The desert stretched endlessly before them, a golden ocean of heat and silence. The massive black-bronze gates of Orlogolog stood behind them like the teeth of a buried giant, unmoving and impassive. Heat shimmered in the air, and the wind carried only sand and dust.

  Ivan flopped down dramatically into the sand, arms splayed like a man recently slain in battle. “We’re dead,” he muttered. “Dead and cooked. I can’t believe he just left us like that.”

  Aria was already lying face-down beside him, her fake eyes dimming with a quiet hiss as the last glint of blue faded from them. “Leave me here. Let the vulchers have me.”

  Mia, the only one upright, crouched down and scooped up a handful of sand. She let it flow slowly through her fingers like an hourglass bleeding seconds. Her eyes were focused and distant, yet she said nothing.

  Near the gate, Milo stood upright, arms folded, unmoved by the heat or the whining from the others in front of him. He looked like a statue chiseled out of spite and desert stone. “Ivan,” Milo said without turning. “You're wrong.”

  Ivan groaned louder, dragging sand across his face. “Oh? About what? That Regulus probably teleported off with Kaiser to the capital like he originally planned? Because I’m right about that, and you know it.”

  “He wouldn’t leave us,” Mia said quietly, still watching the grains of sand dance through her fingers.

  “Oh, come on,” Ivan sighed. “You saw how many times he tried to convince Aria to go with Milo yesterday. If he was that consistent with her, I don’t see him coming back for us.”

  Aria sighed into the sand, voice muffled. “I am become dust.”

  Milo finally turned from the gate, his eyes fixed squarely on Mia. He took a step closer, folding his arms tighter across his chest. “Regulus doesn’t leave his mounts in plain sight anymore,” he said simply. “Last time he did, some street artist painted a smiley face on it the size of a damn barn. He’s cautious now.”

  Mia's ears twitched once, making Milo’s brows furrow.

  Then they twitched again. A small, sharp flick like a tuning fork catching resonance.

  And then a third time.

  She straightened slowly, glancing around herself, eyes narrowing. “...Something’s coming.”

  Aria blinked from the sand. “You sensed something?”

  Ivan sat up slightly. “What is it? A monster? A sandstorm?”

  Milo’s lips curled into the faintest smile as he began walking towards them. “No, that’s just Regulus.”

  He stepped in front of them and looked down into the sand, just as a distant rumble rolled beneath the earth, like the very world was exhaling.

  Mia stood to her full height, ears now fully perked, the light in her pupils flaring subtly. The sand just in front of her started to shift, and the ground trembled with something massive turning beneath the surface.

  Milo turned his head just slightly, smirking all the while. “Brace yourselves, kids.” And just as he finished, the desert floor exploded.

  A column of sand burst upward like a geyser, sunlight splitting through it in golden streaks, and from its core surged the gleaming form of Varisis, metal scales shining, her wings curled inward like a falling blade. The wind blasted outward in a wave that knocked Ivan back into the sand and sent Aria rolling like a particularly dramatic potato, meanwhile Milo, who was standing closest to the commotion, didn’t even flinch.

  He watched the spectacle with arms crossed, sand whipping against his coat, his hair ruffled only slightly by the force. A lazy smile tugged at the edge of his lips. “Magnificent,” he said, voice completely calm. “Every damn time.”

  Behind him, Mia’s breath hitched. Her eyes widened, the dread from before crystallizing into something completely different. She didn’t tremble, but her expression shifted. Her gaze remained fixed, wide and unblinking, as a slow, involuntary smile began to rise. It crept across her face like a memory stirring in the dark, curling her lips as if something long buried had suddenly come back to life.

  Ivan, however, exploded with energy.

  “It’s a JERICHO!” he bellowed, leaping to his feet like he’d just been struck by lightning. “By all the gods, that’s a full-scale Jericho!”

  Aria screamed while Getting up. “What the hell is THAT?!” she shrieked, arms flailing as she scrambled to her feet and immediately dove behind Ivan like he was a wall of meat.

  Ivan was too busy vibrating like a stringed instrument of joy to offer useful answers, so Milo turned to her, trying to clear up the confusion. “That’s a Jericho,” he repeated, turning to her with glowing eyes and zero regard for her panic. “Private mounts of the twenty most important Liberators of the Northern Liberatorium! That one’s Regulus’. That’s Varisis of the Blue Flame.”

  Aria peeked from behind them, eyes wide with awe. “That’s so… that’s so badass!”

  The metallic dragon completed its rise with a final thunderous exhale, the flames extinguishing into curls of blue mist. Sand rained down from the sky like divine ash. Then, with a slow, controlled grace, Varisis landed, her feet pressing gently into the sand and wings folding like curtains drawn over a storm.

