186 End of Arc: A Good Name

The Eastern Peninsula. Somewhere in an unknown fishing village.

The winter sun hung in the middle of the sky. While a few seagulls cawed, a group of fishermen with skin darkened from fishing under the sun all year long, docked their special skiffs made for offshore fishing at a dilapidated jetty after coming back from the sea.

Getting to shore with their meager catch, they lamented about how hard it was to get through winter.

Winter was hard for them compared to those in the nearby towns, or even the cities a couple dozen miles away, with the resources and capital to mobilize galleons and catch rare fish in the ocean. Things were also easier for the people of status involved in the whale-hunting business, as well as the bureaucrats running the salt fields and the underwater dark copper mining operations. No matter what, the winter for these fishermen were difficult.

Even most types of seagulls had flown to the warmer sea to pass the winter, and the yield of those in offshore fishing were so bad, it was not enough for the fishermen to support their families at all.

So, many of the men had to look for other sources of income to feed their families after they return from the sea. They either collected conches and shells on the beach, helped out at the salt fields, engaged in hard labor at the whale oil harbors in town, or marinated dried fish at home. On the other hand, the women stayed at home to take care of the children, trying their best to earn some livelihood through sewing and mending of clothes.

A person in a bamboo hat sat on a worn little chair beside the jetty while she skillfully weaved a fishing net in her hands with the thick rope and flax in her hands. She greeted the passing fishermen affectionately.

"Thank you. I hope your day goes smoothly." A woman's steady and honest voice came from beneath the bamboo hat. She sounded old, but her voice had a quality that made others feel at ease, for some strange reason. "Oh, right, I have to repair these nets before spring. Andre and the others are waiting to use them."

With practiced ease, she chattered with the fishermen.

"Yes, we can drag them to the market to sell... Oh, why am I repairing the nets here? You know, I like to sunbathe."

After the fishermen left, the woman in the bamboo hat lowered her head once more. She drew up her drooping linen sleeves and revealed her brown skin which had either been darkened by the sun or had been like that since birth. She then concentrated on fixing the fishing net between her knees...

That was until, she raised her head and glanced at the beach, as if sensing something.

A small wave crashed against the wood-built jetty and turned into white foam.

After a glance at the horizon, she calmly lowered her head and continued to mend the fishing nets in her hands. However, her honest and steady voice traveled from beneath the bamboo hat once more across the empty jetty.

"I don't remember inviting you here."

If there were others around, they would probably think that the woman was talking to herself, but what happened next broke this hypothesis.

An insipid voice echoed mysteriously from the air. "To be exact, I did not come. Only my voice came. You can just pretend that I sent a messenger crow."

The woman did not even raise her head. She focused on tightening a part of the fishing net.

"The Trade Federation's white messenger crows sound very good." Her tone was steady and indifferent without any rise and fall, but with its own tranquil energy." Their caws are bright and clear. Your voice sounds like a parched drake."

She deftly shifted the fishing net and continued repairing another spot.

"A gentle insult." The insipid voice rang again, as if used to such a scene. "You're still the same."

"Get straight to the point," the woman said nonchalantly. "I have to put the nets under the sun soon."

There was silence around her for a while. During that time, there were only the sounds of waves crashing and seagulls cawing...

Until that insipid voice echoed airily again. "That person knocking on the Door just now, you felt it too, right? A new Mystic was born."

The woman in the bamboo hat snorted softly and tested a spot of the fishing net she had finished mending.

The voice that rang in the air was barely discernible. "We must look for him…"

"No." The woman in the bamboo hat was not interested. She interrupted the voice immediately. "I don't know, and neither do I care."

"A newcomer!"

There was no rise and fall in the insipid voice, it sounded especially bored, as if it possessed no strength.

"You know what this means: The two empresses will not let him or her go." The insipid voice sounded like it did not care for what it was talking about. "An unknown Mystic is too much of a threat to them. And since the newcomer didn't experience the Battle of Eradication, the two empresses could totally take him under their wings and make him a part of them."

