When Zal opened his eyes, everything felt heavy.
His wrists ached.
He blinked a few times until the blur cleared, then realized what had happened.
His hands were cuffed.
The air smelled like iron and damp wood.
He was inside a cell.
The room was dim, lit only by a flickering lamp outside the bars.
In front of him, sitting cross-legged on the floor, was a girl. She had snow-white hair and wore bright orange clothes that looked oddly clean despite the grime around her.
Her eyes were sharp, and she watched him without a hint of warmth.
"You're awake," she said flatly. "About time."
Zal tried to sit up. "Where—where am I?"
"You're still on the same ship," she replied, leaning back against the wall.
"They caught me too. You should be grateful, though. I stopped them from tossing you overboard. You were seconds away from becoming wind dust."
He blinked, trying to recall everything. "You... saved me?"
"Don't get the wrong idea," she said, crossing her arms. "I just didn't want to see someone dying."
Her tone was sharp, but there was something faint beneath it.
Zal sighed and lowered his head. "Thanks, I guess..."
The girl didn't answer. Instead, she eyed him curiously. "You were shouting a lot before you passed out. Something about a dragon."
At that, his mind snapped back. His heart began to pound. "The mask... where's the mask I was wearing?"
She blinked once, then gave a sly, almost mocking smile. "Oh, that mask?"
Zal leaned forward. "Do you have it?"
She chuckled softly. "You're really stupid, aren't you? Trying to take on a Mask like that and make it yours."
She tapped her forehead with a finger. "It's not that easy. Those things reject people who can't handle them. You're lucky you're even alive."
Her words struck him harder than he expected. He stared down at his hands. But... it accepted me. I spoke with him. Was that all fake? Was that just a dream?
The girl watched him with faint curiosity, her cold eyes studying the conflict on his face.
Then Zal clenched his fists. "No. I have to get it back."
He stood abruptly, pulling against the cuffs. "If I'm still inside the ship, then the mask is still here!"
The girl sighed, brushing a strand of white hair from her face. "You're insane," she muttered. "And probably dead in the next hour."
Zal grinned. "Maybe. But not before I get that mask."
Zal scanned the small cell, his mind running wild. There had to be a way out. Then, his eyes caught a glimmer.
A tiny metal sparkle, right on the girl's hair.
"Hey... those hairpins," he said, pointing at her. "Give them to me."
She turned to him with a blank face, then slowly raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"The pins," Zal repeated. "They're thin enough to pick locks. Hand them over."
For a moment, she just stared at him, then let out a small, unimpressed laugh.
"Wow. You're bold for a guy in cuffs."
She bent her arms awkwardly, managing to grab the pins with her own shackled hands. Zal leaned forward, until she smirked.
Without a word, she slid the pins into her cuffs instead. There was a soft click and the chains fell to the floor.
Zal's jaw dropped. "Wait! You could've done that from the start?!"
She stood up gracefully, brushing the dust off her orange sleeves. "Of course. I was just bored."
Then, she twirled the pins in her fingers and crouched in front of him.
"You wanted this, right?" she asked, teasingly holding it just inches from his hands.
He reached for it, but she snatched it back, smiling devilishly.
"Ah-ah," she said. "Not so fast. If you want my help, you'll have to call me Master Lumika from now on."
Zal froze. "What?"
"You heard me. Say it, out loud, and with respect."
His eye twitched. "There's no way I'm calling you that."
"Then I guess you're staying cuffed."
The silence hung for a few seconds. Zal glared at her. She crossed her arms, waiting like a queen demanding tribute.
Finally, through gritted teeth, he muttered, "...M–Master Lumika."
She cupped her ear. "Hmm? Didn't quite hear that."
He clenched his fists. "Master Lumika!"
She grinned wide, clearly enjoying this.
"Good boy."
Zal's face burned red as she finally handed him the pin. He jammed it into the cuff's keyhole and began fiddling. After a long few seconds, he frowned. "Uh... how do you actually do this?"
She blinked. "Wait, what? I thought you knew!"
"I don't! I just saw my dad do it once when he got locked in the shed!"
For a second, she looked stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Unbelievable," she said between chuckles. "You act like a hero, but you can't even pick a lock!"
Zal pouted. "Hey, it looked easier when he did it!"
Still laughing, she knelt beside him and plucked the pin from his hands. "Move over, apprentice."
In one smooth twist, the cuffs clicked open and dropped to the floor.
Zal rubbed his wrists, glaring at her. "You really enjoy humiliating people, don't you?"
She smirked and leaned back. "Only when they make it this easy."
---
The hallway outside the cell was dim and reeking of oil. The airship groaned under the weight of the wind currents above Airvale. Zal and Lumika stepped out, careful at first, until they realized they weren't alone.
Rows of cells lined both sides of the corridor. Inside them were not criminals, but families. Some were huddled together, others just stared blankly at the metal bars.
Zal stopped. "They're... just normal people."
A man inside one of the cells reached out through the bars. "Please, if you're escaping, take us with you!"
Zal looked around. Dozens of eyes followed him, desperate and pleading. His throat tightened. Dad was right. The government really is rotten.
