The Commoner and the Queen

The Fire Iguanas were creatures of unique peculiarity. The males, smaller than their females, compensated for their disadvantage with a singular gift: their bodies burned with incessant flames, a living barrier of fire that made them nearly untouchable. The females, on the other hand, lacked this spontaneous combustion ability but grew immense, turning their size into their greatest advantage. A balance forged over millions of years.

However, two hundred years ago, that balance was broken. For the first time in history, a male was born who defied all the laws of nature. He grew to colossal proportions, a flaming titan that should not have existed. To King Lucerius Lizaard, this was not a mistake but a divine omen of prosperity. And so, making a bold and questionable decision, he ordered his only daughter, Thalyzara, to tame the beast.

The kingdom of Tyrin had a similar approach to the domestication of beasts. But their planet tamed wolves—applying the same method to subdue a creature that burned at nearly a thousand degrees was incomparably difficult and extremely risky. The result? The attempt nearly cost Thalyzara her life.

Yet, among the nobles and soldiers who fled upon seeing the princess on the brink of death, there was only one who remained. A commoner. He was not a warrior, not a beast tamer—he shouldn't even have been there. Just a young baggage carrier. But when Ignis lunged at Thalyzara, he stepped in front of her.

And then, the unexpected happened.

The beast, moments away from killing, stopped.

The air grew heavy, the heat seemed to vibrate in the silence. Against all odds, the Fire Iguana accepted him.

A symbiosis was born there, before the disbelieving eyes of all.

No one knew how it happened. Many tried to explain it, but no one fully understood. What was certain was that this simple commoner had saved the future queen's life.

And in that instant, Thalyzara fell in love with him. The moment she saw that insignificant man defy a monster in her name.

As for Dravok, from the very first moment he saw her red eyes reflecting the fire—defiant, powerful, but filled with something no one else saw—he fell in love.

A love story was born that day.

But a king can never show weakness.

And so, Thalyzara pretended.

She pretended so well not to love him that everyone believed it.

Even herself.

Ignis's roar tore through the sky like a flaming thunderclap. With a brutal leap, propelled by an explosion of fire, the colossal reptile shot forward like a blazing arrow, charging at CaoCao.

The armored ice orangutan did not retreat.

He raised his arms, and the cold answered. In an instant, a wall of ice rose before him, thick and gleaming like a divine shield.

Impact.

The collision made the coliseum tremble, cracks spreading across the ground. Heat and ice clashed in an explosion of steam, momentarily blinding the audience.

But Ignis was not a beast that gave up easily.

He spun in the air, his tail whipping the ice wall like an infernal lash. The ice cracked, partially collapsing. In the opening, the iguana unleashed a jet of fire straight at the orangutan's face.

CaoCao roared, the heat searing his skin, but he did not hesitate.

He struck the frozen ground with immense force, and the earth erupted into dozens of sharp stalactites—deadly ice spears shooting toward Ignis.

The reptile tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough.

Two spears pierced his hind legs, pinning him to the ground.

And that was exactly what CaoCao wanted.

He charged forward, a colossal blur, and his fist struck Ignis with overwhelming force.

For a moment, time stood still.

The impact cracked the iguana's hardened scales, sending him flying dozens of meters until he crashed against the arena wall.

The structure trembled, flames rising to the skies. The audience held their breath. The scent of burned flesh mixed with the icy mist that dominated the battlefield.

Silence.

Until...

A fiery explosion erupted from the crater left by the beast's body.

Ignis rose once more.

His eyes burned with absolute fury.

His jaws parted, and a pillar of pure fire surged skyward, turning night into day.

CaoCao did not flee.

The orangutan planted his fists into the ice and raised a shield of crystalline mirrors. The blazing light reflected in all directions, creating a storm of embers and frost around the arena.

And then, he attacked.

With a ferocious roar, CaoCao shattered part of his ice armor, transforming it into thousands of razor-sharp blades that shot toward Ignis.

The final blow followed immediately after.

The orangutan leaped, his colossal fists rising above his head.

Ignis tried to move.

But his wounds were too many.

The impact came like the hammer of a god.

CaoCao's overwhelming force slammed Ignis into the frozen ground, cracks spreading like lightning across the earth. The iguana's fire flickered, consumed by absolute cold.

One last roar echoed.

Weak.

Then, absolute silence.

CaoCao continued striking Ignis, his fury still unquenched.

Until a man stepped into his path.

— Always reckless, King. Step aside. This battle is not over yet! — Gertrudes bellowed, ready to join the fight.

— Stop, both of you.

The voice cut through the chaos of the arena.

Thalyzara stood there, between her husband and CaoCao.

Her eyes were as sharp as blades.

— Gertrudes, you've already demonstrated your family's power.

She turned to the man standing before the orangutan, her voice carrying an icy tone.

— Husband. Leave the arena. You have shamed me enough.

Tyrin barely noticed when Thalyzara vanished from his side to intervene. But something about her was off.

There was anger in her gaze.

