Volume 3, Chapter 15: Farewell

Early morning on the first day of the one week break, we headed out for Aqua's home.

It took about a day of fast flying before we arrived at Aquatic Lake, also known as Asrai Lake. The place was to the northwest of the Amphitheater of Dominance, and was home to the aquatic fairies known as the Asrai. It was early morning on the second day of break, and the powerful rays from the sun served only to make the place more majestic.

The Asrai Lake was a beautiful vision with interconnected lakes and a few waterfalls that were of the utmost quality of pureness. The water there was sweeter than anything water magic could make, and the flowers that bloomed around the lake were various types which I had never seen before. They would have been impossible to find in the human kingdom I was born in.

Furthermore, the large, interconnected lakes were in the middle of two stretches of forests, and would entertain many guests, including wild animals that would drink from them. The place where I met Aqua had been at an isolated lake where not one beast would come to drink from. This lake also had its own small waterfall. It was there, near the forests, that I had saved the clumsy Aqua from a rare wild beast leading a group of monsters.

“We are almost there,” Aqua said in an excited voice. “I haven't seen my sisters in such a long time!”

“True, it has been more than a month,” I said, landing at the exit of the eastern forest, which bordered the edge of the Asrai Lake.

“Verath, come here.”

At her words, I followed Aqua into the edge of the lake, where she was hovering just beyond. “Take that!” she yelled out.

Without warning, Aqua had splashed water on my face using her water magic.

“You are lucky I cannot use water magic, Aqua, else you would be drowning right now.” I smiled a little. “I can, however, do this!”

I summoned a small ball of blood and gently threw it at Aqua. It was a magnificent hit. She was now covered entirely in my blood made of normal magic.

“Wae! This is disgusting, Verath! How could you even do such a thing. Ack! It even has the smell of blood.”

“I guess you can call yourself a blood fairy now, instead of an aquatic fairy,” I said in a monotone voice.

“Ugh, it is going to take forever to wash this. Can you just manipulate the blood off of me?” Aqua asked.

“No, that is a bit hard to do since it is just blood made of normal magic covering you. Your magic territory, though weak, is still strong enough to interfere direct manipulation of magic near you.”

Aqua let out a small sigh. “Fine. Just let me quickly wash this off and we can continue onward to my home.” Her delicate, silk-like wings stretched outward, Aqua hovered on the surface of the lake. “Well,” she said impatiently, “stop staring at me, and turn around. I am going to get undressed.”

“Oh, right.” I had forgotten that Aqua, unlike dragons, actually cared about nudity. I suppose being a dragon has certainly changed some aspects of my mindset.

A few minutes later, Aqua was done with her cleaning, and we started flying above the surface of the water, moving toward her home which was located at the center of Asrai Lake.

The view was at once familiar and beautiful to the eyes. As far as the eyes could see was a sparkling lake of a majestic blue color, so faintly blue as to be almost a blinding white. This lake was then divided into sections by arches of rock upon which streams of water gently flowed downward into cascades and waterfalls. The Asrai Lake looked as if multiple giant, curled snakes had slithered out from the depths of the shimmering water.

That was not everything the Asrai Lake had to offer though. Many lands also rose out of the lake like giant mushrooms, and some of these lands even had a stream of water falling from a height of more than 300 feet.

Up above the skies, there were giant birds, of which only a few were carnivorous, flying in circles above these raised platforms of land. Down on the ground, near the edges of the interconnected lakes, where land divided the borders, there were also various animals, both large and small, drinking from the lakes.

It was a congregation of animals, prey and predator. Peace, however, was kept between these animals regardless of their hunter and hunted relationships when they came to the lakes. There was a sense of pureness to the Asrai Lake that could not be defiled by evil intentions or death, not even if the intention was out of a need for hunger and survival. And even if there was someone or some animal who chose to defile the lakes, the defilement would be met by an unstoppable force.

The force came in the form of the guardians of the Asrai Lake who did not welcome any troubles. They, the guardians, were the Kovani, one of the Greater Races.

