Loyalty and Passion Of

I still remember her face. Not bruised, no, it would be been clean. 

If it wasn't for the myriad of other colors. Blood. 

Red, green, even a dark odd blue.

I don't think it bothered her—Vaniti, at all. If anything…it probably felt like more skin.

I shake my head. Stop thinking about it. She got into trouble because of me. I failed to be there. She got hurt because of me. 

A sigh escaped my lips, I never got to know what Aarx truly meant. If it wasn't for my departure…and my almost eventual transformation.

But since I can't get to the Ashlight Bastion realm by myself, any chances I have might be in the land of Dragonia. 

But…wait. 

If I can't get there. 

Then how did Vaniti manage to yank me out of there? 

Was it because of the relic? No, I didn't sense any magic lingering around it. Plus, it didn't look like it activates on a portal-basis. 

But…

But a Spirit Elf does. 

Shit, did she advance so far that she literally and insanely advanced to connected between realms?

I know the Spirit Elves can get into contact with the Spirit Realm, but…Ashlight Bastion?

Did she reverse engineer the process—?

No, maybe I'm giving Vaniti too much credit. I can't go off of what I don't know. But only seen and felt. 

And on the basis of feeling…that would explain the sudden gust of wind. If it was truly a portal…then it was my transformation on the horizon. 

Then Aarx wasn't bowing out of respect, he was confused.

Yeah…that makes more sense. Even I'm starting to develop a paranoia around this titan. 

The cloak is off, Vaniti is fast asleep. Needles still inserted into her back, bandages still on. I don't think I need to worry about her twisting and turning in her sleep.

The tip of my tail goes along the middle of my back, starting from my neck and trailing down. It twitched, not from pain…but from anticipation. 

I think the tail knows. My most dragon-like feature other than the sharp fangs, or the dracotanium horns, or the weird anatomy that mimics humans and elves alike,

That damn spine.

I've mentioned this once. Every source of power for a Dragon is from the root of our spine. It's not a weakness, targeting it specifically doesn't hurt us.

All magic comes from there, and for most of us, a transformation. A dragon transformation.

The game never explained the lore behind it much, but In starting to feel as if it's building on its own in real time. 

Like…it has a mind of its own.

In lore, dragon names usually are in reference to the type of Dragon you are, and it's cultural importance. Ryuuzen, which could be interpreted as…"Natural Dragon" or "True Dragon", suddenly changes when my direct race comes into play. 

A Dark Silver Dragonoid, Dark Dragons are naturally chaotic, and work off of negative and dark impulses. I'm assuming since I am my character…these dark impulses have no affect on me. And if they do, it's not hard to spot it.

But…they are usually aligned with shadows, dark, or the night. So it wouldn't take long for any other dragon to find out my name.

Not Ryuuzen, the other. 

My true name.

After compiling my name, and my origins, race, everything. Then, my true dragon name will be revealed. There's two things about it, however.

That 1, I…wouldn't be Ryuuzen, in the normal sense. 

And 2, I think I already know it. 

I must've forgot it, and then it just hit me when I was speaking to Aarx. He reminded me.

It's…confusing. Weird, gimmicky. It grew on me within the game but now this is quote unquote, all real. I'm still Ryuuzen, it's just…the true name, the other me. 

Isn't me, so to speak. 

That's why I can't help but feel frantic, just at the slight sensation of any feeling within my spine.

Sometimes I wondered why the chains were so attached to me that I could never take them off my cloak.

If push comes to shove, they were never for my power. 

They were for his.

For once, and for the entirety of the game, I recognized that feeling. The shudders and tremors up and down my spine. That was the VRMMORPG's best trait, and that I only felt it when I was the one who could proc the transformation.

But lately, it's been different.

I haven't had the slightest idea of transforming not once.

And there, the shudders and tremors are there. Regardless if I initiate it or not. I would say it has a mind of its own…but I'm slowly starting to realize that it might be the point.

Maybe it does have a mind of its own.

What if I can't control it?

I'm doing good so far…but what if there's a moment where I can't?

Aurea Islands would be…gone. No sugarcoating that.

Maybe the rest of the quadrant?

Hemisphere?

I sighed, buried my face deep into my hands. The last thing I need is to be some sort of World-Ender. I can't have that right now. Not when things are being launched right into my face.

If push comes to shove, then maybe Vaniti could end me—

No, she can't. She's not strong enough. I have no failsafe.

And…I don't necessarily trust her to that level for such a responsibility.

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm…going through the mood at the moment. Yeah, that's right. I'll go sleep, and everything will be fine.

Yeah, splash some cold water on my face and hope for the best.

Yeah.

Yeah…

"Who…am I kidding." The words escaped my lips fast, too fast. An honest truth, one that I never did want to admit.

I'm a horrible liar, and I can't pretend this is something I can dodge anymore.

I simply can't.

My spine shuddered once more. Not because of me, and I swear.

I swear, I swear, I swear.

Just for a second, I saw it.

My shadow shifted slightly out of sync.