Two Souls (Part 1)

"Will lord Iemis be returning?" Johan Lovette asked Shides as the god paced his way towards the pope.

Shides had cleared out the faolan. The wounded Bredret was still collapsed on the ground in pain from the scorches on his scales. Temple workers were wrapping chains around the dragon with magic infused. If the dragon awoken they were not certain the chains could hold Bredret down from escaping. It was simply the only option they had at the moment.

Clang! Clang!

A thick and heavy chain was tightly bound around the dragon's mouth like a muzzle. It was a precaution so that the dragon could not open its mouth to breath fire if it awoke. They could still hear a rumbling growl from the slumbering dragon's throat.

He better return and not leave me behind here! What is that man thinking? Shides thought to himself after hearing the pope ask him.

"He should return soon after dealing with Chynir. Lord Iemis is not one to kill others so I doubt he will take things too far against him." Shides replied.

"Do you think he will have a method to break Chynir's control?" Prince Leo asked while he and Vorbuk watched them treating their companion as if he was a criminal.

A heavy silence filled the air. It was clear that the god was hesitant to respond to the prince's question. Vorbuk did not stand there and wait for an answer. He knew the situation was not looking good for Bredret. The wolf instead made his way over to the dragon's face.

Standing in front of the dragon he could feel the weight of the heat as it breathed. Even when Bredret was not using fire his breath was extremely warm when he was in his true form. At Bredret's side was the spiritual form of his beloved Celeste. She was clearly crying even though she was incapable of making a sound. It made the wolf's heart tighten to see her look so helplessly at the dragon.

"He is a strong person. I doubt this will be able to hold him back for long. I'm certain he will find a way to get pass this." Vorbuk said to the spirit of Celeste while shifting into his human form to stand beside her.

Celeste was not a fool. She knew that there was no method for Bredret to break control on his own. What Bredret needed was not tears. The dragon needed a miracle. It was not something that anyone could give him.

She had given her life to remain by his side longer then any human could hope for. Dying was a choice she had once made on her own. After all the time she had spent by his side after death as a spirit she knew Bredret felt more weight than any average person could bear to endure.

To spend every day watching his beloved's spirit hover around him. The dragon had once given up living among his own kind to be with her. Yet in a moment of fear that her life would one day leave him alone she had killed herself early. Using magic that would bind her soul to remain forever by his side as long as he lived so that she could spend his entire life with him. Even if it meant giving up her life and voice she had selfishly made the choice.

Bredret at the time did not know of her choice until it was too late. Over the years he had carried that burden of guilt with him. It was a guilt that no amount of drinking could fully suppress.

Reaching out her transparent hand towards the dragon she imagined what it would be like to once again be able to touch that warm scaled body. Tears streaming down her transparent face as she wished deeply for him to open his eyes. Hoping that when they opened they would look at her tenderly once again.

"Celeste!" Vorbuk called out to the spirit as her spiritual form began to glow a soft teal color.

Bredret... Bredret, wake up! Celeste wanted to shout but the words would not come out.

Wake up!

Open your eyes, please!

Celeste wanted to cry out with everything she had. The one she loved had been charred by lightning. The one she loved with everything in her had been put in a position that he could not handle and become a wounded mess. He was hurting and lost within the darkness of another god's control. She wanted desperately for him to be free from such a fate. Everything inside her screamed and prayed for him to break free from the defect of his soul that dragons were born with.

Her spiritual form fluctuated and began to pulse in the air. Wrapping her arms around the dragon's horn with a tear filled face. A soundless cry came from her.

C...Celeste? Bredret thought as the dragon's eyes began to open forcefully.

A golden light began to envelope the dragon's body. It could see the teal aura surrounding the form of his beloved out of the corner of his eye. The dragon did not have the strength to move yet so it could only watch as his beloved's aura began to confront his own.

"What is she doing?! Stop her!" Shides shouted at the others while pointing in the direction of Celeste.

"What's going on?" The prince asked while Johan Lovette was standing speechless beside them.

Vorbuk tried to reach out for Celeste instinctively. There was nothing to grab because she was a spirit. A soul that was attached to Bredret. His hand could only slip through her spiritual body as the girl's form slowly drifted inside of the dragon.

Th-Thump! Th-Thump!

His heart began to race wildly as he tried to understand what he was watching. The two auras in front of him consumed the body of the dragon as they seemed to struggle against one another.

"Damn it! Has she lost her mind?!" Johan Lovette began to swear subconsciously after witnessing the girl's actions.

"What is going on? Where did she go?" Prince Leo questioned him.

"Shes using a forbidden method.. In order to save Bredret from being controlled by the gods. The dragon's problem is a matter of a defect in his soul. By sacrificing her own soul to merge with his she has a chance at saving him," Shides muttered frustrated. "But in return her own soul will be destroyed. That is why the method to cure the dragons is considered forbidden. Using another persons soul to cure a damaged soul destroys the soul that is used for the healing."

The dragons body began to shift until they saw Bredret's human form laying on the ground surrounded by a gold and teal aura. The teal aura was growing weaker and beginning to fade away. It was being consumed and merged within the golden one. Bredret's aura was becoming more sturdy. As time passed he was healing.

'Bredret!'

'Bredret, you must wake up!'

'There are so many people waiting for you to come back. They need you. I need you.'

The dragon could hear a familiar voice calling out to him from somewhere within the darkness in his subconscious. It was a voice he had not heard for a long time. Yet full of familiarity he wanted to reach out for that voice. A sense of longing washed over him to capture the source of that voice.

"C-Celeste? My love?" Bredret muttered within the darkness as he saw a bright light in front of him. Reaching out his hand to grasp the light with his heavy body. He was not sure if he was hallucinating or not. Bredret only knew that he could not remain among the darkness.