A few minutes had passed after Zevaron told all the events to Lylia, now they tried to learn the things inside the scroll but they could not understand anything because there were only irregular scribbles inside it.
"This scroll, cannot be studied but it is impossible for this to be a useless item because the sensation earlier was very real." said Zevaron while lying on the ground.
A few moments later from the west direction of Zevaron's house a wave of water dozens of meters high could be seen.
Lylia who was studying the contents inside the scroll seriously suddenly her goosebumps stood up. She stood up and stared toward the west because she felt something.
"What is it, older sister?" asked Zevaron curiously.
Lylia's eyes narrowed, "Something is wrong in the west direction but I don't know what is wrong." answered Lylia.
"Maybe it's just older sister's feeling." said Zevaron while playing with the grass around him.
Lylia suddenly activated protective magic "
Zevaron startled because of the sudden movement of large magic energy around him, "What is it?" he asked while looking around.
"There is a tsunami from the west direction." answered Lylia briefly.
Zevaron's forehead furrowed, he immediately stood up then looked toward the west.
The tsunami which originally only had a height of a few meters, suddenly grew unnaturally up to 102 meters high.
The seawater was lifted high, spun, then split open. From the center of that vortex, a giant dragon head appeared—its scales glinted like water crystals, its eyes glowing cold blue. Its roar shook the air, making the ground vibrate and the wind pressure hit their settlement.
"What creature is that?" Lylia went silent in the middle of her sentence, her face pale. Her instinct screamed danger.
Without wasting time, she immediately threw the scroll toward Zevaron then turned around and dashed with full speed toward Serina's room.
The door opened hard.
"Rina, wake up! NOW!"
There a girl with turquoise blue hair and dark blue eyes was lying on the bed—she was Serina. The exhausted Serina only had time to groan softly before Lylia pulled her. However after they came out of the house suddenly an extraordinary air pressure pressed the three of them, making breathing feel heavy. Zevaron reflexively dug both of his hands into the ground.
The water dragon was now right in front of the transparent shield protecting their house. Its giant body circled that area like a living storm.
It roared loudly.
"
Lylia nimbly formed layered transparent shields around them.
With one swipe of its tail, the transparent shield shattered, energy shards flew like glass.
The water dragon then stared at Serina. Before anyone had time to react, the body of the water dragon turned into a stream of pure water and merged directly into Serina's body.
"AAAAA—!"
Serina screamed in pain. Her body floated slightly from the ground, veins of blue light spread across her skin. The energy that entered was too big, too wild.
Suddenly, the scroll in Zevaron's hand floated, the ancient seals on its surface opened one by one, then a blinding light radiated directly toward Serina.
The light forced the water dragon's energy that had merged to come back out. The figure of the dragon appeared in a half-liquid, half-physical form.
The water dragon stared toward the scroll then the water dragon roared full of anger, that roar was so loud it could be deafening.
From the scroll, light chains with ancient scripts came out and wrapped around the body of the water dragon, binding it by force.
The dragon struggled, but it was in vain.
With one strong pull, the scroll sealed 90% of the body and power of the water dragon while the remaining 10% entered into Serina's realm of consciousness.
Golden runes formed a prison that caged the water dragon inside.
The light slowly faded.
Serina fell into Lylia's embrace, her breath still ragged, but her scream stopped.
Lylia carried Serina into the house then brought Serina to the bedroom, her steps were rushed yet full of caution. Serina's body was laid down slowly on the bed, her chest went up and down with breath that was still not fully stable.
Zevaron stood not far from there. Both of his hands clenched, his fingernails pressed into his palms as if holding back something churning inside his chest. Since the incident earlier, his vision did not leave his older sister's face.
The silence felt heavy.
Lylia let out a long sigh, "If it wasn't for that scroll..." she stopped her words for a moment, there was sadness that crossed her eyes when looking at Serina's face, "...we might have lost Serina." Her tone of voice trembled a little at the end of the sentence.
"If you didn't find it..." she said softly, that sentence hung in the air.
Her gaze shifted to Serina. There was a clear shadow of fear reflected—fear of the bad possibility that almost became reality—mixed with gratitude because now Serina was still lying there and still alive.
