Rhaegah once again found himself in the one thing he was now all too familiar with..... The darkness. Now accustomed to this realm of complete isolation, Rhaegah awaited the one terror with which he shared this realm. As though on cue a low growl shifted his attention from the nothingness ahead of him to the source. The growl was low but powerful enough to send his senses into overdrive as the dragon emerged from the emptiness and came face to face with him. To his surprise the fear he once felt towards the dragon was gone only to be replaced with understanding.
"Here to gobble me up again?" he asked, daring eyes staring straight into the dragon's.
The dragon said nothing save for another growl before retreating into the darkness. Now left with his thoughts, Rhaegah began to contemplate how he faired as his presence here meant he was unconscious elsewhere. No sooner had he began to think did he come under attack by the same darkness in which he felt so welcome. The darkness began consuming his legs and crept up his body in an attempt to swallow him whole. Seeing his vision blur he gave out a scream of resistance right as the darkness covered every inch of his being.
With a large gasp of air Rhaegah's eyes shot open to meet the refreshing feeling of light in them. Auia rushed over at the sound of his struggle to catch his breath and placed a hand on him to reassure him he was safe now.
"Are all training sessions like this or do you just hate me that much?" he teased in an attempt to rid her of the worry that was evident on her face.
"What do you remember?" Nygel asked
"Last thing I remember is that bastard mumbling something about taking me somewhere. The rest is foggy" He replied rising to his feet.
"Then it would seem we arrived on time" Nygel replied sharing a look with Symonne
"Nygel, a word" Symonne stated patting Rhaegah on the back before heading to another region of the room.
"This is the second time you've kept the truth hidden from him Nygel"
"It is for the boy's safety that he remains ignorant to the truth for now. That much power is too much for any one person to handle alone not to mention a child no less"
"If what Auia says is true and he did not attack her must mean he still has some sort of control over his power. Not everyone with great power is Karnaq"
"You think I don't know that?"
"Seeing as you treat the boy like he would turn on you the next chance he gets....No you don't"
"I do this for the sake o-"
"What happened was in a different time. Do not make this child regret putting his trust in us" Symonne ended walking over to Rhaegah not giving Nygel a chance to say any more.
"What do you mean different?" Auia cast a confused glance at Rheagah as if trying to understand his words
"My thoughts exactly" Symonne said joining the conversation
"My body feels uneasy but that's from earlier I'm sure, but I feel this surge forcing it's way through my body" Rhaegah replied staring at his palms.
Focusing on his mana pool, he concentrated on his internal energy flow as mana in the form of bright blue lightning buzzed all around his hands to his surprise crackling as it ran along his arms and down to the rest of his body like a snake around a pole.
Looking up to the surprised expressions of all three of them, he focused his mana back to his hands and as though instructed, the lightning ran back to his hands and vanished as suddenly as it appeared.
"Well what do you know? You CAN teach after all cos I was starting to believe I was the only one who knew what I was doing. At least I'm not dead" He mocked
"Tsk" Auia shot him an irritated look as she turned to leave the room "We will resume when you're back on your feet". And with that she left the room, annoyed by the fact that Rhaegah was being too familiar and assumed this was a joke.
"Did I say something wrong" Rhaegah wondered to himself as Auia shut the door behind her.
"You'll have to forgive her for she has difficulty relating well with people. She has been through a lot in this war" Nygel said as if in response to Rhaegah's thought.
"I'm guessing she lost someone...which makes sense cos regardless of the fact that she doesn't like me she was still worried"
"Exactly... Though I would suggest you don't bring it up with her"
"Wasn't planning to"
"You're quite the special one aren't you, Rhaegah" Nygel stated seeing that there was not much to worry about. "Do you really remember nothing else?" He added.
"Well Lorris had us cornered and he mentioned something about taking me back somewhere then I blacked out"
"Then you should consider yourself lucky we made it in time to defeat Lorris"
"Wait a sec....YOU defeated Lorris?" Rhaegah asked as though convinced otherwise
"Indeed"
"I see...but I could've sworn tha-" Rhaegah stopped short as memories rushed to the surface though distorted.
"You need to rest child. It would seem the fight took a great toll on you" Nygel stated in attempt to further lead him away from the truth.
"Speaking of rest" Rhaegah looked up to Nygel and deciding to figure out the confusion in his mind later. "I need to get home...I actually have people that would worry bout me if I stay missing for too long" he added
"Rhaegah, the salvation of this world is of utmost importance"
"I hear you, but I have a life of my own that I can't abandon even if its just school and anime"
"Anime??" Nygel asked cocking his head to the side
"Never mind" he simply replied "Basically, I get what you're saying but I have to get home"
"I understand completely, but Valoren needs you also"
"You realize I'm not leaving for good right? I just stumbled upon this whole new world so there's no way I'm saying goodbye to it yet"
"Why not send someone with him" Herke finally spoke after carefully watching the exchange from a corner of the room
Seeing the curious look on their faces he continued "Send someone who can bring him back when necessary and also keep an eye on him in case something goes wrong"
"And with that said...we have our volunteer" Nygel replied with a devious smile
"Wait wha-" Herke was interrupted by Symonne placing a hand placed firmly on his shoulder
"I can think of no one else that can open a gate back and forth and is capable of protecting Rhaegah at the same time.....No one else that we can spare at least"
"You were waiting for me to speak up weren't you?" Herke asked accepting his defeat
"You my boy are a smart one" Nygel ended with a slight chuckle "What say you Rhaegah?"
