"You said it was the last time you've seen your partner, doesn't?"
"Yeah."
"So that means..."
"Yeah...
I still have no idea to where she is."
—
In the early morning of 7 AM, Vlera, Starlight, and Luke, have already traveled kilometers towards their destination. They went from villages, to city, to forest, and to even castles. They spend their every hour with conversations until afternoon came.
*Clak* *Clak* *Clak*
"Good thing we hired a carriage, or else it would be disastrous to Starlight."
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
Upon riding a well used carriage, the three made themselves comfortable, especially for Starlight who keeps complaining for the last 2 hours. As Starlight sat in pure heavenly, Vlera asked Luke,
"What's the thing about Len again?"
"That I have no updates about her since? Yeah, it sucks, really."
"Yeah, that. How would you find her though?"
"I know it's a difficult question, but I have this fabric that was used by her."
Upon speaking, Luke took something from his bag, it was a jar with fabric inside.
"Its... a glass."
"Yeah, but look, it's floating."
"Oh, yeah..."
Vlera went in circles just to take a full view of the fabric inside the jar, after taking her seat once again, she confirmed that it's floating.
"Wow... Is this somehow under controlled of her power?"
"Exactly. In fact, there's a pointy part here, noticed it?"
To visualize what Luke said, the fabric is somehow shaped like an arrow.
"Yeah, I noticed it."
"I made it to be shaped like an arrow to locate where she is, how? Simple, if she's using her power right now, this fabric that came from her dress would float, and the pointy part of this fabric would help me locate it's user which is Lenny."
"Then it just works like a compass!"
"Yes, I just made it longer, ehehe..."
...
Several hours passed, Starlight was sleeping tightly until she felt a hand continuously touching her cheeks.
*slap* *slap* *slap*
"Starlight, wake up, we're here."
Before she knew it, the Dragon's Lair is close from being seen...
—
"Dragon's Lair"
By the name itself, it's a habitat in purpose of giving the Dragons a place to live. It was placed at the very middle of a dessert named, Dark Desert, with dark sand and dark-red sky. In the outside, you could see a huge mountain being swarmed by uncountable dragons, but once you got to breach the entrance, a cave at the feet of the mountain will welcome you to go in, by trusting your senses, you'd be delivered into many places; It could be an exit at the other side of the mountain, it could be a dead end, or in the worst case scenario, you could find the very core of the mountain where a powerful dragon lies named, Kufhra. Normal people wouldn't want to step even at the border of the Dark Desert, but for the Ingredient, Vlera was motivated to face Kufhra just for it's scale.
—
"So normal citizens are not allowed in this area?" -Luke
"Probably because of the danger." -Vlera
"Nah, they probably think of us as abnormals that's why we got in!" -Starlight
"Well, maybe because YOU'RE a neutron star."
"Hey! Don't expose me like that!"
"She's a what?!" -Luke
*ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!*
"What? A dragon this far already?"
As Vlera said, the Dragon's Lair is yet to be seen in a clear view but a dragon already attacked them.
"Starlight, hold yourself, I know this is a dragon but don't release Re just yet."
"Aye!"
"I'll try to take care of this with your help. Luke... Wait... Have you mentioned to me once that you have a power?"
"Well, I can carry a heavy bag."
*BOOM!*
Just after the sentence, the dragon gave a huge fireball the explodes to the whole scene, also by this sudden attack, it separated both Starlight, Vlera, and Luke.
"Heh, this is getting interesting."
After a grin, Vlera jumped towards the dragon.
—
Just after the fight has began between Vlera and the dragon, a book fell from a bookcase inside Kallen's house.
*Thud*
"Ara?"
After she noticed it, she immediately walked towards and picked it after a huge lean, after the book has been grabbed, the book travelled numerous feet before the holder fully stood up.
"If this isn't my own work; The Tales Of A Dragon. It is a surprise back then when this book sold a million copies, and now it has been written in the history of literary... Hah, time flies doesn't, Kallen?"
Due to her boredom, she got the habit of talking to herself, but not only her habit has been changed.
"Now that you mentioned it, isn't a bit suspicious that this book fell when the books beside it are compressed together?"
