Brian gripped Solara's scales tightly and the ground fell away beneath them, he felt a thrilling knot of butterflies erupt in his stomach. Solara's flying speed was faster than he'd ever experienced, and thanks to his Oculus Sight, he could clearly see all of Valteria. Havenstone Outpost lay to his left, Restview Station to his right, and beyond it, a region shrouded in a thick black fog that seemed to swallow everything it touched.

"Great, now we can’t even get down," Mandrix called out to the others as Solara began her descent toward one of the floating islands. "Stay close, we don't know what we'll find up here."

Mandrix was right, they were trapped atop the dragon’s back. Brian's heart started pounding like the spinning propeller of an airplane taking off. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but he was afraid of dying, and Solara didn’t come with seatbelts.

“I think we deserve to lean back and enjoy the ride every once in a while, Manny,” Sophia said.

"Manny?!" Mandrix protested. "Since when do you call me that?"

Sophia shrugged. "I'm trying it out. Kinda suits you, dontcha think?"

Mandrix grumbled incoherently, eliciting a grin from Sophia. But his thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at Radiant Sanctuary before he could finish, 'We'll see if it sticks…”

As soon as their feet touched solid ground, they were greeted by a breathtaking sight - lush forests, crystal clear rivers, and cascading waterfalls that trickled down from island to island. The beauty of Radiant Sanctuary was like a magical painting, and for a moment, Brian closed his eyes and took in the relaxing landscape.

When Brian examined the different islands, he noticed structures scattered across the enchanting colony. They were majestic and seemed to come straight out of a fairytale. It was the most bizarre thing he had ever seen, but not in a bad way. To Brian, they must be what the lumivyrns would call houses; they looked like giant birdhouses, each structure featuring a single entrance hole, with a protruding perch below it, and a slanted or peaked roof.

It was a calming site, however, his respite was short-lived, the serene scene was marred by the sight of weakened Lumivyrns scattered across every floating island.

Brian glanced at his friends, noticing their expressions: even Ilex, who was usually impassive, appeared affected by the scene before them.

Mandrix broke the silence. "We're constantly fighting monsters, but it seems there are others that suffer just like the aestari. Fuck this planet."

"Solara, your home is perfect. We'll do everything we can to make sure that it remains that way."

They had landed on the only island without lifeless Lumivyrns, Solara positioned herself directly in front of Brian. Her enormous face was closer than Brian would ever want a dragon’s face to be, but her eyes held a desperate plea for help. "The chronovores have grown stronger, tampering with our temporal signature and disrupting the balance of our Sanctuary." She gestured toward the island upon which they stood, explaining that it was the only one unaffected by the attack. "We tried moving as many of us here as possible, but the temporal anomaly weakens us whenever we get close to the other islands."

“But why wasn’t this one unaffected,” Brian inquired.

Solara turned her gaze umbrar. “The attack is coming from Chrono Chasm. This island is the furthest away.”

Brian explained what he’d learned and asked Serdna if there was anything he could do to help.

Serdna scratched his head sheepishly, considering the situation. "There are too many for me to heal," he admitted, "but I can buff some of them, give 'em enough strength to fly away from the temporal disruption."

"That would certainly help a lot!" Sophia said.

Serdna walked up to the edge of the island, overlooking the other floating islands and their suffering inhabitants. Cracking his fingers, he took a deep breath and began playing a rhythmic tune on his lyre. Brian’s eyebrows shot up from the amount of emotional depth that Serdna’s melody carried. The music sounded like a blend of folk, rock, jazz, and pop.

The sound echoed through Radiant Sanctuary. Brian watched intently as, one by one, the weakened dragons stirred. Gradually, they rose and took flight, their movements feeble yet enough to carry them away from the temporal disruption. The sight of the dozens of lumivyrns taking flight across the fairytale landscape left them speechless.

With their enormous wingspans reflecting the vibrant night sky, the dragons cast myriad fragmented, glimmering shadows and reflections that danced across the floating islands. The effect was like several disco balls catching and refracting the light in different directions.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

With a final strum, Serdna stopped playing and dropped to his knees, panting heavily. Mandrix and Brian rushed to assist him, knowing he had overexerted himself casting such a wide-ranging spell.

"That's all I've got," Serdna gasped, sweat dripping down his brow. "Any more valtite use and I'm toast."

"Hey, you did plenty," Sophia assured him, a soft smile gracing her lips. "You helped so many lumivyrns."

Brian looked back at Solara gazed upon her people with a tear rolling down her prismatic scales. "We did what we could for now," he told her, "and we'll stop the source of the attack.

“Alien… I mean Brian, I am without words,” Solara said.