"I don't really care either way, but how tolerant are you?"
"I'm not sure I understand" Herke replied with a look of confusion as to what this world had in store for him
"Well if you spend as much time as I have you follow the saying that truly only two things are infinite.....The universe and human stupidity, though I'm not so sure about the former"
"So we're yet to see your true nature then" Herke jabbed at him
"In my world you count as human so let's not get ahead of ourselves" Rhaegah shot back
"They are perfect for each other" Nygel said with a laugh and with that Herke left to get his things ready for the trip to an unknown world
"Wait...right now?!" Rhaegah's eyebrow jumped at the suddenness of the situation unfolding before him. "Might as well, but hope you guys didn't tell him all that so he could feel more inclined to go" he added
"He may not look it but he is indeed a capable warrior that I trust dearly as he has never failed me" Symonne stated proudly
"I see...then I don't have to worry about him"
Rhaegah then made his way to the same door Auia had gone through but stopped at the door when it suddenly swung open as Auia stood facing him with an indifferent look.
"Look first off I'm sorry bout earlier, I didn't mean to be insensitive"
Surprise became evident on her face as she shut the door and walked towards him. "I didn't think you were one to apologize" she teased as she walked by before turning to face him
"Don't get used to it" he replied with a smirk
"Be sure to not die for that would be a great insult to your teacher" she shot back
"Enough you two" Symonne interrupted before turning to face Rhaegah. "Do be careful now, you have awakened you powers as a dragon-born which means the enemy has a stronger trail to follow now"
"True...true"
No sooner had the conversation ended did Herke come in with his armor gone to reveal a dark brown long sleeved leather jacket that you could find if you looked up fantasy leather jackets online, with black cotton bottoms that gave him a more comfortable feel than the battle ready armor he originally had on
"Listen to me Herke, you must protect this child with your life. His safety is of far more importance than your very being" Nygel said sternly with sent shivers down Herke's spine
"Not very encouraging but it will have to do" Herke replied
"Ready? Hang on to me" he asked Rhaegah who seemed to have his game face on before turning to a nearby wall and waved his arms to draw a mandala while reciting some sort of incantation Rhaegah could swear he had heard from a movie
The mandala responded with a powerful glow followed by the inscriptions on the mandala morphing to reveal the view of a foreign land but Rhaegah who recognized this neighborhood tapped him to assure him he got the location with intense precision
"Do be careful Rhaegah...you are no use to anyone dead" Nygel stated as both Herke and Rhaegah went through the gate leaving Valoren behind as the gate started to dissipate leaving the three remaining people to wonder just how this was going to turn out
"I hope you know what you're doing" Symonne asked giving Nygel a curious stare
"They'll be fine" Auia replied easing the worry in Symonne although not completely
"I agree, the boy IS special"
"I'm ready.....Wait, where's Rhaegah? I even brought the swords he nearly spanked Auia with" Herke's voice resounded from behind them
Shock and fear became evident on all three of them as they faced the now dissipated gate on the wall, realization dawning on them as they feared the worst.
Symonne then turned to Herke before once again casting his gaze back on the wall as the words finally left his lips
"If you're still here.....Then who in Valoren did we just entrust Rhaegah to?!"
Now on earth Rhaegah took in the sight of the neighborhood which he had missed for near three days...Jacksonville Florida. He stared down Dartmouth road to see the buildings he recognised. He caught sight of a fellow student at Legion high and began to wonder about school.
Thankfully it was the weekend so he had not really missed anything important in school besides the appointment to help train the underclassmen in fitness exercises. He spent all this time pondering various activities and scenarios in his head that he completely ignored the person standing behind him with blades drawn.
"So my house is just down this stree-" Rhaegah stood confused as Herke stood ready with blades drawn, a look of death in his eyes as he stared Rhaegah down.
Herke suddenly swung at him with seemingly clear intent to kill, making Rhaegah double back still in confusion as Herke gave him no chance to think with continous attacks leaving Rhaegah to only defend himself.
"Why don't you use your dragon powers child?" Herke lunges and takes a swing in a clockwise arc towards Rhaegah's neck.
"Are you shitting me??!!" Rhaegah swiftly arched back to let the blade pass before kicking it out of Herke's hand sending the blade spinning into the air
"You will have no choice but to use them so they can find you" Herke lands and slides to a stop unsheathing another blade before dashing forward keeping the momentum
"What?! You better start making sense or I'm gonna get pissed?" Rhaegah shot forward catching the loose blade and headed straight for Herke.
"It's all your fault!" Herke screamed again as he swung a blade down at Rhaegah who parried the attack well as Herke swung the other blade straight for his neck again which Rhaegah dodged by pushing on the parried blade shaking Herke's footing before sending a kick straight for his gut.
The force pushed Herke a few feet back as he held his stomach in pain before taking off once again towards Rhaegah this time a mandala formed around his hand which began to glow brighter by the second.
"Oh no you don't" Rhaegah uttered as he threw the dagger aiming at the hand which had mandala while cautiously observing the surroundings to see if anyone noticed their exchange. The dagger hit its target sending a trail of blood from the wound it had opened.
