“I don’t know,” replied the Dragon Emperor after a moment’s pause.
Lakshman lifted his eyebrows in surprise while everyone else looked puzzled because they did not understand what the Phoenix Titan was talking about.
“You don’t know?” Lakshman asked incredulously. “You’re the Dragon Emperor and you’re supposed to know the whereabouts of the Dragon Gate!”
The Dragon Emperor raised his hands in the air and shook his head before saying, “I don’t know what I don’t know. Now, stop pestering and leave already.”
As Lakshman narrowed his eyes seriously, Waddit turned to him and asked, “What’s this ‘Dragon Gate’ the two of you’re talking about?”
Lakshman was so surprised that his eyes raised instantly and he slowly turned to look at the Water Dragon King in disbelief.
“You don’t know what Dragon Gate is…?” he asked in disbelief and when Waddit shook his head, Lakshman sighed and said, “It’s the portal that connects your world to this world.”
Aidek was surprised by those words while Waddit, Fizard and Gurrent were shocked. It took them a moment before they managed to get their words together to speak to him.
“Wow…! This is the first time I’m hearing about this,” said Gurrent telepathically in a quiet voice.
“Yes, my first time hearing about this as well,” stated Aidek in a voice that stated his unhappiness. “When it’s so important, then why don’t we know about it?”
“Yeah!” Fizard said getting fired up with anger and he turned to look angrily at their emperor. “Why is it that we don’t know about the Dragon Gate and yet, you do? How does that make sense?”
“I know because my family had always been in charge of protecting the secret of the Dragon Gate,” replied the Dragon Emperor in a curt voice. “No one else needed to know about it until now.”
“Still, not telling your own people about something that concerns your entire clan is… very suspicious in my opinion,” said Aidek quietly in a voice that rang with power and authority. “If you know, then we must know as the Dragon Kings. That is the rule of our clan.”
The Dragon Emperor snorted and said, “True, but what good would it do to you when none of us know of its whereabouts? Even I don’t know where it’s been erected to point you in the right direction. Besides,” he began and turned to look questioningly at Lakshman. “why do you want to know where the Dragon Gate is anyway?”
Lakshman closed his eyes momentarily to calm his anger before opening them and saying, “Were you not listening? I came here to bring the Dragon Titan to join my cause in protecting this world by gathering the Nine Pillars of Power.”
“Oh… That’s great of you, but I’m afraid I don’t know…” replied the Dragon Emperor as a smile of triumph began appearing on his face.
Lakshman remained silent and did not say anything as his eyes narrowed to form a very serious expression on his face. A moment later, he abruptly turned around and walked towards the exit of the throne room followed close behind by his companions.
“Lucky?” Sumara asked as she walked next to him.
“I’m wasting my time talking to that guy,” said Lakshman briskly as he walked on without looking back.
As he and his companions left through the entrance way, the Four Dragon Kings remained behind to look at their emperor. The ministers at the side, remained silent and looked between both sides with slightly apprehensive looks on their faces.
“Now, do you see, Dragon Kings?” the Dragon Emperor asked them with a gloating smile on his face. “The helplessness of the Phoenix Titan despite being called the mightiest of all living begins?”
“What?!” Fizard exclaimed sharply and Waddit placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Fizard looked at him for a moment before calming down, turning around to face his emperor and asking, “Why do you look so cheerful when you help anyone.”
The Dragon Emperor shrugged his shoulders and replied firmly, “I couldn’t help. That’s is.”
“No. That isn’t it,” stated Aidek and they turned to look at him in surprise. “You can help, but you refuse because of your ego being hurt because of what he did in our previous encounter. I think the Phoenix Titan realised that and that’s why, he chose to leave and find an alternate route without bothering with you.”
The Dragon Emperor laughed out loud before he said, “That’s some good thinking, Aidek, but face it; none of us know where the Dragon Gate is. So, what makes you think he’ll figure it out on his own?”
Aidek remained silent for a moment before replying simply, “We’ll see.”
With that, he turned around and walked after Lakshman and his group, who was closed follow behind by the other three Dragon Kings. As they left, the Dragon Emperor sighed and the ministers turned to look at him apprehensively.
“Sir!” one of them asked while raising to his feet. “If they discover the whereabouts of the Dragon Gate, wouldn’t they bring that demon best from its isolation?”
