The light died down at some point, leaving only a terrible pressure on the surrounding.


    ''Such power... If I''m ever hit by it, there would be nothing of me to recover.''


    Orion unplugged his ears and watched as Velridar closed his mouth and remained still, as if it was a statue.


    ''I don''t understand. Did I do something wrong? But I''m pretty certain I''ve simply removed the corruption from the link.''


    Thinking about the situation, he wracked his brain to find a potential reason for his reaction.


    ''Something that creates such a response...''


    The image of Orion holding a broken Amelia reappeared in his head.


    ''I see... That''s what happened.''


    And the state of the white dragon was only confirmation for him. He didn''t knew the dragon, but he understood that it was a being.


    So, Orion made his choice.


    ''I''ll have to see for myself.''


    He released his magic, while extending his hand in the direction of the Remnant''s head. With his gold and silver colored hair fluttering in the wind, he warped.


    The water began to crash on the now revealed body of the dragon, returning to its rightful place. The sea life that had taken a toll from the damage and pressure would take a few years to recover though.


    Orion placed his foot on the nose of Velridar, and looked inside its giant eyes.


    "..."


    Orion was maybe a hundred meters above the ground, he had still a good balance, avoiding him from falling down. But even if he did, he could return easily.


    "Hey!"


    Trying to call out to the dragon, he walked closer to the eyes, that looked lifeless. The golden yellow that it previously was now greyish.


    ''Damn it! It''s not answering!''


    But just when he thought that, a raspy, broken voice of an old man echoed.


    "My children... how could that had happened?"


    "I never knew. Was my wish to bridge our creations together a mistake?"


    "Was I wrong all along, so much that you had to suffer all this time?"


    "What... have I...done?"


    Orion could feel the sorrow in its voice.


    ''Even such a great being got reduced to a broken state. The corruption is dreadful.''


    ''But I have to do something!''


    He couldn''t let the dragon in this state. Now understanding how important those ''creations'' were to the Remnants, how could he remain emotionless to their misery?


    Even them, the greatest beings of the world, had something precious. They were parents, even though they never acted like it.


    But there was one thing Orion knew. If this dragon knew about its children''s worst moments, he would have gone himself to save them.


    "Velridar! Are you not the Remnant of Power?! Return to normal!"


    Orion tried ordering the dragon, but it did not respond.


    He tried to appeal to its emotions. It failed. He tried being gentler, same result.


    ''This is going nowhere!''


    Clenching his fist, he was beginning to believe that the dragon was truly broken at this point.


    ''Was I about to end up like this? If mother never appea- Wait!''


    An idea immediately formed in his mind. If himself was unable to help, then...


    A portal formed, and Orion immediately walked through, finding himself inside the throne room of the lamia''s palace.


    "You!"


    The guards instantly jumped when they saw Orion appear, but the ones most surprised were Deveralna and her mother, Palarvina.


    "O-Orion?! How did you-"


    "No time for that."


    He walked toward the throne with haste, and grabbed the queen left arm, lifting her. Then, he took her in his arms, before moving toward the portal.


    "Wait! Where are you taking my daughter?!"


    Turning quickly to answer the worried mother, he understood how everyone was feeling. He was basically kidnapping her.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "To save her creator. Sorry, but there''s really no time."


    Deveralna''s keen instincts came in play, as she understood something grave was happening, related to that violent quake that happened a few minutes ago.


    The sweat on Orion''s face was visible, because of his constant use of ''Calm Analysis''. He was looking for the best result in this terrible moment.


    She wrapped her long tail around his waist to not hinder him.


    "Mom, I''m going for now. If he needs me, I''ll oblige. Take care of the place."


    Orion gave a nod to Palarvina, and walked through the portal.


    "Wh-"


    She couldn''t finish her question because she felt a strange but familiar pressure from the area.


    ''Where are we?'' was what she wanted to ask, but the two beings in front of her answered that question.


    "Orion! I''m sorry, but you came at the wrong time. We were about to leave the nest."


    Monolavir different from usual. He looked worried, and panicked at the same time. Ruminona at his side wasn''t much better.


    "To see Velridar?"


    "How did you-"


    "No question, follow me."


    He opened a bigger portal, capable of making the two massive dragons fly through.


    "Fine. Rumi, let''s go."


    "Yes, Mono."


    The two dragons flapped their wings, lifting their massive and heavy bodies off the ground.


    Orion turned around and walked through the portal again, finding himself where he first talked to Velridar, on the east coast.


    The two dragons quickly flew through, and fell in shock.


    "F-Father?!"


    Ruminona instantly flew toward the still Remnant. Monolavir idled next to Orion, trying to piece everything together.


    He felt the massive amount of magic in the air, that was able to make him choke sometimes. The pressure was still strong in this area too.


    "What in the world happened to you, father?"


    Deveralna stared at the scene of a giant immaculate white mix of a snake and a dragon standing in the distance.


    "I-Is that?!"


    She then felt a warm connection that wasn''t there before, finally feeling the link she had with her ''father''.


    "That being is the Remnant of Power. The creator of the dragons and the lamias. This is not the greatest of situation to explain, but I''ll make it quick."


