Chapter 16 Soaring Through the Silent Sky, Only a Powerful Heart Remains…
Just how powerful is dragon fire?
What people know best is, of course, its physical destructive power. In a single day, a city that has flourished for hundreds of years can be reduced to ashes.
What is not widely known but has been heard of by the common people is the dark magic effect of dragon fire.
Unlike ordinary flames, dragonfire can corrode the soul. How exactly it corrodes, and to what extent, remains unknown. Those corrupted have already lost their minds, trapped on Dragon's Breath Mountain, disoriented and seeking their own death.
This unique magic also gives Dragonfire a distinctive appearance.
“Dragonfire is darker in color, colder in tone, and heavier in texture. The difference between dragonfire and ordinary flames is like the difference between silk and gauze,” Lucas analyzed. “This dragon deceived us. She deliberately did not use dragon magic when she breathed fire.”
“I don’t think so.” Ashlin frowned. “She was truly forced to obey when I gave her the order. If she had been lying, I would have known.”
The Complete Guide to Dragon Training (10th Anniversary Edition) is clearly not comprehensive.
The origin of dragon magic is no different from that of human magic.
Everyone seems to have overlooked this.
The soul and the mind are the only places where magic takes root.
If he is not in the mood to cast spells, no matter how much Ashlin tries to "tame" her, Aisusa will not actually breathe dragon fire.
Just as she was in the Dragon Crystal Cave, the dark magic of dragonfire corroded the soul with fear, while a heart filled with fear could also inspire magic that guides the way.
She recalled the time loop in the tavern, where dark magic illusions trapped people in the same timeline, completely contrary to their intentions.
If she only uses magic to tame, coerce, and control, then what's the difference between her and a dark wizard?
Despite Lucas and Zach's attempts to stop her, Ashlin slowly approached Aisuza.
"Hey, want to play again?" she asked softly. "This time, no fire-breathing. And I won't force you to do anything."
“Mind control is awful,” Aisusa complained. “You have to swear to the Dragon God not to do it.”
Ashlin threw down the torch and staff.
“I swear to the Dragon Ancestor God that I will never use magic to force you again.”
"Has your brain been invaded by plants?" Lucas asked incredulously, but Ashlin ignored him.
“I want to hear your story, Aisusa,” Ashlin said sincerely. “Why didn’t you leave with the other dragons?”
The dragon sat up like a puppy, its attitude softening somewhat.
“I was the youngest when humans drove my kind away,” Aisuza said. “They seemed unable to force me, because I was too young to connect with their magic. But they didn’t kill me either…”
“A boy came out to protect me and said I was worth much more than they thought. He saved me, was very kind to me, and gave me gifts. I really like him.”
That's why Aisusa wasn't wary of their arrival at first, but rather unusually happy, Ashlin thought.
Lucas narrowed his eyes sharply.
"What's this boy's name?"
“His name is…” Aisusa flicked her tail. “Nox. He’s a magician, and he smells like mint. He said magicians’ spells all have colors, and his is gray. He conjured up lots of gray fireworks for me, it was so much fun!”
The three people stared at each other in shock, their spines tingling.
How is that possible?
Both Zach and Sanova had met Knox and knew he was a young man in his twenties.
The Dragon War happened more than twenty years ago. Knox was only a few years old then, so how could he have been there? Lucas told her that Knox's father was also named Knox. But old Knox clearly died during the Dragon War, and he wasn't a dark mage, just a blacksmith.
If someone in a remote village were to study dark magic, Ashlin believed that even the most obtuse villagers would notice. Moreover, Dragonfang Village was the territory of Lord Korie, who was notoriously averse to magic.
"Is he skinny, with black hair and black eyes, and looks like a vampire?" Zack asked.
Aisuza nodded, somewhat delighted: "Wow, you know him too?"
"I guess so," Zack muttered.
“But Aisusa, why didn’t you leave later?” Ashlin asked.
Aisusa lowered his head.
"I don't want to fly alone like a dragon. I've been waiting... waiting for a friend, a family member."
Ashley reached out her hand.
“Well, now you’ve got what you’ve been waiting for,” she smiled. “The real world and real family are outside, Aisousa, not in these toys.”
“She’s completely lost her mind,” Lucas said to Zach. “From now on, let’s go together.”
Aisusa looked at the toys with reluctance.
"It took me a long time to find that," she said, sounding a little aggrieved.
