The roar of my bike's engine growled in familiar-power, contrasting sharply with the vast, mute expanse of the Ashen Desert fading ever farther away in my rearview mirror. The wind that had greeted us on the fringes of the Dragon Kingdom's territory was different-cool and clean; free from the oppressive weight of volcanic ashes and a thousand years of burning ambitions. It tasted of freedom, a taste that I was just coming to recognize.
Yumi sat in front of me, a small, restrained beam of innocence against the heavy leather of my jacket, while her white hair freely swirled about in the wind like silken threads. She had been through a journey of fright and salvation, and now her babblings were filled with the candid giggles of a child who had seen a dragon fly. She was the only remnant of this entire chaotic fiery world that I was taking with me, the only treasure that mattered.