With hair color ranging from blue to purple, the Kovani were a race of around twelve feet tall humanoids with elongated features such as their legs and eyes. With very light blue skin, ears that looked as if they were wearing shells, and dressed in robes or armors that were flowing in watery patterns, the Kovani were disconcerting, yet beautiful creatures. Their eyes were the most disconcerting. They were large, elongated, and almost unblinking eyes of a pure white with the barest hint of darker colored pupils.

In the seven major dragon territories, only one of the Greater Races, the Kovani, was allowed inside without permission from the Eldests. It was not out of kindness that the seven dragon Eldests condoned the presence of the Kovani inside their territories though. No, it was because the Eldests recognized the strength of the Kovani who guarded places of pureness such as the Asrai Lake. A few of the Kovani, after all, were as powerful as the Eldests!

“We are here, Verath!” Aqua said, tugging some top strands of hair on my head. Along the way, she had splashed some water at me in revenge.

“Quit that,” I said.

“Hehe, sorry. I was just a bit excited.”

Aqua's home, huh. Naturally, the Asrai or the aquatic fairies, due to living closely and having deep ties to the Asrai Lake (obviously named after their race), were quite close to the Kovani.

As one would expect from such a close tie, the Asrai lived near the center of the interconnected lakes, up atop a rising platform of land, where even a small forest grew at the top. The land defied every logic, with water even traveling upward the supporting pillars.

When I first came to the Asrai Lake, hearing about the place from Navra, I had sensed this aggregation of magic coming from the center of the lake in my tour of the lake. It was a powerful and beautiful magic that washed over me, making me feel at peace.

Serenity. There was only one word that could describe the purity of the magic I felt from the center of the Asrai Lake. It was no wonder the Kovani guarded it zealously.

In a way, I thought to myself, this was perhaps why the dragons who met Aqua, an Asrai with close ties to the Asrai Lake, did not make any troubles in regard to her. They either ignored Aqua or spoke with her briefly.

Flying closer toward the center of the lake, the pull of the pure magic became stronger and stronger. A great serenity settled over my mind.

'This is such a wondrous place,' Seraphine said from inside my mind.

'Indeed. It makes one wonder where the source of the magic comes from. It is a curiosity I would love to find out.'

'The water elementals back at home would love to come to such a place. The water is so concentrated and pure...' There was a sadness to Seraphine's voice. It felt as if her flames had dwindled, almost dying. It was a sadness that longed for her home, the Elemental Planes. I felt her strong emotion come through the bond, the strength of it enough to reach even me.

I was unsure whether I should say something, but I realized—I knew—that there were no words that could supplant her sadness. Seraphine would be bound to me until the day I died. She would never be able to go back home. She would always be stuck in this realm due to the mysterious Banishment phenomenon that sometime struck the elementals.

'You will always have me,' I said, venturing into unknown territories. It was not like me to do such a thing.

'Was that suppose to make me happy, my host?' Seraphine replied, the fire in her voice somewhat rekindled.

'Who knows...'

'Sounds almost like a proposal of love humans make, as I have found through your memories.'

'Love, eh? That's a curious emotion, one which I have never felt.'

'We are the same then. I too have never felt such a passion. We fire elementals are prideful, angry, and tempestuous. Well then, I will go back to keeping that Demon Lord company.'

'Thank you, Seraphine.'

At the same time I finished my conversation with Seraphine, we had arrived at the base of the raised land that stood as the center of the Asrai Lake. Cascades of water flowed downward from one side, while streams of water simultaneously flowed upward, traveling along the scale of the rock walls.

The presence of magic was all around us. It was most likely the reason why the water could flow upward, defying logic.

The base of the raised land, which was home to the Asrai, was similar to that of a mushroom, a base which became larger and larger as you get upward, before finally spreading outward at the cap. To get to the top of the land, which was more than a thousand feet up at the cap, you would need to start from the bottom of the pillar that supported the top land, due to the faint, shimmering bluish barrier that surrounded the land. This was the reason why both Aqua and I did not fly directly upward. Instead, we were flying above the surface of the lake, close to the very base of the encompassing rock pillar.

An enormous geyser of water exploded to the front of us, revealing a violet-haired Kovani that stood about thirteen feet tall and standing on the surface of the lake. The Kovani had the form of a male and was wearing water around his body like a layer of thick armor. In his left hand, he held a black trident that was taller than him. The weapon radiated magical power and had a shimmering blue sheen of aura surrounding the three cruel points of the trident.