"Go find L or Giza." The woman put down the fishing net in her hands and extended one hand to take another net. She started mending that one. "Asda, Solovski, and even Sora would be interested."

"This is what I wanted to say." The voice in the air echoed hollowly. "The newborn Mystic will either have the two empresses or these people as his companions. Do you want this to happen?"

The woman paid no heed to him. Instead, she stared at the net in her hands.

The voice in the air continued talking. "L or Giza… the ones under B will just drag him into their ridiculous circus of rabid dogs, reenacting the tragedy from over six hundred years ago.

"The Moderators aren't good people, too. Based on my understanding of Asda and Solovski, they definitely aren't lying low since the Second Mystic Civil War because of their love for peace…"

The woman raised her head and stared at the 'air'. Her voice became cold for the first time. "So, that's why you came for me?"

There was silence.

"You're different, Freuland. Everyone says that you are also part of the Moderators." A moment later, the uninvited guest in the air said flatly, "But I know that you're different."

Freuland did not say anything.

"You facilitated the unprecedented alliance between the Moderators and the Extremists twelve years ago." The uninvited guest's voice echoed in the jetty. "You saw something higher, further and more meaningful…

"Instead of just fighting against the two empresses, or reenacting the so-called glory of the Mystics… You knew that this was not the purpose of our existence. We can't erase our past, and neither are we higher beings," the voice in the air said flatly.

"Compared to how furious and indignant the others are, you chose to quietly weave nets in this unknown fishing village. I reckoned that you would be able to understand me."

However, the woman only shook her head slowly. "Then, you should also look for Kirei. He's the one who's in the same gang as you are. At least, both of you had fought together before."

The vacant voice stopped speaking again.

"Don't put me on the same page as that lunatic." For the first time, a hint of emotion was detected in the voice of this visitor in the air. "Not everyone who fights with you is your friend."

The woman in the bamboo hat smiled slightly.

"What's the use of saying so much?"

She lowered her bamboo hat to shield herself against the rising sun. "We all know how complicated the process to transform from 'matter' to 'essence' is, which is, coincidentally, the process to become a Mystic."

The voice in the air did not say anything.

The woman in the bamboo hat continued speaking in her steady voice, "He... That newcomer definitely has a guide who has spent an unimaginable amount of time to find him, six hundred something years after magic vanished. That guide would have prepared everything required and collected all the resources to help him become a Mystic eventually… Just like what Macinta did for you."

The woman sighed. "Regardless of which faction it is, I'm afraid that he has already found a place where he belongs." 

Holding the net with another hand, she flexed her hand. She seemed a little tired. However, the woman's words were immediately refuted.

"No. I encountered him when he was knocking on the Door."

The insipid voice sounded a little unsteady. "At that time, he was panic-stricken and afraid, as though he wasn't prepared to knock on the Door at all. He wasn't adequately prepared to face the threat of the two empresses either. Which guide would make such a mistake?"

The woman paused. She raised her head slowly. "The Magic Empress…"

"He cannot be the two empresses' student… You, too, saw how they immediately knocked on the Door at the same time, striking violently in their basic forms without regard for anything." The stranger in the air seemed to know what the woman was about to ask. He continued speaking. "They had not been so flustered and disheveled ever since B and Errol returned to silence at the same time in the Capital of Triumph."

The woman in the bamboo hat was silent for a long time.

"I understand." A few minutes later, she said flatly, "Are you suspecting that the newcomer might not have a guide at all? After all, there are still places that retained the remnants of the Three Great Magic Towers and can help him in becoming a Mystic, aren't there?"

The visitor in the air confirmed her speculation.

"Of course… Until the top management of the three towers worked together with the Empire and the church to intervene…

"'Genius Gemini' gave thirty-six talks in the Convention of All Magic. The 'Introduction to Mystic Energy'—a compilation of the talks—was reprinted countless times, and that is if we do not take into account those undocumented hand-written copies and notes.

