Holding these tiny swords – I slash forward with all the power I could instil through it. I could do it without worrying, because, this guy was way faster than me anyways.
"Hailo… keep that other one a bit closer to yourself, just in case," Spythun tells me.
"What if I cut my own self?" I ask with concern, looking at the second tiny-sword in my hand – close to me.
"That's the point, you need to learn not to. This way… you don't have to hold a shield, which is heavier… or as versatile."
"But it is small," I scoff.
"Not everything can be big always."
I look at him with disbelief, and shake my head.
"Okay, now I'm the pervert?"
"Come on… that word shouldn't be in between us."
Spythun slashes towards me while missing purposely. Yet I put my effort to evade his moves, while stepping backwards. It feels like dancing, while I'm following his lead.
"You cannot fight him!" Spythun says and pins me to a tree, while holding his dagger to my throat. "You aren't a fighter, Hailo."
I just stare into his serious eyes, and freeze there. He just shakes his head and lets me go.
"Turn into your dragon-form," Spythun says as a command.
My heart just clenches and I look at him again to confirm if he is serious… he is. "You are kidding, right? I'm not as good as my mother."
"Well, you gotta be someday. Doesn't matter if it isn't right now. So just try."
And if I tell him to change forms then I would be the jerk. Pfft.
But I just move a little away from the tree and stand a little distance from Spythun. He forms his yellow bits of swords and nods to me.
First I close my eyes and concentrate on my gem. I feel its powers throughout my body, but gathering it to my chest – where my gem is, I clench my own body to bop upwards while tip-toeing a little. I hear a buzz vibrate from me, but no light fills my plenary as I open my eye.
"Keep going," Spythun tells me.
As I close my eyes and concentrate again, the buzz switches into a high pitched screech – and I feel a burning sensation around my gem. And so I release the shockwave-
"Hailo n-" Spythun's words get cut short and I open my eyes while gasping. I was here.
I don't move an inch and control my breathing. Slowly I rest the bottom of my feet back to the floor. I couldn't be loud.
+
"I just wanted to let you know," Raigo tells me. "Agusth… she found part of the answer."
"You mean…?" I ask, with anticipating eyes – but fear at their corner.
"Rain… your mother," Raigo says, curing my anticipation. "Her other name was Alasair. And she indeed was from Nightrale. Like Drego."
"What more do you know?"
"That her name surely has some meaning to it. Like Trinity who was the third child to the royal family of Nightrale. But that aside… I think there is more meaning to the story. Of WHY Nightrale. And where Rustizen Villers disappeared to."
"But you're not sure what?"
"She… we never got to it. I'm not sure how to continue it now," Raigo says, and I feel myself frown. "But… considering things… I think I know what her powers were. And hence… why you cannot transform."
+
The crystal cave. It was different than what I heard. And different than the one we were at, that day. But it was dark yet… and smaller pathway… that day it was an infinite void of a place. This was fine.
I slowly lift my leg, and put my leg forward and slowly back to the ground. Taking such precaution I move forward.
Spythun, you jerk.
But as I curse Spythun in my head, I feel a spark at my hand and almost slap the cave wall near me. Making sure that nobody hear my noiseless scream in my mind, I go forward again. It was empty surely… and that's what made it worse.
"Hum…." I hear a chant-like humming. It sure was nearby. "Hum…" it continues.
That might be someone familiar. Hopefully. Better than having new people against us. But what the hell was with the chant? Any of these Rahamboses having faith in something higher? That was… quite new. I always guessed that they thought of themselves as the highest.
As I move forward I see a figure levitating above the ground… no, there was no visible ground, it looked more of a void than ground. If only this person has spoons levitating near-
I feel my heart crunch… there was something here… I focus my eyes on the room and see if. Red sparks flying towards this guy… who was perhaps Rainbow. But they weren't touching Rainbow, no there was some kind of a field stopping contact.
As I look around… I see gems at the walls of this room Rainbow is in. The gems seemed more like they were engraved in there… different shining gems. Was he powering himself this way?
I hear a kind of voice, and shake… Rainbow turns towards here, making me snap out and fall to the forest ground again.
"Hailo!" Spythun says and bends down to me.
I just gasp while bopping my body up and down. Looking at the comforting forest floor.
"Are you okay?"
I look at my own self and find that my shirt is burned at the chest, revealing my gem. Spythun grabs a towel and covers it, but I hold his hand.
"Spy…" I say and look into his eyes while gasping, and gulp a little. "Can we just…"
Spythun's cheeks lift up, and he gives a kind of flustered expression. He looks around, just to see if anybody else is here.
"Here?"
"Now."
And with my racing heart I let our hearts race together. I feel calm in his embrace. I feel peaceful and… safe. Comforting. And feeling that… things are okay.
"You okay?" Spythun asks.
I turn to my side and look at his face lying there, in a different direction than mine – but looking at me with loving eyes.
"Now I am."
Spythun just gives a kind of weird frown and nods it off. "That was risky."
"RISKY?" I ask and get up, to look at him still lying calmly on the floor. "You fucker, I risked my fucking life there. You jerk!"
"Alright. Geez. Sorry for trying to push you to be better. We'll just do the fucking then."
I narrow my eyes and just groan. But I fall back to the ground and lay down again.
"He's chanting some mantras in there."
"Mantras? What kind?"
"Er… well, maybe just the meditating kind. With the humming and all. Red sparks around him."
"Wait, red sparks as in…?" Spythun asks and looks at me with shook and concern.
"Yeah. He was either sending it off… or empowering it. There was a shield around him… or something which was sending red sparks out of him – towards the gems in that room."
"He's creating more?"
"A hundred shall follow him," I recite the line from the prophecy. "Maybe this is how."
"But they can't just… MAKE people. Dragon gems become nothing without an owner. They just become a vessel of power. Which breaks when the wrong master forcefully uses them."
"Well… Rahamboses are… off the norm. But you're right. Then again, what if new dragons will be made into Rahambose?"
"That… no, that's crazy. And wouldn't it be too much for younger ones?"
I just shrug. "Maybe that is why he's doing that? To find whoever will be the right candidate."
"Then we need to tell the-" Spythun pushes forward, but I hold his face and push him back down.
"We can't just make them panic. And they'll screw us for doing this by ourself – yes, obviously you are included because you did this. And also… can't we just… stay here for longer?"
"Like…"
"Oh relax, I'm just a little tired. I'm not asking for us to go again. I think… I had a good amount of it. I'm sated."
Spythun stares at me, and I give him a confused look. "Please never quite any of those words again."
And I chuckle. But I soon stop as Spythun come ahead to peck at my forehead. Then the jerk just lays back like it is nothing.
"What was that for?"
"Well… just proud of you."
I stare at him a little more, not able to digest the compliment which feels a little like mockery. "You know what, let's go round two."
"Woah, woah, I'm not that proud. And didn't you say you were tired?"
"Not the sex, jerk. Get up, let's fight more. I'll surely stab you now."
"Only first if you can even catch me."
"Daggers can be thrown at great speeds. Beware. I'm surely giving you a scar. Consider it as a dear hickey."
"Sounds hot."
But he regrets that and makes sizzling noises as I cover the wound at his hand. Apparently he was lesser conscious of his surroundings and so pride filled when evading what I was throwing. But I simply just claim that it was my plan all along to bait him. He does NOT like knowing it that way.