“Asrai. I see you have brought the dragon here again,” the Kovani said, his voice deeper than the rumblings in the deepest depths of the oceans. Like the dragons and most of the Greater Races, the Kovani had the gift of communication, which allowed the Kovani to speak and hear in the recipient’s language.

“Kovani,” I said in a neutral tone, neither disrespect nor respect inflected.

“Good morning, Mister Ligenor!” Aqua said in a casual, cheerful voice from beside me.

It went past the Kovani, or Ligenor, I suppose, since that was his name. The Kovani had never bothered to tell me his name on my previous visit here either.

“Asrai. I have told you previously that the Kovani do not condone dragons here. They are creatures who bring death and pride themselves on their strength.”

“Verath is not like the others! He saved my life,” Aqua quickly replied in my defense.

Aqua was wrong. I had the blood of many lives on my hands, both humans and my sibling dragons. I was not as innocent as she made me out to be.

The Kovani set his unblinking eyes of pure white with just the barest darker shade of pupils on me. “The other dragons, you say? I would say this dragon you have here with you is worse than the other dragons. There is a sense of wrongness to him. Just his presence alone defiles this sacred place. It was with only the greatest consideration for you that I allowed this dragon to pass through on his previous visit.”

“You are wrong!” Aqua said, still faithfully defending me. “You do not know Verath like I do!”

Her words did not register with the Kovani. He merely stared unblinkingly at me, the watery armor flowing and shimmering around his arms.

“Know this, Asrai known as Aqua. If you choose to bring this dragon to the inner sanctum where your sisters and brothers reside, I will hold you responsible. One visit was enough. We, the Kovani, shall not allow another one. There will be dire consequences if you choose to bring this dragon with you.”

Hearing that, I could no longer stay silent. “What consequences?” I calmly asked before Aqua could get another word in.

“Centuries we have been guarding this place, long before the Asrai even came here. I and my Kovani brothers and sisters will not allow a blood-stained dragon to defile the inner sanctum. It is enough that the dragons are allowed to roam on the outer lakes. And you, Asrai, I will strip you of all that connects you to the inner sanctum if you choose to consort further with the dragons. It is good that I only needed to wait only a month to warn you when you come back.”

I saw Aqua about to answer angrily in response to the Kovani, but I stopped her before she could. “It is fine, Aqua. I do not need to visit your home...and you should no longer accompany me.”

Tears instantly formed at the edges of her aquamarine eyes at my words. In a shaky voice, Aqua softly said, “Do you really feel that way? You saved my life when you could have just abandoned me. You saved me when that Traken attacked me at the cost of an injury to yourself. We are friends, you and I!”

“No, we are not, Aqua. We were never friends from the start. It was on a whim that I saved you, and out of curiosity that I took you along with me. To be honest, I never truly cared,” I said, my voice neither harsh nor kind—just indifferent. It made my words hurt all the more, an agony that was reflected upon the aquatic fairy's crying face.

Tears were falling down freely. “You lie,” Aqua said, her voice becoming even more unsteady, even more unsure.

“I resolve you of your debt to me. You are no longer my caretaker. Farewell, Aqua,” I said, my back already turned toward her. I was readying to fly away.

Then I soared high above into the skies, causing a few ripples on the surface of the lake, and traveled in a speed faster than Aqua could ever hope to achieve. She would not catch up to me even if she used her full speed.

For a few seconds, however, Aqua was steadily behind me, but this lasted only for a short moment. The distance between us grew further and further apart, until she could no longer be seen and a thicket of trees were in between us. Until her incoherent shouts could no longer reach me.

'Was that a wise thing to do, my host?' Seraphine tentatively asked within my mind. 'What if she continues following us?'

'It is better to make a firm break; she should not leave her family, friends, and sisters for me. And she will soon realize her folly in following me,' I merely said. I was sure that Aqua would not follow me.

'If you say so, my host.'

Seraphine did not bother to correct me. No doubt, she knew what I was truly feeling through the bond I shared with her. After all, what Seraphine felt through the bond when I left Aqua with those words had been enough to make her question me.

