Grasping Len's hand, the girl stood with full resolve upon the very edge of the crumbling wall. The roar of the wind had intensified at this height; cold, sharp gusts were jostling their clothes, causing a strange rustling sound to echo through the silence of the night.
Both stood firm on the ledge of the collapsing building like ancient statues, from where the entire city below looked like a hazy shadow.
The girl slowly closed her eyes. In the next moment, a faint, melodic hum pierced the silence. From the old locket hanging around her neck, which bore the intricate etching of a powerful Dragon symbol, a sharp and translucent brilliance began to erupt.
That light emerged right from near her chest, where the symbol rested, and slowly began to envelop her entire body in a golden aura.
The diamond-like white light was so intense that the surrounding pitch-black darkness seemed to shrink back for a moment.
That magical light began to swirl rapidly around the girl like a protective shield.
Amidst that vortex of light, the girl's human silhouette gradually grew blurred. Her body began to dissolve into the radiance, and her presence started to contract. As the intense light dissipated with a sudden flash, the girl had vanished.
Within that same cold gust of wind, a tiny and exquisitely beautiful butterfly was now fluttering its wings.
It was not a giant creature, but as delicate and small as a normal butterfly, yet its beauty was anything but ordinary. Upon its fine wings were the same magical glint and traces of the dragon's brilliance.
That tiny life was now completely free at that perilous height, challenging the dense darkness of the night with its own radiance.
Amidst the gusts of wind, that tiny butterfly floated like a shimmering star. Len took a deep breath and moved toward the edge of the dilapidated wall.
That high, broken wall, which could have been a death trap for anyone else, was like a flat path for Len. He began to descend the rough surface with immense ease.
The sound of his boots went 'thud-thud' as they struck the rubble. He leaped from one wall to another with such agility and precision, as if there were invisible springs in his feet.
The tiny butterfly was not one to give up either. Fluttering her golden wings rapidly, she chased Len's shadow.
When Len's feet finally landed on the dusty surface of the ground, he came to a halt. He turned his neck and looked deeply at the magical butterfly hovering in the air. In the silence of the night, his voice was velvety yet clear.
"Lyana..." he said with a faint smile, "To be honest, I like you much more as a butterfly than as a human."
As soon as these words floated in the air, the fluttering of Lyana's wings suddenly intensified. She paused in mid-air for a moment, as if Len's words had touched a raw nerve.
In the next instant, she zipped past Len's face in a flash and began flying far ahead of him in annoyance. There was a strange irritation in the way she flew, as if she were expressing her anger without any words.
Seeing her move forward in such anger, a deep and genuine smile bloomed on Len's face. Putting his hands in his pockets, he began to follow that tiny light, which was glowing even more brightly in its fury.
Len increased his pace, his long strides now crushing the rubble on the ground more rapidly. He was trying to catch up with that tiny, furious light zig-zagging through the air.
"I was only joking," he called out from behind, his voice no longer carrying that earlier cold gravity. "There's no need to be this furious."
But the words had no effect on Lyana. The fluttering of her translucent, magical wings didn't slow down in the slightest. On the contrary, she began to slice through the air even faster, as if she wanted to move far beyond Len's reach.
In the silence of the night, her swift movements and the faint hum vibrating from her wings made it clear exactly how much Len's small remark had fueled her annoyance.
Len took a long, deep breath that dissolved into a faint mist in the cold night air. He quickened his pace, the sound of dry leaves and rubble crunching beneath his boots becoming even more rapid.
He was almost jogging behind that tiny flying light, trying to close the distance.
"Sorry!" Len raised his voice this time, letting it pierce through the whistle of the wind. "I was truly just joking. You... you look incredibly beautiful in every form."
The moment those words echoed through the air, the frantic fluttering of Lyana's wings ceased instantly.
The butterfly, which had been slicing through the air, began to descend slowly. Her golden wings were now still. In the next instant, that same diamond-like white light erupted again, and the tiny silhouette of the butterfly began to expand.
From amidst that vortex of light, Lyana's human form re-emerged. Her long hair fluttered in the breeze as she stood firmly on her feet upon the ground.
She came to a dead halt, her back toward Len, but her stillness made it clear that his words had hit their mark.
Len's steps came to a halt right behind Lyana. In the silence, only the sound of their breathing could be heard. Without saying a word, Len reached into the inner pocket of his royal tunic, a place where precious items or secret documents were usually kept.
His fingers searched within, and when they emerged, they held a small candy. He placed it effortlessly onto Lyana's palm.
Lyana let the wall of her annoyance soften slightly as she took the candy. They began walking together again, the sound of their footsteps creating a rhythm on the dusty path.
Lyana's fingers quickly peeled away the wrapper. As she popped it into her mouth, the sweetness began to melt away the bitterness of her mood.
"Len," she said, her voice turning velvety as she savored the flavor, "I truly like you."
Len shifted his gaze from the path toward her. A faint, mysterious smile drifted across his lips.
"I know," he replied calmly, but in the next moment, an unspoken burden seemed to pull at his voice, "But... I don't know anything about myself yet."