Chapter 1

Pyramid of Light

Oct. 2, 2054. Friday. 1:14 PM

“Look look! It’s the Elven City!” The cries of the Drezo Regalias and the resident of Draconis Village cried out in pure excitement. The battle with Russ had been taxing upon the young dragons and their partners, and the sight of the City of Elements brought hope in their heart.

Off in the distance was a beautiful forest city. A perfect natural landscape that mixed the floral and building into one. Out of all the kingdom in the Fire Continent, the City of Element is the number one beautiful city in the world. Everything about the city was spectacular and the City of Diadem that they just came from were not even close to the dazzling beauty that the City of Element portrayed. People and dragons all stood on the edge of the Draconis Village in the hopes to get a better glimpse.

“I knew it! City of Element is truly outstanding!”

“I’m definitely going down to the city and having a date with my boyfriend.”

A lot of couples heard about the romantic hot spot attraction of the Elven City. The beautiful scenery to a great resort for a vacation, it was the number one tourist attraction in Growth.

“Me too. I heard there is a famous spot where a lot of couples go too.”

The resident’s voices excitedly chattered. Zero was sitting on the edge of the cliff also partaking on the beautiful view. He had been wearing the Anubis armor covered from head-to-toe in black. The only thing that he took off was the helmet that covered half of his face. Today he wanted to relax and enjoy the view. From killing invading monsters nonstop to the attack by Russ had made him tired.

“Zero.” Agnis called out to him.

He turns around and noticed her sitting down next to him. For the past two days he been avoiding her like a plague. The embarrassment of stealing a kiss from her lips were still fresh in his mind. It was just a simple kiss, but even still he felt embarrassed and stupid for avoiding her.

His mind and his heart was both rattled. He knew that it was just a kiss, there was nothing more than that, but instead his heart fluttered like a butterfly making him immensely uncomfortable. Until he got both his heart and thought in sync, he decided to stay away from her for a while.

How long had it been since he kissed a girl’s lips? Seven years or was it five? In all honesty, he never did too well with girls. His brother, Kyle, was a different story. Every week he had a different girl in his arm, while Kiyro would be stuck on the first step: asking a girl out. Talking with them on everyday conversation was not difficult, asking them out and get flatly denied was the thing that held him back. This was the one thing that made him frustrated at himself, and that specific night when he helped her out, he did something that he never thought he would ever do in his life. An instinctual kiss and a hug.

The sweet lull of her womanly scent and soft hair had temporarily disabled him into doing something so stupid. He head hurted just thinking about it. There were steps for crying out loud, not go straight to the kiss. He chastised himself for taking it too fast.

Kyle had the natural knack for going straight for what he wanted, while he took the old fashioned route and took it slow and steady. Thinking about it, he couldn’t help himself in thinking that he was similar in the aspect with his brother from his impulsive behavior that he had shown.

“I’m very sorry.” Zero flat out spoke. Even though he had already stated sorry in the first place, he couldn’t help himself from saying it once again.

“What for?” Agnis asked confused.

“The k-k-kiss and avoiding you.” Zero face turned scarlet. He wanted to bang his head against the ground for even bringing it up. Better yet he wanted to shoot himself for being so unlike himself. What the heck was he even getting flustered for? He never got this flustered. Ever.

“Ah.…that.…” Agnis went quiet.

The silence became so unbearable that Zero was trying to find some subject to talk with her about, but nothing came to his mind.

“Don’t worry about it. I mean you helped me out when I was in a tight spot. I should be the one that said I’m sorry.”

“You?” Zero was completely confused. Was there something that Eve did that made her say that?

“I was not in any sane mind at that time. I was terrified and you help me snap out of it. Without your help I think I would’ve died from an heart attack.” Agnis voice was soft. “Not only that, I should’ve let you in my room when the teacher came by. I got a bit too scared and left you there to fend for yourself. You got in trouble.”

“Oh, that.” Zero remembered the night when Angel was on the girl’s dormitory. The fateful night, he thought he heard him say Kyle’s name. “Don’t worry about it. Angel left a moment later.”

“I’m sorry.” Her voice became barely audible as she ducked her head low in shame.

“It’s alright.” He tried to change the mood. “So, what is it that you need?”

“Yea… I just wanted to sit and enjoy the view with you.”

“Oh. Sure.” Zero moved his hands allowing Agnis to get more comfortable. For the next fifteen minutes, they silently gazed off into the distance. Even though they were not the only ones there, both of them enjoy each other’s company.

“So how have you been doing in class?” Agnis broke the silence first.

“Eh, the same old. Learning about science and taking basic classes. The life is just a typical repeat of each day.”

“Tell me about it, though I’m glad that the classes we are taking can be used for credits if we decided to go to an actual College. I mean, at first I thought it was strange that we would be taking regular classes instead of some kind of bogus magic show or something. I mean, it’s just a bit strange.”

“I thought so too, but the Academy seems to be teaching more science. I’m starting to understand the concept of how it’s supposed to help our skills grow, but still, metaphysical abilities and science are literally on opposite ends.”

“Not really if you actually think about it. Learning the law of the world, actually been helping me develop my abilities even more. I heard that the people who use Elemental abilities have shown some serious progress.”

