Chapter 18 - Chapter 17

David woke up the next day and saw that he was in a strange room, lying down on a bed.

"Where am I?" David asked himself while looking around, trying to figure out where he was.

"You're in the academy's infirmary," said a voice.

David then turned around and saw a woman standing not too far away from him.

"I'm Boma, the academy's healer," said the woman.

"What happened, why am I here?" said David.

"You are here because Araban found you after hearing an explosion come from the Temple of The Golden Dragon Warrior. And as for why you're here, well nobody can answer that but you" said Boma.

David then took breath before he began to remember what happened the other night.

He remembered going to the temple and touching its door, after that he remembered feeling a strange power flow through his entire body but everything after that was blurry and unclear.

Boma then quickly examined David's body to see if he was alright.

"Well, nothing seems to be broken. It seems like whatever happened to you last night didn't seem to damage anything important and you have no notable injuries" said Boma.

"Can I go now" asked David.

"Yes, but the Head master said you have to go see him in his office once you are awake" said Boma.

"Oh, okay then" said David as he got up and left the room.

David then made his way to the Head master's office.

David, as he roamed through halls on his way to the Head master, he felt something strange coming from the ground underneath his feet.

He felt as though he could feel the movements of everything around him through the ground.

It was indeed a strange feeling but David chose to ignoring, not thinking more of it and convincing himself that it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

David made his way to the Head master's office.

Once there he knocked at the door and waited for the Head master to invite him in.

"Come in" said the Head master from within his office.

David then took a deep breath before opening the door and going in.

"Hello David, please take a seat" said the Head master.

David then took a seat.

"Do you know why I asked to come see me once you were awake" asked the Head master.

David then sighed deeply, as he knew that there was only one reason why the Head master would want to see him and that was to find out what he was doing in the Temple of The Golden Dragon Warrior so late at night and probably punish him for it.

"You want to know why I left the academy last night," said David.

"Yes, and please, if you want to keep being a student of this institution, I suggest you don't lie to me" said the Head master with a stern look on his face.

David took a deep breath, taking a moment to think of what to tell the Head master before saying.

"I was just curious about the temple. When I arrived here, I was told about by Binaru when I got here that no one had step foot inside it apart from the golden dragon warrior. I just wanted to see it up close for myself," said David.

David knew lying was wrong and he would be in a lot of trouble if the Head master found out he was lying but he stopped himself from telling the truth as he himself wasn't sure what to tell.

He could explain why he went there but knew it wasn't just out of curiosity, he felt something from within the temple calling out for him, he just didn't know what it was.

"And the explosion?" asked the Head master.

David's eyes widened upon hearing what the Head master as he wasn't even sure what caused it, all he remembered was the power he felt, and everything else was blurry and unclear to him.

"I don't know. All I remember from last night is going to the temple, everything after that is a haze" said David with his head bowed down hoping the Head master would believe him.

"Hmmm" said the Head master, taking a moment to think for a moment.

David just sat there, nervously, hoping the Head master did not doubt his story.

"Let me get this straight, you left the academy late at night because you were curious about the temple and after reaching there you blacked out and are unable to remember what happened after reaching the temple" said the Head master.

David tried his best to hide his fear and nervousness as best as he could, and simple replied the Head master by saying, "Yes sir".

"Hmmm, how are you feeling right now David" asked the Head master.

David, a bit shocked by the question the Head master asked, said, "I'm fine, at least that is what the healer told me".

"Hmmm, alright then, you may leave" said the Head master.

"Just like that" said David a bit shocked that the Head master would let him off the hook for doing something as reckless and irresponsible as leaving the academy late at night.

"Yes" said the Head master.

"Pardon me if I sound ungrateful sir but why? What I did was reckless and irresponsible, aren't you going to punish me" said David, unable to understand why the Head master would let him go so easily.

"On normal circumstances, I would but considering the fact that you are still new to the academy and you seem like the kind of student that learns never to repeat mistake I'm will to make an exception in this case and just let you off with a warning" said the Head master.

"Oh, thank you sir, I appreciate it" said David with a smile on his face.

David was about to leave but was stopped by the Head master saying, "I don't think you should attend classes today considering everything that happened last night".

"Thank you for your concern, sir but I feel fine," said David.

