Veronica

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Veronica introduced herself as Veronica de Nocturna, also rendered Veronica de Nocturnal, a mysterious art consultant at the Crown of Stars Grand Opera House. She was the actual playwright behind the opera’s production and sought Xia Lin’s criticism of her script, though her attempts to understand romance and seduction were notably stiff and literal. She gave him an enchanted business card made from an adult Crystal Dragon scale and later hired him as a highly paid script consultant. 248 249

Her private domain above the opera house served as both workshop and theatrical laboratory, filled with magical props, scripts, masks, scrolls, and a crystal ball that staged scenes independently. Xia Lin’s practical advice on character motives, humor, conflict, and emotional complexity deeply influenced her writing. 250 252

She offered thirty gold coins for his consultation and paid fifteen in advance. Their rehearsals developed into a physically intimate encounter, after which they continued revising the script and completed an outline incorporating conflict, dark humor, and complex human motives. Veronica left him additional payment before departing for Anlin’s gathering. 249 250 252

After their collaboration, Veronica revealed that she was not a bard or ordinary human but Veronica de Andrast, a Crystal Dragon. Although she initially dismissed Xia Lin as a short-lived but useful source of feedback, she continued to treat him as her creative muse. 252 288

Veronica was raised by Madam Anlin, who saved her while she was still an egg and gave her a second life. In return, Veronica regarded herself as burdened by an unpayable debt of gratitude, serving Anlin’s plans despite becoming increasingly troubled by their cruelty toward mortals. 316 349

During a meeting of Anlin’s faction, Veronica reported that the energy core under her protection was secure. When Ivy mocked her plays, Veronica slapped her through a wall and overpowered her in dragon form before Anlin intervened. Anlin subsequently warned Veronica against seeking out her human source of inspiration and ordered her to eliminate him if necessary. Although Veronica agreed, she later observed Xia Lin invisibly and left without acting against him, unable to dismiss her interest in their unfinished script. 253 260

Veronica watched the aftermath of Marco’s defeat and reported the loss of the Shadow, the exposure of Anlin’s ritual, and Xia Lin’s involvement through her Crystal Mirror. Anlin recognized Xia Lin and demanded that Veronica prove her loyalty through another assignment. 288

On the night of Felicity’s apparent murder, Veronica recovered the Shadow’s diary and the documents exposing the nobles’ scandals, warned Xia Lin’s group to withdraw, and allowed them to escape. Anlin reprimanded her and placed her under supervision at the altar beneath the theater. Xia Lin later credited Veronica with saving their lives and considered her essential to breaking the deadlock, but her communication card had ceased functioning. 290 291

Veronica had previously brought all underground trade in the Lower City under control within half a month without bloodshed, an achievement Anlin contrasted with Ivy’s destructive methods. When Ivy received suspicious intelligence about the resistance and a supposed Metal Dragon, Anlin ordered Veronica to follow her secretly and report anything unusual. 309

While observing Ivy’s rampage in New Stefan, Veronica questioned the dragon belief that mortals were mere “consumables.” She concealed the destruction with a large-scale illusion array, but Xia Lin’s intervention and his understanding of her conflict forced her to confront the divide between her draconic identity and her love of human art. 312 314

After Ivy bound and severely injured her with Tiamat’s Chain of Binding, Veronica used her remaining power to remove the district-wide illusion barrier so Xia Lin could escape. Once freed, she erased and replaced the memories of hundreds of residents to prevent panic over the dragon attack, exhausting herself in the process. 315 317

Xia Lin returned rather than abandon her, defeated Ivy through his prepared Dragonbane Ointment tactic, and released Veronica from the chain’s bindings. Veronica drew on the artifact’s divine power to repair her shattered body, but refused his invitation to turn against Anlin. Before leaving with Ivy, Xia Lin deliberately drew Anlin’s anger onto himself in an attempt to spare Veronica punishment. 315 316 317

Veronica later gave Anlin a complete account of the Ivy incident, including Xia Lin’s methods and her own role in the failure. Anlin nevertheless kept her alive, ordering her to remain in the underground altar and sustain the ritual until the wedding. 319

While confined, Veronica continued to influence events through a magical projection in her opera-house workshop. Her scripts contained the formula for a feigned-death potion and the antidote to the Dragon Slumber Curse, and she asked Xia Lin to release the opera-house staff from Anlin’s divine restraints. 336 337 338

