Chapter 1

-Long Sheng Jie, Realm of Dragons-

'But to them, we are creatures that only exist in fairy tales.'

She slashed her tail across the blue sky, shutting out the familiar whisper from distracting her mind.

Higher than the birds could be, encircled by complicated webs of fluffy clouds, here sat a majestic castle on a colossal, floating boulder. Baby plant elves chuckled as they flew above the tiny yellow filaments of magnolias along the verge. Teal seeds of irises glistered in a rhythmic flow, showing off their thousand years of rich nourishment. Into the tranquil ambiance, the silver ferns—Soulless Sonder—effused another puff of swirl from the tips of their fronds, steadily increasing the fine networks of divine air floating around.

This was where she lived. A place where she once thought everything was as ethereal as it seemed to be until she was exposed to the harsh truth.

She was just a whelp when she first learned about the existence of Ring of Mortality—a transcendent wheel enclosing an electrified azure energy ball, levitating above a luminous golden hemisphere. Her species feared the click of the metal bar centered at the core of the half-circle. They feared being summoned as the next dragon for the recurring mission.

The mission that took her childhood companion away in the last cycle.

With another strong thunderous scratch across the sky, the white dragon flamed fireballs at her knuckles and shot them toward the mystical blooms. One blazing smash after the other. More. She needed to let it out more. The pain for failing to protect her friend.

"Xue Er?"

Felynx's voice from an approaching cloud tumbled her down to the ground.

"Xue Er! You all right?" The wool under his feet dispersed. Shades of concern flashed across his face.

As she retracted her claws, her scales dissolved, and her redeveloped skin took over. The thousand-year of cultivation finally proved itself as she flawlessly transformed into a slender, fine lady figure.

"Yes, I'm fine."

She stood and licked the new cut on her elbow, glancing at the half-Magnolia jade hanging at her pink sash. Her chest ached, remembering who had owned the other half.

As though Felynx could sense the overflowing guilt from the little dragon, he put his hand on her shrunken shoulder. "Don't carry the blame, Xue Er." He took a step closer. "It was never your fault."

She stared directly into her Master's amethyst eyes, showering him with layers of unspoken pain. "How could it not be my fault? It was supposed to be me to go there."

"Because you weren't ready." He ended on a cold note.

"Xun wasn't ready either!"

Felynx tucked his hands into his wide, long sleeves and heaved a tired sigh. "Things happened for a reason, Xue Er. You can't stop a rainstorm just because you have an umbrella. You can't change history just because you have a time machine. You can't save Xiao Xun from dying..." he muttered, "just because you wanted him to be."

"Just because I wanted him to be..." she repeated, swaying on her feet. A drop of tear coursed down her pale cheek as the words slapped hard on her face.

"We, dragons, are meant to protect the mortals, Xue Er," he hesitated, "though they no longer believe in us like centuries ago."

Before her Master could finish speaking, Xue Er trudged away. Felynx followed behind her.

All of a sudden, she turned around. It was a little too fast that he almost knocked into her. "Let it be me this time, Master." Xue Er retreated a step to the back. "I think I'm ready."

Felynx twisted the long ends of his greyish brow, giving Xue Er a puzzled look. The dragon-shaped hair stick on his head glistened. "You've never liked mortals."

"You said it was our job to..." she hissed to continue, "protect."

"Protect?" He lowered his head, gazing deeply into her inner soul through her different-colored eyes—blue and red. "Or is it revenge that you'll seek?"

There was a thin trace of anger in his calm, soothing voice.

Xue Er looked away.

"Hatred kills, my dragon." Felynx enfolded her in his arms and said, "Don't dive into it."

"Mortals… are injudicious, Master. We might be myths to them, but we're real, right here, under their nose," she wept. "Because of their doubts and suspicions, too many of us have died. We can't afford to lose anymore…"

She heard her Master sigh. "No matter what it is, the oath has been set. We have to protect them. This is our fate."

"Then let it be me this time, Master," she repeated her request, gasping in between her choky sobs. "I don't want to witness another death of our species, Master. Please, let it be me." Xue Er broke the hug and stamped her palm on her heart. "I promise I'll keep the mortals protected. I'll take care of them just like how—"

'Xiao Xun did.'

While she was still pressing her hand against her chest, her voice trailed off. She couldn't get her best friend's name out of her throat.

The wind brushed past her teary cheeks like it was trying to offer her a tad of comfort. Pieces of pleated fabric hung at her sash swayed.

And she was waiting for the "yes" from her Master.

Felynx parted his lips and then paused. Fine metallic chains attached to his silver circlet clinked softly as they swiped against one another.

"Hmm? Master?" She tugged at his narrow cuff. "You know I'm strong."

"Xue Er, I... I—"

"Ring of Mortality clicked a while ago, Master. The 18th-year misery is about to start in their world." She induced the spike. "There is nobody else who is as ready as me to go there."

"Protecting mortals from Mynheex and fallen angels, it's dangerous. You know exactly what they're hunting for, Xue Er."

"Because it's dangerous, that's why it has to be me! I don't know why you've been prohibiting me to take up the mission. All I know is that white dragons are powerful, and I'm one of them."

