An awkward silence hung in the metallic pit of Varisis, broken only by the quiet hum of the machinery and Ivan’s soft snores. Mia sat patiently, her brother’s sleeping head resting gently on her shoulder, while Aria whispered conspiratorially into Kaiser’s ear, her eyes dancing with mischief. Elsie, meanwhile, fidgeted uneasily, her gaze locked onto the smooth, featureless wall, obviously feeling the weight of the uncomfortable quiet.

  As though sensing the mounting tension even from his isolated cockpit, Regulus cleared his throat loudly, startling Ivan awake and instantly gaining the attention of everyone present.

  "Alright, everyone," Regulus began cheerfully, his voice crackling through the system. "Considering that, aside from Ivan and Mia, you’re all basically strangers, perhaps we should do something to make this journey a bit more… entertaining."

  Ivan blinked groggily, lifting his head from Mia’s shoulder. "Entertaining?" he echoed with a sleepy voice. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

  Regulus chuckled softly, a mischievous edge evident even through the distortion of the speakers. "Well, seeing as Mia has a very particular talent, perhaps we could put that unique skill to good use and play a little game."

  Immediately, both Kaiser and Elsie bolted upright, their voices joining in a synchronized, emphatic rejection. "Hell no!"

  Kaiser snapped his jaw shut instantly, narrowing his eyes at Elsie with renewed suspicion. Elsie mirrored his expression, her own bright green eyes narrowing dangerously at Kaiser.

  "If Kaiser has nothing to hide, then he shouldn’t care," Elsie challenged, crossing her arms firmly and raising an eyebrow in defiance.

  "Funny," Kaiser retorted smoothly, matching her posture with an unyielding confidence, "I was just about to say the same to you."

  Elsie’s eyes flashed heatedly, her competitive spirit ignited. "Well, if he truly isn’t hiding something suspicious, then he shouldn’t care about playing whatever game the captain proposes."

  "And neither should you," Kaiser shot back immediately, his voice calm but steely.

  A tense silence fell briefly before both simultaneously nodded, reluctantly conceding the point.

  "Alright then," Kaiser finally sighed, leaning back and folding his arms. "One question each. That’s all."

  Aria’s eyes instantly lit up, but she pouted dramatically and turned her face upwards as if looking towards the cockpit, though her words were directed towards the speakers. "Wait, this isn’t fair! Regulus isn’t even in the room. He won’t be affected and could just lie!"

  Regulus' chuckle echoed loudly through the room before Ivan, still half-asleep but now clearly intrigued, interjected with surprising authority, "Actually, Mia’s powers work just fine over voice. We experimented when we were kids—trust me, even when we were rooms apart, I still couldn’t lie."

  A sudden silence filled the comms, followed quickly by a muffled curse from Regulus. "Well, that complicates things," he muttered, the smugness in his voice noticeably absent. "Maybe we should reconsider—"

  "Too late, Captain," Ivan interrupted cheerfully, now fully awake and smiling wickedly. "The game’s already decided."

  Mia rolled her eyes affectionately at her brother, giving a small, amused shake of her head. "Fine, but we should probably decide on the order."

  Glancing around the room, Ivan quickly assessed the seating arrangement. Aria and Kaiser sat on the right side of the room, while Elsie, Mia, and himself occupied the left. "We can just start from me and move along in line," he proposed.

  Elsie blinked, startled at being placed first, but quickly recomposed herself and flashed a brave smile, nodding eagerly. "Elsie is fine with that!"

  Mia chuckled softly, her demeanor warm and encouraging as she glanced at Elsie. "Don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple."

  Elsie swallowed slightly but held firm, nodding once more with determination. "Elsie is not afraid of the truth!"

  Ivan leaned forward slightly, fingers drumming nervously on the edge of his seat. He glanced at Mia beside him, the soft blue glow of the dragon’s interior lighting casting faint shadows across his face. “Mia,” he asked, his voice quieter than usual, less like the excitable chatter of before and more like a boy waiting for an answer he wasn’t sure he wanted, “Have I… changed a lot since Arkhold?”

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  “Yes,” she said simply. Her voice didn’t waver, but the single word landed heavy.

  Ivan blinked, not sure whether to smile or flinch. A beat passed, his expression tightening. But then Mia lifted her hand and placed it gently against his cheek, her fingers warm, grounding.

  “Only in the best way possible,” she added, softer now. “You’ve grown, Ivan. Taller, stronger, louder—gods, louder—but also braver and kinder. You still have that ridiculous heart. You’re still my little brother, and I’ve never been more proud of you.”

  He didn’t speak, but the way his eyes darted away, just for a second, said enough.

  Next to Mia, Elsie leaned forward, kicking her legs idly beneath her seat like a kid who’d just downed too much sugar and not enough direction. “Alright, alright, next question! Mia, Elsie is ready for your worst!”

  Mia turned her head toward her, and a low emerald glow filled her gaze. “If you found Selvira,” she said calmly, “And she gave back everything she ever stole from you—would you forgive her?”