"None sense, you aren't attending any classes today and that's final. I will inform all your teachers immediately" said the Head master.

David wanted to protest but knew the Head master wouldn't listen and so he just left.

A few moments later after David left Flani walked in to the office.

"How did it go?" asked Flani.

"His definitely hiding something, the question is, what is it?" said the Head master.

Flani the look on the Head master's eyes and could easily tell he was deep in thought, something he only did about serious matters.

"Why are you getting so worked up thinking about a child" asked Flani.

"I'm just thinking what if David is...no it's not possible, my mind is just playing tricks on me" said the Head master with a sigh, refusing to believe that his thoughts about David were correct.

Flani then looked the Head master with a look of worry and concern, she could clearly see that he was stressed and worried about something.

Flani then sighed before walking up to the Head master and saying, "one of your greatest flaws Richard is you mind, you spend too much of your time in it, thinking about thing that bring you only stress".

Flani then kissed his cheeks softly before saying, "sadly it's one of the things I love about you so I won't tell you to stop but please try not worry and stress too much about whatever it is that is troubling you".

The Head master just sighed before saying, "I'll try my best my love but I'm not keeping any promises".

Flani then smiled at him before kissing his cheek softly.

"That's all I can ask for from the man I married I guess" said Flani before approaching the door about to leave but before she could the Head master stopped him by saying, "Flani wait before you go, could you please keep an eye on David. There is something about him that doesn't seem right".

Flani just smiled before nodding her head and leaving.

Once Flani was gone the Head master got up from his seat and went to the window.

Once there he looked at the down below from his window academy and sighed deeply.

He could feel it in his bone, something was coming and he was rarely wrong about these things.

The Head master then shifted his gaze from the academy down below to the Temple of The Golden Dragon Warrior.

The Head master was no fool, he didn't believe David's story about going to the academy simply out of curiosity and the only reason he didn't take strict action and punish him was because he wanted to observe him.

There was something strange about David and the Head master was determined to find out what it was at all cost.

The Head master wasn't entirely sure, but if David was who he suspected he was, it would change everything.

David made his way to the dining room get breakfast.

Upon reaching there, David felt the same feeling he felt as he approached the Head master's office earlier that day from the ground underneath his feet.

David could not explain it but he could feel the movements of everybody in the dining room, step taken whether elegant and graceful or sloppy and clumsy, he would feel it from the ground underneath.

It was like seeing but with his feet instead of his eyes, it was a strange feeling but yet David could not help a sense of familiarity towards it even though he had never felt it before.

David tried his best to ignore what he felt but it was difficult as the dining room was filled with all the students of the academy who were eager to get their breakfast.

David managed to ignore the stumps and steps from the other students, got a tray of food and made his way to the table where Susan, Flora and Akiri sat.

"Hey David" Flora greeted as David took a seat next to her.

"Hey guys" said David with a weak smile.

David then sensed some of the students stumping their feet on the floor as they made their way to their table, made David head pound slightly as he tried to ignore it.

"Are you okay David?" asked Susan, noticing something was bothering him.

"I'm fine Susan" said David continuing to ignore the feeling and choosing to focus solely on his meal.

He managed to enjoy his meal even though his newly manifested ability to sense movements on the ground made him feel very uncomfortable.

David was just about to finish meal when he felt someone enter the dining room.

The room became silent the moment the person entered the room as everyone just stared at him as he walked in.

David didn't need to turn to see who the person was, neither did he need to sense him through the ground underneath his feet; he already knew it was Steven.

"I can't believe he has the guts to show his face after the stunt he pulled here yesterday" said Flora with anger and disgust in her voice as she spoke.

Susan upon hearing what Flora said about Steven bowed her head down, not enjoying hearing Flora speak about her brother in such a manner.

David, noticing the way Susan bowed down her head after Susan spoke was able to understand what was wrong and so he said to Flora, "please Flora, can we not talk about Steven right now".

"But he..." Flora was stopped by David turning his eyes towards Susan who had a sad expression on her face.

She then sighed, understanding why David wanted her to stop talking about Steven.

"Whatever, I have a million and one things I would rather talk about other than that over grown flame torch" said Flora before she began to continue her meal.

David then turned to Steven and whispered softly to her, "Are you okay".

Susan just smiled at him before nodding her head and whispering back at him, "thank you".