“Really? I should go ask M2 later on when he has a chance.”

“Why? Does he have an elemental skill?”

“Yea, if I remember correctly fire.”

“That’s pretty neat. Though it makes me wonder why you don’t have that skill. I mean come on in this game you’re a dragon for a crying out loud.”

Zero shrugged his shoulder. “Beats me. If I did it would be awesome, but still life is life. I guess maybe using fire too much in this game made me not want to learn that skill. It’s almost like breathing. You just don’t see it as a skill anymore.”

“That is an interesting way to put it.”

“Well, what I do want to learn is maybe some kind of electric energy or maybe some crazy ice skills. I don’t know, but they sound so much cooler than fire.”

“Really? I thought fire was quite a powerful.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t. It’s just I’m a bit bored with it.” He dryly chuckled.

“Ah, I see. You’re that type of person.”

“What do you mean that type of person? You make it sound like it’s a very bad thing.”

“Not at all. Just saying your attention span is short. Once you’re done learning the skill, you probably want to just move on to the next skill.”

“Thanks.”

“I don’t mean anything bad.” Agnis pouted. Her cute puffy cheeks made Zero want to poke at it to see if it was actually fluffy.

“I know.” Zero chuckled. “I was just pulling your leg.”

“For a second, I thought you were really mad at me.” She scowled.

“What if I was? What would you do?” Zero raised one of his eyebrows and examined her face. He could see her lips twitching at the unexpected question.

“Nothing.” She gave up and sighed.

“What? Nothing? I mean you just hurt my feelings and you would do nothing?”

“Yes.”

“That’s inhumane. You’re not going to console this broken heart?”

“Nope.”

“Heartless.” Zero whinned. “I’m going to tell on you to Zeraph.”

“You wouldn’t. That’s so childish.”

“I would.” Zero stated. He couldn’t help but feel happy at the slight tease that they were both having. “I would say. Agnis is a heartless bully who doesn’t know compassion. She would skewer a man’s heart and put salt and pepper on it. Then she would cook it in the oven and feed it to the dogs.”

“Pft. Zeraph is not going to care. He’s Zeraph. You failed on your comeback.”

“You know what. I did not at all. I mean, I’m sure Zeraph will dish out a couple of jabs at you. He does throw in some wicked punches.”

“What wicked punches? Were you guys just talking about me?” Zeraph stepped up from behind them. Both of them turned around to see him there.

“Zeraph! Welcome to let’s tease Agnis for she is a heartless devourer club.”

“Oh? I’m in where do I sign?” Zeraph wickedly grinned. “I mean teasing is not my forte. I’m best in torturing though.”

“Ah ha…that doesn’t sound like a wise move, Zeraph.” Agnis laughed. “I mean, you torture? Seriously? Mr. Playboy tortures souls sounds a highly impractical thing.”

“I wouldn’t be to sure about that.” Zeraph happily replied back. “I mean I’m very good at it too. Just tell me who and I’ll get right down to business.”

“Let’s not.” Agnis got up and patted Zeraph’s shoulder. “I mean we don’t want the prince charming spoiling his beautiful elven hands on blood do we? Girls throw themselves at you from left and right. You need to make sure you catch them.”

“I personally wouldn’t want too though. I would rather leave the catching to Zero here. He needs a bit of a push if you know what I mean.” Zeraph winked towards Zero.

Zero coughed to clear his throat. He got up and elbowed Zeraph to shut up.

“Anyways, we’re a couple hours away from the City of Elements. Get ready to descend. We’re going in now.”

“So soon?” Agnis asked disappointed. “I was enjoying our time together here you know.”

“Yea, but we need to talk with the Elven Queen before we intrude in on their hospitality. Honestly, I was going to do it yesterday but I got caught up with something. So now here we are. Better to get it done then never.”

The flying island slowly started to descend towards the City of Elements from the sky. All of a sudden, an arrow sped past Zero’s head and embedded itself onto the nearby tree.

Zero was momentarily stupefied. He did not expect an attack all of a sudden.

“What the hell?” Zeraph scanned the ground. His hands were already on a bow and arrow. Even Agnis followed right behind him with hers. “Who in the right mind will da-”

Another arrow flew by and this time past Zeraph’s head. With a thunk, it embedded itself into another tree, but this time on the end were a rope tied to the other end. Zeraph barely dodged it in time, before his head would be skewered by the arrow. Instead, he slipped out his sword in the middle of putting away his bow in one fluid motion and cut the rope in half.

“Gahhhhh!”

A unknown male’s voice could be heard hurling down to there death.

“Are we being ambushed?” Agnis leaned over with her bow in front of her. Hundreds of arrows flew out from the trees and embedded itself into the rock.

“We’re being invaded!” Zero’s voice shouted out in alarm.

Every single person that was near by heard, Zero’s yell and quickly got into position ready to fight. They cut through the flying arrows and the ropes trying to stop the invasion from succeeding. Thousands upon thousands of thick bolts attached with ropes flew towards the flying island. This time a good sixty percent of the bolts embedded itself into the solid ground.

