Lyra's heart pounded like a war drum. Suddenly, a blinding light erupted. Lyra held her head as she fell to her knees.
"Vengeance is a vicious cycle that will haunt you for your whole life. I don't think you want to do that," a voice said as a figure approached.
"And who told you I didn't want to?" Lyra raised her head, hiding her eyes. He was so bright she could barely look into his eyes.
A figure wearing a robe like hers. He was slightly round and not very tall. He was very young, probably seventeen in her age range.
He held a chaplet with eight brown beads. He was currently caressing one of the beads with his thumb. It was illuminated and had a symbol written on it.
"Who are you?" she glared. "Just a lonely figure," he replied and waved. In a flash, Lyra jolted awake.
She stumbled back as she noticed where she was. Mia was in blood, lying before her. She held her mouth; her heart skipped a beat. What had she done?
"She is gravely injured but not dead," the chubby figure placed his palm on Mia's chest, then heaved a sigh of relief.
"Get your hands off immediately," Lyra glared. "What kind of weird thought are you having? I just needed to check on her," the monk smiled awkwardly.
"I will bring her down the mountain," Lyra said. She felt horrible inside, torn by guilt and regret. She was frightened—frightened by herself. Staring at her palm, she trembled in horror. She knew it wouldn't excuse what she did, but that was the least she could do.
"We can't at this height; going down is more dangerous than continuing forward. We need to keep rising," the monk said seriously. His name was Louan.
Lyra glanced at the sea of fire behind her in resignation. The runes on their robe were almost all dull. Their bodies covered in sweat.
Their breathing gave off warm breath. The ground was hot under their feet. The ground had turned completely rocky and dark with red.
The fire trees at this level were made entirely of fire and shone brightly. Fire guardians could be seen in the sea of fire.
Sweat trickled down her face; Louan was right, there was no turning back at this moment. Mia's body jolted, but she didn't fight as Louan helped her up.
...
Amarok walked on the fire path, Wisdom following behind. He could barely see the horizon.
His vision slowly turning blurry. The runes on his robe were dimming. His shoes caught fire, disintegrating to nothingness. His body shook as he fell to his knees.
Wisdom's body was shaking as it moved forward. Its eyes unfocused. Its claws deeply anchored on the ground.
Amarok could feel violent energy assaulting his mind, trying to take control of his mind. The dragon will was monstrous at this level.
He held his head, his eyes turning fire red. He knew he couldn't let it take control of his mind. His robes began burning and disintegrating. His body ignited, burning with flames. He let out a cry looking at the fire sky. So many images flashed in his mind. Was he really going to die like that?
Mist, Kinty, Silvia, Calder... Lyra... Neo. Their images flashed in his mind. He could still hear Neo's words echo in his mind. "You're not going to find a cure..." He couldn't let him down.
"We will find it together..." Amarok's heart squeezed. A loud explosion swept out. The flames were forced back. Wisdom pushed back by the frightening firestorm. The fire tree leaves blew. His body enveloped in white light, fighting off the flames. His eyes deep like the cosmos. The first order mode.
Dragon scale arched on his forearm and neck. His eyes flickered; the cosmos eyes had turned red. The flames didn't attack him anymore; instead, they danced around him.
Wisdom got close, but the flames shifted. Amarok crunched to his little friend, a smile blooming on his face.
"Finally, someone worthy of accepting my will," a voice echoed. In front of him, the flames spun and morphed.
A sparkling fire red. A figure drew amidst the fire. Amarok was baffled. It was a Darko dragon. Its eyes deep and bright. Only its head was visible, the rest of its body shrouded in sparkling red flames. Its scales were striking and shimmering.
It looked old but still imposing. Amarok felt a wave, a course through him. He stumbled back, falling on his butt. It wasn't fear but... adrenaline.
"After so many years, I can finally rest in peace and forget everything," its voice flowed. Each time it breathed, flames spiraled out.
"Are you the Darko dragon killed by Elara?" he couldn't help but ask. "Darko dragon, is that how you call me? No wonder your kind wouldn't let us live," he continued.
"What do you mean?" Amarok was confused.
"The human kind is complex. People fear what they don't understand and envy what they cannot have," he said. Fire escaping his lips as he spoke.
Amarok fell silent at the dragon's words. He could feel the warm breeze caressing his skin, but it wasn't painful; it even felt agreeable. "I know it's egotistic to force you to receive my will, but there is no other way. Only then can my soul rest."
"If it's so, why did you refuse to die back then?" Amarok was uncertain as he stared at the Darko dragon. The Darko dragon breathed, flames whooshing out, forming a picture. A flaming dragon flying and moving, but each would be extinguished one after the other until one was left. Landing on a small fire mountain. The fire images exploded, the flames merging back to the dragon.
"I can see your soul is still intact, too clean for such a world," he said and paused, "Beware, young human, my will might be more of a curse than a blessing, and for that, I will be eternally guilty," he said.
Amarok locked eyes with the Darko dragon. Its eyes looked sad but relieved. For an unknown reason, Amarok felt his heart tighten. What had he gone through those years to have such a look on his face?