Zevaron looked down, there was the same shadow of fear in his mind.
The next day, Serina woke up with a softly gasped breath. Her vision swept the bedroom ceiling that felt unfamiliar, as if there was a part of her left far behind in the night before.
She furrowed her forehead, trying to remember.
However what appeared was only emptiness.
There were no shadows, no sounds, only a heavy feeling in the chest—like a forgotten nightmare upon waking up.
Serina turned to the side.
There, Zevaron was sleeping on the side of her bed. His face looked tired, the tense lines that were usually hidden were now clearly visible. One of his hands was still holding the edge of the blanket, as if afraid to let go.
Serina stared at him for a long time.
Slowly, she raised her hand and stroked Zevaron's hair gently, a movement full of habit and warmth.
That touch made Zevaron's eyes open.
It took one second for him to truly become conscious—however as soon as his eyes met Serina's open and clear eyes, his body immediately reacted faster than his mind. He got up and hugged Serina tightly, as if afraid if he let go then all of this was just an illusion.
"Sister Rina..." his voice sounded trembling, no longer trying to hide it, "I'm happy... because you are okay."
Serina was surprised for a moment, then returned that hug hesitantly.
"Zevaron" she said gently. "Actually... what happened to me?"
Zevaron released his hug slowly, staring at his older sister's face seriously.
"Last night," he said softly, "there was an unknown creature that attacked."
"That creature merged directly into your body. We didn't have time to stop it."
Serina went silent.
"Then," Zevaron continued, "the scroll I found reacted. That scroll sealed 90% of that unknown creature and the remaining 10% was sealed into your subconscious realm."
The room went silent again.
Serina looked down, staring at her own two hands.
"So... an unknown creature is now inside me?" she asked softly, without panic—only a quiet confusion.
Zevaron nodded slowly.
"But someday its seal will definitely come off because no matter what this is an artifact that exists from an unknown era, so its power will definitely decrease. I will find a way so you are safe. Whatever the risk" His tone of voice was not loud, but full of determination.
Serina stared at Zevaron for a long time, as if wanting to make sure her younger brother truly heard every word she was about to say.
"Don't take risks just for me," she said gently. "Remember... your future is still long."
Zevaron shook his head slowly.
"A long future, if without family, will only make me lonely."
Serina went silent. Her hand clenched on the blanket, then slowly loosened.
The bedroom door opened.
Lylia came in without much sound. Her shoulders dropped, her breath was heavy—clearly she was exhausted. However her eyes remained sharp, as usual.
She walked closer and held out a pendant with an unusual shape. Its surface was simple, almost without decoration, but there were fine carvings that felt... firm.
"Wear this," said Lylia briefly. "This can strengthen the seal of that unknown creature."
Serina received it carefully. "Where did older sister get it?" she asked, curious.
"I made it," Lylia answered flatly.
She then raised a worn book. Its cover was dull, its corners were torn, but its pages were maintained neatly, "In this book the way is written."
Serina then wore that pendant on her neck.
Serina looked down to stare at the pendant made by her older sister.
A few moments later she raised her head slowly.
That was when that change happened, her eye pupils that were originally round slowly narrowed... lengthened like a sharp slit belonging to an ancient creature. In a split second, her irises turned into a deep sea blue, sparkling like the ocean surface under the moonlight.
Zevaron's and Lylia's eye pupils widened at the same time. Zevaron who wanted to jump backward to keep distance also couldn't because there was an invisible pressure that made him unable to move.
Lylia who tried to pull Zevaron away also couldn't do anything because she also couldn't move because of the invisible pressure.
The air around Serina suddenly became cold and damp. Thin water droplets formed in the air, spinning slowly around her body as if dancing following an invisible will. Her hair fluttered softly even though there was no wind.
The pendant on Serina's chest shone with a white light, that light slowly changed her eye pupils and irises back to how they were originally.
That invisible pressure also slowly disappeared.
Fine cracks appeared on that pendant, those cracks spread quickly until in the end that pendant shattered.
"Luckily sister Rina had time to wear that pendant," said Zevaron with relief but at the same time his worry also grew stronger—worry about Serina's condition.