Galen Vesa

*It is not over! I can sense them coming! *

Erta's voice carried urgency I have not felt before.

*Put your hands on the gate human and think of making it stronger.*

Stronger? What should I think of?

* Anything will do as long as you will hold an image of the gate becoming stronger than before. *

Stronger. What could make stone stronger? I'm not good at this game. Running? I can do that but this I’m afraid is your department.

*For crying out loud you dolt! This is magic! Use your imagination! *

She scoffed at me, weaving a spell, reciting chants at a speed I could not follow. Mana swirled and gathered around me, slowly seeping out of me.

Stronger... nothing came to my mind. Stone already seemed hard enough for me. Should we add some steel plates, meld it into the frame or… No. A thought pierced me like a revelation. We were going about this the wrong way. All this trouble, all this sidetracking. All because of me.

*Galen we must...*

No. Erta, Don’t. I know what you are trying even in a time such as this and I suppose I should be grateful but, stop. I kind of guessed it’s not the body but me who can’t handle it.

I pressed my palms against the gate and braced myself against the ground.

Erta, you have all the mana in the world hanging above your head. Use it. I and Pain have an overdue meeting. I can’t run away forever.

*Gelen…*

Funny, those feelings seeping off her. Perhaps, one day. Maybe.

I closed my eyes, reaching deep inside me, imagining the violent orb of light and color swirling above the tiny bud bobbing back and forth. Just like before it felt real, living. It seemed troubled and unsure.

Do what she says, please. I pleaded with the force I could not fathom.

“Do it.”

Soft whisper left my lips.

*Keeper of the ancient law, you who binds times and places. Father of the dragon blood, hear the voice of your own flesh, seeking cover of your wings. You who govern life and death, you whose fire burns eternal night, seal this gate with your unyielding might. *

I think I screamed. I’m not sure. At the very least a part of me wanted to scream.

It felt as if somebody suddenly ripped out all the bones from my body and set on fire whatever left of me.

And I burned within a timeless flame.

Frozen in between heartbeats I stood perched against the gate in agonizing pain of fire consuming my flesh from the inside. My veins, my skin, every tiny bit of my being burned.

I could not move, I could not breathe. I was nothing but pain pushed beyond the realm of time where my suffering would never end. And I was alone.

If I were to describe hell, that’s what I felt. The loneliness of burning pain. Pain that would not subside. Pain without a hope of relief. Pain without the mercy of time. Pain always consuming and never-ending. Pain, terror, and insanity. Pain of ice and flames.

And I burned within those timeless flames.

My flesh burned, charred, and crumbled. My bones turned to dust. My blood would boil and freeze. Then, in an instant, new bones would solidify out of thin air, new flesh would regrow before my very own eyes just to burn and crumble again.

And I burned and burned and burned in never-ending pain.

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And then the boundary broke after which there was nothing. Merciful nothingness.

„Tsk, tsk, tsk. If you continue this way, you will get us killed.”

Logic sat on a throne, draped in crimson fur, staring at me. Out of all the voices, she was the only one that made any sense. And she kept the others in check. Most of the time. She played with her long mane, twisting one of her curls around her finger. Her dead cold eyes pierced my chest while I trembled, huddling my knees.

„And that dragon. We don’t like her. She does not belong. She hurt us.”

Fingers of her other hand begun drumming against the throne’s arms.

„Leave her out of this. She saved my life more than once.”

I answered her, fighting against the tremors that ravaged me.

„Did she? Had we not interjected she would doom us. We seek no consul of that dragon. She is a thief, a parasite. Off us, she scrapes her living. She does not belong. She made us remember.”

Behind the throne, hidden underneath the crimson fur, Pain sobbed. The fur soaked in his blood.

„And you are a voice in my head. Look where your whispers took us.”

I managed to gather myself up and I faced her. There was a long pause before she answered.

„True. Mistakes we made although mistakes are naught, but a choice taken without the knowledge of a whole picture. You are but one, yet we see all.”

Mist began to gather around us.

„Do not trust that dragon. Her word is naught but a lie. Ask her about the name she stole.”

The mist swirled around me and the world changed. Again, I stood Underneath the mana orb, in the shade of a growing tree. One I am quite positive wasn’t here the last time I dropped by.

*Galen!*

My face sunk into the sea of overgrown pillows. Possibly dragonish in origin. Yep, I could feel sleek scales rubbing against my face.

*Silence dolt. Be quiet and do not think. *

So I did. I stood there and let the dragon lady mop over me.

*I do no such thing. *

She pushed me away.

*On bones and wings of my ancestors, what have you done this time?! *

Agitated, she stood an arm’s length from me, cheeks flushed red, her eyes visibly annoyed. The flame tongue that bobbed between her horns, burned brighter than ever.

“Is it safe to talk? What’s happening outside?”

There was a lot to discuss.

*Yes, we have time. The spell worked. The other humans are resting. Your body also needs time to recover. As for the ferru woman, I do not know. The power I used, even though brief, overwhelmed her and knocked her out. She has yet to awake. *

“Oh. Well, that's good. I guess?”

Erta scoffed again.

*Good? Dolt, you had ceased to exist. For a brief moment, I could not feel you. Neither did I feel the part of my soul attached to you. That is no laughing matter. Nothing short of a god can destroy a soul and, that…*

She pointed at the freshly grown tree, searching for words yet not finding any.

I tapped the bark of the tree. White with a bluish tint, it branched out towards the mana. Even I could feel the power flowing through it. Compared to the little sprout from before, if the sprout could represent a mana squirt gun, this tree acted like a firefighter's water pump.

*Stop touching that. *

The bark felt more like marble than wood and, well, something told me maybe I really shouldn’t be touching it.

“I just had a friendly chit-chat with Logic. She doesn’t like you.”

*The voice in the mist? *

“The same. One of many. She said something about a name you stole. Oh, and you’re supposedly a lying lizard that wants to use me. Got anything in your defense?”

* I… I may have made a certain omission…*

Like we all do. Honestly, I would be surprised if she didn’t.

“So, care to share? Don’t worry, you know me. No hard feelings.”

*Galen, Raise your hand.*

My arm rouse.

*Lift your left leg.*

Up it went.

*Jump. *

So I did.

*Dance.*

“I can’t I never…”

Before I realized, my own body bowed before her, offering her my hand. She took it and we began waltzing around the tree.

*Bark.*

“Wooof!”

What in the world is going on?

*You see, when we first met, you offered me your name. True name. And true names in this world have power. Absolute power over their owner. *

“I see. “

*No. You do not understand it. With your true name, I can erase your existence and take over this body we share. Just like you can control the spirit of wind through the name she had given you.*

“But you didn’t.”

*I did not.*

“And you don’t plan on doing that?”

This time she did not answer. As we continued to dance, mana swirled in her blue eyes. Once again, I became nothing more but a puppet in somebody’s else arms.

“May I ask why? Why bother? Why all this charade?”

*Personal beliefs. I am against spilling innocent blood, however, I do have some trust issues pertaining to your kind. Does this upset you? I cannot read that part of you. *

“No. To be honest, I am kind of glad.”

She turned her head to the side, surprised then stopped, interrupting our dance. Tears dripped down her eyes.

*How can one think such… thoughts of oneself? *

“You have not seen what lies within the mist. I did.”

She turned away from me.

*I think you should go back for now. The humans are ready to move. *

I gave her a nod. The faster we get out of this tomb the better.

“What I asked, will you do it?”

*…Yes.*