"You want to destroy the paths? I don't understand what you mean," the dragon remarked while looking at the boy with a strange expression.
"I mean, exactly what I say. I want to destroy these paths I was supposed to choose between them. No, if I have to be more specific, I want to destroy this whole illusion in which I am trapped."
"Have you gone mad from the anguish you suffered?"
"Not only am I confident about my words, I even feel stupid for not realizing sooner in what kind of situation I was in for so long. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense now," Apollyon replied with a sigh while shaking his head awkwardly.
"What a fool I was for even believing you might have wanted to help me. You even pointed it out to me, but I didn't take your words seriously. My naivety almost cost my life. Although you clearly said that there was no way you would ever care about my well being. Yet, you suddenly told me that the answer t
"Welcome, boy, to my humble accommodation, the place in which the trial of blood and fire will be held. Among the one hundred seventy-three people who have taken part in this trial, you are the third person who had managed to pass my test and arrive here," the dragon declared while its expression started to become serious. As the trial was about to begin, the creature had to show the appropriate respect towards the trial's sacredness, the holy pact between the four godly beasts of the Divine Realm."Your goal is simple, yet, the hurdles will seem unapproachable," Stormbreaker added and then fell silent as bright white light, appearing out of nowhere, started to pour on a specific spot on the other side of the room, the place where a small altar dedicated to the Four Gods was located. A small object seemed to form upon the altar, its shape resembling that of a cup. And while the light began fading, the object's features became clearer and clearer until its appearance was
What an incredible sight! Apollyon thought as he witnessed the miraculous spectacle of the lush vegetation filling almost the whole room. His eyes wandered excitedly around the appetizing familiar vegetables that were growing unperturbed from their natural enemies, as well as the bizarre, colorful flowers that their pleasant scent was wafting inside the room. And while he continued to explore the place, at some moments, he would stop to try out some of the delectable vivid red tomatoes which were growing inside the surprisingly well-kept soil, and at others, he would pick up any strange looking flower that caught his eye and sniff at it.He kept on examining his surroundings in this way until his leg touched some kind of solid substance hidden under the thick greenery of the plants, making him turn his attention towards the ground.A human figure was lying down on the dirt, a skeleton that had been abandoned for who knows of how many years in this room. See
"I don't blame neither of them, though. Nor do I look down on them. Even if I was in their position, I doubt I could fair better with the trial. I would probably have given up," the dragon remarked while shaking its head. Even for a creature like itself that had experienced almost everything this world had to offer, lacked the wisdom and the intelligence to find the answer to the trial that its God assigned to it with its charge. It often wondered that maybe the Gods created the trial only because they just wanted to pull pranks on the mortals. To teach them about despair, about the helplessness when acting against fate."Even my age-long life can't exist forever. Noone can't trick death forever, even if it's me. So as my end is finally coming closer, I hope I can witness a one of a kind miracle before I close my eyes for the last time."That was the deepest and only wish of the creature that had spent the biggest part of its life playing the guard's role i
"For you right now, the present is the most important thing to you. Emotions have the biggest priority regarding the process of your actions. Acting true to your heart is not necessarily bad, but it is not necessarily a good thing either. The most important thing you should bear in mind if you survive this place is always to be aware of the consequences. You might think you are invincible because of your young age, but a person who can't restrain his rage is not strong. He is a fragile person instead."Apollyon pretended to listen to the creature's advice carefully. Its words, though, went in his one ear and out the other. He couldn't help it, though. The dragon's babbling seemed nothing more than lecturing to the boy."I was once like you," the dragon suddenly said, having realized that the boy was not paying attention to it."You? No way!" Apollyon, whose interest was sparked, shouted, surprised, not believing what he had just heard.
"Your revenge was aimless and chaotic. You recklessly began murdering people, and in the end, you even lost your sole family. You and I are vastly different. You had a choice to live a peaceful life. Your mother had already taken care of your enemies, as well as the reason for your hatred. But you were arrogant. You couldn't endure that those weak humans managed to slay someone from your race. You had to teach them a lesson. Unlike you, though, my enemy is still alive. Μy parents are dead, and my few remaining relatives who are still alive, as well as my friends, all betrayed me. You had a future. You had a choice. However, I have nothing!" Apollyon fearlessly said, even raising his voice to the terrifying creature in front of him."Don't try to justify your hatred. You might think that your emotions have greater importance than mine, but like you, the same way you regard my old hatred as a joke, I also consider the reason for your revenge pointless. Ultimately, you
"I am not sure. Wouldn't you say I have a serious reason to harbor resentment towards you?" "Of course not!" The Dragon God replied immediately, expecting to hear that particular answer from the boy. "Certainly, I ordered the tribe to kill you, but let me ask you instead... If I asked you to commit suicide, would you do it?" "I would not, but someone from the tribe might have done it." "Then, supposing I order a man to commit suicide, and he actually does it, who is the one to blame for his death? Me or him?" Apollyon didn't grimace upon hearing that absurd question but closed his eyes instead for a few seconds in thought before opening them again to glare at the dragon. "That's sophistry. You can't deceive me with such a ridiculous argument, but I'll admit that your words contain some truth inside them. The people from the tribe are deeply faithful to you to the point that their belief is making them fanatics. Although I dislike you, strangely enough, I can't say that my feeling
"Halt! Stop! Stop, bastards!"The surprising sudden curses forced the crowd to cease their actions temporarily. The excited mob, as well as Apollyon, turned their attention, baffled, towards the two newcomers that had just rushed here with flushed faces."What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to destroy the village's reputation?" The Chief began shouting, enraged, upon witnessing the spectacle occurring in front of his eyes. He and the Great Shaman came to check the reason for the disturbance happening in the island's sacred place, only to see that his people were about to lynch a boy in public near their deity's home! The Chief thought he would go mad. If other tribes learned about this embarrassing incident, the Dragon Village would definitely become the topic of ridicule during the gatherings between the four tribes."Are you mad? Do you know where we are? Do you want to provoke the Dragon God's wrath? And what's the matter with this situati
"You must be cursed; I can't think of another explanation," Nerida sighed as she saw the pathetic state the bedridden Sirius was in. The continuous dangerous situations he kept falling in had given a permanent pale color on the boy's drawn face that made him look even more unhealthy compared to back when he was skinny.He was definitely the unluckiest person she had ever known; Nerida had never heard about anyone else who had to fight for his life whenever he walked away from the village. He was certainly a difficult person to befriend as he seemed to have a natural gift of worrying the people who cared about him."It is one thing to encounter a demonic beast, but you even met an exiled person that we hadn't had news for years. We didn't even know whether he was alive or not. What's next? Do you plan to challenge Chief for his position?""Have mercy on me. It is already hard for me to endure the pain of my injuries. I can't handle your mockery too. W