Lucia bowed to Karna and Sora. "Thanks to both of you for all your help. We may have all perished if it weren't for the two of you." Karna shook his head. "Don't mention it. You let us stay at your house, so it was the least we could do."
"We should part ways now; Vroborg is awfully far away." Velvet nodded. "We need to get going." Lucia waved goodbye as she watched Karna, Sora, and Velvet head out on their way.
Sora pointed to the east. "It's been a month, but we're finally here." Karna scanned the empire and was somewhat disappointed. Sobloeze was breath-taking; he had hoped Vroborg would be impressive at the very least. But there was nothing spectacular to see, much to his dismay. It was almost too ordinary. The three trekked through a forest, planning to get to the empire before nighttime.
Ye Olde Ocean was the nearest inn, so Sora suggested they book there. It was already midnight, and the three were quite weary. Karna walked up to the person sitting on the desk. "Excuse me, how much is it to rent a room for a day?"
"About 5 gold coins. It costs 2 extra for every person, and 3 people max per room." Sora sighed. "That's expensive, but I guess it'll have to do for now." He dropped a handful of gold coins on the desk. "One room for three, please."
Karna put his pack down on the floor and lay down on the bed. "Hey, Sora, we have a thousand gold coins between you, Velvet, and me. We can stay here for a while, right?" Sora shrugged. "Perhaps. I personally want to save as much money as possible in case we need it, but I suppose we can indulge ourselves every once in a while." He unrolled a sleeping bag and placed it on the floor. "I'll sleep down here. You and Velvet can take the bed."
"Yeah, sure... wait, what?!" Karna's face flushed. Sora grinned. "Isn't she supposed to be your wife? Nighty-night." He lay down and started snoring, although Karna knew he was pretending. Sora never snored in his sleep. Velvet came into the room. "Oh, so you two were going to bed without me?" She crossed her arms. Karna shook his head. "Well, I'm still awake. Sora here is trying to mock me."
"I see. Anyhow, it looks like I'll have to sleep with you since there isn't another bed."
"Wait, you don't mind?" Velvet shook her head. "No, not at all. I'm just going to sleep in the same bed as you. It's not like you're going to bed me unless you want to, of course. Do you want to?" Karna's face was scarlet, and Velvet started cracking up. Karna pouted. "I told you to stop teasing me already."
"Sorry, Karna, but it's amusing to see you getting all flustered." She took off her dress and lay down beside Karna in nothing but her underwear. "Do you like what you see?" Velvet giggled as Karna's cheeks became red. She twirled her finger in his hair. "I can't sleep with clothes on, in case you think I'm still fooling around." She lay on top of him, resting her head on top of his chest. "You're attractive, you know that? But I promise not to do anything without your consent."
"You seem to be in good spirits despite the fact we almost died back in Sobloeze."
"We're not dead. That's enough reason to be happy. Now I'm sleeping with my future husband. What's there to be sad about?"
"You're an optimist." Velvet sat up and made a face. "You mean you don't want to be in bed with me?" Karna shook his head. "I'm happy that I can be together with you like this; I just wished you went easier on me."
"I admit I've been teasing you too much. Here's my apology." She brought her face down to his. Karna tasted her wet lips as he felt her hungry tongue delve into his mouth. "Do you accept?" Karna nodded. "Yeah. I really liked it."
Velvet stroked his hair. "Do you want more?"
"Mm-hmm." Velvet smiled, placing her palm on his cheek as she kissed him again and again under the thick of night.
Sora was shocked. The king was a lot younger than he expected. He had cropped hair, a lean build, and resembled a commoner in appearance if it were not for the crown on his head. "Greetings!" He extended his hand out to Karna. "It is an honor to meet the new Cahaya!" Karna shook his hand. "I must be popular if you know about me."
"Indeed, you are. I've heard wondrous stories of how you killed a basilisk and ate it, bones and all. Quite fitting for a fairy tale, don't you think?" Karna smiled. "I suppose so. More importantly, you said there was a big problem you'd like me to fix?" The king nodded. "A dragon has been spotted on the outskirts of the empire. Every night, it sweeps down into Asohand and devours everyone there. We have reason to believe it's also responsible for the pollution of several of our water sources. I would be grateful if you could rid my land of such a horrid beast."