Those words worried everyone, except the Dragon Emperor who smiled as he replied, “Fear not. They will never bring that beast out from its caged world.”
With that, he wore a dark expression on his face while smiling evilly.
***
A few minutes later, Lakshman and his companions walked out into the open sunlight streaming through the clouds to where they stood. Outside, the dragon clan community was bustling with business and work as people walked by on the streets while others rose across the sky on their tamed dragons.
“What’s wrong, Lucky?” Tetra asked him with a puzzled expression on her face. “Couldn’t you have gotten him to answer you properly?”
“Maybe go and read his memories even,” suggested Silvera from his other side.
Lakshman shook his head and said, “No point when he truly doesn’t know.”
“Eh?” they said in unison in surprise. “He doesn’t know?”
Atem immediately became concerned and he asked, “Don’t tell me it has something to do with your Elemental Sense spell?” When Lakshman nodded, Atem sighed and said, “Don’t rely so heavily on that spell because it can obviously be bamboozled!”
“Not this spell. No way,” replied Lakshman firmly and Atem sighed heavily in resignation.
“Then, explain to me why the other Dragon Clan members don’t remember anything about a Dragon Gate?” Sonia asked with narrowed eyebrows as she became suspicious of their behaviour. “Surely, they’re taught about their history and how they got here right from childhood. So, it doesn’t make any sense for all of them, especially the Dragon Kings, to forget something so important so easily!”
Lakshman looked around at the passing Dragon Clan members and at the sky for a moment, thinking. What she said was correct, but it doesn’t make any sense as to why everyone could have forgotten about it, unless there was something they were not thinking about. The realisation dawned on him as his suspicions were confirmed firmly by his chain of thoughts.
“They didn’t forget; they were made to forget,” said Lakshman in a firm serious voice just as the Four Dragon Kings arrived behind hem looking puzzled. They were stunned by his words, but continued listening to him as he continued speaking.
“The ancients of the Dragon Clan erected the Dragon Gate to escape from their collapsing world to this world. After some time, the collapse stopped, but their world was ruined and they decided to start living here, but kept the portal active for one purpose; exiling the Dragon Titan.”
“Huh? Why?” Silvera asked with a puzzled look on her face.
Lakshman shook his head and said, “ don’t know why, but the Dragon Titan was considered a traitor by the Dragon Clan and every generation, they could exile the reborn Dragon Titan into the collapsed Dragon World to live a solitary life.”
There was a pause in which everyone digested that information before Aidek asked, “Then explain how the Nine Pillars of Power was formed so long ago if he was locked up in our ruined world?”
“Obviously, the Emperor of the World, went through the Dragon Gate and brought him back. I’m sure the Dragon Clan put up a fight to stop him, but what chance did they have against the ultimate warrior like the Emperor of the World?” Lakshman asked as he snorted disdainfully. “I believe, when the Emperor of the World disappeared and the Nine Pillars of Power scattered, the process to send him into isolation resumed.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” said Waddit, but Aidek was still looking puzzled.
“If that’s the case, then we all should know about it and its whereabouts,” said Aidek while knitting his eyebrows together. “Why would we forget something so important so easily?”
Lakshman turned to look at him with a small smile on his face before he said, “As I said, you didn’t forge; you your memories concerning it were erased.”
Aidek’s eyes widened in shock and GurreT stared at him disbelief while Fizard and Waddit exclaimed in shock, “What?!”
Lakshman nodded his head at them and said, “It’s true. Some time ago, the Phoenix Emperor used a spell that put the entire kingdom to sleep so no one interferes with his plan to battle the Calamity Titan alone. So, by that same logic, I believe the Dragon Emperor had a similar kind of spell that erases a specific memory within everyone within its range.”
This shocking news stunned three of the Dragon Kings while Aidek slowly asked, “Then…? What about his memories…? Don’t tell me… he erased his own memories…?”
“Precisely,” replied Lakshman as he nodded his head slowly with a smile on his face. “He erased everyone’s memories before erasing his own so there’s no way he could be found out for what he did.”
“That… man…!” Aidek said slowly as he clenched his fists tightly in anger. “Doing something like this…!”
Lakshman placed a calming hand on his shoulder and said, “Relax. He’s done something problematic, but it doesn’t deny the investable.” He turned around to look up at the sky as he said, “The Dragon Gate must still be active for the use it still had for the Dragon Clan. Which means I can trace its location by the way of the magic its connected with.”