“Damn it, why now? Is not even possible for Russ to get here in two days!” Zero cried out, he shifted into his dragon form. He slashed through the oncoming bolts and tore through the thick ropes.

Agnis jumped onto his back and put away her bow. Instead, she switched towards her sword. Zero jumped off the cliff and skidded downwards on the side of the flying island. He pushed himself off the wall and onto the thick ropes. Each rope, he viciously tore through with his teeth and claw. Even Agnis brandished her sword to cut through the thick ropes that were pulling down the flying island.

“Incoming!” Zeraph yelled. He darted through the another swarm of arrows that landed itself into the side of the cliff..

Zero saw the third wave of arrows that came pelting downwards like a rain. Agnis raised up her hands. Blue flames curled out from the side of her magical item and into her hands. A blast of holy fire flew outwards covering both Zero and Agnis from the pelting arrows.

“What’s going on?” Zero used his claws to jumped onto the wall and pushed himself off towards the next rope. His hands curled around the ropes. He pulled himself up and skidded downwards towards the ground. He was going to find out the cause of this strange event even if he had to face the enemy head on.

If it was thieves he was going to make sure he slaughtered them all before they got onto the Draconis Village.

“To your right, Zero!” Agnis yelled. She threw her sword on to the incoming player. Her sword impaled the player through his chest causing him to falter back. Agnis jumped off his back and ran downwards. She pulled out the sword from the man’s chest and kicked him roughly off the rope.

Zero snapped at the air, where a man came jumping out from the tree. The man’s knife clashed against Zero’s teeth, causing the man to be pushed backwards.

With a thump, Zero landed on the base of the forest floor. Looking around, he noticed wooden ballista like objects hampered down onto the ground and reeling in the rope. Zero ran towards the machine and destroyed it in fell swoop.

“Capture him!” A voice shouted from the tree. Hundreds of hideous looking elven players jumped downwards with a large metal net.

“Zero!” Agnis shouted. She fought viciously with the nearest player and killed him in a couple of strikes. Dashing in an outward circle, Agnis fought her way though.

A metallic clank could be heard hitting against the ground. Zero was completely covered in a large metal net. Furious, Zero swung his neck and tail to the side hitting any one that was to near him. The net tangled around his neck and tail making it a bit more harder to move.

Zero roared. He blew out a torrent of red flames that doused the surrounding area in one go.

“Gah! Get back! It can blow fire!”

“Shit, the nets scalding hot!”

“Move! Move! Move! We need to capture them at all cost!”

“What about the elf?!”

“Kill her!”

“Don’t you dare touch her!” A fierce scream that pierced through every one’s soul could be heard bursting out from Zero’s throat.

Temporarily Stunning effect has gone into effect for ten seconds. A dragon’s roar has caused all enemies status to be reduced by 3%. Your companions power and speed has increased by 3%.

Almost everyone froze from the roar, only a couple few were able to get out of its effect without being affected. This gave Zero a chance to send out another blast of fire, but this time the color of his flames were black All who were caught up in it were burned alive by this unholy fire causing rapid damage. Water did not quench the roaring flames of the Dark Fire, instead it roared to life even more as it consumed the bodies of the living.

“What the hell is this?” Screams of the attacking players could be heard in anguish.

“It’s not going out!”

“Gah! Someone save me! I’ve been cursed.”

The bodies fell forward onto the ground dead. Zero was slowly starting to rack up experience points from the attack. He pulled to one side causing the metal net to fall to the side, giving him a chance to break free.

Zero did not stop in spewing out Dark Fire. He viciously continued to devour his enemies in flames. His sharp claws drove through metal armor, batting the players away like flies. Even his tail whipped around him like a cobra striking downwards at unsuspecting prey. He was a embodiment of a True Dragon that struck fear into the heart of the enemy.

The arrows bounced off his thick black and gold scales. Even the mid-grade weapons did not cut through. Zero plowed through the weak group of low level players like butter and he made his way towards Agnis, dragging the metal net along with him.

Agnis used this opportunity to dash behind cover of Zero’s large body giving her a chance to recuperate. Her weapons changed to her bow and arrow. Her deadly aim, struck every enemy squarely in the most unexpecting areas that caused massive damage. Agnis skill with the bow had rose towards an intermediate level making her a deadly force to be reckon with. Anyone who came to close, she would use her bow to flip them onto the ground and shoot them through the face. Her arrows barely missed a single target, making her into a dangerous opponent.

Both of them were in perfect harmony, making their attack vicious. Their combo was a beautiful but deadly art of slaughtering their opponent in couple of swipes. They finally wiped out the rest till no one was left alive.

“That..was…a…pain.” Agnis was panting in between each word. “I don’t like where this is going. Do you think Russ sent a messenger up ahead to the Queen?” She worriedly asked. With quick hands, she pulled off the net on Zero.

“I don’t think so. If I remember correctly the Human Kingdom and the Elven Kingdom are not so close. It would’ve been a different story with the dwarves.”

“That would make sense, but still….” Agnis scaled up on Zero’s back. She made herself comfortable.

“Are there monsters in the Elven city? I was sure those were actually players.”