Luci, who had been watching the scene calmly, smirked slightly and whispered:

— My mother is hopelessly in love with my father.

Tyrin's eyes widened as he took in the scene, his mind still processing what Luci had just said.

"She doesn't seem in love with him, if I may say so."

Luci sighed. "I hate our culture for that." His red eyes, so similar to his mother's, fixed on the now-ruined battlefield. "She is the pillar of this planet. She cannot have weaknesses. And yet, she has always rescued him."

He paused, looking at the couple.

"My father told me that everyone who ever dared to hit him was beaten to a pulp by my mother."

Tyrin smirked. "Interesting."

But Luci didn't respond. His gaze shifted to Gertrudes, who still stood in the arena. A spark of determination flashed in his eyes.

"I think it's time for a fair fight, don't you agree, Gertrudes?" Thalyzara said, her voice humming with excitement. "Let's fight, you and me. What do you say?"

Gertrudes raised an eyebrow. "If you think I'll take a beating like before, you're gravely mistaken."

Thalyzara smiled. "I hope you can endure it well..."

She raised her hand, holding her amulet high, and with a reverent tone, she called:

"Igniselda, my friend... Come to me."

The coliseum erupted in screams. The spectators, who had seemingly forgotten the previous battle, now roared with renewed intensity.

And then... she appeared.

Igniselda.

Tyrin held his breath. She was gigantic, far larger than any Fire Iguana he had ever seen—much bigger than when he first laid eyes on her. It was as if the battlefield itself had been swallowed by her presence. Her body, covered in black and crimson scales, seemed to pulse, as if hiding a living volcano within.

Even on all fours, Igniselda was nearly the size of CaoCao.

Gertrudes smirked and summoned a new suit of armor for CaoCao. "Alright. Let's fight."

CaoCao, now armed once more, did not hesitate.

His instincts screamed that he could not run. If fire came for him, he would burn trying to freeze it.

He struck the ground with his fists.

The ice answered. Pillars of pure frozen crystal erupted from the earth, trying to trap the titaness.

But Igniselda was not like Ignis.

She simply advanced.

The stalactites shattered like twigs beneath her march. With a single sweep of her massive tail, she annihilated all the ice around her, carving a searing chasm into the battlefield.

CaoCao took a step back.

He recognized that pressure.

It was the same as always.

The pressure of fighting that colossus.

BOOM!

Igniselda raised a paw and brought it down with the weight of a meteor.

CaoCao leaped back at the last second, but the impact unleashed a wave of molten lava, forcing him to raise an ice barrier. Scalding steam engulfed him—suffocating, merciless.

But he would not surrender.

With a ferocious roar, he channeled all his power.

He punched the air, and a storm of ice exploded around him, freezing the ground, the sky—everything.

For a moment…

Igniselda hesitated.

And in that moment, CaoCao struck like lightning.

His fist slammed into the Fire Queen's chest with titanic force.

The impact spread frost across her obsidian shell, sealing part of her heat.

She roared.

But she did not fall.

On the contrary.

She smiled.

And then, everything collapsed for CaoCao.

Before he could react, Igniselda's jaws closed around him.

A sickening crack.

She crushed his arm.

CaoCao roared in pain, dropping to his knees.

She did not stop.

Her tail lashed out like a whip, striking the orangutan's face and hurling him against the arena wall. He tried to rise, but Igniselda was already upon him.

With both paws, she pinned him to the ground.

The orangutan felt the weight of the world pressing down on him.

The ice of his armor began to crack, melting beneath the unbearable pressure.

He struggled. He roared.

But the force on his chest was greater.

The final blow came.

Igniselda's jaws parted.

A torrent of pure fire consumed CaoCao.

His body was engulfed in flames, his skin burning, his armor melting.

"Stop the fight, Thalyzara! You've already made your point!"

Gertrudes' voice echoed through the arena.

Thalyzara did not hesitate. "Igniselda… my friend, you may stop."

Even irritated, the titan obeyed.

She turned and walked toward Ignis, who lay outside the arena, beginning to lick his wounds.

If she could, Thalyzara would have done the same for her husband.

But not in front of the others.

Never.

She turned to the crowd. "Well, this battle is over."

And the coliseum erupted in celebration.

Deafening cheers reverberated through the air, a wave of fervor that made the ground tremble.

Tyrin watched everything, but something caught his attention.

At the moment Thalyzara and Dravok were leaving through the gate, he saw it.

For a brief second, Thalyzara lifted her hand and touched her husband's face.

That simple gesture made him hold his breath.

"This is so sad," he murmured. "To love and never be able to say it… never."

Luci remained silent for a moment.

Then, she smiled—but there was bitterness in her eyes.

"I know. And my father knows too."

She sighed, glancing at the arena one last time.

"But for him, that's enough."

Tyrin frowned.

"Our culture has protected us for thousands of years…" Luci continued, her voice sounding older than it should. "So we cannot afford to change."

The wind blew through the ruined coliseum.

Tyrin did not reply.

But something inside him screamed that Luci was wrong.