As I opened my eyes, a faint glow seeped through the cracks in the wall. I nudged Raphael, who was still asleep beside me. He groaned and turned away, reluctant to leave the warmth of our makeshift bed.

"Do you see that?" I whispered, pointing at the light. He mumbled something unintelligible and said, "Yeah, I see."

I strained my ears and noticed something else. "Do you hear that?" I asked him. He frowned and looked at me with suspicion. "I can’t hear anything. What’s wrong?" he said.

I smiled and said, "The silence. The storm is over." His eyes widened, and he sprang to his feet. "Great, then we can get moving," he said, still keeping the blanket.

We climbed to the top of the tower outside and scanned the horizon. I said, "We came from that direction. Maybe we could move that way." But then I stopped. There was something in the distance that caught my attention. Raphael followed my gaze and gasped. "Is that another building?" he said.

I squinted and saw a faint outline of spires and walls. "It looks like a kingdom," I said. He said, "Should we try to reach it?" I thought about that for a moment, then shook my head. I looked at myself and felt a pang of sadness. "They don’t know me. They’re going to think that I’m a Shadow dragon. We can’t," I said.

He was about to say something, but then we heard a sound. Someone opened the door downstairs. I said in a low tone, "Someone is here. We must leave." He nodded and climbed on my back. I glided down the tower, hoping to escape unnoticed. As I did so, I tried to flap my wings, but something was still wrong with them. I landed softly, not even fifty meters away. But we were too late. The visitor had reached the top and spotted us.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" he shouted. I cursed under my breath. This was the last thing we needed. Raphael was still weak and vulnerable, and I shielded him with my body, ready to face our pursuer. A blast of cold air hit us, and I saw an Ice dragon flying towards us. An Ice dragon that I had believed I would never see again. It was Kryo.

He caught sight of Raphael behind me, and his eyes widened in recognition. "Get away from the human! Shadow dragon!" he commanded. I obeyed without hesitation and whispered to Raphael, "You’ll be fine. Do what he says. His name is Kryo." Raphael nodded and waited nervously. Kryo landed in front of him and said, "Let me touch you. I can’t believe my eyes." He reached out a claw and gently stroked Raphael’s face. "Good day, Kryo. I’m glad to see you," Raphael said politely.

Kryo’s voice rose in volume as he asked, "Where are your wings? Oh, sorry, where have you been all these years?" Raphael told him what he knew about me. I tried to sneak away quietly, but Kryo noticed and snapped, "Don’t move. I’m not done with you." I said, "I’m not a threat, Guardian Kryo. Please." He said, "How do you know my name? Did he tell you?" I said, "It’s complicated. I know you won’t believe this, but we’re the same person, I think." He said, "No, Raphael is not a dragon. You are not." I didn’t reply but hung my head in shame.

He turned to Raphael and said, "Wait here. I’ll be right back." He walked towards me and summoned ice from the ground, trapping my legs. I struggled to break free, but it was useless. I shouted, "Wait, I swear, I’m Raphael too. Please let me explain." He conjured a spear of ice like the ones I used to wield. I said, "Maybe you know me by another name. What about Nox?" He said, "You’re in the wrong place. Shut up, liar." Raphael came to my defense and said, "Please, Kryo, he isn’t lying. He is Raphael too." Kryo accused me, "Are you controlling his mind or something?" I said, "I’m not controlling his mind. My powers are frozen." He paused and then said, "Oh, now I understand why you didn’t turn into a shadow. Well, too bad." He pointed the spear at my head and asked, "So, let’s see, how did you get here?" I said, "I have no idea." Then Raphael said, "I brought him here by accident. Please don’t harm him. He saved my life during the storm." He considered that and said, "Did you really help a human?" I said, "Yeah, what else could I do? Let my twin freeze to death? Anyway, I’m happy to see you again, Kryo." He said, "Stop talking to me like that. I don’t know you."

“I repeat to you that I’m Raphael and also King Nox. How can I prove that to you?” I challenged him.

He smirked and said, “Let’s see about that. If you answer correctly, maybe I’ll believe you. If you don’t, I’ll use this.” He flashed his ice spear like the prized weapon of an executioner.

I swallowed hard and said, “Okay, I’m in. Even if it has been decades ago, let’s see what I remember.”

