After finishing their sandwiches, the two—now fully recovered—launched into the sky. Shimmering crystal wings unfurled from Khione's back, while blazing flame wings erupted from Nero's.
Flap! Flap!
With just two powerful beats, they soared above the towering treetops, racing forward as if the sky itself had issued a challenge. The Ice Queen, her face calm and unreadable, glided with elegant precision, her wings slicing through the air in smooth, calculated arcs. Nero, laughing under his breath, followed close behind, his fiery wings leaving trails of heat in his wake.
For ten minutes, they weaved and darted through the sky, twisting between clouds and branches, diving low and spiraling high—neither one yielding, neither one speaking. It wasn't a contest declared, but a silent rivalry, fierce and unspoken. In the end, no victor emerged—only two figures vanishing deeper into the heart of the forest, their unrelenting pace saying all that needed to be said.
