The pieces of the ruined palace hung in suspended chunks above their heads, rising to a storming sky like a disjointed tower. Lightning and rain fled its peaks, pooling into waterfalls active with electric life. Even the moon seemed reverent to this structure, shining its white cascade down like a celestial spotlight. The air in this place felt forbidden to breathe, and it might have left them stunned if the shadow hadn’t done it first. In this place, so honestly rebellious against the rules that made the world, the dragon the shadow hid ruled without a question. Black twisting horns grew from the head of this massive form with electric blue scales. Ageless eyes fell upon and drew them in, submerging them in the depths of time. Hundreds… No! Thousands of years were flowing past, and they knew this thing had killed for less than trespassing.

Are we supposed to fight it? The question did echo from something foolish inside them, but every other thing down to the atom roared against such stupidity. This was not a beast to fight. This was not a beast to even dream of challenging. In those ageless eyes, they saw wars die to swift peace, and the maul dwarfing them would not speak lightly to objections. Even if they dared consider the thought, and could somehow move, magic was forgotten so long as they met its eyes. Danson’s hands were sweating and he couldn’t remember the words to chill them. Breathe. They had to at least remember that. They took their breaths slowly, lest the dragon notice they didn't ask.

“That’s an Ancient Dragon…” Keigo said—so very aware of a line he should not cross.

“For what reason do mortals tread upon my grounds?” The beast roared; not aloud but in their heads.

"We were sent here!" Kiara called up, hoping just maybe, that this wouldn't end in her death. "Leyu did it! He's a sylph! I think he feels you might know why I was brought to Magdalea." She spoke loudly, and the dragon's entire gaze drew solely upon her.

“By what means were you sent to this world?”

"Doltess!" She murmured. "I asked Doltess to send me somewhere else… he sent me here, I think…" She quivered and almost fell. It wasn’t until the dragon looked away that she realized it had caused it.

“That man…” Its voice remained in their head, but the roar was gone. “Never before had a mortal youth made such a flagrant demand of me. I had destroyed empires in anger, and to save his home, he demanded my power." Fear evaporated, pulling away as if the moon itself had snatched it.

“Doltess…” Danson murmured as he held his shoulders. “So Kiara’s not mistaken. Who else but the Boundless Mage could send someone to a different world?”

“Boundless, but not without a price. Not without a source. I am that which delivered the power unto him. I am Morduunal.” Its granted name tore away the remains of their fear, and they stood firm, but not without great respect. “And that boy, Leyu, just a child still and yet he plays a hand. I should have expected, after Doltess found life within my dreams. First, he returns after two centuries, and then a girl bound in a great web of fate appears before me.”

“Web of fate?” Kiara looked up.

“Yes. Threads of chance tying us to life. Some small, easily torn. Others like eon old trees, broken only by the force of ages. Some still are durable, and eternal. Many are connected to you, from the people around you, to those you have not yet met in lands you have not yet seen. Some still are far off, too far for even my eyes to see their destination." It spoke. The gravity of the words pulled the girl, almost as the threads he spoke of were tugged.

"Then Doltess didn't just send me randomly to a different place?" She asked, but wondered how he could. Where else would he have sent her but a place he knew well? It nodded she knew, although not blatantly, for this great beast's motion was subtle.

“That is correct. Though even he may not have known what awaited. By simply hearing your request, he too became entangled. Doltess though young is no harsh man, if he thought you would know danger I am certain he would have spoke.”

“Does this mean I can’t just go home?” The shake of its head shared that nearly imperceptible quality.

“You could right now, and you would long to return. Both worlds are caught in your web, caged by threads that bind them too. Were you to slip free, storms of unending chaos would reduce them both to ruin.”

By those words, she saw Feline and armies of dwellers, in no way content with subjugating one world. Nandaxia would fall, and they'd somehow make it here, ruthlessly tearing the lands apart. Maybe Feline would even be in command. Kiara understood. She thought it was an accident that cast her to Magdalea or maybe even haste on her part. But Doltess had warned her, she was the enemy of the dwellers. No matter where she hid, they would have tracked her down. At least here, she was hidden in a myth. Maybe it'd even let her save both worlds.

“if I wanted to untangle the web, where should I start?”

“the strongest thread stretches far from me, but not from you. Return to the sylph child, and head to the red town of love.”

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"Will doing this be the right move? Should I even try?"

"It is only your journey that can answer that question. We oft do not know when our actions are right. They are stones cast into the ocean of time, rippling out longer than many of us breathe. Will uncertainty make you turn away?"

Will it make you hesitate? If its words were true, there was little time for that anymore. She shook her head. "It won't. I'll see what lies at the end of this thread." She exclaimed, and the great ageless eyes found her again.

"Go forward then, child. Go forward on these twisting lines of fate, allowing nothing to hold your power back." It boomed. “Go with a gift from me. I cannot give unto you power limitless, but with you shall be a piece of my own.” The words carried on in her head, even as its maul open and she saw the embers of a great flame.