Rhaegah took a long look at the enraged figure who stood a few meters from him and began charging towards him with intent to end this confrontation once and for all before things get out of hand.
The figure replied in kind and began charging towards him also when a mandala formed right beside them then began to open wide enough to reveal a person on the other side of the now open gate. They both stopped in their tracks as Herke jumped out of the gate and landed between them before taking a quick leap forward passing them completely and rushing to the other side where some dark elves could be seen in the shadows right before the new Herke smashes into them sending them into the nearby alley rendering them unconscious from the impact.....all but one who opens a gate under both himself and his fallen comrades who all fall into the opened gate which closed as soon as they they had fallen through.
Rhaegah now stood between two Herkes with the most dumbfounded look he had ever had on. He jerked his head back and forth between the both of them wondering what in God's name was happening.
"Before I decide on a course of action.....Why did you think to do something so stupid?" The new Herke asked as this was what Rhaegah had chosen to call him. The enraged Herke stood with a death stare at both Rhaegah and the new Herke before tears began to roll down his cheeks.
"I had to find him...I just had to" The voice now sounding more feminine by the second threw Rhaegah into an exceptional state of shock as the body began to dissipate leaving a smaller and definitely more feminine figure behind.
Two short horns stuck on the sides of violet colored hair, eyes a burning shade of same violet color stared at Rhaegah who still stood confused. The dust cleared finally to reveal a Terra-demon. Deep brown bracers strapped over a long sleeved red jacket with black leather pants and boots a confusing shade of deep red(or was it wine...can't say for sure).
"Okay so who are you and why were you HIM?" Rhaegah asked pointing non-chalantly at Herke
"I would also like to know that myself" Herke added tapping the pointed finger away from himself
"I had to find Neban by whatever means necessary" The female Terra-demon spoke with a shaky voice "He could be in deep despair right now and no one seems to understand this so I had to take control of the situation as I saw fit" She added
"Nala listen to me.....Do you really believe I don't want to do everything in my power to find him?" Herke asked calmly
"Then what are you doing nursing this child?" Nala shot back
"Since it seems we're meant to know each other I suggest we continue this conversation elsewhere before someone sees us and freaks out" Rhaegah came between Herke and Nala before looking back at Nala who didn't seem to be older than him by that much.....if she was indeed older tha he was anyway..."Oi....Nursing?!" Nursing this CHILD?! I refuse to believe you've got the right age to make illogical comments like that"
"Coming with Rhaegah is just one of the reasons I came to this world, the other being gathering information on Neban's whereabouts"
"Since I'm obviously being ignored, I'll just head home then" Rhaegah finally spoke before heading down the street to his apartment.
The words snapped Herke and Nala out of their conversation as Herke went over to her,placed one hand on her shoulder in an attempt to re-assure her.
"I will rescue him without fail I promise you that.....Now you must return and let me handle this" Herke says before taking his leave from her and then runs to catch up with Rhaegah but not before turning to look at Nala who jumped into a newly opened gate assuring him that she took his words to heart making him smile at the thought that he actually convinced her about something.
They then get to Rhaegah's apartment as the door swung open to reveal Walter who seemed like he'd been waiting for him to get to the front door.
"Wait.....has he been waiting for me to get here?"
"He didn't happen to see all that did he?"
"Ok this is a perfect example of complication that I was trying to avoid"
He looked at Walter with the most 'meh' expression he could muster to give out the regular vibe he emits.
"Just where have you been?!" Walter yelled as his view drifted passed Herke to Rhaegah before doing a double take on the figure standing next to him
"And who is this?" Walter asked again
"A friend who's gonna crash here for a while" Rhaegah answered lazily.
"I thought your friend was that little Asian boy"
"My being a loner doesn't restrict me to having just one friend"
"Yeah I understa- wait a minute 'one friend'?" Walter staggered lightly at the realization that he's probably not the one friend. "One friend? so is that me or the asian kid?"
Rhaegah spares him but a glance before turning and heading towards the stairs leading to his room "Take a wild guess" he finally answered as Walter remained down with a pout before stretching out a hand to Herke
"I guess I'll be headed up with him then.....I'm Known as Herke"
"Walter" Walter replies before heading for the door.
Herke makes his way up the stairs to find Rhaegah laying on his bed with eyes shut as though begging for sleep.
"So where are the taverns in this town?" Herke asked with a joyous look on his face
"Taverns?! Ok that's it.....you need some education before I take you anywhere" Rhaegah states getting up from the bed and handing Herke a thick black rectangular object that seemed to feel a little metallic in nature and was quite wide though not so much that it was alarming.
"And what is this object?" Herke asks with the most clueless expression possible as Rhaegah face palms before turning round to face him.
"Its called a laptop"
'Laptop?", the unfamiliar word raising questions in his head. Rhaegah watched as Herke took his time trying to figure out a clue to its purpose. To him, he just adopted a child who had no clue what the world held in store.
"We'll get to that tomorrow....I need to sleep"
"I shall then go-" Herke's senses suddenly as a figure zoomed past the room behind the bed. The figure passed again this time even faster than before. Herke wondered what creature had such hunting aura.
The figure stopped behind the chair opposite him and peeked out the corner. Chills ran down Herke's spine just knowing he was the creature's primary target. The creature stepped into the light, claws perfectly arched with each step. The death glare it directed at Herke sent the aura of a predator to devour his sanity.
