It was hard to believe, but just in less than one hour, Azar had become possibly the most notorious criminal the city of Tolemac had ever faced. From a free man just going on his journey, he was put into prison, accused of kidnapping a princess, and was about to be sent to the tortured chamber. And unless he could prove his innocence to those idiotic humans, Azar would have no choice but to show his true power. Which he really did not have a problem with. Took him a lot of willpower and years to suppress his hatred of humans. But no matter how long it took, he could never erase the memories of how they destroyed his kingdom, hunted his people, and of course, killed him. If it wasn’t for his promise to God, he would have burnt down this city.

“Do you know what this is ?” Geralt held a bottle with blue liquid up to Azar's face.

Azar sniffled and looked at the bottle closely, “If I am not mistaken, this is a well-known nerve toxin of yours. The one that would only make its victims beg for the sweet relief of death but not kill them…” he said with all the cool and confidence.

“As expected of someone like yourself,” Geralt smirked. “You have seen this before … no, you have been there before ….”

“Yep, a long time ago. It was quite unpleasant” Azar shrugged his shoulders.

“So you know what’s going to happen next … unless you don’t tell me what I want right now.”

“PRIMITIVE !” Azar disrespectfully stared at Geralt. “I’ve already told you the truth, I am not the one you’re looking for. It’s none of my business that you can’t handle it….”

Geralt grabbed Azar by the throat. Azar's body instantly tensed up, his eyes flickered with bloodlust, his hands grabbed on strongly against the iron chair, all of that was to prevent himself from killing this human. Geralt did not know how close he was to dying, that thin and pathetic rope of his wasn’t even close to keep Azar tied. Azar could barely hold back his instinct to rip his throat apart.

“Let’s see if you can still keep that big mouth of yours after a few minutes of this !” He opened the bottle and dropped one small drop down on Azar’s skin . Just one drop was enough for a human to go into madness for an hour. But that’s for a human. Azar knew the weak toxin wouldn’t hurt him. Back then, he was poisoned by it once, and indeed it was painful. But it took a bucket load of that and was injected right into his blood. It was almost laughable for Azar when he found out that humans could only go as far as getting touched by the toxin before they were poisoned.

Geralt let go of Azar after he saw the toxin seemingly absorbed into his skin.

“Good luck you fucker! I’ll be back when this is over … and we will start this all over again,” Geralt told Azar menacingly. And then he just walked out of the room, leaving Azar alone, all tied up in an iron chair.

***************

The moment Geralt walked out of the room, Sasha was already there waiting for him.

“Please General, he is telling the truth! He is not the perpetrator !” Sasha tried and pleaded with him once more.

“Why are you trying to defend this criminal !? I have never seen you like this Sasha !”

“Because I know he is innocent and I can’t let an innocent man pay for a crime that he did not commit !”

Geralt took his time and assessed how Sasha was reacting

“You know him. You and him, you two have a history don’t you ?”

“Yes, … but no, I only met him once. Back when we were both children.”

“And that’s what you based your argument on! Oh, how can you be as naive as the princess? People change Sasha !”

“But that doesn't mean they changed for the worst! I didn’t, did I ? When I was saved I was a weak little girl, and now look at me !”

“You and him are born different! You are born good and raised well. Not like him, who was undoubtedly born and raised from the mud. I have met thousands like him before, they always turn to crime and violence.”

“You mean the boy who was born and raised in the mud. Who risked his own life to save mine. Who carried me in his little arms through the woods for hours and hours to take me to a safe haven. The boy could barely move his own feet but still ran just to save my life. Whose heart beat so fast and loud that I can still hear it even now. You are telling me that boy is destined to be evil.”

Geralt went silent after her story, but she could not change his mind for long.

“Do not let your emotion cloud your judgment!” Geralt answered emotionlessly “Sinful or not, we will find out after the toxin finishes its effect !”

“WHAT !!!!! HE IS JUST A MAN HE COULDN’T …”

“FFFFFUUUUCCCCKKKK !!!” Azar screamed like a madman inside the room then went silent right after.

**************

The elder human finally left the room. Azar was alone once again, chained down in a room smelling like blood and sweat. The temperature in the room was purposely set high, with the help of all those fire runes set on the wall. Azar just whistled, and all of that uncomfortable environment was gone. The air inside the torture chamber suddenly went cool, and the faint scent of fresh flowers replaced all the sweat and blood.