“But they’re not yours, they belong to other kids,” Zach said. “You don’t want to be forced to breathe fire, and kids don’t want their toys taken away.”
Aisusa arched her massive body, buried her head in the pile of toys, and sniffed for a very long time. Ashlin almost thought she was going to fall asleep.
Finally, Long agreed: "Alright, I'll return it to them. Do you all want to play with me?"
They all looked at Lucas without hesitation.
Lucas's ears were pulled back, and he looked rather unhappy.
What a seamless adventure plan! Ilovenia is in the east of the map; they can do a clockwise grand tour later.
Aisusa's golden eyes were bright and piercing.
"Of course! Come for a drive with me tonight! I want to... see the stars."
Aside from the bone wind chimes and the chirping of cicadas, the only other sound came from the campfire beside Charlotte Lanmu's farm. A few daring children gathered around the crackling fire, telling the younger ones stories of dragons.
Unlike the village elders, the children had never truly experienced the Dragon War. To them, it was all just stories and legends.
"...The warriors thought they had finally defeated the dragon. But what they didn't know was that another dragon was still soaring freely in the sky." The oldest child said in a frightening tone, his voice ominous.
"Which dragon is it?" the child asked excitedly.
A little girl clutching a doll suddenly widened her eyes. Her name was Lucy, the farmer's daughter. She had recently been "attacked" by a large dragon, but was unharmed, though she lost her most beloved doll.
“It’s that dragon!” she shouted, pointing to the sky.
All the children's eyes followed her hand.
Upon realizing what they were seeing, they screamed in surprise. Some rushed home, while others were so excited that they wanted to see more clearly.
Lucy is one of the latter.
The dragon was dark red all over and huge, but its head and body looked very small, somewhat like a cute lizard.
At this moment, it soared across the night sky like a great eagle, leaving an elegant red trail, like a wound cut into the night.
The silvery moonlight shimmered hazily on the scales, making them appear no longer as an ancient calamity, but as a miracle under the starry sky.
On the dragon's back sat a girl with golden curly hair and a green cloak, laughing merrily like a joyful golden bird. A mouse clung tightly to the brim of her hat.
Behind the girl was a dark-haired boy, his expression tense, his face ashen, as if he was about to vomit.
In the dragon's large claws, a rag doll was held.
"Lina!" Lucy exclaimed joyfully.
The dragon landed gracefully before her.
Lucy did not back down at all and carried Lina back.
The dragon emitted a series of gibberish sounds.
“She said she was sorry for taking your doll,” Ashlin translated, “as well as all the other children’s toys.”
The blonde witch pulled out a large hemp sack from somewhere and threw it to the children.
"These are your lost toys, and now Little Dragon Aisusa is returning them all to you," she announced.
Other children also timidly came over and began rummaging through the bag for their lost toys.
“Thank you, Ashley,” Lucy said gratefully.
“It’s alright, I stayed here for a night,” Ashlin said with a smile. “From now on, Aisusa will no longer stay on Dragon’s Breath Mountain. The polluted crystals and plants on the mountain should gradually be purified by nature over time. You no longer need to worry about dragons. This is the true end for Dias and the dragons.”
Having said that, she patted Aisusa's head. The dragon spread its wings, obscuring the moonlight, and soared into the sky once more.
A cool autumn breeze brushed against Ashlin's cheek, and starlight and moonlight intertwined, like a song from another land.
She had never felt so refreshed, as if all the troubles of the world had been cast to the winds. Although sitting on the dragon scales was not comfortable, she didn't care at all at this moment.
At this moment, she was no longer a dragon trainer, nor an executor of magic.
She was just a girl flying with her friends.
Longxi Village grew smaller and smaller beneath them, eventually becoming a tiny dot in the darkness. They swept over the summit of Dragon's Breath Mountain and finally crossed the border of Dias.
The mist swirled around them, reminding Ashlin of Sanova's silver magic.
She was so close to the clouds, the stars, and the silver moon, as if she could reach out and grasp the moon goddess's shadow.
Lucas sat behind her, stiff and at a loss, seemingly unsure where to put his hands, and afraid of falling off the dragon's back.
The dragon's back has a lot of space, but there's not much room to sit.
In the silence, Ashlind could only hear the loud pounding of her own and Lucas's heart.
His chest pressed lightly against her back, the scent of books enveloping her. She could feel his warm breath on her neck.
