Yu watched Jack from a distance, chest rising and falling hard. Her dress hung in shredded strips. Without breaking eye contact, she tore another piece off and tied it tight across her chest, crude but secure.

  Jack’s grin widened like he was watching a show.

  “Delicious,” he laughed.

  Yu’s eyes flicked sideways — searching rooftops, smoke, movement — anything that looked like Isaac.

  Damn it… I got separated.

  I need to finish this fast and get back to him.

  She stepped forward.

  Then she lunged.

  Yu hit Jack like a meteor. They crashed together and locked up, hands gripping, muscles straining. The ground cracked under their feet as raw strength met raw strength — stone breaking from the pressure alone.

  Jack chuckled through clenched teeth. “That’s it…”

  Yu pushed harder.

  Jack twisted suddenly, using her momentum against her. Yu stumbled — just one step — and that was enough. Jack slipped behind her and snapped an arm around her neck.

  A brutal chokehold.

  Yu’s eyes widened as his forearm crushed into her throat. He pulled her tight against him, his breath hot against her ear.

  Jack inhaled slowly, smelling her like a predator.

  “Hmmm…” he sighed. “You know you’re beautiful, right?” His voice turned lazy, almost playful. “Why don’t we just stay together, huh?”

  Yu’s fury surged.

  “Never.”

  She drove her elbow back into his stomach.

  THUD.

  Jack’s lungs emptied in one violent cough. His grip loosened for a split second — one mistake.

  Yu tore free and spun, her hand reshaping mid-motion. Black hardened over her fingers like living metal, forming a blade that looked wrong in daylight.

  She slashed.

  SWISH! SWISH!

  Jack leaned away, laughing, dodging each cut like he was bored. Yu’s blade sliced air, then stone, leaving dark grooves across the street.

  Jack’s eyes gleamed.

  “Too slow,” he said, smiling.

  Isaac was still frozen, staring at her like the world might snap back into place if he blinked too hard.

  Kate took his hand.

  Her fingers were warm. Real. She squeezed gently and looked up at him with that soft, worried smile — like she was trying to calm him down before he broke completely.

  “I know it sounds suspicious,” she said quietly. “But trust me, my love.” Her thumb brushed over his knuckles. “The high elves want peace. They tried to warn you… but everyone else kept getting in the way.”

  Isaac swallowed. “Everyone else?”

  Kate nodded, expression tightening as if it hurt to say it. “The dragons,” she whispered. “My love… they’re not trustworthy. They’ve hurt so many elves.”

  She reached up and touched Isaac’s face.

  Her touch almost made his knees go weak.

  “Believe me,” Kate said, voice gentle and certain. “They’re using you.” Her eyes searched his. “This isn’t your war. It’s a bigger one. And you’re just their weapon.”

  Isaac’s gaze dropped to the ground. His jaw clenched. His mind fought itself — rage, grief, longing, logic — everything colliding violently in his chest.

  Kate stepped closer.

  “They told me something else,” she murmured. “That we can be together.” Her smile trembled. “Forever… if you stop. If you walk away from this war.”

  She held his hand tighter, like she was afraid he’d vanish again.

  “Let’s finally be together,” Kate whispered.

  A distant explosion rolled through the city.

  Isaac’s head snapped up.

  He could feel it in his bones.

  “Yu—!”

  He started to move.

  Kate grabbed his arm fast, holding him back. Her grip wasn’t painful, but it was firm — too firm for a woman in a white dress.

  “Please,” Kate said, eyes shining. “Stay with me.” Her voice cracked just enough to sound real. “I waited so long for this…”

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  Isaac stared at her hand on his arm.

  Warm.

  Tight.

  And for one terrifying second… he didn’t know which way he wanted to go.

  Yu kept fighting, but the rhythm was wrong now.

  Jack laughed, weaving around her strikes like he was dancing through rain. Yu’s black blade cut air, cut stone, carved lines into ruined streets — and still she couldn’t stop thinking about one thing.

