Morning in Solaris was a lie.
The sun rose, painting the rooftops gold, but the city did not shine with its light. It burned with another glow—shrines. Bowls of ash flared at every corner, embers pulsing as if they breathed, each flame bowing to unseen rhythm. Vendors knelt before them before unlocking stalls, children pressed feathers to their lips like prayers, and even guards smeared ash across their armor as blessing.
Andy pulled his hood lower as he walked through the crowd. The air was thick with smoke, voices whispering like a thousand broken hymns. Every step sank like stone into his chest. This wasn't devotion—it was chains. And the people wore them with smiles.
Beside him, Nia's presence steadied the weight pressing on his shoulders. Cloaked, staff hidden, she walked quietly, yet the air shimmered faintly around her like sunlight bending through glass. People looked twice, suspicion flickering in their eyes, but turned away as if afraid to see too much.
Andy leaned close, his words sharp. "It's everywhere. Every breath, every thought—they've let him take it all."
Her hand slid into his, fingers warm. "Don't let it poison you," she murmured. "If you hate them, you'll end up hating the people. Not the chains binding them."
He wanted to argue, to spit fire at every shrine flame that hissed like laughter. But her touch anchored him, her voice stronger than his anger. He swallowed, tightening his grip instead of his jaw.
They turned a corner. Andy froze.
A woman knelt before a shrine, her robes threadbare, her arms wrapped around a small child. The child's eyes glowed faintly red, pupils too wide, too bright in the morning sun. The mother whispered broken prayers, pressing a black feather charm against the baby's lips. Tears streaked her cheeks, falling into the ash.
Andy's knuckles whitened. "He's already inside them."
Nia's grip on his hand tightened, her voice low but unyielding. "Then we pull them back out."
---
The safehouse was suffocating. Dust hung heavy, walls cracked, floor scorched from too many failed trials. Andy stood in its center, shirt damp with sweat, blades gleaming at his sides. Mana surged through him like molten rivers, fire and water colliding until the air itself screamed.
Dragon Warrior Form—Tier Two.
Steam blasted outward, ripping splinters from the floorboards, nearly throwing Resistance fighters against the walls. Andy's eyes glowed, scales crawling up his arms, the shadow of wings bursting faintly behind him. His voice broke into a growl, guttural, not entirely human.
He slashed both swords. Fire ripped across the ground, water spiraling in its wake, colliding in an eruption that cracked the stone, splitting a support beam in two. The ceiling groaned dangerously.
"Andy, stop!" someone shouted. "You'll bring the whole place down!"
Andy roared back, his voice ragged, torn with strain. "If I can't master this form—Solaris will burn anyway!"
The aura flared out of control. Flames lashed the walls, steam scalded the floor. The dragon's shadow behind him unfurled, vast and violent, pressing down with suffocating weight. Resistance fighters stumbled back, panic flashing in their eyes.
Andy staggered, chest aflame, vision tunneling. He felt himself slipping—rage and power drowning him whole.
Then light touched him.
Nia strode forward, staff blazing. Her other hand caught his arm. Silver warmth surged through their Bond, their rings burning against their skin. Her voice cracked through the chaos. "Andy. Breathe. You're not fighting alone."
The resonance slammed into him like cool rain. The dragon's wings wavered, flames dimmed, water stilled. Andy fell to one knee, gasping, smoke curling from his skin. His body trembled, teeth clenched hard enough to hurt.
Nia knelt beside him, pressing her forehead against his shoulder for the briefest moment. Her whisper shook. "You push like this again, and you'll break yourself before Ashen even lays a claw on you."
Andy let out a weak laugh, though his chest still burned. "Then stay close. You're the only thing keeping me from tearing everything apart."
Her lips parted, but she didn't answer. Her grip only tightened, her silence louder than any vow.
---
Later, the noble's hall reeked of incense and smoke. Banners of flame and gold draped the walls, and every noble present bore a feather pin on their chest—the clergy's mark.
Nia stood alone before them, her staff glimmering faintly, light reflecting against her calm features. Andy remained in the shadows, hood drawn, watching.
