Elric woke up in an unfamiliar grassy field. Everything he saw was too bizarre for one to imagine. There are no stars in the sky, the atmosphere was cold and misty while fireflies surrounded him showcasing a dreamlike view.
He slowly stood up and felt elated realizing that he is now back to his normal human body. But Elric realized that his senses were still the same as when he became a half-dragon. His eyes are sharp, his hearing is as acute as ever and his sense of smell was incredible. However, the power of the Ancestral Level Dragon has finally dissapeared and he felt like he was just another normal human aside from his exceptional senses.
Slowly he walked out of the grassy field only to reach a dead end. What he saw next made his eyes grow in surprise.
All he could see is a thick white mist covering the wide gloomy black water. There are no stars in the sky but he could see five giant bright moons of varying colors scattered all across the deep purple sky.
The smallest moon was glowing in bright blue color and the biggest one was a mixture of orange and red and glowed the brightest.
The more Elric focused his sight on these moons, the more he realizes that they are not that far away. He could probably reach these moons if he can just fly high enough!
The atmosphere was mysterious while the air was cold and eerie.
Suddenly, he saw a giant scally head from the north direction and realized that he was actually riding in a giant turtle.
The turtle was the size of a giant ship and with its back fully covered in soft mushy grass! Elric could feel the turtle was swimming in the dark waters and was struck with sudden overwhelming questions.
Where am I? What happened? What is this?
Elric's face was confused with hundreds of questions. His mind wandered back to his recent memory and he recalled the night when he left home. He remembered the fight against the Mananangal and the Kapre, the unexpected meeting with an Ancestral Dragon and the unbelievable battle that followed after.
He remembered his losing his grandma by his own hands and the light that devoured him after.
Unexpectedly, despite all of those overwhelming events, Elric's heart was calm and serene. Not a hint of anger nor any forms of negativity polluted his mind. He felt pure and free.
What is this unexplainable feeling of calmness and serenity? What happened to me?
Elric decided to throw away the questions for now and walked slowly closer to the turtle's head.
"So you are finally awake kid..." An old but heavy voice that seems to resound in his mind suddenly got Elric's attention before he could walk even closer.
"This giant turtle can talk to me?" Elric was surprised upon hearing the Giant Turtle speaking to him.
"I am old enough to learn to communicate through everyone's mind."
"Wow! A giant turtle that can actually communicate to me?!"
"My name is not Giant Turtle. I am the legendary Turtle of the Abys called Overwhelming Mighty Grand Dash!"
Elric was stunned upon hearing the ridiculous name of the giant turtle. He could feel that the latter was even proud of its unnecessarily long name.
"Isn't your name too long Mr. Overwhelming Mighty Grand Dash?"
"You have a problem with that?!" The giant turtle replied with a hostile tone.
"Not Mister Overwhelming Mighty Grand Dash."
"If you don't mind, can I call you OMG Dash?"
"What do you mean OMG Dash?"
"It stands for Overwhelming Mighty Grand Dash. It may be shorter but it has the same meaning." Elric tried to reason.
"Hmmm.. Whatever. Suit yourself Hugon kid."
"Hugon?" Elric was confused with the new word he just heard.
"You are a Hugon. Half a Human and half a Dragon. I don't meet a lot of your kind but you sure are something else."
Elric's eyes were clouded with even more questions as the giant turtle continued.
"The great Seer Mata of the Red Moon has predicted an unprecedented event that is to happen in the future and she sent me to save you and bring you away from danger."
"Save me? Great Seer Mata?"
"I know you have plenty of questions right now Hugon kid. The Great Seer Mata will explain everything to you further when we get there. As what actually happened, to put it short, I save you from the hands of the angry Dragons."
Elric went for a momentary pause as scenes of the previous battle started playing in his mind. He remembered meeting Lesse, the sudden appearance of the Ancestral Dragon, the battle against the different Dragons and his rampaging that took countless of human lives and lastly, the message of the mysterious voice before the blinding light.
"I am an elemental and live in the world of Elementals." The giant turtle started elaborating even further.
"The God Reckoning Tribulation has sealed the negative energy inside you which explains why you are in your current controllable state, but at the same time, it also left you weak and unconscious. Under the guidance of the great Seer Mata, I took the perfect timing to enter the human realm just to pick you up and dive back to the Elemental Realm before the scheming Guardians and mad dragons get their hands on you."
With a quick pause, the giant turtle had a cocky face and added.
"Hehe!I bet they're currently losing their minds trying to find you. hehehe"
Elric continued to listen intently. His eyes were full of complicated emotions under the glow of the five giant moons across the purple night sky. And after calming himself down, Elric smiled.
"I see. Thank you for saving me Mister OMG Dash."
"Hmp.." The giant turtle's scally face had an obvious proud look upon hearing his new title.
Elric still has a lot of questions in his mind that needs an answer than bothering to ridiculous name.
Elric became silent for a moment as he recalled the troubles that happened so far. The more he founds out about this place, the more mysterious it becomes.
After a few more days in actual time, Elric did not feel hungry at all and their journey continued without a single stop. The wide black water continued to span over the horizon bringing the limitless feeling of boredom and darkness.
"Wait...I sense something. Do you see that-" Elric's senses suddenly perked up from his instinct?
"Brace yourselves, hugon kid!"
WOOOOOSHHH!!~
Before Elric could continue his question, the giant turtle suddenly jumped up of the water like a bird! Contrary to his size, the turtle leaped from the water with the flexibility of a frog!
A millisecond later another giant black snake as big as the giant turtle whizzed away as its attack that aimed at Elric missed.
The huge and shining scales of this deadly giant snake glittered with creepy flashes as it repositioned itself for another attack!
SSSSHHHHHHHHSSS~
Its huge black tongued slide out of its mouth while its two huge fangs immersed a deadly poison and like a spring, it went for another attack!
Surprisingly, the giant turtle danced in the air like a bird and skillfully avoided the giant snake's attack!
SNAP!
The giant turtle's mouth pricked open revealing a razor-sharp beak and bit the snake's neck! It proceeded with a relentless thrashing that leads to a furious battle of strength.
Elric witnessed the battle and was surprised by OMG Dash's incredible speed in battling the giant snake. He truly does deserve the name and title of Legendary Overwhelming Mighty Grand Dash!
The giant snake tried its best to coil again the giant turtle only to have its head gripped with even more force resulting in the snake losing its body control.
"How dare are you to attack the legendary OMG DASH!" the giant turtle shouted in confidence.
And with another powerful bite, the snake's head was finally severed. OMG Dash finally lets go of the giant snake's body as it quickly limped lifelessly back under the black water.
And just like that, the giant turtle went back to its normal slow speed and continued to paddle towards their destination.
Elric could not utter a single word from what just happened. A giant turtle just snapped a giant snake's head before his very eyes and the giant turtle acted like it was as if everything was normal!
"This is it." Suddenly the giant turtle talked.
"Have we arrived?" Elric immediately asked.
"No. This is the gate. That snake was just a test to those who wanted to try to reach the Palace of the Red Moon."
"That was a test?!" Elric's mouth gaped in surprise.
The giant turtle's body slowly ascended in the air with a proud face. They flew across the fantasy-like sky greeted by five giant moons with different colors.
Elric sat helplessly at the back of the turtle's shell and got an even better view of the black sea he came from. The higher they go up, the more his eyes glowed in astonishment.
The black sea was limitless and continued to span all over the horizon!
"Welcome to the World of the Elementals hugon kid." The giant turtle said.
"It is here where your questions will be answered, the truths will be revealed and your true self will be discovered."