Her height also changed a drastically huge amount, from having those body of a child's, she now acquired an adult sized body. After swiping her long orange hair, she said something with intimidating voice.
"Cecilio, Marco, and Vlera, my three students that I'm very proud of, I'm pretty sure that you're doing something that would change the flow of this world, but I, as your Teacher, have acquired something as well..."
After her line, her long orange hair started floating, powerful gust of wind started to mess her room with papers around it, after that, she left the scene after a powerful burst of wind energy. She is no longer to be seen, in less than a second, she had left her house with sudden speed, but the book was still here, it was sitting tightly in the bookshelf...
"Cecilio, I sense that you are inventing something that would make as your acquaintance after a stranger's visit."
After her line, a monster from the Outside had got it's belly holed by Kallen's hand. The monster fell without a life, it was looking at Kallen who had her eyes gazing at the monsters who was about to attack her next.
"So, what are you waiting for?"
The monsters roared before approaching her, but before they do, they found a chain behind them that soon ended their lives.
"Marco, I suppose that you're in a deep slumber while talking to your other ego."
Monsters keep appearing and was being killed my Kallen, and yet she was talking.
"And Vlera...
I suppose that the dragon you're facing right now is those of my so called,
Slaves..."
Chains surrounded her, it was floating around her as if it was being controlled by her. She killed hundreds of monsters and yet no blood could be seen around her except for her hand that she used to hole a monster.
"Vlera... Make sure to tame Verr, I named it after you for this moment..."
—
Going back to Vlera. Because of the both strength between Vlera's team against the dragon, the scene is already as catastrophic as ever; Explosions, craters, dents, and many more, in the middle of the dark colored sand was Vlera, Starlight, and the dragon who's not even giving their all.
"So, tell me, how are you not terrified of us being a star?"
"I don't know, maybe because my partner is also a 'weird' one the way she can control strings?"
"How did she got the power though?"
"She's somehow connected to genes of those mages..."
"Oh... I see...(I don't get it)"
With Blu and Luke hiding behind a rock far in the distance, they talked about certain things. This is Blu's way to calm down someone.
"Starlight, remember, do not release Re."
"Calm down, Vlera, she's relaxing inside me."
With their visions glaring at the dragon who's flying in circles, they are clueless of what frustrations Re was suffering right now.
"UGHHHHH!!! JUST WHEN I FINALLY FOUND A WORTHY OPPONENT!!!"
"Starlight, let's go."
"A'ight!"
After Vlera's huge leap, Starlight followed her. As they reached the same height to where the dragon is, Starlight said,
"Stars: Intertwine!"
With sparkling sound that travels through the wide flat dark sand, Starlight released multiple stars that left a shining trail. It aimed through Vlera and Vlera successfully catched all the stars, she took her knife and said,
"This might hurt. Stars: Penetrator."
Out of a sudden, Vlera's knife suddenly gave the same energy as Starlight's star have, she dashed through the speed that she never expected and went through the dragon's body. She later found herself facing Starlight who was once at the other end of the dragon, a second later, a bright-yellow explosion occured, Starlight took Vlera and teleported to the ground using her ability, Vlera was surprised and said,
"Wow, you really are the embodiment of Brightness."
With shooting stars coming out of the dragon who's currently being eaten by the bright light, it fell infront of Vlera and Starlight, they approached it and thought themselves that it's still alive.
"Blu, examine it."
"Sure, Starlight..."
After they approached the dragon, they saw Blu and Luke who approached the dragon as well, Starlight asked Blu to check if it is alive and said,
"Yes, Starlight, it's still alive but in unconscious state."
"As expected of Her Creation."
"Her what?" -Starlight
After Blu's investigation, Vlera said something that made everyone confused.
"Worry not, everyone. This dragon isn't the normal ones."
"Shouldn't we be worried more?"
"No, Starlight, this dragon is still alive because it has a task to accomplish."
With silence eating their 4 seconds of their life, Vlera finally explained her words.
"This is Verr, my Teacher's dragon, and apparently, this dragon is destined to help us."
— End of Chapter 20