“Good to go?” Dallion asked.

It had been a while since the dragonlet had defeated the last guardian. All of its health had been restored and there was nothing preventing it from proceeding to the final fight. And yet, it hadn’t done so.

Dallion could see no fear or doubt within Dark. Nearly all of the emotions had faded away, replaced by a cold certainty. By no means could Dallion say that he’d had a lot of experience with the species—even if it was more than many could claim—but it was the first time he saw the change take place. It was as if a switch in the dragonlet’s brain suddenly shifted, transforming it into a lethal predator.

“Dark?” Dallion asked again.

“What happens after this?” the creature asked.

“I can’t tell you.” Dallion wanted to sigh. It was a good question, a very logical one, and yet he had been forbidden from answering. “You’ll know when you get there.”

The dragonlet looked at him, then transformed into human form.

“July?” it turned to the echo.

“He really can’t tell you.”

What the heck? Dallion thought. The dagonlet had only been in his realm for over a day and already it had conspired with several of the inhabitants against Dallion, even going so far as using his own echoes to share his thoughts.

“So, what do you think I’ll face this time?” Dark looked at the last open archway.

“No idea. I’ve never been in a level twenty altar before.” And after this, I don’t think I’ll ever be allowed back in. “It could be anything. It’s supposed to be stronger than anything so far, but as you’ve seen, that doesn’t mean much. The frostbiter gave you a much harder time than the grand colossus.”

“What would be the most difficult creature for me to face?”

Dallion mused. The dragonlet was asking a lot of really good questions all of a sudden. There was no firm rule to this. Going by his personal experience, it had to be something capable of negating all of Dark’s advantages. It was logical to assume that a flying creature would do that, one capable of doing line attacks of its own.

“A shardfly,” he said after a few moments.

“Seriously?”

“A high level shardfly. Have you ever fought Gleam in the realms?”

“She’s strong.” July nodded in agreement. “Very strong. I don’t think you can take her.”

“A high-leveled shardfly can fly. Use illusions better than you, use line attacks, and mess with your mind.” At least that was what Gleam claimed amidst her constant complaints that Dallion wasn’t leveling her up as much as the other familiars. “I think that would be your most difficult matchup.”

“A shardfly,” Dark repeated slowly. Cool.” He walked through the archway.

Shrine trial 20 chosen!

Prepare for combat!

Everyone waited. However, nothing changed. The same barren plains continued to the horizon, not a creature in sight. For a moment, Dallion thought that the final guardian had indeed turned out to be a shardfly which was using its illusion skill to hide somewhere, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Soon enough, he saw that he was mistaken.

A ball of orange flame suddenly appeared out of nowhere, floating ten feet in the air.

Shifting to his standard form, Dark flew up to it. Without hesitation, he performed a line attack. The thread of destruction flew into the distance, slicing the ball in two. Hardly had it done it, when both halves merged back together.

Not a bad opponent, Harp said. Perfect to show us how far Dark has come.

A series of small flames covered the entire surface of the flaming ball, like a scalemail. At this point Dallion already knew what the creature was—not a shardfly as he expected, but something else he was very familiar with.

SHRINE GUARDIAN 20

Species: FIREBIRD

Class: FIRE

Health: 100%

Traits: UNKNOWN

Skills:

- FLIGHT (Species Unique)

- FLAME BURST (Species Unique)

- ATTACK

- GUARD

Weakness: EYES

Non-physical creatures presented a difficulty. Even if Dark had defeated one recently, he had done so while constantly having his health restored by Lux. Since this was the final battle, it had been decided that he wouldn’t resort to any such help.

Dallion expected the dragonlet to evade his opponents’ long range attacks, while relying on magic breaths from a close distance. That turned out to be wrong. In the blink of the eye, the dragonlet changed shape once more, only this time mimicking the firebird he was facing.

“Copyette tactics?” Dallion mused.

“Nope,” Gleam replied, emerging on his shoulder. “He’s using illusion. It’s something I would have done if I were at a higher level. It’s handy, but still relies on the illusion holding. Against fire, that’s not always a given.”

“What’s the advantage, then?”

“You’ll see.”

Both firebirds flapped their wings, sending waves of fire at each other. Upon contact, the flames sent by the guardian swept through the illusion as if they were air. However, they failed to hit the dragonlet. Taking advantage of the flame cover, Dark swooped down, then thrust forward in the same fashion Lux liked to travel. Before the guardian could react, Dark was less than a foot away. Then he let out a chirp. A torrent of air came out of the illusionary firebird’s beak, drilling a hole through the guardian.

FATAL HIT!

DARK’s damage is increased by 500%

“He can combine both skills?” Dallion scratched his chin.

“No, that’s one of the tricks when fighting with illusions. Just because you can make an object feel real doesn’t mean your true self vanishes. Dark’s using the same breath attack he always has.”

“So he picked up on Lux’s propulsion and combined it with his own attacks. In time, Dark will become one scary dragon.”

In a very long time, Harp said.

