487 The Long Lost Tale Part XXXIII *

It was already morning, but Alex was still sitting on the bench outside Abigail's small house, with her in his arms. The two of them used to sit there quietly and watch the sky. But this time, none of them were looking up anymore. 

Once Alex's army caught up and also arrived at the foot of the Black Dragon Hill, they saw their master still grieving, and they could only watch until Alex's generals and the witch approached him.

The witch could tell that Alexander's spirit was entirely broken, and no word could ever make him feel better anymore. However, she needed to speak and tell him to let her go.

"Your highness," she started, "please let her go now. You have to let her rest now, your highness."

Her kind words somehow reached Alex, and he slowly looked up. His dark and lifeless eyes glanced at the sky, and he saw it was already morning. He looked down at Abigail again for a while as he finally spoke.

"I… I want to give her a proper resting place." He said, his gaze not leaving her face. It was then that he noticed that his Abigail was wearing that golden-colored dress she was wearing that night when they first met.

His eyes started to well as he kissed her forehead one last time. "Fine, Abigail…" he uttered. "I will wait for you, no matter how long it takes. I promise." His tears fell as he gently bumped his forehead on hers. "Just please promise me… that the next time we meet, don't ever leave me like this again, okay?"

As he said those words, the rain stopped. That day, Alex finally let go of her and buried his heart and soul along with her.

…

Alexander and his men then headed back to Ashteria the next day. When they arrived at the vampire's largest city, the entire place was already turned into ash, along with the neighboring vampire towns and villages and the forests where the witches live. There was nothing left, and the only thing standing right then was the gate where Abigail had died.

Lexus was flying aimlessly in the sky, as if he didn't know where to go, just looking for something to burn.

But the moment he saw Alex and his army. The dragon majestically landed in the ruins. It was as if he was waiting for Alexander to arrive and come after him.

Gripping his sword, Alex's lifeless eyes zeroed on him. All he could think right then was Abigail's wish. He couldn't even feel his heart anymore. His emotion was broken entirely.

That day, his war against Lexus started. He attacked him without reservation, and the dragon fought back furiously.

Both of them turned into beasts with no heart and soul—monsters who knew and want nothing but to kill and kill to no end.

Lexus didn't die, and he fled away. But Alexander didn't stop and pursued him.

He knew he would return to the Black Dragon Hills. Back to Abigail's place.

But Alex's heart had gone entirely black. He had become a coldblooded monster since he left the hill that day. He had killed his emotions, compassion, and soul because that was the only way for him to win against the dragon.

When Alexander and his army arrived at the hill, the battle continued. Alex's men fell one after another. Thousands of his men had fallen before his sword finally pierced through Lexus's heart.

The two of them were in the middle of the crater, on top of the plateau-like colossal rock. The sea of mist had disappeared when Abigail died, so all that could be seen around was nothing but deep canyons.

Alex was in his very last strength because of the endless long battle and because the burns Lexus inflicted wasn't healing at all.

As Lexus fell, Alex knelt on the ground, still holding the sword's hilt tightly.

His body began to tremble as he rested his head on his arm. He stayed there unmoving for a long while before a murmur escaped from his lips. "I'm sorry… Lexus," he uttered. He touched him as if he was putting him to sleep, and then, he pulled the sword.

Blood gushed out of the dragon's heart. Trembling, Alex reached out. He knew he was about to die. He must drink the dragon's blood right then, or else he wouldn't make it.

Thus, Alexander didn't waste any more moment and finally drank Lexus blood as a single tear fell from his cold eyes.

At that moment, the sky thundered, and lightning struck everywhere. Alexander screamed as the mist reappeared once again, swallowing him and the dead dragon.

The sea of mist covered the crater once again as the sky raged on.

The remaining soldiers waited for their master to come out, but no one emerged from the most. None of them had any more strength to go and look for their master, so they just stayed there, waiting.

Once the sky stopped raging, everyone's eyes fell to the thick moving mist, and the next moment, they saw their master emerged. His eyes no longer black nor red. They were golden, exactly the same as the dragon's eyes. Everyone celebrated as Alexander landed before them. 

The air around him had changed. He didn't feel like a human or a vampire anymore. He had become the most superior being any of them, humans, vampires, and witches alike, had ever seen. He had become a terrifying creature.

After leaving the Black Dragon Hill, Alexander sought the help of the witch, asking her why he couldn't remember a thing. Because the witch had seen and heard Abigail's last words to him, the witch couldn't tell him the truth. She thought that it would be torture for him if he remembered that girl again. Thus, she gave him a false memory. She showed him his memories but omitted everything from that night that girl found him in the forest until the start of his battle with the dragon.

Alexander didn't ask any more after that. As they headed back to the ruined kingdom of Ashteria, the witch queen, Zeres' mother, arrived in Black Dragon Hill. She, too, heard Abigail's last wish, so she went to Black dragon hill after finding out that Alexander had killed the dragon.

Landing on the plateau-like rock where the dead dragon lay, the witch queen slowly approached the dragon. The mist had disappeared. The place was now desolate, filled with nothing but rocks and dead bodies.

The witch queen brought out a bottle and filled it with the dead dragon's blood before she quickly left. As the witch queen flew away, steams began to appear in the crater as if the volcano was awakened, and it was now about to blow.

When the witch queen arrived at a certain crystal cave, she entered a room where two bodies lay. Zeres heart was still beating, but it was already weakening. No spell could save him anymore.

The witch queen made the unconscious Zeres drink the blood. She wanted to see if the blood would still work as it did with Alexander. However, to her dismay, nothing happened, and Zeres still died.

Utterly frustrated, the witch gritted her teeth, and her eyes fell to Dinah's body. Half of Dinah's face was burned. The witch took her because she still believed that she might not be that useless. She thought that maybe, the dragon blood could revive her and make her powerful since she was still a descendant of the dragon keepers.

However, just like with Zeres, nothing happened. The witch was so angered that he smashed the useless bottle in the ground.

…

Back in Ashteria, Alexander began to make his move. He and his men marched to the Hidden City located at the south, where the royal family had escaped during the dragon's rampage and conquered it.

His ruthless journey had started after that, and time went by as fast as the wind.

Thousands of years then pass by, and the fated day arrived. Abigail Chen was born. However, at that same moment, inside a deeply buried crystal cave, two bodies moved their hands and opened their eyes.

.... ~End of The Long Lost Tale~....