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(Unknown Location —)
The corridor was dim and suffocating, the only sound the steady echo of Prince Velco's boots against the cold stone floor. Two guards flanked a black iron door ahead, their armor glinting faintly in the candlelight.
As soon as he approached, both men bowed low.
"Your Highness."
Velco's crimson eyes flicked toward the door. "How's our little guest doing?"
One guard hesitated. "He's quite a handful, Your Highness. The boy's been trying to break the door since morning."
Velco's lips curved into a faint, cruel smile. "Is that so? Looks like I'll have to teach him a lesson myself."
He stepped closer, his voice calm but cold. "Open it."
The guard obeyed, pulling the heavy door aside with a creak that echoed through the chamber.
Inside, the air reeked of blood and iron. Chains clattered faintly as the young boy on the floor stirred — Leo, his body cracked and bruised, his breathing shallow.
Velco walked in slowly, almost casually, his footsteps deliberate. "Hello, Leo."
Leo's eyes snapped open, burning with fury. He pushed himself up, only to be yanked back by the chains that bound him.
"Coward!" he snarled. "You attacked me from behind! If you're a man, remove these chains and see what happens!"
Velco chuckled, unbothered. "You have quite the temper," he said smoothly. "Just like your father."
Leo glared up, teeth clenched.
"Talk all you want," Velco continued, taking a seat on the nearby chair. "I'm not foolish enough to fall for your provocation. I know what you are — a sly little fox, hiding his claws."
Leo spat weakly at the floor. "Why are you here?"
Velco leaned back, eyes narrowing with amusement. "I came to meet you."
"That's not what I mean," Leo shot back. "Why did you come back in time? You wanted to release the Dragon King — and you did. So why the hell make a wish and return?"
Velco tilted his head, lips curving faintly. "I didn't come back because I wanted to," he said, his tone softening — almost reflective. "I didn't have a choice."
Leo frowned, confusion flickering through his pain. "What do you mean you didn't have a choice? It's not like you were dying and made a wish."
Velco's eyes darkened. "I was."
Leo froze. "What?"
"I was dying," Velco said quietly, his smile fading. "That's why I made the wish."
Leo's breath hitched, his voice barely a whisper. "What do you mean…?"
Velco's expression hardened. "You really don't know, do you?"
He leaned forward, his voice dropping into a low murmur that filled the silent room. "Then let me tell you what happened after Eva died."
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(After Eva's death — the sky trembled above Velmoria)
The air was still, as if even the wind refused to move. When Eva's heart stopped, the ancient spell that held the world in stillness shattered like glass. Cracks of magic rippled through the air — light breaking and vanishing into darkness.
Luca fell to his knees, the weight of the silence crushing him.
He lifted his head slowly, his lips trembling.
"S–sister-in-law…?"
But the word barely left his mouth when he saw her — Eva — lying motionless on the cold ground. Her peach hair spilled across the stone, her eyes half-open yet lifeless.
Panic surged through him. He stumbled forward, nearly tripping over the shattered marble floor as he crawled to her side. He gathered her fragile body into his arms.
"Sister-in-law! Wake up!"
His voice broke.
No response.
He shook her again, harder this time, tears streaking down his face.
"Eva! Open your eyes, please! Just once—"
But her chest did not rise.
Her pulse — gone.
Her heart — silent.
Luca pressed his ear to her chest again and again, refusing to accept it. Then reality hit. His voice cracked in a scream that echoed through the ruins.
"No… NO! Sister! Wake up, please wake up!"
His tears fell onto her cold cheek. He clutched her tighter, shaking uncontrollably.
"I'm useless," he sobbed. "I couldn't protect anyone. I failed everyone!"
His words turned into broken cries.
"Eyan… forgive me. Please forgive me. You told me to protect your wife… your child… and I failed both."
From the shadows of the destroyed temple, Prince Velco stood silently — watching.
"Child?" he murmured, his eyes glinting. "So she was pregnant…"
He stepped closer, his gaze shifting between Eva's body and the fallen emperor's lifeless form.
"What happened here? Why did she die so suddenly? And why… why would Emperor Eyan take his own life after freeing the dragon?"
