"Target spotted!"
After hearing a distant voice, seemingly belonging to an adult man in his 30s, muffled by the high pitched sound occupying his head, he was filled with just a little bit of hope but he could not be re- lieved just yet.
-That voice. I recognize that accent. It belongs to an ally.
The owner of the voice must have been yelling at the top of his lungs as his words broke through the ringing sound, even the sounds of the nearby battlefield were unable to.
-He must have been really desperate to find me.
It was nice for him that he was being saved but there was still something in the shout that worried him. It didn't sound like a shout out of joy or relief. The shout sounded more like he was spreading information about the discovered whereabouts of the person he was looking for. It couldn't just be excitement. In other words – he was spreading this information to others.
-Even more allies, huh? This isn't good. They need to get far away from here. I need to warn them.
"…"
He was unable to make a sound. Not even a grunt could make its way out of his mouth. Instead, a burning shot of pain spread through his throat and vocal cords. Not being able to produce a single sound with his vocal cords didn't surprise him that much as he had taken a fatal beating less than an hour ago. Along with being mute, he had also lost two of his senses making him unable to smell or taste.
He could still see although he had given up on trying to lift his eyelids. Once in a while, when mas- sive explosions lit up the battlefield and scorched the earth, he could see the light passing through his eyelids to confirm his still remaining eyesight.
He still had the sense of touch as the shockwaves from the occasional explosions carried a few pebbles with them that would rain over him and reactivate his remaining nerves, reminding him of his immense state of pain and his body heat slowly but surely leaving his body.
He could still hear, as long as the sounds were louder than the ringing sound inside his head, which at this point would have driven him insane had he not been going in and out of conscious- ness. However, as a dozen people had just finished scooting down the nearby almost vertical cliff and had now started sprinting as fast as they could while still being undetected by the enemy, his worries were closing in on him.
-There must be a way for me to warn them abo...
He couldn't even finish his thought as a sudden shockwave of pain resonated throughout his body. He tried to scream but yet again nothing happened leaving him screaming internally.
He was most likely just being picked up by the team sent to rescue him but the hands and fingers on his back felt like they were made of scorching hot steel drilling into his skin and simultaneously melting it away. His heightened senses were rarely used for the sense of touch but with only three out of five senses remaining and him being near death, he could not control his abilities anymore.
It was a wonder that he was still somehow conscious and a miracle that he was even alive after all he had been through. This did not last long, though, as everything suddenly faded to black as if someone had turned off the sun. His body was already a mess and his eyelids felt heavy as lead so there was no use in trying to resist. He could only accept how things were and let himself be en- gulfed in the darkness.
The ringing sound had stopped completely. There was no sound and none of his senses could pick up anything. There was nothing at all. There he was in empty space, all alone with only his own thoughts to distract himself from going mad due to the complete silence and isolation.
-Am I dead?
He had always believed that there was an afterlife, but he had never believed it to be so disap-pointing and lonely. This wasn't the same feeling as the times he went unconscious earlier. At least, he doesn't recall remembering anything whenever his mind faded away, making this a new experi- ence.
That confirms it. He really was dead. There doesn't seem to be any other explanation.
-Is this really it, then? Is this all there is. . . No. . . Something. . . I can see something.
A blurry blue light was slowly becoming progressively larger as if it was moving towards him. It was not the kind of light, you would normally see with your eyes. The closest thing to compare it to would be that blurry ball of light, you could still see after looking at a bright lamp or the sun. Even if you closed your eyes, you could still see the blurry image printed onto the retina.
He began to theorize what it could be. Maybe he was just in a state of limbo with the light being the actual afterlife. Maybe it was a divine entity. Maybe he wasn't actually dead, and he was just about to return to consciousness or maybe he was being reborn as some people believe you do.
He didn't have time to think of another theory as the light had reached him stopping right before it engulfed him.
The dim light started to take shape. He was still unable to see what shape it was supposed to be.
"God? Is it really you?"
"With my current shape, I can understand why you would confuse me with my father. Normally, I would be annoyed and even slightly insulted, but this is your first time encountering me, isn't it?"
Not only could he speak all of a sudden, but his hearing had also returned. His other three senses were restoring as well as the glob of blue light became more and more visible by the second until it took a clear physical form.
Whatever was in front of him was so large that it couldn't even fit within his field of view. He could make up a set of feet, a large scaly chest and a set of wings. The head where the voice came from was located above him outside his field of view. He bent his neck back a little to see not-god's face. It was covered in glowing azure scales like most of its body. Had it not been for the two large horns or the razor-sharp set of teeth, it would have resembled an oversized lizard. He knew exactly what kind of creature he had just encountered.
A dragon! He was floating in empty space face to face with a dragon and a very large one none-theless. Its vertical pupil was roughly the size of his torso making the whole dragon as big as a man-sion.
"Please don't kill me! I still need to get my allies to safety!"
The large dragon's face looked so annoyed, he could just picture the veins in it's forehead popping out. This only made him plead for his life even louder than before without realizing the irony in do-ing so as he was already presumably dead.
