Dragon-Kin arc

Republic Warship

The Command Center

"That was....that was real! He's really going to go through with this!? To start a war!? Is he crazy!?" Jayden questioned.

"Suicidal more like it." Henro said.

"But Ifrit's forces are still at the border! If he and his men go there trying to fight they'll-!" Emilia tried to say.

"Get caught in the crossfire and be roasted alive. Yeah." Ryoka answered for her.

"That is unless he does reclaim his relic and uses it in battle." Julia said.

"If he's able to use it. He'd have to fight Vulcan's spirit in order to do so." Ziera pointed out.

"Well he is the king of giants for a reason. I doubt that will stop him." Henro said.

"What are we going to do!?" Emilia asked in a panicked state.

"Simple. We beat him up and take the relic for ourselves!" Ryoka said.

"What do you mean "we"? And who asked you for your opinion?" Ziera questioned.

"I can do whatever I want, Ms. Runaway." Ryoka retorted.

"Call me that one more time bitch and see what happens." Ziera threatened.

"Oh yeah!? Bring it!" Ryoka challenged.

"Guys come on don't fight!" Jayden yelled.

"Ryoka, enough!" Julia raised her voice.

"No way Jewel!" Ryoka said.

"Stay out of this, Jayden." Ziera said in a serious tone.

"I'd say let them duke it out. I'll get the popcorn." Henro said.

"YOU GUYS! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE A TEA-!" Emilia yelled out.

"ENOUGH!" Tenjin roared.

The room went dead silent. None, not even Ryoka, dared speak up again. The presence they felt from Tenjin, could even make a grown dragon cry.

"Now all of you listen up because I'm only going to say this once. Whatever King Ogun is up to, I will speak with the other members of The Order about it and we'll go from there. Until then you kids will sit down, shut up and have enough decency to not fight amongst yourselves again. Ryoka and Julia, if you two are really going to join us then I'll leave you both off with just a warning this time. But I don't care if you are royalty or a warrior from another realm. When you're under my roof, you follow my rules. Do we understand each other?" Tenjin asked with a serious tone.

"We understand. And apologize for our behavior." Julia said as she bowed.

"Yeah fine." Ryoka said as she bowed too.

Dragon-Kin by nature are not easy to command. They are born and raised to be prideful warriors. It's in their blood and history. People from outside of their race would usually be ignored or toyed with regardless of their arguments.

However, people like Tenjin were the exception. Both Ryoka and Julia felt intimidated by his presence. They recognized that he was worthy of their respect.

"Good. Now the ship is gonna land and hide out near the caverns for the time being so that we can make repairs. Emilia, you help these two get settled in. The rest of you get some rest. Except you, Ziera. I need to talk to you." Tenjin ordered.

"Understood." Ziera said. Ziera tensed up a bit. She knew exactly what he meant and she didn't like it. Jayden noticed her discomfort.

"Ziera, are you sure you're okay?" Jayden asked with concern. Ziera calmed herself as she turned to face Jayden with a smile.

"I'm fine Jayden. I just need to talk to Tenjin about something personal. I'll catch up with you in a bit, okay?" Ziera asked.

"Okay. See you." Jayden said as he walked away. Ziera watched him walk out with a more worried expression.

You worried enough about me Jayden. I can't drag you into this. Not now. Not ever.

***

Republic Warship

Command Center

"Ziera. Tell me what happened." Tenjin demanded.

"The dragons surrounded us and we had no way of fighting back. I freaked out and then...it almost happened again." Ziera said.

"And this wouldn't be the first time it happened again right? And I don't mean back at the imperial capital." Tenjin said.

Ziera looked shocked.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Ziera. There something you're holding out on me?" Tenjin asked.

Ziera stiffened up and looked away.

"Ziera." Tenjin said in a serious tone.

"It almost happened in the forest too. When I fought that draugr. But Jayden saved me and stopped it from getting out of control." Ziera said. Tenjin sighed.

"By the Guardians. Ziera you should have told me! You know how Odysseus and the higher ups from Mage Foundation feel about you! If they found out that this happened twice....sigh." Tenjin sighed as he bridged his nose.

Ziera looked at the ground with a sad and anxious look. "I'm sorry. I should have told you it's just.... I'm scared." Ziera said as she grabbed onto her arm.

"Of the republic?" Tenjin asked.

"Of me. If they find out, they'll come for me. And when that happens I might lose myself again and....and...". Ziera began shaking and tearing up. Tenjin grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Hey. I'm not going to let that happen, alright? Look I'm not mad but I need you to be upfront with me, Ziera. I can't protect you if you hide things from me. And the same goes for your friends." Tenjin said softly.

"No! I can't tell them! They wouldn't trust me anymore!" Ziera said anxiously.

"You don't believe that. Emilia, Henro and especially Jayden, would never turn on you. Not after everything you've been through together so far. But for the time being we'll keep this between us." Tenjin said.