His words puzzled everyone and without warning, he kicked off the ground and flew high into the air at high speed. Once he reached a certain height, he stared down at the ground and said, “Elemental Sight.”
In an instant, everything lost their colours and began grey coloured while only colouring in specific things like magic, barriers, allies and enemies. Down below, the spot where his group stood, everyone was coloured green meaning allies and the people on the street were coloured in blue meaning neutral.
Lakshman began to look around the area they were in and also used Zooming Force spell to expand his sight to outside the area. Down below, his companions and the Four Dragon Kings looked up at him for several seconds before looking at each other.
“I must apologise for the inconvenience caused to you by our emperor,” said Aidek in a sorrowful voice.
“There’s no need for apologies between allies,” replied Sonia in a firm voice with a smile on her face. “Instead, we should focus on solving matters at hand.”
Aidek nodded and smiled in return as he said, “You’re correct, but it is interesting to see two Angels far away from their home. Did you recently get married to the Phoenix Titan?”
While Sonia nodded in agreement with a shy smile on her face, Atem cleared his throat and said, “I’m merely helping out the Phoenix Titan to learn more about the world down here.”
Meanwhile, Fizard was looking fixedly at Sumara, who was growing uncomfortable as the seconds went by. Finally, unable to bear him watching her so keenly, she looked at him seriously and spoke severely.
“What’s your problem? Why are you looking at me so much?”
Waddit, shocked at what Fizard did, quickly hit him across the back and said apologetically, “Sorry! He doesn’t have much of a sense in mannerism.” He turned quickly to Fizard and asked fiercely, “What’s your problem!”
Fizard rubbed his head a bit and straightened up before he said, “I know, but she’s a demon. I’ve never met a demon that had no problem being surrounded by so many people from other races.”
Those words caused Sumara to raise an eyebrow in amazement as Gurrent telepathically said apologetically, “Please, forgive him. He’s a bit dense in figuring out when and where he should speak.”
Sumara shook her head and smiled a little as she said, “No problem. Actually, it’s good to meet someone as straightforward as him because it helps people understand them well. So, we’re happy to have someone like him as our ally.”
Fizard looked at her and said, “I don’t like your husband because he’s quite arrogant about his powers and enforces his authority even in areas he’s not supposed to poke his finger in. Still, the spirits told us he’s doing this to save the world by gathering the Nine Pillars of Power and that’s why I’m helping him.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Those words caused Silvera to laugh as she said, “Yes. I’m sure you thought the same as I did back when you and the Earth Dragon King were trying so hard to capture me. Later, when you get to know him more, you’ll learn that he is a very good man, but is powerful up front because he needs to be for the title he bears over his shoulders. I mean, the title ‘Phoenix Titan’ is not someone thing joke about.”
Fizard blinked in surprise and hesitated for a moment before saying grudgingly, “Yeah.”
All of them looked at him smiling faces as he finally admitted that what Lakshman was doing had to do with the rank he was given. The title of Phoenix Titan was something that cannot be treated loosely because the man himself was an unmovable object of great fortitude.
At that moment, Lakshman descended from the sky with a confident look and a smile on his face.
“I found it,” he said to them and this news made them all smile in return in happiness. “Let’s go there immediately.”
As they nodded in return, Lakshman turned away and extended his hand in front of him before he said, “Phoenix Portal.”
In an instant, a black swirling hole appeared in mid-air and created a n opening for them to enter. It drew attention of everyone and for the first time, the people of the Dragon Clan registered the fact that there were an odd group of people standing at the entrance of the strong hold where the Dragon Emperor lived.
The Four Dragon Kings stared at the portal and looked at Lakshman with apprehensive looks on their faces. Lakshman looked at them and was a little taken aback by the sudden strange looks on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” he asked them curiously.
“Is it safe for us to end it?” Waddit asked nervously. “I mean… It’s a phoenix’s portal…”
Lakshman raised an eyebrow and said, “Anyone can enter so long as they don’t possess evil intent.”
Waddit breathed in relief while Fizard said, “Oh. Then, that’s good.”
“Indeed,” said Aidek in agreement.
Together, everyone walked into the portal and disappeared before it closed behind them, leaving a stunned group of crowd.