"I did not come to blaspheme," Nia began, her voice ringing clear. "I came to remind you: power built on chains is no power at all. Ashen feeds on your faith, not your strength. Every shrine you kneel to is another link in the cage binding Solaris."
Murmurs rippled. Some nobles looked away. One man rose sharply, his pin glinting crimson. "You dare speak such heresy? To speak against the Savior is death. You are no healer—you are a witch, corrupting the weak."
Gasps hissed through the chamber.
Nia's eyes did not waver. The light of her staff pulsed brighter, her aura filling the room with stillness. "If your god demands chains," she said, voice cutting like steel, "then he is no god."
Silence crushed the hall. For a heartbeat, even the flames on the incense stilled. A noblewoman shifted, her lips trembling. Another lowered his gaze. Cracks formed in the gilded mask of loyalty.
Nia dimmed her staff, but her words lingered sharp. "Choose wisely. When the flames fall, shrines will not save you. But your people might—if you stand with them instead of above them."
She turned and left, leaving whispers scattered like smoke in her wake.
---
That night, the city whispered back.
Andy and Nia walked together through darkened streets, shrines burning brighter than ever. The air was wrong—flames bent toward them, flickering unnaturally, pulsing as if alive.
Then came the voice.
Join me…
Andy froze, his grip faltering on his blades. The whisper seeped from every shrine, curling like smoke in his ears.
Chains are salvation. Fire is truth. Kneel, and be remade.
His vision blurred. The flames leaned toward him, twisting into wings, talons, eyes. Heat smothered his chest, and he saw himself kneeling, saw Nia beside him, both of them wrapped in firelight. The illusion clawed at him, seductive and suffocating.
"Andy!"
Nia's hand seized his, rings flaring bright. Her eyes locked on his, fierce and unyielding. "Don't listen. It's corruption. We stand together—that's the truth."
The whisper hissed, venomous.
Even dragons burn. Give yourself to me, and she will not suffer. Together, you will not fall.
Andy's knees buckled. For a heartbeat, he almost believed. But the Bond seared through him, her hand anchoring him, her voice drowning out the lies.
The shrine flames flared high, forming a colossal eye glaring down the street. Andy's breath caught as it bore into him. Then—snap. The flames guttered, returning to ordinary firelight.
Nia pressed close, her voice trembling but steady. "If he cracks you, Andy, he cracks us both."
Andy's jaw tightened. He squeezed her hand back, hard. "Then he'll never have me. Never have us."
Above, the smoke curled into vast wings that stretched over Solaris before dissolving into the night.
---
Later, on the safehouse balcony, the city stretched below like a sea of fire. Andy leaned against the railing, silent, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
Nia joined him, quiet as moonlight, staff resting at her side. She didn't speak, only stood with him, watching.
Andy exhaled roughly. "Tier Two form… it feels like it's eating me alive. Every time I push further, I feel like my blood doesn't belong to me anymore."
Nia turned, her gaze unwavering. "That's because it isn't just yours. You carry more than your own strength. You carry me, too."
He blinked, startled.
She stepped closer, her voice steady. "Then let me be the one who keeps you whole. If your form tears you apart, I'll put you back together. That's what this Bond means."
Their rings pulsed softly, the glow threading between their clasped hands. Warmth filled his chest, the ache easing for the first time since he'd touched Tier Two.
The System pulsed before their eyes.
[Skill Progression: Dragon Instinct (Tier 2 Passive) unlocked.]
[Bond Progression: 60% → 63%.]
Andy let out a small, weary laugh. "Guess the System agrees with you."
Nia's cheeks warmed, but her eyes held firm. "Good. Then remember that, the next time you think you're alone."
Silence stretched between them, soft and fragile. Then the city shifted. Across the rooftops, shrines flared brighter, flames bending into wings so vast they shadowed the skyline. For one breath, Solaris was bathed under a fiery canopy, the shape of a god watching.
Andy's hand clenched tighter around Nia's. His voice was barely a whisper. "He's watching."
And Nia, her eyes burning with light, whispered back. "Then let him. We'll burn brighter."
---