“Yea, I thought it was strange too. I know for a fact that there isn’t any new monster species players out. This is really strange.”

“I noticed. Hold on tight. We’re going to bulldoze our way through.” Zero started to trot and then went into a run. Even though he was not as fast as a cheetah, he knew he was running faster than a horse. For someone his size, this was quite a feat.

Up ahead, they saw three Drezo Regalia’s underneath the metal net surrounded by hunters.

“I got this.” Agnis replied. She steadily brought up her bow and fired. Each shot perfectly hit their target causing the Hunters to falter back. Some died from the critical wound and even some fell onto the ground. Her hands continued to dish out attack after attack not allowing a single hunter to get up and retaliate. In seconds, she got rid of every single one of them without even Zero’s help.

“Chief Librarian!” A green baby dragon cried out from underneath metal net. Compare to the other two dragons that were players, this was an NPC.

“How did you guys end up down here?” Zero pulled the metal net off of them.

“We followed you.” All three chimed in.

Zero groaned. He should’ve known. He was seriously a bad example to these young dragons, especially the babies. He heard from resident that the baby dragons had been copying his moves and running into deadly fights just to be like him. They all thought that this was the way to show the courage of the dragon’s spirit.

“Do not follow me!” Zero sternly stated. “You guys could’ve gotten killed. Especially you!” He glared at the green dragon.

“B-b-but.”

“Adventurers have a gift of Resurrection, but you do not. How would your companion feel if you were killed in action? Huh? It leaves behind a nasty aftertaste!”

“I’m sorry.” The green dragon bowed its head in defeat. He was shaking, ready to cry.

“Go back up and tell the other young dragons to lock themselves underground. There will be chances to prove your worth later on.” Zero voice gently spoke. He nudge baby dragon onto its feet.

“And you.” Zero snapped his head towards the green dragon’s companion. The little boy who was tied up were startled by Zero’s sudden movement. “You should be protecting your dragon. Not head straight into battle. Do you both want to die!” He growled.

“I-I-I” The boy stuttered.

Agnis slide down his back and cut the ropes loose on the three humans.

“Learn from this lesson and get back into town.”

The boy nodded and picked up his green baby dragon. The other two players were also huddled around there dragons. They were the size of a large dog, but were not considered strong at this point in time. Zero guess they were around the level of 40-50.

“You should know better than to bring over the NPC.” Zero growled. Smoke spewed out of his nose making him look dangerous.

“We just thought we could help.”

“You’re not helping. Instead, you’re creating more problems. Go back and order all the young dragons to stay hidden in the underground dens. Do not leave until I get back. This is an order.”

They all nodded.

“B-but how are we supposed to get back.”

Zero sighed. “You have a pass, don’t you?”

Once again they nodded.

“Use that.”

“Okay.” They felt stupid that they did not think of a such easy solution. One of them raised up there key into the sky. An light glistened from the key and moments later a small boat descended down onto the ground. All six of them entered into the boat and ascended back up into the sky.

“My education must not have gone through…” Zero felt a small headache forming. He should’ve made it clear that younger dragons, especially the NPC’s, to not waste their lives. Even though there were many eggs still unhatched, if they died so quickly then the chance of having more future dragons would dwindle down. This could become a serious problem for the future of Drezo Regalia’s and he did not want it to start so soon.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you. I know how you feel.” Agnis patted his side. “Let’s get going. We got more dragons to free.”

“You’re right.”

Agnis scaled up his back and once again they ventured out searching for machines, enemies, and dragons that were captured. Zero and Agnis went through the forest and destroyed many ballistas. They freed fifty more dragons and their companions from being taken away.

Though the fight between the hideous monster looking players and now even the monster looking eleven soldiers were taking part in capturing the Drezo Regalias. There were times when he and Agnis couldn’t stop the soldiers from ferrying off the dragons and their companions back into the city. The swarms of soldiers were increasing by the dozen and every time they killed one another, twenty took its place.

Blood was dripping out of Zero’s mouth and his health was getting closer and closer to red. At this rate, he knew that he couldn’t survive and sooner or later both of them will be killed in seconds.

Out stepped a hideous looking human sized elf wearing gold armor. Agnis cringed when she saw such unsightly sight and even Zero felt his stomach churn at the hideous creature before him.

“Hero Elron!” The soldiers moved back letting him through.

“What’s taking so long? The Queen had decreed to capture all the dragons.”

“We are sir, but this dragon had been going around and freeing our captives. We have already lost two hundred of our soldiers and rapidly climbing.” A soldier walked up to him breaking down everything he knew.

“That’s a problem.” Elron glanced towards Zero and Agnis who was fighting side-by-side. Zero let out a furious roar causing a temporarily status ailment. Even Elron felt the stunning power of the dragon’s roar, but lucky for him he was not stunned for too long. “Who’s the elf?”

“We believe it’s the dragons companion. There has been cases where the dragon has protected their companion’s life and vice versa. We noticed that dealing with the dragons are much easier if one of them is captured, then the other complies much more easily.”

“Really? Then how come you haven’t caught one of them yet?”

“Well that’s the thing. Out of all the young dragons that we have encountered these two are a formidable foe. I never seen such mental fortitude and synchronicity between two beings.”