He tilted his head up.
Above them, the Black Dragon King Zeradros circled in the storm-dark sky, his roar shaking the heavens.
Velco clenched his jaw. "Maybe he can tell me."
He raised his voice.
"Zeradros! I want to know what happened to Eva Elvaris!"
The dragon's crimson eyes glowed. His voice rumbled like thunder.
"I will tell you… but you must sacrifice your life for that answer."
Velco stepped back, fear flickering in his eyes.
"What—? No. I'm not dying for that."
"Then I cannot speak," the dragon replied coldly.
Velco's expression hardened. He turned toward his soldiers.
"You," he commanded, pointing to one. "You are loyal to me, aren't you?"
The man dropped to one knee. "Yes, Your Highness. My life belongs to you."
"Good," Velco said with a cold smile. "Then use it well. Ask him the question — and die for me."
The man bowed, trembling, but obeyed.
"Dragon King Zeradros, I wish to know — what happened to Eva Elvaris! I offer my life for the answer."
The dragon's eyes flared.
"Eva Elvaris made a wish… and sacrificed her life."
Velco's eyes widened. "She made… a wish?"
He leaned forward. "Ask him what she wished for!"
The man tried to speak —
"What did she—"
But before he could finish, his body convulsed. His eyes went blank, and he collapsed, lifeless, at Velco's feet.
Zeradros's voice echoed:
"One wish for one life."
Velco gritted his teeth. He turned to another man.
"You — ask him again! Find out what her wish was!"
The second man swallowed hard, then stepped forward.
"Zeradros, I wish to know what Eva Elvaris wished for. I offer my life for that answer."
The dragon's eyes burned brighter.
"Which wish do you want to know first?"
The soldier hesitated. "Wh–which… wish?"
Velco's breath hitched. "What do you mean, which wish?"
"She made two," said Zeradros.
Velco took a sharp step forward.
"Then ask about the first one!"
The man nodded shakily.
"I wish to know Eva Elvaris's first wish!"
The dragon's deep voice rolled through the air.
"She wished… to go back in time."
Luca, who had been sitting frozen beside her body, jerked his head up.
"She went back… in time?"
Zeradros continued, his voice like molten fire.
"Her second wish was that — when she returned to the past and conceived a child — I, Zeradros, would release myself from the marble… and be born as her child."
The words silenced everything.
Velco's heart pounded. "Born… as her child?"
Luca's eyes went wide. "Zeradros… can be reborn as a mortal?"
"How… how did she know that was possible?"
Just then, a powerful wave of energy cut through the air — and a familiar voice shouted from the distance.
"LUCA!"
Luca turned. His master ran toward him, robes tattered, breath uneven.
"Master?"
The old mage stopped, gasping.
"I came when I sensed the anomaly," the old man said quickly. "But… Gods above…"
He looked at Zeradros with dread.
"The Dragon King… he's truly free."
He turned sharply to Luca.
"Where's the Emperor? I must speak to him immediately!"
Luca couldn't speak. His eyes only drifted toward Eyan's still body.
The master's face drained of color.
"No… No, Luca. What happened to the Emperor…"
Luca whispered, voice trembling. "He released the dragon… and paid the price for it."
The master shut his eyes, grief and regret twisting his face.
"If only I had arrived sooner… the Emperor needn't have died."
Luca's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
The old mage looked at him gravely.
"You've been searching for a way to erase the dragon from existence, haven't you?"
Luca nodded slowly. "How do you know that?"
"I know everything Luca."
"I found the answer," his master said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
"The Dragon King cannot be destroyed — but he can be born again into a mortal body. As a human… with his power sealed within him."
Luca's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What…?"
"Yes," the master said, gripping his shoulder. "It's possible. But it requires a wish — one strong enough to alter fate itself."
Luca looked down at Eyan, then at Eva's lifeless face. His eyes filled with tears.
"What's the point of telling me this now, Master?"
He let out a bitter laugh.
"There's nothing left for me to protect anymore. Not him… not her… not their child."
His voice dropped to a whisper, shaking with pain.
"Even if this world burns to ash… I don't care anymore."
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