My steps remained frozen before those blue flowers, the charm of the Floralis Nocturne still lingering in my mind. Yet a faint sound—like the whispering wind carrying an echo—made me turn my head. The Alvarian Forest once again wrapped itself around me with an eerie stillness. There were no birds singing now, no sound of falling branches.
And then I heard it—a short, strangled cry, like someone losing consciousness.
Without a second thought, I rushed toward the sound. My steps came to a halt at a small hidden ravine, concealed behind thick bushes and towering trees. The dense foliage hid a figure lying motionless on the grass.
I carefully descended the slope. And there she was.
A girl—young, perhaps around my age. Her long hair flowed like strands of liquid silver, cascading down to her waist, shimmering faintly in the dim light. Her skin was pale, almost like porcelain, and her body lay curled as if caught in a deep slumber. But the most captivating part was her eyes, which slowly fluttered open—a pair of radiant golden eyes, emitting a mysterious glimmer that stole my breath away.
I froze. As if the world itself paused for a moment.
How could a girl like her be here, alone, in a forest like this? Was she lost, or perhaps she had forgotten who she was? I didn't know... but one thing was clear—I had to approach her and find out who she really was.
"Hey, can you hear me?" I asked softly, kneeling beside her.
Her eyes locked onto mine, empty for a few seconds, before her eyelids closed again. Her body slumped. She fainted once more.
"Great..." I muttered, half panicked. "What the hell happened to you?"
I glanced around. No signs of other creatures, no traces of battle. But the air was thick with magic. As if this girl... didn't belong to this world.
I checked her pulse—still alive. Her body was cold, but uninjured. Her silver-white robe was disheveled, yet made from a delicate material I had never seen before. Around her neck hung a crystal pendant in the shape of a water droplet, glowing with a soft light.
That pendant... it pulsed gently, like a second heartbeat.
"Who are you really...?" I whispered, before deciding to lift her carefully.
Carrying her wasn't easy. But I couldn't just leave her here, in a wild forest that almost devoured me whole. My steps staggered as I carried her light body, searching for shelter. Not far from the ravine, I found a small cave beneath the roots of a massive tree—dry enough and well hidden.
"I guess this cave will do, for now?" I mumbled as I laid her down on a bed of dry leaves, lighting a small fire from the twigs I had gathered.
Hours passed. I must have dozed off sitting against the cave wall.
And when I opened my eyes...
She was sitting.
The girl stared at the fire, her long hair cascading like a silver curtain, her golden eyes glowing as they swept toward me with an unreadable gaze.
"You... you saved me?" her voice was soft, like the whisper of autumn wind.
I nodded slowly. "You fainted. Are you okay?"
She remained silent for a moment, then glanced at the pendant on her chest. "I... I don't know. My name is..."
She paused. Her expression shifted, confused. "My name... is Elfea. But beyond that... I remember nothing."
I frowned. "You lost your memory?"
She nodded gently. "I only... remember light. A piercing sound. Then darkness. And now... I'm here."
Silence enveloped us for a moment. I looked at Elfea—she appeared fragile, but somehow, I could feel a hidden power behind her blank gaze.
The Alvarian Forest had given me an answer... or perhaps a new riddle I had never expected.
"My name is Rey," I said finally. "Rey Elaxdor. I'm on a journey too. But it seems... we'll be traveling together now."
Elfea stared at me for a long while, then slowly nodded. A faint, sincere smile appeared on her face—the first I had seen.
Outside the cave, the birds began to sing again. For a brief moment, the Alvarian Forest felt... kinder.
Golden rays pierced through the gaps in the leaves, shining into our small shelter. The warmth touched my face, pulling me from my thoughts.
Elfea was still sitting by the dying fire, her gaze now turned outward—far into the trees, as if sensing something I couldn't see.
"Is something strange out there?" I asked while standing up and stretching.
She glanced at me briefly. "Not out there. Inside. Inside me."
I stepped closer. "What do you mean?"
She lowered her head, clutching the pendant tightly. "There's something inside me... that I can't hold back anymore."
Before I could ask further, the light from her pendant flickered—once bright, then dim, and then it blazed again with even greater intensity. Elfea's body trembled. She clenched her teeth, as if enduring sudden pain.
"Elfea!" I shouted in panic. "What's happening?!"
She turned to me with a pained look—her golden eyes now glowing like embers.
"Stay back, Rey..." she whispered softly, before her body began to glow.
A flash of light enveloped her, radiating from the pendant and spreading across her entire body. I was forced to step back, overwhelmed by the magical aura filling the cave. The air grew heavy, the scent of metal and coal stung my nose.
Before my eyes, Elfea's body began to change.
Her skin cracked, revealing silver scales that shimmered faintly. Her hair floated upward, lifted by the magical winds swirling around her. Her robe tore at the back as a pair of wings slowly grew from her shoulders—large, translucent wings with glowing veins.
Her hands turned into claws. Her eyes... were no longer human.
I froze. My breath caught at the sight—not out of fear, but awe.
When the light finally faded, Elfea stood before me... half-dragon.
Her form still resembled a human, but clearly no longer fully so. A magical aura surrounded her, pressing against my chest with an intensity hard to describe. She looked like a creature from legends—beautiful, yet deadly.
She lowered her head, breathing heavily. "I'm sorry... I couldn't hold it back. When this power... awakens."
It took me a few seconds to find my voice. "You're... a Draciel?" I asked quietly.
She nodded slowly. "Half-dragon. My father's blood flows within me. But the memories of him... disappeared along with everything else I knew."
I swallowed hard. Stories of the human-dragon hybrids weren't mere fairy tales. They existed, once—hunted, persecuted, because their power was deemed dangerous.
"I won't hurt you, Rey," she whispered. "But I understand if... you want to leave after this."
I shook my head. "No. I just... need time to process all this."
She smiled faintly. "So do I."
For a while, we just sat there in silence, absorbing the reality that had just unfolded.
But in my heart, one thing had become clear: Elfea was not just a mysterious girl. And for some reason, I knew I couldn't let her go.