After greeting everyone and assuring them that he was fine, Kael moved.

Seeing that the elves were already helping them build houses, and the ones they made, although not very grand, were quite good, he copied their magic circles.

Then, he made one for himself so that he could sit down there and talk about how things should progress from here on out.

Of course, seeing him copy their spells, the elves, who had put in efforts to learn those spells, were shell-shocked, but recalling that he was a dragon, they tried to dismiss it.

A question, however, remained in their minds: 'Were dragons really supposed to be able to do such things?'

If Eiravel, the only being who had seen dragons, had heard their question, then her answer would've been, 'No. Even dragons can't copy spells.'

For now, Kael made his temporary house.

Living wood curved upward into smooth walls, its grain glowing faintly with emerald veins. The roof was formed from interwoven branches that gently filtered light, muting the outside world into a quiet hush. The air inside smelled of sap and rain—clean, calm.

Still, not everyone was inside.

Druvan, Vaelen, Aldric, and many others were outside, and only a handful of people were inside.

Kael stood near the center, arms folded.

Lyra knelt beside Selene, the white-haired bird demihuman lying unconscious atop a bed of woven leaves.

Her wings were folded tightly, feathers dulled from exhaustion. Nearly ten hours had passed since she'd collapsed.

Evethra stood rigid near the wall, crimson eyes fixed on Selene, worry clear on her face.

Alenia sat cross-legged nearby, her fingers laced together in uncharacteristic stillness.

Darian stood in another corner, silent because, although he didn't have a connection with Selene, Kael, his god, cared for her.

And near the entrance stood the two elves—the same ones who had guided them here.

The silence was heavy.

"She looks like she's sleeping without any issues," Alenia finally said softly. "Just how much longer is she going to stay like this?"

Lyra's hands trembled slightly. "I fear how Rue and Rina must be doing," she whispered. "They are definitely in the presence of people as strong as Kael, if not stronger."

Kael closed his eyes briefly, recalling everything.

It had been around eleven hours since Rue and Rina's disappearance. Since then, so many things had happened, almost making it seem like days had passed.

But not once did anyone forget about Selene's condition.

It had happened because she had tried to look into Rue and Rina's whereabouts using her foresight ability.

The problem was that this ability backfired, resulting in a severe backlash whenever one tried to look at someone stronger than themself.

It had only happened before when Selene had tried to look at Kael's future, so when it happened again, they all thought that there was someone as strong as Kael around Rue and Rina.

Now, however, they knew that it was different.

They now knew that there were people stronger than Kael in this world.

Kael knew that better than anyone else because he had met Eiravel, whose power he couldn't even measure.

After a bout of silence, he turned toward the elves and asked, "…Can you heal her?"

The male elf bowed his head almost immediately. "I apologize, but I cannot do it."

Kael frowned. "I thought elves were supposed to have healing powers."

The guy nodded. "That is true, but not all of us can heal others. What all of us can do is heal ourselves, which helps us fight longer."

"So, where can I find a healer elf, um..."

Kael paused, realizing he didn't even know the guy's name, making the elf smile as he inclined his head forward. "I am Faelor."

The female elf stepped forward. "And I am Sylvaen. As for where you can find a healer elf, I am one of those who specialize in restoration."

Kael looked at her. "Then, Sylvae, please."

Sylvaen, who would've normally just gone forward with it, hesitated, recalling something. "Sir, I am going to try, but if this condition is tied to dragon interference or draconic causality, I may not be able to mend it."

Among the elves who had gone to rescue Kael, she was one, and because of that, she had learned that elves couldn't heal dragonic injuries.

"Still, try," Kael said quietly.

Sylvae nodded.

A magic circle bloomed beneath Selene—soft green and silver, layered with runes so precise they hummed. Mana flowed inward.

Selene groaned.

Her wings twitched. Her face tightened in visible pain.

Sylvaen frowned, sweat forming at her brow. "Something is resisting me," she muttered. "Not attacking—but locking her."

She was sure that it wasn't dragonic power, since her powers were working, but whoever had caused this damage was as powerful as her.

Even Faelor realized that, his eyes narrowing, because finding people as powerful as Sylvaen wasn't an easy task.

There were only a handful of people known to be stronger than her in the whole world.

Selene, on the other hand, whimpered.

And seeing that, Kael clenched his teeth.

"That's enough," he said sharply.

Sylvaen stiffened. "If I stop now—"

"I don't care," Kael cut in, stepping forward. "I won't have her suffer like this."