"What about The Order? Are you going to tell them about my relapses?" Ziera asked.

"I'll only tell them about one of them. But we need to get that power under control, Ziera. Neither I nor the others want you to lose yourself. Okay?" Tenjin asked. Ziera wiped her eyes and straightened up.

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"Okay." Ziera said. She turned around and began walking towards the door. Before she left, she turned her head back towards Tenjin. "Tenjin, thank you. For being there for me." Ziera said.

Tenjin smiled. "I'm not the only one kid. But you're welcome." Tenjin said.

Ziera nodded and walked out. While she went down the hall she saw Ryoka leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Ryoka turned her head to face Ziera and grinned.

"Yo!" Ryoka said.

"What do you want?" Ziera asked with an annoyed tone.

"Nothing much. Just wanna chat for a bit. You free?" Ryoka asked.

"No". Ziera said coldly. She walked past Ryoka but Ryoka wasn't done.

"Come on, just a few minutes. It's about one of the crimson knights. One I heard you're pretty close with. Does the name Aurora sound familiar?" Ryoka asked.

Ziera stopped in her tracks.

Aurora. That's right. How could I forget!? She... Ziera thought.

Ziera turned her head back towards Ryoka. Ziera wasn't in the mood to deal with Ryoka and her games. She was in a bad enough mood as is. But given Ryoka's history with Aurora, this sounded serious. Ziera felt she could at least hear her out. She sighed and gave in.

"5 minutes. We'll talk in my room." Ziera said as she led the way. Ryoka smiled, showing off her sharp teeth.

"That's good enough for me." Ryoka said as she followed her.

***

Mess Hall

Jayden, Henro, Emilia and Julia were in the mess hall. Before Julia and Ryoka got settled in, Julia's stomach grumbled so Emilia decided to treat their new guests to some dinner. But Ryoka said she'd catch up with the group because she wanted to talk with Ziera alone first.

Julia warned Ryoka to not start any trouble. Ryoka promised on her name as pendragon that she wouldn't. But that didn't make Julia or the others any less wary. Still they took Ryoka's word for it and left.

There Emilia had personally decided to cook for the group. To Henro's dismay of course. But when Emilia served them their food, the unexpected happened.

Julia withheld her burp. "That was delicious. May I have another bowl?" Julia asked.

"OF COURSE!" Emilia yelled cheerfully.

"YOU JUST CHUGGED DOWN 10 BOWLS OF THAT SLOP!! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?" Henro thought.

"Huh. I always wondered what Emilia's cooking tasted like. Guess I'll finally try." Jayden said.

"STOP! DON'T DO IT!" Henro shouted.

Jayden took a sip of the soup and smiled happily. "Wow! This is actually deliciou-." Jayden blacked out and fell on the floor.

I warned you not to do it. Rest in peace, Cortez. You weren't terrible. Henro thought as he prayed.

"So Julia, do you really like it?" Emilia asked while blushing.

"I do indeed. You are a great cook, Emilia." Julia said with a smile.

Emilia's smile grew and her face grew redder. "THANK YOU!" Emilia shouted. But Emilia caught wind of what she was doing and turned away leaving Julia confused.

What are you doing Emilia? She's taken! Both are. Sigh. Besides, even though it didn't work out, I can still be their friend. Yeah! So no more flirting or frowning! Emilia thought.

"Uh Emilia?" Julia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"YES!?" Emilia reacted.

"Are you alright? Forgive me but I can hear your heartbeat and it's beating like a rabbit." Julia said.

"Oh yeah I'm fine! Just excited to make a new friend!" Emilia said while waving her hand.

"Ah I see. That's nice." Julia said.

"So besides the fact that you are blind, have good looks, a skilled warrior and have no taste buds, anything else we should learn about you, sweetheart?" Henro asked.

"Henro. Don't be rude." Emilia said sternly.

"Well for one I'm good at knowing when people are lying. For example, you lied a few minutes ago when you said you enjoy Emilia's cooking." Julia said.

"WHAT!?" Emilia screamed.

"THAT'S A FILTHY LIE!" Henro yelled.

Jayden was still on the ground gurgling.

"Oh? My mistake. Perhaps I didn't give you enough credit? Why don't you show me how delicious her cooking is, hmm?" Julia asked.

"You rotten little...." Henro growled.

"I agree. Here. Tell me what you really think Henro." Emilia said frustratedly as she served him a bowl.

"Yes. Please tell us in detail how delectable this soup is, Henro." Julia said while smiling and keeping her eyes shut.

There's a special place in Hell for you lady, I swear. Henro thought.

Henro stared at the soup with fear and contempt. He sweated and fidgeted at just the mere thought of taking one sip. But he didn't want to make Emilia cry so he had no choice. He took a sip and immediately gagged and fell over.

"HENRO!" Emilia cried out.

"Interesting. I don't believe he'll heal from that." Julia chuckled.

While Emilia checked on Henro, Jayden finally got up. "Ugh my head." Jayden groaned.

