The morning arrived, and Ragna’s group gathered outside Utgard at the steppe while the nation-state remained hidden in the shadows, in the Mana Realm. Only the city’s outer ring that acted as a border was visible. With them were Geißel, Quin, and Nephthys.

“So, where’s the plane?” Ragna rubbed her arms. The morning wind sent a chill through her spine, dispersing any tiredness that remained from her sleep. The sun was still rising, and whatever rays it sent, grey clouds had obscured.

“Look up. It’s already here.” Nephthys bent his arms and hands in a ninety-degree angle around his head as if he were a painting behind a portrait looking at museum visitors. “Flood the banquet, Nitocris.”

Ragna and her group followed Nephthys’ words. They gazed upon the sky and froze.

A rainbow circle materialized above their heads, and out of it flew an airship. Its lavender body arched into a shape that resembled the hybrid of a hummingbird and a fish. Like a cross, four wings extended from it. The machine hovered above them, but looking at it, one wouldn’t know if it would allow one to soar through the skies or dive into the ocean’s depths.

“What is this?” Altera asked.

“That, my friends, is my Kaa, Nitocris.” Nephthys smiled and put his arms on his hips.

“Your what?” This time, Eric asked.

Nephthys smiled. “My Kaa. Us folks from Kemet-Raa don’t manifest a power the guardian spirits in our souls have granted us, and we don’t transform them into weapons. Nay, we summon them as comrades in arms to fight and protect. It's neither a Fylgja nor a Ysbryd. A Kaa “stands” in as the manifestation of our essence.”

“What was that pose?” Ragna asked.

“Ah, that?” Nephthys shrugged. “That’s just something you do on instinct when you summon your Kaa. Everyone with one has their own pose.”

“Ah.” Ragna snickered. “How vogue.”

“That humanity is capable of such feats.” Jareth couldn’t stop staring at the airship. “Truly marvelous.”

The vehicle descended to the ground. Its body opened up, and a platform of light materialized from the machine, leading to the steppe.

“Everybody on board.” Nephthys pointed at the airship and bowed like a butler. “We’re about to take off.”

While Quin waved them goodbye, Ragna’s group stepped on the platform and boarded the airship.

֎

“How big is this thing?” On his seat, Eric leaned against his window and whistled. “That’s how it must look like on Minanaught.”

Clouds stretched out around the airship, forming into a sea that filled the sky with the beauty of a snow-covered field. It complemented the scenery into a picture of blue and white that wished to express how world peace and happiness weren’t pipe dreams but within grasps.

Nephthys piloted the airship while Eric, Jareth, and Ragna were sleeping behind him on their seats. Next to him, Altera played with a spinner, and Nevo had disappeared to the Mana Realm.

According to Altera, he could appear and disappear whenever he wanted, but she could feel him, so she knew he was safe.

“Even after a million times, I never get tired of this.” Nephthys joined Eric and looked outside. “When I learned how to use my Kaa, I actually spent an entire year in the sky.”

“Seriously? Wait, who’s piloting the ship?” Eric turned around. No one was sitting at the captain’s chair.

“My Kaa can fly itself. She only needs me on rough terrain. Like when we would fly through a canyon.”

“Ahhh. So, you've learned how to pilot a plane?”

Nephthys shook his head. “I lied a bit earlier. Our Kaa actually give us a few minor abilities. For example, I can ride stuff. From skateboards to cars and trains to planes, I know how to ride any machine that can transport humans from point A to B.”

“How nifty.”

Nephthys nodded. “Do you know why I like this view so much? It represents freedom.” Before Eric could form a theory, Nephthys had answered his question. “We’re not free, not as long as human society exists as it does. Rules, morals, convictions, and what you have. How can we ever be ourselves when society tells us what to be and rejects who we are?”

Eric shrugged. “It’s one of society’s fundamental pillars: safety and law in exchange for freedom. We can’t have everyone run amok killing willy-nilly. If I’m safe, it’s okay if others have less freedom. And I’ve less freedom so others can be safe.”

“But it’s not like that.” Nephthys raised his voice. “How often do laws exist to push some agenda or some world view? The lawmakers, kings, and rulers, they’re free. And they take our freedom. But not here. Only Raa sees me here, and Raa will not judge me before I pass away. I can be me.”

“Sounds lonely,” Eric said. “You can’t bring other people here, or else they will impose their will on you.”

Nephthys smiled. “I just have to find the right people. If we see the world the same way, we can share the sky, and if we don’t, we can go out of our way till we don’t wanna argue anymore.”

“I wonder about that. Do you know the story of the first two cars in Den Valkyria?

Nephthys tilted his head. “Huh?”

“It was around 110 Bevor Revival. The automotive industry was booming, and the first cars for public use became available. Of course, there wasn’t much supply yet, and production took a while. Anyway, at that time, only two people in Den Valkyria had cars. And they crashed into each other.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Whether that story’s true, it has become popular. Do you know why? Because it’s a mirror for us humans. We have this annoying habit of getting into each other’s ways. If you want to be free, then you have to be the last human alive. And that’s lonely.”

“You’re an asshole.” Nephthys glared at him.

Eric gave Nephthys a weird look, but before he could ask him what was wrong, Nephthys raised his eyes open and turned around.

“Don’t touch that!” Nephthys heightened his voice and slapped Altera’s hand away as her fingers had been about to touch a trapezohedron.

“Ouch. What was that for?” Altera pouted, rubbing the swelling on the back of her hand.

“Seriously, you’re sometimes more curious than a monkey.” Nephthys massaged his temple. “That’s the airship’s core. If you touch it…It won’t end well for us.”