David smiled slightly upon hearing what Susan said.

Steven, who was not too far from where David and the others were sitting, saw David and Susan smiling at each it.

Seeing that made Steven's blood boil with rage and anger, he wanting nothing more at that very moment than to reduce David to ashes with his flames but he knew if he were to attack David at that very moment, he would get in to trouble and trouble was that last thing he needed at the moment.

Steven then decided to take a sit on a table near the one David and his friends were sitting one, scaring off the students that were sitting there with a death glare before him sitting down and began spying on David as he ate.

David could sense Steven's presence, seated on the table behind him and it made him feel incredibly tensed up and worried, remembering how Steven threatened and burnt his hand the other day.

As David was tensed and worried about Steven who was currently seated behind him, he didn't notice that his entire body was beginning to heat up.

Flora, who was beginning to feel the air around her getting warm, she then turned to David who was seated next to her before asking, "Where is that heat coming from".

"What heat?" asked Akiri unable to feel the heat from David as he wasn't that close to him.

Susan, who wasn't sitting too far from David could feel the heat as well, said "yeah I feel it too".

Flora then turned around to look at Steven suspecting he was the source of the heat but upon seeing that he wasn't using his powers turned away from him.

"Well, it isn't hot head other there," said Flora.

David then decided to ignore Steven's presence and enjoy his meal but the moment David's spoon filled with his food reached his mouth he felt his tongue burn due to how hot his spoon was which caused him to spit out his food.

"Is the food that bad" asked Akiri jokingly.

David then looked at the spoon he held on his hand and noticed that it was red due to his body heating up immensely.

David upon seeing the red-hot spoon on his hand began to worry and wonder about what was happening to him.

"I think I'm full" said David before getting up and rushing out of the dining room, wanting to leave before anyone noticed that he was the source of the strange heat.

"What's his problem?" asked Akiri.

"Who knows, his definitely a strange one" said Flora thinking about how strange David was.

Susan couldn't help but sigh deeply, feeling like there was wrong with David and he was refusing to tell them

Steven, who was watching everything happen from his table, knew that something was going on with David.

He then thought about how he and Araban found David lying unconscious next to the Temple of The Golden Dragon Warrior.

There was definitely something wrong with David and Steven was determined to find out what it was.

David rushed out of the dining, feeling overwhelmed with everything that was going on, first with the strange feeling coming the ground next his body heating up uncontrollably. David did not understand what was going on with him and that fact alone frustrated him. As David ran through the academy halls water began to sipping out of his body. At first David thought it was just sweat due to stress and frustration he felt about everything that was going on but then he noticed water just flowing more and more, out of his body like an endless. David then realized the water coming out of his body wasn't ordinary sweat. The water sipping out of his body just made David run faster, wanting to get out sight before anybody noticed what was going on with him but as he ran, he failed to watch where he was going to and accidently bumped in to someone.

David fell to the ground upon bumping in to the person.

"David?" said a familiar voice.

David then looked at the person he bumped in to and realized that it was Flani.

"Are you okay?" asked Flani noticing what she assumed to be sweat sipping out of David's body.

"I'm..." David panicking did not even bother to give Flani a proper reply before turning to air and blowing away.

Flani took a few moments to process everything that had just happened and how David reacted when he saw her.

She then thought about what the Head master told her about David before sighing.

"It seems like I might actually have to keep a close eye on that boy" Flani said to herself.

David reformed in front of his room and the quickly opened the door and went it.

Once inside the room David collapsed on the floor.

He felt a strange feeling flow throughout his body; it felt like he was melting from the inside out.

Everything from the bones within his body and the flesh underneath his skin felt as though they were gone and replaced with liquid water.

David then, using all the strength he could muster at that every moment raised his hands up to see what was going on with his body.

Much to his horror and shock, he had witnessed with his own two eyes that his hands were beginning to turn into water.

David then turned to look at his legs and realized that they were doing the same thing.

Then, before David could anything about it, he felt his entire body turn in to water.

David was now reduced to a puddle on the floor of his room.

Frighten and trying his best understand what was happening to him, he tried his best to return to his normal solid state but try as he may his body refused to be restored to its original form.

David, as he attempted to restore his body, remembered something, something from his forgotten past.