Herke draws a blade and takes a battle ready stance for the battle that was to begin any moment now. He glanced over to Rhaegah who merely had his brow raised and his head tilted to the side as if to question Herke's sanity.
With the weapon hand Herke pointed at what he was preparing to battle
"Ohh....and where have you been?" Rhaegah said walking towards the creature. Picking it up he turned to face Herke as the cat yawned and resumed its death glare at Herke.
"This is Mittens"
Rhaegah left home to school the following morning after saying the necessary pleasantries to both Herke and Mittens. Walking down Dartmouth road, he reflects on the events that transpired over the last week from the moment he laid eyes on the massive dragon gate in his dream. He already figured his life was going to take a drastic change just as it did years ago when he first had the dream of the castle.
He pondered on what the past him would have handled the events from the day he willingly let a dangerous person like Nygel waltz into his house. Coming from the other side of the door that day was an aura..... Yet more like a feeling of immense power which briefly reminded him of dragon from his dream.
This man not only found out where he lived, but he also knew Rhaegah by name making him feel like all efforts at resistance would end up with his own defeat. Slipping into the memory of Nygel projecting the image of Valoren in ways sci-fi holograms would wish to be, he then confirmed his fear that his life was indeed going to take a drastic turn. All these thoughts appeared as the start of a marathon which would go on forever. He looked at his current life and saw that going down that road will be something he would come to regret. But instead why not see where this hobo's story goes.
Realizing he'd already gotten to Hampton Inn on Christopher point road which was his marker to head towards the bay which was right of the inn. He stopped short of the bend, taking a good look at his surroundings. The view was clearer than he thought possible making him relish the idea of being a dragon-born. His senses were heightened beyond his wildest imaginations. He could clearly distinguish every colour the human eye could possibly distinguish along with with the sounds that were now all too obvious from the flapping of wings as birds flew overhead to the sound of the wind even to the steps and idle chatter of people around.
This was something he never would have done. To bask in the beauty and rhythm of the world outside his house. "You're so not stealthy" he chuckled to himself before walking along to the bay but not before glancing at the strange hawk that had been following him the whole time as it sat on the roof of a building a few blocks back. The image of Rhaegah projected on the hawk's eyes burning a knowing look in the creature's mind.
"Hahahahaha!!!!!!!!...... I admit boy, you are indeed something" Herke laughed as he jerked around on the couch in the living room at Rhaegah's house. The image of Rhaegah staring back at him made him question what they really knew about this lad. He then watched Rhaegah go down the entrance to the underground passage of the bay through the shared sense he had with the hawk, Herke concluded that he would be fine on his own....at least for today. The hawk suddenly jerked it's head to the side facing an alley about two block from Rhaegah's house. Shadows danced around in an attempt to avoid detection while heading to Rhaegah's.
The hawk began to dissipate leaving Herke with his own senses as a smile perked on his lips. "You have my thanks Rhava...I shall summon you when necessary" Herke stated already in his scout gear consisting of a brown leather armour with light dwarven metal chest plates buried under the leather, firm braces made from Elven fabrics granting him firm and balanced handling of the Elven bow he strung on his back. Black cotton trousers and high black boots. Rhaegah had informed him that his unique sense of fashion would easily stand out in modern day society but Herke would have nine of that. He wore a black hooded cloak which covered most of him leaving his boots exposed of course. He put up the hood and headed out to greet whatever was coming for him.
Leaving through the window in the guest room upstairs, he gets on the roof and begins his dash towards the oncoming guests. Making his way over several rooftops he lands in an alley that seemed to prevent light from getting in. Three shadows moved around him in an instant before stopping at specific locations around him trapping him in a triangular formation. "Before we begin let me ask you this.... Do you know where Neban is being kept?"
Rhaegah looked around in his class where students would rather be with their phones than try to understand the fundamentals of what their universe is based on.....physics that is. "Just where did you go last weekend....Rhae....san??" Kaneko spoke from the seat behind Rhaegah. Thinking about it now Rhaegah had not seen or spoken to Kaneko since he got back. "I'd like to meet the girl who dragged you away from home" he added. "Graduation plans" Rhaegah blankly replied. That's right...he would be graduating from this experimental institution. He always found the whole school to be suspicious from the day he set foot in the school.
On the outside it was really just a school just perfect in every way, the school was so massive it literally was it's own large island, but what didn't make sense was what they were going to do with all of it. They termed it the research sector which Rhaegah believed was necessary to further general studies but the problem was that the research section took up ninety percent of the entire island. All the buildings that were relating to the school itself were contained in just that ten percent of the whole island. Just what kind of research was going on there and to make matters worse the deeper you try to go into the island one would come across security measures that made it seem like all the world leaders were having a meeting deciding the fate of the world (basically it was too much for a school). The most troubling thing was that no one....absolutely no one knows who the founder of the school is not even the executive board of the school except Walter who told him that his benefactor was also the founder of Legion high.