During Anlin’s final ritual, Veronica freed prisoners from the underground altar and dispelled the Sword Duke’s restraints. However, she chose to oppose Xia Lin’s group because she still believed her debt to Anlin could not be abandoned. Her battle was deliberately restrained; Xia Lin recognized that she sought a dignified defeat rather than victory. 349 350 351

Xia Lin and his allies transformed their battle into the final performance of Starfall Love, a play shaped by Veronica’s own artistic ideals. Moved by the performance, she surrendered. 351

The performance became a wordless dance in which Veronica’s spells illustrated the characters’ grief, rage, and sacrifice. At its climax, Xia Lin enacted the mortal prince’s willingness to offer his heart to save the cursed dragon princess. Veronica revealed her true form, and her Heart of Resonance dissolved into light as she accepted defeat and fell unconscious. 351

After her surrender, Veronica aided Laila’s ascent toward the final battle. She used Tiamat’s Chain of Binding to restore her injuries, returned it to Laila, and concealed the girl within an aura-mimicking crystal passage that deceived Anlin’s Dragonborn puppets. 354

After Anlin’s defeat, Veronica declared herself free and requested custody of Anlin’s remains. 358

With Xia Lin’s permission, she transformed Anlin’s dragon corpse back into the appearance of the blonde noblewoman and lifted it onto her back. She acknowledged both the new life Anlin had given her and the madness she had witnessed, while thanking Xia Lin for allowing her to see a drama worthy of history. 358

Appearance

In human form, Veronica carries herself with the poised, aloof bearing of a stage queen. She has been seen with long black hair, refined features, and striking eyes that shift in description from dark or azure to golden and draconic when her power surfaces. 248 312 349

• Often wears elegant black-and-red gowns or star-patterned robes. 248 250 252
• Uses a crystal hairpin and favors lavish, theatrical clothing. 250
• Her human guise can withstand an eight-meter fall without injury. 248
• Has pale, ivory-toned skin, a slender waist, long legs, and an icy, sculpted beauty; her eyes are also described as deep violet. 250 252
• Her true form is a slender, approximately twelve-meter Crystal Dragon with transparent diamond-like scales that refract rainbow light. 317 351
• Her wings are thin like cicada wings but durable as steel, with star-like lights flowing across them. 351
• A large sky-blue reverse scale on her neck, the Heart of Resonance, contains nebula-like light. 351
• The Heart of Resonance is approximately three times larger than her other scales; it dissolved into light during her surrender. 351

Personality

Veronica is intensely devoted to drama, aesthetics, and the emotional logic of storytelling. She evaluates real events as though they were performances, criticizing violence that lacks narrative meaning or beauty. 312

Her early attempts at human interaction are awkwardly mechanical: she studies seduction and emotional expression as if they were technical exercises, yet earnestly records feedback and works to improve. 248 250

Despite her pride as a long-lived dragon, Veronica is deeply affected by human creativity, sacrifice, and emotion. Her appreciation for mortal stories gradually conflicts with Anlin’s belief that humans are disposable. 312 314

Her conscience is not presented as an absence of past cruelty. She acknowledges having killed adventurers who obstructed her without hesitation, even as she remembers weeping over brilliant plays. Her crisis develops from recognizing that the mortals she once dismissed possess families, dreams, and unfinished stories of their own. 312

She remains fiercely conscious of loyalty and repayment. Even after recognizing Anlin’s madness, Veronica initially refuses to betray the dragon who saved her, choosing to bear the pain of fighting Xia Lin rather than abandon that debt. 316 349

Her loyalty does not prevent her from exercising independent judgment. She spared Xia Lin and his companions despite Anlin’s displeasure, showed concern for the opera-house staff, and ultimately assisted Laila after accepting her own defeat. 290 291 337 354

Veronica habitually speaks in archaic, poetic, and theatrical language, sometimes frustrating Anlin, who repeatedly asks her to speak normally. She also possesses a sharp, prideful wit: even while helpless under Ivy’s torture, she refuses to surrender her dignity and continues attacking Ivy’s vanity through verbal taunts. 288 312 314 315

Her interactions with Xia Lin reveal a less rigid side. After he frees her from Ivy, she laughs with genuine warmth rather than the mechanical laughter of their early rehearsals, while still questioning his methods and seeking his advice about her own choices. 250 316

Abilities & Skills

Crystal Dragon Physiology

Veronica possesses the immense durability, magical affinity, longevity, and true form of an adult Crystal Dragon.

