"Only Stonefang... know. Safe. No fight. No trick."
He paused, searching for the right words.
"Chief say... Flying man can co there. One day. He wait.
Only one day."
At those words, Kael’s expression stayed unreadable. The snow crunched faintly under Zakaar’s massive boots as the Stonefang stepped back, lowering the white cloth he had carried all this ti.
"After one day,"
Zakaar continued,
"If Flying man no co... Chief... will move.
Tribes move too.
No stop."
With that last warning, the Stonefang turned around and—
Silence.
Heavy silence fell over the place.
The soldiers, Commander Korvath, Lavinia, and even Kael, they all stared at the Stonefang that dared to co alone and now seed like he was going to return safely, as if nothing happened.
"Should we... stop him?"
The soldier on watch duty asked in a low, underconfident voice.
The Commander, the Teacher Mage, and the Dragon God himself were present here, so he knew it wasn’t his place to speak at all—but... when he saw the Stonefang leaving just like that, he couldn’t stay silent.
But—
"No."
Before Korvath could react or say anything, Kael shook his head, instantly attracting the Commander and the Mage’s attention.
"No?"
Korvath frowned.
"A Stonefang ca to our territory alone, and not just any Stonefang, soone who knew our language. If we capture him, the amount of information we can extort—it is not sothing we should dismiss without giving it a thought."
The Commander spoke as he turned towards Kael. He personally did not like the idea of capturing a ssenger but...
The Stonefangs have always been a critical topic for them, it was the tribe they knew the least about and had the most encounters with. Capturing one of them might prove helpful.
He could not see any flaw in this plan, the only way he could see this might turn unfavorable would be if they—
The mont he thought this far, the Commander’s expression changed.
He then glanced at Kael with narrowed eyes and—
"Kael, you... you aren’t planning to go to this Trogoth’s Rest place and et their chief, are you?"
Kael didn’t say anything, his mind was still processing everything—the unification of tribes, the possible war, and this... supposed invitation.
Lavinia, however, was different.
Her mind hadn’t changed; she stepped closer to Kael and grabbed his arm with a fierce look in her eyes.
"You’re not going anywhere alone."
She declared.
"If they want to talk, they can co to us."
Kael looked at her for a long mont, then he glanced at the walking Stonefang. His every step was heavy and slow, showing how powerful his bulky body was.
A warrior who could take on two Velmourn warriors at the sa stage as him and still co out victorious.
"Kael!"
Seeing his eyes, Lavinia raised her voice. She could tell what he was thinking.
Kael turned back towards her and—
"I can at least investigate this place he ntioned. If there are no traps, then..."
"No."
Lavinia shook her head.
"It is too dangerous!"
She repeated the sa thing but this ti—
"Lavinia."
Kael spoke up.
"Everything we are doing is dangerous."
The Hero looked into the Mage’s eyes with a sharp look on his face and—
"This isn’t even the most dangerous thing I have faced till now. Here, even if a fight breaks out, I would know where it broke out and can expect backup.
Compared to facing the Sky Kingdom soldiers alone or going against Drakthar or the Twilight in the future, this is nothing."
He answered; in his mind, scenes he saw in his visions replayed—those monstrous entities slaughtering thousands, his dead children...
It had been a while since he thought of that nightmarish sight, but this ti, instead of being affected by it, his eyes only beca fiercer, more... calculative.
"And it is not like I am the one who is going to investigate it."
He comnted.
"If not you, then who...?"
Lavinia frowned in confusion, and Kael’s answer ca in an instant.
"Cirri."
Although Kael already knew it, in the battle against the Sky Kingdom Soldiers, it beca much clearer.
Cirri was... different from the rest of them.
The Primordial Sky Dragon was the only one out of all of them who didn’t get even hurt in the long battle—not even a single bruise or scratch—simply because the enemy couldn’t touch her body.