“Well, it’s going to take another hour or so before that damn human came back … might as well take a nap...”

He did not know if it was the side effect of the toxin or the sweet and calm environment he had just made, but he felt very sleepy. Once he closed his eyes, Azar went straight to slumber. And when he opened them again, he found himself lying on a grass field.

“Ah … yes, that’s why” The white staircase to the cloud appeared once more.

“How’s my favorite dragon in a human body doing !!” God greeted him cheerfully. But Azar was not in a mood for playing games.

“What the hell !? I thought you told me that I am lucky.”

“You are …”

“Then why the hell am I in this situation! I’m pretty sure getting imprisoned by humans and accused of a crime I did not do is NOT lucky !”

“Have faith Azar, luck sometimes works in a mysterious way” God smiled kindly.

“Well can you make it less mysterious !?” Azar grunted, “ I’m this close to just breaking out of that cell and burning this damn city to the ground !”

God instantly changed his tone. His face went from all cheerful to stone-cold serious in one flat second. “That’s why I call you here. No matter what Azar, you can’t unleash your fury on those humans.”

Azar did not reply to God. Instead, there was just an uneasy silence between them.

“Azar, promise me you won’t lash out on them.”

“I thought you said this was going to be my choice. What if I decide to put an end to this annoying humans … ?”

A moment of silence passed between the two,

“Whatever you decide Azar, I can’t and I won’t stop you. But I want you to remember Azar, I have given a lot of faith in you, I grant you a new life, and power beyond your dragon’s limitation, for a damn good reason. You were willing to die for a cause, now it’s time for you to fight for one …”

Azar slammed his hand on the chair and shouted

“FUCK !!!” Of course, Azar did not need God to remind him of his calling. He need fully well of what he should do, but Azar just could not hold back what he desired to do “Can I at least kick that old fucker ass ?! The one who grabbed me by the neck !!!???”

“No … but you know … your choice …”

“WHYYYYY !!!!” Azar cried out, “Those humans are pathetic! I just don’t see any potential in any of them !”

God closed his eyes and shook his head slowly.

“Why is that Azar ..?”

“10 years … 10 years! But I haven’t once seen a human stand up for what is right. They are soooooooo weak and dumb. They seemed to be clouded with the idea that they are good because they did nothing bad, by you know … not doing anything! What the heck is wrong with them !?”

God sighed longly. “Give them time Azar, the whole world can’t be changed in one day.”

“Maybe not a day, but 10 years ...” Azar frowned, “Bloody hell, it has been 10 years! And what have I done to stop the world from destroying itself !? Nothing! Just nothing !”

God put his hand on Azar's shoulder. “You don’t know how much good you have done, Azar. How many fates have been changed. You have done more than I could hope. It’s not always about doing big things, like fighting a war or taking down an overlord, sometimes, it's the small things that create the ripple effect to change the world.”

“But that’s the problem, I don’t know. I never know.” Azar poured out his frustration. “It’s like I’m always in the shadow, even in my own story.”

“I’m truly sorry you feel that way. But I promise everything is going to change, do not lose faith_”

“In YOU !?!” Azar angrily cut God’s words.

“No, my child. In yourself. You are so much more than just a mere human or a dragon, Azar.”

“Then at least a plan, a word of wisdom, something, anything ! Just so that I don’t feel like being kept in the dark in my own life !” Azar desperately pleaded to God, “Come on! What happened to follow the North Star and all that! Just please, give me a sign !?

God sighed, his eyes flooded with sorrow, “It's time to stop chasing the stars, little one. It’s time for you to become the guiding light yourself...”

“...”

God looked at Azar once more. Those hollow eyes, the exhausted face, that aimless stare.

“I’m sorry, but our time is almost over. Patient, Azar, the seeds had already been planned by you, and your crops will be ready to be harvested soon enough.”

“What do you _” Azar could not ask his last question before falling from the cloud once more.

“FFFFFUUUUUCCCCKKKKK !!!!!”

Violently waking up from his sleep, Azar fell down to the ground, with himself still tied to the iron chair. Though it was extremely far from hurting Azar, the frustration building up inside started to leak out.

