Chapter Six
Tesh contemplated his next move to rescue Sasha. Recalling his past life, he remembered that every Mecha Armor was powered by an aeirstone element, which could enhance one's mana. He decided to try something and grabbed one of his father's tools, heading straight to the back of the Mecha Armor where he recalled the electrical components were located. However, he discovered that the screw bolt was different from what he expected.
Desperate, Tesh rushed into the Tenbud Household, searching for something that could open the electrical compartment. Returning to the barn in defeat, he collapsed to the ground, knees and hands clasped together, praying for a miracle. Despite studying the three major religions in his past life, he had never prayed before.
Murmuring incomprehensible words, Tesh opened his eyes to behold a massive dragon towering above him, its body glowing like a golden sun, its gaze fierce. Unsure whether to run or cry, Tesh felt a mix of fear and awe, as the dragons he encountered in his past life were half the size of the one before him.
The dragon turned towards Tesh, who, though shocked, maintained his gaze. Summoning his courage, Tesh approached this powerful entity.
Tesh stood in awe and uttered, "What are you?" Surprised by his own question.
The Dragon's laughter reverberated throughout the barn as it replied, "You summoned me, young one."
Realizing he was now out of his body, Tesh noticed himself kneeling near the Mecha Armor. His prayer had evidently worked.
"I'm surprised. Usually, the newly crowned emperor is granted access to my power through the crown, known as a totem to summon me. But it seems you are my champion," the Dragon explained.
Though Tesh knew of the Orielian empire's secret weapon, he never imagined it to be a dragon.
"You may have forgotten, but this isn't your first or fourth return to this life. You are the origin, which is why you don't require a crown as a totem," Solas, the Dragon, elucidated.
"I don't understand any of this. I just want my friend to be safe," Tesh confessed.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Solas. I cannot interfere with your choices, but you now possess my full power in your blood and system. However, such power comes with a price," the Dragon cautioned.
"What's the price?" Tesh inquired with a furrowed brow.
"I know you chose to return to planet Lyra, but Earth needs you more," Solas responded solemnly.
"What do I do now? I need to save my friend," Tesh insisted.
"Your friend has passed away, but here's the deal and the price: she will return, but you, my friend, will have to be reborn on Earth with the same power, knowledge, and abilities. Sasha will grow to be a fine woman, and your parents will have a boy. They won't remember you existed, but the new emperor might still come after you due to his link to the dragon bloodline. Staying here is not safe for them," Solas explained.
Tesh absorbed Solas's words, realizing he was starting to enjoy his life on Lyra. Having to leave it all behind came as a surprise.
"I'll take the deal, but can I say goodbye after she wakes up? And perhaps to the newborn baby?" Tesh requested.
"Okay, but after that, we leave," Solas agreed.
The Mecha Armor was lifted from Sasha's deceased body, and the dragon infused a bit of its mana into her. Sasha began to glow like a sun as she opened her eyes, including her third eye. After a moment of coughing, Tesh approached her.
"Sasha Tenbud, please take care of yourself and the new baby brother," Tesh said softly before fading out of the scene.
As Sasha woke up again, she brushed off the strangeness of her dream about her death and noticed the Mecha Armor back in its original position. Curious, she went to investigate, unaware of Tesh watching her from the corner.
"It's time to see your little brother," Solas reminded Tesh.
Together, they flew straight to the hospital, where they witnessed Reyan's determined efforts until the birth of the newborn baby. Tesh couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for leaving Sasha, but he knew there was no turning back now. Drawing closer to the child, Tesh smiled as the baby laughed upon seeing him, before he and Solas disappeared into a portal.
Meanwhile, at the empire, Emperor Dulian and Whyte Olin stirred awake and exchanged a knowing glance.
"I felt something powerful leave, either here or the planet," the Emperor lamented.
Whyte Olin assumed a lotus position, attempting to peer through the veil. She chanted powerful spells, catching Dulian's attention, who recognized that these were not ordinary magicks spoken by the Aurelian race for never recite spells. An uneasy feeling settled over him as he pondered the implications.
Taking out a knife, Whyte Olin gently clasped Dulian's hands, which he offered without hesitation. With precision, she sliced through his palm, collecting a bit of his blood in a bowl before drinking from it. Closing her eyes, she projected herself out of her body, summoning a portal before her. Stepping through, she found herself before an ancestral tree of the dragons.