  Why hasn’t he called me…?

  Her eyes flicked away for a split second toward the shattered avenue, toward the smoke and silence where Isaac should’ve been. The ruins stared back.

  Yu slowed.

  Then stopped.

  Jack’s grin widened. “What is it?” he teased, laughing. “Tired already?” His eyes slid toward the city like he knew something. “Or are you worried about the fallen king?”

  Yu’s jaw tightened.

  Jack chuckled, voice lazy. “Don’t worry. He’s probably dead by now.”

  Something snapped behind Yu’s eyes.

  She turned her head slowly back toward him.

  “The name,” Yu said, voice low and sharp, “is Isaac.”

  Jack shrugged like it meant nothing. “Whatever. Come on — let’s play.”

  Yu’s pupils swallowed the purple.

  Her eyes went black.

  A dark aura rolled off her body, thick enough to make the air feel heavier. Wings pushed out larger, wider, more real — shadowed edges trembling with contained violence.

  Jack’s smile sharpened. He inhaled, preparing to roar again.

  Yu vanished.

  Jack’s expression broke for the first time. His eyes widened. “—What?”

  Yu appeared right in front of him.

  No wind-up. No warning.

  Her blade-hand drove into his mouth — clean and fast — punching through teeth and tongue and the back of his throat before he even understood she’d moved.

  Jack gagged, choking, blood spilling instantly.

  Yu leaned close, eyes still black.

  “This,” she whispered, “is for touching me.”

  She ripped the blade out.

  Jack stumbled, hands shaking, trying to breathe through torn flesh. Blood poured down his chin in hot streams.

  Yu’s mouth shifted.

  Teeth multiplied. Sharpened. Dragon hunger replacing restraint.

  “And this,” Yu said, voice dropping into something deeper — something that didn’t sound human anymore, “is for disrespecting my king.”

  Jack tried to step back.

  Too late.

  Yu lunged and bit.

  One brutal snap — and his head was gone.

  The body hit the ground like a sack of meat.

  Yu didn’t stop.

  She dropped to her knees over him and devoured what was left with savage speed, tearing through bone and muscle until there was nothing to drag, nothing to identify — just blood soaking into dust.

  When it was over, Yu stood.

  She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then slowly licked her fingers clean, eyes still dark as night.

  And then she turned — finally — toward the ruins where Isaac was.

  Kate led Isaac through a narrow break in the rubble, down into a hidden pocket beneath collapsed stone. The air was cooler there. Quiet. Away from the screaming streets.

  High elves were packed inside — dirty, shaking, clutching children and old weapons they clearly didn’t know how to use. When they saw Isaac, several flinched. One lifted a spear and immediately lowered it again, terrified.

  Kate turned to him, voice soft, careful — like she was showing him proof.

  “When they brought me back,” she said, “the high elves showed me this.” She gestured to the huddled group. “Your war is crushing them. They’re scared. They’re starving.” Her eyes glistened. “The sovereign only wanted to protect them… the way a ruler should.”

  Isaac stared at the elves.

  For a moment, his anger didn’t know where to land.

  Kate looked up at him and smiled, gentle and hopeful.

  “Do you believe me, my love?”

  Isaac’s throat tightened.

  He forced a smile. “Yes…”

  A voice cut through the ruin behind them.

  “Isaac!”

  Yu.

  She arrived out of breath — clothes torn, hair wild, blood smeared across her mouth like it had turned into saliva. She looked feral for a second, still riding the edge of what she’d just done.

  Isaac and Kate turned.

  Kate’s face hardened instantly.

  “My love,” Kate said, urgent, gripping Isaac’s hand. “Look at her. She’s a dragon.” Her voice trembled, but her eyes stayed sharp. “Their nature is destruction… but we can fight. We can defeat her together.”

  Yu froze, not understanding.

