L.E. Miranda
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Book 2 Chapter 1: Progress (1)
🕑 Added 2024-10-04 21:27:56 +0000 UTCIn a sea of raging red and orange fire, a single woman floated alone. The boundless inferno burned amidst a black void, forming a spherical shape. It was a star. The woman floated in its very heart. She blinked, her long red eyelashes momentarily covering the two bright orange eyes, which looked like twin suns. The orange irises were as beautiful as they were wondrous. Her face and body were beyond the dreams of even the most skilled artisans and artists. There was no word that would do justice to her beauty.
She floated in a sitting position, her long fingers seemingly stroking the very fabric of reality. Every time they moved, so did the space around her. It contorted, shrunk, and expanded. It was as if spacetime were a mere toy. Yet, this sight didn’t seem to astonish the woman in the least.
She appeared to be deep in thought, with her brow furrowed. She was focusing on the strange sensation that had been in the back of her mind for a while. It was a feeling that she had never expected to experience again. It was a feeling that she had only experienced under select circumstances, none of them being good.
…A Dragon.
She frowned. Even that was unclear. The feeling was far too faint for her to be sure. It was as if the usual response to a Dragon had been reduced millions of times over, just to the point where she could barely pick up on it. If her perception weren’t so keen, she would have missed it completely.
Not even a newborn has such a weak signal.
What was she even feeling, exactly? She started to second-guess her own perception. Was it even possible for a Dragon to make her feel such a minor sensation? At that moment, the star’s blazing inferno parted. It was a phenomenon that the woman recognized. The fire made way for another woman. The newcomer spoke.
“Liria.”
“Mother.”
Liria’s mother had orange-colored long hair and eyes that glowed with a blue flame, but did not look to be even a year older than her daughter. An onlooker could have confused them for sisters. The woman was equally stunning, being beautiful to a strange degree. She wore a red dress – which was similar to Liria’s – that tightly embraced her unrealistic figure. Her appearance couldn’t be described as anything less than “perfect.” However, she carried a heavy expression. Liria stood up from her sitting position. They floated next to each other. Her mother continued to speak.
“Did you feel it?”
“…Yes, but I’m not sure what it was.”
The mother frowned. Her glowing eyes stared into the distance, seeming to pierce the veil between them and the object of her gaze. She scoffed. Liria knew that her mother hadn’t found anything; she, too, had tried and failed. She asked the burning question.
“What is it, Mother?”
The mother kept her gaze focused on an unknown place, before turning to face her daughter.
“As you might have guessed, it’s not a newborn Dragon or something similar. However…”
“…Yes?”
“…It’s something that carries a Dragon’s bloodline. It’s a feeling that I got familiar with before the Great War. A Dragon’s descendant… It’s been far too long since I have last felt one’s presence.”
Liria’s eyes shook.
“A Dragon’s descendant? But all Dragons were either purged or-”
“Yes, I know. The same applied to their offspring, which is why this is unheard of. I can’t believe there is a new descendant so long after the War. We must-”
Liria and her mother turned their heads at the same time, but they looked in different directions. Their eyes darted around but failed to zero in on the target. Liria felt the feeling on the back of her mind vanish without a trace. She instinctively tried to hold on to it, but it escaped her nonetheless. Now, she felt nothing. There was a slight sense of loss and confusion. What happened? Had the descendant died? Or was it so weak that its signal could no longer even be felt?
Liria looked at her mother for guidance, but the frown on the older woman’s face made it clear that this wasn’t something she had expected. Before she could say anything, she felt something. It was a far more aggressive feeling than the one before. It was forceful, powerful, and wild. The sound of space shattering like glass rang out in the void, traveling through spacetime itself. The flames parted once more, but this time not out of their will, but because they had to. Liria and her mother turned their looks to the area behind them.
A hole now existed in spacetime. It had been crudely punched through by the man walking out of it. He stood shirtless, having a muscular but lean frame. His frigid blue eyes and navy-blue hair worked together to create a matchless appearance. The man was handsome to the point of looking like a dream. The sharp eyes dug into Liria and her mother. White markings were drawn over his brown skin, joining together on his back to create the image of four wings, shining with a blue hue. Both women bowed at the same time. The older one spoke.
“May we know why the Martial God has graced us with his presence?”
