Chapter Text
Under the dim light of the canopy, the atmosphere grew dense, heavy with expectation. Aslan, with his imposing presence and deep voice, let a phrase escape that resonated with the force of a restrained roar:
—Now this is where it gets good. The moment of truth about the contract.
His eyes, sharp and cunning like those of a Lion, locked onto Lucien, who maintained a cautious expression. Before the young man could respond, Aslan raised a hand, signaling that he was not finished.
With a deliberate motion, he pulled an intricately crafted object from his jacket. For a moment, Lucien thought it was a weapon, but when the light reflected off the carved crystal, he realized it was something far older: a kaleidoscope of a design he had only seen in ancient manuscripts. Aslan held it with respect, turning it with the precision of someone deeply familiar with its mechanism. Instantly, a hologram projected into the air beneath the canopy, forming a clear and unmistakable image: the silhouette of a black Dragon with red eyes.
A shiver ran down Lucien’s spine. Seeing his true form reflected that way disarmed him for a moment. His pupils contracted as he turned his gaze back to Aslan, who held his steady.
—It’s not so much what you are that concerns me, —Aslan began in a grave tone— but what you represent. Your nature is not the problem in itself, but how you grow and how you act as a result.
The kaleidoscope emitted a faint glow as Aslan adjusted its gears, revealing symbols written in an ancient language. Lucien could not fully understand them, but Aslan, with a slight gesture of satisfaction, began to read them softly.
—You are a dragon of greed. —He continued, without taking his eyes off the artifact—. But not as the myths describe. In your case, there is a mutation… a peculiarity among your kind. In times of crisis, when your species faces extinction, some dragons can adopt a humanoid form. It is not merely a matter of individual survival, but of legacy. In this way, they can interact with humans and… leave descendants.
Lucien felt a knot form in his throat. He hadn’t known this. No one had ever told him. And yet, there it was, spoken with the certainty of a man who knew more about his species than he did himself. Aslan set the kaleidoscope aside and crossed his arms, lowering his gaze gravely.
—That is why I want you to sign a contract.
Lucien blinked, confused.
—A contract… for what exactly?
Aslan exhaled, as if he had been expecting the question. He pulled out a small rolled parchment and unfurled it across the table.
—First clause, —he said firmly—. If you are going to marry my daughter, you will not abandon her under any circumstances. No matter what happens, you must be a team. You are her light, and she is yours. As the head of the family, your duty is to protect her before yourself.
Lucien felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders, but before he could fully process it, Aslan continued.
—Second clause. If you ever have to flee, you will do so when I tell you to.
Lucien frowned, but Aslan continued without giving him a chance to interrupt.
—It’s not only the Assassin League of “The Impermeables” that is hunting you because of the clumsy interference of the artist Miguel Ángel. He put her in their sights while searching for something called “The Tome of the Ancient Sea God,” which I suspect is part of something much larger. But there are other threats.
Aslan paused, measuring Lucien’s reaction before dropping the next bomb.
—A “mad scientist” named Carter is also tracking her. Because of Dr. Kael’s research.
Lucien felt a chill.
—Kael?
—Yes. Kael erased all the research from his thesis, but he couldn’t prevent someone from finding traces. Someone suspects Beatriz. They know about the ether core in her heart. And they want to use it… for something very dark.
Lucien clenched his fists. He knew exactly what that meant.
—They want to revive the dead.
Aslan nodded slowly.
—And Beatriz is the key.
Silence stretched between them. Lucien looked at the contract on the table. It wasn’t a simple signature. It wasn’t just an agreement. It was an oath to protect the most valuable thing he had.
—If you accept this, —Aslan said seriously— you accept everything that comes with it. If you have to flee this planet, you will do so. And you will do so with her.
Lucien inhaled deeply. His eyes returned to the hologram, where his dragon form still hovered in the air. There were many things he still didn’t understand about himself. But there was one thing he knew for certain: he was not willing to lose Beatriz.
With a firm exhale, he took the pen and held it above the contract.
—Tell me where to sign.
