“Cough—cough!!”

Alicia’s lungs burned like she’d swallowed ash; she hacked until the gritty smoke peeled away on its own, a tide receding. The sand-in-the-eye sting clung like nettles, and her lids refused to lift.

“Ling, what did you do? Don’t tell me you literally punched the sky down.”

Watching the “firmament” drop like a collapsing ceiling, her worldview flipped like a cart in a storm.

Her question didn’t get Ling’s answer. Instead, the “firmament” gave a low, rolling hum, like thunder under ice.

“Rrroar…”

“What the hell was that? What made that sound?”

“Sis, take a breath. Keep freaking out like this and your whole persona’s gonna collapse.”

—Fine, you try it. See how calm you are when the world goes sideways and no one explains a thing.

Irritation flared first; she forced it down like a lid on boiling water. Eyes stinging, she pried them open a sliver.

She looked down. Her boots were planted on a bed of rough scales, ridged like broken rock; every bump promised a thorn-jab if she were barefoot.

Alicia could read a scene. One glance at those plates, plus the yawning rift valley around them, and the guess rose like dawn: she knew what she was standing on.

[Human! Off my back—now!]

The voice knifed straight into their minds, a cold spear of thought. It could’ve used its mouth, yet it chose to speak soul to soul, like a stage trick in a fogged temple.

Heh. Classic dragon show-off. Ignore it.

“Ling, how’d you see it just now? Why couldn’t I see this thing at all?”

Maybe it had invisibility. But if so, Ling shouldn’t have seen it either—and she’d grabbed it.

“You really couldn’t? A thing that big flew over like a mountain with wings.”

Right. She dropped it. Clearly the kid’s own gift was in play, and the kid didn’t even know which one she’d used.

[Hey! I am addressing you two. Why do you not answer me!]

Being ignored while two girls stood on his back—yeah, that cooked his pride like fish on hot stones.

“Tch. Noisy. Ling, how do we deal with this big guy?”

Standing on the dragon’s spine, Alicia winced at the mental bellow echoing in her skull, a kettle whistle that wouldn’t stop.

“Braised?”

“Nice. Or we go with poached?”

“Nah. Deep-fried.”

They were obviously spooking it, like waving a cleaver over a cutting board. For some reason, the dragon bought every word. His body shivered like wind through reeds; he beat his wings to flee.

He didn’t lift an inch. Ling’s earlier strike had ruined the muscles; one tentative flap, and arcs of blood flung into the air like scattered crimson rain.

Alicia grimaced and couldn’t watch that limp struggle. She bent her knees and hopped to his head, landing in a classic street-thug squat. Her gaze locked to his eyes. Those draconic pupils blew wide, a camera iris in panic.

“Hey, big guy. What’re you so scared of?”

She hadn’t expected it: a creature many times her size, yet its courage crumbled like wet paper.

[I…I…I merely—]

“Use your mouth and talk. That mind-voice is too damn loud in my head.”

The nervous idiot hadn’t noticed his volume; the echo had her skull throbbing like a drum.

“Y-yes. I—I got it…” he whispered, voice shrinking to a thread of sound.

“Hey, big guy, are you purebred?”

Rude question, sure—like calling him a mutt to his face. His pea brain missed the insult. He lifted his head in pride, almost tossing her like a loose pebble.

[I am, of course, a noble pureblood! A pure Azure Dragon!]

“Why are you shouting!”

Thud.

Her fist cracked down on the so-called Azure Dragon’s crown. It didn’t punch through like Ling’s blow, but hairline fractures webbed across the skull plates, and sheer force hammered that raised head back down.

“Uu… uuurrr…”

The low whine sounded like a sob rolling in a cave. Alicia felt zero guilt; instead, a clean snap of satisfaction, like knocking dust off a rug.

“Quit crying. Two choices. One: you carry us to your people’s territory. Two: we play a game—a very—interesting—game.”

Instinct spoke louder than bloodlines. Every cell in his body rang alarm bells like temple gongs: Do not play that game. Besides, the Dragonfolk’s land wasn’t some sacred secret. Guiding them in cost him nothing.

So the abjectly timid Azure Dragon made his choice. He would lead these two walking disasters to the den.

And thus, a “noble” pureblood Azure Dragon let two girls ride his head like a roadside idol. He limped toward his territory, one wing drooping like a torn banner.

Ling shifted, uncomfortable, and adjusted her seat. She glanced at Alicia beside her, who sat calm as moonlight on a pond.

“Sis, are we really okay bullying him like this? We came to invite the Dragonfolk to join the Mystic Realm.”

“Relax, little sis. I did my homework. Their kind runs on might-makes-right. If you’re strong enough, doors open like bamboo blinds.”

“Ah… is that so…”

—It still won’t be that simple. I can feel storm clouds gathering.