Higher than the birds could reach, encircled by intricate webs of fluffy clouds, a majestic castle sat on a colossal, floating boulder. This was Long Sheng Jie, a place where Xue'er, a white dragon, once thought everything was as perfect as it seemed.

Until she was exposed to the harsh truth. She was just a whelp when she first learned about the existence of the Ring of Mortality, a transcendent wheel that took her childhood friend, Xiao Xun, away in the last cycle.

Now, with a powerful, thunderous roar, Xue'er unleashed torrents of fireballs from her gaping maw, sending them hurtling toward the swaying grasses below. One blazing smash after the other. More. She needed to let it out more. The pain for failing to protect her friend.

“Xue'er?” Qilong’s voice from an approaching cloud startled her, tumbling her down to the ground. She transformed, her scales dissolving to reveal a slender, refined lady. “I’m fine,” she said, but her gaze drifted to the half-magnolia jade at her sash, remembering the other half, and the ache in her chest returned.