"Be silent! I am trying to do the opposite!"
Out of fear for the dragon, he instantly stopped his begging. The dragon was on his side but who exactly was this dragon. It referred to God as 'father'. The gap in hierarchy would be nigh universal if that statement wasn't just a lie to mess with him. It really didn't matter if it was true or false.
This is a dragon. The almost extinct species that used to roam the planet tens of thousands of years ago. No new dragons have appeared since ancient times since they don't breed and have been hunted by mighty adventurers so only a few surviving dragons are left. A single dragon could, with-out any help, destroy an entire city if it wanted to. Son of God or not, he really should show more re-spect.
"Lord Dragon?"
"Skip the 'Lord' will you? We are on the same level here. Besides, I have a name. You can call me Akkua. No formalities needed. Now, what do you want?"
"Did you restore my senses back to normal? My body is not in pain either. Is this your doing? If so, I would like to thank you for saving my life. . . I am still alive, right?"
"You don't need to thank me. Doing this also saves my own skin. If I didn't, then my powers would belong to someone else right now and that would turn this war into a completely one-sided mas-sacre. But you're alive. The fact that our souls are still connected, is enough evidence. If you were the avatar of Terrok, instead of mine, then you wouldn't have my convenient healing water magic to save you from situations like this. Consider yourself lucky."
He opened his eyes wide open from all the surprising information that had to process through his head at once but he had it coming for him, asking several questions at once like that.
"Me? The avatar of Akkua. I've heard that a million times from others already, but I had always been in doubt. Besides, since when can water magic heal?"
Searching through his memories, he could only really remember light magic being able to heal wounds. Water magic was pretty cool but it was seen as one of the weaker elements. Sure you could try to drown people with it and water mages have huge advantages when fighting near the ocean or other big bodies of water. Water being able to heal wounds at all and especially wounds this grave seemed a little too far-fetched.
Akkua sighed.
"You really ask a lot of questions but that is to be expected. I really miss my original avatar. No one has figured out how to use my healing water magic on their own ever since. You've got a lot to learn."
"So there were others before me?"
He was both a little overwhelmed by all this new life-changing information yet he was eager to learn more. Had he shown the same curiosity and attention in school, he wouldn't have been yelled at for sleeping during class.
"You're good at guessing. I have lived for over one hundred thousand years living with an avatar until he or she dies. Then I move to another random person who either possesses water magic or no magic at all. My first avatar, Poseidon, used my powers well. He became known as the ruler of the ocean and some people even treated him as a god. This was before humans were intelligent enough to be deemed worthy avatars."
Akkua kept staring into the void, remembering the good times he had with his former avatars.
"I think I understand", he commented with a proud look on his face that masked his uncertainty.
"Good, then you're aren't the complete idiot I thought you were, Ruuji"
Although Ruuji Berodo was baffled at how Akkua knew his name, he was more provoked than shocked. Ruuji had tried to be polite towards Akkua. Akkua even stated them to be at the same social status, yet he just called him an idiot without any background knowledge. If Akkua had the privilege to be rude then so had Ruuji.
"Hey! Listen he-"
Ruuji was cut off from speaking when Akkua's deep echoing voice effortlessly drowned Ruuji's.
"You're probably questioning how I know about your name and intellect. As I said earlier, we're connected. Although this is your first time meeting me, I've observed your life ever since my previ-ous avatar died almost two decades ago. I know how you used to sleep during class and I know how much you care about your comrades. I know who you used to be in love with and I know that you still fantasize about being a hero similar to what kids do. You're also weirdly intelligent when it comes to fighting which is a thing I can't help but respect you for."
Embarrassed at how easily he had been angered, Ruuji kept silent and thought about what to say next with added caution. Akkua really knew everything about Ruuji. Even the embarrassing things Ruuji denied about himself. On the other hand, Ruuji knew nothing about Akkua other than what he had heard in stories from ancient times and what he had just been told.
Before Ruuji could find any words to say, Akkua suddenly pulled the hand he was using to heal Ru-uji to himself as he cleared his throat. Ruuji chose to stay silent and let the dragon speak.
"It seems like someone desperately wants you to wake up from your slumber."
"Who is it!? Ally!? Enemy!?"
Ruuji remembered his allies coming to his rescue and his worries from before returned to him. The entire area was swarming with enemies who were both looking for him and fending off their oppo-nents simultaneously. Had Ruuji not been almost buried in rubble, he would have been spotted and killed before he had any chances of being rescued. There was still the possibility of Ruuji's pursuers catching up after licking their wounds. Ruuji had fought several mages with far above average skill and somehow managed to escape leaving both sides with injuries. Were his allies really alright or had they met their makers? These were the thoughts that clouded Ruuji's head. Akkua felt Ruuji's concern and gave him an answer to calm him down.
"Don't be so worried. It's an ally. Someone you know."
"How are they? Are there any enemies nearby."
Still worried from before, Ruuji kept adding questions that Akkua had to answer. The dragon said that the person trying to wake him up was a known ally but that didn't conclude whether or not said ally was in safety.
