After hearing the World Dragon's and her people's histories, Oleandra felt as if a huge weight had been chained to her. For the time being, Lord Seventh's curiosity and Lord Eight's indifference were the only reasons why she had been allowed to remain alive.
She had been knocked unconscious in the fight between Lord Seventh and the Lion of Nidorei, and her body was starting to feel the pain. The world tilted around her, and she winced with every step. Ignoring the discomfort, she inspected a colony of small glowing stones illuminating the cavern.
Releasing a loud sigh, Oleandra turned towards the giant green dragon. Lord Eighth's giant claws were inspecting her blue pendant. Oleandra asked, "Where are we?"
"We're near the Black Salt Sea in the Kingdom of Sinseus." Lord Seventh answered her question.
"The Kingdom of Sinseus is at war with my Kingdom," she explained.
Lord Eighth looked out of the cave into the snowy lands. He ignored Oleandra's words and changed the subject. "These lands will experience a solar eclipse on the coming winter solstice. The overlapping celestial bodies will receive a certain message, and I will record that message in a block of black salt stone."
Lord Seventh stared at his brother with a strange look. Lord Eighth placed the blue pendant on the ground and drew a hexagram around it. Oleandra studied the deep, thoughtful eyes of the green dragon. She wasn't sure if he was speaking to her or thinking out loud.
Lord Eighth recalled how he had learned about the coming celestial message he would receive. "After Lord Sixth was killed, I returned to my nest. Alone, as I contemplated the rebirth of my brother, a voice entered my mind. After the world has been remade by the World Dragon, the people from that time will face an apocalypse. The message I will record is to help them survive."
After listening to his brother, Lord Seventh had many questions but found himself saying nothing.
Oleandra also listened to Lord Eigth's prophecy, "So the people in the world right now are destined to die." its implications shook her to the core.
The realization that her people's extinction was pre-destined made her blood boil. In frustration, Olenadra shouted at the two dragons. "Why must my people die? Why can't the World Dragon let our people live?"
Lord Eight answered, "The world is a womb, just as it is a man's instinct to find a woman and procreate with her. The World Dragon is a Primordial seed made for this world. We will give birth to future people who will be the true children of this world. If I'm honest, I'm not sure where your people came from, but in the end, our kind will not co-exist with yours."
Oleandra gritted her teeth. "Do you not think we will fight back? That I will fight back? This is about killing innocent people, killing my family!" she protested.
Lord Eight didn't even turn to look at Oleandra; he simply returned to study her blue pendant and replied, "Your people have been fighting, and while you've grown weaker, we remain unchanged."
Cold laughter quickly broke the tension. "Remain unchanged? The very mind of Lord Sixth was completely wiped away. He's different now!" Lord Seventh's words left Oleandra silent.
Lord Seventh could feel her eyes on him like an ant crawling on your back. He ignored her and raised his voice, doubling down. "If merging into the World Dragon means a fate similar to his, I'd rather go out just like him, fighting."
Lord Eight listened to his brother's words. It wasn't the first time he had heard him share such sentiments. To Oleandra's surprise, Lord Seventh turned toward her and flashed a row of razor-sharp fangs. "Unless you can kill Lord One, all that awaits you is death."
Oleandra saw fire in those big serpent eyes; it was an extinguishable fire that burned so bright that it looked like the morning sun.
A vibrant blue flashed from the Restriction Lord Eight had drawn into the ground. The moment the light flashed, the blue relic started floating, and 96 black Hexagrams appeared.
The giant blue flash illuminated the cavern.
When the flash subsided, the blue pendant hit the ground, and the hexagrams disappeared. The flash momentarily blinded Oleandra. She blinked away the spots, and a wave of nausea washed over her.
The sight that greeted her was no longer the imposing dragon brothers, Lord Seventh and Lord Eighth. In their place stood two naked men.
She immediately recognized the white, red-tipped-haired man. It was Makarios, and next to him was Lord Eigth, now a man with brown green-tipped hair and green eyes.
"My pendant is an ancient relic! It turned you two into humans!" Oleandra shouted, staring at the two naked men. Without thinking, her eyes studied their broad shoulders and muscular physiques. However, she immediately squealed and covered her eyes when she saw the swinging manhood of the two brothers.
Makarios looked at his hands and physique and began laughing with excitement.
Lord Eigth looked at Makarios and then at his own human body. "How strange," he whispered.
Makarios looked at Lord Eight and shouted, "Look, brother, my front tail is bigger than yours." He boasted as he grabbed his manhood and swung it around.
Lord Eight looked at Makarios, and his face suddenly became bright red. "You're naked!" Lord Eigth shouted while turning away from Makarios and covering his chest and manhood.
