After Arlan left, Oriana kept herself busy with Snowflake. Since it was cold outside, she took Snowflake into the chamber. The wolf climbed onto the bed, leaving space for her master. Oriana joined Snowflake, lying down with her back resting against the wolf’s warm, furry stomach, and stared at the sky through the window.
"Snowflake, do you ever wonder where you ca from, who your parents were, and how a spiritual beast like you ended up in the snow, unattended?"
Snowflake growled lightly in response, as if agreeing with her.
"I wonder the sa," Oriana continued, maintaining her one-sided conversation with her pet. "I know about my human existence now, but I want to know about my previous life. I want to know who my parents were and how I lived back then in the Demon realm. I know I should be content with what I have now, but I can’t help but wonder. Especially about my mother, who was said to be the angel of the wind elent. She crafted that lotus and protected the dragon’s soul.
"I want to know if she really handed it over to , or what exactly happened back then. Sohow, she is the reason why I am with Arlan now, my current happy life with Arlan, my mother in the previous life is the reason." She sighed helplessly and closed her eyes to rest, mumbling, "I wish I could go to that place, the one that connects to my previous mother, and feel her presence and our past."
Oriana kept her eyes closed, unaware of what was happening around her. The next mont, she opened her eyes and found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She blinked a few tis, thinking, "Have I fallen asleep and started dreaming already?"
She rubbed her eyes, but the view remained the sa. There was no window to her chamber, no walls or curtains; she was out in the open, still lying with her back against Snowflake’s warm stomach. "What the hell is going on?" she exclaid, sitting up and realizing that instead of a soft bed, she was on a stony surface. Instead of the night and starry sky, she saw a clear, or rather cloudy, sky. It was no longer cold but warm all of a sudden.
She turned to look at Snowflake, who stood up now that Oriana was no longer leaning against her.
Oriana looked around. The place seed deserted, resembling a neglected garden of soone’s residence. Random pillars of black rock, their carvings worn away, dotted the landscape. The entire floor was a plain black rock, surrounded by huge boulders. It seed as if this place had been dug out and created on a mountain of black rock.
"What is this place? Are we in a dream, or did you bring here?" Oriana mumbled, glancing around.
"We are in the Demon realm, master."
A soft, feminine voice finally broke the silence. Oriana turned to the wolf, "Is that you, Snowflake?"
"Yes, master," the wolf replied, her mind linked with Oriana’s.
"How could you talk to all of a sudden?"
"Because master needs to talk to her?" the wolf answered.
"Did you just say the Demon realm? Did you bring here?"
"Yes, master."
"Why? How?" Oriana didn’t know what to ask first.
"Master, you wished to co to this place, and I brought you here by teleportation. Whenever my master needs sothing, my powers act accordingly to aid you."
Oriana rembered her words. "But I was just...," she paused. "First, tell we can go back to human realm."
"Yes, we can. As long as master wants to return, we can," Snowflake assured her.
Oriana let out a sigh of relief. "Of course, I want to go back," she said, then hesitated. "But before that, let look around quickly. I said I wanted to see sothing related to my mother, so you definitely brought here for that, didn’t you?"
"It’s the place you wished to go, master. Only you can decide. I just act as a dium to teleport, my master."
"That ans this place belonged to my mother in my previous life," Oriana concluded, walking around. She stopped in front of a huge rock that appeared to have once been a small waterfall. At the bottom were rocky pots where the water must have fallen. Even the markings at the base showed where the water used to flow. Now all dried up as if this place had lost its life.
She touched the huge, rocky, circular pot, and the next mont, images flashed before her eyes.
"Mother, this golden lotus is so beautiful. I wish one day I could craft sothing like it with my divine powers."
Images of a young girl and a woman from behind appeared. The woman placed a golden lotus in the rocky pot, shining like the purest gold.
"I believe you can, Esray. After all, you are my daughter, and you possess the sa heavenly power as I do."
"But why is there darkness trapped inside it?"
"It’s not trapped, dear; it’s taking shelter inside this flower."
"What is it?"
"I will tell you, but you must promise never to reveal it to anyone. Instead, you will protect this flower, even if it ans giving your life for it."
"I will, Mother. I give you my word that I will always protect it."
"There is a soul of a Dragon inside it," the woman explained. "A Divine Dragon, the most powerful being."
"But isn’t there only one Dragon, and it’s Him, the lord of darkness? Then where did this one co from?"
"This soul is a part of Him. All you need to rember is to protect it and never let it fall into the wrong hands."
"I will. Mother, can I touch this lotus?"
"Sure. In my absence, you are the one to take care of it."
"In your absence? Where is mother going?"
The woman chuckled, "I am not going anywhere. But you never know what will happen. I am just making sure that in my absence, there is soone to protect it. And there is no one more capable and suitable than my daughter."
"Thank you for trusting , mother. I will always protect this flower and the Dragon soul," Esray said, her fingertips touching the golden lotus, which shone even brighter at her touch.
"It seems like this flower likes you, Esray. My decision to hand it over to you was right."
The girl leaned closer to the flower and smiled at it, "Little flower, thank you for liking . I will always take care of you."
With that, the images disappeared, and Oriana gasped heavily as if she had been pulled out of sothing strong. She looked at the rocky pot and mumbled, "That was Esray and her mother, my mother. I could hear them, but the images were not clear. I wish I could see their faces. Did I look the sa in my previous life? How did my mother look?"
She turned to Snowflake and hugged her. "Thank you for bringing here."
"Master, we should head back."
Oriana realized they were in the Demon realm. If soone caught them, it would be a disaster, and they might not return. "Take back to Wildridge Manor."
A soft glow emitted from Snowflake’s body, enveloping Oriana as well. The next mont, Oriana found herself back in the chamber.
But wait, it was no longer night. Oriana jumped out of bed and looked outside the window. It was a bright day.
"What is going on? Didn’t we just leave for a few minutes?"
Just then, soone entered the room. It was Arlan. He looked at her in surprise and hurried over. "Where have you been the entire night?" His tone and gaze were filled with worry.
"I...was..."
He hugged her tightly. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I couldn’t find you anywhere."
Oriana spoke to Snowflake through their mind link, a connection only the two of them could hear. "What is going on, Snowflake?"
"Ti in the Demon realm runs slower than in the human realm. A few monts there can be a day here," Snowflake replied through the mind link.
"Where were you?" Arlan asked, releasing her from his hold.
"Snowflake and I were trying teleportation and didn’t realize so much ti had passed."
"Did you two teleport? Where?"
"Just so random mountain," Oriana answered, not willing to overwhelm him when he was already worried. He would probably separate her and Snowflake if he knew she had been to the Demon realm.
"Don’t try it without letting know. You worry , Oriana Verner," he warned, then looked at Snowflake. "Keep your powers in check. If you dare whisk my mate away again, you won’t be around her anymore."
Oriana sighed inwardly. ’Exactly as I thought he would react. But I have to tell him. Maybe once he calms down.’
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