    "Save his broken mind. I can''t do it alone."


    She blinked a few times, thinking that it wasn''t an explanation at all, but understood the meaning of his request.


    "Monolavir, the link with the lamia faction was tempered by the corruption. Once I''ve removed it, Velridar roared and shot a beam through the sky. He remained like this since."


    "I can''t let him stay like this, that''s why I came to drag you out."


    With the quick explanation he promised, Orion quickly opened another portal, to return on top of Velridar''s nose, leaving Monolavir behind, who flew like a bullet to catch up.


    "Father! Father, answer me!"


    "Why don''t you answer me!"


    Ruminona was losing it. She kept calling for him, but Velridar was not responding.


    "Hey! I''ve got your children! You better wake up!"


    Orion walked with Deveralna in his arms until he arrived in front of his eyes again.


    "Look, that''s a lamia you cherish so much, does she look broken in your eyes?!"


    With a provocative tone, he tried again to have a reaction out of him.


    No response.


    ''That''s our creator?''


    She heard Orion before, and she wasn''t that stupid to falsely accuse this being of ignoring their past suffering.


    ''He was unable to feel our current suffering because of our link was ''tempered'' with? But this warm feeling... is this what we were supposed to feel all along?''


    As she began to feel that link, all of the lamias on Triazils also began to feel it. The link of the creator that they never knew it truly existed.


    And with it, came the stillness of his mind. Velridar was so lost that he was unable to feel to hundreds of lives converging.


    ''We can''t have that, I agree with Orion.''


    The cold wind blew at the top of the dragon, making her and Orion''s hair freely float around. Her hair seemed to hid her face, but her expression was determined.


    She placed a hand on her chest, and sent the strongest message she could through the link.


    ''The lamias are here! We''re fine!''


    The dragons stopped in their tracks, and turned to Deveralna.


    ''She''s...''


    Ruminona stared at the lamia, and felt the strength of her link with the lamia grow.


    ''What am I doing?! Father won''t come back just by shouting in his ears!''


    The Queen of the Lamia, and the Firstborn of Velridar both allied together, and sent the strongest wake-up call ever.


    "WAKE UP! FATHER!"


    But there seemed to be no response.


    Orion looked in the eye of the dragon.


    "..."


    ''Continue whatever you are doing.''


    He then switched his gaze between Ruminona and Deveralna until he saw a sign.


    The greyish yellow seemed to change back to a brighter color, but it was not enough.


    *ROOOOO*


    Monolavir had enough.


    "What are you doing?! Is that how a dragon is supposed to behave?! You''re no different than a big lizard then!"


    Like a bullet, he crashed on the side of his creator head first.


    He wasn''t strong enough to even make it flinch, but the reaction was there. A groan, and steam coming from the nostrils.


    ''Keep going. Almost...''


    Orion believed these three would be able to help more than he could.


    With Monolavir hurling himself against the tough scales of Velridar, Ruminona trying to awake her father''s mind, and Deveralna forcing her thoughts through the link, a slight reaction happened.


    This sign was all Orion needed.


    "Don''t let the corruption play with you. Don''t let it break you. Power is nothing without strength, and inversely, right?"


    "Those... words."


    The color of his eyes blinked faster between grey and gold.


    "Can''t you hear you children? Are you going to leave them worrying? Aren''t you their father?"


    Everyone stopped what they were doing, and stared at Orion who began to extract Velridar from its shock.


    "I... can hear..."


    His eyes finally recovered their previous golden luster, and its still body slowly moved to a more comfortable position.


    Orion returned to the ground by portal, and looked at Velridar laying in the water, mostly exhausted by the unexpected release of such a massive amount of magic manifested by the beam.


    "He''s... back?"


    Deveralna spoke softly while looking at Orion.


    "Seems like it. You did well, whatever you did."


    "I wouldn''t have been able to bring his self back without you."


    A sense of accomplishment and purpose overwhelmed her. She felt the strong link that was supposed to be there all along, and finally understood.


    ''We were not toys for this Remnant like we thought. We never knew how important we were for this being... but how could we have known?''


    She felt awful at the same time.


    "Orion... was it?"


    Velridar moved his gaze toward him, with his voice echoing in the form of a growl.


    "You have my thanks for bringing my children here. I cannot believe I have let two thousand years of emotions overwhelm me."


    To that, Orion shook his head.


    "I did what would give the best results, but whatever they did, I had no part in it. You have a lot to process it seems."


    The link now restored, Velridar had a lot to think about.


    "I am quite angry. Not toward you of course. I have been played like a foul by the Miasma, and I cannot remember when this happened. Since when my connection to the lamias has been like this?"


    "I will think about it once my magic has been restored, but that could take a few years at this point. I have destroyed most of my magical circuits in the previous attack, which takes time to restore. I think I have also lost one of my magic storage permanently..."


    Monolavir and Ruminona flew back to Orion, and dropped on each of his sides.


    "This is awful."


    Ruminona said, looking worried.


    "Are we unable to help?"


    Deveralna asked Orion with pleading eyes.


    "For the magic storage, there is nothing we can do. But for his magic..."


    Orion stared at Velridar, before speaking again.


    "I should be able to help."