A heavy silence hung between them, but Aren's mind remained restless.
Her words echoed in his head like reflections in a closed room:
"If you stay alive… yes."
But… what did that mean?
And what was he supposed to fear?
As Rai turned her back to retrieve something from the table, another thought crept into his mind… something he had been ignoring since he woke up in this place:
Shane.
That being he had met before arriving in this forest… the massive creature with skin as dark as night, blazing eyes, wings like shadows of fire… who—by some inexplicable means—had transformed before his eyes into a fully human form.
Aren lifted his head slowly, his heart pounding with a silent question:
"What species… was Shane?"
Rai had only mentioned five earthly species. Five… and none of them resembled what he had seen.
No humans. No Elves. No Dwarves. No Demons. Not even Half-humans.
Nothing even approached a dragon that could transform into a human.
Aren swallowed hard.
"Are dragons… a sixth species?"
"And why didn't she mention it? Is it forbidden? Extinct? Or too dangerous for its name to be spoken?"
Thoughts surged over one another like waves:
– Does Rai know about dragons?
– And if she does… why didn't she mention them?
– And if she doesn't… does that mean Shane… is beyond normal knowledge?
– Beyond species? Beyond the world itself?
A cold shiver crawled down his spine.
He pondered for a moment:
"Is Shane… one of those beings Rai said talking about would bring misfortune?"
His heart raced.
Rai was insistent… shrewd… cautious. She spoke of "above the skies" as if it were a red line.
But Shane… was something else. He wasn't above the skies… he was right in front of him, real, tangible, able to be held in one hand.
And he didn't tell her… nor did he intend to.
Not now.
He didn't know why, but he felt that mentioning Shane in front of her… would change everything. Perhaps it would make the danger greater. Or maybe it would make her step back… or try to stop him from searching. Or perhaps… she would fear.
So he kept everything inside him. Buried it as a heavy secret in his chest.
He looked toward the ground, a thought crossing his mind:
"A world where creatures transform from dragons to humans… and a world above the skies that must not be mentioned… and characters hiding their lineages… and I'm in the middle of it all."
He couldn't help thinking:
"Was my arrival here a coincidence… or part of something greater?"
He looked back at Rai, who was still standing near the table, her back slightly tilted toward him.
Inside him, one feeling was forming… mysterious and persistent:
This world… doesn't tell everything. And the secrets surrounding it… are more than Rai had said, and more than he could handle.
While Aren was lost in his thoughts, Rai suddenly felt a shiver run through her body.
She froze, her eyes widening as if time had fractured for a moment, taking her far away, to a very distant memory.
A little girl, Rai herself as a child… hiding among the trees, hands tightly clenched, eyes shining with fear.
In front of her, a red-haired woman, her eyes carrying the wisdom and resilience of life, protecting the child with everything she had.
But suddenly, the forest sky ignited with a flash of white light, powerful and sudden. The rays pierced the area, reaching the woman's body…
In an instant, her body split in half, falling lifeless to the ground.
Silence returned suddenly… heavy, terrible, as if the forest itself had swallowed the scream.
The little girl screamed, but the sound choked in her throat.
Rai didn't move, her eyes wide, her heart pounding fiercely.
Shock, pain, fear… everything merged within her in a single moment, leaving an indelible mark.
Time returned to the present.
Rai breathed slowly inside the cabin, her eyes still holding the shadow of that old trauma.
Aren noticed the change in her expression, and she spoke:
"Aren…"
He raised his head quickly, wary of the long silence:
"Yes?"
She stared at him, trying to control the tremor she felt, her voice low:
"You were distracted… were you thinking about something?"
He answered quickly, hiding his tension:
"No… just trying to process what you told me. That's all."
She shook her head slightly, breathed slowly, and calmed down a bit:
"Alright… I'll try to teach you something about this world. There's a lot to learn, but don't ask about anything right now. You need to find your answers yourself first."
She smiled faintly, looking at him with warm eyes despite the caution:
"Take your time… and we'll start gradually, until you learn to distinguish the world around you and uncover its secrets."