Even though only their lips and tongues were entwined, her whole body felt like a precious candy being savored. As the magic began to transfer, the kiss grew increasingly intense. The more ragged Naskan’s breathing became, the harder it was for Chrys to breathe.

She placed her hands on his shoulders.

“…Ung.”

When her small fists crumpled his clothes in her grasp, Naskan ceased his licking inside her mouth. The rough breath between their faces felt inexplicably sweet.

“Chrys, is it too much? If it’s too much, tell me.”

He spoke at a distance where only their lips touched. Coming to her senses, she realized she was clinging to his neck with both arms.

“No… It’s not too much.”

With that, Naskan closed his eyes and moved in again. This time, he gripped her nape and drew her in for another kiss.

As he pulled her closer by the waist, their bodies pressed tighter together.

The magic eased the nausea in her stomach, and the sensation of their kiss was incredibly pleasing. His body, now grown big and strong, felt dizzying to be so close to touch like this.

The kiss continued until the sky darkened, and the wind turned cool. When the magic that Naskan slowly transferred became tenfold of what she usually handled, her dizziness was replaced by a new wave of vertigo.

“Haa… Ung…”

As Chrys became intoxicated with the swirling magic, she suddenly found herself lifted. Barely regaining her senses, she realized that she was sitting on Naskan’s thighs.

“Dawn, why are we like this… Ugh.”

She intended to complain about the embarrassing position but felt mild dizziness due to the sudden increase in magic. Had Naskan not held her waist, she might have fallen backward.

“Ung. Chrys.”

As he whispered in her ear, his low voice and warm breath tickled her eardrum.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll let you down.”

“Ah, no… Let’s continue like this.”

Even though the position felt too close, it was most suitable for what they were about to do.

“Chrys, think of the magic I’ve transferred as a veil over your eyes and try to move it.”

Naskan whispered with his forehead against hers.

“Ung… Done.”

“Imagine creating an additional eyelid with magic. Now close your eyes.”

“Ung.”

“Close them again.”

“Ung…?”

“Keep your eyes closed, and then close this magic eyelid.”

“Ah… Ung…”

His explanation made it easy to visualize. Following Naskan’s instructions, even the faintest light felt completely blocked above her eyelids. Without Naskan’s embrace, this state would have felt like falling into pitch darkness, frightening her.

Unsure of what to do next, she remained still with her eyes tightly shut, but then he kissed her again.

Startled, Chrys lightly pushed against his chest with her hands. Naskan immediately withdrew his lips.

“Um. Wait…”

“Ung.”

His mouth moved from her lips to her cheek and lingered there. She wondered if they really needed to be this close, but since it wasn’t bothering her, she let it be.

Although it was just his arms around her, Naskan seemed to be trembling slightly. His breathing was rougher than before. Chrys was about to tell him it was okay to let go if he was struggling, but she kept quiet instead.

It was because her vision started to change.

Amidst the darkness, as if dawn light was flickering, the pitch blackness began to recede. She could see even with her eyes closed.

The first thing she saw was a tree, which then expanded into a forest.

‘A forest?’

Chrys found herself running through a dense forest. She ran for a long time, pushing through wild, untamed trees and bushes. Occasionally, she looked back in panic but found no one behind her. Only the path she had made through the forest remained.

It was strange to have different visuals than sensations.

Her feet would have been bloody from running on rough terrain, and her arms would have scratched up from pushing through sharp leaves. She should have been in pain and exhausted.

But in reality, she was comfortably held in Naskan’s arms, feeling his warm breath and soft lips on her cheek.

Despite numerous injuries visible on her arms and legs, she felt no pain. Held by Naskan, she felt good and comfortable, even as she traversed the rough forest path. The discrepancy between what she saw and felt made it hard to concentrate.

“Naskan, I’m really seeing something.”

“What are you seeing?”

“A forest, but there’s no sound. The sensations are strange, too.”

“That’s good. Less emotional confusion that way.”

Naskan nodded, his lips still against her cheek. This reaction seemed normal as well.

“I’ve been running for a long time.”

When she got tired, she would crawl into a hollow tree and curl up for a quick nap, hiding as if someone outside shouldn’t find her.

“I feel like someone’s chasing me.”

“Hmm. Who could be chasing you? A devilkin?”

“…Maybe?”

Those who had treated the Twilight Dragon like that were only the devilkin during the war. It was a plausible guess.

“Or maybe the Parent Tree or the Skylte Guards.”

However, the vision she was seeing couldn’t be the past. Perhaps this time, the ones chasing Chrys were fairies obeying the Parent Tree’s orders.

While she was puzzled, Naskan laughed unpleasantly.

“What am I doing? You’re being chased.”

“Wait…”

In the vision, it started to rain. Chrys, who had been crouched for a while, suddenly stood up in a fit. The hollow tree she had been hiding in began to crumble into dust due to delicate magic. It seemed she had finally been found.

Someone who had found her forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

“I’ve been caught.”

“By which bastard?”

In the vision, her view was blurry. She was crying. Despite her attempts to break free, it was futile. After a long struggle, Chrys lost her strength first.

It was natural after running for so long.

When she ceased to resist out of exhaustion, the person who had been chasing her picked her up. At that moment, she thought this sensation was real. The one who had pursued her held her as comfortably as Naskan did.

Despite having forcibly grabbed her, he wiped her tears away.

As her vision cleared, Chrys could finally see who had been chasing her, the one she had been desperately running from all night, not caring about the injuries on her body.

He had long, dark blue hair reaching his waist, and on his exposed forehead was the mark of the Lord, signifying supreme authority in the divine realm. And his eyes, fixed on her, were the distinctive golden hue of the dragon race.

It was Lord Naskan.

“Gasp!”

Chrys swayed so much that she would have fallen if Naskan hadn’t held her waist.

“Chrys, what’s wrong?”

The vision disappeared as quickly as a candle being snuffed out.

Instead of the cold demeanor of Lord Naskan she had just seen, the familiar, smiling face of the real Naskan was there to greet her. There had been no tangible touch or sound, yet it felt so vivid. Even after waking from the vision, her heart raced for a long time, and goosebumps covered her arms.

“…You, you were in it.”

“Me?”

Naskan looked confused for a moment but then seemed to understand, his expression brightening.

“Aahh, I finally reached you after defeating the devilkin?”

“It seemed like you were the one who caught me. Naskan.”

As soon as she finished speaking, his expression turned even more displeased than Chrys had been after experiencing the vision.

“…So, your guess might be right. That possibility doesn’t exist at all.”

‘Really? A time that will never happen?’

However, Chrys remembered the words of the Parent Tree because of Naskan’s mention of ‘possibility.’ What Dawn saw was one of thousands, millions of possibilities. The moment Dawn’s divine power intertwined, it became inevitable.

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