“Oh, let me introduce myself first,” Anaheim said. “I’m Anaheim, descendent of the hero, but you can call me Ana.” Unlike the statue of the hero which was completely green, Anaheim had light-brown skin, green eyes, and black hair. She wore a pair of jeans and a tank top.

Khrx landed on the ground, still held by Anaheim. A few people stared, but their attentions turned back towards the plaza underneath the Statue of Freedom. There was a stage with a woman standing atop a prop boat. There was a layer of holographical water covering the stage, and within that water, a snakelike creature with ten heads was circling around the boat.

“And with a single strike,” a narrator said from below the stage, speaking into a microphone, “the hero slew the ten-headed ocean king!”

A shining sword appeared in the woman’s hand, and she thrust it towards the creature. It let out a roar as its heads flew off one by one. It fell over backwards and sank into the water, disappearing underneath the waves.

Khrx’s eyes bulged, and he stared up at Anaheim. “Hey,” he said, tugging her hand. He pointed at the stage. “Is that true?”

“Mm, well….” Anaheim scratched her head. “It’s a bit exaggerated, but yes, the hero did slay the ten-headed ocean king. Wasn’t she amazing?”

“Sneksnek….” Khrx’s ears and tail drooped. He frowned at the stage. The scene had changed to a blue snowfield with penguins dancing in the background.

“Eh?” Anaheim crouched down to Khrx’s level. “What’s wrong?”

Khrx shook his head. “I want to watch.”

“Oh.” Anaheim bit her lower lip. The child still hadn’t answered her question or told her his name, but she’d forgive him because he was cute. She lifted him by hugging him to her chest to give him a better view of the stage. “Let me help.”

“After crossing the Nidian Ocean, the hero continued on her quest to find the legendary metal born from ice, metornice! Back then, the Tanarctica continent was barren, devoid of all life except for the black bird people.” The narrator’s voice lowered as the stage lights dimmed. Dreadful music rose up as shadows flickered across the stage. “And the mythical frost dragon, Tsorf’nogard!”

“Ow!” Anaheim flinched as Khrx’s nails dug into her arms, but Khrx acted as if he hadn’t heard her.

A dragon’s head sprang out of the ground in front of the hero on the stage. A raspy voice came out of the dragon’s mouth, accompanied by a breath of frost. “Foolish mortal. Why have you come to my kingdom of ice?”

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The woman, who had knelt from the breath, climbed to her feet, sticking her chest out. “I’ve come for the metornice! Without it, there’s no way to defeat the demon lord.”

“Prove to me you’re worthy of my treasures,” Tsorf’nogard said, lowering his head to stare the hero in the eyes. “Answer my riddle. If you can’t, then you will submit to me for all eternity.”

“And if I succeed,” the hero said, “I’ll take all the metornice you have.”

The frost dragon nodded. “What has seventeen legs during the day but only one at night, smells like the color purple, and eats sonic booms with its butt?”

Khrx tilted his head. Wasn’t the answer quite obvious? How was that a riddle? Did Tsorfy really want to screw Luke over?

The hero and dragon stared at each other. “Let me think,” the hero said and squatted on the ground.

“With her brilliant mind, the hero formulated the right answer!” the narrator said. The hero’s fist glowed with a white light. “She tricked the dragon into letting its guard down….”

The hero raised her head. “Are there any hints?”

The dragon leered at her. “I don’t—”

The narrator’s voice boomed over the dragon’s. “And slew the mighty frost dragon, Tsorf’nogard, in a single strike!”

“Hyap!” The hero shouted and sprang upwards, uppercutting the dragon’s chin. “Rising Phoenix Fist!”

“The fuck!” Khrx shouted as the frost dragon’s head exploded like an icy firework.

“Hey!” Anaheim said. “Watch your language.”

“She’s a cheat! How dare she sneak attack Tsorfy!?” Khrx squirmed broke out of Anaheim’s grasp. “I’m going to eat her face!” Khrx dashed through the crowd, plowing people out of the way. They screamed as they flew into the air and crashed against the ground. Khrx ignored them and jumped onto the stage, tackling the poor actor, but she was a hologram. Khrx flew straight past her body and crashed into the Statue of Freedom, cracking one of its toes with his head.

Dozens of red dots appeared on Khrx’s body. “Freeze!”

Khrx whirled around to face the stage and let out a roar. There was a whooshing sound, and a flower of blood blossomed above Khrx’s knee. His eyes widened as he gasped and fell to the ground, clutching his leg. There was a hole in his thigh that he could clearly see through. Even though he was in the form of a child, his skin was still as tough as his scales, his flesh as tough as steel, his bones as dense as diamond, but a massive fist-sized hole had formed in his leg anyway. What the hell hit him!? It was similar to those things the metal birds shot at him when he first left the volcano.

“Stop!” Anaheim shouted. She ran to and crouched over Khrx, shielding his body from the red dots with her own. “He’s just a child! Why did you shoot!?” She bit her lower lip as she hugged Khrx to her chest. She placed her hand on his thigh, a white light encompassing her palm. Khrx’s flesh wriggled as new bone grew, replacing the bit that had been destroyed. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Everything will be fine; Ana’s here for you.”

Khrx didn’t say anything as Anaheim mended his leg. Luke was right. The surface dwellers had grown a lot. Sneksnek and even Tsorfy had died. If that projectile had hit his head instead of his leg, wouldn’t he have died too? Khrx exhaled, his eyes clearing up. He had acted too rashly. Right now, there was only one thing he could rely on. He opened his eyes as wide as he could, pouted his lower lip, drooped his ears, and sniffled while staring at Anaheim.

The descendent of the hero’s heart melted. She kissed Khrx’s forehead. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”