"Hahh… hahh." Nancy's breath came out in sharp, trembling bursts as she crouched behind the thick trunk of a towering frost-covered tree. She slid down until her back pressed fully against the bark, her legs weak and shaking beneath her. Every inhale stung her lungs with cold air, every exhale turned to fog that drifted in front of her face like pale ghosts.

Her body was finally feeling the full price of what she had just done.

After fleeing the crater and reaching deeper into the frozen forest, she had deactivated every enhancement and strengthening spell she'd stacked onto herself. Her dragon wings fizzled into motes of shimmering blue light before disappearing entirely. The gleaming scales that armored her body receded beneath her skin. Her right arm, once morphed into a dragon's limb, shrank and twisted painfully back into a human arm.

And with each spell she dispelled her exhaustion surged tenfold.

Her body collapsed into its true state: overworked, damaged, throbbing with the backlash of forcing power far above her own natural limits.

"Ugh…" she groaned as she pressed a hand to her ribs. "Everything freaking hurts…"

She wasn't dying or crippled.. But fuck, she was paying for it.

Even with the resistance and durability granted by her draconic bloodline, the result of using an attack beyond her rank was brutal.. Like being B-Ranked and attack of S-Rank its very very big difference. So now her muscles felt shredded, her veins burning, her bones vibrating with leftover resonance from the force she had poured into that one strike.

Normally, she would've healed this easily as she had potions, talismans, emergency scrollsstored neatly inside her space ring.

Except her ring had exploded during the attack.

"Well done, Nancy," she muttered sarcastically. "Break your sword, break your ring, break half your body… amazing."

Still, she didn't allow herself to collapse completely. She forced her trembling hand toward her left wrist where a slender red bracelet sat crafted from her mother's own dragon scales. A direct communication artifact. Something that should never break, something that could bypass nearly anything.

She unclasped it with difficulty, holding it between both palms. Her eyes softened just a bit.

"Mother… I need help. I'm in danger. Come quickly, I.."

CRACK.

Before she finished speaking, the bracelet crumbled.

Right there in her hands.

It didn't even fall apart piece by piece It disintegrated, collapsing into powdery ash that scattered on her palms like burnt paper.

Nancy froze completely.

"What…?" she whispered, staring at the remains. "What? How.. how did that just break?!"

Her heartbeat stuttered. Panic crawled up her spine. A communication tool made from sovereign-rank dragon scales should never react like this. Not even if someone cast powerful interference. Not even if someone sealed space around her.

This shouldn't be possible.

Her brows furrowed sharply.

There was no time to process the shock. She tossed the useless dust aside and lifted her fingers to her temple, pressing two fingertips hard against the skin.

She attempted the Dragon Link.. the most ancient emergency signal of the royal dragon lineage, a mental pathway that couldn't be severed except by death.

But…

Nothing.

Her eyes snapped open.

"No. No no no. This… this can't be right."

She tried again, pushing her mana into the link.

Still nothing.

A cold feeling squeezed her chest.

She tried a third method.

Then a fourth.

Then her academy emergency method.

Then the empire emergency communication emblem.

Then even her private family-contact talisman.

And every single method

FAILED.

Items that should never malfunction cracked. Scrolls that should activate instantly fizzled. Signals that should reach hundreds of kilometers away vanished before even leaving her fingertips.

Nancy's breathing became tight, shallow.

"One failure… maybe bad luck. But all of them? All of them failing…?"

Her eyes narrowed, but this time with alarm rather than sharpness.

"That's not malfunction. That's not interference."

That was something else entirely.

Something deliberate

Someone she cant sense or see is doing this.

She looked around the forest, every sense alert as if the very air had become hostile.. She didn't see anything

"There's… something wrong with this place," she muttered.

She was just thinking of this..

And it did not take long for her to understand what might be happening. Fate had decided for her. Was it because of that? He did say it would become worse and grow crueler if she tried to change it or reject it.

Her eyes flashed with sudden realization, Riven's face rising in her mind. Fear and anger twisted across her own.

"Fuck, I should have thought of this too." she thought as she hurled the small platinum emblem she had tried using to contact the Empire. It hit the ground hard, frustration written all over her face.

"I need to be prepared…" Nancy whispered under her breath, her voice trembling as she forced herself back to her feet. "This isn't happening by itself… it's not just coincidence…"

Her heart pounded, a frantic drum against her ribs, every instinct screaming at her that something terrible.. something inevitable was closing in. She didn't wait another second. She pushed herself forward and broke into a sprint, running through the thick snow in a completely random direction.

