The red dragon, Diramo?, flapped his massive wings over the crashing waves.


    His massive body, reflecting the glow of burning fire within his core, covered the entire vision of Orianne.


    The two curving horns on his head, which could easily perforate the largest of beings, represented his rank among his peers.


    The flowing lava coursing down his veins pulsed through his scales, leaving a sight that would stay etched in her brain.


    Diramo?, the mightiest of dragons and the first bearing the mutated genes of his faction, stared at her.


    "Young girl."


    Calling her out, he leaned forward again, approaching his face toward her.


    Orianne jumped slightly, suddenly finding the strength to move again.


    "I could see it in your eyes. Hearing the words of hope seeping from your soul, I dared approach you, knowing full well you would be terrified."


    Squinting his reptilian eyes, he snorted.


    "For not fleeing, even after being released from fear, I command you."


    The pride exuding from his words made Orianne tense up.


    "Y-You''re not going to eat me, are you?"


    With a terrified gaze, she looked inside his eyes, which reflected her in her entirety.


    "Eating you?"


    His tone changed to astonishment, but right after, Diramo? began to laugh.


    "Hahaha~ Me? Eating you?"


    Inside, Orianne was perplexed. She wondered what was so funny about her inquiry.


    "We dragons don''t eat humans. Sure, we do eat meat, but we hunt for food by ourselves."


    "Even then, we already possess the supply to eat for generations to come. We have no need to hunt down individuals like your kind."


    Seeing the visible smile on the dragon''s face, the expectation she had for the mightiest faction crumbled audibly in her head.


    "Don''t dragon eat us?"


    He looked at her after calming his laughter.


    "Be it humans or other factions, we do not. We, dragons, only eat the common animals. We do need a lot, but the sea is plenty of food."


    "We also have a dragon that can preserve it without risk of contamination."


    Suddenly, Orianne felt at ease. The dragon, which began to converse with her, appeared to be genuine in his statements.


    "But that is enough of us. I have a question for you, young girl."


    Diramo? eventually turned serious. Freezing on the spot from the pressure exerted by his presence, she gulped audibly.


    "Are you afraid of losing what can be saved?"


    Surprised painted her face. As her mind worked without respite to understand the dragon''s question, she instinctively went ahead and answered.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "I am..."


    Retracting his neck back, Diramo? snorted.


    "This lack of hesitation, I admire it. Many I have seen fail to bring fruition to their ambitions."


    "But you seem to understand clearly what you need to do."


    Flapping his wings to push himself away from the cliff, he majestically covered the sun with his immense body and asked her a question.


    "Do you want the power to achieve your dream?"


    Orianne opened her eyes wide. She couldn''t believe what was happening to her.


    After fleeing her village and wondering what could be done to change the pressing matter of war, an opportunity appeared to her.


    Without an ounce of hesitation, she lifted her arm toward Diramo?.


    "I need it!"


    That day, Orianne became a part of the dragons'' family.


    ...


    Diramo? immediately picked up Orianne, who sat on his back.


    Returning to Ormrdivin after checking the surrounding areas, he brought with him a small being that shocked the entire nest.


    At first, the dragons weren''t very friendly toward her.


    It was to be expected. They were proud, difficult to deal with, and genuinely concerned about someone snooping around in their nests.


    But as one month passed, they began to understand that she wasn''t a threat. Slowly, but surely, the dragons approached her.


    Simultaneously, Orianne began to live within Diramo?''s nest. She entered a friendly relationship with the old dragon and received lessons after lessons on how to bring the most out of her body and magic.


    As more dragons came to see her, they taught her the way of the dragons. When they learned that she wasn''t human, the entire nest became warmer to her.


    After three months of being away, Orianne was unmistakably stronger than she was before leaving her home.


    It was at that time that she went to Diramo? and brought up the matter that tortured her.


    "If it isn''t Orianne."


    As she walked inside the cavern of the ''Volcanic Dragon'', she noticed another dragon.


    The walls were burning and were turned into flowing lava from the heat of his presence, and in the middle of it, the two dragons were standing.


    "Ruminona? What brings you here?"


    "Just checking on this old man. His health has been deteriorating faster than any of us, and it''s a concerning matter."


    She already knew that Diramo? was sick. In fact, the dragon himself knew why his life was wasting away rapidly.


    The mutation that brought the mightiest dragon alive was also killing him.