"Don't mention it. We're investigating the temporal anomaly anyway, and," he accentuated the word, "hopefully, we've made an ally in the process."

She bowed her massive head in appreciation. "Thank you" was all she managed to say.

Solara's words gave Brian goosebumps. As if the situation weren’t crazy enough, a dragon was vowing before him.

He then contemplated the might of the chronovores. Were they truly powerful enough to wipe out an entire race of lumivyrns? Solara seemed formidable. As an alpha with a 'Spark' energy level, she was likely to be as strong as Zarkon or Vipros.

"Solara," Brian began, then took a hand to his chin. "Where can we find these chronovores?"

The lumivyrn matriarch hesitated for a moment before answering. "They dwell in Chrono Chasm. But lumary, I sensed their presence moving dayward. By the end of the lum, they'll likely encounter your woodland camp." She gestured vaguely at Brian and his friends.

"Woodland camp?" Brian asked.

“She might mean Restview Statation,” Serdna said.

Restview Station was the only safepoint that Brain hadn’t visited.

"Correct," Solara confirmed.

Brian relayed the information to Mandrix, Serdna, Ilex, and Sophia, each of them processed the information. But It was Sophia who broke the silence first. "I want to stay here and help the lumivyrns."

"Help them how?" Brian inquired.

"Remember all those meetings you've been attending with the directorate?" Sophia teased, a hint of pride in her voice. "Well silly, I've been improving my manifestation abilities. I can now teleport others, but it requires a high valtite cost. I could transport some of the lumivyrns to the unaffected island."

“FUCKING SHIT, BRIAN! How many meetings did you have in HQ?” Mandrix grumbled. "I'm really worried about you. I'm sure you don't even know about the Kellnedy Coup or what happened to him. He was like you, a good-natured fella, and he was considered a symbol of unity within Arcasium. And... let's just say that he didn't fit well within the Valtite Illuminator's agenda."

“It wasn’t that many,” Brain said dismissively.

"Holy cow, Mandrix, give it a rest. I've told you, those are just tales; no one knows if they're even true," Serdna shook his head. "Anyways, Sophia, there are too many for you to move on your own."

"Even so," she replied. "I'll save as many as I can."

“And how do you know the temporal disruption will not affect you?”

Sophia pondered cluelessly for a moment. “I won’t know that until I try,” she chortled. “But I think It’ll be fine. I’ll focus on a target, teleport to it and teleport them back. It’ll be instantaneous.”

Brian shared Sophia's resolution with Solara, who then bowed her colossal head before the young woman. The sight of the lumivyrn matriarch vowing before Sophia filled Brian, Mandrix, Serdna and Ilex with pride.

“Interesting, I never thought I would see the day when we would find harmony with these creatures. There’s so much to learn from them, and this breakthrough opens up so much discovery.” Ilex said.

Everyone got caught off guard. “Holy cow dude that’s deep,” Serdna said.

“Yeah that was actually pretty good, Ilex,” Brian added.

“Thanks.”

"Alright, then," Brian started. "We'll stop these chronovores, help the lumivyrns, check that dungeon and complete our mission."

“You sure summarized that nicely. And everything sounds awful,” Mandrix said, sheathing his gigantic sword.

Brian had been uncomfortable around Mandrix ever since they embarked on their assignment. The tension finally overwhelmed him, and though he had been avoiding confrontation, Mandrix’s obvious dissatisfaction had started to give him anxiety.

He took a deep breath and turned to Mandrix. “You’re being overly dramatic today. Is something wrong?” Brian regretted his delivery the moment he said it. But it was too late; words had never been his strong suit, after all.

“OVERLY FUCKING DRAMATIC? You’re one ungrateful fella. I’ve risked my ass for you, helped you, guided you so that you would survive on this fucking planet and you’re playing like this is some sort of game. You went ahead and got in bed with the directorate after I’ve told you over and over again not to trust them.”

Serdna stepped toward the giant decimator. “Come on chum, you don’t have to be like–”

“STOP! You’re part of the problem too, going on secret missions for Aleron. Although, I don’t blame you, Serdna. You always make the worst decisions. BUT BRIAN, don’t worry I’m not going to fucking bother anymore.

Brian suddenly felt cold, and his hands started shaking. He moved one of them to his shortsword in panic but squinted his eyes shut and sighed. “YOU’RE THE ONE WITH TRUST ISSUES! I already told you I’m going to help you just like you fucking helped me, but you need to get off my ass, and let me do it my way. And if this is too much trouble for you, you can leave.”

“Save it, I’ve already said my piece. And I’ve said I’d do it, so I’m finishing this assignment.”

Out of nowhere, Sophia’s hand grasped Brian’s. “Brian, are you going to be ok?”

“It’ll be alright!”