'It is alright. You still have me, now and forever,' Seraphine said in a firm voice as steady as the blaze of an undying fire.

I did not answer Seraphine. There was no need to. We both knew what each other felt through our bond. The bond was not all-knowing, but it was enough to give a general idea.

It was just enough.

I looked upward at the sky. The sun was still shining brilliantly and the skies were mostly clear, the few clouds drifting lazily passed by.

It was not raining, yet what was this wetness I felt?

Ah, right. It must have been that Aqua splashing me water again in revenge.

<><><><><>

From my meditation inside the deeper parts of Animus, where not even Demon Lord Codrixas or Seraphine could enter, I opened my eyes to the strange surroundings.

A scarlet sea of pure blood. A sky of red-orange fire. And floating on the sea of pure blood were enormous plates of earth.

All of these combined represented the three elements this dragon body had—Fire, Earth, and Blood.

Using Aeris to hold myself in the air, I was sitting cross-legged above the calm sea of blood around me. Four months and a half had quickly passed by and there was only a week before the Inter-clan Tournament would start.

As for Aqua, she was nowhere to be seen. She had not foolishly followed me. In a way, I was relieved at that. It would be foolish of her to cut all ties to the inner sanctum of Asrai Lake where all her sisters and family were at.

I shook these unneeded thoughts free from their shackles.

In these four months and a half, I had improved my Ancient magic far more considerably than I would have thought possible. I had improved at an almost exponential rate.

I could now easily use fire magic up to an eighty feet radius circle quite easily, and half of that for my earth magic. My magic could now also reach up to a distance of 300 feet and I could sense incoming magic within a distance of 250 feet.

Due to being able to use more of the potential magic capacity I have, I could now use Aeris and Volarus to fly for about an hour straight before tiring. The Flames of Interitum, or the dark flames, could also cover my entire body at great intensity for two minutes before I became tired.

All in all, I suppose my magic had improved from three times its original state.

A few days ago, I had also finally perfected the two Ancient blood magic spells I had been learning in deep Animus state for the past month. The two spells were ideas that had come to me two months ago and the past month had been entirely devoted to learning the two spells, which had come into being in the form of these Ancient dragon words.

Sangius Descros—Blood Death.

Sangius Melos—Blood Song.

The two Ancient blood magic spells, especially the first spell, were ones I could only use under dire situations.

I inadvertently shivered a little.

There was just something strange about this Deep Animus place I was in. It was as if I could feel a pair of eyes staring at me from the corners of this place. Where the stare came from, I did not have one bit of clue. It could have come from the depths of the sea of blood, or from the sky of fire above. I did not know—all I knew was that I felt a pair of eyes always staring at me since two months ago.

The stare somehow felt familiar, yet fear-inducing at the same time. It was a familiar feeling I had felt before, but I just could not put a finger to it.

I did not bother to think about the stare any longer. It would remain a mystery for now, though I had my suspicions that it could have been due to the souls bound to me, or perhaps even Navra.

“Virdus Vict Sangius,” I said out loud.

Immediately at my words, the sea of blood below me trembled ever so slightly, before a geyser of blood exploded outward. The stream of blood reached toward me, surrounding my entire body, and cladding me in my Dragon Living Blood Armor.

Deep Animus was the best place to train. Your magic would never run out and you would never feel physically tired inside there. All the elements you could use were also at your beck and call. Fire, blood, and earth, all three elements I could use were within reach.

A few hours passed by as I used my entire arsenal of Ancient magic spells at my disposal. There were eight Ancient blood magic spells I could use, and a few other spells of the earth and fire element. Only a few spells that was a combination of earth and fire magic, however, could somewhat match up to the power of Ancient dragon blood magic.

Elder Kronos has shown the three of us the method to mix elements together. It was the next step above Aural Weaving, where you open multiple magical channels that connected to your Animus. It had taken weeks before I could even mix a small amount of my fire and earth element together through these magic channels.

To truly mix elements together, you would need to pour forth a mix form of transformed magic that consisted of two or more elements. For example, simply using earth magic in one hand and fire magic in the other hand was not considered a mixing of the elements. And even if you combine both hands to use earth and fire magic, it still would not be considered a mix of elements.