"Do you ever wonder why this school was built in the first place?" Rhaegah asked without looking towards Kaneko. The Japanese boy stared questionably at Rhaegah trying to figure out what brought this on. As far back as Kaneko could remember, Rhaegah had his occasional disputes on the logic behind the creation of specific aspects of the school but never the creation of the school itself. Looking out into the class of ignorant rich kids who dominated the school he let out a sigh and chuckled lightly "None of it makes sense huh? The school seems like a front for whatever is going on in the research sector". Seeing as Rhaegah kept his gaze and didn't even turn showed he had been thinking the same thing. Kaneko then leaned towards Rhaegah "I know how we can find out" He whispered into Rhaegah's ear. The question brought up even more questions in Rhaegah's head but he simply turned to face his friend who had a satisfied look on his face "Oh now you're interested huh?.....Tell you what, stick around in front of the restricted area by the stadium after school" Kaneko stated ending the conversation before standing and heading for the door. "What's happeni-" "Just be there after school" Kaneko shot back leaving Rhaegah in deep thought as to what the hell was going on. Deciding to leave it till later he rests his head on the desk just remembering he had magic training with Herke later. "The average life of a dragon-born I guess" He muttered to himself as he drifted into his subconscious.
VORFALS: VALOREN
Auia and Nala make their way towards the guild meeting room before stopping short of the door leading to the meeting room. Nala who had been walking a few steps behind Auia stopped in her tracks still a few feet away as though she was waiting for a scolding. "I was against bringing you along for this but Symmone would have it no other way so I will say this just this once... Do not make him regret it" With that she swung the door open to reveal Symmone and Nygel discussing what both of them have come up with in terms of the plan to get Neban back. "I am telling you the boy is not ready yet" Symmone yelled at Nygel who did not seem fazed by the intimidating stare Symmone always tried to use to convince him. Realizing that Symmone must have gotten desperate in his effort to convince him he let out a defeated sigh then looked straight at Symmone with new found resolve. "Would you at least listen to my proposal before you conclude?". Auia simply watched the two throughout the exchange before walking towards them with great interest in what Nygel would propose. "Now that both of you are here I can explain further".
LEGION HIGH: EARTH
Rhaegah had been waiting outside the restricted area Kaneko had told him about for a while now. Refusing to check his watch rid him of the thought having to be upset by how long he'd been waiting. Looking at the wall that stood between himself and the restricted area he realized that there was an inscription he hadn't noticed before.
'FUNDAMENTALS'
Fundamentals? Of what? Just what fundamentals need to be restricted?.
As though to answer his questions, a section of the wall slid open to reveal a figure in a lab coat much younger than he was. The young girl simply stood there in high boots and long dark grey suit pants and a white shirt staring blankly at him before letting out a satisfactory grin "So you're the one he's been talking about" she stated. She motioned for him to come closer brushing to the side the bronze hair obstructing her view. Her hazel eyes gave him the confidence that his questions would be answered. "What's in there?" He finally spoke redirecting his gaze from the girl to the hallway behind her. Nothing but metal walls with lights running down both sides of the wall. "Do you believe in magic?" she asked causing Rhaegah to nearly stumble with the amount of thoughts that raced through his mind. Looking back at the girl who still had her eyes locked on him with an unchanging expression he realized that this was in fact a serious question. "First off why would someone from a science research facility ask me tha-"
"Anna!! So this is where you've been... Couldn't keep yourself from going out could you?" A voice bellowed from the hallway behind her revealing an older man probably in his 50s with a shirt tucked into a pair of regular trousers. Rhaegah figured he was the type to always work without paying attention to his wardrobe. A workaholic research scientist? He thought to himself. He believed the only reason one could be too engrossed in research was if you felt you were on the verge of a breakthrough.... Unless you've gone mad of course. This man was no madman, meaning there was something interesting on the other side of that hallway...something Rhaegah now really wanted to know. "Hope she wasn't trying to impose her preposterous magic theory on you... My daughter has such an imagination" the man spoke again snapping Rhaegah out of it. "She doesn't quite get what we're doing here is all" he added motioning for Anna to head back inside. Rhaegah couldn't help but argue within himself... He was certain that girl was beyond confident in her question. Besides even if he didn't want to agree with her, he's aware of the existence of magic except...
Everything I know concerning magic came from Valoren. Do these guys know of Valoren? What exactly are they researching in there? Is that what this entire island was built for?
He couldn't hold his curiosity any longer and decided to try his luck... So far he hadn't been turned away. "What exactly are you working on?" The man simply turned to face him, "I am Dr Mansdak, and you must be Rhaegah... Kaneko speaks highly of you" he stated with a smile. "I see" Rhaegah was loosing his patience but he couldn't dare to leave now. "Follow me" Dr Mansdak began walking down the hallway "There have always been mysteries in our world" he continued "Rumors and myths have existed long before either of us came into being. From the gods to the concept of aliens, these stories have been in existence since the time of our forefathers whom we can both agree were not so bright compared to the current civilization. People say they didn't know better so they classified all those things as the rambles of ancient men who did not understand the concept of science." seeing as the good doctor was now so immersed in his story, Rhaegah took his chance to slow down a bit till he was a bit farther from him. He ran his hands along the wall to realize they were not metal wall at all rather they were more like glass walls... Glass walls?? That's... Different. "But one fact remains" Dr Mansdak trailed on "Even with the advancement of science we've never been able to prove any of them wrong. This facility was founded to research all these mysteries as they could very well be the next breakthrough in science we've been looking for".