He began his interrogation. “What’s the name of the governor of the kingdom where Raphael appeared?”

“Aura Aetherius, a pink dragon,” I answered without hesitation.

He nodded and asked, “What’s the name of the Light dragon, if there’s one?”

“The name of the Light dragon is Akira. And she was also my mentor. Did you know that she also visited my kingdom? She has a son now and lives with Fyrenthos. They’re so happy together.” I added with a smile.

He widened his eyes and said, “I didn’t know that. Anyway, correct. I believe you, hi Raphael.”

I sighed in relief and said, “Thank you, finally! Hi Kryo. Now, could you please unfreeze my legs? The ice is burning me.”

He snapped his fingers, and the ice shattered. He looked at me and the other Raphael with curiosity and said, “How the hell are there two of you now? I don’t understand.”

I shrugged and said, “I don’t know. We met recently. I didn’t know there were two of us until now. Anyway, I’m the Raphael that you know better. He is me, but like this.” I gestured to his human form.

We walked in silence for a while, and then the other Raphael said, “It’s better if we don’t talk about my previous job. Anyway, I’m still freezing. Could we move back to the tower or somewhere warmer, please?”

Kryo ignored his request and said, “I heard of a king by the name of Nox, so it was you all this time?”

I nodded and said, “I was, and I’m proud of it.”

He sighed and said with a sad tone, “King Nox disappeared a decade ago.”

I frowned and said, “Maybe you’re confusing me with another Nox. I didn’t leave the kingdom for even a month.” But he asked, “Are you King Nox from the kingdom of the Whispering Wind?”

I confirmed, “Correct, I am.”

He shook his head and said, “Then I wasn’t mistaken. You’ve disappeared for years. About ten years, I think.”

Then the other Raphael gasped and said with wide open eyes and a trembling voice, “Damnit, I made a mess.”

I asked him, “What do you mean?”

He explained, “I think that I may have brought us ten years ahead of time. We’ve been dead for a decade. That’d explain the time gap he is talking about.”

I stared at them in disbelief and said, “Is this a joke? Right? Right?”

Kryo looked surprised, and the other Raphael hung his head and said, “No, it isn’t. Sorry.”

I felt a surge of panic and said, “Oh no. Ten years? How?” I paused and then added in a whisper, “No, no, no! It can’t be. I need to get back! Even if… I’m not sure if I should. Freya is going to kill me.”

Kryo spoke in a grave tone. “Some say that a band of Water dragons is still searching for you. And Queen Freya... she has never left the palace since her king vanished.” His words pierced my heart like icicles. I broke down in tears and sobbed. “Oh, how I miss them all. My daughters, my son, everyone. I failed to keep my promise.” Kryo looked at me with curiosity. “What promise?” he asked. I felt a surge of embarrassment and wiped my eyes. “It’s nothing, really. I just told my son I would be back in a few months. I think he wanted to introduce me to his soulmate.” Kryo nodded. “I heard that Prince Zephyrion has formed a bond with an Ice wyvern,” he said. I stared at him in disbelief. “How do you know that? How can you know so much about my kingdom yet not recognize its king and attack me?” He chuckled and shook his head. “I never met the king. You were a stranger to me. I’m sorry.”

I sighed and looked away. I was ashamed of myself. I had been too reckless. Then I asked him, “Can you take us back home?” He shook his head again. “Not now, but I’ll try to help you with that. In the meantime, would you like to visit our kingdom?” He pointed to the horizon, where a glittering city of ice and snow stood.

I asked him, “That’s the kingdom of the Frozen Crystal?” He nodded and said, “Yes, that’s the name. Why do you ask?” Raphael, then, spoke up. “Is it true that there’s a magic crystal there with the power of a thousand ice dragons and multiple elements?” He sounded eager and hopeful.

Kryo hesitated and said, “I can’t confirm or deny that.” He glanced at Raphael and said, “Come on, let’s go to the kingdom. We’ll talk more there.” Then he turned to me and asked, “Can you carry Raphael there?” I nodded and said, “Sure, we’ll be there soon.”

Kryo smiled and said, “See you at the gates.” He flew away, announcing our arrival at the gates. We followed him on foot, with Raphael riding on my back like a lazy passenger. I was glad to help him, but damn, he felt heavy. And I was still weak. And my wings were useless. I wished they would heal soon.