I woke up to a distant roar.
It wasn't an aggressive roar — it sounded more like a gigantic yawn echoing through the mountain walls. In the demi-dragon territory, that probably meant someone from the royal family was stretching.
I opened my eyes and noticed Liriel was already sitting, reading a scroll. Elara was finishing her hair, and Vespera, as always, was wrapped in a blanket like a hibernating larva.
"Good morning," I murmured.
"That's debatable," Vespera replied without opening her eyes.
"Why?"
"Because I woke up here instead of in a comfortable inn three countries away."
Elara sighed. "Stop the drama."
"I am the drama."
Liriel closed the scroll. "The king sent a messenger early. Princess Rai'kanna wants to show us the city before the first mission."
I took a deep breath. "Of course she does."
Vespera opened one eye. "The clingy princess already wants to go sightseeing with you?"
"Vespera…"
"Kidding. Mostly."
We left the lodgings and were greeted by a breathtaking sight.
The Suspended City of Vailhar stretched before us like a living masterpiece.
It wasn't built only on the surface — it was supported by gigantic pillars rising from the abyss, connecting massive platforms floating at different heights. Between them, thin bridges made of metallic scales moved slowly, adjusting themselves to the flow of energy.
It was as if the city were a giant sleeping dragon, and each platform breathed with it.
"It's… beautiful," I murmured.
"Beautiful and dangerous," Liriel added. "A fall from here would be fatal."
"Elara would fall gracefully," Vespera teased.
"And you would definitely fall on top of me," Elara replied.
"That's where you're wrong. I'd fall on Takumi. For reasons."
I took a deep breath. "I haven't even met the princess yet and I'm already tired."
That's when I heard her voice.
"Takumi!"
I turned and saw Rai'kanna descending from an upper platform using some kind of living chain — it looked like a long metal serpent that moved on its own.
She landed with exaggerated elegance.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked, stepping far too close to me. "I was thinking about you this morning."
Liriel coughed loudly.
Elara looked away.
Vespera nearly rolled her eyes into another dimension.
"I was thinking… about the mission," Rai'kanna corrected, then smiled with mischief. "And other things."
I clenched my teeth.
This is going to be a long arc…
Rai'kanna guided us to one of the upper platforms through a scaled bridge that changed color as we walked.
"Here," she explained, "is where the draconic energy flows the strongest. The whole city is sustained by these heat channels. Some humans call them 'fire lines.'"
"Fire lines…" I repeated. "Like veins of energy?"
"Exactly. They come from the First Dragon who sleeps beneath the mountains."
Vespera stopped in the middle of the bridge. "There's a giant dragon literally sleeping under us?"
Rai'kanna smiled, pleased with the reaction. "Yes. But he only wakes up during very important events."
"Like what?" Elara asked.
"Royal weddings, for example."
The three girls stared at me immediately.
I nearly tripped.
"Let's… not talk about that now," I muttered.
"For now," Rai'kanna replied.
We reached the highest platform: the Arkhann Lookout.
The view was surreal.
We could see the entire suspended city:
streams of magma running along the edges of the platforms, dragons flying lazily between the towers, and huge blue crystals illuminating everything.
Rai'kanna spread her arms. "Welcome to the heart of Vailhar."
"It's truly impressive," I admitted.
She stepped closer again — too close — as if the concept of personal space didn't exist for her.
"I'm glad you like it. I personally suggested some of the lookout's renovations."
"You… renovated this?"
"I renovate everything I put my hands on."
Liriel gave a sharp little smile. "I noticed."
Rai'kanna returned an even sharper smile. "Noticing is the first step to accepting."
Vespera muttered behind me: "They're totally going to kill each other."
After the panoramic tour, we went down to the busiest sector of the city: the Ancient Scales Market.
There, we saw:
blacksmiths using blue fire,
jewels made from polished scales,
weapons with draconic cores,
and even small amulets that roared when blown into.
An elderly demi-dragon noticed that we were looking and approached.
"Are you the adventurers hired by the king?"
"Yes," I replied.
The old man smiled. "Then choose an amulet. A gift from Vailhar. For you to have luck."
Before I could say anything, Rai'kanna stepped forward and grabbed a small pendant shaped like a crimson dragon.
"This one is for Takumi."
The three girls froze.
Elara crossed her arms. "He doesn't need that."
Liriel tightened her grip on the grimoire. "I could make a better one."
Vespera was more direct. "That doesn't suit him. Nothing that pretty ever suits Takumi."
"Thanks. I guess," I murmured.
Rai'kanna ignored all of them.
She fastened the amulet around my neck and smiled.
"Now he has something that connects him to me."
Total silence.
The kind of silence that makes even dragons stop to observe.
"Aaaah, great," said Vespera. "We're officially in love triangle number seven."
"Technically, now it's a square," corrected Liriel.
"Not a square. It's a pentagram," said Elara.
I just took a deep breath.
By the end of the afternoon, the king summoned us for the first official mission.
We crossed a magma walkway, entered an oval room, and found Drathen waiting with maps spread over the table.
"The monsters from the rift are advancing," said the king. "They attacked mines to the south and destroyed fifteen houses."
"What monsters?" I asked.
"Creatures deformed by demonic energy. They aren't strong individually, but they are numerous."
"And what do we need to do?" Elara asked.
"You will go to the village of Rûmar, investigate the point of origin, and eliminate any threat."
"Understood."
"And my daughter," added the king, with a tired expression, "is going with you."
"WHAT?" the three girls said at the same time.
"It's an order."
Then he sighed. "I tried to stop her. It didn't work."
Rai'kanna smiled with satisfaction.
Suddenly, I understood the roar I had heard that morning.
It wasn't someone stretching.
It was the world warning me: "Your peace is over."
When we left the hall, Rai'kanna walked happily at my side.
"It will be fun to travel with you."
"Fun… fun?" I repeated, nervous.
"Yes. I want to see what you're capable of. And maybe show what I'm capable of too."
Behind us, Liriel, Elara, and Vespera walked in absolute silence.
The kind of silence that precedes storms.
I looked up at the sky, glowing in shades of orange and blue.