"Even a disaster like Operation World Cleansing could not destroy all of them. There is a high possibility that the newcomer is a 'lone wolf', just like Kirei.

"I believe that the Extremists, the Moderators, Blood Spike, Hellen and even Kirei are already restless and are about to make trouble now, especially L—he would find the newcomer even if he has to search the entire world.

"Soon after they show unusual activities, Sunset, Sunrise, Bright Moon, Dark Night Temple, even the various kingdoms and the Seven Kings of Hell will notice that something's wrong.

"It will be fine if they never find him or if only one of them finds him, but if two or more parties find him at the same time…'"

Staring at the horizon, the woman in the bamboo hat tightened her grip on the fishing net in her hands.

"I need your help, Freuland. I need you to locate him," the visitor in the air said earnestly. "If I am correct in thinking that you don't want the world to deteriorate further…"

The sound of waves and the caws of seagulls echoed one after another. The woman in the bamboo hat was silent for a long time.

Finally, she heaved a long sigh and said flatly, "I can't find him."

"What do you mean?" The insipid voice said incredulously. "With your ability, aren't you able to locate anyone the moment they knock on the Door?" 

The woman nodded slowly. "Yes, when he knocked on the Door, I could sense that he was in Mane et Nox."

The voice ringing in the air sounded slightly delighted.

"This is good news. There are three legendary anti-mystic weapons in Mane et Nox, but they're all in Kirin Holy Capital. The bad news is that Blood Spike is near Mane et Nox—"

At this moment, the woman uttered the name of another place.

"And the Sea of Eradication."

The insipid voice did not seem to know how to react. After pausing for a moment, he asked,

"What?"

"When he knocked on the Door, he was also at the Sea of Eradication," the woman explained calmly.

"How is this possible?" the visitor in the air asked in disbelief. "From Mane et Nox to the Sea of Eradication…"

The woman in the bamboo hat paid him no heed. Instead, she lowered her head and muttered to herself, "The Great Desert. The Late Dusk Woods."

Sitting on the jetty with the sea and sky as her background, she continued speaking while fixing the fishing net. Various names of other places tumbled out of her lips "And also Glacier Quiquer, Crow Caw City, the Moors of Constellation, the Northern Prairies, the Yama Plains, Brave Souls Fort, Demon Sea, Dragon Clouds City…"

The woman in the bamboo hat trembled slightly. She accidentally ruined a portion of the net she was mending. Her words were calm but stern.

"These are not the only places I sensed! The moment he knocked on the Door, it was as if he was standing in every corner of the world before entering his basic form. So, I can't find him."

She extended her hand and adjusted her bamboo hat. "I'm afraid that it's the same for the two empresses."

Again, silence hung in the air. The woman looked at the fishing net in her hands again and shook her head slowly. "There's no way for us to locate him."

Another wave crashed again the shore. The woman on the jetty was silent.

"So, there's nothing we can do?" The voice in the air was a little vacant.

The woman raised her head and straightened her bamboo hat. "Not necessarily," she said slowly. "To be able to knock on the Door means that he is already a fully formed Mystic.

"He might not have a guide. He might not understand his ability well, either," the woman said flatly. "Pay attention to unusual news from all over the world, from the rumors to legends. Since he lacks experience, he will reveal himself one day."

"So," the insipid voice said, "We can only rely on all this to find him?"

The woman in the bamboo hat did not say anything.

A slightly bigger wave crashed against the jetty, causing her linen dress to become wet.

"Alright, last question."

The voice in the air sounded a little dejected. He asked, testing waters, "Taurus, how did he react to this news?"

The woman's hands paused. A seagull flew past a wave. Catching nothing, it could only fly back to its nest.

The woman said slowly, "How would I know?"