In his memory he was in a meadow, similar to the one in his dream, he was also a child, about three years old.

"Are you ready David," said a familiar voice.

David, recognizing the voice as the woman in the only clear memory he could recall from his past, turned to see who was speaking.

Much to his shock he could only see the woman's body as face and head was covered in a strange cloud of darkness.

The woman then went to David and held his hands.

David felt the woman's hands on he's and upon doing so felt a sense of peace and comfort, almost as though he felt at his safest with her than with anyone else.

"The secret to mastering the power of the elements isn't to control them by force but rather to let them give you control. Feel the power within you, let it be one with you and then command it but don't fight. Flow with it and let your will become its will," said the woman.

With those words said, the memory ended.

David then, focusing on what the woman in his memories said stopped trying to command his body to be restored to its original form but rather focused on commanding the elemental power within him.

Like the woman told had told him, he didn't try to command by force but rather he flowed with them, feeling the power of earth, fire, air and water flow within him.

Slowly he felt himself become one with the power of the elements and as he did his body began to restore itself, change from its watery form to its normal form.

As soon as his body restored itself David got up and went to the window.

He stood by window thinking about everything that had happened to him and the memory of the woman which helped him control these new mysterious elemental abilities.

David after a moment of thinking closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then summoned the power of the elements.

A piece of rock then appeared on his hand surrounded by a ball of air with an elemental ring of made fire and water circling it.

David couldn't but smile upon seeing what he had done with his elemental powers.

He then crushed his hands in to a fist and then rock along with the ball of air, fire and water ring, then disappeared.

David then began to think about what meant to have the power to control all four elements as nobody apart from the Golden Dragon Warrior and the mysterious Dark Dragon Lord could possessed such a power.

David's eyes then widen as he had then realized something horrible.

Remembering his earliest memories, the ones Abari told him were nothing but nightmares and not real, where he slaughtered many people using the power of all four elements.

David at that moment, seeing the power he now possessed realized that those nightmares may not have been nightmares at all but something much more horrifying.

David, much to his horror, was beginning to consider those horrible dreams as memories of his past, memories where he used his powers to do something he would never believe he was ever capable of.

"No, they were just nightmare...they couldn't have...I wouldn't do something like..." David tried to convince himself that those horrible dreams he had as a child were nothing more than dreams but his heart, he refused to believe it, knowing deep down that those dreams felt too real to be mere dreams.

David now had even more questions about his past, his power and those horrible dreams he had.

But although he wanted answers to his many questions, he was also frightened about what he might find out about himself if he got those answers.

David, while in deep thought, glanced at the temple of the golden warrior.

He then realized that his newly found elemental powers came after he went to the temple.

He then wondered if the answers he sought for was within the temple's walls, maybe if he went there again, he might find some answers.

David thought about returning to the temple for a while but ended up deciding not to, partly if he got caught, he would be in serious trouble and the Head master might not as forgiving but also because he was of what he might find.

David then remembered the academy's library and what Akiri said about the books there having the store history about everything involving dragon warriors maybe he could find some answers about himself there.

David sighed for moment as he thought about going to the library, he couldn't get in to trouble for doing so and it was far easier of getting answers than going all the way to the Temple of The Golden Dragon but as he thought about going flashes of his horrible nightmares appeared in his mind, within those flashes he saw the piles of dead bodies surrounding him.

David felt his heart begin to race upon seeing those flashes within his mind; he then began to question going to the library out of fear of what he might find out.

But despite the fact was scared of going to the library he was also immensely curious, and so after a while of internally debating with himself he decided to go the library.

Once in the library David began to read everything, he could concern dragon warriors who possessed the powers of all four elements.

His findings weren't that fruitful as the books he found only spoke about the Golden Dragon Warriors and the great deeds of their past.

David, upon reading so many books about the Golden Dragon Warriors was beginning to entertain the idea that he might be a Golden Dragon Warrior, though he wasn't fully convinced about it.

David, after a while of reading nearly all the books he could find that spoke about dragon warriors who could control all four elements decided that he was done with reading for the day when he stumbled upon something interesting in one of the books.

It wasn't much, only a few brief paragraphs but it spoke about a dragon warrior who wasn't a Golden Dragon warrior but possessed the ability to control all four elements, the Dark Dragon Lord himself.