"Since I am connected to you, I know how you feel. I cannot see very far from you but what I can see includes no enemies. Most of your allies are bruised and some are slightly wounded but they are definitely in a better state than you right now."
"But I feel perfectly fine."
Ruuji moved his right arm around in circles as one if the first thing he would do during his daily morning warmup. Akkua's healing magic was surprisingly effective.
"See?"
Feeling no pain anymore, Ruuji wondered what Akkua meant when he compared him to a wounded person.
"You healed me with your special water magic, right?"
As a response to Ruuji's bewilderment, Akkua moved both his arms out to the side and pulled his head further away from Ruuji. Ruuji was astonished at how much larger the dragon seemed when it stretched its limbs out. Akkua then opened his mouth to speak.
"You have asked me so many questions that I have barely been able to keep up with you but it amazes me that you haven't even asked me where you are. You're floating around in an empty dark void after all."
It was true. Ruuji had not mentioned the void he was currently located in in any of his questions. He meant to ask about it when he just met Akkua but the sight of a giant dragon right in front of him distracted him. He was then about to make a second attempt but his concern for his allies sud-denly returned, distracting him once again. Even so, asking about this place didn't answer Ruuji's question at all.
"What does this void have to do with the state of my body?", Ruuji asked as he eagerly waited for a reply.
"You see-", Akkua began as he searched for a way to describe the void surrounding them in a way Ruuji could understand.
"Unlike the world you and almost everything else is from, this dimension does not have gravity nor does it have an atmosphere. It defies known physics. You might feel perfectly fine here since you are weightless, but in your world, you will discover that your body is still quite heavy. You also have to add the atmospheric pressure and the fact that you will be waking up after having fainted. Give it a day and you should be fine. Just don't try to do anything exhausting."
Ruuji nodded to show Akkua that he understood.
"I'm ready", he added.
"Very well then", the dragon replied and moved closer to Ruuji.
"One more thing before you leave."
Ruuji looked up at Akkua and prepared himself to listen well as he knew, there would be more vital information.
"I strongly suggest that you don't use any magic. I might have mended most of your physical wounds, but I cannot just restore your mana as easily and it seems that your last fight had almost rid you of your entire mana supply, which is impressive in size by the way."
Ruuji recalled his fight with the mages. Having heard news about the war having reached Yoake is-land and the battle being a few kilometers away from his village, he had rushed to the battlefield. Af-ter having fought against the enemy forces for a few minutes, he had found himself chasing a stronger than average fire magic user into the nearby forest. He had then been ambushed by six other people. Each, mages of different elements but similar strength to the fire magic user. It was a battle that included all the eight elements. Earth, darkness, water, air, fire, electric, light and nature. The fight had been very exhausting and Ruuji knew he couldn't continue so he had to settle it in one final attack. Ruuji had thrown his strongest attack at his opponents and they had corresponded with an equally strong attack. The resulting force of the attacks colliding in mid-air had sent everyone their separate ways flying. The next moment, Ruuji had found himself halfway underground.
"At least you finished them off for good"
Akkua said something that brought Ruuji back to his senses. Ruuji couldn't believe his ears. He must have misheard something. His eyes were wide open, and his body went stiff as cold sweat slowly covered it. Surely, he couldn't have. . .
Ruuji managed to shake it off.
"Are you sure it didn't just look that way?"
"You underestimate your own power, Ruuji Berodo. Amongst all of today's avatars, you are without a doubt the strongest. To think you sparred against seven others at once. . ."
Akkua whispered the last sentence to himself but Ruuji could easily hear it as there were no other sounds in the void.
"Those were all avatars!?"
"Yes, I saw the souls of my brothers and sisters leave their bodies. Apparently, the other avatars had used up the remaining mana they had in their final attack. The blast had then finished them off. You know what happens when you run completely out of mana, right?"
You would have to be a complete idiot if you didn't know. It was common knowledge. When your body's mana reserves run dry, you experience something similar to dehydration, only a lot more dangerous and intense as someone suffering from mana deficiency sickness could die in as little as a minute. It was something that every parent taught their children, magic user or not. Ruuji had too been taught this by his parents when they were still alive.
He gave the dragon a nod to signal his reply.
"Then you should understand why you mustn't use any magic before you naturally replenish your mana reserve. . . It seems like I can't leave your friend waiting any longer. I will have to return your soul to your body before they start burying you."
"So, how do I get ba-"
As Ruuji was asking Akkua his final question, he looked up at the dragon only to witness a pair of razor-sharp teeth separating as Akkua opened his mouth, leaving strings of drool between his upper and lower jaw. Ruuji didn't know what was about to happen and as Akkua's gaping mouth dashed towards him faster than he could react.
Everything went completely black again but this time there was an echoing voice somewhere in the distance.
"Ple-. . .-ke. . .up. . . Ru-. . .-ji!"
The words were repeated again and again, becoming louder and more comprehensible with every repetition until he could clearly make out the sentence.
"Please wake up, Ruuji!"