The sun was low when the Sage arrived at the eastern forest.
Several guards had already secured the area, and a faint haze of heat still lingered in the air though the incident had happened a full day ago.
He crouched beside the largest crater, running his hand over the glassy soil.
"Still warm," he muttered.
One of the guards stepped forward nervously.
"Sir Sage, the readings are strange. It's not mana. Not corrupted energy either. It's… something else."
The Sage frowned, tracing a glowing sigil in the air. A sphere of blue light appeared, scanning the surroundings.
The sphere flickered violently then shattered.
"Unstable…" he murmured. "The last time I saw magic distort like this"
His expression darkened.
"was when a dragon used breath magic."
The guards froze at his words.
"You mean… a dragon did this?"
"No," the Sage replied softly, eyes narrowing toward the academy's direction. "If it were a dragon, this forest would no longer exist."
He stood slowly, his cloak rustling in the wind.
"No… this was something trying to remember how to be one."
That night, the moonlight painted the training grounds in silver.
Mila stood there again her disguise faintly shimmering under the pale glow.
"Alright," she whispered, rolling her shoulders. "Let's see if I can keep it stable this time."
A deep breath. Her hands extended forward, forming the familiar fiery sigil in the air.
"Arthianos."
The air trembled. A massive dragon head of crimson light appeared beside her its eyes glowing faintly red. It unleashed a controlled beam of energy that split the earth, but Mila held her ground, stabilizing the recoil.
The blast faded and she smiled faintly.
"Finally… I can handle one."
Then she tried again.
The second beam roared forth, smaller, cleaner. Her body trembled, but she didn't collapse this time. Her control was improving.
Sweat ran down her neck as she exhaled, whispering,
"Alright… one more."
The third attempt began but something shifted. The moment the dragon's mouth opened, the air turned red, the ground pulsed with energy.
Above her, a blazing meteor tore through the clouds, crashing into the distant hills. The shockwave shook the forest and made Mila stumble backward.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"That… that was me…?"
She fell to her knees, staring at the faint trail of light still burning across the sky.
Her hands trembled as realization hit her.
"The meteor on the news…" she whispered. "It wasn't the sky… it was my spell."
The dragon's head dissolved into fading embers, leaving her in eerie silence.
She looked down at her glowing palms faint red markings now etched into her skin.
"Arthianos… what are you?"
Her golden eyes dimmed to maroon as the power stirred within her chest something old, something waiting.
And from far away, at the edge of the crater, the Sage looked up at the same glowing sky, feeling that same energy pulse through his senses.
"So it was you… Miss Mila," he whispered grimly. "The dragon wasn't the forest's destroyer… it was you."