“Then, where is she?” Henry asked, stepping closer to the three Zevas.

They had an impeccable physique that no humans could ever hope to achieve. They had years of experience with death and battle under their belt. Yet, in front of Henry, their spirits were instantly crushed by his dominating and overwhelming presence. Even if they found the guts to fight back, it wouldn’t have been any better since they lacked the means to truly harm Henry. In fact, they secretly commended their exiled lady for being able to go against Henry.

“No answer?” Yula questioned, commanding a sharpened shadow tendril to wave around them.

“A-as we have said, we do not know! After Lady Rayne was banished from the clan, we never saw her again! Truly, my lord!”

“Hmm… Then do you at least know where she was heading when she left?”

“I-I believe she left in the direction of the forest… None of us saw her leaving with our own eyes but it is what we heard.”

Henry nodded. “I see…” he mused, gazing in the direction of the forest where his home was.

“P-please… mercy… m’lord. We never meant you any h-harm… W-we—”

“Save it,” Henry uttered. “I don’t care.”

They shrieked. “M-mercy, my lord!” one of them even dropped to their knees and started begging as if he was performing a prayer.

“Oh, gosh. How unsightly of these men,” Yula sighed. “But it can’t be helped since they’re before someone like you, Henry.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Someone like me?”

“...Overwhelming, I suppose?” Yula said with her head tilted. “In nearly every way.”

“I suppose so…” Henry shrugged with a wry smile. He remembered his battle with Rayne and he had to silently disagree with Yula. He did not think for a second that he was truly the apex, though he wished to be. Ulrum was vast and the world was even bigger.

“Anyway, what to do with these three, Henry?”

Their shoulders jumped when the topic of the conversation shifted back to them.

“Nothing,” Henry said and turned his back to three. “My beef is with the former clan lady. For now, let’s head back.”

“Oooh. Finally,” Yula cheered gleefully as she clapped lightly. The noise was lost to the wheezing breath of the cold winds. “I have been waiting. Though you would never ask.”

“Well, then.” Henry lowered his body into a prone position. “Hop on,” he said.

“You want me to get on your back?”

“What else?”

“You want me to ride you?” she asked with a coy smirk. “Oh, my, Henry. This is embarrassing.”

“You rode me all the time. Why are you getting shy about it now?”

“Well, you’re no fun,” she huffed with her arms crossed.

“You’ll have your fun when we get back.”

Her smile returned instantly and lifted herself onto Henry’s back with the assistance of her shadows.

The three Zevas gasped in astonishment at Yula’s command over her shadows. They began muttering and whispering among themselves, speculating about Yula’s origins.

And Henry just let them. No matter how hard they tried, they could never stumble upon the truth unless they knew the existence of a certain possibility beforehand.

“Hold on tight,” Henry said and stood up.

“Don’t worry. I won’t fall.” Yula’s shadows formed into a pseudo saddle, complete with a harness. She would not fall off even if Henry did a barrel roll.

Henry manifested his wings, causing a gust that swept away all the loose dirt and stones on the ground and also the faint snow that enveloped the area. With a single beat of his wings, Henry took to the sky.

Yula was screaming during the rapid ascension, not out of fear, but excitement. She splayed her arms out and relished in the opposing streams of cool air brushing against her skin. Her raven-black hair fluttered against the rushing breeze.

Once Henry had gained enough altitude, he flew straight towards the forest. He made sure to not fly too high to avoid any complications for Yula.

“Wow…” Yula gasped. “This is amazing… This is like the countryside of Europe and those landscape wallpapers you see on the internet. It’s simply astounding… So this is Ulrum?”

“This is Ulrum.”

“Where’s your place? Will it be as breathtaking as everywhere else?”

Henry chuckled. “I have told you many times, Yula. You’re gonna be disappointed.”

“I would never.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“You think I will regret my decisions?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“If you’re wrong?”

“I’ll let you decide the punishment.”

Yula tittered. “Looking forward to it, Henry.”

Soon, the colour of the forest regained a healthy tone as they travelled deeper into the centre of the forest. The leaves gradually turned from red and orange to the lush colours of green. The trees became more and more abundant the deeper they went and the terrain became ever the more familiar to Henry.

I’m home.

Henry smiled at the familiar lands before him. Even from above the sky, he was able to recognise the forest he called home.

“We’re close. My place is just ahead. You can see it from here.”

Yula peeked out from her position. “You said your place was a small clearing with a cave and an empty patch of dry yard in front.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Strange… I don’t see any place that fits that description.”

“What do you mean there’s none? It’s just right up ahead. It’s—” Henry fell silent as he saw the spot that was his home, his nest. It was supposed to be a patch of dry land without any hint of grass growing. It was a small barren spot. From the sky, it resembled a shallow pit or it would have if there weren’t so many decorations in place. “What the fuck?”

“I’m guessing your place doesn’t usually look like how it is now?”

“Far from it…”

Despite being high in the sky, the change to his abode was too ostentatious and glaring to escape his notice. The low slopes that surrounded the clearing had been carved and polished into proper fences of walls. For the ground, it was paved. The boulders and the molehill stones protruding from the dirt were all removed. The cave had also been cleaned and refined. Curtains made of large leaves, similar to banana leaves, were draped over the cave’s entrance. In addition, engravings could be found on the wall fences, seemingly telling a story of a bygone era about Dragons.