David felt his heart beat faster upon reading the name 'Dark Dragon Lord' within the confines of a book, even though he knew very little of him, what he did know about him was enough for him to fear him and his name.

"The Dark Dragon Lord was a dragon warrior unlike any other. Feared by all, not just because of his power but because of the army of dark dragon warriors he commanded, an army that obeyed every order given without question, no matter how cruel, ruthless and inhumane it may be, an army whose loyalty remained, even when their master had fallen to the hand of the Golden Dragon Warrior.

Nobody knows who he is or where he came from but his deeds are known by all. He, during his reign conquered many lands, nations and kingdoms, both of man and dragon warriors alike, ruling over them with an iron fist.

Anyone who dares go against him would fall to his mysterious powers.

Some say his powers were so great that they went beyond commanding the elements and pure destruction, claiming he could enter the mind of anyone and torment them through their very thoughts.

The source of his great power is a mysterious as well, all that is truly known about it is what the Dark Dragon Lord had done with it, it's true capabilities and extent are known only to the monster who wields it, the power was great enough to end a Golden Dragon Warrior single handedly, a feat no other Dragon Warrior within the confines of known history can attest to"

David upon reading those few paragraphs could not help but wonder more about the Dark Dragon Lord, he still harbored a great of fear for him though, but by reading those few paragraphs a spark of interest due to his curious mind sparked within himself.

He began to read once more but this time his main focus was on books that spoke about the Dark Dragon Lord.

Although they were very few in number, within the confines of those books pages he was able to learn a lot about the Dark Dragon Lord like how he started his campaign to rule over everything from a very young age, the books made it abundantly clear that from an age as early as 14 he had not only attacked but managed to kill the Golden Dragon Warrior Barinus, father of Ibierana the Golden Dragon Warrior who fell defeating the Dark Dragon Lord, and as the young Dark Dragon Lord grew so did his power and army.

Although his true goals and motives for his actions remained unclear the books made it clear that he harbored a great level of hatred for people who were dragon warriors as he would often torture regular human beings with more inhumane methods than he would dragon warriors before ultimately ending their lives.

His level of hatred towards regular human beings was so great that he almost wiped them all out during the face few years of his reign.

Nobody knew why exactly he hated humans, some books speculated that his hatred was came from a sense of pride in himself and his abilities as a dragon warrior, claiming that he looked down on those who weren't dragon warriors as he believed they were beneath him an ideology that was shared by a handful of dragon warriors, main wealthy nobles and aristocrats, and a few royal monarchs who see regular human beings as nothing less than beast of burdens and slaves meant to serve dragon warriors as the weaker race, a disgusting ideology which led to many wars being fought across the ages between dragon warriors and humans, one of such text which spoke about the Dark Dragon Lord in such a inhumane way had this to say;

"He was most likely another dragon warrior, one of many, born with immense power and privilege that looked down the common fork that had no power.

A tyrant like the many nobles and kings ruling over bless lands that saw people who lacked the power and blood of a dragon warrior flowing through their veins as less than peasants and unworthy to gravel before their feet, their only purpose was to serve them, having no will of their own, seeing them more as great beast of burden than the men and women they were.

This disgusting view is not new to us dragon warriors, though it is a shameful thing, many dragon warriors have come to belief that because of our power we have the right to conquer and subdue those who we deem lesser than us because of our lack of power.

Oh, when we learn that just because we have the power doesn't make us above everything under sky, we are quick to forget the heart-breaking mark out sense of superiority has left on how history.

The war, battles and needless bloodshed our quest to prove our might has cause, the most recent before the plague of the Dark Dragon Lord being the Great Elemental Wars, were we fought against ourselves for the right to rule over all the lands of man.

A war that shook the earth itself and made the heavens cry out, it almost cost us along with our world and it most likely would have if it wasn't for

We almost destroyed ourselves in that battle and if it wasn't for the intervention of Tonyi the golden dragon warrior of the time we would have if it wasn't for Tonyi, the golden dragon warrior at the time.

I sincerely hope the Dark Dragon Lord is the last of these tyrants born blessed with tremendous power but would rather waste it on proving their superiority to the world"

David, upon reading what the text had said about the Dark Dragon Lord and the existence of other dragon warrior couldn't believe that they were dragon warriors out there who would use their power to abuse and enslaves people just because they saw them as weak and beneath them

David couldn't help but feel ashamed and disgusted by the views of those other dragon warrior who felt as though they superior to all just because of the power they possessed and wonder if the Dark Dragon Lord was truly one of those tyrants or if there was more to him than meets the eye.