"I'll see to it, then." The king nodded joyously. "Excellent! A few of my soldiers will escort you there. I wish you the best of luck!" The king motioned for five men, all clad in battle armor, to go to Karna as he waved them goodbye.
The moon had risen in the sky, and just as expected, a dragon swooped down to the ground. Its body was a mass of obsidian scales, and its wings were twice the size of a human. Sora tapped Karna on the back. "How do you want to take care of it?"
"I'll distract it. You and Velvet can attack it from the rear while its guard is down." Sora nodded as Karna flew in the air. "Matahari!" Arrows pierced the dragon's skin. It wailed in pain and then roared as it flapped its wings and spat out black flames. Karna flew out of the way and shot an arrow at its eye, which burst into flames.
Sora signaled to Velvet as Karna fought the dragon. "In three seconds, we'll both attack the dragon. Ready?" Velvet nodded. "Angin!" Her blue dress was replaced with a lime robe and a staff of the same color. "Why are you making that face?"
"I'm shocked. I didn't know peyalans could use the Cahaya's powers. What did you two do last night?" Velvet blushed, then sighed. "Now, I know how Karna feels every time I tease him."
"You sure do. Anyway, get ready. It's coming our way." Karna was leading the dragon near Sora and Velvet, although the dragon was unaware of that. Sora aimed his bow, while Velvet began swirling her staff.
The dragon winced in pain, its eyes wide as a blue arrow penetrated its body. A green hurricane swirled around the dragon, who was too weak to fly out of it. Its body dissolved into black crumbs that were carried away by the wind. It had been defeated.
Karna saw a silhouette of some creature out of the corners of his eyes. It accelerated threefold towards Sora and Velvet, knocking Sora into the ground. Velvet jumped back, and Karna saw that the creature was humanoid, except that it had wings and scales on its arms. It mounted in the air as it swung its arm at Karna, who barely avoided it. Karna shot at arrow at the creature's chest, but it just bounced off harmlessly. Karna switched to his spear and charged. A sword appeared in the creature's hand, and it parried. "Goodness, you've got some strength in those arms."
"Was that meant to be sarcasm? You don't seem to have any difficulties in dealing with my attacks." The creature smirked. "I can still see the effort you put it that last stab. You would have cut me in half if I didn't negate the force of your attack."
"Who are you?"
"I am Tiga, the third of the Bawahans. I serve his majesty, lord Yami. It was fun toying with you, but I have other matters to attend to. I'll see you soon, Cahaya." Tiga cackled as he flew away, leaving Karna fraught in silence about his words.
Karna flew down to Velvet, who had her arm around Sora as he slowly walked. "That bastard knocked the wind out of me. I think my ankle's sprained." Karna nodded. "What about you, Velvet? Are you ok?"
"I-I'm fine," she stammered. Sora rolled her eyes. "Now's not the time to be lovestruck." Velvet elbowed him. "Shut up," she whispered. "Anyways, Karna, who was that?"
"He said he was Tiga, the third of the Bawahans. He's most likely one of Yami's underlings."
"If an underling is that tough, I can't even fathom how we're going to beat Yami as we are now." Karna nodded. "Things are not in our favor as it stands," Visavi spoke in his head. "Master, I think now would be a good time to start the training I recommended."
"Um, Karna, was that-"
"Yes, Velvet, it was Visavi. He said we need to start training ourselves if we want to get stronger."
"I was going to say the same thing," Sora said. "But Karna, you feel it too, right?"
"What are you referring to?"
"This kingdom - it's enveloped with darkness. I found it strange that I sensed it back at the inn. Asohand seems to be the obvious source, but my gut tells me that there's more to it."
"Yeah, I get what you mean. You sensed it again when we met the king this afternoon, right?"
"I found that puzzling. Why would the king ally himself with Yami? Kai did the same, but he just wanted Velvet because she was a key. I'm not so sure about the king. What is he after? You're meeting the princess of Vroborg tomorrow, right?" Karna nodded. "Yeah. I'll tread carefully around her until I'm sure she isn't involved with the darkness. What about you?
"Velvet and I are having tea with the king around that time. I'll fill you in on my thoughts about him afterward." Karna nodded. "Sounds like a plan."