It was then that the air shifted. The wind surged through the room, and the leaves swayed.

Before a second's delay, light gathered before them.

"Well," a teasing voice echoed warmly, "I would be delighted if you made such expressions for me, Kael."

Eiravel appeared as if stepping out of sunlight itself.

Both elves dropped instantly to their knees. "Mother."

Eiravel waved a hand dismissively, eyes on Kael. "What seems to be the trouble?"

Kael turned toward Selene and Eiravel, who already knew what was happening but still asked, smiling. "You could have just asked."

She moved, stepping closer to Selene, but before she could do something, Kael appeared in front of her, gripping her wrist. "I don't want her in pain."

Eiravel raised a brow—then giggled softly.

She understood why he felt like Selene would be in pain, so she placed her other hand over his. "I am not like Sylvaen. I do not need to fight what holds her."

Before Kael could even say anything, she stepped forward and touched Selene's forehead.

It happened in a flash, so fast that Kael couldn't even catch her movements.

The next instant, a magic circle appeared—vast, intricate, impossibly complex.

It was similar to Sylvaen's, but it felt alive.

Selene's expression, on the other hand, softened instantly.

Peace replaced pain.

The circle shattered a second later.

Gone.

Silence followed.

'Did it fail?'

That's what everyone, except Kael, who felt the difference, and Faelor and Sylvaen, who knew that their mother could heal anyone, wondered.

Eiravel, however, sat beside Kael calmly. "She's fine. Just asleep. She'll wake in a few hours."

Relief crashed through the room.

"…That was fast," Alenia muttered, speaking the words in another's head at that moment.

Eiravel's expression, however, hadn't relaxed.

For the first time, she wasn't smiling, and Kael noticed it in a second.

Eiravel's silence stretched just long enough to make Kael uneasy.

"…What's wrong?" He asked quietly.

Her gaze shifted to him—truly shifted—no warmth, no teasing curve to her lips. She looked through him, into him, as if measuring something far deeper than flesh or mana.

"You," she said at last, voice calm but weighted, "have attracted the attention of some very annoying people."

Kael frowned.

At the doorway, Faelor stiffened almost imperceptibly. Sylvaen's fingers curled at her side. They exchanged a glance—brief, sharp.

'Annoying people…?'

They had a few guesses about who their mother would consider annoying, and none of them were pleasant.

"Annoying how?" Kael asked. "And who?"

His eyes hardened. "Rue and Rina are with them. I need to know."

Eiravel exhaled slowly, the sound like wind passing through an ancient canopy. "That is not something I can answer in a sentence."

She looked around the room.

Lyra was kneeling by Selene.

Evethra was standing like a maid with a blade of blood.

Alenia was watching, mind already racing.

Darian was silent and reverent, listening with his whole soul.

Faelor and Sylvaen—alert, cautious.

Kael noticed the glance and straightened slightly, as if inviting whatever was coming.

"Go on," he said.

Eiravel understood then.

These were his people, and he trusted them.

She nodded once.

"Very well," she said. "Then we start at the root."

Her voice softened—but only slightly.

"You've noticed it already. The way my children look at outsiders. The way resentment lingers even when no harm is done."

Faelor's jaw tightened. Sylvaen lowered her eyes.

Eiravel continued, "You may think it is because humans enslaved elves, hunted elementals, and carved beasts into tools."

"That is part of it," she admitted.

"But not the main reason."

Kael's brow furrowed.

"The true reason," Eiravel said, eyes like deep forest shadow, "is that humans were the main cause of the dragons' disappearance."

The words landed like a falling mountain.

Silence crushed the room.

Lyra's breath caught.

Alenia's eyes widened.

Evethra's nails dug into her palm.

Faelor closed his eyes for a brief moment.

Sylvaen swallowed.

Kael didn't move.

"…Disappearance," he repeated slowly.

"Yes," Eiravel said. "Not extinction as you have heard."

Her gaze locked onto his golden eyes.

"It was betrayal. Murder."

Her fingers curled into the grass beneath her.

"Humans coveted draconic authority. Draconic permanence. Draconic truth."

Her voice sharpened, just a fraction. "So they hunted what they could not control. And what they could not kill… they sealed, scattered, or erased from history."

The air felt heavier.

"That," Eiravel finished softly, "is why outsiders—especially humans—are not forgiven here."

Kael's expression didn't change, but in his mind, the human's image, which was turning worse with every passing day, worsened.

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