After entering the portal leading to Ormrdivin, Florian and Orion both walked further inside the cave, illuminated by the crystal encased inside its walls.

"This confirms it."

Orion's expression suddenly froze, a grave look on his face, as he looked around.

"Something happened to the dragons, then?"

"I don't know exactly what, but something definitely happened."

With the same expression, Florian began to think of the worst.

"Orion."

A long growling sound entered Florian's ears, while Orion registered his name being called instead.

"That's... Ruminona?"

In the far back of the cave, a large shadow emerged from the ground. Inside a rocky nest with pointy rocks, a green dragon stared at them with piercing eyes.

Releasing a large wind blast from her nostrils, she bowed her head slightly and leveled her face to their level.

Orion noticed the large objects inside her nest, and asked.

"Are we interrupting something important?"

With a grave look still on his face, he began to think.

'Are there humans trying to steal their eggs again? If so...'

A dark veil covered his eyes, but before he could think too much, Ruminona calmed his anger.

"No such trouble has arisen, please relax."

There was a mixture of tiredness and anxiety in her voice. The first was probably caused by the eggs, though, it was the second that made Orion immediately question the situation.

"Where's Monolavir?"

"Outside the nest."

He walked to Ruminona, placed his hand on her nose, and turned his face toward Florian.

"Sorry, Florian, seems like there's something to deal with before your meeting. Monolavir is currently out of the nest."

"Don't worry. Whatever is happening is definitely a hindrance to my own plans, so the faster it is resolved, the better it will be for both parties."

Both men looked at each other for a few seconds, before exchanging a nodded in agreement.

"Ruminona, can you tell me what happened?"

The dragon closed its eyes, before it answered.

"Give me a second."

She lifted her head, and with her nostrils, made a very faint whistling sound. Then, her head dropped back down to his level.

With what sounded like a sigh, she began to explain the situation.

"We do not know exactly the reason for it, but one of us hasn't returned for approximately a month. To be exact, since that black dome covered the west."

Orion immediately thought of the corruption barrier covering the whole of Eogis.

"I see. That's why the air felt so agitated after stepping inside your nest."

"The dragons are in a constant uproar recently. Just one of us vanishing was enough to cause this mess."

Just looking at her, Orion knew.

'This is also putting a lot of stress on her... I hope Monolavir is fine.'

Just as he thought of the giant blue dragon, a loud flapping sound of wings echoed in the massive tunnel behind them.

The sound became louder and louder, until an impressive blue dragon flew at high speed inside the room. It hurriedly dropped to the ground and observed its mate.

"Rumi! Are you alright? You called me urgently, so I came as fast as I could!"

Worried, Monolavir dropped his face toward her, before finally noticing Orion. At the same time, he instantly understood the reason for her sudden call.

"Orion!"

"Good to see you in one piece, Monolavir. Sorry to be a pain as soon as we've met again, but can you tell me what you've found?"

He looked at Ruminona, then at the eggs, and then back to Ruminona.

'She told him. I was sure she wanted this matter to be dealt by the dragons alone...'

As if she could read his mind, she spoke.

"I trust this person enough to speak about our current situation. He has proven to be a very important being to not only the dragons as a whole, but also to us."

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"He already seemed to have had an idea about our predicament from the moment he arrived, so there was no reason to hide it."

Monolavir flapped his four wings before folding them behind his back. He looked at Orion with his piercing eyes, before the words began to flow freely.

"One of us disappeared, I fear that they have been captured."

Orion grabbed his head in pain when Monolavir finished his sentence.

'This feeling... where?'

It dissipated as quickly as it arrived, so he focused back on the conversation.

"I talked with every single dragons of the nest. They're saying that one of our young, an earth dragon, flew out of the nest alone and never returned."

"Ruminona told me that it happened when the dome formed over Eogis. Is it true?"

The Azur Dragon closed his eyes, and nodded his massive head slowly.

"It is the truth. That is why I can say with certainty, he has been captured."

"How can you be so sure? Could it be possible that he died of natural causes somewhere?"

"That is impossible."

Ruminona answered.

"Are you telling me that dragons only die of old age?"

The seriousness in his voice made it clear that he wasn't in the mood to joke.

"Dragons do not catch illnesses, they do not suffer organ failures like most of you bipedal creatures either."

"Our blood is made of magic energy, which protects us against all of those things. There is no reason to believe it would happen all of the sudden, nevertheless to a healthy young."

She made the point clear, and Orion understood.

"So all that's left is... he has been captured."

The two dragons agreed with him.

"That is the only answer. Coincidentally, that dark dome covered the area where he was seen flying toward, which makes it more than likely."

"And in that area... is where that dangerous being lives, right, Orion?"

With a silent nod, Orion acknowledged his words.

"This is a very bad situation. Not only for the dragons, but also for everyone else."

"Because of the corruption, right? No dragons were corrupted before."

"Exactly. If it fails, then we would have lost a young to that thing. But if it succeeds in whatever it is trying to do, then we will have a corrupted version of dragons. I have no clues on its capabilities, or anything it could become."