    She watched as Ruminona covered Diramo? with wind magic. As a stopgap to ease his pain, she and Monolavir were perfect to dissipate the devouring heat of his body.


    "I''ll leave for today. If it gets worse, come to us."


    "I will. Thank you."


    Thanking the green dragon, who was of the same generation as him, he snorted a heavy cloud of scorching air, which made Ruminona frown.


    "It''s all we can do for you."


    Concerned about him, she left the cave.


    "Haha~ Who would have thought that the mightiest dragon would die from his own power?"


    With a faint laugh, he looked at Orianne.


    "You''re the Volcanic Dragon for a reason."


    With a tired look, he laid down.


    "I taught you most of what a dragon can do. Your growth is far superior to our young, which in itself is quite terrifying."


    "That''s what I came to talk to you about."


    Orianne''s body began to change.


    "You''re faction traits..."


    Diramo? immediately understood.


    "Yes. I awakened them yesterday."


    She had crimson bat wings behind her shoulder blades, but that was it.


    With a frown, she glanced over her shoulder, looking at her wings.


    "I should have known that I wasn''t the most powerful of demons out there. Those wings are the mark of the lowest among us."


    "No horns, no tail, nothing. Just those wings..."


    But when she turned around, the frown had disappeared. Instead, determination painted her face.


    "Even in this situation, I have to go. While I might not be the strongest of my people, I have the strength you and the others taught me."


    "I am not powerless enough to let this affect my ambitions anymore."


    Diramo? smiled.


    "That is good to know. The youngster is starting to fly by itself, and I couldn''t be more proud of it."


    Feeling like a father, he closed his eyes.


    "I''ll go. I have to stop the war between demons and angels at all costs. I want to be with the man I love, and I want everyone to stop berating each other."


    "Diramo?."


    He opened his eyes.


    "I''ll come back."


    "Sure. Do be careful, though."


    "Yes!"


    With heavy footsteps, Orianne turned around and left the nest.


    —


    "We''re here."


    Orion suddenly stopped his mother''s story as they arrived at the empty hideout.


    "Alright. I''ll continue with the rest later."


    With a smile, she hugged her son, who listened to her until now without interrupting.


    "I had no idea that the beast I saw during that trial was the dragon that helped you."


    Perplexed, Orion recalled the ''Trials of the Abyss''. He especially recalled the fiery being that instructed him on what to do.


    "So it was Diramo?."


    Orianne nodded.


    "I was afraid at that time. I haven''t mentioned this yet, but I also went through a similar process."


    "I don''t know exactly what it was for you, but it was different for me. All I can say is that I am glad you made it."


    She tightly hugged him, showing the love a mother only could.


    "You''re just like me. You''ve got the determination to go through anything."


    Hugging her back, Orion nodded. He was truly relieved to have his mother alive next to him.


    "Alright, let''s move on. We have all the time in the world to continue this story later."


    Breaking apart from him, she took a step back. Orianne nodded to Tetra, who took her spot.


    "From this point onward, it''s between you and me."


    With a serious expression, Tetra remained a step away from Orion.


    Unsurprised, he knew that Tetra could be serious when it mattered. With an equivalent expression, he stared forward.


    "Let''s go."


    Taking a step forward, they ignored the main room, where the now inactive spying table was.


    They walked past broken-down rubble, which was actually the room they had stayed inside in the past.


    Continuing down the cavern system, they shortly arrived in a wide cave.


    "It''s still there. I can feel it."


    Tetra closed her eyes and visualized an anomalous shape in front of her, deeper inside the cave.


    "What do you see?"


    Orianne asked, intrigued.


    "It''s like a spinning star, but also similar to a breach in space-time. It''s very difficult to explain."


    Opening her eyes, she looked at her.


    "It''s a combination of both Orion and my power."


    "Oh."


    Suddenly, Orianne began to blank out.


    "Too difficult to understand for you, mom?"


    "Kind of."


    Orion smiled as his mother nodded with a frustrated expression.


    "Don''t worry. You don''t have to think too much about it."


    Walking forward toward the source of the seal, he continued.


    "To simplify it, void magic was used to break the laws of the world, while Tetra sealed her inside a pocket of space and time."


    He turned around and lifted his arm.


    Tapping the back of his hand on something invisible behind him, he smiled as something cracked wide open.


    "Incredible, isn''t it?"


    A large, inaccessible crack with millions of stars, close to the night sky, formed at his touch.


    "We''re here to break that open."