  The moment the beast settled, the desert held its breath. Not a whisper of wind, not a single sound. Only the low hum of power—and the awestruck silence of those too stunned to speak.

  Aria finally exhaled. “Okay… okay… it’s not eating us yet.”

  “It’s not going to,” Ivan said, grinning ear to ear. “Varisis only eats pure Sol, nothing else.”

  Milo walked past them without slowing, brushing a bit of sand off his shoulder as he made his way toward the towering dragon. He ignored Aria’s wide-eyed stare as she repeated, “That makes it even more badass!”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Then, without breaking stride, Milo cupped his hands and shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice carrying across the silent dunes. “REGULUS! Next time you decide to kidnap someone and fuck off for half an hour, you better tell me in advance! I’m not a bloody babysitter!”

  The dragon’s massive head shifted with mechanical grace, plates folding and clicking as it turned toward the group. With a slow, deliberate motion, it began to lower itself. The sand rippled beneath the pressure of its breath, and the air vibrated with the low whine of cooling power.

  Then, its maw began to open—not to roar, not in threat, but in revelation.

  A seam split down the length of its face, its jaws parting like the gates of some divine vault. The glow of its internal fire still flickered along the seams, and from between its sharpened steel teeth, the last ghostly licks of blue flame drifted out into the hot desert wind like the dragon was exhaling a secret it had been holding onto.

  Then, from the heart of that blue inferno, a figure emerged. Clad in full silver armor, each step he took echoed against the steel ramp as if even the dragon itself respected his pace. The phoenix feather atop his helm swayed in the heatwaves, and behind him, a rolling cloud of white steam curled outward from the beast’s breath, cloaking his descent like he was stepping down from heaven.

  He landed softly on the sand with barely a sound.

  Regulus looked up at the stunned group, one hand resting casually on his hip, the other swinging at his side. He tilted his head, a slow smirk forming beneath the shadows of his helm. He dusted a bit of sand off his shoulder, looked directly at Milo, and offered the barest smirk. “Don’t be so dramatic,” he said, his voice casual and deep. “You knew what I did, and why I did it.”

  Milo stared at him for a long second, jaw tight, then exhaled through his nose and ran a hand down his face. “Yeah, yeah. I get it.”

  Regulus raised a brow, his silence saying “And?”

  “I just hope it was worth it.” Milo muttered.

  Regulus’ grin grew boyish and wide. He nodded enthusiastically—too enthusiastically for a man in full enchanted armor. “Oh, absolutely.”

  Before another word could be exchanged, Aria launched herself forward like a cannonball made of panic and questions, crashing into Regulus’ front like a child demanding answers from an older sibling who stole candy.

  “Was Kaiser with you?!” she shouted, clinging to his cloak. “Or did he ditch you too?! Don’t lie—I can smell abandonment!”

  Regulus blinked, looked down at her like she was a particularly talkative bird clinging to his armor, and then with no hesitation, he pulled a shining slip of silver paper from his armor and smacked her on the forehead with it. A flash of light sparked off her brow, and in the blink of an eye, she vanished in a neat puff of glowing runes.

  He dusted his gauntlet off like he’d just removed a stain. “No manners,” he muttered. “That one’s a hazard to public piece.”

  Mia had been quietly watching, the reflection of the metallic beast still burning in her widened eyes. She used the moment when everyone was distracted by Aria’s abrupt poof, to glance around, seeking Ivan. Her lips parted slightly. “Ivan?” she whispered.

  But he wasn’t where she last saw him. Instead, he was already halfway up Varisis’s leg, both hands pressed to the gleaming metal, eyes glowing like twin suns.

  “This… this is a real Jericho,” he whispered in reverence, completely enthralled. “I’m touching a Jericho. I can’t believe I get to see one up close. The stories didn’t do it justice. The runic seams alone—this isn’t just a beast, this is something to LOVE!”

  He was practically drooling on the plating.

  Regulus didn’t even sigh this time. He just strolled up to the boy, tapped another glowing piece of parchment against the back of Ivan’s head—and zip—he was gone in a flicker of magic, vanishing mid-gasp.

  Regulus shook his head and turned toward Milo, who was already raising an eyebrow. “I swear,” Regulus said, rubbing his temple beneath the helmet. “These children are absolutely abnormal. It’s like babysitting baby wyverns instead of ‘just kids.’”

  Milo let out a short laugh. “You’re not wrong. But that’s part of their charm, isn’t it?”

  Before Regulus could respond, Mia approached, her steps light but deliberate. She stood beside the two men, back straight, gaze calm.

