Chapter 1025 - Dragon's Offer

Red.

On the whole, Leon didn’t think he liked the color that much. He never had much of a favorite color, but after the past few weeks, red was certainly his least favorite.

So, as he slowly returned to consciousness, he was more than grateful to see above him trees, leaves, and a cloudy sky.

Or rather, as he realized a moment later, not the sky, but the Mists of Chaos. He was in his soul realm, yet not in his Mind Palace.

He remained still, opening his senses to all around him. He made no noise, and even closed his eyes again, hoping to get a better feel for where he was and what was going on around him before having to deal with it.

He heard the crackling of fire, though not nearly as intense as it usually was around Xaphan, so he figured the demon wasn’t nearby. The forest was still, no wind blowing through his soul realm. Were it not for the fire, everything around him would’ve been completely silent. He felt the ground beneath him, soft and loamy. Grass poked through it, forming a nostalgic bed that reminded him of his youth. He felt like he could go right back to sleep if he laid there for too much longer, the comfort of his facsimile of the Forest of Black and White almost overwhelming him after the past few weeks.

But that would be foolish; not only was he unsure how he got here—the last thing he remembered was trying to flee Arkhnavi—but he could also sense a presence, something large, powerful, and much closer to him than he would’ve hoped for. This presence was neither Xaphan nor the Thunderbird.

‘Has my soul realm been invaded again?’ Leon wondered, his heart momentarily stopping from the horror of the question.

“Open your eyes, bastard,” a gruff, masculine voice commanded. “I know you have awoken. Arise now and greet your elder.”

Leon scowled, his fear replaced with irritation. He recognized the deep, almost resonant voice, and he wasn’t thrilled to know that its owner was here again, even if it meant that his soul realm was more likely than not free of Primal Devils.

He opened his golden eyes and took his time pushing himself off the soft earth. He ignored the enormous man standing imperiously on the other side of the black fire burning in the middle of the clearing they occupied. Instead, he occupied himself with looking around at their surroundings, noting that they were, indeed, in his soul realm. They were about fifty miles away from his Mind Palace, in a wide valley filled with purple grass and the darker trees of the Forest of Black and White.

“Insolent child,” the man growled, his eyes narrowing in anger.

Leon almost chuckled provocatively until he noticed a detail that had him momentarily freezing; the man’s eyes were the exact same shade of gold as his own.

The last time they’d spoken, the man’s eyes had been bright red-orange.

Other than that, his appearance was unchanged—still the same dark skin, his arms and the skin around his eyes glittered with scales as black as night, and his body was covered in animal furs. He was still enormous, standing at more than seven feet tall, with long, wild hair loosely tied back, and a look of utter dismissiveness on his face.

Although... as Leon studied the man further, he realized that there was one more difference: his chiseled jaw and chin, which had been smooth and hairless the last time they’d met, was now covered in black stubble.

“Ancestor,” Leon said, noting these changes in the Great Black Dragon’s appearance while taking a proud stance, determined not to appear at all servile before this being that had so long spurned him.

“Is that how you acknowledge your elders?” the Dragon inquired.

Leon shrugged. “I’ve taken your attitude to heart, Ancestor,” he said. “You want nothing to do with me. So nothing is what you’ll have. That includes respect.”

The Great Black Dragon stared at him for a long moment, his face impassive. Then, he softly snorted and growled, “At least you have sufficient pride.” He went silent for a long moment, then slowly circled the fire until he stood before Leon, an arrogant smirk spreading across his face. “I will give you one chance, bastard. Bow before me and acknowledge me as your highest elder. Pay your respects to me as the highest of your Ancestors. Swear your allegiance to my blood as your greatest power. Do these things, and I shall acknowledge you as my descendant. I shall legitimize you as a member of my Clan, removing from you the stain of bastardry. I shall then send someone to pick you up and take you to your proper place at the heart of the universe, with the rest of my Clan.”

Leon’s mood grew worse with every word spoken. The Great Black Dragon was dead, yet here he was, demanding Leon swear obeisance to him, when Leon was, himself, a King!

But he controlled himself despite his fury almost reaching his tongue.

“How did we get here?” Leon asked, ignoring for the moment the Dragon’s demand.

“Answer me, boy,” the Dragon responded.

“You first,” Leon shot back. “Where is the Thunderbird? Where’s Xaphan?”

“A dragon pays no mind to lesser creatures.”

It was Leon’s turn to snort, though his was far more derisive. “Your demand,” he began, “what does that mean for me? I’m the head of the Thunderbird Clan already, heir to one of the most powerful beings to ever grace this universe. I have a Kingdom, and those who follow me do so because of their loyalty to my blood.”

His aloof and arrogant Ancestor sneered and repeated in a more dismissive manner, “A dragon pays no mind to lesser creatures.”

“Lesser or not,” Leon said through clenched teeth, “I would appreciate some specificity.”