"Searching the past to unlock the future.....So something like this was going on here" Rhaegah stated as the door at the end of the hallway slid open. The room was filled with computers and a large screen on the other side of the room. It had the same glass walls making Rhaegah feel as though this was the theme proposed. A door found its way into the corner of Rhaegah's eyes showing him the entrance to new discovery.
Herke stood in the middle of a few unconscious elves while still hanging onto one whose will seemed to be broken already. "I believe you were about to reveal the location of my comrade Neban". "He is definitely beyond your reach.... Vile human" the elf replied with a wide grin signifying the descent to madness. He tossed the elf aside making his way out of the area and headed for Rhaegah's house. He steps out of the little crater he'd formed in his fight with the elves. A few broken down walls and too many elves to round up. He'd heard that the elves had gotten ahold of that human city but he did not expect this turnout. The initial group of elves that he knocked out on arrival were not reported anywhere and even more surprising was the perfect restructuring of the area hiding any evidence of the clashes they'd been having.
Suddenly a chill went down Herke's spine causing him to turn around swiftly to face the view behind him. He drew his dagger and took a deadly pose awaiting any who would emerge from the shadows or from intersecting alleyways. "The Wildlands..." Herke reacted to the whisper from behind him and spun with blinding speed and swung his dagger in an outward arc to slice the chest of whoever spoke to him. With the swing of his blade the figure was gone. "Show yourself!!" Herke demanded knowing it would fall on deaf ears. "He is being held in the Wildlands...." Herke turned to his left to see the hooded figure standing in place within reach. At first he had intended to attack the figure but seeing as he was not in any way attacked by said figure, he would hear what he had to say. "The elves have established a base there though I know not of their relationship with the beastmen" the figure turn turned to leave not before looking back at Herke and giving him a warning.
Herke got home and collapsed in a chair. "Heed my warning..... The boy must go along with you or you have no chance of surviving" the words burned in his mind 'who was that? Just how did he know so much? He chose to relay that to Symmone later.
Rhaegah had spent a great deal of time with Dr Mansdak in the Fundamentals sector of the research facility. Fundamentals being the stage where the basics of conspiracies were being deciphered. Time seems to crawl as the completely sealed room slightly eliminated the feeling of time passing. "You have a good head on your shoulders, won't you think about signing up here after your graduation?" Looking at the situation so far, they'd done nothing more than discuss already obvious conspiracies that high school students talk about. There had to be more to this facility than that, or was this just another 'billionaire idea' that exists just to take people off the important things and lead them round a mindless loop. "I will definitely give it some thought" Rhaegah respectfully replied not wanting to sound as though his enthusiasm was lacking. Telling himself he'd just let his mood decide for him that day, he turned to step out of the room and into the hallway to the exit, his eyes meet Anna's staring blankly at him as though bored of everything so far. Thinking back to their first encounter he remembered the glint in her eyes when she asked him that question. That expression compared to the bored one she had in the Fundamentals Sector, was something that made him curious. 'just what would bring up that amount of excitement when all I've seen so far is basic rebellion against society'
The door slid shut behind leaving him with the regular occurings of the outside. 'But still, why did she ask me that? Right after I discover that magic is genuinely a thing, some random scientist in LEGION asks about magic?' Realizing it was getting dark, he hurries home unaware of the figure in a lone chair staring a few feet from the sector. "And thus begins your tale.....young dragon" Rhaegah reacted to the whisper turning to scan the area for the cause of his sudden chill. He notices am empty lone chair just a few feet from the sector and nothing else. He brushes it off as his imagination and continues home. He opens his front door to meet a growling Mittens glaring at Herke who had a bucket in hand and beads of sweat running down his face.
"You tried to give him a bath didn't you?" Rhaegah asked understanding the situation all too well. "How did you come by such a monster?" Herke asked ignoring Mittens' snarl at the question. "This battle has stretched on for three of hour earth hours" Rhaegah dropped his bag and walked to the kitchen area, picked up his herbal mix from a nearby cabinet. He'd prepared the mix before he left for Valoren. It was supposed to relieve his stress and he needed a massive dose before attempting to intervene in the bath dilemma. He took the mix with a syrup for the taste. "What is that for anyway? You had some before you left at dawn today did you not?"
"Let's just say it relaxes me" Rhaegah replied making his way towards Herke "How bout we begin training?" The question brought so much joy to Herke that it was boldly written on his face as he lit up with the thought. He put down the bucket fully immersed in the conversation at hand as Mittens snuck past him and headed upstairs with a level of stealth that would put most ninjas to shame. "I see you're fired up..... You're curious to see what I've really got aren't you?" Herke replied with a bright smile signifying that Rhaegah had hit the nail on the head. Rhaegah had been thinking about the research facility since he left the school that evening. Questions rose up in his head as thoughts seemed to never stop flowing. He wondered why Kaneko brought up the topic of the facility in the first place. Did Kaneko know that what was going on in that room were discussions on topics too boring to remember? Or was there really more to it? Considering all that, he decides to discuss it with Kaneko and figure that out. He still had the issue of Valoren. He was still new to this dragon-born thing and has almost no knowledge or skill in magic yet. He convinces himself to focus on that for now..... Building his power as a dragon-born was the first step open to him currently. His phone rings up at the alert of a message bringing his attention to the screen. He chuckled at the thought that his prediction kept proving to never fail... The fact that his life was going to take a drastic turn as it did before from the moment he laid eyes on the dragon door behind the throne in his dream. 'IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE FACILITY IS TRULY ABOUT, MEET ME AT THE SECTOR ON THE DATE YOU WILL BE PROVIDED. YOU'LL COME TO REALIZE THAT MY FATHER IS NOT THE GENIUS YOU THINK HE IS'. He closed the text message still staring at the screen, the moment of revelation seemed to draw even closer. "And thus begins my tale" he said to himself wondering where he'd heard those words before. The week went by without many problems. Kaneko had been absent from school all week and was unreachable through the phone, giving Rhaegah a feeling he could not describe nor interpret.
