Ep 147. I’m Sure We’ll Meet Again. (1)
In her blurry vision, Aymeia drey breaths. She was barely managing to stand orembling legs.
In stark trast, the metal dragon before her leisurely stood, yawning in boredom from the ck of challenge.
“Out of tricks already? Gotta say, I’m pretty disappointed. Ilias could use fmes better than you in her hatg days.”
“…”
For the st hour or so, Aymeia had tried nearly everything at her disposal.
She’d tried to reason, argue, and even plead for the steel dragon to let her pass.
When none of those worked, she’d resorted to brute force – where she had clear elemental advantage in.
But evehe former deity had failed to move Raizel out of the way.
It wasn’t that Raizel was unblemished; the youngling had numerous burns across her body, some worse than others. But the grotesque wounds only served to further the jarring dispy as Raizel stood ever so casually in her damaged state, blog Aymeia’s passage to Serenis and Felicir.
‘This is impossible. I ’t…’
With a relut, resigning sigh, Aymeia closed her eyes as she opened her mouth to cede defeat.
But before a single word could fly out of her, streaks of enormous lightning struck the earth beyond Raizel.
Squinting, the former deity struggled tain her vision from the sudden fsh.
Just beyond the steel dragon was an ied surface emitting heaps of smoke – and lying upon it was her guide-turned-mentor, seemingly moments away from being killed by the dragonlord.
A skipped heartbeat sighe ining wave of panic.
“…No…stop!”
What followed after were nothing but a blur for Aymeia.
Her vision fshed in white, and her body felt as if they were beginning to melt. But even so, she simply rushed forward with nary a thought, her only goal to reach the Reaper before it’d be too te.
She could vaguely feel something heavy striking her abdomen – likely the steel dragon that had been blog her path. But instead of being knocked back, Aymeia gripped the fist buried iomach, releasing a burst of heat towards them.
The surging fire instantly broke Raizel’s stance, f the youngling to back away lest she turned into a pool of molteal and flesh. And though the heat burs wielder far more than the dragon barring her way, Aymeia could hardly register her own state in the moment.
With Raizel momentarily gone, Aymeia hurriedly tinued forward to stop the dragonlord. Cool winds hurtfully grazed her burnt, limping body, but the pain was nothing pared to the terrifying sight that was unfolding.
And when she finally mao reach them, she desperately ed her arms around the dragonlord’s waist.
She spoke as strongly as she could. But what came out was nothing but a shuddering, terrified plea.
“Mother, stop…please…”
“…”
When the former deity uedly appeared behind her, Serenis reflexively looked baeet their pleading gaze. And while she remained silent, the relu her eyes visibly grew.
But before she could say anything in response, a fsh of metal zipped past her vision, instantly taking Aymeia off of her waist with ah-shattering impact.
“Wait, Raiz-“
Thud!
“…”
When the dust cleared, Raizel was on top of Aymeia, her iron grip firm around the girl’s neck. The youngling’s hand piheir head onto the crater she’d made, her knee pressing down upon the rest of their wounded body.
“…Sorry. Didn’t mean to let her slip past like that.”
Serenis barely registered the youngling’s apology.
Instead, her widened eyes were fixed on the familiar, numerous white embers, dang about Aymeia’s figure. The girl seemed unscious, ahe fmes were rapidly growing in iy.
‘NO!’
Serenis leapt forward to grip Raizel by her shoulder – though it was already too te.
Before Serenis could pull the youngling away, each ember burst into a torrent of tremendous heat; the surge of immediately caught Raizel in their wake, swallowing the youngling whole.
A horrifying sizzling noise filled the viity for a moment as Raizel could, quite literally, feel her body dissipate.
Serenis hurriedly pulled Raizel away to throw the youngling as far back as she could. She powerlessly fell to the snowfields some ways back, unscious aing out heaps of steam.
Serenis’ eyes then immediately darted back forward, her outstretched palm glimmering in mounds of densed ice spells. She kly what Aymeia’s white sparks represented, as well as the level of cold that was necessary to e it.
The former deity’s eyes were open, though g in any sense or focus. Instead, only the white-colored fmes were burning about her like another entity.
A few of the embers began to speed in circles around Aymeia’s limbs to fs of fire; the rest coated her skin, threatening to ie whatever barred their owner’s path.
And in that brief moment, Serenis saw an overp of her son’s silhouette.
- ‘Mother. If I were to ever lose myself again, then…I trust that you will…’
“…”
g her teeth, Serenis balled her outstretched hand. The spell in her palm powerlessly fizzled out, celling themselves mid-cast.
Instead, she summoned her wings, grimag in pain as they were folded over Aymeia’s figure.
Serenis’ scaled wings hissed from the excessive heat. At the same time, they effectively prevehe heat from esg any further.
And within the small dome her wings had formed, Serenis embraced the former deity.
Even for her, the heat Aymeia was emitting was far beyond what her scales could resist.
But heless, she khat this was exactly what she o do.
“Perhaps…I’ve nht to s you.”
In a desperate attempt to g to those she held dear, Aymeia was drawing out everything she possibly could – even at the expense of hurting herself, even at the expense of borrowing the strength of a dragon long past.
And in a likewise desperate attempt, Serenis had tolerated this girl wielding her son’s fmes sihe moment they’d met.
Despite their twisted methods, they were both ways allow a fragment of their loved oo remain on this world.
But Serenis kly what her son would’ve told her in this moment.
- ‘…Make the right decision.’
She closed her eyes, holding Aymeia tighter in her arms. She caressed the girl’s back like her own child, whispering in a voice far softer than before.
“…Five me. I was too te, wasn’t I.”
“…”
“Close your eyes…and allow yourself to rest.”
A coarse voice escaped Aymeia’s lips as she muttered something under her breath.
The heat began to wahe rings of fire around Aymeia’s limbs began to tremble and scatter, disappearing into the air.
And apanying them in their disappearance were Aymeia’s horns, as well as the e glow in her features. Memories of the sed dragonlord shattered inte particles, sinking bato his mother’s figure – into the divinity from whe came.
Ohe fmes had pletely died out, only bleak darkness remained within the cover of Serenis’ wings.
When the dragonlord’s wings fluttered open to allow some light, she could finally see Aymeia proper: a simple human girl, possessing flowing bck hair that seemed nothing out of the ordinary. The horns on her head had all but disappeared, as did any hints of the fiery glow in her eyes.
After gently setting down the unscious human girl, Serenis slowly rose back to her feet.
The situation allowed e for her to mourn her son. She soon swallowed her welliion, making only a brief hin her mind.
‘One day…’
After a long, tired breath, Serenis turo resume her previous task.
‘…I will join you, in the beyond.’