  Milo looked her over once and gave a small approving nod. “You’re the most normal one in the whole group,” he said with a faint smirk. “So I’m trusting you with two things—keep your brother from climbing something explosive, and make sure Kaiser doesn’t accidentally do something too out of the norm.”

  Regulus gave a chuckle, then added, “I briefed him a bit on the world. Just the basics, but if he’s going to be a functioning cog in this machine, he’s going to need more education. Social, behavioral, cultural… the works. And I can only handle so much tutoring.”

  Mia nodded with a soft, resolute smile. “I’ll do my best.”

  Milo placed a hand on her shoulder, just for a moment. “We know you will. You’re pretty ‘grounded’ for your age.” He smirked faintly to himself.

  Regulus stepped forward, hand outstretched. In his palm, a faintly glowing piece of folded parchment lay, humming with soft power. He handed it to her gently, almost with reverence.

  “Tell him I’ll catch up soon,” he said. She took it. The moment her fingers closed around it, light swallowed her, and in an instant—she, too, was gone.

  Just Regulus and Milo remained now, the dust settling around them, the wind finally quiet. Varisis exhaled one final stream of heat into the sky, casting streaks of blue through the rising sun.

  Milo folded his arms. “You enjoy that too much.”

  Regulus shrugged, eyes still on the sky. “I have to. If I stop finding it fun, then I start asking myself why I’m doing it.”

  A pause followed… Then both men smiled to themselves. “So,” Milo said, his voice low, half-thoughtful. “Do you have a plan for where you're dropping the kids off once you hit the capital?”

  Regulus didn’t answer right away. He tilted his head toward the horizon, then cracked his knuckles through his armored gloves.

  “Yes,” he said. “Yes, I do.”

  He turned to Milo fully, expression unreadable beneath the shadows cast by his helmet’s rim.

  “Lady Celestine’s in need of a new team… Desperately so. The Southern Liberatorium’s been bled dry of talent lately, with most of the stronger Liberators pulled north or east. I’ve already spoken to her, and she’s more than interested. Apparently, she’s quite the admirer of what Kaiser pulled off in Arkhold.”

  Milo raised an eyebrow. “Of course she is. Half the damn world’s talking about it since a kingsguard was involved.”

  Regulus continued, “I’ve recommend Kaiser join her. And my brother already under her banner, so I know she treats her people right.”

  Milo blinked, visibly surprised. “Wait. Your brother? That icy bastard actually agreed to leave the North for her?”

  Regulus let out a sharp bark of laughter. “Agreed? Milo, come on. It wasn’t exactly his decision. Let’s just say I can be pretty… persuasive at times.”

  Milo scoffed, shaking his head with a hint of a grin. “Still can’t believe it. Must’ve taken a lot to convince him to move south.”

  Regulus only smirked.

  Milo’s smile faded slightly as he added, “I just hope you know what you’re doing. These aren’t just tools you’re tossing into the fire.”

  “I know,” Regulus said, his voice firm. “But I’m not doing it because it’s safe. I’m doing it because of Kaiser. Because of what he is—and what he might become. People like him don’t come around twice.”

  Milo exhaled through his nose and rubbed at his temple. “And the kids?”

  “I’ve already arranged it. Celestine will take them in with no strings attached. They won’t be forced into anything. They’ll have food, shelter, education since she understands what they’ve been through, and she agreed to protect them. No recruitment. Just safety.”

  Milo said nothing for a while. His eyes scanned Varisis’s body—every gear and seam, the faint glimmer of runes embedded in its throat, the subtle vibration under its plates. After a minute, he finally spoke.

  “So… the situation in the Southern Liberatorium. Is it really that bad?”

  Regulus didn’t answer right away. But when he did, his voice lost its usual sarcastic edge. It was tired, and quiet, and truthful. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

  He started walking again, the heat distorting his silhouette slightly as he approached Varisis’s gaping maw. The dragon’s head remained low, obedient and motionless.

  Regulus stopped at the base of the open mouth, then turned slightly. He didn’t look back, but he raised a single fist in the air as to say goodbye.

  Milo didn’t return it. He just stood there, watching him go, yet something in the lines of his face softened. Just slightly.

  In the silence that stretched between them, they both lingered—two soldiers standing at the edge of something vast, both staring at the weight of decisions that now could not be taken back.

  Every victory counts! Whenever any of these milestones is reached, I’ll drop a Bonus Chapter as a reward! Hit them all, and you get even more!

  Total Views: 10,369 / 20,000 ?? (9,631 left!)

  ?? Followers: 101 / 250?? (149 more needed!)

  ? Favorites: 27 / 50 ? (23 more to go!)

  ?? Ratings: 7 / 10 ?? (3 more for victory!)