Chapter 4 NO.4

?Iah?

I sat back down. This time it was Nyima and Ryomi's turn. The two had a repeat of their battle downstairs. After getting her light dragon blocked again, Nyima surrounded the girl in a sphere of water.

Rami bent the water with ease, releasing her master. The dragon readied a sphere of water but Nyima punched it, throwing it to the floor.

"Tsk. You are strong, " Ryomi said, grinning. "Arbl Draco!" A wooden dragon struck the floor, sending vines and branches in all directions.

"Her style isn't like yours, " I said, looking at Adela.

Adela smiled. "This style, it reminds me of my mother's. The girl's grandmother must've taught her."

"The Angel Queen?"

She nodded. "Mom was good friends with her. My father was also good friends with the king of this realm."

"You got friends in high places, " Lei said.

Snickering, she patting him on the back. "As do you."

"The winner of this match is Nyima, " Korgermu announced.

Nyima smiled at the teary-eyed girl, offering her a hand. Ryomi took Nyima's hand while wiping away the tears with her other hand.

"You did great for a kid, " Nyima said. "You're nearly as impressive as my little sister."

Ryomi gave her a small smile. "I will be even more impressive than her or you one day."

Nyima ruffled her fur like hair. "I'll look forward to it."

"Next up are Ayawamat and Seron."

Ayawamat scoffed. "Fighting a child isn't my thing but if I must do it to pass the test then so be it."

Seron stood up from his seat. He gave Ayawamat a large grin. A strange looking dragon emerged from the boy's hands as if it were magic.

The dragon roared and charged at Ayawamat. It was fast, too fast for Ayawamat to feel from.

"Telam!" Ayawamat yelled. He shot webbing out of his mouth, causing the dragon's blade-like feet to stick to the floor.

Seron smiled. "Freezing Slash!" She moved his hand up in a vertical line causing ice to form.

Ayawamat ducked. Ice crystals covered the spot the icy ki had struck.

"Wow, you're stronger than that prince of ours."

"Zyuuni?"

"I mean our country's prince, Wanikiya. He's an ice user like you."

Lei formed a pair of fists and glared at his old rival.

"Want to battle them?" Akito suggested, glancing up at the angry Lei. "We can change the rules. Besides, this test of yours is about bonds, isn't it?"

Lei smiled. "That's right."

Akito and Lei stood up and rushed at the duo.

Ayawamat dodged a fistful of lightning while Seron leaped back from a wind slash.

Akito took in a deep breath. A tiny green orb appeared in his hands. Tiny hands emerged from the orb and then a head and finally the rest of the dragon's body.

"Dracoeon, back the honey-brown-haired kid and me. Our opponents are those three."

I got up.

"Where are you going?" asked Nyima.

"This is a bonding test. I got to find my partner. If I stick around here I'll fail the test."

"Alright, " she said

"That kid is probably in the garden, " Korgermu said. "That's where he likes to go when is depressed."

I smiled. This guy really is something...

?Ryuusei's PoV?

I swung the sword that Father had given me on my fifth birthday. Slicing the air, I stepped back as I heard footsteps approach.

Is it one of those Xelerians? Or perhaps a thief?

Lowering my sword, I took a deep breath. Listening to the rush of the wind and feet against the ground, the presence felt even closer.

"Hey..."

I swung my sword and saw blond hair fly into the air. The young man I had fought earlier stared at me, his jaw agape.

I dropped my sword, my own mouth agape. "Sorry, sorry! Please forgive me!"

The boy touched his face. "Hmm, well my face is fine so it's all good. I kind of needed a haircut, " he said, snickering. "I'll just ask Nyima to fix it once we return."

"She has hair magic?"

He snickered. "No." He sat down on the fountain. "She does it the normal way." His golden eyes gaze up at the blue sky. A large grin spread across his face. "The sky here is beautiful too."

I picked back up my sword and returned it to its sheath.

The boy's eyes lit up as soon as he saw the insignia on the sword. "That item you got there, that's one of the treasures of this world."

I stepped back and nodded.

Raising his hands toward the sky, the boy summoned a silver mirror. "Here, check this out. It's one of the treasures of my own universe."

I walked over and reached for the mirror.

Nagaeus emerged from my forehead and stared at the mirror intently. "That mirror..." It winced as if in pain.

The boy pulled the mirror away. "Is he alright?"

"Nagaeus, are you still tired?" I asked, petting its head. "I should take you to your bed so that you can rest."

"You really care for your dragon, " the young man said, grinning. He unsummoned his mirror. Replacing the mirror was a fruit of some kind. "Give it this. It's said to recover dragon prana."

"But my dragon is a real dragon. We don't use prana."

"Why did you use 'we'?"

I smiled. "Oh, that's because I'm part dragon! My great-great-something ancestor, the previous Dragon King, had dragon blood."

"What?"

"His father was a man who could turn into a dragon."

"And the mother?"

"Oh she was an angel, though most don't like to bring that up."

He looked down at his feet. "Right, people here also dislike the angels."

I tilted my head, frowning. "It's the same in Xeleria?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Especially in Kyuu Seishin where they are looked down upon harsher than in other places."

"That's because the fourth Magus Maximus was from that country, " I said. "She was the boss during one of the inter-dimensional wars after all."

He stared at me, awestruck. "Kid, you're as smart as me when I was your age."

I crossed my arms and puffed up my boyish chest. "Nope, I'm even smarter!"

His eyes narrowed. "Oh, is that so?"

I chuckled. "Yup. My mama is the smartest person in the world! Wait, I mean the entire universes!

"Really?" the young man said, grinning.

"She's taught me a lot of what I know while providing me with rare books on various subjects. Do you know about the prophecy of the Xian?"

The boy scoffed. "Of course I do! My clan and the Xian were once one." He grinned. "So much for being smarter than me!"

My face turned red. "You didn't know about my ancestor so we're equal!" I snatch the fruit from him and walk on ahead. "By the way, the name is Ryuusei Seok."

He laughed. "I know. Well, I guess this would be a proper intro." He held his hand out to me. "I'm Iah Wudi. Hey! Once you're done taking your dragon back to your room, let's go back here. I want to help your dragon. I got dragon magic so it can be done."

My lips curled up into a small smile. "Alright, but first I want to see how the others are doing."

"I want to see the match too, " Nagaeus said, floating to my left.

I tickled the back of his neck. "Alright, little buddy. You can come with us!" I glanced at Iah who had caught up to me. "Did Ryomi's battle finish?"

"It did, she lost."

Did she?

No, I shouldn't be surprised.

These five are too much for a bunch of kids like us. No matter how talented we might be.

"Are you stronger than the one who defeated her?"

Iah ruffled my neatly combed hair. "Of course I am!"

I looked up at the blue sky as we continued walking, or in the case of Nagaeus, floating.

This might be my chance to finally surpass her! To overcome Ryomi!

I reached my right hand out toward the sky.

Maybe one day I'll be able to reach beyond those clouds and see what lies there.

☉Solar Note☉: What do you think of the interaction between our Xelerian main characters and the Wynaga kids?