She couldn't even raise a question. Fire poured from its mouth, pushing the others back. Inside the flames, Kiara felt her clothes light up. Her uniform burned in a way that did not burn her skin, burning in a way that did not turn them to ash. Instead, they were transformed; her black skirt burned red, and her orange shirt to black. The flames fluttered around her neck, leaving a hood that matched the dragon’s scales. When the flames dispersed, she examine herself, unsure what purpose the clothes could serve.

"Now," Morduunal spoke. "Be gone!" Its voice in their head threw them like meteors through space, right back into Leyu's home where he floated in a meditative state.

“Excuse me for the abrupt teleportation. Were I to hesitate, he may have sensed that magic and burned it away. I do not know what would have happened to you all in such a case.” He said as he opened his eyes. They shook their heads, no grudge held. At that, the sylph went on. “Did you find out anything that would help you go home?"

“I don’t really think I can say yes, but I think Doltess sent me here because he knew that its where I needed to be.”

“So Doltess is alive?”

“Enough so that he visited the dragon.” Danson said. “And apparently, there are threads of fate that more or less bind her world and ours.” He looked at Kiara. She looked to Leyu.

“Why did you feel like I needed to see Morduunal to begin with?”

“Doltess is a name that many of us know, but have never come in contact with. It is the name of a hero that echoes from here to the Dark Lands where you just were. When I was younger, I met Morduunal myself and saw what a meeting with him felt like. It changed my life, even though he only gave me direction. It spoke to me when you mentioned the Boundless Mage’s name. First, the legendary Doltess. Then I, merely a humble Sylph,” Danson laughed as he said this. “And then there is you, binding me with Doltess, though I may never meet him. It seemed logical to send you to Morduunal.”

Kiara took in her clothes again. She couldn’t get it, but she appreciated the new wear. She could get what Leyu meant though. The circumstances called for that meeting, and she certainly wouldn’t know what was in store without it. Threads of fate...That sounded monumental, even without both worlds hanging in the balance. With two weeks before the school year ended, she didn’t expect this of her summer. While they were terrified the last time she saw them, she wondered what her friends would say.

Keigo crossed his arms. “We kinda assumed you wanted to go home, but I guess it’s a good time to ask what you really wanna do.”

A web of fate spun with threads of chance. She could ignore them, right? But only for so long. “To see where this all goes. I think before I came here I was already caught.” She thought about the shuttle ride, and what the strange man said. She wondered, how many more like Feline would pop up in her absence. She wondered how long they would continue, even if she was there to stop them. How many fights would there be until she could fight no more?

Leyu shared a somber smile. "I understand the trepidation you might feel. My journey started when I was younger than you are now, but I was just as unsure about it. What helped me was having great friends by my side. I don't know Danson's group that well, but I've been following stories. It might be worth it to stick with them."

“Yeah, Kiara!” Diana brightened up. “It’ll be great to have another girl with me too, especially while traveling with those two.”

Keigo scoffed, “Don’t let Diana trick you. She’s just as bad as us.”

“Speak for yourselves.” Danson crossed his arms. “I’m nothing like you two. I’m the charming, charismatic one of this group.” Laughter burst out of the two, and Danson decidedly ignored them as his attention went back to Leyu. “Doltess, you, and now Kiara. I feel like I’d miss out on something if she didn’t travel with us.”

The sylph sipped his tea. “Are you rethinking the decision you made five years ago?”

The elf looked at the two still laughing. He looked to Kiara next, confused and curious about the story between the three. He turned back to Leyu, shaking his head. “Your group is definitely something else, but I think I like the way mine looks so far.”

“Aw, do you like us Danson?” Keigo nudged.

“Are we the pieces your life was missing?" Diana nudged.

Danson turned from them, heading for the wall. A hole opened as he drew close and he turned back with a grin on his face. “You two are great allies, and being on the run is boring when you don’t have good company.” He made his way out, and the two came cooing on his heels.

Kiara lingered for a moment. First Aloryn, and now Leyu. Two good recommendations eased her heart. Morduunal said she was tied to them too, and she'd want their company when face with uncertainty. She hurried after but stopped as she reached the hole. She looked over her shoulder.

“Leyu, you seem to know a lot about magic, but are you good with research too?”

“In a way, I suppose. Is there something you need to know?”

“There's a place between Nandaxia and Magdalea. If it's possible, can you look for info about it and the creatures that dwell within it?" She asked, and the Sylph smiled.

“Certainly, Kiara. I take it that you made an important decision. It seems that pulls me further into this web of fate as well." He said. Kiara gave him an apologetic smile. He waved it off, surely aware of a web of his own. The lizren barked up as if calling her name, and she hurried out ready to pull the first thread apart.

Leyu watched from the hole as their group boarded and the cottage rolled away. He refilled his cup and took another sip. Thinking over his own story, and where each chapter led he couldn't help but consider what lay ahead.

“Perhaps we are bound by more than just Doltess’s name. Be strong out there. The internal battles are often the hardest to fight...”