“Sorry.” Altera let her head down. “I just wanted to distract myself. And that trapezohedron was just…It was mesmerizing.”

“I get it. Just don’t touch it.” Nephthys remained silent for a few seconds until he opened his mouth again. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m just feeling uneasy.”

“I get that.” Nephthys grinned. “Sometimes, the entire world seems bleak. But there is always a new morning. The sun will always be there, even if you can’t see it. And miracles can happen.”

“Sorry, it’s just since we’ve entered Glast I have this weight on my shoulders. It’s like someone’s watching me. I know it’s all in my mind, but I can’t shake off the feeling that someone’s following me.”

Nephthys’ fake smile disappeared. His eyes narrowed. “You’ve been stalked before, right?”

Altera nodded.

“Your instincts are trying to warn you. I have a bad feeling.”

“But how? We’re in the sky.”

From the cockpit, a beeping sound emerged, waking up Ragna and Jareth.

“What’s going on?” Ragna rubbed her eyes.

“The radar's picked something up.”

The sky darkened. Everyone turned their heads to the cockpit, and when their eyes stared at the entity approaching them, they grew alarmed.

Four leathery wings span from one end of the sky to the other. Obsidian covered its body through which dark purple light ran like veins. Spikes propelled out of its joints. Fangs grew from a mouth that wouldn’t hesitate to tear through metal and flesh. And its eyes – golden slits of greed incarnate.

“Is…that…” Eric stuttered, unable to say the word that would describe the creature. “Is that a…”

“That can’t be.” Altera’s armor covered her body. “All seven should be dead. They should be long extinct.”

“Then what’s that?” Ragna pointed at it.

“Such an opulent creature.” Jareth looked at it. His voice didn’t reveal an ounce of terror. “I wonder what it is.”

“Don’t stand there like idiots,” Nephthys shouted. “We’ve to get the fuck out of here.”

“Maybe we should try to fight it.” Jareth titled his head. “I doubt this creature has come in peace. It would give me a good first impression of the beasts here.”

“Are you insane?” Nephthys facepalmed. “That thing will kill us. We’ve to get out of here and warn Avalon. Nitocris, activate max speed.”

The airship’s engine started to whizz. Rainbow lights ran through the silver interior, and the machine accelerated.

In response, the dragon roared, releasing a shockwave from its mouth. The impact rocked the plane and tore into the metal and glass.

Runes glowed on the dragon’s wings. The monster set its eyes on the machine, and its speed increased.

Nephthys changed her Kaa’s course. The airship flew upwards and, once it had increased the distance, performed a slalom. Facing the dragon’s body, Nitocris fired rounds of bullets.

The dragon didn’t change its trajectory. It continued to hound them through the sky. Its body deflected the projectiles, and the monster drew out its claw. Runes on its arms flared up as the dragon swiped against the airship. The nails ripped a hole through the metal, and its golden eyes stared into the opening.

Nephthys screamed and pressed her hands further against the wheel. She wouldn’t let go.

Winds stormed inside the machine. The passengers held onto the first thing that could prevent them from falling to their deaths, dangling for their lives as behind them loomed the dragon’s eye. A black portal that golden greed surrounded screamed its desire to devour them all.

The dragon drew out its second arm and raised it to the sky. Its claws pointed at the metal like drills. Ready to tear it apart, the dragon let his arm fall.

Nephthys swan-dived his machine into the clouds, and the dragon missed. It roared anew. A shockwave erupted from its mouth, blasting away all the cover in the Kaa's vicinity.

Nitocris turned its flight to a parabellum and raced in a diagonal line away from the impact point. Metal and engines whistled from the heat. Mist started to spew around it, following like a tail.

And the dragon charged after them. The runes on its four wings glowed. It had evaporated all clouds, yet the molecules in the sky formed into rain. The water fell and splashed against the machine. With every second, the drops whipped against the airplane. Dents built into the metal. Cracks expanded from the impact. Like bullets, they bombarded Nitocris.

But Nephthys didn’t stop. He increased his Kaa’s angle until it flew horizontally above the enemy. The airship’s belly opened up and dropped a missile.

If the dragon had noticed Nephthys’ counterattack, it didn’t relent. It roared and sped towards Nitocris’ head.

The missile hit its neck and exploded. Smoke expanded; booms vibrated through the sky. The airship rattled from the sound, and the dragon emerged from the clouds.

Blood rivered out of its body. Scales and spikes were missing. But its speed didn’t slow down; its chase never halted. The monster rammed its body against the airship and crashed through the metal. It tore the Kaa apart. A cleft separated the two halves of the one once-whole machine.

Nephthys sank into his seat, his arms dropping from the wheel. They hung loosely from his body. All light had disappeared from his eyes. His mouth was open, but no sound came out. No movement occurred, no breath escaped, and no heart beat.

The dragon opened its mouth. In a swift movement, it snapped Ragna and swallowed her. It flew upwards and looked down on the Kaa. Rain fell around it. Its runes and the wing’s edges glowed. The dragon charged at them at high speed and cut through them with its wings before they could react.

֎

Altera raised her eyes open. She jolted up from her bed and looked around. Everything was dark. She snapped her fingers, and the light went on.

Her breath became heavy and irregular. Pain filled her eyes, and tears of blood ran down her face. Sweat glued her shirt to her skin. Her body and bed reeked of fear and sickness, and her heart throbbed, believing it would die the next moment.

Altera’s arms quivered, and a shudder raced down her spine. Her fingers touched her stomach, and where the dragon had slashed through, she flinched. Even though her body was whole, it remembered the sensation of skin and flesh ripping apart.

For her body, there was no mistake. She had died.

“Was…?” She looked down at her finger. “Was this really a dream?”