Chapter 1 Let It Be Me This Time

-Long Sheng Jie, Realm of Dragons-

'But to them, we are creatures that only exist in fairy tales.'

She slashed her tail across the blue sky, shutting out the familiar whisper from distracting her mind.

Higher than the birds could reach, encircled by intricate webs of fluffy clouds, a majestic castle sat on a colossal, floating boulder. Baby plant elves chuckled as they flew above the tiny yellow filaments of magnolias along the verge. Teal seeds of irises glistened in a rhythmic flow, displaying their thousand years of rich nourishment. Into the tranquil ambiance, the silver ferns, Soulless Sonder, released another puff of swirl from the tips of their fronds, steadily increasing the fine networks of divine air floating around.

This was where she lived. A place where she once thought everything was as perfect as it seemed to be...

Until she was exposed to the harsh truth.

She was just a whelp when she first learned about the existence of Ring of Mortality-a transcendent wheel enclosing an electrified azure energy ball, levitating above a luminous golden hemisphere. Her species feared the click of the metal bar centered at the core of the half-circle. They feared being summoned as the next dragon for the recurring mission.

The mission that took her childhood friend away in the last cycle.

With another powerful, thunderous roar across the sky, the white dragon unleashed torrents of fireballs from her gaping maw, sending them hurtling toward the swaying grasses below. One blazing smash after the other. More. She needed to let it out more. The pain for failing to protect her friend.

"Xue'er?"

Qilong's voice from an approaching cloud startled her, tumbling her down to the ground.

"Xue'er! You alright?" The cloud under his feet dispersed at once as he rushed over, shades of concern flashing across his face.

Xue'er retracted her claws, her scales dissolving to make way for her redeveloped skin. The thousand years of cultivation finally proved itself as she flawlessly transformed into a slender, refined lady figure.

"Yes, I'm fine."

Licking the new cut on her elbow, she drifted her gaze to the half-magnolia jade hanging at her pink sash. Her chest ached, remembering who had owned the other half.

As if Qilong could sense the overflowing guilt from her, he rested his hand on her shrunken shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. "Don't carry the blame with you, Xue'er," he said, taking a step closer. "It was never your fault."

She stared directly into her master's amethyst eyes, showering him with layers of unspoken pain. "How could it not be my fault? It was supposed to be me to go there."

"But you weren't ready." He ended on a cold note.

"Xun wasn't ready either!"

Qilong tucked his hands into his wide, long sleeves and heaved a tired sigh. "Things happen for a reason, Xue'er. You can't stop the rain from falling just because you have an umbrella. You can't change history just because you have a time machine. You can't save Xiao Xun from dying..." he muttered, "just because you wish he could stay"

"Just because I wish he could stay..." Xue'er repeated, her lips trembling. A drop of tear coursed down her pale cheek as the words slapped hard on her face.

"We, dragons, are meant to protect the mortals," Qilong paused, "though they no longer believe in us like centuries ago..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xue'er walked away.

All of a sudden, she turned around, a little too fast that she almost knocked into her master, unaware that he was following her. "Let it be me this time, Master." Xue'er moved back a step. "I think I'm ready."

Qilong twisted the long ends of his grayish brow, giving Xue'er a puzzled look. The dragon-shaped hair stick on his head glistened. "You've never liked mortals."

"You said it's our mission to..." she hissed to continue, "protect."

"Protect?" He lowered his head, gazing deeply into her inner soul through her different-colored eyes-blue and red. "Or is it revenge that you'll seek?"

There was a thin trace of anger laced in his calm, soothing voice.

Xue'er looked away.

"Hatred kills, my dragon." Qilong gently pulled her into his arms and said, "Don't dive into it."

"Mortals... are injudicious, Master. We might be myths to them, but we're real, right here, under their noses," she wept. "Because of their doubts and suspicions, too many of us have died. We can't afford to lose anymore..."

She heard her master sigh. "No matter what it is, the oath has been set. We have to protect them. This is our fate."

"Then let it be me this time, Master," she repeated her request, gasping in between her choky sobs. "I don't want to witness another death of our species, Master." Xue'er broke the hug and placed her hand over her heart. "I promise I'll keep the mortals protected. I'll take care of them just like how-"

'Xiao Xun did.'

Her voice trailed off. She couldn't get her best friend's name out of her throat.

The wind brushed past her teary cheeks like it was trying to offer her a tad of comfort. Pieces of pleated fabric hung at her sash swayed.

And there she stood, waiting for the "yes" from her master.

Qilong parted his lips, but no words said. Fine metallic chains attached to his silver circlet clinked softly as they swept against one another.

"Hmm? Master?" She tugged at his cuff. "You know I'm strong."

"Xue'er, I... I-"

"Ring of Mortality clicked a while ago, Master. The 18th-year tribulation is about to start in their world," she cut in. "There is nobody else who is as ready as me to go there."

"Protecting mortals from Mynheex and fallen angels isn't a child's play. You know exactly what they're hunting for."

"I know it isn't, and that's why it has to be me! I don't know why you've been stopping me from taking up the mission. All I know is that white dragons are powerful, and I'm one of them."

Xue'er simply couldn't figure out why Qilong didn't want her to step into the mortal world. If Xiao Xun hadn't gone in her stead back then, he would still be alive.

"You don't understand. Mortals are living in their 21st century-"

"Most of our friends are gone, Master," Xue'er reminded him of the fact he feared. "It's time to put a stop to Mynheex eating humans' hearts, to fallen angels craving for our pearls, to the tormented deaths of us, to everything."

"But..."

"Our dragons died protecting the worlds. You don't expect me to just watch the cycle end with another death of our species and do nothing."

Seeing how resolute Xue'er was, Qilong didn't say anything else. He flipped his silk robe and waved his hand at another layer of cloud, which then descended to his feet.

"Follow me," he uttered at last.