  Elsie immediately threw her hands up and laughed. “Of course!”

  But her words snagged in her throat. The green light flickered brighter in Mia’s eyes, and Elsie visibly tensed. A single shiver rippled down her back like something cold had been dropped against her spine. Her expression contorted, forced by truth.

  “Elsie would… still hold a grudge,” she said, shoulders slumping. “A big one. A dragon-sized one. But Elsie is sure she would… forgive her.”

  The moment passed. The glow in Mia’s eyes faded. Elsie slumped back into her chair like she’d just dodged a crossbow bolt. “Ugh,” she groaned, shaking out her arms. “That’s horrible. How does Mia live with that freaky honesty power?”

  Mia only smiled, as if she’d been asked that question many times before and always enjoyed hearing it.

  Elsie sat upright again and placed a hand over her heart like a solemn oath. “Still, it’s not heroic to want someone dead. A true hero forgives even the most vile villains. Elsie read that in a book once. Or maybe it was scribbled on a bathroom wall. Either way, it stuck.”

  There was a moment of quiet after her words. Even Aria, who normally had something to say, kept still. Ivan beamed at her and Mia looked quietly pleased with her answer. But Kaiser, alone among them, tilted his head slightly, and with a faint smile that never reached his eyes, shook his head. Just once, but quite enough for no one to see it.

  Elsie stretched, her joints popping, then sat up with a grin sharp enough to cut glass. “Alright, your turn Aria! Tell Elsie the truth, does Aria think Kaiser is a villain?”

  Green light danced across Aria’s irises before she even had time to process the question. But her expression didn’t change. If anything, she looked surer than ever.

  “No,” she said without flinching, her voice soft but unwavering. “I think he means it… as much as any man possibly can. He’s a victim of war, he’s scarred, hardened and maybe even broken, but somewhere beneath all that fury, there’s something human. He saved me when he didn’t have to. He could’ve walked away without a second thought, and no one would’ve blamed him… but he stayed. And for that, I’m grateful. I think he’s extraordinary.”

  She smiled, genuinely and wide, with a little teasing at the corners—and continued.

  “And I want to follow him. Wherever he goes.”

  The silence that followed wasn’t awkward, but it was heavy, charged with something unspoken, as Mia and Elsie looked at Kaiser differently now, while he sat unmoving, smiling, staring ahead… and deep within himself, something small, quiet, and real began to shift.

  But soon after, Aria’s voice was heard again again, clear enough to break the silence like a thrown stone on still water.

  “Kaiser,” she said, her tone less playful now. “Is there something you hate? Just so I know what to avoid doing.”

  The air shifted. Every pair of eyes in the room turned toward him—Mia’s soft and curious, Ivan’s wide and watchful, Elsie’s openly expectant. Even Regulus, somewhere in the walls, went quiet.

  Kaiser turned to Aria the moment her question reached his ears, a slow movement that appeard to be almost too smooth. That same “smile” stretched across his face, the one that looked painted on rather than grown naturally. But something behind it cracked just a little as his eyes pulsed green—Mia’s magic weaving through his bones like thread pulled tight.

  There was a beat of silence. Just long enough to feel it.

  “Being average,” Kaiser said.

  His voice was soft, but it carried weight, enough to press against the ribs of everyone listening.

  “I hate… not reaching what I could become,” he continued. “I hate the idea of throwing away your life—no, not throwing. Wasting. Letting it rot. Choosing to be less than what you are, just because it’s easier.”

  He didn’t blink. Not once.

  “I’ve seen comfort kill more people than war ever could. I’ve seen geniuses decay into husks because chasing greatness meant skipping a few nights of sleep. I’ve seen men women, beasts and kings, with power dripping from their veins, let it all slip away because comfort was warm, and pressure felt cold.”

  His hand flexed once, slow and deliberate.

  “We rest when we die,” Kaiser said. “And in that ground, may we rot with no regrets. But a person who settles, who chooses to be average when they could’ve been more, rots while they still breathe. And I see little difference between ‘that’… and being a corpse.”

  Elsie let out a low whistle, her legs swinging under the seat. “Kaiser is crazy,” she muttered, her tone half-sassy, half-genuinely concerned. “You know that, right? Elsie thinks the strong are supposed to protect the ones who can’t keep up. That’s the whole point. That’s the job of those blessed with talent.”

  Kaiser’s gaze slid to her, not sharp or angry, but, steady and heavy.

  “I’m not talking about strength in battle,” he said, voice low but resolute. “I’m talking about strength of spirit. Of will. Of the mind.”

  He leaned forward just slightly, eyes catching the glow of the walls again, casting his face in pale light. “I’ve seen poor men with no blade and no powers do more with their lives than kings bathed in gold. Because they moved. Because they tried. That’s all it takes to stop being average. Trying.”

  Elsie blinked. Her mouth opened like she might speak again.

  But for once, she didn’t.

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