Lord Eighth quickly thought, "How do I know what being naked feels like?!" a hint of fear slowly began creeping up within him.
Makarios raised a finger like a teacher. "That's called shame; it was the first human instinct I felt. But you can easily ignore it." Makarios explained, placing his hands on his waist and proudly displaying his muscular body.
Oleandra shouted, "Who told you to ignore your shame!? Humans have dignity. Get dressed!".
Lord Eigth walked towards a group of rotten corpses in the cavern's corner and stole their armor and garments.
After getting dressed, Oleandra picked up the blue pendant. "What now?" Makarios asked.
Lord Eight stared at the restriction he had drawn. "The blue pendant is imbued with restrictive magic. However, when I used my restriction magic, it bounced back. The bounce caused the pendant to trigger its magical release before locking itself up." Lord Eigth explained.
Oleandra stared at her blue pendant, which was in her hands.
Lord Eighth looked at Oleandra and Lord Seventh. "For now, you two can help me with my task. See, I don't know the exact date of the Winter Eclipse. The Kingdom of Sinseus has observatories and excels at predicting astronomical events."
Makarios interrupted his brother. "You want us to use their observatory to acquire the date. If that's the case, brother, you'll need a human name. My human name is Makarios Benoni."
Lord Eigth thought for a moment about his human name. "What about Erobell La'fale?" Lord Eight suggested. Makarios smiled at his brother's choice.
Oleandra, on the other hand, wasn't as excited. "I can't be anywhere near the Kingdom, Sinseus. I'm the Princess of Nidorei, their enemy. My face is known throughout the lands."
Erobell walked over to exit the cavern. "That is fine. In the meantime, you can stay here," he said before exiting. Oleandra listened quietly to Erobell, whispering thanks to him. In her mind, she was screaming in anxiety. She had no idea what she would eat or how she would survive while the two brothers were gone.
Makarios looked at Oleandra's panicked face and walked over to her. He placed his hand on Oleandra's left shoulder, causing her to flinch. "Oleandra, why are you here?" he asked her.
Oleandra nervously looked at Makarios, thinking about the question. "I'm here because you kidnapped me," she answered earnestly.
Makarios let out a small laugh before shaking his head. "You're here because you followed your nose. You followed what made you feel alive. It brought you to me. And it has brought you here, " he explained.
The tension within her that had felt like glass on the brink of shattering relaxed for a moment. Everything felt as if it was going to be ok. Makarios picked up a rusty blade and raised it toward her neck.
"His words, though they may sound truthful, belong to a liar." Oleandra reminded herself
She placed a finger on the rusty blade pushing it away. "Careful you'll cut yourself." Makarios warned her as he slowly waved her hand away and gently grabbed a lock of her hair. He carefully trimmed her hair. Oleandra closed her eyes.
She didn't say a word as Makarios shortened her hair. After cutting her hair, Oleandra put on pieces of armor and an old helmet. Aside from the short hair the princess in her had been disguised beneath blood-soaked iron.
Before walking out of the cavern she took one last look at her reflection in a chestplate.
Makarios and Oleandra joined Erobell outside. Little Seventh came flying by from nearby bushes. "Master, your presence faded, just like it did back at the castle" Little Seventh shouted in desperation.
Makarios, who was dressed in old metal armor, addressed Little Seventh. After explaining their situation to the bird, Makarios instructed it to guard the cave.
Erobell thanked Makarios for using his servant to guard his dwelling. Oleandra, however, frowned at the sight of the bird.
"What is that thing exactly?" Oleandra asked.
Makarios smiled at her question. "I've studied the six domains of thousands of magical essences. Above them all, three stood out as the pinnacle. Little Seventh is the result of one of those Essences." Makarios paused waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. However, Erobell and Oleandra just continued moving leaving him further behind.
The three were traversing through thick bushes following Erobell's lead.
Oleandra focused on not breathing the dust clouds the dry bushes released. Makarios slowly passed her, his body seemed to be made of stone as he destroyed the dry bushes with the sheer force of his body. Makarios left a trail of dust, as he, caught up to his brother.
Erobell knew the terrain of the winter forest they had found themselves in. However, he had never walked it as a human. With little effort, he delicately moved the bushes in front of him. "All this moving is just a little too much," Erobell complained in his mind before walking past another bush.
He had reached the end of the forest and was facing a strong cold wind. Makarios stared at the raging gray sea in the distance.
Oleandra soon joined them she was sweating and breathing heavily. She was covered in brown dust and dead foliage.
"Come on, we have to climb down, " Erobell shouted to the two of them. Makarios, without hesitation, jumped off the cliff.
"All I wanted was to make some perfumes alone and in peace!" She quietly cursed and followed right behind Erobell.