The moment I locked eyes with the dragon it went wild, just like before. ‘First I need to weaken it.’ I gripped Rafi’s blade and slashed downward with her technique. It slammed into the dragon but the sword just rattled in my hands as they bounced off each other. ‘Well… I got it’s attention…’
It twisted its neck like a snake and spat circles of flame that scattered sand into the air like powder. I blocked the flame with my metal gauntlet, but it was so hot the metal was melting and taking on a new shape, fusing together the plates. “How hot is this thing’s breath!” I growled as I held my ground before quickly falling face down to duck under its wildly swinging tail.
‘It’s not even trying to kill me, it’s literally just going crazy… I guess I’ll have to move it by force then…’
I took another swing with her sword and again it bounced off the dragon making it roll through the sand and shatter the bones in its wings as it twisted on its back. The muscles around my spine started to twitch uncontrollably as if I could feel the cracking of its bones, but the plan was working. ‘Just a bit more.’
I circled around it and slashed at it till my hands went numb and my whole body was tingling from the pain, forcing it towards the abyss. When it got to the invisible wall I shifted my soul to open up a small bubble but it felt like I was tearing myself in half, and the dragon refused to go near the abyss, standing its ground.
‘I can’t feel my hands… But… Wait, this is my domain right?’ I fell to my knees, breathing heavily, and snapped my fingers, making giant ice cream scoops fall from the sky around the dragon, making it shudder until it tripped and rolled toward the abyss. It continued rampaging, hurting itself, screaming and breathing fire, but eventually, I just overwhelmed it, burying it in a delicious avalanche that forced it far enough into the abyss that I could pull my soul around it and completely surround it with darkness. It was completely trapped. Its fire bounced back, and its claws bounced off the darkness. It was helpless.
“No way… Did I just beat a dragon? With… Ice cream?” ‘Well… an imaginary dragon… But it’s still a win… Right?’
Rafi smiled, hugging her sword with open arms as I gave it back. “You mean that thing? That’s like one 36th of a dragon. That was still exciting though.”
“You’re kidding… So what would a normal dragon be like?”
She glanced over at it. “It would have probably tried talking to you and been less like a baby throwing a tantrum and more like a knight jousting you. That’s probably the difference in strength too.”
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“A baby throwing a tantrum…”
“Yeah, although, you didn’t make a very good mother. You whacked it with a sword and let it break its own wings… Poor baby.”
‘There’s no way this is logically related to my parenting skills… Right? But then again last time I thought she was crazy when talking about me laying eggs like a lizard… And now that’s a real possibility… Well, hopefully not anymore.’
She jumped up onto another invisible step and patted me on the head. “Good job Siya.”
“Thanks… But, please don’t actually start treating me like a dog…”
She sighed. “Fine… I won’t pet you… People still hug other people right? Not just pets?” She jumped off the step and wrapped her arms around me. “Good job Siya.”
I couldn’t help but smile and hug her back, even though my hands still hurt. ‘I’m pretty sure I would be a great mom… I have plenty of experience dealing with you and Lu…’
Agis was standing calmly, arms folded amidst the scorched flaming remnants of the once peaceful snowy grass field on the mountaintop. “You think he’s mad…” I muttered.
“Isn’t he always mad? I’ve only ever heard him yell… Bratty nephew…”
“Nephew?”
“Well, we're both technically ascended beings, I’m just a couple thousand years older, so I’m like the aunty.”
‘Uhuh…’ “Oh, one thing though… This is my soul, right? Not your respective realms… So why are you both here instead of like… You know, duking it out somewhere that won’t make my body feel like it’s falling apart…”
Rafi scratched her head with a big smile, closing her eyes for a moment. “Well, you see I can’t really leave the abyss, or demons will break the rift and swarm the mortal realm, but because I blessed you you carry me with you everywhere you go, so it’s the only way I can actually talk to him.”
‘Right…’ I sighed as I carefully walked back over to the split between planes to face Agis, who was patiently waiting till Rafi and I were done. “Hey, Agis. Long time no see…”
“Siya…” He said slowly. “I really like what you’re doing with place, Although, maybe a little more water and a little less fire, balance is important you know.”
‘I’ve never seen him mad before… I know I should feel bad… But hearing his voice is always so calming… And when it drops like that… It’s not so much scary as much as it is…’ I stopped my train of thought dead in its tracks. “Uh, right… I’ll keep that in mind…”
He sighed. “The dragon is contained, good job. Now we just need to deal with this child. Tell her you’re my herald, and that the quest I gave you is your top priority.”
I scratched my head. “Thanks to how weak of a body you gave me my top priority has been surviving until just recently…”
Rafi bounced across the abyss until she was right by my side, and after quickly glancing at each of us she hugged my arm, gently swaying back and forth. “This young whipper snapper thinks he's special… Although really he’s just jealous he doesn’t get you all to himself anymore.”
‘This seems like a… Delicate situation…’