  “Isaac…” Yu’s voice softened. “It’s me.”

  She took one step closer.

  Isaac didn’t move.

  Yu saw herself in his eyes — torn dress, blood at her lips, the look of a creature that had just fed. Her anger cooled into something worse.

  Confusion.

  She reached out carefully, like she was approaching a wounded animal.

  Kate yanked Isaac’s arm back.

  Yu’s eyes widened.

  A pulse of heat rolled off her body.

  “You…” Yu growled, staring at Kate. “Let him go. He’s mine.”

  Kate sneered, hiding behind Isaac’s shoulder. “Filthy dragon. Get away from us.”

  Yu blinked. “What…?”

  Her rage surged.

  “I’ll kill you.”

  Kate flinched dramatically and pressed into Isaac’s back.

  “My love, please,” she whispered, shaking. “Protect me from that creature.”

  Yu’s gaze snapped to Isaac.

  “My love?” she repeated, voice cracking with disbelief. “You—” Her hands clenched. “How dare you—”

  Isaac moved.

  Both of them went silent.

  His face was blank. Focused. Cold.

  He reached behind him and lifted Vilgas’s spear.

  Yu’s breath caught.

  “Isaac…” Yu whispered, suddenly afraid. “What are you doing?”

  Isaac didn’t look at her.

  “Stand back.” he said.

  Yu’s eyes filled fast. “No… Isaac, please. It’s me. Yu. Please—”

  Kate smiled.

  Just a little.

  A smile meant only for Yu.

  Isaac turned the spear —

  And drove it into Kate’s stomach.

  Kate screamed.

  Yu froze, shocked, mind refusing to process it.

  Kate’s hands flew to the spear. Blood poured from her mouth.

  She stared up at Isaac, tears forming like she was truly hurt. “My love… why…?”

  Isaac leaned in, eyes cold.

  “Because you’re not her.”

  Kate’s eyes flickered — so fast most people would miss it.

  Isaac didn’t.

  He twisted the spear.

  Kate choked, shaking, gripping the shaft with both hands. “How…?” she rasped.

  Isaac’s voice dropped. “Your eyes.”

  Kate stared at him, terrified now.

  “I was watching,” Isaac said. “You copy memories.” His jaw tightened. “But you don’t copy perfectly.”

  Kate’s pupils pulsed.

  Isaac exhaled once, steadying himself.

  “The real Kate had blue eyes,” he said quietly. “So if I decide yours are green…”

  He stared straight into her face.

  Kate’s eyes shifted.

  Blue… to green.

  And the world snapped.

  Her skin rippled like water. The white dress warped, collapsing into something ugly — collar marks, deep carved symbols, a body too lean, too blank. The “Kate” smile died, replaced by that empty expression from the cage.

  The creature gagged and sagged against the spear, choking on its own blood.

  Yu’s mouth fell open.

  “Isaac…” she breathed.

  Isaac ripped the spear free.

  The creature dropped to its knees, swaying, trying to breathe through pain.

  Isaac stepped forward and drove the spear down into its skull.

  One clean finish.

  The body collapsed.

  Silence.

  Dust drifted through broken light.

  Isaac stood over the corpse, breathing hard, eyes still glowing faintly.

  Then he looked up.

  Yu was crying — quietly now, relief mixing with shame and anger, all of it tangled.

  She walked toward him.

  Isaac didn’t flinch.

  Yu wrapped her arms around him and held him like she’d never let go again.

  Isaac’s knees gave out. He dropped to one knee in the rubble, forehead pressed against her stomach like he needed something real to keep him standing.

  Yu stroked his hair.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I left you alone.” Her voice cracked. “I won’t do it again. I swear.”

  Isaac didn’t answer right away.

  He just breathed.

  Yu kissed his forehead, gentle and protective.

  Then she pulled back just enough to look into his eyes.

  “Let’s finish what we started,” she said softly. “My love.”

  And Isaac finally nodded.