David continued his researching; wanting to find out more about the Dark Dragon Lord and eventually he found a few books that told a tale that when contrary to what the other told

A handful of the books David found actually tried to give the Dark Dragon Warrior a more humane reason for hating humans, saying that during the times of the Dark Dragon Warriors there was a great division between humans and dragon warriors, were humans both feared and hated dragon warriors because of the power they possessed, and would often attack dragon warriors when they had the chance.

One of those books had this to say about the Dark Dragon Lord;

"Although his origins are unknown, he came from a time when those who weren't dragon warrior hated dragon warrior out of fear of the power they possessed.

A time when it was normal to hear that a dragon warrior, caught within the boundaries of a Land where regular men rule would have his blood spilled on soil of that land.

Maybe, the Dark Dragon Warrior was product of man's cruelty towards dragon warriors, the devil of man's origin"

David couldn't believe what he had just read, apparently the ordinary people of the world treated dragon warriors as monsters, slaughtering and killing them indiscriminately supposedly out of fear and harboring deep hatred for all dragon warriors.

Those books told a completely different tale from the other ones David had read early as successfully painted a picture of the Dark Dragon Lord, making David seeing him through a different, more humane lens, not a monster who believed himself to be superior because of his power but an evil created by man and their distain towards dragon warriors.

David continued reading about the Dark Dragon Warrior and as he did so he began to wonder about him, wondering about why was so much about the Dark Dragon Lord shrouded in mystery despite being the most feared dragon warrior and why they didn't seem to be an absolute consensus on whether or not he was a true monster who believed himself to be superior and hated mankind for simply being weak or simple a dragon warrior reacting to the evil of man.

Read more about The Dark Dragon Lord but the more he read about him the more curious he became, the Dark Dragon Lord's story was something much more complicated than a man who just wanted to conquer the world and David could see that, is because of this he couldn't stop himself from wanting to know all he could about him.

Eventually David found a book that spoke about a change in the Dark Dragon Lord's character, something most other books ignored or didn't concentrate much on.

According to the book, there was a period in time in which the Dark Dragon Lord disappeared, nobody knew where he went to or what happened to him during that time, not even his army of dark dragon warriors, all they knew was that he was that he had vanished without a trace.

The period of the mysterious disappearance was known as the Period of Silent Darkness.

Most suspected that the Dark Dragon Lord had finally met his end others who knew of the incredible power he possessed were certain that he wasn't dead but hiding in the shadows, planning something.

The book had this to say about The Period of Silent Darkness;

"It was a period of uncertainty, where people were too confused to celebrate the absence of the being they acknowledged of being worse than the devil himself.

The people were divided between those that believed he was truly gone and those that were certain that he still drew breaths in the living world.

No one knows where he disappeared too but within the span of a few years after his mysterious disappearance he returned to finish what his began but he was not the same Dark Dragon Lord the world once knew.

The Dragon Lord of Darkness had undergone a drastic change during the mysterious Period of Silent; the cause though remains a mystery even till this very day"

David upon reading the book couldn't help but wonder what was the cause of the Dark Dragon Lord's mysterious disappearance, where did he go, what happened to him during that time to make him change and what kind of change did he undergo.

It seemed like the more David found out about the Dark Dragon Lord the more question he had about him.

Once David was done with that book, he went off looking for another one but sadly the books he found that spoke about the Dark Dragon Lord only spoke about things he already knew from reading previous books.

David began to get frustrated as he looked desperately for a book could tell him something he didn't already know about the Dark Dragon Lord.

Soon David got tired of searching, find no other book to satisfy his curious towards the Dark Dragon Lord.

David was thinking about leave when he heard a familiar voice cry out from behind, "David".

David then turned around and none other than prince Akiri slowly making his way to him from behind.

"Akiri, it's you" said David with a pleasant smile, happy to see his friend.

"What are you doing here and why didn't you attend any of your classes" asked Akiri.

"How did you know I didn't attend any of my class?" asked David.