"He is your guide, after all." The visitor in the air continued speaking, "Just like how Macinta is mine."

The woman in a bamboo hat spoke slowly. There was disdain in her voice. "Then you should know as well as I do, Zarkel, that ever since the second civil war… he never cared about anything related to us."

…..

'What is a great dragon supposed to look like?'

Raising his head dazedly, Thales stared at the massive figure. Illuminated by the green flames, the figure seemed to be a few dozen or even a hundred meters tall.

There were layers upon layers of dark red scales on its body, reflecting the light of the flames. Its broad wings were folded behind its gigantic claws, making it seem like a graceful noble woman wearing expensive clothes and a cloak.

The outline of its face was unique but smooth, and its neck was long and straight, with no particular effort from it to appear as such. The two black horns on its head that extended parallel to each other towards the back gave the dragon a sort of praiseworthy magnificence, in addition to making it appear mysterious.

Of course, that was only if you ignore the hideous and horrifying sharp thorns on its body.

At that moment, Thales suddenly realized that Giza's black little monsters might be modeled after the shape of the great dragon.

The dark red dragon did not move as it stared at the hydra that was roaring in pain on the ground. It did not seem to care at all.

Burning in the green flames, Kilika's last tentacle trembled as it extended towards the dragon. The dark red great dragon turned its neck. Thales recognized the emotion in its eyes—disdain.

In the end, Kilika's tentacle burned away completely on its way to the dragon, turning into ash that fell onto the ground. After all its flesh and blood was burned up, as if possessing its own sentience, the green flames did not continue burning. Instead, it extinguished slowly.

Thales stared at the scene before him, holding his breath and trembling.

'My God. Great dragons… actually exist.'

*Rustle...*

In the next moment, the great dragon turned its massive body without warning, causing a huge portion of the ruins in Shield District to moan, unable to bear with the dragon's weight.

Shocked, Thales cowered a little.

The great dragon placed its two claws on the ground and turned its body and neck. It whipped its tail, which had an equally beautiful outline, to maintain its balance.

*Rumble...*

The loud rumbling of soil and stone showed how gigantic the dragon was. The dark red dragon then lowered its head and looked at the two tiny figures on the ground...

Thales' entire body shuddered violently.

'It can't be. Why is it…?'

The great dragon looked at the two children. The two dirty, unkempt and disheveled children.

Thales trembled uncontrollably and tried his best to strain his neck to look into the dragon's eyes. Those crystal clear eyes like yellow amber did not move at all. However, as if by magic, they locked onto Thales.

Little Rascal shuddered, too, and hugged his arm tightly.

Before arriving in Northland, Thales thought of all the possible scenarios involving the king, archdukes, nobles, soldiers, citizens… even the Mystics, and the Blood Clan. He thought of how to react in various situations, including those involving elves like Aida.

However, the situation at hand was the only one he had never thought of.

'A great dragon? Is this a joke?!'

Staring at the great dragon's seemingly profound gaze, Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

'What do you mean by this? At least give some reaction. Why are you staring at me without saying anything?'

At the same time, Little Rascal said with a quiver in her voice,

"Red wings… green flames…"

Little Rascal's face was pale, and her lips were greenish as she trembled violently. She said in a shaky voice, "That's… Queen Clorysis!"

Thales shuddered fiercely.

He opened his mouth wide and turned his head around in disbelief.

"The Queen…" Thales stuttered, "The Queen of the Sky?!"

Little Rascal was shaking like a leaf. At the same time, she was oddly excited. Tugging at Thales, she said with certainty. "Yes, yes… Eckstedt's… first queen!"

Thales felt a little dizzy. He took a few deep breaths, then turned his head back again and raised it as high as possible.

He looked at those large, bright yellow eyes. The black pupils made him feel greatly pressured. He stared at the legendary great dragon who had been missing for over six hundred years.