The fight continued. Now that both sides were aware of each other’s abilities, the actual combat had become like watching two comets chase after each other. The moment one got into a good position or an attack, the other would thrust away, starting the whole process from scratch. Dark made several attempts to hit the firebird with his breath, but all of them missed. It seemed that the guardian, too, had picked up on his approach and thrust away each time the dragonlet was about to open its mouth.

A minute turned into five, then ten. The tactical creativity of the creatures increased, but no new red rectangles emerged. Then, all of a sudden, Dark just stopped, remaining in a single spot.

“Want to surrender?” he asked, with measured caution.

Dallion leaned forward.

Nil, is that normal? He asked. He’d known guardians to offer surrender, or even lose fights on occasion, but he hadn’t expected it from Dark.

He follows the Green Moon, same as you, the old echo said. Why would you expect him to be any different?

“You’ll lose in the end,” Dark went on, staring the firebird in the eyes. “I have more stamina.”

“Alright.” The guardian closed his wings, turning into a ball of fire with a beak and eyes. “Good fight. Don’t hesitate so much next time.”

“Err, sure. Good fight,” Dark said, feeling slightly awkward. Moments later, the firebird poofed out of existence.

With that, the fight was over. The respective rectangles appeared, allowing the dragonlet to choose its trait.

“Here goes,” Dallion whispered. This was the point at which the gate challenge would be made. However, as Dallion was looking, a wall appeared around the arena, rising up, so he couldn’t see anything beyond.

“Peeking is not a good thing,” a familiar voice said.

Looking to his side, Dallion noticed that July had vanished and in his stead the dryad form of the Green Moon had appeared, sitting calmly on the ground.

“Using a temple to level up a dragon.” The Moon smirked. “You’ve gotten quite good at using loopholes.”

“I didn’t know that he’d be able to enter my realm,” Dallion admitted. But it seemed like a good thing to try. Is that why you sent him to me?”

“I sent him because I thought you could help with his training. Clearly, I was right.”

“And you didn’t think I’d need his help in what’s to come?”

The Moon remained silent.

“Who’s making the offer? Is it the Red Moon again?”

“What does it matter? For all you know, it might be me. Just because I’m here sitting with you doesn’t mean I’m not also there, giving him the choice. You’re not the only one who cam make echoes, don’t forget.”

That was something Dallion hadn’t considered. With the Moons being almost all powerful, having them create echoes seemed too trivial and mundane. Still, it was well possible.

“Is there anything more you can tell me about the Star?” Dallion tried his luck. “There’s a chance I might get an item that limits his level to mine, but I’m not sure I’ll get it.”

“You seem to have made some important decisions already.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I thought that you’d know by now that you have to earn your answers. You’ve still a long way to go for that. Maybe at some point we can have a serious discussion, but until then, casual chats such as this would have to do.”

“Is there a way to stop the poison plague?”

“Starting with the random questions?” The Moon Laughed. “Yes, there’s a way. Maybe you’ll find it. Maybe someone else will. The bottom line is that we can’t intervene. I hope you understand that.”

“I see.”

That sounded a bit like a warning. Dallion never relied on the Moons swooping down and helping him when in trouble, but this made it official. The deities were only here to observe, nothing more. Still, there was the gaping question why they chose not to intervene. It was clearly said everywhere that they were the protectors of the world and all of the remaining races. If the Star was causing so much chaos, it was their duty to make things right.

“Jiroh sends her best, by the way,” the Moon changed topic.

“She’s fine?”

“I can’t tell you that. She just wanted her friends to know that she’s alive, so here you go. It’s up to you what to do with this. Personally, I wouldn’t tell Eury. She’s got a particular view of us, but as with anything else, it’s your choice.”

“Is that why you came to visit?”

“Sometimes a visit is just a visit. You and Dark are the only two followers I have left in this world. It’s normal that I pass by at moments of key importance.”

According to all of Dallion’s skills and senses, the Moon wasn’t lying, but even so, he wasn’t sure whether to trust him.

“What do the Moons without any followers do?”

“Harsh.” The Moon frowned. “Or it would have been if it were the case. Everyone has their own following, even if some aren’t as numerous as others.”

Interesting. If Dallion and the dragonlet were Felygn’s only followers, that suggested that a few years ago there were none. Could that be the reason Dallion had been pulled to this world—to become a follower of the Green Moon?

“You’re overthinking things again,” Felygn said. “I know things are probably tough, but every now and again, take some time to enjoy the moment. If you don’t, you’ll never have the chance again.”

“Does that mean that—” before Dallion could finish, the Green Moon was gone. July was sitting in his position, giving Dallion a confused look. “What happened?” Dallion asked.

“The usual?” July shrugged. “Dark passed his trials.”

That wasn’t what Dallion meant.

“Yeah.” He looked away. Everything was normal. Now all he had to find out was whether the dragonlet would choose to pass through the second gate or not.

DRAGON MENTOR

(+5 Empathy)

You’re the first person to become a dragon’s mentor in 500 years. Don’t get cocky! The dragon can still chomp your head off.

I guess I know what Dark decided. Dallion smiled.