Flashback - Last Night
-Surya's POV-
The night sky was torn apart by fire and shadow. The Moon Dragon's wings blotted out the stars, its roar shaking the ruined city of Fillo.
"Kael, stay sharp!" I shouted, my Light Vessel spreading radiant wings as I soared upward.
Kael's Wind Vessel spun beside me, currents of air cutting through the thick smoke. Together, we darted between collapsing towers as the dragon's purple flames swept across the streets.
I summoned a Light Ray, multiplying its beams until they rained like arrows of gold. They struck the beast's black scales,but it only snarled, as though I had angered it more.
"Master, above you!" Kael cried.
I looked up too late. The dragon's massive tail came swinging down like a mountain. The last thing I saw was its glowing purple eyes before...
CRASH!
The impact shattered the ground and sent my body flying. Darkness closed in around me, the sounds of Kael screaming my name fading into silence.
End of Flashback
-Surya's POV-
The sound of the dragon's roar still echoed in my mind as the memory faded. I opened my eyes to the pale morning light seeping through the broken windows.
Kael was sitting beside me, looking exhausted, his clothes singed and torn.
"That's… all I remember," he said quietly. "You were out cold after the tail strike. I thought I lost you, Master."
I sat up slowly, my body still aching, and let out a shaky breath.
The battle with the Moon Dragon wasn't over.
It had only just begun.
We didn't have the luxury of rest. If the Moon Dragon returned again tonight, Fillo might not survive another round of destruction.
So we made a plan.
We planned this for the rest of the week, next week is the next arrival of the dragon.
Kael, with all the focus I'd ever seen in him, pressed his palms against the cracked stone streets. The ground trembled as his mana spread, shaping the earth into a vast pit,deep and wide enough to swallow even a creature of that size. Sweat poured down his face, but he kept going until the hole yawned like a silent monster.
Then came the cover.
Broken beams, shattered doors, splintered planks from ruined homes—we gathered it all. With a few incantations, I bent the wood and light together, weaving it into a false surface that looked like solid ground under the dusk.
By the time the sun began to sink, the trap was ready.
Kael collapsed onto the rubble, wiping his brow. "If this doesn't work, we're finished."
I clenched my fists, staring toward the horizon. "No. This time, we end it."
Night fell.
And with it, the Moon Dragon's roar shook the broken city once more.
The dragon's roar split the night sky, shaking the broken stones beneath my feet. Its glowing purple eyes locked onto me, and I knew what I had to do.
"Kael! Get ready!" I shouted.
He nodded, hands pressed to the ground near the pit, ready to collapse the cover the moment the beast stepped on it.
I took a deep breath and launched myself upward. My Light Wing Vessel flared to life, wings of radiant gold unfurling as I soared into the ruined city streets.
The Moon Dragon followed instantly, its massive wings cutting through the air as it dove after me. Purple fire seared the night, scorching rooftops as I twisted and turned through the maze of broken buildings. The heat licked at my back, but I didn't slow down.
Come on… follow me… just a little further.
I skimmed past a leaning tower, then ducked low between crumbling walls. The dragon's claws tore through stone and wood, the city groaning beneath its rage. My heart thundered as I veered sharply,dodging flame, weaving through alleys,until I could see it.
The trap.
I angled my vessel straight for it, letting my light blaze brighter, taunting the beast. The dragon roared, its enormous body surging after me, eyes fixed only on its prey.
"Now!" I shouted.
The pit yawned before me. I shot upward at the last second, my Light Vessel blazing like a comet.
The Moon Dragon lunged forward, too focused on me to notice the false ground. The wood splintered, the earth cracked—then the beast plunged into the abyss with a thunderous roar that shook the ruins of Fillo.
"Now!" I shouted.
Kael's hands slammed to the ground, his mana sealing the pit walls, keeping the dragon trapped. Dust and fire belched upward as the monster writhed, its massive wings unable to stretch inside the hole.