This news was like being struck by a blunt weapon in the back of the head. Orion couldn't believe it.

"Could that make the prospect of creating an alliance with the human faction impossible?"

Florian, who remained silent and pieced together the pieces of information he heard from Orion, gulped.

Everything he worked for was in Orion's hands.

Monolavir glanced at Florian, and remembered the valiant stand he had made in the past. He wanted to give the man a chance.

So, he answered.

"Humans have done nothing against us this time. Amelia avenged our children's meaningless death, which purged every ounce of grudge I had against them."

In agreement, Ruminona closed her eyes.

"We dragons will believe in the words of this human. We will believe in you and in Amelia, not as different factions, but as friends. The new friends the dragons have acknowledged since the last one two thousands years."

A sense of accomplishment and pride filled Orion.

"I am glad to hold such an important place into your lives. Amelia will be delighted to hear that too."

He turned to Florian, and made a thumbs up.

"Your deal is still holding."

With trembling hands, he removed his glasses and wiped them clean.

"Ha-Haha~ Thank you. I cannot thank you enough for not ignoring my request."

A nervous laugh escaped his mouth, but he was incredibly relieved. His hands stopped trembling, and as he put back on his glasses.

"Is there something humans can do to help with this problem?"

With a determined gaze, he looked back at Orion.

"I'll explain everything first. Though, there's probably not much to do."

...

Once Orion finished explaining the situation, Florian remained quiet for a minute.

"..."

The two men tried to find a way to alleviate the dragons' pain, but there was really no clear solution.

"Since the dome fell on Eogis, I heard nothing managed to go through. Either from the outside, or the inside. There is no rescuing possible."

"And even if it was possible, Miasma is holding the fort. This is similar to asking death to come pick you up."

Orion said, understanding the consequences behind such a choice. They all agreed with him, this was a plan throwing the life of anyone who dared try.

"All I can do is post someone near the dome, in case the dragon comes out. We can only prepare against it."

Said Florian, a look of worry on his face as he stared at Monolavir.

The blue dragon seemed to acknowledge the man's words, as it spoke to Orion.

"The dragons want to settle this matter themselves. Meaning that if you learn anything, you have to report to them."

"I thought so. I have no reason to refuse."

With a nod, the partnership between Florian and Monolavir began.

"But Monolavir, I won't accept that crap. I'll have Amelia help you in case that dragon's sighted out of the dome."

*growl*

Florian heard a growl coming from the dragon.

'This is a growl that shows disagreement...'

"Of course she's dear to me, but that doesn't mean I won't have her helping you. You two chose her, you've bonded with her."

"If it concerns corruption, I can't have you deal with it alone, even more if it concerns one of your own."

*Growl*

'This one sounded close to an agreement.

"You know it won't be easy to put him down. He's a part of your faction. I can't have you hesitate since you have new children to protect, am I wrong?"

*Fuuuu*

'Seems like Orion managed to make the Azur Dragon listen to him. He truly is in another league compared to me.'

With Monolavir releasing a cloud of ice particles from his nose, he agreed to have Amelia fight with them. But only her.

"Deal's done. Florian, please dispatch a few people to monitor the corruption dome."

He nodded, but also added.

"It will take a few weeks for them to arrive, is that alright?"

But Orion shook his head.

"I will create a portal for them to go through, somewhere close to it, but still a little distance away. Make sure no one approaches it, and that they keep at least five hundred meters between them and the dome."

"Why?"

Once again, a dark veil covered Orion's face.

"Are you underestimating Miasma? The moment your men are noticed, they will be captured or killed. Be extremely cautious, just like our first meeting."

Florian remembered their first encounter inside the Dead White forest. The way Orion handled himself at that time had left a mark in his mind.

'The definition of the word 'cautious'.'

He nodded, and agreed.

"I will do everything so that my men understand the situation. I will not put them in needless danger."

"Alright then, we should prepare everything. I know the meeting was concluded rather rapidly, but is there anything one of you want to say?"

Monolavir remained silent, as he had no real interest in the matters of humans.

"I have a few things to say."

With a smile on his face, Florian walked closer to Monolavir, and spoke loudly.

"One day, I want you to return to Albriar. This time, not as an enemy, but an ally. To prove to everyone that faction doesn't matter!"

The dragon threw a piercing gaze at him, but ultimately agreed. It wasn't such a bad idea.

"And... I want a rematch against you, Azur Dragon... no, Monolavir. Me and Eric, against you once again."

All of Monolavir's sharp teeth were in full display after hearing the man's declaration.

"Your determination, show it to me in due time."

With those words relayed by Orion, Monolavir thought.

'I don't regret giving these men one of my scale. I am fond of brave warriors!'

Ruminona, who knew her mate very well, closed her eyes and sighed peacefully, her tail carefully wrapped around the four eggs in her nest.

~

With the success of Florian creating an alliance based on helping the dragons, all that was left was the fairies.

The gap between fairies and humans, filling it was in Kamala's hands.