his hands in his pockets and his Conceptual Goggles reflecting the blue fire, was Lapis.
Rax snarled, his scales bristling. "Now who are you? Another insect?"
Lapis tilted his head, a small, arrogant smirk playing on his lips. "I am your father."