Chapter 43: Another Dragon

The earlier confidence disappeared from Alister's eyes. He doubled his efforts, desperately searching his memory for any shred of information that might hold the key.

"Perhaps... a thought?"

Terra's deep voice echoed, a touch of disappointment in her tone.

"Wrong again lad. You have one final attempt."

Alister squeezed his eyes shut, picturing the riddle again. "Always coming, but never arriving... always present, but never here..." He needed to think outside the box. What could possibly fit all these seemingly contradictory descriptions?

Suddenly, something clicked. His eyes snapped open, a grin spreading across his face.

"The future."

"It's always coming, but it never truly arrives. It's always present, a possibility hanging in the air, but it's not here yet. And of course, it's always moving forward, constantly becoming the present, but never truly traveling anywhere."

Terra's blue eyes gleamed with respect.