Chapter Text
Warmth — not heat. It’s gentler, like sunlight remembered on skin, or the hush of a lullaby pulsing through her bones.
“Enjoy your journey,” a comforting feminine voice whispers.
Her eyes open.
The ceiling above is ancient and gold-lit, carved with symbols she doesn’t recognize. Dust dances in the air, caught in shafts of light pouring through cracks in the stone. It smells of damp rock and moss. She’s lying in the center of a circle, surrounded by glowing runes.
“OH. MY. DRAGON!” another voice exclaims. It’s not the same as before — this one didn't cause that soothing prickle that had brushed her skin when the first woman spoke.
Whoever that was, she sounded majestic.
Two figures appear overhead — well, one is a person, maybe, and the other… a robot?
“She's alive, Hekla!” the young woman cries, relief etched into her shrill voice.
“It would appear so, my Jina,” the machine replies, monotone and precise.
She sits up slowly, bracing herself on the cool stone. Her voice is hoarse. “Where… am I?”
Jina kneels beside her, eyes wide with curiosity, unsure if she’s a miracle or a threat. “You’re in the Phoenix Temple,” she says gently. “Did… you just materialize from nowhere?”
“I… guess?”
Jina taps her chin, thoughtful. “You probably have no clue where you came from, or how you got here, correct?”
She shakes her head solemnly. Only one of those statements is true — but they don’t need to know that. Not yet.
Or ever.
Hekla stands with its long arms folded over its round body. It beeps twice before stating, matter-of-factly, “My Jina, this human is rather peculiar.”
Her ears flick.
Jina leans closer, squinting her warm brown eyes. Her gaze drifts from ears to hair, eyes to lips. Then her eyes widen.
“You’re right, Hekla. While she appears to be human… she isn’t like the others.”
“Others?”
Her question hangs in the air, soft but heavy. Her gaze drifts to the runes encircling her, their glow fading like embers. She brushes a strand of silver hair behind her ear, fingers trembling slightly.
“Yep, you're not the first human I've seen,” Jina says at last, voice low and measured. “Er… well, you are a human, no?”
She nods slowly, as if weighing truth against instinct.
Hekla tilts its head. “Her vitals are stable. No signs of trauma. However, her biometrics do not match any known Palians.”
Jina stands, brushing dust from her knees. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here. The temple’s not exactly cozy.”
She hesitates, then rises. Her loafers echo against the stone floor, each step measured. She doesn’t stumble.
Outside, the light is softer — filtered through trees and mist. The air smells of wildflowers and distant hearth smoke. It’s nothing like Tracen Academy. No cheering crowds. No race tracks.
Just quiet.
"My dragon, I forgot to ask. Do you remember your name?" Jina asks.
She pauses at the threshold, looking back at the runes.
Legacy doesn’t follow you here, she thinks. You have to grow it from scratch.
"Mejiro McQueen."
Then she steps into the valley.