Somewhere else in the Hollow.

“Where are we…one second we were all outside and now we’re in some kind of room?” Arga rubbed her head.

She turned around to inspect the layout of the room but it didn’t seem to give her any more info than what was right in front of her. The room was small and dark, with glowing markings scattered across the walls. Some kind of non-sensical markings that she couldn't read.

The room was designed the same as the one Rei and Veldor were in. The only difference was the company she kept.

“Argh—I hate cramped spaces!” Zephier moaned.

He punched the wall with all his might and caused it to crack, which left a crater behind where his fist had landed. Arga winced in surprise at his might.

By the time he pulled his fist away from the wall had repaired itself and was brought back to its smooth, dreary self.

“What is this stuff?” He pondered aloud.

“Knock it off Zephier, we can’t lose focus now! Alice is missing from our group, we need to find her before they do!” Akai barked.

He had lost his usual calm composure and resorted to an emotional outburst that silenced the room.

All except for one.

“Agreed, we need to find the others. Veldor and Rei are missing too, I think it’s safe to assume they are together. Rei was holding onto Alice when the floor moved, I'm sure he can protect her until we find them.”

Akai rubbed his eyes together with his fingers and took in a deep breath. He had regained his composure and the usual stoic expression he wore had returned.

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I lost myself for a moment there.”

“It’s best we all keep our heads in this situation. To do that, I need to know something. What are we dealing with?”

Zephier and Akai glanced at each other, they’re gazes met with the same thought in mind. It was clear to the room that they knew who that other dragon was, it just wasn’t clear as to why it meant so much.

Edward placed his hand over Akai’s shoulder and gave him a sincere look as if to say that they needed to trust each other.

Akai’s eyes turned grim.

“He’s known as the Fallen One in our lands, a fellow dragon that fell from the Queen’s grace.”

“The Fallen One, so he is bad news?” Edward pressed.

“Yes, but he doesn’t see it that way…to him, he is the only one doing anything right. The Fallen One only craves power, to restore the dragons to their ‘former glory’, as he would say.”

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Akai recalled the anguish his people endured from that name, that even mentioning it brought him misery. His face reacted like a painting, layer by layer of colour was added to the brushwork his mouth performed.

What was left was a haunted picture of grief and despair.

“It happened many years ago before any of us had been born and long before our mother died. Our kind had gone through a bad season and our people had nearly starved. One dragon rose from the hungry and suggested a solution.” Akai held his breath and paused. He breathed out with struggle and continued. “He wanted them to cannibalise on the weak.”

Zephier clenched his teeth.

“He was a mad man that wanted us to feed on each other, obviously the queen refused and even called him a demon. In his anger he tried attacking her, he thought that if he were to take her rule then he would lead them out of the famine. Once he lost, my mother…our queen banished him from the nest and was told never to return. It was thought that the dragons had heard the last of him but…it wasn’t long before some of our kind had appeared missing. They sent scouts and only one returned, he was terrified beyond belief at what he saw. He looked the queen in the eye and told her that a black dragon had eaten his fellow soldiers before his very eyes. That he possessed strength that no normal dragon should ever have.”

Edward winced. “You mean he grew stronger from devouring other dragons?” There was a hint of disgust behind his words.

Akai couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, he nodded his head in revulsion. To Arga and Edward, it sounded brutal, terrible even, but they didn’t understand the level of dismay Akai and Zephier felt. The immense turmoil that came with the very thought of feeding on another dragon.

“To consume another dragon…it isn't just taboo,” Akai muttered.

“It’s evil.” Zephier finished that thought bluntly.

“S-so uh, just how strong is this freak?” Arga asked gingerly.

Akai turned to her with a latent glow in his eyes. A cold stare met her gaze as he answered her.

“He’s the oldest dragon to ever live since he’s been eating others for all that time…he might be the strongest of us all.”

Arga’s nervous smile straightened into a blank dispirited expression. She had already felt like a child among men but with the added contender of a potential monster, she felt defeated. She had lost the fight before even stepping into the ring.

Edward crossed Arga and walked past her at a brisk pace. He stepped towards the tunnel that led out from that dreary room. All the disheartened eyes in the chamber gravitated to him like moths to a flame.

He spoke at the end of the room, with his head still facing forward on the tunnel ahead.

“No adventurer goes into the Tower in hopes of beating every monster, only that they can come home alive. As the one who brought you all to this place, I can’t stand idly by and let others die—I refuse to! I may not have faced this Fallen One before but…he’s never fought me either.”

***

We walked up to a crossway, the tunnel split in two different directions with each option that looked identical to the other. It was like that with the last three turns we made as well, everywhere in that labyrinth looked the same!!

“Huff~ I don’t know…maybe left?”

“What do you think you’re doing? It’s my turn, kid!” Veldor pushed past me.

He stood in front of the split and looked down both pathways with a deep stare, he concentrated deeply on it but I could tell he was just as lost as I was. At some point, steam was supposed to come out of his ears but I didn’t have the patience to wait for that.

…

“Any day now.”

“Don’t rush me! If we get lost, it’s only because you kept choosing left!” He snapped back.

“Whatever, just choose one already.” I mumbled angrily.

Alice dawdled behind us, she was especially tired among the three of us. She had it rough, having to walk like that after she used her Queens roar a few hours ago.

I looked back at her and extended out my hand. “You want to rest for a bit?”

She moved her head in a lethargic nod and collapsed into my stomach, she used my body as a place to lean and dozed off before I had a chance to react.

“Are you going to let her sleep here, we’re in the middle of something y’know?”

“She needs to rest, she’s been through a lot.”

I was prepared to fight him on it but surprisingly, nothing came of it. Veldor turned his attention back to the split in the path and muttered, “Do what you want.”

I guess that’s progress…