That Night…
The Golden Dragon Kingdom didn't hold ceremonies like the one in the Green Dragon Kingdom.
They held festivals.
The kind that shook mountains and made even the stars pause to listen.
Word spread faster than wildfire: The Golden Queen has returned. Basukhi lives. The Savior, Taufik has come back.
The entire kingdom shimmered with light.
Lanterns, both paper and flame, rose into the sky, casting amber constellations above the real ones.
The streets transformed into flowing rivers of gold and crimson.
Music rang from every courtyard: deep drums, soaring flutes, strings tuned to old dragon songs no human could write but every heart somehow knew.
Taufik found himself seated at a long open-air table draped in silks, surrounded by familiar faces.
Aksara sat beside him, chewing through spicy grilled meat on a skewer with the intensity of a warrior who'd survived too much in one lifetime.
"You sure this isn't some shared dream, Father?"