The Great Black Dragon rolled his golden eyes and said, “The lowest member of my Clan is higher than even the greatest King. Disregard your lesser titles and weak vassals; a dragon has no need for either.”

Leon blinked in surprise, the Great Black Dragon’s arrogance still shocking him despite the answer being perfectly in line with what he’d been expecting. “Perhaps a dragon can fuck off, then,” he said, unable to help himself.

In an instant, the Great Black Dragon’s demeanor changed completely. Where he’d been standing imperiously, now he loomed ominously over Leon, his golden eyes darkening to their more familiar red-orange hue. “Keep your loyal worms, then,” he spat. “Be always scorned by my Clan. Never shall you be accepted.”

“Choke on my indifference,” Leon responded with a grin even as his heart began to race. “I’ve craved your acknowledgment. You can’t take away the power I already possess. It’s a part of me, beyond your control. And why should I care about your Clan, anyway? A dragon pays no mind to lesser creatures, right?”

The Great Black Dragon’s eyes began to glow with greater ferocity, and Leon could hear a high-pitched whine growing in the forest. Before he could get concerned, however, the Great Black Dragon disappeared, the black fire burning in the fire pit and the high-pitched whine vanishing with him.

Ambrose’s bright smile dimmed. He tried to speak, but caught himself and sighed. Eventually, he was able to ask, “How are your eyes?”

Leon, his eyes still closed, thought about giving some vague platitude. However, he figured that Ambrose had a reason for asking, and so decided to be more honest than he was inclined to be.

“They’re... cold,” he said.

“Any pain?” Ambrose asked.

Leon frowned in thought and shook his head.

“Good,” Ambrose whispered. “Good.”

“Why ask?”

Again, Ambrose hesitated to answer immediately. “Tir’Anu, Mari’Kha, would you two be so kind as to give Leon and me the room? Apologies, I simply wish to speak with him completely freely. Apologies.”

Tir bowed and made for the door, while Mari stayed just long enough to whisper to Leon, “Be careful with this one, Lele; he’s got a real look’a mischief ‘bout him.”

“I can handle a bit of mischief,” Leon replied, grinning at her. She returned the grin and followed Tir out of the room.

Silence fell upon the room for an uncomfortably long moment, and Leon almost repeated his question. However, he knew that Ambrose hadn’t forgotten, and simply waited for the answer.

“After the battle,” Ambrose eventually stated, “I found you. I found you. Your eyes were gone.”

‘What?’ Leon thought, his face freezing too quickly for him to ask the question aloud. ‘Gone? Absent? My eye sockets were empty?’

It took him a moment to fight through the anxious smile that appeared on his face to ask, “What do you mean by ‘gone’?”

“They were gone,” Ambrose repeated. “You had no eyes. They had to be healed. They had to be healed.”

Leon stared at him disbelievingly, though his eyes remained closed.

“Are they functional?” Ambrose asked. “There can be some complications with such complex restoration, but I had the best of the best help me...”

Leon cracked open his eyelids, and immediately, the air upon his eyes felt frigid, but all-in-all, his eyes seemed otherwise fine. He told Ambrose as much, and the Grave Warden walked over to inspect him a little more closely, peering directly into Leon’s eyes.

“They... look normal,” he stated. “They look normal! Just wait a little while and they’ll acclimate. If you have any problems, be sure to let me know!”

Leon hesitantly nodded even as he wiped the tears from his eyes, resolving to see some of the best healers on Kataigida as soon as he could once he got home.

“So,” he said as Ambrose took a few steps back, a thoughtful look on his face, “what in all the hells happened? What do we do now?”

“The latter’s easier to answer, so that’s what I’ll start with,” Ambrose replied. “For you: nothing. You go home. You go home. I’ve asked enough of you. I can ask no more. I can ask no more.”

“That Primal Devil got away, didn’t it?” Leon asked, wishing that the Thunderbird hadn’t been right.

“He did,” Ambrose confirmed. “He fled before we could stop him, to my great dismay.”

“And Arkhnavi?”

“Intact. My friends and I are working to ensure that all traces of our ancient foe are expunged from the plane. The people who call it home will have a chance to recover.”

Leon nodded, happy for that, at least. “None of the other prisoners escaped, did they?”

“No. But what we do now will be... difficult to answer. I have some thoughts on the matter, but I must confer with my friends first.”

Leon nodded. “When you decide on a course of action, let me know, yeah? At this point, I’m kind of invested.”

“Will do, will do. But before we discuss matters further, why don’t you tell me all that happened? I must know.”

Leon nodded, but asked instead, “Where’s Ard’Nara and Serena?”

“They are still recovering in these halls,” Ambrose answered.

Leon sighed and nodded. That they were still alive was quite the silver lining, he supposed. A Primal Devil escaped, and he was unable to stop it, but he at least saved two people. That was something.

So, he settled in to tell Ambrose all that had happened. He suspected it would take a while, after which he had more questions he wanted answered...