Dragonlord

Ep 155. I’ve Been Here Before. (1)

Ep 155. I’ve Been Here Before. (1)

Felicir whiffed the air as he observed the engravings on the chamber’s obsidian walls.

“Ah…nostalgic.”

One depicted a winged, hooded individual, standing over what seemed like a mountain of men and animal alike. Standing in opposition of the print was a benevolent deity spreading their arms, seemingly welcoming the birth of a hundred more.

The Reaper lightly brushed the wall, smirking at the crude drawing.

“It’s nice to look back once a while.”

Despite being such a small chamber, the chamber’s black walls were filled to the brim with markings depicting the Twelve. The drawings etched unto the chamber walls could easily outnumber that of several temples combined.

Despite the drastic changes Felicir had undergone, nothing had changed here – as if no time had passed whatsoever.

‘That’s right. A thousand years must be meaningless to you…’

Through Karas’ eyes, Felicir looked towards the chamber’s opposing wall. It was the only one that was empty of such ancient drawings; the wall was instead occupied by a towering obsidian sculpt of a grandiose warrior, standing dutifully before the gate that lied beyond him.

But just as he was about to approach the unmoving warrior, a thundering howl stopped Felicir midway.

Flinching, the Reaper stumbled back a few steps, gripping at his feathered head.

“Ugh, would you shut up?!”

‘Go fuck yourself.’

“What is your problem? What do you not understand about dying?”

‘What do you not understand about ‘Go fuck yourself’?’

Felicir shook his head at the ringing internal dialogue. He’d always known dragons could roar, but Raizel’s obnoxiousness had been raking his nerve for quite some time; combined with her apparent lack of care for having her soul extinguished, the youngling was turning out to be a much heavier burden than he’d anticipated.

Not that he had a choice.

“Look, I could care less about whether you stay dead or alive; I’ll release you in time, and you’ll be free to return to your original body. I simply need you to pipe down until your lord arrives here.”

‘Oh, really?’

“Yes. So be a dear and be quiet until then.”

‘I’ll consider it if you tell me what this place is.’

“…”

‘Or I can keep screaming. I got all day.’

Sighing in resignation, the Reaper then gestured towards the entire chamber.

“This is Aymeia’s temple. Or its undergrounds, to be specific.”

‘And?’

“…And this chamber is one of the three paths that connect to the Archive. The gate you see beyond the statue is one of them.”

‘Archive?’

“…How should I put it…the realm above ours, in basic terms. It serves as storage of the records of our past. But more importantly, it’s the Historian’s residence.”

‘And?’

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“And what? I just told you what it is.”

‘What do you want lord here for? Is this place your dream grave or something?’

“…No. I merely wish to access the Archive. But only divinities are granted access, and as I no longer possess my own, I’ll need the one your lord’s taken from Aymeia.”

‘Don’t you have like, 11 more of you? Or do they all hate you too?’

“…Thanks to your precious dragonlord, the nearest one I could seek help from is a continent away.”

‘Ohh. Nice. Serves you right.’

“…”

Felicir let out another exasperated sigh, shaking his head in dismay.

“Satisfied? Now will you be silent?”

‘Hmm…nah, go fuck yourself.’

Felicir flinched once again as he felt the ringing in his ears. He grit his teeth in frustration, wracking his head for an alternative solution.

‘What’s wrong? I thought you were going to kill me?’

“…As soon as I reach the Archive, I will shred your soul to dust.”

‘Can’t touch me ‘til then, huh? Good to know.’

Felicir shut his eyes at the unbearable noise. Despite the deathly silence filling the chamber, an obnoxious dragon’s voice was filling the insides of his head. He still needed Raizel in his possession to confront the Historian beyond this gate, but it seemed quite likely that the youngling would drive him mad beforehand.

Then, as his pained gaze drifted over to a webbed, dusty corner of the small chamber, the Reaper’s expression twisted into a coy smile.

“…Ah. I know what I’ll do with you.”

✧   ✧   ✧

Serenis’ closed eyes began to twitch beneath the morning sunlight.

Rubbing her aching forehead, the dragonlord began to scan her surroundings as soon as she came to: she found herself leaned against an unremarkable wooden plaque, hugging her own knees like so many others were throughout the destroyed settlement.

And laying at her side was Raizel, notably in a much better shape. Her molten limbs and burn scars were still clearly visible, but the numerous patches of black had all but disappeared, restoring life to the youngling’s skin. Most of her scales had likewise regained their former, metallic glow.

But once her immediate worries were away, Serenis then began to pick up Ilias’ voice: annoyed, even outraged, protesting against the voice of a towering warrior.

“…$*@%!”

“…”

Serenis immediately rose to rush to the youngling’s side. She barely registered the fact her self-inflicted wounds had disappeared.

And once the dragonlord arrived at the scene, she could see Ilias together with Light and Aymeia, standing against Urgus and a cross-armed warrior in front of him. Their expression was difficult to tell beneath their bone helm, but the voice and gesture clearly suggested an air of authority.

The warrior’s looming gaze was fixed on the former deity as he spoke.

“I do not care who you are. I do not care what you have to stay, and even should you be the guardian herself, it changes nothing. The truth remains that an atrocious monster has attacked our settlement – and you’ve not only brought the monster here, but protected him so.”

“…”

After observing Aymeia’s guilt-ridden expression for a moment longer, Orkaan then turned to Ilias and Light.

“And while I am thankful to those who chose to fight our people, the misfortune that befell us only occurred due to your arrival. Hence, I must ask you lot to leave.”

Urgus’ expression grew steadily worse as his elder brother continued to speak. And after the final remark, the chief warrior burst to anger.