"Flora told me, she was worried about not seeing you in class with her. Is everything alright" said Akiri.

David took a deep breath in before saying, "actually I'm not feeling too well. The Head master said I could take a day of classes to rest up".

David hated the fact that he just looked in to the eyes of one of his closest friends and lied but at that very moment he could bring himself to tell him or anyone else for that matter the truth.

Felt as though he needed to understand what was going on first before he told anybody about, this was his problem and he didn't want to burden anyone else with.

"Oh, are you feeling better now?" asked Akiri with concern and worry in his voice which made David's heart sink deeper with guilt due to the fact that he was lying.

"Yeah, I just decided to come to the library to study a little. After all I may be unwell but I'm still a student" said David with a playful smile.

Akiri upon hearing what David said smiled and lit up with excitement, "I knew it; you're a book worm, just like me".

David upon hearing what Akiri said just smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head before saying, "I guess I am".

"Finally, I've found someone who likes reading just as much as I do. Tell me what's your favorite subject, history, chemistry, philosophy, I'm mathematics is a bit tricky but it's actually quite enjoyable once you understand its core principles" said Akiri with excitement in his voice.

As Akiri spoke David remembered something Flora said about not wanting to hear another one of his lectures, suddenly, upon hearing Akiri speak in that very moment he understood what she meant.

David then realized that maybe he could use Akiri's vast knowledge of almost every subject to his advantage.

"History is my favorite subject," said David.

"Hmmm, I guess that makes sense. I mean for someone like you who has never really experienced much of the world, history would be your favorite subject" said Akiri.

David couldn't help but feel a little offended over what Akiri said about him being someone who had never really experienced much of the world but choose to ignore it.

"I've been reading some of the history books in the library and they are some confusing areas in them that I can't seem to understand. Could you by any chance happy with them," said David.

Akiri eyes, upon hearing what David said lit up with excitement before saying, "are you kidding. I would love to educate about the long history of the dragon warriors. Should we start all the way back from the reign of the four great nations, to the early days of unity?"

"I was thinking we start from an era a little earlier than that, like the Period of Silent Darkness," said David.

Akiri's excited face became one of confusion and shock upon hearing David speak of the Period of Silent Darkness, as it was a period related to the Dark Dragon Lord and since everyone feared him, they tended to avoid anything related to the Dark Dragon Lord, so the Period of silent Darkness was a topic not many people wanted to discuss.

"Why do you want to know about the Period of Silent Darkness" asked Akiri.

"Just curious, I read a few books mentioning it and began to wonder what it was all about," said David.

"Oh, alright then, well, not much is known about the Period of Silent Darkness. My father, being one of the Golden Dragon Generals, and one of the few people that actually lived through that period told that the Period of Silent Darkness was like a strange calming silence before the thunderous roar a storm" said Akiri.

"And the Dark Dragon Lord?" asked David.

"He described him as the storm. According to my father, after the Period of Silent Darkness the Dark Dragon Lord became even more dangerous" said Akiri.

"How so?" asked David.

"That's the strange part, according to him, the Dark Dragon Lord became dangerous because he became more humane" said Akiri.

"What?" said David, shocked and immensely confused upon hearing what Akiri said, wondering how a humane Dark Dragon Lord can be more dangerous that a ruthless and heartless one.

"According to my father, the Dark Dragon Lord changed. He no longer conquered nation, instead he recruited people, both human and dragon warrior to join his army" said Akiri.

"Why?" asked David.

"Well, my father said that apparently the Dark Dragon Lord wanted to build a better world for everyone, one that both human and dragon warrior alike can share, and live together side by side in peace, without any form of war or conflict" said Akiri.

"That doesn't seem so bad" said David, wondering why a man who was regarded by many to be a monster like the Dark Dragon Lord would want build a better world.

"Yeah, it doesn't until you hear how he planned on creating that world" said Akiri.

"How did he plan on creating that world" asked David, curious to know how the Dark Dragon Lord planned on creating his perfect world.

"By destroying the entire world and recreating it to fit his image of a perfect world" said Akiri.

David became horrified upon hearing the Dark Dragon Lord's plan to create the perfect world was to destroy everything and then recreate it all in a way he deemed fit.

"Did he actually believed he could destroy the entire world and then recreate it" asked David, finding it hard to believe that one man could not only have the power to end the entire world but also recreate it.

