​The next morning, the village was already humming with life. The air smelled of crushed grass and woodsmoke as the tribespeople moved with a purpose that felt far more urgent than my own. I spent the early hours hauling crates and helping set up the wooden stage, but my movements were heavy. Standing there, looking out over the clearing, I felt a strange hollowness. I kept waiting for a spark of excitement or a flutter of joy to hit me, but it never came.​Ora noticed. She stopped what she was doing and leaned against a support beam, watching me. "You’re quiet," she noted.​I didn't try to hide it. "You know, they say a wedding is supposed to be full of happiness," I said, wiping the sweat from my brow. "But if I’m being honest, I don’t feel any thrill for what's about to happen."​Ora sighed, a sympathetic look softening her sharp features. She told me I shouldn't overthink it. She reminded me that, first and foremost, I didn't actually love Frexia yet—this was a marriage born of ne

​The air inside the elder chieftain’s house was thick with the scent of old wood and the metallic tang of polished steel. Pinio, the Governor’s son, was already there. He sat with a practiced, casual arrogance, flanked by soldiers who kept their hands hovering near the hilts of their swords. Across from them sat the village elders, their faces etched with the weariness of men trying to negotiate for their lives.​We arrived just as the documents were being spread across the heavy central table. Beside the parchment sat several iron-bound crates. Pinio reached out and flipped a lid, revealing the dull, heavy glint of gold.​"I personally oversaw the drafting of these documents, and my father has already signed them to make your status within the Aksin legal," Pinio boasted. He kicked the side of a crate, the coins inside jingling with a hollow, mocking sound. "I am also granting you one million credits as a gesture of goodwill."​He leaned back, his eyes snaking toward the door where w

​Frexia continued the tale of her journey, describing how difficult it was for them to settle in a foreign land. Because she stayed by her Prince’s side, she fought alongside him for over ten years as wanderers. She admired her Prince for his loyalty and dedication as a Dragonaire; he was her comrade who never yielded to any challenge.​They fought to survive, but upon reaching the Cetero Kingdom, their forces were decimated. Her Prince perished along with his soldiers. She sadly recounted how, before the final battle, the children and female Dragonaires like herself were ordered to evacuate. Her comrades insisted that the children must survive, believing they were the key to the rebirth of their race.​"Our enemies didn't just let us leave the country; they ambushed us to finish us off. We had to scatter just to ensure someone would remain," Frexia said.​She felt selfish for leaving her companions behind to escape. As she fled the border, she was at a loss, knowing the enemy was hun

​The surroundings were plunged into darkness as clouds smothered the moon, stifling the night's only source of light. A cold, heavy presence hung thick in the air.​The only light remaining was the overflowing, ghastly energy radiating from the monster, Pinio. He towered before me, his right hand clutching Frexia’s limp form. He was far stronger than I, his power surging from the life force he had drained from the other soldiers. I knew, with grim certainty, that I couldn't face him alone.​I tightened my grip on my sword, bracing for an attack, fueled only by the desperate hope of reclaiming Frexia. I didn’t care if I exhausted every drop of my internal energy, as long as I could save her. I knew I had only one use of Time Freeze left. If I failed to kill him now, both Frexia and I would die in this godforsaken place.​"Your weak body cannot handle the energy required to properly wield your spirit item; that is your downfall," Pinio sneered. "Do you see this perfect vessel I inhabit?

​Blazing energy enveloped Frexia’s body, the golden light reflecting off the surrounding trees as her wings unfurled with a powerful, leather-like snap. A chilling, azure essence bled into the air, turning her breath into a fine mist. The temperature in the forest plummeted instantly; moisture on the leaves turned to frost in heartbeats. The ice beneath Frexia’s feet groaned and shattered into a thousand diamonds as she braced herself, then launched forward with the velocity of a lightning bolt.​Pinio struggled to keep pace. He had fully surrendered to the transformation, his humanity swallowed by the monster. His skin had the dull, oily sheen of tempered steel, and jagged bone spikes tore through the fabric of his armor along his spine. His eyes were no longer those of a knight; they were twin pits of feral, murderous bloodlust.​They collided mid-air, fist against fist. The impact unleashed a sonic boom that flattened the undergrowth and sent a physical ripple through the dirt. Nea