“Fuck !” Azar seriously doubted his luck. And to make matters worse, the old human who called himself General walked in right after.

“HAHAHA,” The human laughed. “Look at you, all that tough talk and you can’t even last 5 minutes !”

Being tied up and under a human’s feet, Azar blood boiled. How low had he fallen since he was a dragon king …

“You’re angry, I can tell. I saw those eyes a thousand times before.” Geralt smirked. “But don’t worry, it’s just the start. Unless you tell me what I want to hear.”

Azar’s whole body started to shiver with anger. The fire in his stomach was growling, begging him to unleash it. It was so simple, just one breath, and the old human in front of Azar would turn into ashes in a blink of an eye.

“Stupid human … always rather hear sweet lies rather than the harsh truths !” Azar tauntingly said. Geralt just casually set him back up on the iron chair then said

“Stupid little brat, so short-sighted that he thinks he always the smartest person in the room !”

“Wow… you just describe yourself perfectly” Azar gave a taunting smirk. Geralt raised his fist and was about to punch Azar.

“General! We just received an order from his majesty to immediately execute him publicly !” One of the guards came and brought the news. Geralt lowered his fist then stared Azar in the eyes.

“Your luck just ran out, slum dog !”

Azar was immediately taken out of the torture chamber and headed to the public execution ground. But unlike what everyone else was thinking, Azar was eager to get there. He had almost had it with these dumb and disrespectful humans. Azar only held back because of God, but even God could not stop him from burning this kingdom down if they just took one step further. Honest to be told, Azar was only waiting for a good reason to strike these humans down, good enough so that he might use them against God later. And deliberately trying to kill him, forcing him to reveal his true power, was a good enough reason for Azar.

On his way out, Azar met Sasha again. But, of course, he was far from in a good mood to meet her.

“General! Please stop this! At least listen to what he had to … ”

“Enough of this Sasha! The king has given his order, this rat will be executed immediately, burn on the cross, to make an example to all who had ill intentions toward this kingdom !”

“No ! Please wait! Let me talk to _”

“Stop already !” Azar shouted. Azar, shackled from head to toe, walked to Sasha and told her, “Just get the fuck out my way, kid! And watch as justice about to be served.”

Speechless, Sasha watched as Azar slowly escorted away from her vision. Her fists were so tight that she started to bleed from her palms. Breathing as heavy as ever, Sasha felt like her heart was torn apart. On the one hand, she was loyal to the kingdom that had given her a home, a true purpose. But on the other hand, it would mean she had to give up the person who saved her, the one that gave her this new life.

Azar was dragged through the public’s eyes as a way to shame the death sentence. But Azar just smirked through all those judgy eyes and nonsense rambling. Those humans had no idea how close they were to the real execution. Just a few more steps, the moment those humans threw the torch, this city and its people would burn.

“Wait !” Someone shouted from afar. At first, Azar thought it was Sasha once again. But the voice was definitely a male’s voice,

“What’s now ….” Azar shook his head and sighed.

A young human male came forward and stopped him in his tracks. He was sweating, hardly catching his breath, his eyes were wide opened, and the face of someone who had just seen a ghost.

“Azar! My God! It is you !”

Azar tilted his head from side to side. No matter how hard he tried, no name came to mind even though that human seemed to know who he was. The man in front of him not only had an air of wealth, power, confidence and that righteous aura which was just oozing out from him. On Azar’s journey, most humans he met were poor and cunning. He definitely hadn’t met a human like him before.

“How do you know my name !?”

“It’s me, Munir !” The young human presented himself. The name obviously rang a bell. But the Munir in Azar’s dragon memory was a small skinny timid little human boy. This human standing in front of him had a similar build to Azar’s human self, almost the same height as Azar. Those deep brown eyes which were just beaming with authority, the way he stood tall with his feet firmly rooted to the ground, this human was a complete opposite of the little young Munir he knew. The only thing this one had that was similar to Munir was his skin tone.

“Yeah … you can’t fool me that easily. I wasn’t born yesterday !” Azar smirked and shook his head slightly.

“It’s really me! Remember, the snake eyes man, Salah, you rescue me from his paws. Uhm …. AH ! You saved me from that fruit merchant! He was about to chop my hand, and you paid him 10 silver to get me out of trouble! Then you even gave me an apple !” the young man hysterically recalled.