Thales could not help but avert his gaze a little. He glanced at the Cliff of the Sky in the distance, and then at the statue of Raikaru on it. He then looked at the great dragon's massive body, then back at the Cliff of the Sky.

He felt as if he knew why she, the Queen of the Sky, left Eckstedt and never came back.

'If the Cliff of the Sky was the Queen of the Sky's imperial palace…' Thales roared furiously in his heart. 'With her size, she can't live comfortably there at all!

'These unfilial descendants of Raikaru… It was deliberate, wasn't it?'

At this moment, the great dragon exhaled hard through her nose.

*Whoosh!*

The strong air current swept across the ground, making Thales and Little Rascal tumble. Thales steadied himself on his feet with great effort.

The great dragon turned her head slightly but kept her gaze fixed on them. Her gaze seemed a little contemplative in that moment, and simultaneously, a little impatient.

Thales could not help but feel apprehensive. He nudged Little Rascal as he recalled something.

"Hey." Staring at the increasingly unfriendly gaze of the great dragon, Thales said fearfully in a low voice, "I remember you telling me that there's a specific set of protocols when we present ourselves to the Queen of the Sky?"

Little Rascal was stunned before she sucked in a sharp breath of air.

"Right, I forgot just now." There was panic on her face. She did not dare raise her head to look at that dragon. Only her terrified words could be heard. "The dragon hates disrespect and rudeness!"

Thales understood what she meant and quickly yanked Little Rascal's sleeve.

"What should I do?" he asked with gritted teeth. "I think it's time for you to tell me!"

Little Rascal finally registered what was going and talked rapidly.

Hence, under the dragon's gaze, the two children began bowing in a hilarious manner, with Thales obeying Little Rascal's instruction.

"First of all, w-we have to kneel down on one knee," Little Rascal said with a stutter, but the more words that tumbled out of her mouth, the smoother her descriptions also became.

They knelt down on the ground.

"You have to kneel on your right knee!" Little Rascal corrected him sternly. "Kneeling on your left knee is used during the ancient Northland's marriage ceremony, where a newly-wed couple swear an oath to each other!"

The second prince quickly changed his foot obediently. His actions were slightly clumsy and slow.

"Then, like the military protocol for the Ancient Empire and the knighting ceremony for knights, curl your right hand into a fist and place it on your chest." Little Rascal became smoother with her words, as if she had forgotten her fear towards the dragon. "Your left hand should fall naturally."

Thales decided to not just listen to Little Rascal's words; he simply watched her actions and quickly imitated her.

"Lower your head respectfully… for at least three seconds…"

The dragon continued staring at them, unmoving. Only the light breeze created as she breathed through her nostrils reminded them of her existence.

"Then, one after another, we must report our full names…"

Little Rascal spoke with a quiver in her voice, "O great Queen of the Sky, Your Royal Majesty Queen Clorysis… I am… I am…"

Thales frowned. He realized that Little Rascal had suddenly become stuck with her words.

Little Rascal seemed to be panicking a little. She spoke in an incoherent manner, "I am… About that… I uh…"

A thought appeared in Thales' mind. He remembered an incredibly important matter and quickly used his elbow to poke the girl before he whispered to her, "Saroma!"

Little Rascal shuddered and instinctively said, "I am Saroma…"

She trembled lightly, as if she was not used to this name.

'No.' Thales thought in his heart. 'It's because she remembered something.'

As expected, once she said the next part of her name, there was even a sob in her voice.

"Saroma Alex…" Little Rascal's tone started changing. Tears began to fall from her lowered face. "Alex…"

She seemed to have remembered something and stopped talking. Tears dripped from her eyes and she could not speak due to the lump in her throat.

The dragon narrowed her eyes slightly, and her eyes as she gazed at Little Rascal became slightly fiercer.

Thales gritted his teeth, then extended his hand and gently held Little Rascal's left wrist. Little Rascal shuddered a little. She turned her head around and cast Thales a glance. Thales nodded his head minutely and gave her an unwavering and encouraging look.