“This must be him.” Elron spoke slowly.

“Him? You don’t mean the leader.”

“Step back and let me handle this. Get the nets ready.”

“Yes sir.” The soldier stepped back. He motioned the others to do the same.

Elron pulled out a heavy sword that slammed into the ground. For an elf, he did not use the same bows and light sword. He was the type to go with a heavy sword that forced him to use both hands.

“Well now, dragon.” Elron stepped forward.

Zero turned his gaze towards him and snarled. “What do you want monster.” He seethed. “Have you come to turn us into slaves?” His tongue flickered outwards like a snake and his tail thumped to the side. With a snap, the tail darted towards Elron’s body. In seconds, Elron raised up his heavy sword and blocked Zero’s attack.

“You are Zero, correct?”

“What does it matter if you know my name.” Black Flames dangerously licked his lips making him look demonic.

“Everything actually. We could go two ways with this.”

“That is?” Zero carefully slinked around him ready to attack. Agnis covered his side facing away from him and towards the outside.

“Come with me with no resistance and your people will not be hunted down anymore.”

“What if I don’t comply?

Well then that means all your people will be hunted down and brought before the Queen.”

“It seems I don’t have any choice either way. I do not quite believe that you will let my people go.”

“That is true. You are a dragon as well. How do I know if you will keep your words and not attack me?”

“It seems we both see eye-to-eye on this subject.”

“I’m guessing that the elven maiden next to you is your so called companion that we heard about?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I heard that the dragons had a companion that hey hold dearly. I’m guessing that you don’t want your other half to be hurt as well no?”

Zero was silent and watched Elron’s movement. He got the feeling that Elron was going somewhere with this.

“We won’t harm your companions. Just come with us to meet the Elven Queen. By my knights honor, I will personally stop the attack on all the dragon companions.”

“Zero we should think about this. There must be something going on. I get the feeling that these guys have something more to say.” Agnis spoke towards Zero. “We can’t fight against the City’s army even though it seems to be overrun by monsters. You know that’s over ten thousand soldiers out there, we’ll be killed in matter of minutes.”

Zero thought it over. It was true, he could tell that the soldiers that were behind Elron was a whole different class than the one that they had been fighting. By their gold armor and weapon, he could tell that they were all powerful. Right now his health were in the red zone making it impossible to fight the rest without possibly dying. “Fine. I’ll come with you.”

“Wonderful. I’m glad that I did not have to resort to bloodshed.” Elron picked up the heavy sword and put it away on his back. “Though you must understand, we need a safety measure.” With a snap of his fingers, the metallic net fell from above.

“What is the meaning of this! I said I’ll come with you.” Zero thrashed around the net in anger.

“Yes, but you see. You’re a dragon. We don’t want to fight you or feel your wrath.” Elron walked up towards him.

Zero angrily spat out a torrent of black flames at Elron’s body, but in the moment of impact the fire splitted ways from the barrier that protected him. Not a single flame burned him.

“Dark energy. That’s why the flames did not go out.” Elron nodded. “I should’ve know that dragons are elemental creatures. Makes sense that you are able to use dark energy.” He motioned the others to come forward. In their hands, they had a giant metal braces.

Elron jumped towards Agnis and stopped her from attacking. He punched her in the stomach and twisted her arms making it impossible for her to escape or attack. “I suggest you to calm down.”

Agnis coughed from the sudden attack. She glared towards him. “You went against your words.”

“Actually I didn’t. I said I won’t kill you, plus, you’re my insurance.”

A sound of metal cuffs tied her from the back. He pushed her closer towards Zero where his large face laid on the ground.

“I wouldn’t blow anymore fire if I were you. You will harm your companion if you do.”

“Why you bastard!” Agnis screeched. She tried to kick him, but failed.

Zero knew what Elron said was true. If he was not careful, Agnis would be caught up in his attack and that was something that he did not want to happen. Instead, he bared his teeth in frustration. From all the other metal nets out there, this one was a little different. It actually sapped his strength making it difficult to move, especially because his health was in the red making every move that much more difficult.

The soldiers came over and clasped his snout, neck, arms, tail, and even his legs. Like a dog leashed to a collar and with a muzzle, Zero felt infuriated. He had never been treated in such a way, and even worse was that he was weak and couldn’t stop them. In his mind, he made a commitment that he would grow stronger so that he would never resort to such embarrassing position.

The net rattled off his back allowing him to stand up. He was never going to forget this. This shame and frustration.

“I’m sorry. This was the best way to get things done. Our Queen wants you now. Not tomorrow or later.” Elron sighed. “I don’t like doing this, honestly, it makes me feel like a villain.”

“Then let us go.” Zero was having a difficult time forming words, because his mouth was clasped.

“I cannot. The city is in peril and you guys are the cause of it.”

“We have not even done anything but protect ourselves.”

“Actually you are. All the players got a city wide Quest just to capture you guys. I mean if everyone got it, why do you think it’s not your guys fault? The moment got closer into this city had triggered an unexpected Quest. Haven’t you wondered why you guys were fighting hideous looking monsters? We’re all citizen of the City of Elements.”

