Before going to sleep, Roan imagines what It might have been like in the room where the decision was made.
Noa and Mr. Odago stand in the Judge's chambers behind his leathered seats. "What do you mean the trial has been passed on?" Mr. Odago almost passes out after hearing the news.
"Passed on to who?" Noa asks, trying desperately to hold her strength back from snapping the chair.
"I know this isn't what either of you wanted but this trial has become bigger than any one of us in this room. News of these two boys has spread outside this dimension across Earth Realm."
Noa had been aware of this, having heard that her associates in Capital 2, also known as Sirenia, have already caught wind of it. "The Supreme and The Chaos Walker have sent word that they will be arriving along with the other Initial Royals and...the Danari."
"The Danari?" Mr. Odago rolls his eyes. "The flippin Danari!"
"Counselman, please refrain from using that language in my chambers." Judge Vachan warns.
Mr. Odago runs up to the Judge's desk and gets right up close and personal with him. "The Danari are the Council of Magic, they deal with dimensional level threats inside the Capitals. Forgive me if I'm being too dramatic for you but this case is not a dimensional level threat."
"That is where you are wrong Mr. Odago. If this case has gone past this Capital and into others then this case qualifies."Noa takes a deep breath, unbuttoning the buttons on her new suit.
That isn't the only nightmare to take over Roan's mind. Every time he blinks, he is shot with a memory, the sound of the unloading barrel ringing in his ears and bright flashes of light blind him.
Roan jolts up in bed, making a valid guess that someone must have walked past the sensors outside the window and triggered a light. The ray slips between the crack in his curtains where he did not shut them properly and bathes his face and half of his topless body in white light.
Roan finds himself unconsciously tracing the scars on his neck with his own fingers, so he pulls his hand away and runs his fingers through his hair before creeping to the bathroom.
When Roan turns the light on in the bathroom it momentarily blinds him, so he stands in front of the mirror, squinting his eyes, letting them slowly adjust to the change.
When he can see he looks at the scars. They almost do not look real, like instead of being there they were painted onto his skin. "What the-"
Roan's eyes flicker over to a part of his stomach where his skin begins to ripple. When he presses a finger on his skin it transforms into his obsidian like scales and when he pulls his finger away, they disappear. The same thing happens all over his body wherever he would touch himself.
Time is running out but he has a few strings he still needs to cut loose before he can spread his wings.
Roan has forgotten that today is the lights festival. Elves on every floating cities would be lighting Lanterns and making them fly in the air before watching them slowly float down to Below.
The lights were always pretty, Roan's mother took him every year until she did not. Instead of a resentment of the festival, Roan had discovered a fondness for it over the years. It was one of the few memories he had where he felt safe, warm, happy even.
Roan gets dressed and sneaks out, keeping close to the shadows and avoiding the light as much as possible. That does not mean that trouble does not find him however.
A small girl, eight years old, runs into him when he was looking up at some of the lanterns floating above him.
"Hey, watch where-" Roan stop talking when he recognizes that look of panic on her face. He has worn it a few times himself and is subconsciously repulsed by it being thrown back at him.
Help me. She says in his mind, her iris slit and her eyes the colour of two emerald jewels.
Roan haphazardly scans the nearby area, seeing the Valsari warriors closing in. Admittedly it takes him three seconds to act, in the first he starts panicking, his heart rate increasing and his stomach churning. In the second, he shoves it all down, not letting it take over his body again.
Finally, in the last second, he puts on a face mask, his own eyes shifting, before he scoops the girl off her feet and starts running with her in his arms. With Roan being the only person running through the crowds of people, it did not make it hard for them to spot him.
The Valsari with access to the energy of Space are easily able to follow him, teleporting from building to building, disappearing and then reappearing in bursts of smoke.
When the first Valsari catches up with him, teleporting in front of them, Roan jump on to the wall and jumps around the Valsari.
More warriors appear but Roan's legs have now partially shifted, giving them the strength of a dragon, his stamina constantly reaching new heights.
Roan slows down when he sees Adamar standing in front of Harmonia's statue, the bodies of dragons scattered at her feet in pieces. This was a trap!
"Hand yourselves in!" he bellows, a splash of blood cutting across his face as he grins. "I promise I'll be gentle."
Roan smirks behind the mask, his bangs stylishly falling in his eyes. He looks down at the little girl in his arms, shivering even more than he is. "You're safe now."