• Can transform between human guise and crystalline dragon form. 317 351
• Her dragon eyes can perceive hidden qualities, including Xia Lin’s faint Mythical Power. 288
• Can endure major physical impacts in human form without apparent injury. 248
• Possesses enough physical strength to send Ivy through a wall with a single slap and overpower her in dragon form. 253
• Has lived for over a thousand years, witnessing many generations of mortals. 312
• Can recover from severe injuries by drawing on powerful divine energy. 316 354
• Her dragon power can be completely suppressed by Tiamat’s Chain of Binding, an artifact effective against dragonkind. 314 315

Illusion and Concealment Magic

Veronica is an exceptionally skilled illusionist capable of concealing large areas and altering perception.

• Uses high-level invisibility to observe targets without being detected. 260 288
• Her high-level invisibility can suppress even the sound of her breathing. 288
• Created an extensive illusion array that isolated sound, light, and magical fluctuations during Ivy’s rampage. 312
• The district-spanning spell is identified as High-Range Illusion Technique, which she casts through intricate gestures without chanting. 312
• Her illusion barrier unintentionally focused, amplified, and reflected Ivy’s Dragon Fear back across everyone inside it rather than blocking the psychic pressure. 313
• Rewove the memories of hundreds of residents after the district battle, replacing traumatic recollections with an ordinary version of the night. 317
• The large-scale memory alteration severely exhausted her while she was injured. 317
• The memory alteration lasted ten minutes and was preceded by another illusionary web that concealed the ruined district from outside investigation. 317
• Can imitate her own aura to conceal allies from Anlin’s Dragonborn puppets. 354

Crystal and Battle Magic

Although she prefers artistry to direct combat, Veronica commands destructive and defensive magic on a dragon-scale level.

• Crystal Wall Prison — raises massive crystal barriers to divide and disrupt enemy formations. 350
• Prismatic Ray — fires seven elemental beams, including flame, frost, lightning, acid, sonic force, force, and negative energy. 350
• Diamond Skin — coats her body in crystal-like protection capable of blocking a sword strike. 350
• Repulsion Blast — releases powerful force to knock opponents away. 350
• Disintegrate — fires a destructive ray capable of reducing stone to dust. 350
• Ice Crystal Storm and crystal beams — used during her battle with Xia Lin’s party. 351
• Mirror Crystal Wall — reflects holy light and can counter shadow-based attacks. 350
• Crystal shields and a large crystal lotus — used to intercept an enchanted arrow and temporarily trap Felicity without severely injuring her. 350
• Precise restraint — can redirect force and deliberately spoil lethal attacks to avoid killing her opponents, as demonstrated when she pushed Xia Lin toward a padded corner and intentionally missed with Disintegrate. 350
• Theatrical spell adaptation — turns her magic into crystalline tears, frost storms, and elaborate light-and-shadow effects to express a story’s emotions. 351

Spatial and Utility Magic

Veronica uses magic for theatrical effects, personal movement, restraint, and environmental control.

• Immobilize Monster — completely restrained Xia Lin during a script rehearsal. 250
• Cleanse — instantly removed physical traces and stains from the rehearsal area. 252
• Teleportation or spatial warping — vanished after revealing her identity, leaving payment behind. 252
• Clothing conjuration and repair — can produce a gown with a gesture and magically restore her clothing after a confrontation. 252 253
• Magical projection and communication — appeared remotely in her workshop and communicated through a crystal mirror. 336 337
• Dispel magic — removed the altar’s barrier and helped free imprisoned civilians. 349
• Intermission Passage — creates a translucent crystal-shard bubble that can transport a person while masking them with Veronica’s aura. 354
• Mental communication — spoke directly into Laila’s heart to explain the passage’s disguise and reassure her during the ascent. 354
• Corpse transformation — restored Anlin’s dragon remains to her blonde humanoid form for transport. 358

Artistic and Administrative Skills

Veronica’s expertise extends beyond spellcasting to writing, theatrical design, and the management of Anlin’s interests.

