The giant automaton halted; its bronze hide went dull, massive gears stilled, white steam peeled from the air like fading fog, leaving a broad idol standing corpse-still before them.

But Lilith had no mind for the automaton; it wasn’t the only thing frozen. Under Nidhogg’s unknowable magic, the Little White Dragon lay like a stone, utterly immobile.

Panic surged first—her body had slipped from her grasp like a kite cut loose. She fought to move, yet not even a single fingertip obeyed.

She could only sprawl helpless on the cold floor, eyes wide, staring at Nidhogg a short distance away.

The Black Dragon girl ignored that pleading gaze. Unhurried, she stepped to the silent giant, pressed her palm to its thick brass skin.

Scale slid up her right hand like night vines; with a hard shove, obsidian claws speared straight through the automaton’s torso.

She gripped, tore, and yanked free a core glowing with a soft halo.

Deprived of its heart, the automaton hissed with sharp bursts of steam, then collapsed with a thunderous clang. Gears and bronze shards skittered, misty dust blooming, and all went still.

“Release.” Nidhogg returned to Lilith, tapped her on the head. Her whole body jolted—like lightning crawling under skin—pain prickled; she sucked a breath, barely stifling a cry.

“Can you move now?” Nidhogg clapped near her face. Seeing the Little White Dragon’s reflex turn, she stood, satisfied, and studied the core she’d ripped free.

“Your resistance to Word Spirit Magic is way too low. We need a way to keep my spells from catching you.”

“Cough, doesn’t your weird magic have friendly fire off?” Lilith stood with effort, reclaiming her limbs like a swimmer breaking surface. She glared, itching to twist the Black Dragon girl’s horns.

“Friendly fire off? What’s that?” Nidhogg tilted her head. She hefted the core in her right hand and scratched a simple sigil across it with her left.

“But there is a way to keep you from my control—it’s a stopgap, not a cure.”

Nidhogg tossed the core to Lilith. The Little White Dragon fumbled, catching the glow-sphere a bit bigger than her own head, wondering how Nidhogg lifted it one-handed.

“Take it. It’s a magic core. With it, you can resist any Word Spirit Magic.”

“Thank you, Typhon.”

“What are you even saying!” Nidhogg rapped Lilith on the head. A Shrinking spell tightened over the core, turning it into a small pendant; she drew out a silver chain and hung it around Lilith’s neck.

“All right, let’s keep going.” The Black Dragon girl tugged the pendant from Lilith’s messy collar, pressed it warm against her neck, then tucked it back in. Unused to anyone’s touch, the girl flushed, breath small, ducked her head, and followed toward the cave’s deeper dark.

“Nidhogg, the Star Energy here is getting thick. It’s starting to fog up my vision.” They hadn’t gone far into the cave when milky Star Energy pooled like mist, clouding the Little White Dragon’s eyes.

“Can’t you guide Star Energy yourself? Has Lady Asterios not taught you to wield the Astrolabe to draw Star Energy? That’s basic for any Astrologer.”

The words sealed her lips; annoyance flickered, but surrender wasn’t in her bones. Lilith drew out her Astrolabe—entry-level tricks shouldn’t stump her, teacher or not.

“Mm, like this?” She raised the Astrolabe and traced a careful circle in the air. The white Star Energy stirred, gathering into a pale-blue beam like a floating ribbon, pointing into the black.

“Whoa, looks like there’s something in there.”

“Go take a look, Little White Dragon. Give me some light.” Nidhogg tossed aside the torch burning down to embers. Lilith tapped the Astrolabe’s head twice, whispering; starlight blossomed and washed the path ahead.

“Not bad. Guess bringing an Astrologer was the right call.”

“Am I your flashlight?” Lilith muttered, Astrolabe raised.

“You can be—and a pretty good compass.” Nidhogg pointed to the pale-blue beam, teasing. “You’re making Star Energy visible for others. That’s impressive.”

“Hmph. Praise won’t make me happy.” Lilith huffed, tail swaying as she took the lead, unaware her blush had turned her ears a clear, rosy red.

Nidhogg laughed inwardly; turns out the Little White Dragon was a bit tsundere.

“It should be here.” Ahead, Star Energy had thickened into true light-blue, like a shallow pool; something rich in Star Energy lay within—likely the weapon Nidhogg wanted. “How do we open this door?”

“A few drops of your blood. White Dragon blood solves one hundred percent of mechanisms. Doors won’t trouble you again.” Nidhogg slipped out a small dagger and handed it over. “Just a little—from your finger. Or bite, if you want.”

“I’ll use the dagger.” Lilith nicked her left index finger. A bead of scarlet rose on her soft skin; she smeared it across the stone gate.

The heavy stone doors rumbled and opened a narrow slit. Lilith shot Nidhogg a look, then led the way inside.