Little Rascal gulped, as if she had picked up a bit of her courage. She re-positioned herself and, while still stuttering and speaking with a tremor, she continued, but this time, she did not stop.

"I am Saroma Alex… Soria… Walton… of Dragon Clouds City… I am honored… honored to ob-obtain the glory of having an audience with you."

Little Rascal finally finished speaking. She panted loudly. Cold sweat broke on her forehead, as if she had just performed a series of intense exercises.

Thales released a sigh of relief. Then, the second prince sucked in a deep breath and lowered his head, imitating Little Rascal's actions. With the most stable and respectful voice he could imagine, he said calmly,

"O great Queen of the Sky, Your Royal Majesty Queen Clorysis, I am Thales TherrenGirana Kessel Jadestar of Eternal Star City. I am honored to obtain the glory of having an audience with you."

Once he finished speaking, Thales let out a breath of relief again.

"What happens next?" With his head lowered, he poked the girl beside him once more.

This time, Little Rascal's answer was very simple. "We wait."

They started waiting quietly while they knelt; not daring to speak, to lift their heads, or to move. They had no idea how many minutes had passed. Only the sound of the howling, freezing wind and the crackling flames could be heard.

Eventually, Thales became slightly incapable of controlling his curiosity. He raised his head a little. Little Rascal saw his movements and became so terrified that her face turned stark white.

Thales' gaze was directed towards the spot above him. It would have been better if he had not glanced at it, because when he did, Thales jolted.

When Little Rascal saw how Thales acted, she could not help but started lifting her head as well... then she, too, was frozen stiff with fear.

A gigantic head with scales had stopped right above their heads.

'What the f*ck!'

Thales' breathing had quickened to the point where there was no possible way it could become any faster.

The Queen of the Sky had long since lowered her head. The scale closest to them on her nose was less than a foot away.

The dragon turned her head to reveal the eye on her right side. Her bright-yellow eye, the color of amber, was getting closer to them, as if she wanted to see them clearly.

This action caused Thales' breathing to freeze. He knelt on the floor in a daze. During that instant, he seemed to have forgotten everything around him. The only thing he saw was this dragon. Little Rascal trembled slightly and her breathing hitched.

Their images and faces were reflected in the dragon's eye. The two children's faces had turned white with fear. They were dumbfounded and remained in the same position without moving. If anyone saw their own reflected images, they would probably not laugh. That was the case for the both of them. The two of them did not even dare breathe out loud and could only stare at the dragon while she sized them up.

After a moment, the dragon withdrew her head slightly. And when the stress-inducing eye left their sight, only then did Thales suck in a breath again.

Then, something out of Thales' expectations happened.

Little Rascal shuddered and let out a frightened cry before she shrank back. She started looking around wildly. Thales quickly turned his gaze and stared at the dragon. 'Did she do something?'

But the dragon remained unmoving.

Little Rascal finally quieted down and stared at the dragon blankly. Questions rose in Thales' heart.

In the next moment, Little Rascal's panicked voice rose into the air. "Ah… yes… no… yes… right… thank you… um…"

Thales stared at Little Rascal talking to herself in a dumbfounded manner.

'Has she… gone mad?'

In the next moment, Little Rascal shouted loudly again.

"Ah!"

In a flurry and with a quick speed, as if slapping a mosquito, she tore off the spectacles on her face.

Then, tremblingly, she placed the broken old pair of spectacles with the black frames respectfully in her hand, as if she held something precious.

The girl was shivering like a leaf and almost cried. "I-I really didn't know… I didn't know you used them before… they just gave it to me… I was wrong… I'm sorry… I really didn't know…"

Thales stared at Little Rascal in disbelief, then at the pair of spectacles in her hands, then at the Queen of the Sky.

'They are… talking? How did they do that?'

At that moment, the Queen of the Sky suddenly moved. She extended her nose to Little Rascal. Thales' heart trembled.

