As my vision went back to my normal and any residual pain subsided, I felt that my lungs have just been robbed of any and all air. There was a pain in my chest as I felt like I was being impaled, clutching in tightly, panting like I had just run a marathon. Aurora, seeing that I was back to normal, quickly came to my aid and helped me to a nearby bench. I quickly regained my breath and my energy.
"What happened?" She asked out of concern. I could see that she was worried, I felt honoured.
"Honestly, no idea…" I said, still slightly panting. "I heard a voice, it told me to…" Before I could finish, I looked out to the sea and saw something. There was strange brown energy under the water. "What is that?" I asked Aurora, pointing to the sea.
Aurora tilted her head and tried to trace where I was looking. But she was still confused. "I don't see anything." I scratched my head and tilted it. Suddenly, the bubble of energy burst, and I felt a slight rumbling on the pier. I realised why the voice told me to run. I suddenly panicked, I had to get Aurora out of here. Luckily, no one else was here with us. I picked Aurora up without warning and held her like a bride, cupping her head to make sure she won't suffer from the whiplash. "Hey! What are you-" She exclaimed in surprise.
"I'll explain later. Hold on. I'm gonna bring you to your house." I said hastily. Bolts of lightning surrounded my feet and I took off. I ran past the streets, I watched on as the trains were moving at the speed of a sloth while I bolted past them without a second thought. My energy had not fully recovered it seemed, I was starting to pant while running, which had never happened after I received the gauntlets. I looked down to see Aurora holding onto me like a koala, gripping on me tightly for dear life.
In no time flat, I made it back to her house. I was still exhausted it seemed. Time went back to normal and Aurora let out a small scream. Immediately covering her mouth when she realised that we were back at her house. I gently let her down and she stared at me for a while, then at the surroundings, and finally at her front door. Her face was riddled with emotions and questions. She hesitantly unlocked her door and gestured for me to come in. She did not say a word and went upstairs. I could understand, it must have been traumatic for her, what happened just now.
I went to the family room and sat on the couch. I tried to relax, but what happened just now still lingered in my mind. I grabbed the remote and turned on the television, switching to the news. "This just in, the earthquakes in the northern part of Ourannos have been travelling faster and growing more powerful than the experts first anticipated. Aftershocks could be felt from all they down at West Ourannos. Just now, the aftershock caused a small tsunami that decimated the pier. It was a relief that no one was there and none were injured."
"Is that why we ran away?" A voice suddenly startled me. I jumped and turned behind, seeing Aurora wearing an oversized shirt and shorts like last time. I regathered my bearings and nodded. We sat in silence for a while more and watched the news.
"It is expected that the magnitude of the earthquake could actually reach 11 or maybe even 12 by the time it reaches West Ourannos. It is expected that this disaster could completely wipe our precious country off the map. " I shuddered at what the reporter said. I could not bear to think of what would happen and what Ourannos would look like after this.
"Enough of that…" Aurora said sharply and muted the television. She then turned to me and pressed my hand with hers. She was not done interrogating me, quite clearly. However, this time, I was going to let it all out. I felt the warmth of her hand emanate through my body. It was extremely comforting. "What happened? This has something to do with why you disappeared, isn't it?" She asked me in a gentle yet firm voice.
"Yeah…It does." It was time to reveal it to her. No more running away. I removed her hand from mine and held both my hands out like a zombie. I willed the gauntlets to form on my hands. Blue energy wrapped around my forearms and my hands. The whole time, I was watching Aurora's reaction. Her eyes were wide from surprise, she could not believe what she was seeing. It was a miracle in the making. The energy dissolved, revealing golden gauntlets of dragon heads and crystals on my hands.
Her eyes glistened looking at them, raising a finger and delicately touching them to see if they were real. She felt the cold metal touch her finger and pulled away immediately. I giggled slightly at that. Her mouth was wide open and she could not stop staring. Finally, after a minute or two, she looked back at me, her eyes asking for an explanation.