Rhaegah stood at the center of an underground training structure which was where he had training sessions with Walter in all things combat. He never understood why he was going through all that training anyway.
The basement was located a short distance from his place right beneath the park a couple blocks away. The basement was large enough to contain fifty to sixty people max. The walls were made of a dark metal as well as the floor though Rhaegah felt the floor had a layer of a certain cushion material to give it a slightly softer feel even with the metal layer on top. Two rows of white boards above gave light to the basement revealing the weapons rack though besides the bow that hung atop the rack Walter had never authorized training with any lethal weapons. Rhaegah already figured that Walter was just being careful and decided to wait till he deemed him ready to train with actual weapons. Everything from different assault rifles to master crafted katanas and blades to staves as well. A console table stood a few feet from the weapons rack facing the rest of the room. The console was for selecting specific training simulations with the aid of the training dummies. Rhaegah was absolutely sure there were no cameras in that basement first from Walter who even seemed happy with the thought that there was nothing imposing on their privacy. Second, Rhaegah had searched the whole place himself and found nothing assuring him that they could practice magic here without fear of being seen.
Beads of sweat ran down his face while he stood there staring at his opponent..... The practice dummy. Ever since they began training a few days ago, Herke realize that Rhaegah was beyond him. In sheer power the young dragon outclassed him even though the boy did not know of this. Rhaegah's use of magic was different from the traditional mage on Valoren. The average mage would cast magic by reciting spells that create mandalas for a desired magic spell. The mandala was a means of making spell casting easier by drawing contracts with your magic affinity while Rhaegah was doing none of that. He treated his magic powers as an extension of himself. He used his magic not as recited spells but but more like a means of enchantment. Enchantment meaning he uses his magic as a boost to his natural abilities. He wrapped his hands in lightning and gained enough power to cut through almost anything he tried to cut. His new found ability had greatly boosted his speed and agility and even served as a little wall of defense letting out a little jolt if he was touched in that state. If Herke had born on Earth he'd realize that Rhaegah seemed more like a superhero than a mage. Still Herke had a little bit of fear everytime Rhaegah used his magic as he could feel tremendous power from him. He had no idea what sort of training this was but it was not magic casting no matter how he looked at it. The biggest question was where Rhaegah learnt the few spells he would recite before launching an attack.....spells he did not recognize. Rhaegah was casting spells as though he'd seen them done before while keeping up his training. Rhaegah had spent most of the week trying out various moves he'd seen in movies and anime involving lightning users. He'd been getting a kick out of bringing fictional moves to life. He honestly had not done any real training to speak of all week.
He let the lightning flow through him and gather in his right hand with a large enough charge that was clearly visible and loud with the crackle of lightning. He charged at the dummy at a steady pace at first. After covering half the distance he burst forth with an explosive force. He covered the remaining distance in a moment, trails of dust following closely before catching up to him. Now within breathing distance from the dummy, he stretched his charged hand towards it's chest and let out a low chant... "CHIDORI!!!". At the sound of that he struck the dummy, the lightning around his hand began splitting the chest region of the dummy till his whole hand pierced clean through to the other side. Herke watched the ordeal and was caught in a train of thought 'What are those spells? And just how did Rhaegah learn them?' he thought to himself while observing Rhaegah's right hand. The spell was without a doubt powerful because it is no easy feat to gather pure elemental power without the aid of a mandala and still give off something that powerful. Rhaegah stood in place a few feet from the training dummy, eyes closed to concentrate even more. Feeling the surge within him he opens his eyes as a cloak of lightning instantly formed around him. It vanishes from sight as soon as it was constructed leaving Rhaegah standing in place before suddenly shifting his position thus vanishing from sight and reappearing behind the dummy in a flash of lightning, striking the dummy and once again disappearing from sight and reappearing at another random location in the basement.
After seven to eight disappearing acts he appears again a few feet in front of the dummy, the lightning cloak dissipating as soon as he halted his movements. He looked towards Herke whose eyes were wide with shock. Herke had been rendered speechless by what he had just witnessed. It was clear that Rhaegah had yet to realize what he was accomplishing obvious by his clueless expression. Such movements would convince anyone that Rhaegah was obviously using teleportation magic when truly he was only running at extremely high speeds by blending with the current in his lightning cloak. Even an elite mage would find it difficult to maintain that cloak but not only did he sustained it, he managed to perform high speed movement and still have more power to attack in that condition. "Auia would be wise to not underestimate you" Herke broke the silence "I'm certain Neban acknowledged your power even for one who respects Auia's skill and potential"
Rhaegah also practiced with his twin swords and greatly improved his sword skills. Over the course of the week Herke noticed Rhaegah's constant stare at a bow that hung on the wall behind the training dummy to the left of where Herke stood watching Rhaegah. Not able to keep his curiosity hidden anymore Herke walked over to the bow noticing Rhaegah's eyes follow him. "Why not test your skill with the bow?" Herke turned to face Rhaegah "You cast your gaze on this bow from time to time..... Why do you decide not to pick it up?". Rhaegah maintained his stare at the bow, an uneasiness he'd been keeping underneath began to resurface. "That thing scares me" With that he walked to the console and put in several commands and made his way to the center of the room. Those words brought curiosity to Herke, just did this monster have to be scared of..... About a weapon no less. Rhaegah stopped at the center then pointed one sword to Herke who was still standing under the bow "Come..... Let's have a match".