Ashlin turned around, intending to say a few jokes, but was caught off guard by those bright blue eyes and almost bumped her nose into his. For a moment, she forgot all her lines.
Too close, she thought uncomfortably.
Under the moonlight, Lucas's features were blurred by the darkness, but his elegant demeanor remained. He was no longer as nervous as before, and seemed to have finally gotten used to the fact that he was soaring on the back of a dragon.
He looked surprised for a moment when Ashlin turned around, but quickly smiled.
He was still a little restless and hadn't found a comfortable position, but he didn't complain.
“I feel much better,” Lucas said. “Mainly because I didn’t eat much today.”
"That's good. My cloak was a gift from Charlotte."
He gently stroked Aisusa's scales.
"Please forgive me, okay?"
"Hmph." Little Dragon snorted. "This kitten's temper has actually improved a lot since it turned into a human. Fine, I forgive you."
"Do you forgive me too?" Zack asked.
“Of course, little mouse,” Aisusa said. “You should forgive me too; I initially thought you were a snack.”
“I’m used to it,” Zach muttered. “Lucas initially thought I was a snack too.”
"Hey, I didn't!"
A moment of silence.
“I’m just worried that if the dragon finds out about the curse, it might have a negative impact on Dias,” Lucas sighed. “Can I trust you, Aisusa?”
Aisusa assured, "I will not use your messy magic for anything, nor will I tell the other dragons."
So the three of them told the dragon the story of the riddle and the curse.
"So, this is why you want dragonfire."
“That’s right.” Ashlin hesitated for a moment. “I won’t force you, Aisusa. I’m just… pleading. Without your dragonfire, we can never break Lucas’s curse. And what’s even more terrifying is…”
She took a deep breath.
“There are bad guys who also want the Dragonfire; we must get it before them.”
“Wait a minute,” Lucas said. “Knox shouldn’t know about the riddle yet, should he? His blood sacrifice failed, Sanova said it himself.”
“That’s true. But that day in the Dragon Crystal Cave, in my own illusion, I saw the Forest Goddess. She warned me that my days were numbered, that the enemy already knew the spell, and that they would be faster than us.”
"But that's your illusion. Is it possible that she's just your fear?"
“It’s my fear, but it’s real,” Ashlin affirmed. “I can feel it.”
She thought about it and decided not to tell Lucas about his future as a cat.
At this very moment, they are soaring together on a dragon, determined not to let any more bad news spoil this beautiful night.
"Let's forget about all that for now," she said casually. "We're with Long Fei! Is there anything more wonderful than this?"
“I’ve barely ridden a horse before I started riding a dragon!” Zach said.
Then, Aisusa suddenly made a thrilling dive, like a prank.
Ashlin screamed, not from fear, but from excitement. She lay low on the dragon's back, gripping its horns tightly, feeling her heart still pounding in the air, and a tickling sensation in her stomach.
The wind whistled past her ears, and she had to free one hand to hold her hat in case little Zach flew off.
Lucas was not as happy as she was.
"Sun God!"
Gravity and speed forced him to press close to Ashlin, completely eliminating any distance between them.
Her heart raced faster and faster with the increase in speed, and so did Lucas's; the whole world seemed to be losing speed and trembling.
Ashlin smiled slyly and suddenly wrapped her arms around his body.
"There's nothing to be awkward about, Your Highness! You don't want to die from a fall from a great height, do you?"
Lucas was so windy he couldn't open his eyes, and his black hair was a mess like a bird's nest.
"Is your dignity more important than your life?"
Lucas relented, grabbing Ashlin's sleeve and resting his head almost on her shoulder.
"Aisusa, please stop!" Zach screamed, "I want to fly away!!"
Aisuza burst into laughter, finally slowing down and regaining her previous steady pace. Lucas immediately stepped back, keeping his distance from Ashlin.
"This is your punishment for 'taming' me just now."
Ashlyn felt it was more of a reward than a punishment. She had never had such an exciting experience and even wished it could happen again.
They flew for a very long time, and Ashlin slowly fell asleep.
When she woke up, the sun had not yet risen. The clouds were too thick for her to see the ground. Aisusa flew slower and slower, and the ground drew closer.
As the trees grew larger and the wind gradually subsided, their hearts also returned to peace.
Finally, they returned to land and found themselves in a valley.
At first, Ashlin thought the bright spots in the valley were lights. But as lights, they were far too tiny.