***
A few seconds later, a portal appeared within a think forest and several people walked out of it before it closed behind them. They were a little surprised to find themselves surrounded by trees on all sides and turned to look at Lakshman questioningly as if wondering if he really knew where the portal was.
“We need to walk just a bit,” said Lakshman and he began to lead the way with them following right behind him.
They waked in silence with sounds only coming from the leaves they stepped on and the bushes they brushed against on their way. The light of the sun penetrated through the gaps in the leaves and gave a very warm special scenery for them to walk through the forest. Several minutes later, they finally arrived at their destination and they were surprised to discover a gate and within it a portal.
“Dragon Gate,” stated Lakshman as he gestured at the gate.
While everyone was left speechless, Aidek turned to Lakshman and asked, “How did you find it here? Just by looking?”
“If it were so easy,” joked Lakshman with a small smile on his face. “With the combination of Elemental Sight and Zooming Force, one can find almost anything anywhere.”
“I see,” said Aidek slowly and he nodded his head in understanding. “I believe Elemental Sight and Elemental Sense are two Emperor ranked magic spells that are difficult to master.”
“Difficult, but not impossible,” replied Lakshman firmly. “Once you acquire control over them, you’re almost invincible because you detect danger, lies and people surrounding you while hiding as well as know who is enemy and ally along with seeing magic and barriers.”
Aidek looked impressed while Fizard looked alarmed as he said, “That take the fun away from knowing the unknown!”
Lakshman turned slowly to give Fizard a look that clearly said how sad the Fire Dragon King seemed to him. He shook his head in exasperation before turning back to face the gate.
“I and my companions will enter the gate and return with him to this world to join the Nine Pillars of Power once again,” said Lakshman with a determined look on his face.
“Hold on a second!” Waddit said as he raised an objection. “The Dragon Titan is our kin and it only makes sense to send us to convince him.”
“What? Send you guys in only for you all to get whopped like sore losers?” Atem asked with an exasperated look on his face.
“Ah!” Fizard exclaimed sharply with a shocked look on his face. “I’m the Fire Dragon King dammit and you better watch your mouth if you know what’s good for you!”
“So what?” ATem asked as he got annoyed as well. “He’s the Dragon Titan, idiot! Someone like the ‘Fire Dragon King’ cannot lift a finger to poke at the majesty of power the Dragon Titan wields!”
“Why you—?!” Fizard began as he moved forward, but Waddit and Gurret stopped him by getting a hold on him.
“They’re the appropriate people to meet the Dragon Titan,” said Aidek finally and everyone turned to face him. “One’s a Phoenix Titan and the other is a Dragon Titan, so it’s natural for only the titans to meet face-to-face. Besides, like the male angel said, we might not survive the anger held within the Dragon Titan for us because our clan was responsible for his isolation in that world.”
Fizard calmed down, but he was still annoyed as he said gruffly, “Fine!”
Waddit and Gurret let go of him and Fizard turned around while folding his arms in frustration. Lakshman and his group looked at him for a moment before turning back to face the three Dragon Kings.
“Please be careful because the Dragon Titan will be dangerous because it’s been a very long time since he had any encounter with anyone else in that forsaken world,” said Gurrent telepathically to them.
“Try to avoid conflict with him at all costs, but if you must fight back, put in your all because he’s a non-stop raging beast!” Fizard said without turning to look at them as he spoke.
Lakshman smiled at his words and replied, “If it comes down to a fight, then I’ll step up to it.”
He looked at them with a determined expression on his face while they smiled back at him.
“Very well then, I think it’s best that you leave soon,” said Aidek and Lakshman nodded in understanding.
Lakshman turned to look at his companions and said, “Let’s go.”
Everyone nodded at him and said in unison, “Yeah!”
One by one, they walked through the portal inside and gate and vanished into it while leaving the Four Dragon Kings behind to keep watch. No one knew what awaited them on the other side, but they were determined to succeed no matter the difficulty because a lot of was riding on it.
“And now… we wait…” said Aidek slowly while looking at the other three
***
It had been several minutes since Lakshman and his group left through the Dragon Gate to bring back with them the Dragon Titan. Meanwhile, the Four Dragon Kings remained near the gate as guards to ensure nothing suspicious or dangerous occurs while the group was away on their mission. So, the dragon kings had taken to sit down on the grassy floor with bored looks on their faces.
“Man… How much longer will it take them…?” Fizard asked impatiently staring at the gate.