Sure, her attacks didn’t cause much harm either because of the state she was in, but the fact that she was unhurt when she went against one of the strongest army units in the world—a unit that had access to thousands of unpredictable, innovative magical artifacts—ant that not many beings could hurt her.
And even if such a being truly existed, he wouldn’t be in a small tribe like Stonefang.
If it was Cirri, she could go and investigate to her heart’s content, and the enemy wouldn’t know anything.
"What if... Cirri gets hurt...?"
Lavinia asked, using the last resort she could think of to try and stop Kael, but Kael—
His eyes instantly went cold and—
"Then I will annihilate the Stonefangs."
He declared, and the instant he said those words, the people around him—Lavinia and Korvath included—felt a shiver down their spines.
He...
He was actually serious.
"Do you... have to go this far?
Why put yourself or your bonds in danger?
They are our enemies."
Korvath spoke up; he too found all this unsettling.
"They are our enemies, I agree. But they approached us first; I want to know why they did it. This could very well be a trap, I do not deny it.
But on the off chance it is not one—I wish to know what the Stonefang chief wants from .
Who knows?
This might be our chance to get out of this situation without having to shed pointless blood."
Kael answered. For a while, Korvath stared at him in silence until finally, he nodded, giving up.
"I will go inform the Matriarch."
He spoke in a low voice.
Kael nodded back.
"We will leave that to you."
"Yes, you go rest."
Korvath then turned towards the soldiers on watch duty and—
"Continue your duty. You are not to ntion anything you saw or heard today."
"Yes, Commander."
The two soldiers nodded, and then, Korvath returned. Kael and Lavinia returned to their house, and the first thing Kael did was—
"Cirri."
He called his daughter.
"Father."
A portal opened, and an adorable white ball of fur flew out, gently landing into Kael’s arms. Kael patted her gently as a soft smile appeared on his face.
"You heard everything, correct?"
After a while of pampering, Kael asked, and finally, Cirri—who was busy snuggling into his arms—paused and opened her eyes.
"Yes, Father."
She spoke with a serious look on her face.
"Will you be fine?"
"Yes."
The Dragon nodded confidently, her eyes brightening up as she liked the thought of her father putting more trust in her.
"Be extra careful. The instant you sense any danger, return to the Sanctuary."
Kael warned with a serious look on his face as he grabbed the Dragon’s face and made her look into his eyes, squeezing her cheeks in the process. It was an adorable sight; his expression, however, wasn’t the least bit adorable.
Yes, he had been acting strong, but deep inside, he was the sa paranoid father who would rather have his children live right beside him all his life than move around recklessly and hurt themselves.
Sending Cirri to an unknown place to investigate... he was unwilling, very, very unwilling, but he knew the necessity of it.
He knew that if he needed to protect everything and everyone he held dear, he too needed to grow—not just in terms of strength, but in terms of ntality as well.
"Yes, I will be careful."
Cirri nodded back with sincerity, making sure she reassured her father.
"Good."
Kael nodded, then he hugged his daughter one last ti and—
"Please be safe."
"Mhm."
Cirri nodded, closing her eyes and enjoying her father’s embrace for a mont before her body dissipated into the air as she activated her Sky Form.
"I’ll be waiting for you, Father."
The Primordial Sky Dragon spoke as her body spread out, and she finally left, moving to the deep vale to find the Trogoth’s Rest.
Kael stared in the direction Cirri had flown into in silence. Lavinia gently held his hand, trying to calm his racing heart.
"I won’t be going to the Genesis Hive till Igni recovers completely and is able to act independently."
Kael announced as he glanced at Imperia, who was sitting in his pocket, and the Ant nodded, already predicting it to so extent.
"But Father should still continue his training."
The Ant suggested, and Kael, of course, nodded at those words. He had rested for an entire day; he had no plans of slacking off any further.
"I will go train with the spirits too."
Lavinia spoke as well; she too wanted to get as strong as possible so she could fight together with Kael.
Kael nodded at her as the two began their separate training before continuing the day as they normally did.
And the next day—
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