ERA OF DESTINY-Chapter 155: UNDER THE SHELTER OF HER WINGS

The dandelions continued circling, forming a slow, luminous current around them. Beyond the rotating veil of petals, the black fog pressed and twisted, but none of it crossed the boundary. The howls that had torn through their souls moments ago were now distant – muted, as though the world itself had drawn a curtain over them.

Inside the barrier, the soil became visible.

Bones lay scattered like forgotten relics of another age. Beast cores glimmered faintly beneath thin layers of dust.

Azriel slowly lowered his hands from Aizrel’s ears.

His fingers trembled.

He leaned forward at once, ignoring the blood that had dried along his jaw.

"Aizrel..." He cupped her cheeks carefully. "Daughter, can you hear me?"

She blinked, dazed but conscious. "Father... I’m fine."

He frowned slightly, studying her face closely.

Her breath caught.

He was looking at her lips – not her eyes.

Understanding dawned slowly.

"Father," she said again, forcing steadiness into her voice.

He tilted his head slightly.

"What happened to your voice?"

Her chest tightened. She reached up and touched the side of his face gently, then shook her head.

"Nothing. It’s nothing."

Only then did she notice the dark red stain trailing from beneath his ear.

"Father..." she whispered.

He saw the change in her expression and smiled faintly. Though he could not hear, he understood.

"As long as you’re standing, I’m fine."

He searched inside his ring and pulled out a vial of rejuvenation pills. His movements were slower than usual, but deliberate.

"Take one."

She obeyed. The pill dissolved in her mouth, warmth spreading gradually through her veins.

She picked up another and raised it toward him. He hesitated for a brief second before leaning forward and accepting it directly from her palm.

Neither spoke after that.

They no longer needed to.

–

Mu Long lowered himself onto a pile of clustered bones without looking at what they once belonged to. His axe rested across his lap, its Yin–Yang engraving faint under the dandelion light.

He rubbed his thumb across the marking slowly.

"Oldie... Mu Li..."

His voice was low, almost amused.

"You would’ve loved this place."

He let out a dry breath.

"All bones. All beasts stronger than us."

His gaze drifted toward the darkness beyond the barrier.

"Good thing you didn’t follow me here."

His fingers tightened slightly on the axe.

"You would’ve died before you could brag your stubborn philosophies..."

The faint humor in his tone didn’t reach his eyes.

He fell silent after that.

–

Ru and Yi had collapsed back-to-back, too exhausted to speak. Their breaths were shallow but steady now. The rejuvenation pill had stabilized them, but sleep came faster than pride could resist.

Princess Lainsa sat upright, though her chrysanthemum armor had dimmed. She watched the rotating dandelions above with quiet intensity, as if trying to understand the mercy being granted.

In the center of the barrier, Kiaria remained seated.

Diala’s head rested gently on his lap.

His hand moved slowly through her hair – not in urgency, not in fear. Just rhythm.

Steady.

The turbulence within his meridians had not settled. Beneath his calm breathing, unstable bloodlines pressed against one another, suppressed but not reconciled.

"Grandfathers," he spoke inwardly, "may I return to Patron form briefly?"

"You may," the Golden Dragon Emperor answered. "But carefully."

"Do not flood the land," Azure Dragon added. "The mist draws attention."

Kiaria nodded faintly.

He shifted.

The monochrome crown reappeared above him, dimmer than before. A thin veil of milky-white mist spread outward – not forceful, not radiant – just enough to soothe.

The mist brushed over Diala first before settling across the ground.

It reached Azriel, easing the shock within his ears. It passed over Mu Long’s trembling muscles. It touched Princess Lainsa, stabilizing the fading glow of her armor.

Diala stirred faintly and opened her eyes.

The mist did not extend beyond the bones beneath them.

It did not challenge the ruins.

It simply existed.

"Enough," Azure Dragon said sharply. "Withdraw immediately."

Kiaria obeyed at once.

The mist receded back into him, leaving only the circling dandelions above as their shield.

Diala studied Kiaria’s face carefully.

The monochrome crown had healed much of the visible damage. The blood had dried. His breathing had steadied. But she knew him too well.

There was a faint dullness in his complexion.

A tightness around his eyes.

"You overdid it again," she said quietly.

It was not accusation.

It was fact.

Kiaria did not answer.

He did not defend himself.

That silence was answer enough.

Diala slowly pushed herself upright. The snowflake left within her by Goddess Leyna pulsed gently inside her meridians, restoring her spiritual energy far quicker than the others. Strength had already returned to her limbs.

She turned toward him and tapped her knee lightly.

"Patron," she said, neither soft nor stern. "Lie down."

He hesitated for a breath.

His gaze shifted briefly toward Princess Lainsa. The Princess remained seated, eyes closed, still immersed in recovery. The dandelion light flickered across her dim armor.

She did not seem to be listening.

A faint exhale left Kiaria’s chest.

He lowered himself without further argument and rested his head on Diala’s lap.

After entering this land, something inside him loosened first time by her presence.

The tension in his meridians eased slightly.

The crown’s healing became steadier, more effective – not because of increased power, but because his mind finally allowed it.

Diala reached down and gently pinched his ear.

"Don’t ever overdo it like that again."

Her fingers lingered against the slight redness there.

He remained silent and transferring spiritual energy to her.

