Trial Beyond the Boundary

“Who is this?! What are they here for?! And… where’s Viola?!”

The next morning, after the day Viola had performed the shadow play that sparked Daisy’s desire to venture outside—

Daisy woke up as usual on Viola’s feathered wings.

Since there was still plenty of troll meat left from yesterday’s hunt, Viola didn’t even bother going out to hunt.

Breakfast was, once again, a dragon-style roasted meat feast.

“Alright, time to eat.”

“Uwaa! Food!”

“Slow down. Don’t rush.”

“Slurp slurp… crunch crunch… slurp… slurp…”

“…Right. As if you’d listen.”

“Slurp… I love… crunch crunch… Viola’s roasted meat… slurp… want water…”

“Here.”

After another round of enthusiastic eating—followed by clinging to Viola’s finger and gulping down juice—

Daisy finally relaxed, full and satisfied.

Viola, having fed her little dragon, also sat down on the haystack, spreading her feathered wings into a sofa-like shape as usual.

But this time, Daisy didn’t sit properly.

Instead, wrapped in her fur blanket, she climbed up and plopped directly onto Viola’s lap.

Leaning back against Viola’s soft, elastic body—

She could feel two especially soft, bouncy cushions behind her.

Like… really soft pillows…

Daisy froze for a second.

Then looked down at her own small, undeveloped body.

“…I don’t have those yet…”

For some reason, she felt a little embarrassed.

The two spent a quiet, lazy morning together.

But today—

Something was different.

The cave fell into a peaceful silence.

Sunlight streamed in.

Wind rustled through the trees outside.

Daisy, full and drowsy, leaned against Viola’s wings, drifting into a hazy state.

Thinking back—

Since she could remember, she had always lived like this.

Just the two of them.

In this cave.

Cut off from the world.

She didn’t even know how much time had passed.

Maybe centuries.

Dragons lived long, after all.

And yet—

She had never stepped outside.

Like a cocooned silkworm.

Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

Listening to Viola’s stories of the outside world.

Gradually forming a vague image of that vast, colorful world—

While her own world remained just this cave.

Like being inside an unhatched egg.

Dragons—

Were supposed to be the freest beings in existence.

Powerful magic.

Endless lifespans.

Wings that could reach the sky.

Unbound by any rules.

Daisy didn’t remember much of her past life—

But deep down, she felt like she had always longed for something like this.

For freedom.

For adventure.

For the unknown.

So her answer—

“Viola…”

“What is it?”

“Viola… Viola…”

“What is it, my Daisy?”

“…Viola…”

Daisy narrowed her golden-red eyes slightly, leaning against her, voice soft and hesitant.

“I… still want to go outside… I want to see the world.”

“…Hmph. That again?”

Viola let out a faint, cool laugh.

“You’re still too immature.”

“Uu—”

Daisy puffed up her cheeks.

“I’m not a kid anymore! I’m almost as tall as your shoulders! And my chest—well… okay, not that part…”

“Daisy.”

“You’re still a young dragon who can’t even control basic transformation. You’re naive, clueless about the world.”

“If you go out there, you’ll only get hurt.”

“Then why do you still want to go?”

Viola’s expression darkened slightly.

Not at Daisy—

But at something else.

Something old.

Something painful.

“When you were human… you were the same…”

“You insisted on chasing the unknown… uncovering the truth of the world… refusing to settle down with me…”

“And in the end…”

“Viola? W-Wah!”

Suddenly—

The “seat” beneath Daisy tilted.

She lost balance and rolled off the haystack, tumbling onto the ground.

Viola had stood up.

Daisy blinked in confusion.

She rarely heard Viola talk about the past.

About when Daisy had been human.

About what happened between them.

“To go outside… is fine.”

Daisy looked up.

Viola was already standing over her.

Looking down.

“But first—you need to prove you’re strong enough.”

“To survive that cruel world.”

“Are you ready?”

A little later—

Daisy, wrapped in her fur blanket, nervously followed Viola.

For the first time—

She stepped outside the cave.

“Uwaa?!”

Right outside—

The massive corpse of a troll’s head loomed like a hill.

Its bark-like skin and eerie eyes made Daisy jump.

But she still hurried after Viola—

Like a small pet afraid of being abandoned.

Soon, they reached a glowing line on the ground.

It curved slightly, surrounding the cave.

“What is this…?”

Daisy felt a familiar, comforting aura from it.

She stepped closer—

“Don’t.”

Viola stopped her.

“This is the barrier I set.”

Viola raised her hand.

Her arm transformed—covered in silver scales, turning into a dragon claw.

She gathered magic—

Then tore forward.

With a ripping sound—

The invisible barrier split open.

Daisy followed her outside.

And then—

She noticed.

Clothes.

Viola suddenly had clothes.

Black fabric grew directly from her skin, forming a cloak-like dress.

“Viola?! Your clothes—”

“Also transformation.”

“…Oh.”

So she could wear clothes.

Then why didn’t she at home…?

The forest was dense and alive.

Sunlight filtered through leaves.

The air smelled of earth and plants.

Roots twisted underfoot.

Strange fungi grew.

Glowing insects floated.

Daisy walked barefoot, stumbling slightly but unharmed thanks to her dragon body.

It was unfamiliar.

A little scary.

But—

Viola was here.

So she wasn’t afraid.

“We’re here.”

Viola stopped.

“Here?”

Daisy peeked ahead.

A dark burrow.

From inside—

A deep, rumbling growl.

Four glowing eyes appeared.

“Inside lives a three-headed demon hound.”

“If you defeat it, you pass.”

Viola smirked slightly.

“Well? Scared?”

“You can still go back. In a few hundred years, you might be ready.”

Daisy stepped back—

Then forward again, puffing up.

“I’ll try! I’m not a kid anymore!”

“Good.”

Viola stomped the ground.

The earth shook.

The beast burst out—

A massive, red, three-headed hound lunged forward with a roar.

“Test begins.”