Branches whipped at her arms. Frost bit at her cheeks. The white forest blurred around her.

She didn't know where she was going but she knew she couldn't stay where she was.

Something bad was coming.

She could feel it in her bones.

Her first instinct was obvious: run toward the portal. Escape. Get back to the Empire. Run home.

But the moment she imagined heading in that direction, cold dread stabbed her chest.

Togi.

He was somewhere in that direction sent flying from her strike. She couldn't run toward him. She wouldn't survive a second encounter. She didn't even know how long she had before he regained his bearings and started hunting her.. well she wasn't sure he be hunting her or like what reason he have to hunt her.. But still she didn't risk it

There were no safe directions.

So she chose the only option she had left

Hide.

She ran deeper into the endless frozen woods, snow crunching violently under her boots.

She had realized something terrifying just moments ago:

If fate was sealing her off,

if every attempt to call for help was breaking,

if even dragon-scale artifacts were turning to ash

then her destiny truly was tightening around her neck.

Her destiny to be violated.

A fate she refused to accept.

Her breath shook as she ran.

"No… no, I'm not going to let that happen. I won't. I'm not going to be some helpless idiot waiting to be dragged into this."

She knew she couldn't beat Togi.

She knew she couldn't outrun destiny forever.

But she could hide long enough.

She had to hide.

It wasn't cowardice. It wasn't surrender. It was survival.

And she wasn't only thinking of herself.

If she disappeared if she wasn't home, wasn't anywhere she was supposed to be her mother would notice. Her mother always noticed. And once she realized Nancy was missing, she would come for her. If not her mother, then her brother would. Someone from her family would find the trail and follow her into this place. They would come. She knew they would.

She only had to stay hidden long enough.

Long enough for them to reach her.

Long enough to not fall into Togi or Anyones hands first.

she could survive this.

So she ran deeper, deeper still doing everything she could not to leave a single track behind. Her heart hammered frantically, but she forced herself to think, to pay attention. She swept her footprints with fallen branches where she could. She stepped over roots and stones instead of the softer snow. She moved in zigzags, ducking under thick brush, weaving around heavy trunks. Her entire body trembled, not only from cold but from the oppressive sense of danger pressing down from every direction.

This was an A-rank portal.

There were other dangers here too not just Togi. Creatures. Traps. Beasts. Things she wasn't sure she could fight off even if she wasn't already terrified. She felt the wildness of the forest closing around her, the shadows stretching long and uneven.

So she kept going.

Not far from where she had been hiding behind the tree minutes ago

far above, high in the canopy of one of the tallest frost trees

a figure stood silently.

Snow settled on his shoulders yet melted instantly, as though his very presence rejected the cold.

Riven.

He stood balanced on a thick branch, the wind brushing his white hair back. He watched Nancy running through the trees with a small, ever-gentle smile on his face. The kind of smile that always stayed on him peaceful, warm, gentle, unwavering.

Yet behind that smile, buried deep in his eyes, was a softness of sadness. A quiet heaviness only someone who knew too much could carry.

Beside him stood another figure a man wrapped completely in a ragged robe from head to toe. Not a single inch of skin was visible. Even his face was hidden behind fabric.

And yet, he saw everything. He stood beside Riven as though that was the most natural place in the world.

"She has already realized it," the robed man murmured, his voice low and rough sounding very distorted and Divine, like wind scraping stone. "She understands what is happening."

Riven didn't nod or react dramatically. He simply continued smiling, still watching the girl disappear into the white labyrinth of trees.

"She knew this would happen," he said softly. "She knew the risks. And yet she came anyway."

His voice carried neither anger nor judgment. Only a strange, calm acceptance.

"She came here," he continued, "fully aware of what fate had written for her… yet she still walked into it. Because she didn't want to feel like a coward. Because hiding behind the walls of her family… suffocated her."

Riven's gaze softened even more.

"She's a dragon, after all. Too proud to cower. Too proud to hide forever. She wanted to face herself… face her fear… even while knowing the possibility of failure."

He chuckled lightly sadly.

"But fate is not something courage alone can conquer. And this…" he motioned gently toward the forest, "this is inevitable."

The robed man lowered his head slightly, listening, then responded in the same low voice:

"Yes… This is inevitable." he said.. Bit after sime seconds he turned toward Riven, a slight uncertainty in his tone, " But my lord.. you directly interfered."

Riven didn't looked away from Nancy's running as smile still present.

"You prevented her from contacting her family," the robed man continued. "You severed all methods of communication. You even brought someone back from death."

