Clank, Clank—!
Sparks burst into the air as heavy tal struck against tal, the sharp clang echoing throughout the cramped room. Each hamr blow rang out with force, reverberating off the tight walls and rattling the tools hanging nearby.
Heat rolled through the space in thick waves.
Clank!
The forge roared brighter with every strike, flas flaring and twisting as they licked higher, casting wild shadows across the walls.
Standing amidst the raging flas was a broad, towering figure.
His back was massive, shoulders wide and solid as iron beneath the firelight. The heat did not seem to faze him. Sparks struck his skin and fell away harmlessly.
Long red hair flowed down his back in heavy strands, catching the orange glow of the forge. His silhouette lood against the blaze, steady and immovable, as if he belonged to the fire itself.
Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!
The hamring did not stop.
Even as the flas surged higher and the heat intensified, the rhythm remained steady.
Sweat stread down the man’s massive fra, tracing along his muscles before dripping onto the stone floor with a faint hiss.
Still, he did not slow.
His movents were precise and relentless, each strike asured yet powerful. It was as though ti no longer applied to him, as though the outside world had ceased to exist beyond the anvil and the tal beneath his hamr.
Step—
But the rhythm broke at the sound of a single step.
The man’s movents ca to an abrupt halt as the glowing weapon before him started to cool down. He raised the hamr again, but soon dropped it.
"...Why did you show up here?"
His deep voice reverberated across the room.
Only to be replied to by a cold voice.
"I’m checking up on your progress. How long until the relics are created?"
"....."
The man didn’t reply.
He simply stood before the raging fire, his muscles bulging as he tightened his grip over the hamr.
"You..."
There seed to be a lot that he wanted to say.
But eventually, he stopped himself.
"...It’ll be done soon. This isn’t sothing that I can accomplish easily."
"Mhm. That’s good."
Emt replied, the flas flickering across his pupils as he slowly turned away to leave. But just as he did, Veltrus’s voice echoed in his ears again.
"You’ve changed."
Emt’s steps ca to a pause.
"Though you may not realize it, you’ve changed. You weren’t like this before. It’s like you’ve been consud by sothing. I don’t quite... know what it is, but everyone has realized it. Toren in particular is concerned about it. Just what are you planning? What did you see? Let us in on it. Aren’t we—"
"Just do what you’ve been tasked to do."
Emt cut him off, his eyes turning hazy.
The old man’s expression shifted slightly as he opened his mouth, but Emt spoke before he could get another word out.
"...Change sotis is necessary to ensure survival."
These were the last words he said before leaving the room.
"Julien."
Bringing out of my thoughts was Evelyn’s voice as her steps paused and she turned to look in my direction.
Just one look, and I instantly understood.
’She’s coming for us.’
There was no need for us to look for the ’God Hunter’.
In that case—
"The next destination is clear."
Veltrus’s Domain, The Land of Fire.
"We’re really going there?"
Anne asked, her expression especially grim.
I looked at her and nodded.
"Yes, we must go there."
That was where Noel was locked up. To save him, I had no choice but to go there.
Brushing her long red hair back, Aoife looked at as she spoke, "Honestly, it’s not like I fully understand what you’re trying to do since you’ve yet to explain the entire situation to us, but do you think it’s even possible for us to achieve your goal? Considering our current situation, I don’t know if it’ll be possible. From how I see things, things will only get harder for us."
Her words made everyone pause as they all turned to look in my direction. I could see that everyone appeared to share the sa thoughts as Aoife, but had yet to voice them for one reason or another.
In hindsight, their worries weren’t without rit.
’It’s true. Going to save Noel sounds like suicide.’
There was no way we’d be able to do much at our current strength.
We were still far too weak to face the likes of Sithrus or even his followers. Dawn...
Despite this, it wasn’t like I didn’t have a plan. I would’ve never have proposed sothing like this if I didn’t have a plan in mind. It was dangerous, but it was doable. Furthermore, with the possible addition of ’Delilah’, the chances of succeeding were even higher, granted we wouldn’t et Sithrus.
Still, I had my own way of dealing with him.
"Let’s set the goal aside. At our current pace, we probably won’t be able to reach the Land of Fire anyti soon."
An’as pointed out the obvious as he turned to look behind. In the distance, the outline of Eisylra appeared.
"According to my estimates, it should take at least two months. And that’s granted we don’t et any trouble along the way."
"I knew."
This much I had calculated in advance.