Herke could tell that behind Rhaegah's smile was a serious challenge. Thinking back he realized he'd been avoiding a match with Rhaegah since they got here not because he believed he would lose rather he did not want to push Rhaegah too hard and make him go on a rampage given the result of the encounter with Lorris. In that situation he would have no means of subduing him alone. Regardless, he'd been dying to spar with the young dragon since his match against Auia. He needed to witness the power of the dragonborn firsthand. "It would seem it is unavoidable"
He stepped away from the bow and began walking towards Rhaegah who did not want to allow Herke some time to think. He dropped his swords and began charging towards Herke. With each step he increased in speed and in mere moments he was close enough to launch an attack. Rhaegah launched a fist towards Herke who anticipated the sudden attack and drove a punch towards Rhaegah in an attempt to counter. The result..... A clash of fists sent shock waves around the room. After the tremor subsided they rained a barrage of hits at each other. Herke's fighting style was unpredictable, a little unorthodox and just seemed crazy. There was almost no way of predicting where he'd hit next. Thanks to Rhaegah's exceptionally hard exterior he withstood the attacks that landed on him. "Your style is wild..... You seem to fight without composure but that's a ploy to let your opponent underestimate you" Rhaegah stated between hits. They broke apart giving some distance from one another. Rhaegah picked his swords still not sure why that style of fighting seemed so familiar. He turned to face Herke letting out a slight chuckle. Herke had summoned his weapon revealed by the glowing mandala that formed above Herke. He grabbed it and spun the weapon in place before locking it between his right arm and his right side letting the staff stick out firmly with his left arm stretched towards Rhaegah as though daring him to come forth. What sated Rhaegah's curiosity and resulted in the chuckle was that Herke entered this pose on one leg. "Hahahaha I see..... You remind me of the monkey king" Rhaegah stated gripping his swords tightly and taking an attack stance.
Just before beginning his charge at Herke, he noticed that Herke's focus was not present. He wondered what he was thinking about that led to this sudden halt in his steps. "We have to leave for Valoren" Herke broke the silence knowing Rhaegah would be curious. "Something happen?" Rhaegah asked seeing that Herke was really troubled. "I have no way of knowing at this time but.... Something is very wrong" Herke replied. They had come to the basement with plans to stay for the whole weekend. The basement doubled as a shelter Rhaegah guessed was intended to support long term training. Rhaegah had come with at least three days worth of clothes not counting his favourite black hoodie with a depiction of a red fan boldly printed rather back.... Something from an anime perhaps. As an otaku he loved wearing this hoodie regardless of where he was headed. Confirming that they had no reason to head home first, he turns to Herke who was still lost in thought. The fact that he was this bothered about it gave Rhaegah the impression that something was terribly wrong. "You can open a gate from this basement right?" "What?!... Ah yes I most certainly can" Herke replied snapping out of it. "Well then..... Might as well" Rhaegah stated strapping his backpack, his high top boots as well under night black jeans. He put on a plain black top and of course, he put his hoodie on over it. He walked to where Herke had his palm on the wall and was reciting a spell in a foreign language. Inscriptions began forming along with glowing circles enclosing the inscriptions that were written.
The center area then revealed the Legion guild meeting room exactly the way Rhaegah remembered it. Herke went through without hesitation while Rhaegah stopped short of the gate and took one last look at his phone which he had abandoned since the day before as a message caught his attention. 'MEET ME AT THE RESEARCH FACILITY TOMORROW AT 10:00AM AND I'LL ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FACILITY... ANNA'. Looking at the date he realized that the message had come in the day before making today the day of the meet. Rhaegah chuckled at the irony of the situation. He'd been waiting for Anna to get back to him before any issue from Valoren came up and now he's just seeing this message right when he's to step into another world. He closes the message and walks through the gate now standing in the guild meeting room. Rhaegah looks to his left to see Herke restrained by two unfamiliar faces, he looks straight ahead and sees Symmone lunging at him dagger in hand. Rhaegah took a step back before hitting the wall behind. "Shit!!! The gate's closed already". He turns his gaze to Symmone who was now within a dangerous distance from him, demon aura the only thing Rhaegah can feel.
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
A lone figure sat behind a large screen in a room deprived of light. On the screen was a clip playing in a cycle. The clip showed an underground basement as two figures walk through a portal created on the wall of the basement. The clip paused on the frame of a boy in a black hoodie staring at his phone and standing at the foot of the portal. "So that's what you've been up to" The figure behind the screen spoke before playing the clip watching Rhaegah walk through the portal.