—
—Before you sign, I want you to understand one final detail. The Eye of the Dragon still has something to reveal to you.
Aslan picked up the kaleidoscope—the “Eye of the Dragon”—and with the delicacy of someone handling a sacred object, turned it once more to read another section. A beam of light projected an image onto the canopy: an imposing creature, humanoid, with black scales and red eyes like embers. Lucien felt his stomach churn as he saw himself reflected in that other, more primal form.
Aslan declared, pointing at an ancient linguistic fragment in the projection:
—You are a dragon of greed. Your instinct drives you to accumulate, protect, and please your partner at any cost. However, this carries consequences. Once you possess your partner and manage to produce offspring, there is a risk that the dragon, in a fit of greed, will kill her to prevent anyone else from having her. Despite this, I trust the primordial nature of all dragons: “A dragon will never harm what it truly loves.”
Lucien looked away from the hologram. He understood what Aslan meant. Everything finally made sense: his obsession with pleasing the witch, his need to give her whatever she demanded… and his final decision to deceive her, sacrificing himself. He had accepted his own destruction to prevent her from becoming his ultimate target. But the witch, blinded by her own greed, had cursed him with immortality until she herself returned to kill him.
And now Beatriz… she was different. She asked for nothing. Only his company.
—That’s why it’s important you understand this clause, —Aslan continued—. You cannot abandon her for the riches you have accumulated here. If the moment comes to flee and you look back, if in that instant you see not Beatriz first, but everything you are leaving behind… then you will die.
A chill ran down Lucien’s spine.
—It is a curse, —Aslan added with stone-cold severity—. Like Lot’s wife. You will turn into a pillar of salt and die…
Lucien clenched his jaw. He knew it wasn’t an empty threat. The contract he was about to sign was not a simple agreement. It was a pact with real weight.
—And there is one last condition, —Aslan said, his tone even darker—. You cannot have relations until all of this is over.
Lucien let out a dry laugh.
—Why the hell are you getting involved in our intimate life?
Aslan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he placed both hands on the table and looked him straight in the eyes.
—Because if those who are hunting her discover that Beatriz is pregnant with your child, it will be the end.
The dragon fell silent.
—That mad scientist following Dr. Kael’s research isn’t after just anything, Lucien. Remember, he wants to revive the dead using ether cores. You already have one in your right eye. And Beatriz has one in her heart… Now tell me… what do you think they would do if they discovered your child inherited that same ability?
Lucien felt the weight of the warning. Suddenly, what he had endured in prison seemed like a simple game compared to the horror of what they could do to Beatriz.
—You yourself know what they tried to do to you. But if they capture her… —Aslan stopped, his gaze darkening—. I will not see my daughter subjected to that fate.
Lucien ran a hand through his hair, exhaling heavily.
—You can’t control everything, —he muttered.
—No, but I can warn you, —Aslan replied—. I know what it is to lose children. Beatriz’s mother lost her first set of twins. I will not allow my daughter to go through that, especially not because of your negligence.
Lucien felt the harshness of his words, but also the truth behind them.
—And there’s more, —Aslan continued—. I discovered something else.
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice.
—The clinic where Dr. Kael is located is under surveillance. Not for security, but because they’re waiting to find the patient with the ether core. They are not implanting contraceptive chips… They’re implanting trackers. And they’re placing them only in women.
Lucien tensed.
—Because they already suspect the bearer is a woman, —he concluded.
Aslan nodded.
—If Beatriz falls into their hands, there will be no turning back.
The silence between them grew heavy. Finally, Aslan slid the pen toward him.
—To sign, you’ll need an DNA signature. My ink will absorb a small sample of your blood.
Lucien looked at the pen, then at the contract. He knew that by signing it, he was sealing his fate alongside Beatriz… for better or worse.
He took a breath, grabbed the pen, and held it firmly, injecting a small amount of his blood particles into the ink.
—Very well, —he whispered—. So be it.
And he signed.
Lucien felt the weight of the contract in his hands. His fingers tensed slightly as he watched Aslan unroll it with the same solemnity with which a king would seal an unbreakable pact.
