“Great Dra—dragon?”

Paralyzed both by fear and awe, I couldn’t help but nervously stutter.

My concept of reality was already destroyed by being summoned here, and now dragons. What's next?

Zeris remained silent for a moment before he continued to speak.

“...Long ago, the Human, Elven, and Dwarven races lived in constant fear from Famine, Disease, and the Abominations. The three Great Dragons were like lesser deities. Their dragon fire pulverized lands, making them infertile. The smoke of the fire polluted the air, destroying settlements of all races and bringing them closer and closer to extinction.”

Shifting my weight nervously and shivering from the cold breeze while staring at the mighty corpse of the dragon, I waited for Zeris to continue his story.

“That is when the Gods first walked on our lands. Their presence was felt throughout the world. Life itself shifted; lands grew fertile, and animals came out from hiding. However, the three races were reluctant at first, that was until Ignara, the Forge God, slayed the Great Dragon that lies in front of us now.”

‘Forge God? Different races?’

What Zeris depicted sounded very similar to the mural that was above the large dining room in the palace. If that was true, it would make more sense of the people at the end of the mural worshipping the seven gods. Still, something about it felt off.

In my world, there were many religions and beliefs throughout history, but very few ever depicted their gods walking among them. If they did, it was not for long or it became forbidden.

The shock of the Great Dragon shook me quite a bit, but I most certainly did not forget what Zeris said to me before getting here.

“Zeris, what did you mean by not putting all my faith into Bel? Why wouldn't I? He’s my only way home.”

Zeris and I continued to stare at the dragon and the ever-expanding snowy forest. Zeris stayed silent for a while, his eyes seemed distant, almost sad.

“I suggest you accept that you will not be able to return home.”

I grimaced, turning quickly and shoving Zeris' shoulder, forcing him to face me and look me in the eyes. His eyes were cold and fierce, the eyes of a killer who had fought countless battles. If it was not for how angry I was, I would have been terrified.

“What the hell do you mean, ‘accept that I won't be able to return home’? Bel is going to get me home; I looked him in the eyes as he said it!”

My voice seethed with anger. Is he implying that Bel had no intentions of getting me back home? That makes no sense. What would Bel get out of that?

“The Prince says many things. I'm not telling you that he won't find you a way back home, but I am saying that he is prone to do drastic things to show that he is better than his brother to his family and the people.”

Zeris’s voice remained even and calm. My heart was racing a million miles an hour. The sound of each beat filled my eardrums, my forearm starting to cramp from how hard I’ve been clenching my fist.

I took a step back, breathing heavily, staring into Zeris’s eyes.

Stolen story; please report.

“Brother? Bel has a brother? Why has he not mentioned him? Why have I never seen him around in the palace? Matter of fact, why have I not seen any of the royal family in the palace?”

Many questions started to fill my mind. If this was true, what was Bel’s plan? Did Bel actually know what happened to my body? Before any more questions could appear in my mind, Zeris spoke once more.

“The palace that you have been living in is more of a personal estate. The rest of the royal family resides in the royal palace. Bel makes frequent visits if need be, but mostly stays at his estate.”

The anger that filled me began to recede, but confusion quickly surfaced. Seeing this confusion written on my face, Zeris deeply sighed and approached me, resting a hand on my shoulder, gripping it tightly.

“No more questions. What I said in the carriage is more than enough to have my head.”

With that, Zeris glanced one more time at the dragon and started to make his way down the mountain. As I stared at where Zeris once stood, I couldn’t help but feel hopeless.

‘Am I really never going to get home?’

***

As we made our way down the mountain, Zeris and I did not speak, which I was not opposed to; leaving me to my thoughts is what I needed.

Approaching the forest, an oppressive aura emanated from it. The forest reeked of a horrendous smell, the smell of death. The monstrous bones of the Great Dragon covering the sky cast a deep and dark shadow over our heads, making the forest feel like it was suffering from an eternal night.

Everything about this place was screaming at my body to run the other way.

‘I’m not liking this at all.’

Standing at the edge of the forest, only a few steps from being engrossed in trees and shadows, Zeris inhaled deeply, letting out a large sigh.

“This won’t be easy, but if you come out of this in one piece, you’ll be stronger than you ever thought possible.”

My brows fell into a deep frown while I slowly turned my head to Zeris.

“I’m sorry, ‘if I come out in one piece’?”

Zeris did not answer and entered the forest.

“Hey! What the hell do you mean by that!”

Not wanting to get too separated from him, I took a deep breath, clenched my fists, and quickly followed suit.

Catching up to Zeris, inside the forest, it seemed to be colder than it was outside. The sharp cold wind scratched at my cheeks, the wind blowing in my eyes making them water slightly, my nose and hands felt numb and burned at the same time.

Taking in all my surroundings, above me was filled with either leaves of the large trees or darkness, with only small rays of light finding their way through the gaps of the ribs of the skeleton. Shifting my gaze down, I followed down the trees, the midnight black bark making the snow on the violet leaves stand out, making the forest seem a bit brighter.

Not by much, though; it was quite dark. However, I figured out that if I focused my mana to flow into my eyes, it would make them sharper and allow me to see more clearly, and even see better in the dark.

Small bushes and flowers along with other foliage lie all around untouched from the snow due to the thickness of the leaves on the trees. Shivering, I wrapped my cloak tightly around me and continued to march alongside Zeris. He had been very vague and mentioned my possible death a lot, which has not been putting me in the best of moods. The silver lining is that it’s been helping me keep my mind off the revelation of Bel.

‘One thing at a time. I'll deal with Bel when this is over. Thinking about it now, when will this be over?’

For around thirty minutes, we continued deeper and deeper into the forest. When Zeris stopped and remained motionless, I quickened my pace and caught up to him, looking at him worriedly. Was something wrong? Did he see something?

“What is it?”

He continued to just stare blankly forward. I nervously turned around and saw nothing. I looked to my left: nothing. I looked to my right: nothing.

I turned around to Zeris.

My eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. He was gone. Not a trace, not a sound, not even a footprint; he just vanished.

“Zeris! Where the hell did you go!”

My heart started to race, panicking. I whipped my head in every direction, trying to find him or anything.

‘Nothing…nothing…nothing. God damnit, where did he go?’

I practically started to hyperventilate.

Then I felt it.

I couldn’t breathe. All I could feel was my heart beating against my ribs and the sound of it piercing my ears.

I managed to let out a stuttered breath.

‘Run! Run! Run!’

That's all my body was telling me to do, but I couldn’t move. My legs felt like concrete.

The hair on my neck stood up. I turned very slowly, feeling that any sudden movement would mean my death.

Two glowing crimson eyes stared at me just beyond the brush.