Novels2Search

Going Forward

Ito gazes at the dragons, mystical beasts he had only seen on tv. "I don't think I will ever get used to that."

Chung turns toward Ito with a smile. "Why would you want to?"

"That light reminds me of that lady before we came here."

"What do you mean?" Mei asked.

"Before we came here, a lady in the corner waved a scepter. Then a bright light shined and shot out. The next thing I remember, I'm falling through the vortex."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Chung asked.

"I wasn't sure if it was important and I didn't want to seem crazy."

"Sungwoo, I mean this when I say it, I'm literally going to kill you." Mei said, lunging toward Sungwoo. Chung and Ito, struggling to restrain her while Sungwoo stands there confused, wondering why she was so angry.

"Did you see what this lady looked like?" Lemir asked, very concerned.

"A lady in her teens or early twenties, brown hair and a scar on her eye. She also carried a scepter and an ancient book."

Ito turns to Lemir, noticing his distress. "Could that be Jasmin?"

"Yes, I believe it is. Hurry, jump on. But be careful if you jump on too hard, they might fly you off the cliff." Kenji examines the others, wondering if they are just as terrified by the short instructions given by Lemir as he is. But as he checks, everyone seems unfazed except Ito and him, who are secretly freaking out.

"You'll have to partner up. There are not enough dragons."

"Ugh, I'd rather you guys throw me off the cliff." Hiro said.

"That shouldn't be a problem."

Hiro looks around and notices everyone staring at him, sending chills down his back.

"What? No, I'm joking. I meant to throw me off the cliff if I don't get to ride with Chung."

"Ugh, now I want to jump off the cliff."

"Good one Chung."

"Shut up Sungwoo."

As Mei and Chung limp towards the dragons and Kenji holds his arm, trying to stop it from swinging, Lemir walks up to them, concerned about their injuries.

"I've noticed you three are hurt, riding a dragon takes a lot of strength, so I better heal those injuries before we go."

Mei and Chung sit down on a broken tree that a dragon unfortunately caused, both wincing as they extend their leg.

As Lemir heals their injuries one by one, he glows a blue aura once again, the same aura that Hiro saw previously in the forest. They all watch in amazement, mesmerized by Lemir's aura, as he controls the surrounding energy.

Sungwoo turns to Ito, wondering about the strength of Lemir's aura. "Hey Ito, isn't blue really powerful?"

"Yeah, it goes yellow, orange, red, blue, green and then some others." Ito smiles at Sungwoo, happy that someone had at least paid some attention to the show.

Mei and Chung rotate their ankles, shocked by the healing ability that Lemir possessed. "Thank you. It feels better than before." Mei said.

"Yeah, thank you. I feel like I can run up a mountain now." Chung said as she rose to her feet, testing her ankle. After running in place, she dashes forward and chooses the dragon she wants to ride.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lemir makes his way to Kenji, still glowing blue as he holds his arm over Kenji's broken shoulder. "So, you're also part of this show?" Lemir asked as he stood in front of Kenji.

"Yeah." Kenji said, surprised at the question.

"Weird, I don't recognize you or that other fellow." Lemir said as he motions to Ito.

"That makes sense. We're not important characters in the show. We're kind of just there."

"Well, none of that matters here.” Lemir said as he closed his eyes and used his energy to feel the injury. "Yeah, it's broken. I'm not a specialized healer, but I can try to mend it." As Lemir rotates around Kenji's broken shoulder, his aura grows larger. Kenji could feel the energy coursing through his shoulder as Lemir sends energy through it. Slowly, he gets some mobility back in his arm, but as he tries to move it around, he feels numbing pain with even the slightest turn. As more time passes, a blue bubble-like cast starts to surround his shoulder and arm. As Lemir opens his eyes, finishing the surgery, he feels weak almost to the point of falling. He takes a deep breath, struggling to regain his strength, trying not to show his weakened state.

"Be careful. Try not to strain it while you're in the air. If you do, you might severely deform your shoulder." Lemir said as he slowly walked to the dragons.

"Okay, thank you." Kenji said, now trying his hardest not to move his arm in fear of the worst.

Hiro slowly approaches the dragon that Chung had selected. Riding a dragon was not on his bucket list, but he had to admit, he was excited. "I've noticed you finally accepted that you don't have all the answers. It's a pleasant change for you." Chung said. Hiro rolls his eyes but couldn't help but smile at the same time. Chung went up to the dragon, slowly rubbing her hands on the side of the winged beast's face as the dragon leaned towards her. "I've never ridden a dragon, but I had plenty of experience with animals on the farm I grew up on. It shouldn't be too different from the horse, right?"

"Uh, sure." Hiro said, confused about what type of farm Chung grew up on. Chung put one foot on the dragon's leg and pivoted the other with ease and grace.

Ito didn't have a clue on how to climb on the dragon. But he received a lesson on how not to mount the dragon from watching Hiro's less graceful form. As Hiro repeatedly stabs the dragon in the neck with the front of his shoes, the dragon becomes infuriated. The steam bursting from the dragon's nostrils with each attempt. As Ito couldn't help but keep watching, Sungwoo appears right before him.

"Ito, do you mind riding with me?" Shocking Ito, making him stumble back. "Uh, sure, I'm surprised you asked me."

"It's something the writer told me about your character and if something happens, it would be interesting to see up close.”

"What is it?"

"He didn't say a lot, but one of the things he mentioned is when you auditioned, he created this character for only you. The other thing, he asked me to keep a secret."

"Wow, I didn't know that. But are you sure you can't tell me the other thing?"

"I'll tell you when I see it." Sungwoo makes his way towards the dragons, leaving Ito to ponder what the writer might've said.

Kenji walks up to Mei and the only dragon remaining. "I guess it's us then. You ready?"

Mei stares onward with fear in her eyes. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Then, as she opens them, her stare intensifies as she answers with a confident nod.

Lemir walks to the dragon, leaping into the air and landing softly on the dragon's back. "Everyone ready?"

Kenji laughs to himself, as he is getting scared that a bear with horns jumping ten feet in the air and landing on a dragon is starting to feel normal.

"Now, guys, no spinning. We don't want them to fall off or get sick, right?" Lemir said, as he turned to the dragons, giving them last-minute instructions. After hearing Lemir's request, the dragons look at each other with a sinister smirk. The dragons already had scary faces, but somehow, when they smiled, Kenji felt even more alarmed.

As Lemir turns around to check that everyone is ready, Chung raises her hand like a student in class. "I have a question. Can the dragons fly with someone in their claws?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" Lemir barely finishes his sentence when he notices Hiro negotiating with the dragon to let him on.

Hiro lays sideways in the claws of the dragons, terrified of the situation, almost on the verge of passing out. "This is for your safety, Hiro. We didn't want the dragon to fly you off the cliff." Lemir said.

"Somehow, I don't feel this is safer." Hiro said, unaware he was seconds away from joining the troll.

Lemir mounts on the dragon, ready to take flight. "Let's fly." He roars, as the dragons speed toward the edge of the mountain, soaring off the cliff and into the sky. The rest remain speechless, as they gaze at a vast world with giant waterfalls, beautiful castles, and lush green forests all around them. The beautiful scenery almost tunes out the high-pitched screaming of Hiro. Not knowing this is only a sample size of the world they were in. They all watch in amazement at the world they should be familiar with. For years, the world they've been a part of is now their new reality.

The feeling of excitement mixed with anxiety and deadly fear overwhelms them, but for them, there is no escaping without going forward.