Just as Leonora finished speaking, a heavy rustling of leaves shattered the clearing's quiet. It was too strong to be the wind.
A group of Veridian soldiers stormed into the space, their dark armor stark against the soft glow of the forest.
They had been tracking him. Hunting him. It was a close call, an ambush, likely born of betrayal, whispered to the wrong ears.
"There he is!" a soldier shouted, his voice raw with excitement, his spear pointing directly at Kairos. "The prince is alive!"
Kairos reacted before thought could form, instinct took control. A spear lunged at him, its sharp tip flashing in the dim light.
He didn't dodge in a way any human would. He moved through the attack, a blur of speed and precision. The spear missed entirely.
His hand shot out, catching the wooden shaft in an iron grip. He squeezed. The thick wood snapped, splinters flying like dust in the air.
With a sharp twist, he turned the soldier's own momentum against him, sending the man crashing into his comrades.
It wasn't magic, not a spell or incantation. But the sheer, impossible force hinted at something beyond human in Aerion's form.
Leonora, who had watched the fight unfold with a mix of curiosity and detached amusement, felt something shift inside her. The ease, the strength, raw, untamed.
Her playful demeanor slipped away, replaced by something colder. Fear.
Her glow dimmed, if only slightly, reflecting the change in her mood. She knew this power, felt it in the bones of the earth long before he ever spoke.
A dragon's spirit, hidden in mortal skin.
The remaining soldiers hesitated, thrown off by Kairos's speed and unnatural strength. A single moment, that was all he needed.
He lunged. One soldier's blade was yanked free and sent clattering to the ground. Another took a precise strike to the neck, his body crumpling before he could even cry out.
Leonora watched closely now. The fear still lingered, but something else mixed with it, a keen, reluctant interest.
There was no hesitation in his movements. No wasted effort. He fought with ruthless efficiency, cold calculation.
His path was dark, violent, but maybe, just maybe, it aligned with her own.
The soldiers shifted, desperation creeping into their once-confident stance. Two rushed him, swords glinting in the low light.
Kairos met them head-on. One blade scraped across his arm, but he barely reacted. His hand shot out, clamping onto the attacker's wrist.
A sickening crack echoed through the clearing.
The soldier howled, his weapon dropping as he cradled his broken wrist. The second man turned to flee.
Kairos was faster. A single, sharp kick sent him sprawling.
Leonora drifted closer now, silent, watching his every move. Her gaze never left him.
"What are you?" she murmured, not a question of discovery, but confirmation.
Kairos stood over his fallen enemies. Two unconscious, three broken, one barely able to whimper through his pain.
His breath was steady. His eyes, reptilian in their gleam, locked onto hers.
"Just a man," he said. The words were emotionless, detached. A sharp contrast to the destruction surrounding him.
He knelt beside one soldier, rifling through his pockets, pulling out a scroll. A patrol map, covered in symbols. He scanned it quickly, absorbing every detail before tucking it away.
Leonora's fear hadn't vanished, but curiosity warred against it now. She had seen humans fight for centuries, seen wars, cruelty, desperation.
But never like this.
He wasn't simply a warrior. He was a force, a predator moving through the battlefield with nature's cold indifference. And yet, he wore the face of a prince.
"They were sent," Leonora murmured. Concern crept into her voice. "They don't usually come this deep into the old ways. Into my domain."
She studied Kairos, searching for answers in the depths of his gaze.
Kairos rose, his stance unwavering, his presence undeniable.
"Humans fight. Empires rise and fall. Your trees burn." His voice was steady. "Sooner or later, your ancient ways will die. Unless someone stops it."
Her lips pressed into a thin line. The truth he spoke was one she had tried to ignore for so long. Her lands, her legacy, were crumbling.
She had hoped the forest's magic would heal itself. But humanity's wars never ended. They devoured everything.
"What do you propose, prince?" she asked.
This time, the title carried an edge, caution, curiosity, doubt. There was wariness in her words, but she couldn't deny the reality.
His power unsettled her, but she couldn't dismiss it. And his goal, to bring order, to stop the endless fighting, aligned painfully well with her own.
Kairos took a step closer, his voice dropping to something lower. Sharper.
"Knowledge. Power. You have both. The ancient ways, the whispers in the trees, the secrets buried in the forest," he said. "I have the will. The strength. You can guide me to what the forest remembers, to what it hides. I'll use that knowledge to save your land. To push back the blight. To restore balance."
He extended his hand, not in friendship, nor kindness. A simple, cold offer. An alliance built on necessity.
Leonora looked at it. Then at the fallen soldiers.
Her gaze shifted back to his unreadable face.
He wasn't a savior. He was a weapon. A force of destruction.
Silence stretched between them, thick with unspoken thoughts. Leonora's iridescent wings shimmered faintly, reflecting the conflict within her.
She felt the raw power in him. The dragon's unyielding will. And yet, she also felt her forest's desperate cry, for protection, for salvation.
Slowly, she inhaled. Her eyes met his. A flicker of ancient mischief stirred within them, fighting the fear still coiled in her chest.
"Very well, little dragon," she whispered, her voice melodic, soft. "The forest has many secrets. And you, it seems, are one of them. Show me what you truly are, Aerion."
She did not take his hand. Instead, she turned.
Her form melted into the shimmering bark of the ancient tree, the light around her pulsing, growing brighter, stretching eerie shadows across the clearing.
The air crackled as the forest answered her decision.
Kairos felt the tremor beneath his feet. The earth hummed, alive with rising energy.
The tree's leaves stirred, whispering, a thousand voices speaking at once. The ancient magic pressed in around him.
He watched, face cold, expression unreadable, as Leonora vanished into the light. The glow surged, expanded. And then it swallowed the clearing entirely.