Manuel stared at the entire spectacle with silent admiration. If someone broke into his tower, damaged something, and then killed one of his servants, he would've most likely been far less merciful. This was always Oirun's strength. He found it in his heart to forgive even the vilest of creatures. After a suitable punishment, naturally.

The dragon raised his enchanted hand and placed it on the heads of all the raiders. He recited the exact conditions of the spell and then asked them, one by one, if they accept his proposal. Given all they'd seen and how terrifying the dragon's magic was, the trio agreed with trembling voices.

After that, they were free to go. Oirun watched them run towards the exit as fast as their bodies allowed them. No heroic welcome awaited them at home. Their bodies looked like overused scratching posts. Almost every person they ran into asked them what happened. Their mouths moved automatically. Their voices spoke the pre-defined story with so much desperation, they sounded like they were traumatised for life. That was not too far from the truth. They told everyone of their cowardice. How the dragon showed them mercy after they had begged him with all their might. That day, they said more words automatically than intentionally.

"Now that was one hell of a show," Manuel smiled once the raiders left and applauded Oirun's display of strength.

"Thank you. I hope you didn't get injured during this scuffle," the dragon asked, almost mockingly.

"Oh please! As if they could touch a hair on my body. But they were impressive, gotta hand it to them."

"Impressive, maybe, but also arrogant and disgusting. You see potential in everyone, but I don't think it's worth clapping for a talent that is used for malice."

Manuel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But hey, it's necessary to be inspired by others, no?"

"Really? So you wish to go around stabbing dragons?"

"I meant with the magic! The magic!"

Oirun laughed. "I know, I know. Say, now that we've crossed paths again, may I interest you in a little shared meal? I'll give you a glass of water."

"Ooh, water, how exciting," Manuel replied sarcastically.

"Don't knock it till you try it. I can guarantee you that you've never tasted water like this." Oirun walked over to the exit and waited for Manuel to follow him. The wizard, however, seemed to be plagued by hesitation.

"Come on, Manuel, don't tell me you're afraid of me."

"I'm not!"

"Then what's the problem? The future?"

"I don't know. Kinda?"

"Well, we're not there yet. The future is not yet written. So how about we enjoy the present? Over a luxurious dinner, perhaps?"

Manuel smiled. Although his potential confrontation with Oirun worried him, he wouldn't say no to some good food. Unlike him, the dragon could cook like few other people in the world.

"Ah, this thing is phenomenal!" Manuel exclaimed after he took a large gulp of refreshing cold water from his ornate chalice. "It's so cold, but not too much. And so fresh How is this even possible?"

"Magic can't do everything," the dragon explained while not taking his eyes off the steak cooking on a large heated slab. "Sure, you can clean water with magic, but unless you can truly perceive all the microbes in it, you will never truly clean it. Which is why I have my own little setup for water cooling and cleaning. It's all done organically. The bugs clean the water of all impurities. It's similar to this steak here. I could just cook it or add taste with a little transmutation, but that wouldn't be natural. Instead, I use magic as a tool for manual preparation. Perfectly spread out the seasoning and then watch as the heat is applied all across the surface of the meat. Cook it to perfection..." he turned silent for a few moments, "and done!" he exclaimed victoriously as he served the steak on the table. "Tada! Trust me. The best one you'll ever eat."

Manuel grabbed his utensils and took a bite. Truly, it was done to perfection. No, far beyond perfection. Oirun knew exactly what sort of food the wizard liked. His attention to detail never ceased to amaze Manuel.

"So, how is life treating you? You do deliveries now?" the dragon asked after they both finished their meal and were now resting on a massive cushioned pillow, which the dragon used as a seat in his enormous living room.

"Yeah, I got bored. Wanted to start a new project," Manuel replied as he gazed at the ceiling covered in drapes of different-coloured silk.

"Really? So... does that mean the future changed?" Oirun asked and raised his head. He saw as Manuel's eyes turned into a galaxy of blue shades.

"I still envy you your foresight. I could never recreate that, you know?" he complimented his friend.

"Well, lucky you. It's not that great."

"You can see the future with that spell. What's not great about it?"

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"Anything beyond tomorrow gets hazy. Too many possible futures. It makes my head spin. And... well, you know. Then there's the other thing."

Oirun sighed. The sadness in his friend's voice was undeniable. "So, the outcome is still the same?"

"Yeah," Manuel looked as far into the future as his eyes allowed him, yet the image he saw was still exactly the same as the one burned into his memories. "In six months, it all ends. My powers cease."

"That can mean all sorts of stuff though."

"No, it can't. We both know exactly what it means." He let out a sorrowful groan. "In six months, I'll die." He looked at that final image. The only one of that day that his power allowed him to see. His friend was there beside him, claws raised to strike. "In six months, you'll kill me."

Oirun looked to the side, his heart heavy with guilt for a crime he had not yet committed. "Manuel, I have no reason to–"

"You don't have one now, but you will eventually."

A moment of silence enveloped them. Neither knew exactly what to say, until eventually, Oirun found the perfect topic to switch to. He rolled off his back and stood up.

"Come with me," he said and stretched.

"Where to?"

"You'll see. I think you'll like this one in particular."

Reluctantly, the wizard stood up and followed his friend. It wasn't often when the dragon was eager to show him something.