"Jayden. Mind if I ask you something?" Julia asked.

"What's up?" Jayden said.

"Might I ask where you are from?" Julia asked.

"Lockwood. Born and raised. There I helped my mom at the homeless shelter." Jayden said.

"That's wonderful. How is it?" Julia asked with intrigue.

"It's good. People there are treated well and I like hanging with the kids. Though I'm not gonna lie it's been hard trying to pay off all the bills that stack up year after year. Not to mention all the new people we had to take in from all the dragon attacks in other towns. Jayden sadly said.

"Yes I have heard. It's terrible. I'm not fond of the Empire but Ifrit is going too far. All of those people. They didn't deserve this." Julia said.

"Yeah. But I'm glad me and mom could still give them a home. We can't change the past but we can still give them a future." Jayden said.

Julia then opened her clouded eyes and stared at Jayden.

"Do you believe that?" Julia asked.

"Huh?" Jayden asked.

"Do you believe that while you can't change the past, you can still forge a future for someone and yourself?" Julia asked.

Jayden began to sweat as he felt Julia's powerful gaze on him. At that moment, he didn't feel threatened but more like he was being tested.

"Well yeah...of course." Jayden said with hesitation.

Julia frowned. She didn't like how Jayden answered her question.

"Jayden, how do you feel about being the next wielder of Ragnarok?" Julia asked.

Jayden didn't know how to respond to this question either. He loved being a hero but at the same time so many thoughts and feelings have been pouring into him the past week.

Not being strong enough, dragging his friends into his messes, the Guardians not being who he thought they were, finding the relics, one day facing Zenal, carrying an entire legacy on his shoulders and not knowing what hero he wants to be. The pressure was starting to get to him.

"I don't know. I mean I like it, of course it's just...uh a lot of work is all." Jayden nervously said.

Julia closed her eyes and sighed. She then opened her eyes again and stared at Jayden.

"And what do you want to do with this power?" Julia asked.

"To help people and give them a hero they can look up to. To look after the little guy and change the world for the better. Not just by defeating zenal, but in any way I can." Jayden said.

"I see." Julia said. She took a sip of her tea and then stared back at Jayden with her clouded eyes.

"Jayden, you disappoint me." Julia said in a serious tone.

Jayden, Henro and Emilia froze in place when they heard her words. They began to feel an intense presence from Julia.

"Listen from what I've seen of you so far, you are a good person. You care about others, especially your friends. And you want to help people and do the right thing. I respect that. But you are wavering, unfocused and worst of all you are shortsighted." Julia said.

Jayden had a hurt look on his face. Emilia jumped in.

"Wait a second! I know Jayden's not perfect but you can't just write him off and judge-!" Julia interrupted her.

"I understand that this is my first time meeting him. But first impressions are everything and so far he is leaving a lot to be desired. You see while I am blind my sense of hearing increased when I was born. Even better than most dragon-kin. And I can hear your heartbeat Jayden. The more questions I asked you the faster it beat. Not only that but I can hear how unsure of yourself you sound. You say you want to change the world but wavered when questioned if you can truly forge a future for others. Or was it more towards yourself?" Julia questioned.

"I..". Jayden couldn't answer.

"Also do you regret becoming the next wielder?" Julia questioned.

"No of course not!" Jayden shouted.

"Then why are you so unsure of yourself? Where is your confidence? Your conviction? Do you even believe what you are saying? Or are you making empty promises out of your own self righteousness? Or perhaps it's just arrogance? Your own personal justice? Or just out of guilt?" Julia asked.

Jayden flinched. No! It's not like that! Jayden thought.

"Thought so. I don't need my eyes to read you like a book. If you are only doing this to heal your own broken heart, then you are no hero. Just a fool, who will only get yourself or others around you killed on the battlefield." Julia said with a serious tone.

[Jayden flashed back to his father. To his mother crying on the couch after his death. To Zenal. And to even his younger self who was crying on the ground in shame].

It all made him sick. But worst of all he couldn't argue against Julia's claims. For he still felt shame for all of it.

"STOP IT! Stop saying these things about him! Jayden really does want to help people! He's helped me, Henro and especially Ziera when she needed someone. And he did all of that because he wanted to. Not for self gain." Emilia argued.

"Yeah. I mean I get what you're saying because I said the same thing to him. But as dumb as he is Jayden does look after others. Even me. You should give him a chance at least." Henro said.

You guys. Jayden thought.

"I agree. Despite my opinion of him now I won't cast full judgment on him yet. But I need to see if this boy is worthy of having my sword in battle. I won't pledge my loyalty to a coward, much less a fool. But it's clear I won't get my answers through words alone." Julia said.

"Wait. What are you saying?" Jayden asked. Julia stood up from her chair. She unsheathed her sword and pointed at Jayden.

"Jayden Cortez. In the honor of my clan, I challenge you to a duel!" Julia declared.