The Sky Begins to Change
The Astral Forest went on forever, its core being the biggest sanctuary—and tomb—for magical creatures throughout the sprawling lands of Spirita.
Deep within its core center was a world that seemed untouched by time itself, a patch of paradise guarded from the world. Emerald canopies glimmered with the eternal light of starlight filtering through the foliage, and a glass-like lake mirrored the heaven above. It was a serene, almost sacred beauty, but under that calm surface there was danger so oppressive it warped even kings of beasts into silence.
For human beings, this land was a forbidden territory. For animals, only those who had faced the testing of a hundred thousand years would venture beyond its limits.
And yet, on the lake's reflective hide, a green-clad youth stood like one born of the heavens themselves. His stance was easy, hands behind his back, but his very presence pushed against the world like a mountain clothed in silence. His eyes lingered upon the sky above—unwavering, ungauged, ancient.
Hidden in the shadows, two masters of the forest trembled.
The Great Serpent of Skyox, its coils longer than a ten-meter ridge, had coiled upon itself, great eyes glazed with fear and awe. The Ape-Lord however, normally a tower of living fury and iron, knelt on one knee, crouched low as a scolded child. These were hunters who had dominated generations of beasts with uncontested power—yet in the presence of this man, they did not dare breathe too hard.
They knew the truth.
The shape on the lake was Nux, the one all creatures hushed about. The first and only beast-God Spirita had encountered for a million years.
"The sky…" Nux sighed, voice gentle but carrying over the water, "is finally going to change." His eyes flashed with something far away—resignation, maybe, or the muted acceptance of fate's hand.
A clear, singing voice cut through the silence.
"Nux… is your million-year beast disaster arriving?"
Light ripped through the air. A sheet of silver unfolded to his side like a lotus blooming, seething with energy that reeked of moonlight and infinity. From within it emerged a single foot—thin, jade-white as if carved from it, unsoiled by soil. Then a leg, unblemished and sleek, and then a body that had been chiseled to express perfection itself.
She came forth whole, a woman of silver hair that fell to her ankles like liquid starlight, encasing a face that could reduce empires to ashes with envy. Her eyelashes quivered over eyes of crystalline violet, eyes that contained coldness and fragility in equal portion, like glass that could shatter but cut with equal breath. Even her whiteness was not unattractive, fragile and not repelable.
Felberta, Moonborn Dragon Queen.
Nux's lips twitched upwards slightly. "Felberta… what brings you here?"
Her gaze narrowed, violet fire burning within her eyes. She inflated her cheeks and snarled, "Nux! How many times must I say it—call me Fel. Not my full name.
His laughter escaped soft and taunting, his face impervious yet with a hint of warmth. "How could I risk it? You are the Moonborn Dragon Queen, ruler of magical beasts. To address you by anything short would be…" He cocked his head, smiling slightly, "…presumptuous."
Felberta's face flushed, though her eyes narrowed. "Presumptuous, my scales. There is nothing you do not dare! Stop playacting. The last time I bathed, who was it that stomped in—"
Nux coughed, his lips curling. "That… was an accident. How could I have known you selected that spot to bathe?"
Her violet eyes flashed with fury as she leaned in closer, voice heavy with venom. "I set seals around that grove. Don't tell me the great beast-God of Spirita wandered in by accident."
He lifted his hand, gesturing towards the shaking giants by the lake shore. "Fel, don't speak of that. Take a look at those two."
The Skyox Serpent and the Mountainborn Ape-Lord stood transfixed. Their giant bodies trembled as if lightning ran through them. Their huge eyes howled both fear and beggary. Flight was impossible, tarrying was torture—yet tarry they did, stiffened by the terror of hearing too much, of being silenced for hearing words not intended for them.
Felberta's eyes drifted to them, and her frozen beauty hardened into steel. "You two…"
The power of her voice cascaded like a divine decree. The monsters crumpled immediately, their great forms shaking as their very essences shattered under her will.
"Moonborn Queen, have mercy!" the Skyox Serpent spat, its coils convulsing.
"We heard nothing, we know nothing!" the Mountainborn Ape-Lord bellowed, its head dipping until the ground cracked under it.
"Roll."
Her one word crashed against them like a hammer.
Relief washed over their monstrous bodies. "Thank you, my queen!" They were off in a run, great bodies crashing through the forest in a wild panic. Trees splintered, shrubs broke, earth torn beneath their terror. Dignity aside, they fled like frightened prey.
Nux smiled, crossing his arms. "Tsk, tsk… was that not a little too severe?"
Her face relaxed, the chill softening by the smallest of increments as her lips curled into a tiny pout. "Not all are worthy of my kindness." Her tone dropped to a whisper, barely audible, as she shifted her gaze to his. ".Only you. Only the God of this world.
The words stirred something in him, a heat that coiled in his chest. Looking at her proud figure and delicate lips, Nux felt an urge—raw, irreverent—to draw her close, to steal her arrogance with a kiss that would brand her as his.
Her violet eyes sharpened instantly. "You… you're plotting something shameless again."
He tilted his head. "No."
"Indeed." She sneered, yet a color grazed her pale cheeks. "Your mind can't flee from me, Nux. Every flutter of your heart lies open before me."
His lips curled in a sly smile. "Then explain… why was it that I stayed in your bath grove for so long without discovery? Is it perhaps. you let me in?" His eyes flashed in feigned suspicion.
Felberta froze, then flushed scarlet, whipping her gaze away. "You're spouting nonsense! How could I, with my status, ever stoop to something so… indecent?"
"Of course," Nux said smoothly, his tone playful. "How could little Fel ever harbor such wickedness?"
Her hands tightened into fists, shaking with anger and humiliation. "You—! Even the Moonborn Dragon Queen, you dare to mock me!" She punched at his shoulder in soft, exasperated jabs, her movements more flustered than angry.
Nux took her wrist gently, his voice changing, gravity falling into his words. "Enough, Fel. Stop. The time is here."
Something in his tone quieted her. Her breath caught. Gradually, she looked up to the sky.
The sky groaned.
"Boom!"
Thunder burst the firmament, cracking open the silence of the Astral Forest.