Only now did Manuel begin to comprehend the sheer size of Oirun's lair. Almost every single room was the size of a royal dining hall. Every time Manuel brought up the overwhelming dimensions in conversation, the dragon merely replied that he doesn't understand and that a dragon like him needs his space. The wizard wouldn't believe a word Oirun said. There were domestic animals bigger than him that survived in much smaller spaces.

They walked at least four floors down. Each staircase was in a different part of the dungeon, and so travelling there meant that they had to cross countless other rooms before they could finally descend. From time to time, they would run into the small lizards that served Oirun. Some would hiss at Manuel, but after the dragon explained to them who exactly the wizard was, the Dracii seemed to treat him with appropriate respect.

"You ever thought about a more practical design?" Manuel asked. He'd swear he could cross his entire home village in less time than it took them to reach whatever goal the dragon was leading him towards.

"It's not meant to be practical. It's meant to delay intruders," Oirun replied and led Manuel into the final room.

A long corridor presented itself ahead of them. Manuel blinked a few times, unsure if what he was looking at was real. The entire chamber could've been one, maybe even two hundred metres long. Its end was so far away he could not even see what awaited him once he crossed such a distance.

"I hope you can teleport just as well as when we saw each other last time?" Oirun smirked at the wizard.

"Race you?" Manuel smiled back.

"Sure, count us off," the dragon crouched, ready to put his own travelling spells to the test.

The noise coming from the corridor horrified the nearby Dracii. Manuel's sparkling magic was like a blinking light shooting through the hallway, while Oirun's thunderous step roared like an enormous monster he just set free.

"Ha! First!" Manuel exclaimed and tidied up his cloak. "An excellent race, my friend."

"Phew. Yes, indeed. I have to admit, I am much more of a sedentary type. So much quick movement doesn't sit well with me. You youngsters need to go easy on us old branches."

"Come on, you're only three hundred years older than me."

"And that is almost half your age."

"Well... touché," Manuel shrugged. He always thought that once a wizard truly stops their ageing, any sort of age difference between them and other people becomes insignificant.

"So, you ready to see something truly incredible?" Oirun asked, further teasing the wizard.

"Yes, yes! Now open the door already, or I'll open them myself."

Oirun laughed. "There's so much protection magic around them you'd never be able to make a dent in them."

He placed his hand on the door. There was a slot shaped precisely like a dragon's front foot. It was made so that only someone like Oirun would be able to open the place. Anticipation filled the three hearts present.

It took the door at least six minutes to fully open. There was so much protection around them that simply undoing it all, albeit for a short moment, took that long. With each passing moment, Manuel's mind kept coming up with more and more things Oirun could want to hide away under such a barrier. However, what he saw when the door opened, he would never have guessed.

The entire room was a large dome, with the wall painted so that it would simulate a clear blue sky, with only a few scattered clouds here and there, and a surrounding meadow. In the very middle stood a pile of warm rocks covered by heaps of sand. And there, atop this natural altar, sat a single brown egg.

Manuel's eyes widened. "Egg!" he said, unable to bring himself to form a proper sentence.

"Yes, Manuel, great observation, that is indeed an egg. Any other words they taught you at kindergarten today?" the dragon mocked him.

"Shut up! That... How? W-Where did you get that?"

"I laid it."

Manuel's jaw dropped. "You... Wait... You're a female?"

"That's a human biology, not ours. There are no male or female dragons."

"I... But you call yourself a man."

"No, you called me a man. I just went along with it. Figured it would be easier for my life in this world."

"But... So all dragons can lay eggs?"

"Yes. You didn't know? Spent the six hundred years of your life without meeting a few dragons?" he said, continuing with his mocking tone.

"I did meet dragons! I just never asked them about their intimate life!"

"Well, let me educate you on biology then. Yes, all dragons can lay eggs."

"But... Where's your mate then?"

"My mate?"

"Yeah! Someone to make the egg with!"

Oirun sighed. "I do not require a mate. I did everything a dragon has to. I travelled back home."

"Home? To Arsia? You travelled to another world?"

"Yes, last year. I climbed one of the sixteen grand peaks, on foot, as the tradition dictates. I lay on the bed of Nightflow flowers when they were in bloom, and bathed myself in the full light of the ley line."

Manuel raised one eyebrow. "That's how you make an egg? Heh, sounds like something out of a fairy tale."

"And the reproduction of your species sounds like something out of horror fiction," Oirun replied and approached the egg.

"Okay, so I know how you made it, but now for the important question. Why?"

The dragon sat down beside his unborn offspring and invited Manuel to do the same. "You see, I believe we are a bad influence on this world."

"The two of us? Definitely."

"Not the two of us! Wizards in general. The fact that we don't age but have so much power and influence means that we perpetuate a cycle of old and outdated ideologies. The world doesn't change when we're around."

"That's a good thing. It creates stability. People know what to expect."

"It creates a world that stagnates."

"Not true. The world can still change. People write new books, start new businesses, and build new houses. The world is always moving."

Oirun sighed. "Not everything is about books, businesses, and houses. Those who bring the vision of what could be are often the children. The youngsters. The next generation. That's what I want, Manuel. I wish to see change. I wish to raise a child who'd look at the world and see what could be."