Zero was shocked. He knew that something was up but he did not know what. When Elron spoke of the circumstances, everything made perfect sense. This was not the cause of Russ, but something else entirely.

“The Queen will explain the rest. Well then, let’s go.” Elron motioned the soldiers to follow. He hopped up onto the horse and they pulled on the metal chain.

Zero and Agnis followed. The soldiers surrounded them making sure that they wouldn’t bolt or resist. As they continued towards the city, more and more Drezo Regalia’s shackled and bound appeared out from the forest.He could see that over four hundred dragons and their partners were being directed towards the city gates.

When the other dragons saw that Zero and Agnis was shackled, the hope in their eyes diminished and their head drooped in defeat. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the flying island hovering over the forest.

They passed through the gates, players and residents stepped out of the buildings watching the army and the dragons parading down the streets. Zero noticed that the residents of the city were all strange. They were all grotesque looking monsters. He was sure that this city was known for its beautiful people.

“Mommy look. A black and gold dragon!” The kids exclaimed in delight as they watched Zero passed by.

Zero towered over a two story building and he was still growing. People stare with awe and wonder. Some reeled back in fright while the other got closer in the hope to see better. Even the smaller dragons behind him were being ogled with interest.

“A green dragon? There such a color?”

“Yea. Look there is even blue, copper, silver, red, white, black, and gold.”

“I don’t know about having this many dragons in the city safe.”

“Do you really think the cause of our predicament because of the dragons?”

“Yea, think about it. The queen decreed it for them to be captured. I mean why wouldn’t you think so?”

“I don’t know sounds a bit farfetched if you ask me.”

“Then do you want to stay this hideous forever?”

“No.”

The voices of the people were divided into two.

“Wait, why aren’t those people next to the dragon affected? I mean since visitors had come here they were all affected by the curse.”

“I heard they are the companions of the dragons.”

“Companions? Ah, I see. I heard about them before.”

The army and the dragons continued their path deeper into the city walls and finally ended up inside the enchanting castle. In the middle of the castle was a large oak tree that sprouted upwards into the sky, it was as if the castle was part of the tree.

Zero stopped in front of the tree where a beautiful throne was, but on the throne was the most hideous looking monster. He couldn’t help but have a mixed feeling that made him want to blot out the existence of such ugly being on a sacred throne. His instinct were calling out for him to destroy such being.

One side of her face were deformed to the point where one would think someone had hit repeatedly multiple times. Even the white hair that was on her head were only a few strands. Overflowing fat bulged out on her clothes making her look grotesque and the pale grey skin did not make it any better. The only thing that recognize her as the queen was the crown on her head.

“Your Majesty, Queen Jennie.” An ugly elf called out.

The soldiers that entered into the garden like room all bowed down in front of her.

Zero did not bow down in front of the Elven Queen. Instead, he glared down at her as if she was some insignificant bug. She was the cause of all the trouble of his people and his companion. He still had a hateful glare at the Elven Queen who had treated them so roughly..

“Bow down, dragon. You are in the presence of the Elven Queen.” A soldier yanked hard on the metal chain.

Zero eyes flared up in anger and he whipped his head causing the elven soldier to fly towards the wall. A loud thundering crash could be heard as the elven fell down unconscious. With all the strength he could muster, he broke the chains that was on his mouth.

“I will not bow down to my enemy, elf!” Zero yelled with a roar. The walls trembled and the leaves of the tree shook. “Do you think I am your pawn?” He blasted out Dark Fire causing the surrounding area to burst up into flames.

The ground rumbled and the Dark Fire intensified. Elven soldiers ran to blot out the raging fire, and quelled the angered dragons. Every single one of the dragons were filled with rage at the way they were treated.

“Enough!” The Elven Queen spoke and the Dark Fire disappeared in seconds. “I am sorry to bring you to the castle so roughly.” She stood up and descended the stairs.

“Have the Elves forgotten the old alliance with the Drezo Regalia or have you thrown away your words? Here I thought the Elves were known to keep their words.” Zero angrily voiced his opinion.

“No. You are correct, we have not forgotten the old ways nor do we break our alliance with the Drezo Regalia. We will hold up to our bargain even to this day. Your people are welcome to stay in the City of Elements.”

All of a message appeared before Zero and Agnis.

Sanctuary with the Elves Quest has been Completed. No extra reward is given.

This was not how he wanted to finish the quest, especially as a hostage.

“Then why did you resort to such underhanded ways to bring us here?”

“That is a different matter entirely. You see your presence has caused an age old problem to arise. This requires a certain amount of dragons to take part in this test.”

Zero was confused. What was the problem that the Queen spoke of to cause his people to be chained and treated like prisoners. His anger dissipated and instead turned into curiosity. “What would that be?”

“We need you to enter the Pyramid of Light. Your blunder of calling the spirits has caused a malicious dark spirit to escape and now reside in the Pyramid. Such a mistake has caused all the people in this city to be infected. All the Drezo Regalia’s and their partners must partake in this ordeal. We will not be helping you conquer this dungeon because only your kind are able to face this crisis.”

“My blunder?” Zero was confused.