Realistically speaking, it should take us half a month to reach the outskirts of the Land of Fire; however, this was the Mirror Dinsion we were talking about. The terrain was different than how it was in the past, with many incredibly annoying things along the way.
There also existed monsters, and there was no guarantee that issues like what we encountered wouldn’t arise.
Two months was a safe estimate.
’But that’s fine.’
I was rushed, but not to the point where we needed to exhaust ourselves in order to reach the place. In fact, the slower things were the better.
’...Well, that was my original plan anyway.’
All of a sudden, I raised my head to look up towards the sky. The others followed as well as they seed to have sensed the sa thing I did. Almost imdiately, the expression of everyone present tightened.
"Sothing is coming."
Kiera’s words brought a sudden tension to the group as everyone readied their weapons, the mana inside of their bodies churning out. Despite their exhaustion, they all looked ready to fight.
However, the closer the entity beca, the grimr their expressions beca as they felt the overwhelming pressure coming from the distance.
"Shit..."
Kiear’s expression was especially grim as a dark pool began to form beneath her feet, her body starting to sink into the ground beneath. Evelyn’s expression was equally as serious as lightning began to crackle around her body, and the air around her started to condense.
I looked at her in surprise, getting a sense of the power that she was summoning.
’Could that be...?’
This felt a lot like the integration of her domain.
’No, it’s not quite that, but the power behind that attack is quite frankly incredible.’
The air around Evelyn warped as power started to accumulate around her.
Cra Crack!
The hair on my body rose at the sight of her attack, and just before she could continue further, I pressed my hand against her shoulder and stopped her.
"Hey, you can stop."
"....?"
Evelyn’s body stiffened montarily, her head turning to look at .
I glanced back at her briefly before lifting my head and looking into the distance.
Toward the source of the pressure.
At first, it was nothing more than a dot in the sky. Small and indistinct against the vast gray sky above us.
As it drew closer, the shape began to take form.
A massive silhouette erged from the haze, floating high above the land. Its outline grew clearer with each passing second, revealing an enormous body suspended in the air. The sheer size of it was overwhelming.
A vast shadow spread across the ground beneath, swallowing hills and trees alike as the creature continued its silent approach.
As its features beca clear, everyone’s expression changed as the mana inside their body retreated, and Kiera muttered, "That’s..."
"...A dragon."
Leon finished the words for her, his eyes entranced by the sight in the distance.
"It’s... a dragon."
My eyes remained fixed on the towering figure as it closed the distance at terrifying speed. What had seed far away only monts ago was already nearing us, cutting through the sky with dominance.
In re seconds, it was above us.
Its massive wings beat once, then again, each movent sending powerful gusts crashing down onto the ground. Dust and debris spiraled outward as the wind pressed against my clothes.
It hovered there, imnse and imposing.
Then its gaze shifted.
Slowly, its eyes settled on .
And then—
"Human."
It called out to , forcing to smile and greet back.
"Pebble."
Swooooosh!
The dragon’s massive wings beat again.
This ti, the wind was even stronger, slamming into us like a physical force. The ground trembled beneath the pressure, dust and loose debris whipping past in violent spirals.
I did not move.
I remained where I stood, staring up at the enormous dragon before us as its dark scales glimred under the light of the white sun. Staring at its large fra and powerful pressure, I couldn’t help but think about the past and how the once lethargic cat that would constantly bicker and get bullied by an owl had grown into a fine dragon.
"..."
For a mont, the world seed to co to a complete still as the two of us stared at each other.
But the silence was shattered almost imdiately.
The dragon’s enormous fra began to shrink at a startling pace. Its vast wings folded inward, scales compressing and dissolving into shadow as its colossal body rapidly condensed.
In the span of a heartbeat, the sky was empty.
A small black cat dropped from above instead.
It shot downward rapidly and reached in an instant, landing lightly on my shoulder. Its paws settled there with surprising familiarity, claws barely grazing the fabric of my clothes.
Golden eyes blinked once as it looked at .
"....I’ve been waiting."
That was all the cat said before nestling over to my shoulder, almost as if it was trying to take in my scent that it seed to have forgotten.
"I’ve been waiting."
It repeated again, its voice softer.
I opened my lips to reply back, but right as I was about to speak, a certain voice reached my ears.
"Hey, Evelyn."
My attention fell on Leon as he shook her shoulder.
Then, grabbing her attention, he pointed at the cat on my shoulder and spoke, "That’s a dragon."
His eyes glead as he looked at the cat.
He looked like a child who had just seen the world for the first ti.
"A... dragon."
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