For an instant, when the man closed his eyes and pressed the seal with his signature, a fleeting image projected itself behind him. Something ancient, powerful, almost divine. A golden Lion with a blazing mane, whose gaze reflected absolute authority.
Lucien blinked, feeling a chill run down his spine.
The air in the park seemed to grow heavy, as if an ancient force were marking that moment in history. And then Aslan put away the pen, closed the contract with the precision of a judge delivering a sentence, and without haste, rolled the document back up with the same meticulous care with which he had begun.
—Now it is your burden —Aslan said, sliding the parchment toward Lucien—. Do not fail.
The young man swallowed, feeling the contract weigh more than it should have.
“A lion,” he thought. “That man is a damn lion.”
Aslan calmly picked up the small device he had used to deactivate the Eye of the Dragon and, with the same care, slipped it into his backpack, along with the tablet that contained Lucien’s video. A tacit message: the pact had been sealed, and now he would protect that information until it was time to act.
Lucien knew that man did not make promises lightly.
He also knew that Aslan would not lift a single finger for him if he faltered.
And for the first time in his life, he understood that too many forces wanted to drag her, shape her, corrupt her, or claim her.
Aslan sighed, resting his forearms on his knees. His gaze drifted into the night breeze stirring the leaves of the trees.
—Beatriz needs more than simple protection —he said in a grave tone—. She needs a true safety net. Something more than a false name or a shadow to hide in.
Lucien frowned. He knew Aslan never spoke without reason.
—You think someone else is following her.
Aslan nodded.
Lucien swallowed.
—So you want us to give her a story to protect her from that unknown threat?
—Not only for that. —Aslan looked at him again—. Also for her own sake. Beatriz needs a place to return to. A real home. It’s not enough to have allies. She needs a safety net that no one can destroy simply by deleting a file or altering a record.
Lucien tightened his grip on the contract. He knew Aslan was right. Beatriz was strong, but even the strongest needed something to hold on to.
—Alright —he finally said—. How do we do it?
Aslan allowed himself a slight smile.
—I already have a story prepared. Legally, Beatriz will be my daughter. The official version will be that she was kidnapped when she was a baby or very young, and that I have been searching for her ever since. The Cronofith Catastrophe will serve as our excuse for the missing records. If we do it right, any investigation will only find a desperate father who finally found his daughter after years of searching.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
—That sounds… too convenient.
—Exactly —Aslan replied calmly—. The best part is that it has just the right dose of truth and tragedy so that no one will want to dig too deeply.
Lucien sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
—Alright, it sounds solid. But there’s a problem. Nox.
Aslan smiled faintly.
—I’ve covered that too.
Lucien raised an eyebrow.
—How do you plan to pass off a beast-child with ears and a tail as human?
Aslan pulled a small watch from his pocket and showed it to him.
—I worked on this. It projects a full-body hologram. To anyone’s eyes, Nox will be a normal human boy. It’s the same principle they used in my dimension, only I applied it here.
Lucien studied the device with a mix of amazement and caution.
—That’s… too convenient again.
Aslan let out a short laugh.
—Learn something, Lucien. The best way to hide a lie is to make sure it’s as comfortable as possible for everyone involved. I want the story to be irrefutable. A father who recovered his missing daughter and, in the process, also found his other lost son. A broken family that finally reunites after years of suffering.
Lucien shook his head and let out a breath.
—A story too good to question.
Aslan nodded.
—Exactly. And if everything goes wrong…
The patriarch rose calmly, his shadow stretching in the faint light of the park lamps.
—…I will help you escape.
Lucien looked at him steadily. Aslan did not smile, nor did he offer words of encouragement. He had simply given him an exit, and the choice of taking it or not was now in his hands.
With a slight nod, the man turned and walked away.
Lucien finally released the breath he had been holding.
And, for the first time, he knew with absolute certainty that he was not allowed to fail. He truly understood Pirata’s warning. His warning about those who were coming after her was not only a matter of purity for the future of their children… but now he understood that the world was watching Beatriz. That too many forces wanted to drag her, shape her, corrupt her, or claim her.