The damp air inside the dungeon rift smelled heavily of moss, ozone, and wet limestone. High above, the crystalline ceiling of the cavern glowed with a faint, pulsing blue hue, casting jagged shadows across the subterranean forest path.
Filmos sat on a smooth, moss-covered boulder, carefully polishing the glowing hilt of his shortsword with a clean cloth.
A few paces away, the SSS-Rank Light Dragon rested quietly. Though still relatively small, its sharp white scales caught the ambient mana of the rift, shimmering like fresh snow under moonlight. Its pale, solid sky-blue eyes flickered with a quiet, terrifying intelligence.
Trillo leaned against a thick, ancient tree trunk, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as his eyes darted between Filmos and the radiant dragon.
"I still can’t get over it," Trillo muttered softly, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet cavern. He reached down to pet the A-Rank beast resting at his feet, though his attention remained entirely fixated on Filmos. "A thousand credits. You paid a single thousand credits for an SSS-Rank Light Dragon. That’s... that’s practically stealing."
Filmos stopped polishing his blade and looked down at the creature beside him. He reached out, gently running a finger along the dragon’s warm, light-emitting scales.
"I know," Filmos said quietly, a faint smile touching his lips before fading into a serious expression. "I keep expecting to wake up, honestly. Or something that would take this back from me."
"It’s no dream," Trillo said, shaking his head as he pushed himself off the tree trunk. He walked over and sat down on a smaller rock opposite Filmos. "That’s what’s bothering me. Terrence isn’t stupid. He’s not some naive merchant who doesn’t know the value of what he’s holding. That beast right there could buy an entire district in Nara City."
Filmos fell silent for a moment, listening to the distant hum of the rift’s mana currents.
"Why do you think he did it, Trillo?" Filmos asked softly, looking his partner in the eye. "Why give us that kind of power? He barely knows us. All he knows is that we bought from his shop before and that we were watching him."
Trillo scratched his chin, his brows furrowing as he recalled the overwhelming, suffocating aura Terrence had displayed in the Generation Zero layer.
"At first, I thought it was a test," Trillo admitted, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I thought he was evaluating us, seeing if we had the guts to carry his beasts without folding under pressure. But after watching him talk to Deputy Commander Nair... I think it’s something else."
"Like what?"
"Trust," Trillo said simply. "Or maybe... a quiet kind of investment."
Filmos raised an eyebrow. "Investment?"
"Think about it," Trillo explained, gesturing with his hand. "The Anti-Nustra Legion is hunting anyone who holds Terrence’s beasts. The city administration tried to steal his shop. The entire regional balance is rotting from the inside because everyone wants to hoard his power for themselves. Terrence doesn’t care about politics or titles, but he isn’t blind either."
"He said he didn’t want the Anti-Nustra getting their hands on them," Filmos added, recalling Terrence’s exact words in the shop.
"Exactly," Trillo nodded firmly. "He didn’t give that dragon to a corrupt noble or a military general who would lock it in an underground vault or use it to play political games. He gave it to you. Someone who actually needed the strength to survive. Someone who lost everything to the legion."
Filmos looked down at his hands, his knuckles tightening slightly as the memory of his missing parents flashed through his mind.
"He gave us a choice," Filmos whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "He could have just ignored us. He could have left Suran City and let the Anti-Nustra crush everyone who ever bought from his shop. But instead, he armed us."
"He didn’t just arm us, Filmos," Trillo said, a light, rare grin breaking through his usual anxious demeanor. "He basically told us to stand our ground. He gave us the strength to fight back so we don’t have to run anymore."
The Light Dragon let out a low, musical rumble that vibrated pleasantly through the damp air, nudging its snout against Filmos’s knee.
Filmos let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding since they first stepped into Terrence’s office. The heavy weight in his chest, the fear of being hunted, the helplessness of being framed, seemed to lighten just a bit.
"I won’t let him down," Filmos said, his gaze hardening with a newfound, unshakable resolve. "If the Anti-Nustra comes for this dragon, they’ll have to tear through both of us first."
Trillo stood up, dusting off his pants and patting his own beast on the head.
"Good," Trillo said, adjusting his gear strap. "Because if you die, I’m pretty sure Terrence will hunt me down next for letting his favorite customer get taken out."
Filmos laughed—a genuine, clear sound that echoed through the quiet rift—and stood up beside his friend, ready to face whatever lay deeper in the dungeon.
Three days later, news broke out across the entire district that Terrence’s shop had suddenly closed its doors. The heavy steel shutters were brought down, and the glowing sign that had drawn hundreds of eager tamers was dark and lifeless. No one knew why or how it happened so abruptly, but rumors spread like wildfire that a major political shift had occurred behind closed doors.
Standing among the murmuring crowds on the busy citadel street, Trillo looked at Filmos with deep worry written across his face.
"How will we find Terrence? The shop is closed," Filmos muttered, staring blankly at the vacant storefront.
"So... I guess there’s something we have to do now. Our mission here is done. I just received a notification from the Deputy Commander," Trillo said, holding up his glowing wrist communicator.
Filmos nodded slowly, then looked around at the bustling square. Dozens of tamers and local merchants were gathered near the entrance, whispering in confusion, visibly curious and anxious about the sudden disappearance of Terrence’s shop.
"Let’s enter another dungeon, shall we?" Trillo asked, turning toward the rift portal stationed on the edge of the city plaza. "We have to train our beasts more before returning to base."
Filmos adjusted his grip on his weapon, feeling the warm, steady pulse of the Light Dragon resting in his contract space.
"Yeah," Filmos agreed, stepping forward alongside Trillo. "Let’s get stronger."