Grat-ra’zun knew that talking to Alia was going to be difficult. He had experienced dealing with her before. She had quite literally stord his lair, destroyed all his traps, and made him beg for his life— all because of a misunderstanding.
So when he sought her out, he had anticipated the problems that were going to arise. Especially since he knew how brusque she could be. That was why he had gone over the various ways this conversation with her could go. And he had prepared a surefire speech to convince her to help him.
The Elder Dragon straightened as Alia tilted her head.
“Your life is in danger, Alia of Earth,” he started as he held her gaze. “And so is the lives of every single person living in Vacuos. This is an existential threat. An apocalypse in the making. You must understand, but—”
“Is this about the Void?” Alia asked, cutting him off.
And the Elder Dragon blinked, taken aback. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been so surprised, considering what she had shown him back in his lair. He rembered that mont so vividly. After all, she had…
Alia had ripped a hole in space.
She created a rift that peered into the Void. And when she did that, she claid to have destroyed an entity called the Voidgod. That had baffled Grat-ra’zun. Not only had a human survived in the Void, but she had thrived within it.
So it was expected that she had an inkling of an idea as to what the Elder Dragon was talking about. He had anticipated her to know what was going on to a certain extent. But it was the casual way which she broached the subject matter which had confuddled him.
Still, he had readied himself to adapt to her odd personality. So he swiftly moved on to the next subject.
“While I understand you do not perceive the Void as an existential threat,” Grat-ra’zun said, nodding his head. “It has exceeded danger levels ever before seen in this world. Even Guardian Angel—”
“Z is dead, yeah,” Alia said, crossing her arms. “I know that too.”
And once again, the Elder Dragon paused. He stared at her for a mont. “How do you know…? Nevermind.”
He shook his head as she gave him a flat stare and said, “Look, I feel bad for Z, but he was just doing his duty. It’s not my responsibility to fix his failures. Just because he didn’t succeed, doesn’t an I have to pick up where he left off.”
Alia spoke dismissively, and the Elder Dragon just stared. The [Druid] glanced between the two of them, clearly not understanding what was going on.
Grat-ra’zun tried to take a step forward, but grimaced in pain. “Alia of Earth, this threat of the Void goes beyond endangering Vacuos. I understand that you hold no connection to the people of this world—”
“Actually,” she interrupted him again, “I have quite a lot of friends I do care about. And can you please stop calling that?”
The Elder Dragon blinked a few tis. Everything he said, she always seed to have a counter. How was he going to convince her to listen to him? He gritted his teeth as he tried to remain on his feet.
“...very well,” he sighed as he shook his head. “But I must insist that you still hear out, Alia.”
Alia looked him up and down, seeing the resolve on his face. She closed her eyes, before she took a step back.
“Fine,” she said as she massaged her temples. “But can we have this conversation sowhere else? Because I don’t feel comfortable talking about all this out here in public.”
She gestured at their surroundings. Grat-ra’zun looked up. While the previously gathered crowd had mostly been dispersed, and a periter of guards had ford around the area, the Elder Dragon was not a tiny figure. Even from the bottom of the crater, just by standing up straight, he towered over this farming village.
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Everyone within a mile from the crater could see his head poking up to the sky from inside their houses. Grat-ra’zun nodded as he looked back down at the brown-haired human.
“Where do you propose we move this conversation to, Alia?” he asked curiously.
And she gestured at the building right next to them. “We can talk in Bucky’s Out Of this World Restaurant— my restaurant.”
“Wait, you have a restaurant now?” The Elder Dragon frowned as he stared at the small building. “...and how do you expect to fit in there?”
“I dunno. Use your magic or sothing,” she replied flatly.
—--
As expected, an Elder Dragon’s magic allowed him to manipulate the fabric of space so that the dining hall grew in size tenfold to fit him within. From the outside, it looked like nothing had changed. But upon stepping into the room, the ceiling would seemingly rise up over a hundred feet, and the walls would recede back even further.
Now, my restaurant looked like it could seat hundreds of custors inside. If I had to guess, it had enough space for about five hundred custors before it reached max capacity. But perhaps that might have been too cramped. I’d have to take so asurents later.
Even though the room was significantly larger, Grat-ra’zun still barely fit inside of it. He had to curl up into a ball to avoid hitting both the ceiling and the walls. Most of the custors had vacated earlier when he ca crashing down from the sky. Those who remained, I offered a refund and politely asked them to leave, so that I could have so privacy.
“Hmph, I do not specialize in spatial magic,” the Elder Dragon huffed as he looked at the walls of the room. “Perhaps if given more ti, I could enlarge the room even further. But this will make due for now.”
“If you’re any good at wood magic, could you do a favor and make so extra tables and chairs for too?” I said as I gestured at all the empty space. “Just a few dozen works for now.”
Grat-ra’zun gave a sidelong glance, then scoffed and conjured up a handful of identical tables and chairs to the ones I currently had. He gave an exasperated look as he t my gaze.
“Are you satisfied, Alia?”
“Not really,” I said as I placed a hand on my chin. “Maybe if you create a few more tables and chairs, and maybe give refurbish their design—”
“Good, I’m glad to hear you are satisfied,” the Elder Dragon said, cutting off.
I stared at him for a mont, then shrugged. “Well, it was worth trying. So, what do you want to do?”
I asked as I leant back in a chair. Grat-ra’zun sat across from . But the table was so small compared to his size, he was practically up in front of my face.
He closed his eyes as he heard my question.
“It is not such a simple matter that I can answer your question with a single statent, Alia.”
“I feel like by that you an you don’t think you can convince to help you with a single statent,” I said as I raised a brow.
“That is also true,” Grat-ra’zun sighed. “However, this issue is complex. For you see, while it involves the problem of the Void—”
“Which I’ve already dealt with once before, by the way,” I interjected, before pausing. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Arthur, the forr Lich King and forr Vessel of the Voidgod, standing at the bar, looking wide-eyed at the Elder Dragon standing in the room. “Actually, twice now.”
And the Elder Dragon nodded. “Indeed, and I appreciate your efforts. But it is exactly your past accomplishnts that led here to you. For you are the only one who is capable of stopping what is to co.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes.
“Because the threat the Void poses to Vacuos today far surpasses the threat it posed even in the past. Ten thousand years ago, when rifts were opening across the world, spilling out with creatures that had never been seen before, Guardian Angel Z357 descended from the heavens and vanquished this threat to our existence. But now, he had been slain. That is the gravity of the threat that we face here today, Alia.”
I shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. “The World System sent down Z because of the Void, so it could send down another two or three of him at any point in ti, can’t it? Why must I be involved in this ss?”
“Because even if an Archangel is sent down by the World System, I do not know if they will be strong enough to put a halt to this threat.” Grat-ra’zun shook his head as he looked at gravely. “Not when this threat stems from only a single individual, and his power has grown exponentially over the last few months.”
“Oh? And who is this guy that’s endangering Vacuos?” I asked as I peered at the Elder Dragon curiously.
We locked eyes, and he lowered his head. His body seed to tremble as his mouth moved.
“It is the [Hero King] Kallistus kal, Alia,” he said softly. “And he is after your life.”
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