Azar narrowed his amber eyes. “No way … Little Munir? No way !”

“Azar, what is going on? They said you kidnap the princess !”

“Wow look at you !” Azar paid Munir’s question no mind. “Damn you’ve grown up well kid, good for you. And those rings on your fingers, I see someone has turned their fortune around.”

“We can talk about that later! But Azar you’re going to ….”

“Be burned alive” Azar raised his chains up and gave Munir that ‘yeah I know !’ face. “Don’t worry about that, how has it been, kid !? Wow !”

But their conversation was cut short. The guards pushed him forward and said

“Move street rat! Don’t act like you know master Munir! An honorable man like him will never be acquainted with the likes of you !” General Geralt said. He even paid some respect to Munir when he passed.

Azar just smiled to himself and laughed out loud, “Master Munir ! hahaha !!!”. Azar raised his hands up high and waved Munir goodbye as he was escorted away.

“What has this world done to you …” Munir looked at Azar longly. Memories of their short time together came flashing in his head. Without Azar, Munir would have never had the opportunity to join the Desert Falcon merchant guide and meet his adopted father, Brandon Salazar, the guide master. Munir knew what Azar was accused of, but without even needing to listen to those words, Munir could tell, Azar was not the true perpetrator. He refused to believe a person like Azar could be swayed by such corruption. He was the one that showed Munir there was always a better way, after all.

******************

“Are you certain of this, Harold?” the king of Avalon, Henry Leon, spoke.

“Yes my lord, we received intel from one of the spies. This person is a hired kidnapper sent by our neighbor kingdom, the Citnalta Empire.” The king’s personal servant, Harold, bowed respectfully and answered.

“Those bastards, have they gone mad !” The king slammed his hand on the chair. “It’s true what they say. You can never underestimate how far the Demon King’s paws have reached.”

“Yes, my lord… And may I say, it is an excellent decision, sending that filthy street rat to immediate execution.”

“Hahaha ! Oh Harold ! … You have served for too long to keep flattering me like that ! We all know that it was your suggestion. And you’re right, we have to make an example out of him.”

The king, queen, and a handful of his most trusted and loyal subjects got a front roll seat to witness the execution. Normally, they wouldn’t even bother, but this time, it was personal, so they decided to attend the execution personally.

The moment finally came. The prisoner was taking his walk of shame in front of hundreds of watching eyes. Among all of them, Azar recognized a couple of familiar faces.

“I thought I told those two kids to get out of here ?”. Munir and Sasha were watching him not too far from the king’s table.

“Ah … they are now royalty … interesting …” Azar felt something strange. On the one hand, he felt a bit proud and happy for the two, but on the other hand, he was planning to destroy this city …

“Haiz … well this is going to be awkward …” Azar whispered.

Azar willingly let himself get tied against a wooden pole, surrounded by firewood. Then, he just stood there and grinned.

“Sorry God, but as you can see, my hands are literally tied behind my back. I guess I can’t hide my secret anymore …” Azar looked up to the sky and muttered.

“It looks like the damn street rat is begging God for forgiveness,” Geralt, who sat right beside the king, spoke, “How pathetic, they all do that when it’s too late.”

His words reached to others sitting and standing near the royal. It made most of them laugh in the mockery of Azar, except for Sasha and Munir. Their blood was boiling, for Munir, even though 8 years had passed, but he always lost his composure every time he heard someone call another person a street rat. If those words came from the mouth of one of his guide members, the person would get kicked out immediately. However, they were coming from the royal family, of course sitting at a much higher position than he was. So he could only hold his rage against those he once considered to be much more educated and compassionate than the rest of society.

However, Sasha was finding it much harder to hold her rage. She looked so on edge. Her heart was pounding so loud that she could barely hear what those around her were saying. Sasha was breathing so heavily that she looked more like a prisoner on death roll than Azar.

Azar looked at all the humans chattering and cursing at him, and he only felt sorry for them. He saw them nothing more than headless chickens following what they were told without a single thought of their own. Finally, the executioner came forward, holding a torch.

“The king grants you your last word. If you have anything to say, speak now.”

“Yeah, I have your last words right here, human !”