Liria contained any bodily movement or reaction. Even her heart, a smoldering sphere that sent heat and power throughout her entire body, slowed down. Inwardly, however, she felt dread.
Hadar…
The Martial God was admired and respected, but that was because of his personal strength. In terms of personality, he was fickle, aggressive, and rancorous. Getting involved with him would only create problems. Liria let her mother do the talking. It was better for the more experienced of them to handle this crazy god. At the same time, she felt Hadar’s gaze upon her and her mother. It was well-hidden, but there was a tinge of lust. Liria had to restrain her desire to frown. The Martial God spoke.
“The Light Lizard I’ve been watching over emitted its power for the first time in millenia. I don’t know what it did or why it acted that way, but it was worthwhile enough for it to choose to do so, even while knowing that its restrictions would increase. I need to know what it has done.”
Liria’s mother blinked. The man continued.
“I expected your kind to be the best at noticing this kind of thing. So?”
Liria was aware of the Light Dragon that Hadar guarded, but didn’t know that it had made any movements. She glanced at her mother. The older woman spoke carefully.
“I did feel a wave of power from its location, but didn’t know-”
Hadar interrupted her with a wave.
“So, what is it and where has it gone?”
“…It may have been a Blessing, but even I can’t tell for certain.”
Hadar’s expression hardened. Draconic Blessings were something that even the gods coveted. Liria inwardly shook her head. The man replied.
“…To whom?”
This was the crucial moment. A living being’s fate would be determined by the next few words of the older woman.
“I don’t know.”
Hadar’s expression contorted terrifyingly. He clenched his right fist. Space shook. A blue aura surrounded the three people. He spoke slowly, but it was as if every word had the weight of a thousand stars.
“You’re a Phoenix. What good is your kind if you can’t even tell me this kind of thing?”
“…I’m sorry, my lord.”
“Sorry?”
Spacetime vibrated ever more strongly. The energy of the entire star they were in flowed into Hadar, making the star collapse. There was no time for it to become a black hole. All of it was sucked up by Hadar. Liria despaired. This situation wasn’t something that she could salvage. Why had her mother withheld information about the strange Dragon’s descendant? As she was about to open her mouth, she stopped. Her mother must have her reasons. She shouldn’t act out on her own. The other party was one of the most dangerous gods. Her mother spoke.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of use to you, my lord. I will gladly offer you my life for this offense.”
This time, Liria couldn’t contain her reaction. Her gaze shot to her mother, who continued to bow. A multitude of emotions flashed past her expression. In the end, only shock remained. So far, the scenario hadn’t been surprising in the least; she had expected to be threatened from the moment Hadar appeared. Yet, she did not see this coming. What would her mother do if Hadar took her up on her offer?
The Martial God kept his frown. Suddenly, as if it were a lie, the titanic wave of power radiating from him disappeared. He cursed.
“Fuck this. Investigate this situation. Tell me anything you learn as soon as possible.”
Liria’s mother’s expression didn’t change, even though she had received a task that shouldn’t have been her responsibility.
“Yes, my lord. I’ll be sure to do it carefully.”
Hadar stared at her for a few seconds before scoffing and walking back through the spatial portal he had created. Once his figure vanished, Liria waved her hand. The shards of space joined together, mending the hole.
Fickle indeed.
She turned to her mother, who had finally raised her body. The woman looked a bit older than mere moments before. Liria asked the most pressing question.
“…What are we going to do?”
The existence of the Dragons’ descendant seemed to be something only they were aware of. She didn’t know about the other Phoenixes, but it was possible that they had also felt its presence. Hadar could talk to them and obtain the information he was after. The older Phoenix spoke.
“There’s no need to worry. None of the others will say anything.”
“…Why?”
“You were born not long after the Great War, so it’s natural that you don’t understand. You don’t know what the Dragons meant. You don’t know what has changed after the Gods of War’s rule. If a Light Dragon decided to grant its blessing to the descendant, it means that he felt that there was a real chance.”
“Chance?”
The old Phoenix’s glowing eyes turned to Liria. They burned with expectation.
“A chance to break this status quo. A chance of the Dragons rising again.”
Liria went silent. She didn’t understand her mother’s desire for the Dragons’ ascension but believed in her.
“…I guess we’ll see how this turns out.”
She sighed. She was no longer surrounded by flames. She felt a bit out of her element. At the same time, her interest grew.
What was this descendant like?