She felt it.

Her brows tightened.

"Are you not listening?" she muttered.

She pinched his ear again, a little firmer this time.

"Heal yourself first. Look at you. You’re still pale."

Her voice rose slightly without her intending to.

Princess Lainsa’s lashes fluttered faintly at the sound, but she did not open her eyes.

Above them, the dandelions continued circling.

Beyond the luminous perimeter, something shifted.

One pair of red eyes became two.

Then five.

Then dozens.

They glowed through the thick black fog like embers scattered across a dying battlefield.

Low growls rumbled in the distance, circling.

Watching.

The barrier did not waver.

A sudden force descended from above – unseen through the dense fog.

A massive stone axe cleaved downward from the darkness, striking directly against the rotating dandelion shield.

The impact did not echo.

It did not shatter petals.

Instead, the moment the axe touched the luminous current, the stone began to erode.

Cracks appeared across its surface.

Within a breath, the weapon disintegrated into fine black dust and vanished into the night.

The red eyes didn’t withdraw.

The growls deepened. More impacts followed.

Inside the barrier, no one reacted.

They had not sensed it.

The dandelions did not allow disturbance to pass inward.

Ru and Yi remained asleep, leaning against one another.

Mu Long’s breathing had deepened into steady rhythm.

Azriel sat with Aizrel resting against his shoulder, his expression calm despite the silence he now lived within.

Princess continued recuperating.

Kiaria remained with his head on Diala’s lap, eyes closed.

Only Diala remained fully awake.

Her fingers moved gently through his hair, but her gaze was not soft.

She watched the circling petals carefully and noticed shift of clustering of petals non-rhythmic at random locations.

She felt it.

The pressure outside.

The hunger.

For this night, the Motherland held them beneath her wings.

But Diala understood something clearly.

When dawn arrives, these dandelions will no longer be able to protect us and this land would not show mercy twice.

–

An hour passed.

The dandelions continued circling without pause.

Beyond the barrier, the red eyes remained. The fog thickened and thinned in restless tides. Growls rose and faded like distant thunder, testing but never crossing.

Inside, stillness endured.

Kiaria’s breathing gradually evened out. The turbulence in his meridians finally settled. The suppressed bloodlines ceased their internal clash, retreating into quiet coexistence.

He opened his eyes.

He did not move immediately.

From where his head rested, he watched Diala.

She had not relaxed for a single moment.

Her gaze followed every irregular shift in the clustering petals. Every slight tremor in the luminous current did not escape her notice. Though her fingers continued moving gently through his hair, her posture remained alert – ready.

Kiaria lifted his hand slowly and cupped her cheek.

"Dia," he whispered, his voice low enough that only she could hear. "I am healed."

She looked down at him.

Not Shade.

Dia.

He had not called her that name openly since treasure hunt began.

Her eyes softened – just slightly.

"Now you should rest," he added quietly.

She did not pull his hand away.

Not because she was tired.

But because he had chosen to speak to her – not command her.

Kiaria rose carefully, easing himself from her lap. The moment he stood, the air around him steadied further. His presence regained its quiet authority.

He walked toward Princess Lainsa first.

Without speaking, he raised two fingers and touched her forehead. A narrow stream of milky-white mist flowed from his fingertips – thin, precise, controlled. It enveloped her alone, restoring what fatigue still lingered without spreading beyond her form.

Princess opened her eyes slowly.

Her gaze met his.

He gave a small nod.

No words were exchanged.

He moved next to Azriel.

A brief touch at the side of the man’s head – not to return what was lost, but to stabilize the damage and prevent further decay. Azriel inhaled sharply as warmth spread through him.

Aizrel straightened beside him.

Mu Long received the same quiet treatment, the stiffness in his muscles easing fully. Ru and Yi stirred as the final remnants of exhaustion dissolved from their limbs.

One by one, they rose to their feet.

No one asked how much it had cost him.

No one mentioned the blood from earlier.

They understood without speaking.

Kiaria stepped back afterward – deliberately positioning himself a few paces away from Diala and Princess.

Distance.

A small, cautious one.

As if preventing something.

"Rest," he said calmly. "There is nothing to fear for this night."

His voice carried steady assurance.

"You know beasts, evil. None can cross the dandelions."

The reminder was not arrogance. But their memory and that brought back the fortress.

The safe land.

The protection of Motherland.

The fear in their chests loosened slightly.

Kiaria turned away.

As Kiaria suggested, his companions gradually settled into rest once more. Their bodies were still exhausted, but his calm assurance steadied their minds enough to sit upright and conserve strength.

Princess Lainsa and Diala, however, did not lie down. They remained seated across from one another, exchanging quiet glances of wordless communication.

–

Within his Sea of Consciousness, Kiaria broke the silence. "Grandfathers, who were they?" he asked calmly.

The spiritual sea stirred, and Azure Dragon Emperor rose from its depths, ancient eyes reflecting measured gravity.

"Even if we tell you," Azure Dragon said, his tone steady, "you cannot oppose them in your current state."

Kiaria did not argue. "I am not asking to oppose them. I want to understand them. Their howls nearly forced my Blood Moon Wolf bloodline out of control."

The sea rippled faintly before the ancient dragon replied, "They are Dread Wolf Fiends. And they fear only one thing..."

Kiaria’s gaze sharpened slightly.