"Believe? According to my father, he nearly succeeded. In fact, if it wasn't for the Golden Dragon Warrior, he might have been successful in destroying and creating whatever twisted world he deemed perfect" said Akiri.

"What?" said David, shocked to hear that the Dark Dragon Lord almost succeeded in his plans to end the world and recreate the entire world?

"How?" asked David.

"I'm not entirely sure but according to my father the Dark Dragon Lord discovered a new form of power, one greater than anything the world had ever seen before" said Akiri.

"What kind of power did he discover?" asked David, wondering what kind of power would be so great it would be able to destroy the entire world.

"I don't know but whatever it was I'm thankfully the Golden Dragon Warrior stopped him otherwise we probably won't be here talking about it" said Akiri jokingly.

David smiled slightly at the joke, hiding his fear and terror over the thought of their being a power great enough to end the entire world.

"Are you okay David?" asked Akiri, sensing that there was something bothering him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for talking more about the Period of Silent Darkness, it really means a lot to me," said David.

"No problem, and if you ever need help with anything else concerning a subject or topic you don't understand, you know who to ask" said Akiri.

David smiled at Akiri before leaving the library.

Once he was outside the library, he accidentally bumped in to someone.

"Sorry..." David stopped mid-sentence upon seeing who he bumped in to, it was Mrs. Flani.

"Mrs. Flani" said David a bit nervous, not wanting to upset her.

"David, shouldn't you be in your room, resting especially after what happened last night" said Flani.

"Oh, you know about last night" said David while bowing his head down in shame.

"Yes, Richard told me" Said Flani.

"Whose Richard," said David.

"Sorry, I meant the Head master" said Flani, realizing she used the Head master's real name.

"Oh" said David.

"Why are you here, the Head master told me that you might not be feeling well due to what happened last night" said Flani.

"No, I'm perfectly fine. I just came here to study a little" said David with a nervous smile, feeling incredible uncomfortable being around Flani.

David lied to her, not wanting to tell her or anybody else for that matter about the real reason he went to the library, he felt as though that that was something he had to keep to himself, at least till he got the answers he was searching for.

"Oh, you haven't even been here for a long time and you're already studying. You are truly a remarkable student" said Flani.

"Thank you but I'm a bit tired. I think I'm going to go to my room" said David, not wanting to continue the conversation, feeling incredible uneasy due to Flani's presence.

"Oh, alright then" said Flani.

David then left but as he did Flani noticed Akiri in library reading a book.

She then, curious to know why David went to the library, not believing his story about him just want to study, went to Akiri to ask him what David was doing in the library.

"Mrs. Flani, you're here?" said Akiri, a bit shocked to see Flani in the library.

"What was David doing here" asked Flani with a stern look on her face.

"Reading, just like everyone else who comes to the library" said Akiri nervously.

"What was reading?" asked Flani.

"I don't, there a lot of books in this library and it's not my job to keep track of who reads what" said Akiri.

Flani just sighed, immensely annoyed that she could find out why David came to the library.

"Although, he did ask me a strange question" said Akiri.

"About what" asked Flani, intrigued upon hearing what Akiri said?

"The Period of Silent Darkness" said Akiri.

"Why?" asked Flani, shocked to hear that David of all people wanted to know more about the Period of Silent Darkness.

"I don't know, I guess he was curious but why are you so interested in David and what he was doing in the library" said Akiri, curious to know why Flani wanted to what David was doing in the library.

Flani's eyes then turned in to terrifying flaming dragon eyes and then she spoke with smoke flying out of mouth each time she opened it, "don't ask questions you don't want answers to".

Akiri, upon seeing Flani's terrifying eyes and the smoke coming out of her mouth with word utter by her realized why both he and every student in the academy feared Flani even more than they feared the Head master.

Suddenly Akiri's curiosity faded away, replaced with pure terror and fear.

"On second thought, I don't really want to know" said Akiri.

"Good" said Flani before her eyes turned back to normal and smoke stopped coming from her mouth.

Flani then left but as she did, she began to wonder why David wanted to know about the Period of Silent Darkness as it was a topic most students tended to avoid due to its connection with the Dark Dragon Lord.

"Maybe I should keep a closer eye on the boy" Flani said to herself as he left the library.