He puts her on her feet and pick her up by her arms in the air. Isis in dragon form soars down from the clouds and grabs her with her feet before flying off.
There are elves in every direction looking out at them behind a circular barrier of soulless warriors. Roan walks towards Adamar, only stopping when he sees Charles standing in the crowd hiding behind the camera in his hand.
Adamar swings at Roan with his stained sword. "Die!"
Roan manages to jump out of the way and avoid his initial attack but when Adamar thrust his shield into Roan's side, he crashes to the ground. Using the momentum of the attack, Roan rolls backwards and lands on his feet, taking two steps back away from two quick slashes from Adamar.
Roan activates his second ability that every dragon is born with; Militaris. Thanks to their incredible eyesight, when using this skill Draven can analyze and mimic the skills of others. The longer the Draven uses this skill on a specific thing, the better they are at replicating the skill. It is not an ability he uses often but Roan has watched the Valsari hunt for years.
Roan leaps in the air, his nails now sharp claws. He swipes at Adamar, his claws scrape against his shield when he blocks his attack. Adamar swings at Roan's left arm and thinks he has done damage but is shocked when the blade bounces off.
Roan rips his sleeve off, revealing his arm covered in dark scale armour. Roan grabs the blade and shatters it in his hand, leaving Adamar with half of a broken sword.
Adamar throws the sword away and takes out a smaller hunting knife from his golden belt but without his sword, Adamar's reach is much smaller, which allows Roan to attack him at a closer range.
The shield is still a problem however, Adamar expertly uses it to defend and attack Roan, giving himself plenty of counterattack opportunities.
Roan leaps again, jumping on top of Adamar this time. He stabs wildly Roan who grabs his hand and squeezes his fist until he is forced to drop the Hunter's knife.
When Adamar topples over, Roan repeatedly slashes at the shield. When that does not work, Roan wrestles the shield out of his hands, throwing it some feet away before tearing into Adamar's exposed chest.
His crimson blood seeps through his armour like water rushing up from the ground once you dig deep enough. Roan keeps attacking even when some of Adamars blood splashes on to his face.
He goes to deliver the final blow, pointing his claws at Adamar's throat but he stops himself before his claws can sink in. "You cannot do it can you?" When Adamar laughs, Roan can see his teeth are covered in a thin layer of his own blood. "Go on, do it, kill me half breed."
Roan breathes heavily, his hand hovering above Adamar's throat quivering with anticipation. "You bleed just like the rest of us! How do you not see that?"
The fire in Roan's stomach makes him feel sick, his sweat sticking to him like oil in water. Roan leans in, his glowing eyes casting light across Adamar's bloody face. "I promise..." he whispers. "I'll be gentle."
He leans back, balling his claws into a fist before knocking Adamar unconscious, his skull making a terrible cracking sound as it bounces off the floor.
Roan expels the stress from his body, raising his head to look up at the Lanterns that decorate the sky. He closes his eyes and focuses on his breathing to calm himself down when he hears a familiar voice. "Why didn't you kill him?"
Roan opens his eyes when he hears Isis standing behind him. The sky and everything else but the Lanterns fades away, turning their surroundings into a dark void.
Roan stands on his quivering legs, gripping his side. "Why didn't you kill him?" Isis asks again, her expression somewhere in-between anger and pity which is weird with the two being on opposite sides of the emotional spectrum.
Isis's aims and goals are never made clear, and they can change like the sands of a desert, it is what makes it so hard for Roan to read her.
"Because..." Roan spits as a Lantern floats in-between the two of them.
"Because of what?"
"Because I may be a beast..." Roan looks at his feet, seeing Zarion chained to the invisible floor. "...but I'm no monster."
Isis looks over her shoulder. "But what happens when you aren't the one in control?"
Two huge glowing eyes open behind her. Roan feels its breath blow over them through its giant nostrils before it starts flapping its wings. He covers his face with his arms and pushes against the force being pushed on him.
He is only able to make out the silhouette of the beast behind her in the darkness, but it is enough for him to recognizes the power this Dragon wields, the Black Dragon, himself.
Roan gasps for air, sitting up in bed, his hands gripping his sheets. "It was just a dream, it was all a dream, it was just a dream." Roan whispers, rocking back and forth, repeating it repeatedly until he can calm down.
The real Lanterns float calmly past his window, their flames lighting up the sky like lost souls falling through the clouds.