CHAPTER 7: CHAPTER 7 - PERFECTION.

Kael bent his legs, crouching just a little, wings stretching out halfway, devouring light that fell on them.

He was ready to fly. One more motion and he’d have been in the air.

But then—

"Um—Kael? Just a moment... if you don’t mind."

His wings froze mid-stretch. His head turned, one brow arched at Lyra. "Yes?"

She stepped forward like she was approaching a sleeping bear, hands folded in front of her. Her voice stayed calm, even if her ears twitched. "I... I was thinking. Maybe flying into the city like this... might not be the best idea."

Kael just stared at her. "Why?"

"Well..." she breathed in. "You’re... large. Very noticeable. If you show up like this, people inside will panic."

"Because I am a dragon."

"Yes," she said softly. "But they don’t know you’re peaceful. They’ll think you’re attacking, and then... things will get messy."

Kael blinked, then shrugged. "I can kill them all. Saves me the trouble of finding food for a while."

Lyra’s face twitched. "I know. But... don’t you think that’s wrong?"

He frowned at her like she’d asked him why the sky was blue. Still, he understood what she was trying to say, so he asked, "Do you not eat?"

"I—I do," she said, ears flattening.

He turned fully now. "Did you ever think it was wrong?"

"...No," she admitted, looking down.

He didn’t need to add anything else. She already got it.

To him, humans weren’t good or bad. They were food. That was the whole picture.

The silence stretched.

Lyra fidgeted under his eyes. It was clear that she still wasn’t satisfied and wanted to say more, so Kael spoke again, his voice dropping lower and rougher. "Don’t you hate them?"

Her head snapped up. "W-What?"

"The humans," Kael leaned forward, eyes drilling into hers. "Don’t you hate them? You said they were evil."

Her hands clenched at her dress.

"I do," she said finally. But before he could answer, she pushed on, "But not all of them."

He frowned.

She tensed but didn’t back down. "Some aren’t evil. I don’t hate them."

His claw tapped the ground, steady. "Explain."

Lyra pulled in a breath. "Even in the city, there are people who just want to live, like me. If everyone was rotten, I wouldn’t have left my siblings there."

Kael studied her for a long moment. "You trust them."

"I don’t trust them all. But enough to know they don’t deserve to be wiped out."

That made him go quiet. He knew he’d been looking at things flat, one-sided. Whatever he saw, he called truth. But part of him wanted more than that. Wanted to understand.

His wings shifted with the breeze, but he slowly lowered them.

"So," he said finally, settling down, tail coiling, "you want me to hide what I am?"

His eyes sharpened on her.

Lyra panicked, waving her hands. "No! No, that’s not what I meant!" She shook her head hard. "Something else."

He tilted his head.

"You... speak like a man," she said. "You think. You understand. You’re strong. So you could... change. Into a human form."

His face was blank and thoughtful, causing Lyra to falter. "Wait... you can’t...?"

She remembered the mana bombs crumpling like paper in his grip. He had to be stronger than most things she’d ever heard of. At least A-rank. Maybe S. And S-rank beasts, everyone said, could take human form.

’Maybe he’s just... a strong A-rank dragon—’

Her thought broke when he blinked. "...I’ve never tried."

"Oh." She exhaled in relief. He’d said before he couldn’t remember his past. Made sense.

"You’ve never needed to," she said gently, smiling a little. "But if you try now, it would help."

Kael tilted his head back, staring at the sky. Then he nodded. "Very well."

He walked into the clearing. The ground seemed to dim under him, the air thicker, charged.

Magic gathered, heavy, ancient, like it wanted to burst free.

His body shimmered. Scales dissolved. Wings folded inward, shadows spiraled tight around him.

And then—

He was standing there.

Human.

The dark peeled away, leaving skin smooth, flawless, like it had never been cut or scarred.

Tall. Strong. His hair black and messy, falling around his shoulders. His eyes still gold, still slitted, sharp and bright.

And he was completely naked.

Lyra’s brain stalled.

Her eyes dropped to look at the huge things between his legs without permission, then shot back up. Heat slammed into her cheeks. Her ears twitched like mad as she spun toward the trees. "Ah... um... this is..."

Kael, meanwhile, studied himself like he was testing a weapon. He flexed his fingers, rolled his shoulders. "This form feels... inconvenient."

Lyra risked a glance. "I—Inconvenient?"

"My reach is less. My strikes lack weight." He stepped forward, testing balance. "But my reflexes are sharper. My center more contained. It has uses."

"O-Oh..." Lyra mumbled, fiddling with her dress. "That’s... good."

Kael looked at her. "You avoid my eyes."

"I-I’m not!" She squeaked. "Well, maybe a little." She twisted her fingers. "It’s just—you’re not wearing clothes. And, um, people usually... wear them. Humans. Beastkin too. It’s expected."

"Expected. Why?"

Her throat went dry. "Because if you go into a city naked, people will stare. Or scream. Or worse." She blushed deeper. "Some women might... jump you. Guards might arrest you."

"I see," Kael said like she’d just explained a hunting trick. He nodded. "Inefficient."

"Y-Yes. Very."

"But I don’t have clothes."

Her eyes betrayed her again, flicking down before she could stop them.

She squeaked, voice climbing too high. "T-That’s fine! I mean, no, it’s not fine! I just mean—it’s fine because we’re in a forest and no one else saw! Otherwise, it’d be bad! Not that it’s good—oh stars, I mean—!"

Kael narrowed his eyes. "You said it was good."

Her jaw dropped. "What?"

"You said it was good I don’t have clothes."

"I didn’t mean it like that!" She flailed her arms. "I meant it’s good no one saw! Not that it’s good that you’re naked!"

Kael raised a brow. "Then what should I do?"

"C-Can’t you conjure them?" she blurted. "Magic! Just—poof! Something simple!"

He touched his chin. "Conjure..."

’Can I?’ he thought.

[Yes, you can.]

His instincts answered him instantly, and his lips curled. "I can."

His shadow rippled, sliding up his body like liquid ink. It wrapped and wove until black fabric clung to him.

A long coat, trimmed with silver. Patterns pressed into the cloth, like scales. Gloves. High collar. Pants fitted perfectly.

He looked less like a man than a dark monarch.

Lyra’s mouth fell open.

"Is this fine?" He asked, turning slightly.

Her lips parted. Closed. Opened again. "...I think I just made things worse," she whispered.

"Worse?"

"N-No! Not for me—I mean, yes! But not bad! I mean—ugh!" She grabbed her ears. "How are you real?!"

Kael smirked. "You said I needed clothes."

"Yes, but not like... that!" She blurted. "Now you’ll get even more attention!"

"So this is also bad."

"...Let’s just say you’ve become a different kind of dangerous," she muttered.

Kael said nothing, but the amusement in his eyes said enough.

He hadn’t even left the forest yet. And already, the world was more interesting than he’d thought.

’What other surprises are waiting for me?’ he wondered, looking toward the city.