The night sky of Verlyn was pitch-black, dark clouds moving quickly covering the moon. We ran leaving the Northern Archive, our footsteps echoing in the stone corridors of the old city.
"Faster, Makoto! There's… something outside!" shouted Lyona, her breath ragged but her eyes still focused.
I turned, and from afar a blast of air vibration was heard, like the rumble of a giant. A dim green light pierced through the gaps of the clouds, dancing on the rooftops of the city.
"What is that…?" my voice trembled.
Lyona looked back for a moment, staring at me with eyes already used to holding back panic.
"A wave… a dragon," she answered briefly. "If we're late, this city could be destroyed before morning."
We crashed through narrow alleys, avoiding panicked merchants and overturned carts. The smell of smoke and dust filled the air, making breathing heavy.
At the end of the street, a green flash struck from the sky, hitting the dead-ticking clock tower. Wood shattered and fragments of stone scattered.
I grabbed Lyona's hand. "Don't get too close!"
She looked at me, as if weighing it, then gripped her short sword.
"If we only run, that wave will swallow the settlement!"
Before I could speak, a massive shadow appeared above the city— a dragon glowing green, its head like crystal, its wings creating wind that almost pulled us off our feet.
"Makoto! Follow me—we have to get to the central plaza! From there we can see its attack pattern!"
I nodded, and we ran again, nearly tripping over benches and debris. The dragon wave pierced through layers of air, forcing us to duck between ruins.
On the road, an old merchant screamed. Lyona pulled me aside:
"Quiet! Don't panic, focus!"
Her voice was sharp, but I could feel her own fear. There was something more than just this creature. It felt… like another pair of eyes was watching us, something unseen but directing this wave.
We arrived at the central plaza. The city trembled as the dragon dove. I felt a strange pressure in my head—like a foreign whisper, words unclear but familiar:
"Not your time yet…"
Lyona turned to me, her eyes widening.
"Did you feel it too?"
I swallowed. "Yes… like… Makoto B. But he… isn't here."
"Right. This isn't him," she said quickly, gripping her sword tighter. "The one doing this… someone—or something—is sending this wave. Forcing us to see… and feel."
The dragon dived again, this time toward the east of the plaza. Lyona jumped, her sword slicing the air, triggering sparks of light as its edge touched the dragon's energy.
I tried to mimic her, taking a small crystal stone from my pocket—remnant of a tool from the Northern Archive—and pressed it. Blue energy flared, forming a temporary shield in front of us. The explosion of light hit the ground, spitting dust and shattered stone.
"I've never seen power like this…!" shouted Lyona. "We have to fool its wave, not fight it directly!"
I nodded, and we moved side by side. The dragon moved swiftly, but we were starting to understand its attack pattern: each green flash was accompanied by a temporal vibration that made our shadows seem to move slightly backward—temporal distortion.
I looked at Lyona. "We… can use it. Make it strike in the wrong path."
She smiled thinly, full of tension. "Right… but don't make a mistake. One mistake, we're finished."
The wave approached. I held my breath. The foreign whisper returned:
"Look at them… look clearly…"
And for a moment, I caught the shadow of a man—tall, calm, staring at Lyona intensely. Again, not Makoto B… but familiar. As if this dragon wave was sent by another force, a god or temporal entity testing us.
Lyona raised her sword. "Come on… we have to survive until morning, or this city… is done."
I swallowed, gripping her hand. Together, we stared at the green dragon now circling the plaza, sending waves of light and time.
And for the first time… I felt this world was too big, too dangerous, and I had only just begun to understand how small we truly were within it.