Chapter 2
Nameless
A long time passed by.
Maybe it was a week or a month, or maybe even longer than that. Whether Eliron stayed awake or slept the whole time, the sickeningly familiar underground view remained the same.
However there was one change.
The workers underground weren't the same anymore.
They were children. Just as mentioned before.
"Child, stop that. I can hide you and–"
"No. I already did that. Why are you–"
"Wait at least rest–""
Eliron couldn't help but pause in his words.
Like before, the children would only look up to him with deadeyes but continued with their work as if a bug startled them.
He tried every single time he woke up from sleep, even when children he's never seen before appeared and the ones he was familiar with had disappeared.
Sometimes he couldn't sleep trying to find something to lessen the children's workload. However it was for naught.
When he helps them somehow the child works extra faster. It couldn't be helped that he should only watch. It was best since the children keeps a steady pace.
Approximately 10 bells after, drifting in and out of sleep, the Demon King's followers came back. Though Eliron realized it before, it was evident now.
There was no change in Pearce's face.
"So was it eternal youth that you cared about?"
As if showcasing the unchanging looks Pearce chuckled proudly. "This is an ability you won't' appreciate. You dragons live for so long that no matter how many generations you pass by, your face remain the same."
Eliron grinned in ridicule, "Our youth wasn't built on the blood of others at least."
Unlike before Pearce did not hesitate throwing a rock in annoyance. It didn't take long for his whole group to join in.
From throwing rocks to throwing punches and kicks. In no time about 20 men started pouncing on Eliron's face in unison. He did not even fight back. Although he can simply sigh and these men will be pushed away, he did not move.
His days were a monotonous loop.
There was nothing wrong with change.
Maybe the physical pain will make the emotional pain go away.
Pain was good.
Once the group finished venting their anger, they left. Eliron tilted his head and smiled. There was a stinging pain by his mouth. It felt good.
Was it… actually good?
He fell asleep again.
This time he woke up startled.
"Hush now~ The sun will rise again my dear~"
A tiny hand caressed an area on his face making him flinch unconsciously. When his yellow slit eyes found peculiar pink ones from a child, the child paused.
"…Are you okay, Mister dragon?"
She was different. Though her eyes were dead, she spoke and moved naturally.
"Are you real?"
The child tilted her head and poked her cheek, "I think I am."
"Have you recovered from the brainwashing?"
"Are you okay?"
"Are you exhausted? You should rest."
Eliron bombarded the child with questions but as if she was set on focusing to whatever she was doing, she never answered him.
"Just what are you doing?" He sighed. He wanted to ask serious questions but the child kept moving around.
She crouched down and clung to his snout, climbing up to reach an unapplied herb to his injury. Her eyes were too focused that her untied purple hair tickled Eliron's nose.
"Hmph…! Your hair… move it."
"Yes?" She finally replied, her pink eyes staring unfazed at his large slit eyes.
"It tickles."
"Oh."
The child scooped her hair up on her palm and raised its end to the sky before closing her eyes. Her actions made Eliron nervous, it was familiar though he couldn't pinpoint why.
"What're you–"
"I offer the excess hair to the goddess of the land…"
With that silent prayer, her hair up until her neck grew golden and turned into ashes. The particles flew into the air and disappeared towards the ceiling.
"You–"
"Shhh~" The girl placed a finger over her lips and smiled sweetly. "This is our secret okay, Mister dragon?"
Eliron could not believe what he just saw. In the lands where demon magic ran rampant, the golden light that he had only seen once finally appeared.
A saintess has appeared.
The savior of the mortal lands has appeared.
Ever since that day, Eliron did not sleep.
"What are you working for?"
When Eliron asked, the girl stopped in her tracks. Like before, the children passes through his tunnel to an even smaller tunnel. He could hear the wind draft going downwards so it must be a hidden area.
She was carrying a basket of food towards the hole. "It's a secret place for my friend. Hiding is a must at this time. Would you like to meet her?"
His brows furrowed, "Can I meet her?"
The girl chuckled while nodding but then she paused, "Oh not right now. You'll meet her next time when the bell rings."
That was everything she said and continued on her way. Sometimes she follows the other children and carried a basket of metal ores from a different tunnel.
He was aware of the child's presence even when she left and does her share of work. Sometimes she would rest by him and tell stories. Despite her blank pink eyes, her words and actions were full of life.
"…Name?"
"It is something that belongs to everyone, given first by their parents. For example, my name is Eliron."
The child looked up in thought. "I am nameless like my father. But he gave me the name 'Nameless' himself."
"Nameless? Were you born with sla– with worker parents?"
"Work? Um, my mother sits close to my father and father sits down all day…"
Eliron huffed slightly in dissatisfaction. His hot breath that blows off even the strong adults seems to only tickle the girl. "Your parents are lazing around while you move tirelessly?"
"Mother cleans my father's clothes sometimes."
Eliron sighed, "And what does your father do?"
Her pink eyes reached him as she smiles, "My father rules the land."