'What does she want to do?'

In the next moment, the Queen of the Sky exhaled lightly from her nostrils.

*Whoosh!*

A huge wave of air billowed through them so strongly that they could not open their eyes, they could only cover their heads with their arms.

After a moment, the air stopped.

Once he was certain nothing was wrong with him, Thales lifted his head with fear still lingering in his heart.

He looked at the Queen of the Sky only to find that the dragon's ferocious chin had curved slightly, as if… Thales did not know why he had this thought in his head, but she seemed… to be grinning wickedly.

'A sacred dragon, the founding Queen of Eckstedt… grinning wickedly? That's way too unserious, right?'

But soon, he had no time to care about all of it.

"Jadestar?"

A woman's voice, filled with an imposing tone that could shock all humans' hearts, heaving and deafening, rose in his heart.

"You said you're Jadestar?"

"Ah!" Thales cried out in surprise and was so scared that he fell back on his rear.

He looked around him in fright, but there was nothing. Then, he saw Little Rascal giving him visual cues with all her might, and only then did he react to the situation.

The Queen of the Sky was staring at him, and still did not move, besides…

"Do not be afraid. The communication between dragon and mortals has always been like this."

'Here it is again!'

This was a voice that sounded as if it was right beside his ears but had risen suddenly from the depths of his heart.

That was it; it was his heart!

Thales stared dumbly at the dragon.

"You said you are Tormond's descendant?"

Thales still looked around himself in a somewhat disbelieving manner, but in the end, he sucked in a deep breath.

Finally, Thales gulped and stared at the dragon straight ahead before he answered, with great effort on his part, "Yes… I am the King of Renaissance's descendant, a member of the Jadestar Family."

The situation was a little bizarre.

It was as if Thales was talking to himself in front of a dragon.

"You have a good name."

The dragon's amber eyes were still staring at him, and it made him slightly anxious.

"It is a name rarely seen in the genealogy records for the Jadestar Family or the royal family belonging to the Empire. Who gave you that name?"

As Thales breathed, he blinked, and found himself unable to force down the nervousness in his heart.

"Thank you," he murmured, trying his best not to make his voice not quiver too much. "Thales is… is the name my adopted father gave me."

Thales suddenly realized that he could not tell what language she was using to speak in his heart, but he could understand it nonetheless.

"No." The dragon used that strange language to continue speaking to his heart, and her face remained still in the air. "I am talking about your second name."

Thales was momentarily stunned, until he understood what the dragon meant, and his expression changed drastically.

'My second name? That is… Therren… Girana…"

A voice with a strange rhythm rose in his heart. That meter and rhythm sounded… as if she was reciting poetry.

It was as if there was a secret and a power hidden in it that could make a person intoxicated.

Thales stared at the Queen of the Sky blankly. The dragon turned her amber eyes to stare at him. The queen's voice rose once more.

"A beautiful name in dragon language."

Thales jolted. In the next moment, the dragon extended her wings swiftly.

*Whoosh…*

A violent gust of wind blew towards him.

Thales and Little Rascal were forced to hug each other tightly to resist the gust of wind.

In the storm that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, the dragon raised her head and let out a deafening roar.

"Roar!!"

It almost ruptured Thales' eardrums.

In the next second, the huge dragon abruptly leapt into the air.

*Boom!*

A huge tremor spread into the area, and the two children fell on the ground because of it. The violent gust of wind continued blowing against them.

A dozen something seconds later, the sound of the wind gradually grew weaker, only then did Thales open his eyes, albeit with great difficulty. As Little Rascal wept, he looked towards the sky.

In his line of sight, the Queen of the Sky extended a pair of broad, large wings. Under the illumination of the greenish light from the fire, she left behind a silhouette on the world that was difficult for him to forget in all his life. 

Her figure became smaller.

Eventually, she disappeared into the darkness and could no longer be seen.