Upon closer inspection, she realized that they were actually magic particles and mushrooms emitting golden light.
All the cypress and oak trees were surrounded by firefly-like magical particles, sparkling like small segments of the Milky Way flowing through the forest.
Countless shiny mushrooms grow on the grass, replacing candles and oil lamps.
“This is the border of Ilovania,” Aisusa said confidently. “My mother told me stories about Ilovania when I was a child; it’s around here.”
“Thank you, Aisusa,” Ashlin said, “but…”
"You still have a request, don't you?"
Ashlin nodded and took out a dragon tooth wood torch.
"As a friend, I hope you can send us some dragonfire."
This time, Aisusa did not hesitate. She held her breath and breathed hot air precisely into the torch.
The deep red flames pulsed vividly and rhythmically, like the heart of magic.
Lucas's eyes lit up.
“This is real dragonfire!” He observed it with fascination. “It’s amazing. Zack was right, even the most skilled artists haven’t been able to capture the true appearance of dragonfire. If I had brought my sketchbook, I would have drawn it right now…”
Ashlinn expressed her gratitude to Aisusa again and descended Dragonback Mountain with Lucas. She walked carefully, afraid of stepping on the glowing mushrooms.
“I think it’s time for us to part ways,” Ashley said. “For us, the journey has just begun.”
Aisusa's eyes were filled with sorrow. She spread her wings and embraced Ashlin.
“I don’t want you to leave… ‘Mom,’” she said jokingly.
“But you can’t enter the elven territory, can you? Besides, your brothers and sisters are waiting for you.”
Aisusa seemed hesitant, but finally sighed: "Yes, I will go to find my people; they should live far to the east."
“I’ll go with you,” Zach said.
Lucas's eyes widened: "What? Zack, you should stay. Let's figure out how to break the spell together. The one-time limitation of the spell might just be a myth. You should try it first! As for me, I'm not that important..."
“No. Go, Your Highness. I feel it’s time for me to embark on a real journey,” Zack said firmly. “I want to see other dragons, even just for a glimpse. I want to travel the world and then come back… to lift the curse and reunite with my family. Hopefully, by then, I will be a different person.”
Ashlin didn't know what to say for a moment. She just hugged the mouse.
"Well then, good luck to you."
“You too,” Zach said. “Be careful of Knox. It seems he’s not as young as we thought, is he?”
“It’s hard to explain,” Lucas said. “Either they are two people, or Knox has some way of preserving youth… Either way, it’s not a good thing.”
This silenced them both. Knox, Knox, the name haunted them. Ashlinn couldn't help but feel that although she had never actually met him, it was as if she had seen him countless times.
At that moment, Aisuza spewed a bright, sparkling flame into the air.
"Before I leave, I'd like to give you one more thing," she said.
A small bottle fell to the ground and was caught by Ashlin. Inside the bottle was a shimmering violet potion.
"This was given to me by that boy named Knox. He said it was a transformation potion blessed by the moon goddess, capable of disguising one item as another that is very similar but fundamentally different."
"To be honest, I didn't quite understand, and I don't understand why he gave me this. But it's definitely more useful to you than to me."
Zach's eyes widened.
“I’ve seen this potion before! It’s the one I knocked over on Knox’s table. It turned my cage into a house and allowed me to escape.”
Ashlin carefully examined the potion, but found no signs of dark magic.
Why would Knox send her a baby dragon as a potion? She had never heard of the Transformation Potion before; it was very likely that it was his own invention.
“Perhaps he originally intended to transform Aisusa into a more terrifying dragon, or some other monster,” Lucas answered her question. “But because Aisusa was too young at the time, he couldn’t cast the spell on his own, so he pretended to give it to her. In reality, he hoped she would accidentally drink it all.”
“That’s terrible.” Aisusa looked hurt.
Lucas warned, "If it were me, I wouldn't accept this gift so easily. Knox is no good person."
“But this potion doesn’t seem to do any harm, and I don’t need it anyway,” Aisuza said. “Anyway, see you later… ‘Mom’ and ‘birthday present’!”
Zak gripped the dragon's back, and Aisuza cried out.
"Goodbye, guys!" the rat shouted.
The mouse and the dragon flew into the sky and gradually disappeared.
Ashlyn and Lucas watched them walk away.
“Next,” a cold voice said from behind them, “you should head to the dungeon.”
A note from the author:
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