“Yes. You have let loose a Black Dragon Spirit when you had a fight with the Kingdom of Terra’s soldier. Since the past few days, a foul air has descended upon the city every day on sunset. The source is even stronger near the Pyramid. Elron will lead you to the destination. If you fail to destroy this cause our city will be over run by the undead in six months. We will hunt you all down till none of you are alive. That is if we even survive this attack.”

The Elven Queen’s words were filled with anger. She glowered towards Zero with contempt.

Then it hit him, he remembered the black dragon spirit that escaped the rift and disappeared. He did not know that this dragon would end up here in the City of Elements. For once, he felt like this was his fault, but at the same time he felt like they were treated unfairly.

“Elven Queen. All you needed to do was ask and I would’ve came. You did not have to resort to such measures where you threaten our existence. My people are not as bountiful as yours nor did we mean any harm.” Zero growled. Flames erupted out of his nose.

“I am well aware in what I have done. In compensation, I will reward your kind and companion in defeating this wretched creature.”

“Though I have to wonder why have you not sent in anyone else into the Pyramid till now?”

“Have you not heard, dragon? The Pyramid of Light only allows the Drezo Regalia’s and their companions. That building has been under my reign since the agreement with the Drezo Regalia, in which case that is your ancestor’s legacy.”

Legacy? Zero eyes fluttered when he heard that word. This meant that the Pyramid of Light was exactly like the Draconis Library. Somewhere in the building, he had to put in a Krustallos to activate its core.

“As your return, you will receive back your ancestor’s legacy. Only eighty-two in total of your strongest dragon kind and your companion can enter into the Pyramid. It is your obligation to get this completed.” Elven Queen breathed in deeply and let out a sigh. “There is one more thing you must do.”

“That is?”

“I would like my Hero to take part in this quest.”

“But didn’t you say that only the Drezo Regalia and their companion can enter?” Zero was lost at her words.

“Yes. I would like your people to bound a young dragon with my people once again. With this, our agreement between the two races will be completely renewed.”

Zero thought it over for a moment. What the queen was saying was a powerful statement. Having a strong tie with the Elves once again were something that they needed to stay alive. His people were not strong enough yet to deal with large enemies. He looked over at Elron one more time. He could tell to gain the trust of the elves were a formidable feat, especially because the Elven races were a magically secluded race. To gain the trust of the Elves was not an easy thing to do.

“Fine. We must get back to the Village. There is one thing that I would like to ask for.”

“Go ahead.”

“I would like the Draconis Village protected from any raiding enemies when we are in your kingdom.”

“That is not a problem. I will station my people to guard your village, but if you fail we will resort to destroying it first hand.”

“I understand.” Zero knew that there was a risk in doing this, but he knew that he couldn’t let this chance slip by.

“I am glad that you are much more easier to talk to then your mother.”

“Wait, you know my mother?” Zero wondered how old the Elven Queen really was.

“Yes, do you not know your origin?”

“I have only been born into this world not to long ago. Such memories have not been passed down to our generation.”

“I see. You will find your answer at the Pyramid of the Light. Let them free.” The Elven Queen waved her hands for them to leave. All the elves moved and free them all. A message could be heard in the ears of the strongest Drezo Regalias and their Companions as a message appeared before them.

New Chain Quest has begun. This quest can not be denied and has over written all other quest. This quest is a priority quest. Elven Queen’s Favor

Elven Queen has requested that all the Drezo Regalia’s to take part in the dungeon raid inside the Pyramid of Light and destroy the Black Dragon Spirit that have taken residency. The lost Dragon Legacy resides inside the Pyramid of Light. Only 41 dragons and 41 companions can enter into the Pyramid of Light at once.

Quest Level: B

Failure: All dragons will be hunted down for eternity.

Time Limit: Six months

Quest can not be rejected.

#####

“So what do I need to do?” Elron was in the Magma room where all the eggs were kept warm.

“Did you find someone on your side to be your partner?” Zero asked. He was in his human form with Agnis by his side.

“Yea. My childhood friend wanted to play a dragon. She said that it would be cool if wrecked havoc on people or something.”

“She sound diabolical.”

“You don’t know the half of it. So, where exactly is she?”

“You have to find her.”

“Really?” Elron walked through the thick piles of eggs. They were small numbers of new dragons being born inside the room. He finally stopped in front of a silver smiley face egg. “I get the strange feeling she choose this one.”

“Then that’s her.”

Elron squatted down and peered towards the egg. A small crack formed on the tip of the egg.

“That’s her.” Zero nodded. “They won’t hatch unless a partner is present. It’s a mystery that I don’t even how they know.”

“That’s pretty cool.” Elron was staring the egg excited wondering what he will see next.

“If I were you i’d help her out. It’s going to take awhile for her to hatch at the rate that she’s going.”

Elron nodded and he reached over to peel back the egg shells. Every single time he interacted with the egg, the horrible scars, and deformity seem to change on his face and body. He started to change back to his original appearance as time went by, peeling off of him as if he was some kind of lizard.

“I’ll meet you outside when you’re done. Agnis, if you don’t mind helping him out.”

“Sure.” Agnis smiled with excitement. “I got everything ready for the new baby dragon.” She pulled out a dish and food from her Zennith bag.