For magic to be considered a mix of elements, you would have to combine the magic channels of different elements into one channel of magic.

To make it clearer, I could create molten fire by separately using earth magic and fire magic, but if I use magic that mixes the elements, I could just outright create molten fire without resorting to separate magic elements.

Of course, there were also complications involved in elements that were simply not compatible. Blood and fire just did not go well together. I was still having trouble making advancement with that regard.

With one final attack, I separated a huge wall of earth with Sangius. The wall was sliced perfectly into two, almost without any rough edges in the slice I made.

Finally, I woke myself out of Deep Animus.

Opening my eyes, I found myself on a chain of convex-shaped ridges at the middle of the mountain. The place was an isolated place in the chain of mountains that surrounded the valley where the three of us trained with Elder Kronos.

The sun had long gone down and it was nighttime.

Silence was in the air and all around me. There was not one sound to be heard, not even from an insect.

There was only a week left before the Inter-clan Tournament would start. And tomorrow, I would have to meet with the other two dragons that would participate as the representatives of our Arkanan clan.

The Inter-clan Tournament would take place in the territory of the Astlan dragon Scorchgrasp clan. The Scorchgrasp clan was one of the seven major Astlan dragon clans and had the largest territory out of the seven clans. The original Astlan Dragon King was also from the Scorchgrasp clan.

It was there in the heart of the Scorchgrasp clan territory that the Inter-clan Tournament would take place with thirty five total dragons, all of them under the age of 5, all of them who had passed their second tribulations.

It would be a battle that would be closely spectated by all the Elder and Eldest dragons in all seven major clans. The winning team and the individual winning champion would be hailed as the strongest young dragon with the most potential.

The pride and strength of each Astlan dragon clan was invested into the representatives, and Navra had basically commanded me to win the tournament, including the higher tournament where the Greater Races would participate.

And I would have to win all those battles without resorting to the Flames of Interitum or devouring a dragon. None could know of the soul of Demon Lord Codrixas and my true heritage as the son of Navra Bloodseeker, and Uraza, the Black Serpent of the East, the Devourer of Dragons.

Malia, my fake mother, after all, had disappeared, and she had been the only one to know of this secret. There was no doubt in my mind that Navra had killed Malia and erased any traces of her existence.

It was just too suspicious to think Navra would have nothing to do with Malia's disappearance after I was adopted by him. Elder Kronos himself had even confirmed Malia's disappearance.

I would have to remain vigilant of Elder Kronos, for he was already suspicious of Navra and me. But thankfully, there was no dragon alive other than Navra who knew of the existence of the Devourer of Dragons, so blood magic and a strange, black-colored dragon that had never before been born before could only be a result of luck, or perhaps some sort of fate. No one would think that the black-colored dragon was the son of the Devourer of Dragons. They would just think that I was like the rare white colored or violet colored dragons.

I let out a small sigh.

'Feeling troubled, Verath?' Seraphine asked.

'Quite so. I wish I could just get away from all of this. I feel as if I were a puppet controlled by the strings of Lady fate, or perhaps I should say Navra.'

'Peaceful is boring. The fires of battles and war are the most interesting, especially to fire elementals.'

'Somehow, I think Eden would agree to that,' I replied with a slightly amused voice.

'Ah, that blonde-haired dragon? I have a feeling we would get along. It is a shame I cannot show myself before her though.'

'For that, I am somewhat thankful. I have a feeling that the both of you would be too much for me to handle.'

I let out another small sigh.

'I can only think that secrets and mysteries will be my downfall. Navra is an irresolute and secretive dragon. I can only blindly grope around in the dark, picking up the pieces of information he deigns to tell me. I fear someday the strings with which he holds me up will break.'

'You will still have me though.'

'A strange black-colored dragon and a Lesser Fire Elemental, eh? How fitting indeed.'

'Fire knows fire.'

'If I did not know any better, I would think that you, a fire elemental, are professing love for me.'

At that, Seraphine only let out a fiery laugh. 'Fire goes well with fire, obviously,' she said in a tone that would make someone think that was the most obvious statement in the world.

Volume 3 (Chapter 16)