The evening sky stretched endlessly before him.
Clouds drifted beneath his wings as Ebruhan cut through the air, a faint trail of blue mana following behind.
For a while...
Only the wind accompanied him.
He let out a long sigh.
"...Humans."
A small smile tugged at the corner of his muzzle.
"I've only lived for thirty-years."
"Not nearly as long as the ancient dragons."
His wingbeats remained steady.
"But..."
"I've seen quite a lot."
His thoughts wandered.
He remembered frightened villagers offering him bread when he was still young.
Kings who treated dragons as little more than weapons.
Greedy nobles.
Kind children.
Cowards who became heroes when it mattered.
Heroes who later lost themselves to power.
He had seen fathers bury their sons...
And today...
He had watched a daughter bury her father.
Ebruhan slowly closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.
"...Humans are strange."
"They wage war..."
"They betray one another..."
"They lie."
His gaze drifted toward the endless horizon.
"...Yet..."
"They also love more fiercely than almost any creature I've ever met."
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"Perhaps..."
"That's why dragons find them so difficult to understand."
He thought of Vinson.
A man who had spent forty million gold to save a dragon egg.
He thought of Leo...
Who had stood before a mana-restraining cannon without hesitation.
Then Selene...
An enemy princess who had crossed a battlefield only to beg for help as someone's daughter.
Finally...
Mia.
A dragon who called humans her family.
"...Maybe."
His smile softened.
"The world isn't divided between humans , monsters and dragons after all."
"It never was."
"It has always been divided between good hearts..."
"...and bad ones."
With one powerful beat of his wings...
The great Storm Dragon accelerated once more.
A streak of blue split the evening sky as he raced home to Lumeris.
Two days later...
The Norvoss encampment, several kilometers from the Lumeris border, had begun another ordinary morning.
Soldiers sharpened weapons.
Armor was repaired.
Cooks prepared breakfast while patrols rotated in and out of the camp.
Everything continued as usual...
Until a massive shadow swept across the ground.
Several soldiers instinctively looked skyward.
"What is that?"
"It's the Storm Dragon!"
Blue wings descended through the clouds.
With a thunderous impact—
BOOM!
Ebruhan landed just outside the camp.
Dust rolled across the field.
The tethered wyverns immediately became restless, baring their fangs and snarling toward the dragon.
Soldiers rushed to defensive positions.
Weapons were drawn.
Shields locked together.
But Ebruhan made no hostile move.
Blue light enveloped him as his enormous body shrank into his human form.
He stood calmly before the assembled soldiers.
"I bring a message from Princess Selene."
His voice remained composed.
"Who is in commands this camp?"
After a brief silence, one of the senior officers stepped forward.
"I do."
He studied Ebruhan cautiously.
"...What message?"
Without another word, Ebruhan reached into his spatial inventory.
He withdrew a sealed letter bearing the royal crest of Norvoss.
The officer accepted it.
He broke the wax seal.
Then his eyes moved across the page...
His expression slowly changed.
Confusion.
Then surprise.
Finally...
Understanding.
He lowered the letter and looked at Ebruhan.
Then back at the royal seal.
After a long moment...
He bowed respectfully.
"...Understood."
He straightened before raising his voice across the entire encampment.
"Everyone!"
The camp gradually fell silent.
"Break camp!"
"We're returning home!"
A brief murmur spread through the ranks before soldiers immediately began moving.
Orders echoed in every direction.
"Tear down the command tents!"
"Pack the supplies!"
"Load the wagons!"
The officer turned back toward Ebruhan.
"You have the gratitude of Norvoss."
"Thank you..."
"...for bringing our princess home safely."
Ebruhan simply inclined his head.
"No thanks are necessary."
The officer smiled faintly before returning to his duties.
Within minutes...
The once-orderly military camp burst into organized activity.
Canvas tents disappeared one by one.
Supply wagons rolled into formation.
Wyvern handlers released their mounts from the hitching posts.
The great beasts launched into the sky, several carrying crates and equipment suspended beneath them.
Commanders barked orders from every direction.
Soon...
The vast encampment that had threatened Lumeris for weeks began disappearing before Ebruhan's eyes.
The war...
Was finally over.
Blue light surrounded him once more.
His human figure dissolved into that of the great Storm Dragon.
He remained airborne for a few moments, silently watching the Norvoss army withdraw from Lumeris.
Then...
With a powerful beat of his wings—
BOOM!
Ebruhan turned toward home.
Lumeris border camps...
The familiar blue silhouette descended from the sky.
With a powerful gust of wind—
BOOM!
Ebruhan landed in the center of the Lumeris encampment.
Soldiers immediately gathered around him.
Mages.
Knights.
Commanders.
Even the wounded who could still stand made their way over, curiosity written across their faces.
Blue light enveloped the Storm Dragon before shrinking into his human form.
Without a word, Ebruhan raised one hand.
A sealed letter floated out of his spatial inventory, suspended in the air by gentle telekinesis.
At that moment...
The flap of a nearby tent opened.
Mia stepped outside, her eyes immediately finding Ebruhan.
King Cedric walked forward and accepted the letter.
Breaking the royal seal, he quietly read its contents.
---
To the Kingdom of Lumeris,
I owe you an apology.
For every battle...
Every life lost...
Every wound this war has caused.
Despite all that we have done...
You still chose compassion over hatred.
For that... I offer my deepest gratitude.
From this day onward, the Kingdom of Norvoss shall never raise its sword against Lumeris or its allies again.
Should you ever require reinforcements, supplies, or aid...
Norvoss will answer your call.
May this be the beginning of peace between our kingdoms.
—Selene, Princess of Norvoss
---
Silence settled over the camp.
Cedric slowly lowered the letter.
A faint smile spread across the old king's face.
He looked toward every soldier gathered before him.
Then raised his voice.
"Everyone!"
Hundreds of eyes turned toward their king.
"The war..."
He paused.
"...is over."
For a heartbeat...
No one reacted.
The words simply refused to register.
Then Cedric smiled wider.
"We're going home!"
The entire camp exploded.
A deafening roar of celebration shook the valley.
"We won!"
"It's finally over!"
"We're going home!"
Helmets flew into the air.
Weapons were raised in triumph.
Some soldiers laughed uncontrollably.
Others dropped to their knees, crying in relief.
Friends embraced one another. Some hug eachother, cheering loudly.
Veterans who had survived countless battles simply stood there with tears quietly streaming down their faces.
Mia watched the celebration unfold.
A gentle smile slowly appeared on her face.
Her gaze shifted toward Ebruhan.
The Storm Dragon simply folded his arms, watching the soldiers celebrate with quiet satisfaction.
Not far away...
Tai had barely finished processing the announcement.
"...Huh?"
Several Aegis soldiers suddenly surrounded him.
"There he is!"
"Get him!"
Before Tai could react—
They hoisted him onto their shoulders.
"W-Wait!"
The soldiers burst into laughter.
"Three cheers for the Phantom!"
"He saved our hides!"
Before Tai could protest any further...
They launched him into the air.
"Wha—! HEY!"
"I swear to the gods, if you idiots drop me—"
The soldiers caught him again.
The entire group erupted into laughter.
Tai could only sigh helplessly, though the grin tugging at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.
"...Yeah..."
He looked around at the cheering camp.
"...I guess this isn't a bad ending after all."