"You don't understand! Mortals are living in their 21st century—"

"Most of our friends are gone, Master," Xue Er reminded him of the fact he feared. "It's time to put a stop to Mynheex eating humans' hearts, to fallen angels craving for our pearls, to the torment deaths of us, to everything."

"But..."

"Our dragons died protecting the worlds, Master. You don't expect me to watch the cycle end with another death of our species and do nothing."

Sighing, he flipped his silk robe and waved his hand at another layer of cloud. It descended to his feet. "Follow me."

He led her back to their castle. The moment Felynx pressed a mobile marble rock at the vast gravel entrance, it vibrated, revealing a long corridor leading to a path of darkness. Their presence was instantly greeted by a flood of calm light making its way to the end, brightening up the entire walkway underneath the vault.

Xue Er dragged her feet over to the side and stared at the iced cuboids nailed into the wall behind every two ionic pillars. Running her touch across the coffins, she poked her finger at the sharp edge, drawing blood to sight.

A ritual to remind herself of the pain and suffering they had gone through.

Pausing her dejected gaze at the miserable holes in their chests, she outstretched her hand to the illuminating azurites hovering above. A wave of soft blue luster effused from her palm. It flowed toward the stones, further enhancing the emanations.

Preserving their dragon bodies was the only thing Long Sheng Jie could do.

"Come on, Xue Er." Felynx's echo floated.

She withdrew her force and headed over to her Master.

The center of Ring of Deity was branched into four segregated paths; each linking to unrevealed passages behind the large white stones far ahead. Felynx turned around upon hearing steps approaching accompanied by a soft murmur of "Master". He put on a smile. But it was only when she held him did she realize the shades of hesitation her Master was trying hard to hide.

"I'm going to be all right, Master," she whispered, stroking the speeding pulse surfacing under his skin. A glint of white shone through her palm. "Don't worry."

"Thanks, Xue Er." He squeezed it back, and they walked to the last channel on the left.

Behind the white stone, wispy clouds fell to their feet and led them to the border of the mortal world. The route glided open, swallowing them in its woolly embrace. Xue Er turned to her Master as she felt him tightening his grip on her. He was still hesitating to let her go. But this time, she pursed her lips and stared ahead—pretending like she didn't notice.

As Felynx brushed away the fog hindering their path, a lonely, wooden bridge came into view. Xue Er had yet to lay her feet on it when thousands of dragons struggling to get away from the border hallucinated before her eyes. Among them was Xiao Xun—his cracked blue scales were drenched in blood, and his eyes were begging for hope to be saved.

"Stay back," Felynx instructed.

The moment she dropped her lifted leg, her attention immediately shifted to the end of the bridge. There was a hole churning inside a rising cliff. Pulsating current sparked as the inner swirls released an anonymous gust of air, inviting the next target to step through.

"We're right on time." Felynx took out a glowing red potion from his white sash. "Here, drink this."

"What's this?"

"You'll find out if the time comes." He flashed a benign smile.

Xue Er's expression softened, and she gulped it down without hesitation. She knew her Master would never hurt her. Only in front of him could she free the weakling in her.

The minute she sipped the last drop, something foreign ignited in her. She felt it. Something was crawling under her skin, inside her blood, and it was searching for a spot to sit. Neither painful nor sweet. But rather a neutral feeling that her body was overreacting to. The tingle stayed for a few seconds before it dissipated.

"Nice." Felynx patted her head and stroked the fine silver chains tucked behind her ears.

Silver belonged to dragons, blue belonged to TinXi, and gold belonged to the Almighty Long Shen. The more the chains, the higher the status.

Right then, he hurled his hand in her direction and drew out a white glow from her. Too fast. Her body arched like it had been pulled forward by a strong wave of energy. She staggered to regain her balance.

Fixing his eyes on the puff in his hand, Felynx began chanting long phrases of random words that she couldn't understand. He pushed the left lapel of her cross-collar shirt, placing his palm right below her collarbone.

Light flashed. Her body went numb.

It took a while for the dragon-shaped mark to fully emerge—the breath of her immortality.

"Kneel before me, Xue Er," Felynx commanded.

"Yes." She dropped her knees and made a full bow.

"Living under the name of Miracle Watson, you'll live with a group of Tinxi and disguise your identity by enrolling in Stellaerio High School. You'll stop Mynheex from feeding on mortals' hearts. You'll crush the fallen angels' hope of owning the world of mortality. Last but not least, you'll refrain from making any trades with the evils and instead keep mortals away from them. Do you hear me?"

"Yes."

"This mark turns dark every time you use your elements without external protection. So you must hide it from mortals at all costs. You can't afford any unnecessary darkening to it with the evils still going strong out there. Now, Miracle Watson, do you obey these with no regrets?"

"Yes. I obey them with no regrets."

"All right, you're good to go."

Stunned, Xue Er brushed the new white bulge on her skin as Felynx helped her up. "I'll never let the mortals find out."

She was only one stride away from stepping onto the bridge when her Master suddenly pulled her back for a hug. This time, it was longer.

"Come back alive, my white dragon," he whispered. "Come back before the mark turns fully black."