Chapter 2

Being a soul was a strange sensation.

No more cold. No more hunger. No more of that agonizing pain that had tortured me day and night ever since my Dragon Core was ripped away.

My soul drifted, uncontrolled, toward the Sunfire Citadel—the place I had called home for three hundred years.

The holy city of the dragons was bustling with preparations for tomorrow's grand ceremony.

The entire Sunfire Citadel had been blanketed in the highest tier of climate magic, warm as an eternal spring.

Colorful magic sprites danced through the sky, and craftsmen hovered on floating rune platforms, hanging strings of ruby wind chimes along the streets—symbols of union and fertility.

I drifted into the Solar Crown Hall, the most sacred chamber of the dragon clan.

Attendants bustled back and forth, double-checking every last detail for tomorrow's ceremony.

At the center of the hall, Aurelius and Ignis sat upon their golden thrones, gazing down with faces full of affection.

Standing before them was Elara, dressed in a pristine white gown of dragon silk—the ceremonial robe prepared for tomorrow's Soul-Binding Ceremony, currently undergoing its final fitting.

Upon her head sat the amethyst crown that once belonged to me, the symbol of the First Princess. A shy, tender smile graced her lips.

Beside her stood Valerius.

He wore silver knight's robes, a star-shaped emblem pinned to his chest—the highest honor bestowed within the dragon clan.

He gazed at Elara with unmistakable tenderness.

"Valerius, Elara is now entrusted to you." My mother, Ignis, dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, her voice thick with gratitude. "This child has suffered so much since she was young. She even damaged her own core to save you. You must treat her well from now on."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. I will protect Elara with my life," Valerius said, bowing slightly, his voice unwavering.

"Perhaps... perhaps we should postpone the Soul-Binding Ceremony?" Elara said softly. "We could wait until my sister returns. How could such an important day go on without her..."

"Silly child, what are you saying?" Ignis stroked her hair fondly. "The wedding date was chosen by the temple oracles as an auspicious day. It cannot simply be changed on a whim."

"If she truly repents, she will find her way back in time."

I hovered in midair, watching the scene unfold with icy detachment.

There was a time when even the faintest furrow in Valerius's brow could send me into hours of heartache.

I remembered, many years ago, risking a fall into a bottomless ravine to pick a single stalk of starlight grass growing on a sheer cliff face for him. He had swooped down from the sky, wrapping his wings tightly around me, holding me safe against his chest.

"Seraphina, if anything ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself for the rest of my life."

Back then, he had belonged to me and me alone.

"By the way, where is that wretched disgrace, Seraphina?" Aurelius suddenly frowned.

"Today is Elara's most important day. Didn't she say she'd come back and apologize once she'd mined enough fire crystals? Why hasn't she shown her face yet?"

The moment my name was spoken, the atmosphere in the hall turned noticeably colder.

"Father, please don't blame her. It's so cold down in the Abyss, and my sister was always a bit... delicate growing up. I'm sure she's just struggling and throwing a tantrum. I'll send someone to bring her back right away. After all, she's still my sister..."

"Bring her back? For what?" Valerius scoffed, cutting Elara off mid-sentence.

"She's spoiled rotten because you two coddle her! She refuses to repent, and her heart is nothing but poison. Does she really think this little sob story will soften our hearts?"

As he spoke, Valerius reached into his sleeve and pulled something out.

It was a scale—translucent gold, strung on a length of red cord.

The instant I saw that scale, my soul trembled.

It was my reverse scale.

Every dragon is born with only one reverse scale in their lifetime, embedded in the most vulnerable spot near the heart. To tear it out is to sacrifice half of one's own life force.

Years ago, when Valerius had been poisoned to the brink of death, I had ripped my own reverse scale from my chest with my bare hands, feeding it to him along with half the power of my Dragon Core.

But afterward, while I lay unconscious, Elara had stolen the credit, claiming she'd found the scale discarded in the Demonic Beast Forest.

And Valerius had believed her.

"A few days ago, she sent that lowly goblin messenger to tell me that if I returned this scale to her, she'd behave and come back for the ceremony like a good girl."

Valerius pinched the scale between his slender fingers.

"Does she really think some broken scale, probably torn off some low-grade wyrmling, could be used to blackmail me?"

"Valerius, don't waste your anger on someone like her," Elara murmured soothingly.

"I'm not angry. I just find it disgusting."

His voice cold and flat, Valerius suddenly clenched his fist.

The golden reverse scale—the one that carried half of my life force, the one I had treasured as my most precious token—shattered into countless fragments in his hand.

His eyes held nothing but indifference as he lifted his boot and brought it down.

He ground the fragments beneath his heel, twisting his foot mercilessly.

Once the scale was reduced to dust, Valerius seemed to finally feel satisfied. He turned to the attendant standing behind him and gave his orders.

"Go. Deliver another message to Seraphina. Tell her... if she can make it back before tomorrow's Soul-Binding Ceremony and apologize to Elara in front of the entire court, I will permit her to attend and observe."

His tone was indifferent, as if he were dismissing some trivial errand.

"But if she refuses to lower her head, then let her rot in that abyss for the rest of her miserable life. No one needs to bother us about her again."

The attendant bowed and hurried off to carry out the order.

Valerius... I truly can never show my face again.