“It’ll take time,” replied Waddit patiently while lying down with his back to the grassy floor.
“Relax,” said Gurret telepathically.
“Give them time, Fizard. It’ll take some time for them to reach where he’s at and even more to persuade him,” said Aidek in a blissful voice.
Fizard snorted and said, “All this waiting is starting to burn me up!”
At that moment, they heard a familiar voice say through the forest, “I think you’re right.”
Instantly, all Four Dragon Kings jumped to their feet and looked around at the forest in shock. None of them had sensed anyone approach them and they knew it was not a ghost because they felt its presence. They knew very well that a ghost’s presence is not impossible to detect, but requires keen sensing capability.
“Come out of hiding coward!” Fizard shouted and he instantly created a fire ball in the palm of his hand.
“I think starting a fire here is a bard idea,” replied the voice quietly. “Alright. I’m here.”
They whipped around to face towards the opposite side of where the gate was to see a figure walking out of the shadows. A few seconds later, the man appeared into brighter light and the Four Dragon Kings were shocked to see that it was the Dragon Emperor.
“What’re you doing here?!” Fizard demanded sharply with a suspicious expression on his face.
“Yes… Who told you we were here..?” Aidek asked cautiously.
The Dragon Emperor smiled and said, “Why it’s simple; I know this place.”
“What?!” Fizard exclaimed while the other two looked shocked. “You knew, but…? What about your memories…?”
As Aidek nodded at the question, the Dragon Emperor began to pace around as he said, “You see, it was difficult. I easily managed to wipe everyone’s memories, but wiping mine would be bad because it leaves me at a disadvantage. So, I applied a Memory Time Gap spell that renders me to forget a specific time for a certain amount of time before returning me of those memories.”
Aidek’s face widened in shock as he slowly asked, “So… That’s how you fooled the Phoenix Titan…?”
“Yes, but I had another problem; you four,” said the Dragon Emperor in an unhappy voice. “Earlier in your days, you always asked me for advice and guidance and it made me feel very pleased. Soon, however, you started to make your own moves and it all started with the desertion of the Shadow Dragon King. I’m to blame of course because of not placing the correct control over the five of you.”
“W-What are you talking about?” Gurret asked with an apprehensive look on his face.
“You see… it’s time to bring you all back under my control…” said the Dragon Emperor and he slowly extended his hand towards the Four Dragon Kings.
He began to apply energy and the ring on his middle finger began to glow brightly as it slowly changed to the colour of pure purple from bright red. In an instant, all Four Dragon Kings felt their consciousness leaving and they sagged to the ground and knelt before their emperor while struggling to maintain themselves.
“W-What… is this…?” Aidek asked slowly while the other three struggled to remain themselves.
“Dragon Control Ring,” replied the Dragon Emperor with a gleeful smile on his face. “Controls any and all Dragon Clan members under its spell and forces them to do the controller’s bidding. Now, it’s time I use it do you all in like my ancestor did to our clan so long ago!”
As he finished those words, he applied more energy and in an instant, all four of the Dragon Kings lost their consciousness while remaining in that kneeling position. Pleased with the result, the Dragon Emperor ordered them around and the Four Dragon Kings rose to their feet.
“Now, with your powers, destroy the gate!” he ordered them finally.
“Yes, master,” replied the four warrior who were under his control.
Each began to surge with power and gathered energy into their techniques before unleashing them at the gate. In an instant, there was a violent explosion of wind that blew wildly around the area and as the smoke slowly cleared, the gate was seen in ruins.
“Perfect!” the Dragon Emperor shouted triumphantly as he clenched his fist tightly. “I’ve finally taken care of the phoenix problem… forever!”
He began to cackle with laughter while the warriors under his control turned to face him with mute expressions on their faces. The destroyed gate was still emitting smoke as its destruction trapped everyone on the other side with no way out.
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Author's Note
Hello everyone and thanks for reading the chapter. This took me less than a day because I'm back home and boy does this chapter make me feel very happy. I'm getting closer to writing out the epic non-stop battle between the two rivalry titans. So, I hope you liked this chapter and will look forward to more as the story continues! ;)
Fix: I fixed the Dragon Portal mentioned in the last chapter, which was supposed to be Dragon Gate because the Dragon Portal is used for the Dragon Clan members to travel from one place to another like the Phoenix Portal, but it's powerful enough to transport the clan members across continents.