"On my 18th birthday, I was taking the train to rush home, instead, I got trapped in a dark cave. In the cave, were these gauntlets." As I explained, her eyes twinkled like I was telling a story to a little child. "I reached for them, and after a little struggling, I was deemed worthy to wield them. These are known as the Gauntlets of the Progenitor. I am the Progenitor of Dragons. I am supposed to be the descendant of their king and creator. A mage capable of unparalleled elemental mastery." Aurora almost could not believe what she was hearing.
Light emitted from the left gauntlet, and lightning sprang forth, startling Aurora. The lightning coalesced in the form of a human with yellow and blue hair. She stared at the human in complete awe. She could not find words, which was indeed rare from her. "What he says is the truth. I am Volt, Avatar of Lightning. Kaler Dakrun is my master and servant, and I pledge to him, my undying fealty. My master has made you the first person to trust with this secret. I trust that you will keep it one?"
I could tell Aurora was still completely dumbfounded. "Wait! Let me get this straight. You," She pointed at me. "You, are the ultimate mage and the king of dragons." She said in complete disbelief. I bobbed my head, showing her she is right. "And you," She pointed at Volt. "Are a dragon?" Volt also nodded his head. This was the first time that Aurora has ever been so flustered, it was amusing and concerning. "So THIS." She gestured to us. "This is the reason youy went missing and suddenly came back to with the power to rival a god?"
"Technically my master could easily batter gods into paste if he had sufficient strength and-" I put my hand up to stop Volt and he immediately silenced himself.
"I'm sorry, Aury. This was the reason. The voice I heard just now, I suspect that was another one of my avatars." I said apologetically. Aurora seemed to have finally calmed down, rubbing her temples, trying to digest everything to had heard.
"Dumbass…You could have just told me! Do you not trust me enough?!" She started to yell at me. I knew she would ask something along these lines, However, I still was not prepared for it.
"I'm sorry. I was told that it would not affect others around me so long as I don't let it. I did not want to let it affect you, you don't deserve to have someone like me hanging around you anyway. " My heart was now at my mouth, anything I said would just come out without thinking. Aurora heard what I said and looked at me sharply, getting up and walking towards me. She shoved her face threateningly in front of mine.
"Idiot… What did you say?" She asked in a low, murderous voice. She could totally kill someone right now, and the only person around her was me. I saw Volt in the corner of the room watching it all go down. "With that attitude…Of course you don't! Where is the Kaler that I used to know? He is the one who is worthy, he is the one I want to spend all my time with until I die!"
I looked away. "Sorry," I muttered.
"Idiot! Don't apologise if you don't know what you did wrong! That brings me to my next question! Where is the Kaler I used to know? What happened?" She pressed further. She was relentless.
"I thought that someone so smart and talented like you didn't deserve to hang out with a nobody like me…" I muttered once more. I realise that she is going to kill me for this.
"Who made that decision?! HUH?! How about you ask for the feelings of the other party before you make your fucking decisions! Do you know how lonely all those years without you were?! URGH!" She was groaning in frustration now. If she was a volcano, she probably would have erupted 10 times. To vent her frustration, she brought her hand down on me, slapping me across the cheek. I saw it coming, but I chose to no avoid it this time.
I felt the sharp sting on my cheek from her rage-filled attack. I clasped it and groaned in pain a little. After that, her anger now morphed into sadness. I heard sniffling and light sobbing. However, she faced away from me, so I could not see her. However, I have seen her cry enough times to know exactly what it looked like. "I'm sorry. Really." I said sincerely. It broke me to see her in such pain. It was even worse that I caused it. I was really the only one who could hurt her.
"Promise me…" She said while still crying.
"Anything…"
"Promise me that you will stay by my side from now on, ok? Just like we used to…" She said sadly.
"I will. I will never leave again." I said with resolve. She wanted me to stay, that was all I needed to hear. Whether she loved me or not, was another matter, for now, I was happy that she still wanted me in her life. Upon hearing my words, she launched herself at me and I hugged her.
I squeezed her tight like a stuffed toy, afraid that she might go, that this might have been a dream. I heard and felt her still bawling into my shoulder. I broke me inside, but now I promised that it will never happen again.
"Ahem…Apologies for breaking up the amiable reunion, but I have something I believe we should discuss…" Volt interrupted. His tone was serious, this was not to be taken lightly.