• Writes and revises plays, keeping extensive scripts and annotated notebooks and incorporating detailed criticism into her work. 248 250 252
• Constructs magical rehearsal environments, including a crystal stage and changing scenery for romantic, combat, and comedic scenes. 250
• Understands and records alchemical formulas, preserving the feigned-death potion and Dragon Slumber Curse antidote in Starfall Love. 336 337
• Brought the Lower City’s underground trades under control within half a month without spilling blood. 309
• Her early acting, swordplay choreography, and simulated laughter are conspicuously stiff despite her literary dedication. 250

Equipment / Items

• Veronica’s Private Business Card — an enchanted adult Crystal Dragon scale with a miniature long-range communication array. Xia Lin previously used it to discuss drama with her, but it stopped functioning after the night of Felicity’s apparent murder. 249 291
• Crystal Mirror — used for remote communication with Madam Anlin and observation of distant events. 288 312
• Staff — used to cast major crystal magic during her battle against Xia Lin’s party. 350
• Scripts and annotated notebooks — her primary creative tools, including the script containing the formula for a feigned-death potion and the antidote to the Dragon Slumber Curse. 336 337
• Dragon-scale bookmark — a scale supplied by Veronica that Xia Lin used as the principal ingredient for the antidote First Awakening’s Kiss. 338
• Heart of Resonance — Veronica’s distinctive sky-blue reverse scale; dissolved into light during her surrender in the final performance of Starfall Love. 351
• Tiamat’s Chain of Binding — temporarily used to heal her injuries and assist Laila before Veronica returned it to its bearer. Xia Lin had also lent it to her for recovery after freeing her from Ivy. 316 354
• Space Bag — used to carry the recovered Shadow’s diary and documents exposing the nobles’ scandals. 290
• Magical workshop props — include emotion-bearing masks, scrolls, self-playing instruments, and a floating crystal hourglass. 250 252

Relationships

• Xia Lin Tolemo — Her creative muse, script consultant, friend, and eventual emotional counterpart. Their artistic collaboration became personally intimate, while Xia Lin’s understanding of her art and inner conflict helped Veronica choose freedom. 252 314 315 351 358
  • Xia Lin denies that she is his lover when Sera teases him, describing their encounter as a “cultural exchange.” Nevertheless, he credits her with saving his group and considers her a key to overcoming Anlin. 291
  • Veronica calls him the friend she cherishes most when explaining why she must fight him, and asks him not to hate her. 349
• Madam Anlin — Adoptive mother and benefactor who saved Veronica as an egg. Veronica’s debt to Anlin drives much of her internal conflict until Anlin’s defeat; Anlin later confined her to maintain the altar ritual. 288 316 319 349 358
  • Anlin values Veronica’s administrative precision but fears her fascination with Xia Lin and repeatedly restricts her outside activities. After Anlin’s death, Veronica takes responsibility for her remains without renouncing her own freedom. 290 309 319 358
• Ivy — Fellow dragon and hostile rival. Their mutual contempt culminates in Ivy binding and torturing Veronica with Tiamat’s Chain of Binding. 253 314 315
  • Ivy resents Anlin’s favorable comparisons with Veronica and destroys books of poetry and drama that Veronica particularly likes. Veronica, in turn, considers Ivy’s indiscriminate violence crude and aesthetically worthless. 309 312
• Sera — Initially regarded Veronica with suspicion; later fought alongside Xia Lin against her during the altar conflict. 314 350
  • Sera recognizes that Veronica held back during the earlier encounter and teases Xia Lin about her apparent romantic interest. 291
• Kade — Opposed Veronica during the dragon-hunting plan; Veronica repeatedly avoided inflicting fatal harm on him. 350
  • Before the final battle, Kade states that he can sense Veronica is not evil at heart. 291
• Laila — After surrendering, Veronica helped Laila reach the final battle through a concealed crystal passage and accepted the girl’s cautious trust. 354
  • Laila thanks her as “Crystal Dragon Big Sister” and promises to treat her to a triple-starlight popping-candy-flavored grilled-meat invention after the fighting. 354
• Felicity Odolai and Iliya La — Fought against Veronica, then helped transform the battlefield into the stage for her farewell performance. Veronica restrained Felicity rather than inflicting a serious wound. 350 351
• Opera House staff — Veronica showed concern for their safety and asked Xia Lin to free them from Anlin’s divine restraints. 337 338