“You overstep, brother! You stand before Lady Aymeia and her companions. No Asardan has the right to decide where they can and cannot be.”

Sighing, Orkaan glared at his brother with a despising look.

“I’ve told you numerous times, Urgus – a guardian who is but a burden to our people serves no purpose.”

“…”

“It was a mistake to appoint you chief; you’re far too soft to serve as one. A leader ought to know what’s best for their people.”

“And you stand to argue that their absence is in the best interest of Asarda?”

“I do indeed.”

Orkaan’s air of indifference only infuriated Urgus further and further – and it wasn’t just him growing furious at their attitude.

Unable to listen to the brothers’ quarrel any further, Ilias stepped in between them, glaring back at Orkaan just the same.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of you! Why do you think Raizel ended up like that in the first place?! She would’ve been fine if she was in her proper form, but she stayed that way to protect all of you! After all that trouble, now you want us gone?!”

“A curious point to fault us for. Have we asked for your friend’s protection?”

“…What?”

“In battle, every warrior is responsible for their own survival. Using one’s prowess to care for others is benevolence, but to do so at the expense of one’s safety is nothing but arrogance.”

Instead of a verbal response, Ilias’ fist reflexively raised itself.

Light hurriedly tried to stop her sister. But the cat half was much too slow, and far too weak to stop a dragon.

Thankfully for Orkaan, Serenis stepped in between the two: Ilias’ fist struck the dragonlord’s raised palm with an audible thud, but without any further repercussions.

“Settle down, child. Even the tiniest of outbursts from you can still kill a human being.”

What followed was a confused series of blinks from Ilias as she stared at her lord’s eyes.

“Huh?? Lord…Serenis?”

“Yes?”

“…Blue eyes…it really is you! You’re okay!”

“…?”

Ilias soon retreated her arm with a sorry expression, looking at her lord with evident relief.

Meanwhile, Orkaan’s cold stare had shifted from Ilias to the white dragon that had just interrupted them.

“You…you’re the one that stopped Aymeia and the monster that was with her.”

“Yes? What of it?”

“…Hmph. I’m afraid I must state the same to you then, outlander. I ask that you leave our settlement.”

“Well, I did happen to overhear, but…”

After exchanging brief glances with Ilias and Light, Serenis let out a small snort before locking eyes with the helmed warrior.

“I understand that an outlander has terrorized your home. But it was another outlander that also saved your people, no? And was Aymeia not the deity your people have worshipped for so long?”

“Such truths make no difference. Your very presence here is an ill omen.”

“An ill omen? You refuse to believe in a living deity before your eyes, and yet you believe in omens?”

“…”

“In the end, it’s all an excuse. You merely seek to do as you please.”

“…This is different. You lot are…”

When Orkaan hesitated to finish his sentence, Serenis’ lips curved into a demeaning grin.

Soon after, she volunteered to finish the sentence for the helmed warrior.

“Not human.”

“…”

“And it’s quite understandable that you feel the need to push us away; I imagine having us at your side is no different from living with potential for another disaster. But if you truly wish to serve as your people’s leader, then you should know better than to mask your fears beneath a guise of authority.”

“…You speak as if you’ve experienced so.”

The dragonlord’s eyes briefly widened at the warrior’s remark. But she soon closed her eyes, shaking her head in denial.

“…No, but I’ve had the fortune of hearing it from someone else. And as Ilias has said, we must take our leave anyhow.”

Hearing Serenis’ last reply, Ilias abruptly remembered the events from last night.

The youngling then hurriedly interrupted the conversation to gain her lord’s attention.

“Oh, Lord Serenis! Um…!”

“Let it be, Ilias. I’d imagine we’re beings far beyond their understanding; it’s foolish of us to want for their sympathy. Even if we have to return for Karas at a later date…for now, we should return to the nest for Raizel’s sake.”

“No no, I’ll take Raizel back! Uh, you need to stay and go after the Reaper!”

“?...I’d imagine so, yes. But why the hurry?”

“Um, uh…the Reaper’s taken Raizel’s soul from her, so…if we don’t get it back, she’s no different from being dead, and…”

“…”

“If I remember correctly, um…healing her physical body is important, but if we don’t get her back soon, her soul might be extinguished…”

Serenis’ eyes narrowed further and further as the youngling rambled on. And soon, the growing curiosity forced her to ask back:

“…And who exactly told you all this?”

“Uh?”

“The Reaper’s taken Raizel’s soul? Who told you such things?”

“That’s…um…”

“…”

Sighing, Light protectively stepped forward in front of Ilias, shrugging at the dragonlord before her.

“I did.”

“…Light? You did?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why, but I think I’m starting to see souls too, and Raizel doesn’t have one right now. Maybe I spent too much time with the professor.”

“…That’s…quite sudden.”

Biting her lips softly, Light’s gaze fell to the floor as she continued her story.

“Ilias needs to take Raizel to get her treated, but I can still go with you. I know I’m not much help, but if I’m there, we could at least get Raizel back…”

“…”

Of course, she was lying.

Light had never been able to see souls, much less interact with them directly like her professor could. The closest she’d gotten were seeing the horde of phantoms Karas had summoned, and that was only because the professor had explicitly made them visible to the naked eye.

‘…But I have to go.’

It wasn’t just to give chase to the Reaper; no, the person she was chasing was the monster he’d possessed.

If Karas had wanted her dead, he could’ve done so thousands of times over the years.

‘So that can’t be it…it can’t be.’

In their next meeting, she’d confront her professor about what all the fuss was about – even if she has to beat the truth out of him.

…And having Serenis at her side would go a long way in making that happen.