Zero left the room and found Valiant in his black dragon from sleeping outside on the warm meadow.

“Valiant!” Zero called out to him.

Valiant groggily woke up from Zero’s voice. “Y-Yea?” He yawned and stretched like a cat.

“I need your help in rounding up every high level dragon and their companion. Bring them to the water fountain. We need to get raid team started now.”

“!” Valiant quickly got up quickly. “I’ll call my friends to get this done.”

“I’ll see you there.”

“Gotcha.” Valiant ran off to gather his comrades.

Zero went around calling attention to all the dragons that he saw. Quickly the town square was filled with dragons and their companions. Zero had to jump up on the edge of the fountain to see. The people and dragons worriedly gathered wondering what Zero had to say. They knew that something big was happening, in which case their life was on the line.

“What’s going on?” Zeraph was next to him.

“We got a quest from the queen.” Zero frowned. “And it’s not the kind where we can take it easy.”

“That could be a problem.”

Zero looked into the crowd and took a deep breathe. “We as the Drezo Regalia have been given a quest by the Elven Queen; only 41 dragons and 41 of their companions can enter at once. I already assume that the highest level dragons and their companions have been given this quest.”

Everyone nodded in understanding at what Zero was talking about. They knew that there lives were on the line.

“This is a level B Quest and we only have 82 in total to accomplish this task. The top eight highest level dragons and their companions will be leading a group of ten: 5 dragons and 5 companion. I know we just got out of recent battle, and now thrown into danger once again. But as a dragon I will not back down from danger. You all have a choice to take part and grow stronger. We will one day once again decorate the sky with our colors and become true Sky kings!”

Everyone stare silently.

“The top eight dragons step forward.”

Eight different colored dragons of all eight races of dragon appeared before Zero. Zero was quite surprised that the same eight dragons and their partners were the one to step up. They were Turnip, the blue male dragon, and his female elf partner Terry. Baku, the male red dragon, and his female partner Quill who had pink hair. Kai, the green dragon, and his female partner Leona. Val, the female bronze dragon, and her partner Ponza. Bee, the female silver dragon, and her partner Tanmint, a half dwarf. Valiant, the male black dragon, and his partner female partner Reed. Seka, the female golden dragon, her partner Leaf, the elven male. The last one to step out was actually the Den, the female white dragon, and her partner Elfon a male human.

“Hi, Zero.” Den happily replied. Her glistening white coat shined brilliantly under the sun making it a bit difficult to look at her

“Hey Den. I”m glad to see you guys doing well.”

“We been knocking out those levels and been growing stronger together.”

“That’s impressive, but sadly I have to break up your team.”

“What? Really?” Den frowned.

“Yea, each one of you guy are going to lead a group of ten: five dragons and their partners.”

“That sound exciting.” Valiant replied cheerfully. “I was looking forward to finally doing something more productive. I mean seriously, Seka’s been hogging the glory.”

“I do not.” Seka rolled her eyes. “You just suck that’s all.”

“Hardly. My Dark Magic beats your holy magic any day.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Hey guys. I need you guys to focus.” Zero snapped his fingers in front of them.

“Sorry.” Both simultaneously stated, turning their attention back at Zero

“I want the rest of the remaining dragons to split up.”

“Okay.” The eight chimed in understanding what Zero wanted them to do.

The group started to split into different groups. It didn’t take long till everyone was finally situated. For some strange reason, the each colored dragons followed behind their respective race.

“The eight of you will represent your color to identify your group.”

“That’s simple, but Zero which group will you be in?” Valiant asked.

“None. I’ll be jumping in wherever I’m needed.”

“I’m cool with that. So, where exactly is the Pyramid of Light anyways?”

“Elron is going to take the front and lead us to it. He’ll meet us there and join Val’s group. You have one extra space for him and his partner.”

“What? The enemy is actually tagging along and you let him partner up with a dragon?”

“Look, there is a reason for all this. He’s already an ambassador for our kind with the elves. We need a bit more protection before we leave.”

“Wait, where are we going next?”

“Not sure, but I was thinking about going towards the Dark Continent.”

“The Dark Continent? Are you sure? It’s too early for us. Wouldn’t it be better to float around the other cities in the Fire Continent?”

“We’ll see. I haven’t decided yet.” Zero thought it over. Staying too long in the Fire Continent could bring trouble, but all the major cities and supply lines were there. The Draconis Village was only just budding, so it didn’t have much to trade.

“Well, think a bit harder. It sounds like our death march more than just exploring. We don’t know what’s out there.”

“I know.” Zero jumped off the water fountain. “We should go and meet up with Elron right now and get this quest underway.”

The other dragons moved away for Zero to pass through. They looked upon Zero with respect and reverence. They all wished to one day grow up big and strong like him. Zero did not pay any attention to their gaze and he headed towards the Pyramid of Light. He had a quest to finish and he was going to finish it as soon as he could. The rest of the dragons and their companions followed Zero towards the Pyramid of Light with fire in their eyes in hopes to become stronger than they were before. They knew that this was going to be a difficult task, but they did not mind. They were all aiming to win.

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