Story Role / Major Arcs

Crown of Stars Opera House

Veronica meets Xia Lin after he critiques her play, then employs him to help revise its script. Their collaboration exposes both her artistic limitations and her fascination with human emotions. 248 250 252

Their rehearsals become physically intimate, but Veronica returns immediately to discussing dramatic structure. By the end of their consultation, they have developed a new outline grounded in conflicting interests and complex character motivations, and she reveals her Crystal Dragon identity before departing. 250 252

Anlin’s Dragon Conspiracy

As one of Anlin’s dragon subordinates, Veronica guards an energy core and observes events surrounding New Stefan. However, she becomes distracted by Xia Lin’s influence and increasingly reluctant to treat mortals as expendable. 253 288 312

She also proves effective at governing Anlin’s interests, bringing the Lower City’s underground trades under control without bloodshed. Her refusal to finish off Xia Lin’s group leads Anlin to restrict her activities, and she later follows Ivy only under Anlin’s direct orders. 290 291 309

Ivy’s Rampage

Veronica conceals Ivy’s massacre attempt with illusion magic, confronts Xia Lin over his provocation of Ivy, and becomes trapped when Ivy activates Tiamat’s Chain of Binding. Afterward, she erases the district’s memories to contain the incident. 312 314 315 317

The incident marks a decisive personal crisis: she spends her last accessible magic exposing the district so Xia Lin can escape, while his return to save her demonstrates the mortal courage she has come to admire. Despite this, she still refuses to betray Anlin after being freed. 315 316

Confinement and Projected Aid

After reporting the failed operation to Anlin, Veronica is ordered to remain in the underground altar and maintain the ritual. Even while restricted, her projection guides Xia Lin toward the antidote formula and requests the rescue of the opera-house staff. 319 336 337 338

Her confinement had begun earlier, after she allowed Xia Lin’s group to escape with their lives. During the final preparations, her script projection provides an indirect means of helping him while she remains beside Anlin’s ritual. 290 291 337

The Final Performance

Veronica frees captives during Anlin’s ritual but fights Xia Lin’s group out of loyalty to Anlin. Recognizing her reluctance, Xia Lin stages the true ending of Starfall Love on the battlefield, giving her the “curtain call” she needs to surrender. 349 350 351

Her carefully nonfatal tactics reveal that she cannot reconcile her obligation to Anlin with harming her friends. The concluding dance allows her to express that conflict through art rather than continue a battle she does not truly wish to win. 350 351

Freedom After Anlin

Following her surrender, Veronica assists Laila’s ascent during the battle against Anlin, using her magic to disguise the girl from Dragonborn puppets. Following Anlin’s fall, Veronica identifies herself as free rather than bound to her former benefactor. She takes responsibility for Anlin’s remains and chooses to witness the true ending of the conflict. 354 358

After receiving Xia Lin’s permission, she restores the corpse to Anlin’s humanoid appearance and carries it away, preserving her gratitude to her adoptive mother while acknowledging the madness that brought about her downfall. 358

Notable Quotes

“I am Veronica de Andrast, a Crystal Dragon.” 252

“Who am I, really? Am I the aloof Crystal Dragon? Or a playwright lost in human art?” 312

“Even if I am very interested in you—and your script—I cannot betray Mother. She saved me when I was still a dragon egg and gave me a second life.” 316

“Even if you are the friend I cherish most, even if my heart is racked with agony—” 349

“I am still myself, a Crystal Dragon who loves drama. Only now, I am free.” 358

Trivia

• Veronica’s professional business card is made from a piece of adult Crystal Dragon scale, which Xia Lin initially assumes must have belonged to another dragon. 249 252
• Her human acting is repeatedly described as robotic despite her serious dedication to improving it. 250
• She refers to Xia Lin as her “muse of inspiration.” 288 349
• Veronica views combat through theatrical aesthetics and favors visually elaborate spells even when simpler attacks would be more efficient. 312 350
• She considers a villain who breaks their word or steals strawberries from a cake to lack proper style. 354
• After her business card’s communication function stopped working, Xia Lin described it as merely an expensive bookmark. 291
• Anlin describes Veronica’s usual private life as sleeping in her crystal cavern, reading books, and writing scripts, and considers her inexperienced in complicated human affairs despite her long lifespan. 290
• Her final battlefield performance of Starfall Love is a pantomime: she and Xia Lin convey its story through movement, gazes, and magical effects rather than dialogue. 351

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