Novel's Extra: The Lost Heir of Dragon Queen-Chapter 91: Ripples of Change

Kael stepped out of the cave, squinting as the daylight hit him.

"There’s too much to handle…" he muttered under his breath, running a hand through his messy hair.

The weight of everything pressed on him like an anchor.

First, there was his training.

His elemental affinity was still nowhere near its full potential, and after his recent encounters with demons and Outerworlders, it was painfully clear he was not strong enough to face what was coming.

"First priority: train my affinity. I can’t slack off on that anymore," he thought, clenching his fists. "But then…"

He groaned audibly, rubbing his temples.

The midterms.

He had barely touched his books in weeks. Sure, he could scrape by, but Serena wasn’t the kind of teacher to let him off the hook that easily.

"Midterms start next month. Great. Just great," Kael muttered, his irritation rising. "I haven’t studied a damn thing."

And then there was the Abyssal Bloom incident.

The thought made him stop in his tracks.

The real culprit still remained a mystery, hiding in the shadows.

"Third problem," Kael said to himself, his voice edged with frustration. "I still don’t know who’s behind the Abyssal Bloom. Every lead feels like a dead end."

"Fourthly," he sighed, "dueling Marcus and company."

Kael stopped, closing his eyes for a moment.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm the whirlwind of responsibilities in his mind.

But it only lasted a second before his lips curled into a sardonic smile.

"Fifth," he said aloud, shaking his head, "just screw me. My life’s a mess."

Without wasting another second, Kael broke into a run, heading back toward the academy.

The wind rushed past him as his thoughts churned, each one piling onto the next.

"Training, midterms, the Abyssal Bloom, the duel… and now the Outerworlders. How did it all come to this?"

.

The sound of water cascading filled the private bath as Kael leaned against the edge, his damp hair sticking to his forehead.

His muscles, tense from days of relentless searching and fighting.

He exhaled slowly, watching ripples disturb the stillness of the water.

Abyssal Bloom...

This event—one of the most terrifying incidents in the novel—wasn’t unfolding as he remembered.

In the original storyline, at least a hundred students had been consumed by the eerie phenomenon, their souls lost.

But now? Only a handful of cases had surfaced.

Just five.

And of those five, four were from the second-year students.

It was a drastic shift from what was supposed to happen.

A shift caused by him.

Kael lifted his hand, droplets sliding off his fingers.

His intervention had changed the course of events—he had eliminated key threats before they could act.

Elise, nearly lost to the demon’s deception, had been saved.

The minions he had hunted down over the past week had barely been able to cause harm.

But does that mean the danger has passed?

No. If anything, it was worse.

Kael knew this wasn’t just about cutting off the weeds—it was about the roots.

The true mastermind hadn’t revealed himself yet.

There were two possibilities: either his early interference had forced the enemy into hiding, making them more cautious, or they were merely biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He wasn’t sure which was worse.

Still, something bothered him.

The reports he had received from Shirone and Stellan’s teams only accounted for five cases.

What if there are more cases.

He let out a slow breath.

There was no use overthinking it now. He had pieces of the puzzle, but not enough to see the full picture.

A few more minutes passed in silence before Kael finally stood, stepping out of the bath.

He grabbed a towel, running it through his damp hair before draping it around his shoulders.

As he moved to get dressed, his mind continued to race.

The enemy has two choices—move now, before I uncover more, or stay in the shadows and strike when I least expect it.

If it were him, what would he do?

Kael buttoned up his academy uniform, his sharp gaze flickering toward his reflection in the mirror.

..

(POV: Shirone)

The morning sun cast a golden hue over the academy grounds, its warm glow filtering through the towering trees that lined the pathways.

It was Sunday.

A day meant for rest, for casual outings and carefree chatter.

While others reveled in their leisure, he was deep in thought, piecing together fragments of a puzzle that refused to align.

This incident about which kael had told him.

Something about it wasn’t right.

Shirone clenched his jaw.

Reports, notes, observations—everything he had gathered over the past week pointed toward something deeper, something moving beneath the surface.

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With a quiet sigh, Shirone folded the parchment and slipped it into his coat.

And that was when he saw him.

A lone figure, moving against the natural flow of students.

Not Kael.

Shirone narrowed his eyes.

The person in question was a man in an academy uniform, though the way he carried himself felt off.

Too stiff, too rigid. As if he wasn’t used to it.

Suspicious.

Without a second thought, Shirone adjusted his posture and melted into the crowd.

He followed at a distance, his steps light and soundless.

The man walked with an eerie calm, slipping past groups of students without a second glance.

And then—just as Shirone had suspected—he veered off course, toward the forest that bordered the academy grounds.

Shirone exhaled slowly.

This confirms it.

The academy had strict rules about venturing into the forest alone, especially with the recent attacks.

Yet here was someone blatantly ignoring that.

Either he was reckless, or he had a reason to be there.

And Shirone intended to find out which.

The trees grew denser as he followed the man deeper into the woods.

Sunlight barely penetrated through the thick canopy, casting eerie shadows along the moss-covered ground.

The air grew colder, heavy with the scent of damp earth and rotting leaves.

Each step Shirone took was calculated, his senses sharp, his breathing controlled.

Then, suddenly, the man stopped.

Shirone halted as well, pressing himself against a tree, his heart pounding.

He dared to peer from the corner of his vision, his eyes widening at what he saw.

A woman stood in the clearing ahead.

She was breathtaking beautiful.

Long, red hair cascaded down her back, glistening under the dim light that managed to seep through the treetops.

Her skin was pale, smooth as porcelain, her crimson lips curved into a knowing smile.

But it was her eyes that sent a shiver down Shirone’s spine.

Golden.

She tilted her head, as if sensing his presence.

And then, she smiled.

Shirone’s blood ran cold.