Yula snickered. “Looks like I won, Henry.”

Henry clicked his tongue. “Just who would do such a—” His words were caught in his throat when he saw movements in front of the cave. Not just one or two but a few. There was a small crowd gathered in his abode. With the winds in his ears, he could not hear the commotion nor could he catch the people’s scent with the distance between them.

“There are people in front of your cave.” Though Yula didn’t have sights like Henry, she could still see the gathering below. “Friends of yours?”

“Acquaintances at best. They know that place is mine and I have never given them permission to tread into my territory without my say-so.”

“But there they are.”

“Indeed,” Henry growled inwardly. “Hold on to me as tight as you can.”

“Okay but why?” Yula asked. The number of tendrils binding her to Henry’s back increased.

“We’re making our descent and it will be… harsh, for a lack of a better word.”

“How harsh can it beEEEE!!!” Yula screamed as she felt the abrupt pull of gravity. Her face paled when she no longer saw Henry’s wings. “Henry, where are your wings?!”

Henry chuckled as he dropped sharply through the air. “Calm down, Yula. We’ll be fine.”

Yula’s expression changed in an instant. “Oh, we will?” Gone were all her fear and worries.

Damn… she really trusts me that much… God, I feel bad for teasing her.

Henry’s descent was soon taken notice by those on the ground as his shadow became a large shade over them. The crowd screamed and scattered at the sight and appearance of a sudden gigantic monster swooping down on them. However, a few did not run far. They ran just enough to not get crushed when he landed. Henry recognised them as people of the Augru and Kivu Tribes. More specifically, they were individuals he was familiar with though he couldn’t quite remember their names.

There was one woman Henry didn’t recognise at all. She had waist-long hair in the colour of dark blue. She was lithe like the Zevas but her skin wasn’t as pale. The white silk-like robe she was wearing resembled a toga. Her eyes bore the same colour as her hair. She was tall, most of all. At a glance, she was probably the tallest person among those who were present. She showed no hint of fear towards Henry despite his sudden appearance. In fact, she had a knowing smile on her face as if she had been waiting for him.

The strange woman barely moved from where she was standing as if she knew she was standing adequately out of the zone of being crushed by Henry’s landing. Lo and behold, she wasn’t crushed when Henry made his landing and shook the earth. Birds went flying to the sky from the trees due to the short tremor but the lady didn't even budge.

“By the gods… the Lord Dragon has returned. It’s not dead!” shouted a male Augru.

“Silence, Oren,” rebuffed the female Augru beside him. She dropped to one knee and lowered her head.

“Forgive me, warchief.” Oren followed suit and so did the others, save for the strange woman in a toga.

Oren? Warchief. She must be Eria then. The sister of Lilim if I recall correctly. But just who is this woman with dark blue hair?

The woman just smiled as Henry looked at her with curiosity.

“Henry!” There was a cheerful shout amidst all the grave whispers of Henry’s abrupt appearance.

Oh god… Please don’t let it be—

A girl with pink hair in an elegant white dress came running up to him. Her pink fluffy tail fluttered gently in the air as she ran. She was none other than the Princess of the Kivu Tribe, Rinea. She was about to jump at Henry when Vira, the princess’ bodyguard, rushed to her side and held her back.

“Princess, you can’t do that! What if you get hurt or worse?” Vira admonished her.

“That would never happen since Henry is here. He will save me from danger just like last time,” Rinea said with a bright smile.

On the contrary, Yula’s expression darkened. “Henry, who is she?” Yula asked as she disembarked from Henry’s back, making her presence known to everyone. In spite of the warm weather, her tone just now had lowered the temperature by a lot.

“Um… she’s Princess Rinea of the Kivu Tribe? You know, the one that I have told you about. The one I saved from a Demon.”

“I see…” she said, descending from Henry and walking up to Rinea until Vira stood in front of the princess.

“Even if you’re a friend of Lord Henry, your hostility towards the princess will be met in kind,” Vira warned.

“Hostility?” Yula scoffed. “What hostility are you talking about?” she asked with a smirk touching her condescending expression. “And you are mistaken. I am not Henry’s friend. I am his bride, his spouse.”

There was a brief silence before a clamour of disbelief and speculations erupted.

“Yula, why did you say that?” Henry asked, sighing.

“What? I just told the truth.”

“How unfair of you, Henry,” said the woman with dark blue hair. “I didn’t think you would cast me away for another woman. Well, it seems true Dragons are as frivolous as history said.”

“And who is this?” Yula asked.

Henry stared at the strange woman but no one came to mind. “I don’t believe we have met before.”

The woman tittered. “But we have met before, just not in this form.”

“This form?”

A blue radiance engulfed the woman suddenly and the light took on a different shape, morphing into the appearance of a giant snake. When radiance dissipated, Henry widened his eyes as realisation struck. The on-lookers gasped and took a few steps back with vigilance dyeing their gazes.

“Sarynn…” Henry muttered.

Sarynn chuckled. “Looks like you remember me after all, my husband.”

“H-Husband?!” Yula exclaimed. “Henry, explain this!”

“Lord Henry! What’s the meaning of this?!” Rinea chimed in for some reason. “Since when did you get married?”

…Nadea, save me.