Prika landed on the ground with a thumping sound. The nearby trees shook, and a few birds scattered from the treetops. In front of the red dragon, there was a massive hole in the ground. It was in the shape of a square, but the deeper it went, the narrower it became like an inverted pyramid. The bottom of the pyramid was just wide enough for a grown dragon to curl up and sleep in. Prika lowered her head to the ground and rolled her eyes up to look at Vur. “We’re here.”

“I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place,” Stella said and pouted. “It’s so big. You would think someone would have mentioned it before.”

“Eh.” Prika shrugged. “It’s not too far away from the southern continent. After Grimmy basically made it uninhabitable, some of the survivors came to this little landmass over here. It’s not really big enough to call a continent, but it’s not exactly an island either. The Recordkeeper used to live in the southern continent, but not anymore.”

“Didn’t Grimmy destroy the continent a while ago?” Stella asked. “Is the Recordkeeper a dragon?”

“No.” Prika shook her head. She gestured towards the inverted pyramid in the ground. “Does it look like a dragon lives here? The Recordkeeper is just a title. I think it gets passed down or something, but there’s one thing that always stays the same.” Prika’s expression darkened. “The Recordkeeper is … infuriating. That’s the only word I can think of to describe her.”

Vur hopped off of Prika’s head and landed on the ground with a thump. He stood at the edge of the inverted pyramid and leaned forward, looking down. Lining the sides of the pyramid, there were dozens of tunnel entrances, and above the entrances, there were signs written in an unknown language. He glanced at Prika. “Can you fit?”

Prika rolled her eyes. She leaned forward and shouted, “Hey! Recordkeeper! You have some visitors.” Her voice echoed, bouncing in and out of the tunnels. The echoes grew louder and louder in pitch until they faded away. A moment later, a figure appeared at the entrance located at the very bottom of the pyramid. She had glossy black hair, but in the right lighting, hints of blue and red strands could be seen. On her back, there was a pair of black wings that looked much like a raven’s. Instead of flying up, the Recordkeeper walked along a path leading out of the inverted pyramid, strolling along as if she had all the time in the world.

Stella flew out of Vur’s chest and landed on his shoulder. She looked at Prika. “Why doesn’t she fly up? Do those wings not work?”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“You’ll have to ask her,” Prika said and shrugged. “I don’t think I’ve met this Recordkeeper before. Then again, human faces are always so hard to tell apart.”

Vur frowned. At the rate the Recordkeeper was walking, it’d take her ten minutes to get to where they were. “Diamant. Bring her up.”

A sigh came out of the brown runes on Vur’s arm as they lit up. A pillar of earth erupted from the ground beneath the Recordkeeper, launching her hundreds of feet into the air. She screamed the whole way up while flailing her arms and legs. At the peak of her forced flight, the Recordkeeper’s wings spread open, and she managed to catch herself before she began to fall. Her wings didn’t flap as she glided towards Prika and Vur, landing in front of the two with a blank expression. She stared at Vur with her ice-blue eyes that had pupils so small they didn’t seem to exist. “That was very rude of you, Vur. You behaved just liked I expected.”

Vur tilted his head. “You know me?”

“Yes,” the Recordkeeper said. “I’ve had to dig out three new rooms in the palace to record the impact you’ve had on the world. I’m looking forward to the day you die, so I can stop.”

Vur blinked and turned his head towards Prika. The red dragon shrugged. “If you want to beat her up, I don’t mind.”

The Recordkeeper turned her head towards Prika as well. “Hello, Prika. It’s quite refreshing to see such an optimistic dragon. Most people would give up on finding love after being single for over seven centuries. I admire how you never lose hope despite facing rejection after rejection. Keep it up.”

Prika’s right eye twitched. She nudged Vur with her front paw. “Hurry up and ask her what you want to know. Once you’re done, we can throw her into a volcano or something.”

“She’s standing right there and can hear everything you’re saying,” Stella said. She waved at the Recordkeeper. “Do me next. What do you have to say about me?”

The Recordkeeper’s eyes shifted onto Stella. “No. I don’t want to say anything about you.”

Stella tapped on the sunlike rune on Vur’s body. “Sheryl. Where’s the nearest volcano?”

The rune flashed with a reddish-orange light. “This is my first time coming here too. Why would I know?”

“Vur,” the Recordkeeper said before Stella could reply. “Can you perform some gravity magic on me? I’ve always heard about it, but I never got to experience it for myself.”

“Okay.” Vur nodded. Tafel once said the best way to get something from someone was to do something for them in return. Vur’s eyes glowed with a golden glow, and an immense pressure radiated outwards from his body. The Recordkeeper let out a shriek and crumpled like a wet piece of paper. Her face smashed into the ground with a crunching sound. Vur blinked, and the glow in his eyes disappeared. The Recordkeeper didn’t move. Vur scratched his head. He glanced at Stella. “Is she alright?”

Stella flew down and poked the Recordkeeper’s head. It didn’t take long for the fairy queen to come to a conclusion. She nodded at Vur. “You should probably heal her before she kicks the bucket.”

Vur scratched his head again. The Recordkeeper was that weak? What was she going to do if she annoyed someone way stronger than herself?