"Cough! Cough!" Yoichi coughed, waving his hands in front of his face and trying to disperse the thick dust. Unable to breathe or see, the young tamer took a step back, trying to get away from Therion.

Unexpectedly, his back touched a smooth, cold rock wall. "What?!" he gulped, taken aback. Yoichi's eyes opened and all his senses returned to his body.

​​

Therion's heir was back in the cave of the Boneside Swamp. His hands were wet, soaked in Therion's tear, which was dripping onto the floor of the natural cavity.

"Oh, fuck! The amphora!" - Performing a sprint forward, Yoichi threw himself headlong onto the amphora that contained the magical liquid. The round base of the container was dangerously wobbling and the Tear could have fallen at any moment.

If that happened, it would be the end for him and the cultivation of his draconic powers would come to an abrupt halt. "Gotcha!" he boomed, throwing himself belly down and managing to stop the amphora before it fell.

Without delay, still confused by the teleport he had undergone from the Lumya of the past to the one of the present, Yoichi placed the lid on the rough container and sealed the tear.

*click*click*click* - The three metal hooks hermetically closed the item, securing the Dragon King's magic liquid.

"Screek!" Kenji said happily, running over to its tamer and swiping its short head against his legs. The little dragon was evidently happy to see its friend back in the real world.

The light of dawn was still dim and shyly coming from the entrance of the cave. The fight between Yoichi and Urgerross had been relatively brief and, including his awakening near the Molten Scar and the journey with Therion to the Sanctum of Infinity, the young tamer had spent only a handful of minutes inside the vision.

Yoichi's first instinct immediately after closing the amphora was to touch his arms and legs to make sure he hadn't sustained any injuries. Both his limbs and the rest of his body were unharmed, but one small detail caught his attention.

His leather boot was pierced on one side. The fabric had been damaged in the exact spot where Urgerross' sparks had hit him. "I can't believe it..." Yoichi whispered, smiling for no apparent reason as Kenji continued to rub against his hands in anticipation of cuddling.

"Kenji, we did it! Hahaha!" the young warrior giggled, grabbing his little Oracle's body and trying to lift it up. "Urgh!" - With more effort than usual, Yoichi lifted Kenji, noticing that something had definitely changed in its appearance and size.

The little dragon was heavier and bigger. Its tail was a bit longer than Yoichi remembered, and its head, including the sharp, black horns, looked more massive as well.

"Hey, buddy," Yoichi continued, setting Kenji down on the ground. "How are you feeling? Do you feel something different inside you?" he inquired, waiting for his Oracle to let him know something.

"Screek?" - Kenji's head bent sideways, showing its confusion.

"Even if you don't know it, you and I fought a dragon! Its name was Urgerross and it was one of the Guardians of the..."

"Screek! Grrr! Grrrargh!" - Suddenly, as soon as Yoichi uttered the white dragon's name, Kenji sprang out of its arms and singed off the scales of its back. The little dragon began to snarl and look at itself, baring its teeth as if it sensed an enemy.

However, the only presence Yoichi could sense from inside the cave was the song of the birds that populated the swamp during the day and the buzzing of its large insects.

"You remember! You remember Urgerross! Then you know everything that happened, Kenji!" the young tamer rejoiced, standing up and smiling towards it. "Grrargh!" Kenji confirmed, keeping on growling. It associated the name of the thunder dragon with its evilness, and every time Yoichi mentioned it, it growled as if to defend itself.

Yoichi looked at his hands as he used to do when he sensed something different in his body. His muscles were toned and rested as if he had just woken up from a long sleep. He had already experienced that feeling in the company of Ryutaro, but this time he felt that his body was more trained.

Indeed, the muscles in his arms and legs looked firmer and more swollen. The cultivation of his draconic powers, in just a few minutes away from the real world, had strengthened his physique as well!

It was just as Therion had explained! In order to handle a greater amount of power, my body must become stronger! Reasoned Yoichi, hardening his biceps and studying them with his hands, witnessing the progress.

"Ouch!" he suddenly exclaimed, feeling a strong burning coming from the lower area of his leg. "What the hell is this pinch?" he asked aloud, pinpointing the exact spot of that weird sensation.

The burning was coming from where the boot had been pierced by Urgerross' spark. "What the..." - Yoichi unbuckled his boot and immediately pulled it off his foot, curious if his skin had actually sustained any injuries.

Despite some handmade socks, more like legwarmers of sturdy fabric, something had appeared on his ankle, just above the malleolus.

The young tamer swiped his finger across the skin that had been damaged, cleaning the area of sweat and dirt: a strange reddish scar had just been etched into his flesh!

"Oh my goodness, I thought it was not real," he whispered again, gripping his ankle with both hands and trying to make sense of that burn. The scar didn't testify to a cut or any other kind of damage but looked more like a symbol.

A strange letter of the Japanese alphabet had been magically engraved by the electrical power of Urgerross, the first of the Guardians of the Whole. That ancient idiom was unknown to Yoichi, but he somehow tried to make sense of it.

In his perception, it looked like the letter 'U' in the modern alphabet.