Shape-shifting into the form of Dulian, Olin approached the tree, only to be confronted by the apparitions of the deceased Emperor and Queen Zaman.
"I want to pass now, please," Olin requested.
"How's our son?" Queen Zaman inquired.
Unable to deceive in this realm and pressed for time, Olin knew she had to act swiftly to acquire a bite from the tree of their dragon bloodline, the only means to trace the child. Stretching her hand, she seized a ripe fruit. The Emperor lunged at her, but she deftly evaded his attacks, flipping and creating a portal that whisked her away.
Waking abruptly as if from a nightmare, Olin faced Dulian's anxious gaze.
"What did you find?" he asked desperately.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything, my Emperor," she replied, concealing the fruit she had just obtained from the ancestral tree.
Eve woke up to find the evening already upon her. Glancing out the window, she noticed it was late. Checking her laptop device, she saw that the Mecha Armor she had been tracking had come back online. Despite the urge to delete the data, she left it intact. Knowing she wouldn't resume her investigation until mid-winter when she gets back to work, she reluctantly acknowledged her nearly empty fridge, with her stomach reminding her of its emptiness through faint grumblings.
Leaving her apartment, grateful not to be confined to the barracks, Eve couldn't shake thoughts of Carlos, hoping he was managing fine on his own. As she entered a nearby supermarket, she sensed someone trailing her.
"I've just spotted her. Sending you her location now," the stranger said.
Eve proceeded through the supermarket, gathering the essentials, all the while aware of the looming presence behind her. Reaching the counter, she turned towards the entrance just in time to see an attack launched towards her—a large Mecha Armor series.
Reacting swiftly, Eve grabbed the counter attendant, and together they leaped out of harm's way as the attack smashed through the door.
Once on her feet again, Eve knew she couldn't confront the Mecha Armor head-on.
"Where's the backdoor?" she urgently asked the attendant.
The attendant pointed urgently towards the right edge of the supermarket. Eve wasted no time, pulling the attendant along. But the Mecha pilot anticipated their move, sending a missile hurtling towards them. The explosion tore the place apart, leaving debris in its wake. Eve felt a sharp object pierce her chest, pinning her to the wall. As the Mecha Armor loomed closer, it unleashed another blast, sending her flying to her death.
Meanwhile, Tesh traversed the portal of memories, recalling his final conversation with Solas. Thoughts of Earth filled his mind, pondering what it might be like. Solas had tasked him with acquiring the 144 keys to planet Earth, leaving Tesh to wonder about the differences between Earth girls and those from planet Lyra. Reflecting on his past lives and relationships, he hoped for a different outcome this time upon his arrival on Earth.
In another part of the realm, Whyte Olin returned to the capital. Passing through the streets, she arrived at a particular entrance and knocked three times in a rhythmic pattern. The door swung open, revealing a leprechaun whom she gave a coin. Inside, she found herself amidst revelry, with people enjoying drinks and merriment. Making her way to the farthest corner of the room, she slipped through another entrance.
She whispered a spell and entered the room. Inside, darkness enveloped the space until fire erupted at every corner, illuminating a dragon with dark, shining scales and fierce blue eyes.
"Olin, did you find Solas?" the Dragon inquired.
Olin's form had transformed into a hybrid being, part Aurelian and part Dragon.
"I haven't seen him, but I know where he might be," she replied confidently.
"Where might that be?" the Dragon pressed.
Stepping closer into the Dragon's view, Olin answered, "Solas went to Earth."
"I, Dragiel, will not allow him to find those keys," the Dragon declared.
"What do we do now?" Olin asked.
"You and I are going to Earth," Dragiel asserted.
"Interesting. I also have this," Olin revealed, showing Dragiel a fruit from the ancestral tree of the Kratia bloodline.
"Wonderful. Eat it, and if you survive the transformation, then we leave," Dragiel urged.
Olin consumed the fruit, initially feeling no effect. Then, she began to tremble and glitch, screaming in agony as her body underwent a violent transformation. Her blood heated up, causing intense pain, until she collapsed to the ground. Dragiel shifted into a human form and merged with Olin's body.
"Now, we will become one," the Dragon stated.
A portal opened, and the body reshaped into a younger teenage girl, housing both Olin and Dragiel within.
"Earth, here we come," the newly formed entity declared.