"These actions… they go beyond interference. They violate the cosmic laws. They break the regulations of the Chosmos itself."

For the first time, the snowy forest seemed to still completely.

Even the wind paused.

Riven didn't flinch. Didn't falter. Didn't lose a shred of that peaceful smile.

"I did," he admitted gently.

The robed man tensed for a Supreme Lord to acknowledge such a thing so casually was surreal.

Riven's smile widened the slightest bit not cruel, not mocking, simply serene.

"I did what destiny demanded," he said.

The other man fell silent.

The air around the two felt heavy thick with a weight only divine beings could sense. After a long, quiet moment, the robed figure bowed his head ever so slightly.

His voice came out like a whisper.

"…And what does destiny demand, my lord?"

"Equilibrium…" Riven spoke the word softly, almost like a breath rather than a statement. His smile didn't fade gentle, serene, timeless yet there was a weight behind it, something ancient and immeasurable. His gaze remained fixed on the direction Nancy had run, eyes calm as still water.

His voice drifted through the icy forest like a warm wind.

"It is equilibrium," he repeated, softer, as if explaining to the world itself. "I am the Preserver. This is my duty… to do what must be done. Even if that requires sacrifices. Even if I must shatter rules I swore to uphold."

A small exhale left him peaceful, accepting, yet tinged with quiet sorrow only he understood.

"If I do not place destiny back where it belongs," he said, "then everything will fall into chaos far beyond what is to placed in. I must act. And I will act."

The gentle smile softened further, almost affectionate, almost apologetic, as he spoke with the calm certainty of a divine being carrying the weight of time itself.

"I am doing… what I have to do."

For a long moment, silence followed soft, heavy, sacred. The ragged-robed man beside him stood utterly still, like a statue wrapped in shadows that even the snow refused to cling to.

Then Riven turned his head slightly toward the figure.

"Thank you for your help, my solemn friend," he said warmly, sincerely. "Without you, equilibrium would have cracked… and destiny would have turned into shackles."

His tone deepened, respectful.

"Hades, Honored Guardian of Souls and Underworld."

At the name, the robed man finally inclined his head. Though his face remained hidden, a quiet reverence radiated from him.

"There is no need for gratitude, Eternal One," he replied, voice low and resonant like distant thunder. "You are the Great Preserver. This is my honor and my duty to support your will."

His tone shifted, holding deep respect, almost devotion.

"Your wisdom guides all who walk within the cycle. To assist you in restoring tranquility and fulfilling the Chosmic Necessity… that is the role granted to me since the beginning."

Riven's smile warmed, eyes softening with appreciation.

"I am relieved to hear your assurance," he said gently. "Eternal Watcher of Peace… may the flow of cosmic preservation remain steady."

Hades bowed once more.

And then

He vanished.

No ripple, no sound, no hint of his presence ever existing. As though the world simply reclaimed him.

Only Riven remained standing on the frost-laden branch, surrounded by falling snow that melted before touching him.

He did not move.

He did not blink.

He simply watched the forest where Nancy had disappeared, a silent guardian watching the path of someone who would soon suffer what destiny demanded of her.

His smile remained gentle and soft, painfully calm, as though he carried endless compassion even for those walking toward tragedy.

"Apologies, little girl…" he whispered, though she was far beyond hearing. "But this is your burden to bear."

Snow drifted around him in glowing flakes as he continued speaking, voice low and filled with a strange tender sorrow.

"The Chosen One still has lessons he must learn," he murmured. "Lessons he needs before he can withstand the storms meant for him. He must break, and rebuild, and break again… until he is ready."

His eyes glimmered faintly, reflecting countless unseen possibilities.

"And you…" his voice softened even more, almost like a sad blessing, "you must become the bridge."

A faint breeze stirred his white hair.

"The connection between both Chosen Ones. You are now that point where their paths collide, where the fates intersect. That is the role destiny bent for you now… and that is the role you must accept."

He closed his eyes briefly, snow sparkling against his lashes before melting away.

"I do not know what destiny has carved for you next," he admitted softly. "I do not know what pain… or what strength… waits in your path."

The smile remained, but something deep within it something sorrowful tightened almost imperceptibly.

"But do not fear it," he whispered. "Do not flee from what is coming. Do not deny it."

The wind stilled, as if listening.

"Embrace it. This is for the greater good of all."

The ancient calm in his voice echoed through the silent frozen trees, lingering like a gentle hymn.

Riven stood unmoving on the snowy branch, serene as if carved from light itself a timeless guardian who bent the laws of creation with a smile, watching destiny unfold exactly as it must.

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