Lumika's voice cut through the silence. "Ignore them. We're not here to play savior."
Zal turned to her, shocked. "What? But we can't just leave them—"
She crossed her arms. "If we stop now, we get caught. If we get caught, nobody leaves. Do the math."
He clenched his teeth. "You're heartless."
"Efficient," she corrected.
Before he could argue, a metallic voice shouted from behind. "Hey! You two! Stop right there!"
A guard spotted them, sprinting down the corridor. Lumika sighed like she was late for lunch. Then, without hesitation, she raised her arm. A faint swirl of wind gathered around her wrist, glowing orange.
In one clean motion, she swung.
The air cracked, and the guard slammed into the wall with a grunt before collapsing. Zal jumped back, wide-eyed. "What was that!? You didn't even touch him!"
She looked at her glowing arm and shrugged. "A little trick. You don't have one, I'm guessing."
"I—well—no," Zal stammered.
She tilted her head. "Then this'll be fun."
More guards flooded in from the other side of the corridor, shouting orders. "Prisoners on deck three! Secure them!"
Lumika rolled her eyes. "Change of plan. We run."
Zal didn't argue. They bolted down the hall, feet pounding against the metal floor. The ship tilted slightly as it climbed higher into the sky, making every step harder.
Zal tripped over a loose chain and crashed face-first. "Ow! Who puts chains in the middle of a hallway!?"
"People who expect idiots to trip," Lumika replied while running past him.
He got up, clutching his side. "You could've helped me!"
"I could have," she said, "but watching you struggle builds character."
They darted around corners, ducked under pipes, and squeezed through maintenance doors. The alarms started blaring.
Somewhere, steam hissed violently. The ship felt alive and angry.
Then, in the chaos, Zal turned the wrong way.
"Lumika?" he called out. He looked around. He was alone.
He ran through another corridor and burst into a wide chamber filled with guards.
Every single one of them turned toward him.
Zal froze. "Oh no."
"Hey! It's the boy!" one guard shouted.
He looked around frantically for an exit and spotted a lever beside the wall. Without thinking, he yanked it down.
Sirens blared again, but this time, the sound was different.
"What did you just do!?" a guard yelled. "That's the prisoner release lever!"
Zal blinked. "Wait... the what!?"
A moment later, doors clanked open all across the corridor. The cries of the prisoners grew into a roar as they poured out, some confused, some furious, but all free.
Zal stepped back, realizing what he had done. "Oh... I might have just started a riot."
From down the hall, Lumika appeared, panting. She saw the chaos, the running prisoners, the panicking guards, and then she looked at him.
Her eye twitched. "You freed them, didn't you?"
"Technically, the lever freed them. I just helped."
Lumika buried her face in her hands. "You're unbelievable."
"Hey, look on the bright side. Now the guards are too busy to chase us."
She looked around at the absolute madness surrounding them and sighed deeply.
"You're lucky I like chaos."
"Really?"
"No. Now run before they remember who started it."
And so, the two ran again, through a ship filled with freed prisoners, alarms, and shouts.
Zal froze for a second. There it was, right in front of him. The Green Dragon Mask. The same one that had called to him. The same one that pulled him into that dream. It was resting on that man's lap like some decoration.
The Commander leaned lazily on his throne, smiling like he already owned the world. His black coat shimmered under the ship's flickering lights. The man looked more like a noble pretending to be a hero than an actual soldier.
"Come now," the Commander said, his voice smooth, as if this whole disaster was just a small inconvenience. "You two look lost. Maybe you took a wrong turn into my room."
Lumika crossed her arms, glaring. "Or maybe your guards are bad at their job."
He chuckled quietly. "I prefer to think they're just... replaceable."
Zal didn't even hear the rest. His eyes were stuck on the mask. The air felt heavier the longer he stared at it.
It was the same one that had whispered through the wind. The same one that had shown him his parents. His hands trembled, not with fear, but with something else entirely.
It's mine.
The Commander noticed his stare. "Ah. The green one caught your eye, didn't it?"
"An ancient mask from the lower winds. We found it hidden beneath Airvale. It has no trace of power, but the craftsmanship is remarkable."
He smiled at it like a collector admiring a useless trinket. "I suppose it will look nice in my office."
Zal's fists clenched tighter. He could feel something stirring in his chest, like the first breath before a storm.
"Put it down," he said quietly.
The Commander blinked. "Excuse me?"
"I said put it down," Zal repeated.
The man tilted his head. "You talk like you own it."
"I do," Zal said. His voice wavered a little, but his eyes didn't. "It chose me."
"Ah, so you're a believer in those old tales. How quaint."
Lumika sighed beside him. "Zal, please, this isn't the time. He's way above our level."
But Zal didn't move back. His body shook with something he didn't understand. He remembered the green dragon's voice. Child of wind... prove it.
The Commander placed the mask on the armrest of his throne and leaned forward. "Tell me, boy. What makes you think you deserve something like this?"
"Because I heard it call me," he said.
"Because it's not yours to take. And because—"
He swallowed, then looked straight into the Commander's eyes.
"—it's a part of my dream."