I raised my blade of light, chanting the incantation. "With this blade, let the sun's judgment pierce the night!"
My sword ignited, radiant gold flooding the darkness.
Kael followed, hurling compressed gales like spears into the pit. The air shrieked with every strike, tearing into the dragon's flesh.
The beast roared, spewing purple flame upward, but I countered with Light Rays, multiplying them until the night sky itself became a storm of brilliance. Each beam hammered into its scales, searing them with divine light.
"Kael—together!"
He leapt beside me, hands glowing. I thrust my blade downward, while he unleashed a howling vortex. Light and wind merged, driving into the dragon's heart.
A final roar shook the ground,then silence.
The Moon Dragon's body crumbled, its shadowed form dissolving into ash.
We stood at the edge of the pit, breathing hard, our magic dimming. The night was still again.
"It's… over," Kael whispered.
I lowered my blade, watching the last of the ash scatter into the wind. "Yeah. For good, this time."
Serenya's face turned serious. She walked closer to the pit and kept her eyes on the ash that still moved.
"It's not over," she said. "That thing is still alive."
Before I could speak, she raised her hands. The air felt heavy, her power old and sharp.
"I'll finish it," she said. "But I need both of you."
Kael and I looked at each other and nodded.
"Surya, give me your light. Kael, give me your wind and fire. I'll do the rest."
We stood together. Kael's mana turned into a wild gale. My light grew strong. Serenya's power spread through both, deep and heavy like the ground itself. She began chanting words I didn't know, and the ruins around us shook.
We struck together. Serenya called a white flame, hotter and sharper than the dragon's purple fire. Kael's gale focused it into a lance. I pushed my Light Blade through it, and our power became one.
It hit the dragon's chest. The beast screamed, shaking the city. Then its body went still. The purple flames died out. The ash stopped moving.
The pit grew quiet. Only smoke and gray dust remained.
Serenya dropped to her knees, exhausted. Kael and I also fell back, out of breath.
"It's done," Kael whispered.
Serenya looked at us. For the first time, I saw relief on her face. "For now," she said softly. "But revenge leaves scars. Be careful. Not all fires die clean."
The ash drifted over the broken city. The dragon was gone, but the night still felt heavy.
The next morning we went to the guild. The quest was done, and the reward was real. Six thousand gold. We split it evenly. Two thousand each.
Serenya didn't take a share. She only smiled and told us her part was already done. When we said goodbye, she didn't look sad. Just tired, like a weight had finally left her shoulders.
Kael and I mounted our vessels again. Mine glowing with golden wings, his carried by the wind. We rose above Fillo, leaving the ruined city behind.
As we went south, the air grew colder. White snow began to fall, soft at first, then heavier. The land below turned pale, the forests dusted in frost.
"The South really is different…" Kael said, holding his cloak tighter.
I nodded, staring into the endless snow ahead. "Yeah. A new land, a new chapter."
And so, we kept flying.
Back in the ruined castle, Serenya stood alone at the window of her room. The night was still. The city was quiet.
She looked out at the snow falling over the land, her hand resting on the cold stone frame.
"Rest well… my husband," she whispered.
Her eyes softened, though her voice carried both sorrow and relief. The Moon Dragon was gone. But it had never been just a monster.
It had been the man she once loved.
And now, at last, his suffering was over.
.....
The Moon Dragon was dead, but its story did not leave with it. No one in Fillo had ever spoken of a wife. The history told only of a cursed wizard, a man who brought ruin to the kingdom.
But the truth was different. He had protected Serenya. When the city turned its hatred on him, he took the blame alone. And when he could no longer endure, he gave himself to the curse, becoming the Moon Dragon that haunted Fillo for twenty years.
That night, his suffering ended. And though the people would never know the whole truth, Serenya carried it silently, watching the ashes drift away on the wind.
For her, it was both an ending and a goodbye.