Kashi swallowed hard as he examined the contingent of dragons spanning the lengthy ravine. However, suffused within his obvious discomfort, was curiosity and wonder in a pair of shining eyes. He could not understand how so many dragons existed in a world which thought them near extinct—especially when one considered dragons' massive appetites. Serisis' current ecosystem certainly could not contain these species in large numbers.

But the dragons' numbers were not even the most shocking fact. That honor went to the intelligence in their gazes. Intelligence separated Common dragons from True Dragons. Common Dragons were like the one Kashi battled in Merriheim. Simple creatures with the body of dragons, but beholden to basic instincts. Although Common Dragons were still powerful creatures in their own right, comparing them to a True Dragon was like comparing an ape to a human.

As a result, while most humes considered them all as dragons, to the proud beasts, any dragon without intelligence was nothing but a drake. A pale imitation of the real thing.

Glancing into the dragons' thoughtful, and sometimes mocking expressions, Kashi was certain they were at least Elder Dragon. But even that was impossible! Elder Dragons were extremely rare, even among True Dragons. Razznik, in his entire lifetime, only came across a few dozen Elder Dragons scattered across several dimensions. But here, dozens of them were standing guard!? How could Kashi not question this nonsensical occurrence!?

Despite his unease, Kashi buried his questions in his heart as he and Syèl walked down the ravine. Interestingly, the surrounding mountain walls gradually grew taller as they advanced. By the time the reached the end of the path, neither could make out the height of these mountain walls as they had pierced through the clouds.

The ravine path opened up to a massive crater, several dozen meters deep. Syèl and Kashi grimaced, sweat pooling on their brows as a burning heat instantly enveloped them, making it seem like they had just crossed into a furnace. Doubting himself, Kashi looked back, but then noticed a thin, translucent mana wall blocking the entrance. This wall prevented mana and heat from escaping the enclosure, which was why neither had felt it until now.

Kashi examined the surrounding walls, which appeared to be red hot, and if one looked at the mouth above, it seemed like they were within a volcano. The daeben was just about to remark about the lack of volcanoes in Serisis, when the ground suddenly erupted before them.

Kashi and Syèl jumped back, both taking defensive measures as hot air burst out from the increasingly cracked earth. Their brows creased with worry as the earth's cracks grew worse alongside the progressively louder rumblings.

Eventually, the crater's ground could no longer resist the pressure.

BOOM!

Syèl and Kashi's mouth went agape with shock as the ground splintered into several rocks that were then shot upward. Surprisingly, however, rather than lava, a dense, blue liquid spewed out into the air, and then began filling the crater. The duo instantly recognized blue substance to be liquified mana when the crater's mana density suddenly skyrocketed.

Kashi did not know why, but he suddenly felt an urge to dive into the mana pool. It seemed to be a desire from the depth of his soul. Even Yggdrasil within his inner world, rustled violently, as if worried that the daeben would pass this up. Kashi, however, viewed the mana pool with a cautious gaze, choosing not to venture anywhere near it.

Luckily, Syèl promptly provided an apt description as he shouted, "Hey! Kashi! Check this out! The walls are glowing!"

Kashi shook his head, and then looked in the direction Syèl pointed at. Sure enough, the walls were indeed glowing red hot. But that was not all. As if buoyed by the glow, the canyon's temperature suddenly skyrocketed. Kashi and Syèl, who both had incredible resistance to fire, and in turn, heat, sweated but remained fine, until their clothes suddenly combusted into flames.

"What the fuck!?" Syèl shouted as he summoned a giant drop of water and then dropped it on them.

Kashi, drenched in water, glared at the grinning halben. "A little warning next time!"

"Sorry," Syèl half-heartedly apologized in a sing-song voice. "It was an emergency."

Kashi let out an exasperated sigh, choosing not to engage Syèl in a spat. Instead, he walked over to the wall with excited eyes. "Could it be?" The daeben wondered as he reached out to break off a piece of the mountain—"AAH!"

Kashi yelled in shock and surprise as he quickly retracted his hand. He stared at the heavy burn wound, stunned by the fact that something hot enough to injure him actually occurred naturally.

"Did no one ever tell you not to touch a hot stove?" Syèl remarked with a sarcastic chuckle. "What did you expect?"

Kashi snorted, but his eyes betrayed his embarrassment and anger—anger which he promptly took out on the mountain. Kashi dragonified his arm, and then punched the mountain with everything he had.

Surprisingly, the daeben's full powered punch which could form small craters, only managed to break off a few small rocks off the mountain wall. However, this only served to further the daeben's suspicion.

Kashi grabbed a rock from the ground, and then carefully examined it.

Syèl, bored out of his mind, asked, "Looking for something?"

"I think this might be a fire stone," answered Kashi. When he saw Syèl's questioning gaze, he further explained, "In King's Journey, there were a few special stones that occurred in areas dense with mana—the most common of which are the mana stones we are all familiar with. But there were a few other special, more rare types. Our Rinks, for example, were crafted from 'Sound Stones,' which naturally stored any incoming sound. 'Fire Stones' work in a similar fashion. They naturally convert mana absorbed to heat. Quite a few legendary weapons had these installed."

"Hooo," remarked Syèl with a bored gaze. "Sounds interesting..."

Kashi laughed and shook his head. "I don't blame you for not seeing the potential in having a mountain full of these stones."

Syel shrugged, and then turned to look at the mana lake. "It's not like we can touch them anyway."

"Huh? Why not?"

Syèl jerked his chin toward the pool as he replied, "'Cause I don't think he'll let us."

Kashi's brow rose as he turned around, questioning, "What..." His voice then trailed off as he spotted a massive head the size of a double-decker bus slowly rise from the mana lake. "...the hell?"

Both men raised their heads, shock in their eyes as a gargantuan dragon slowly emerged from the lake. Its burning red scales complimented a pair of magnificent, regal, golden-browl eyes. The dragon snorted flames as it regarded the puny humes that had invaded its territory, but it turned its gaze away a moment later, as if deeming them beneath its attention.

The dragon, instead, unfurled its wings, releasing a terrible gust of wind that blew off the remaining mana from its scales. Unfortunately, that casual brush nearly sent Kashi and Syèl flying to the wall. Luckily, both men anticipated something like that happening, and duly drove their feet into the ground, stabilizing themselves.

The dragon, after freeing itself of the last dredges of mana, stretched its neck to the heavens and then let out a colossal, deafening roar. Syèl and Kashi covered their ears, but their efforts proved futile as the debilitating roar caused blood to spill from their ears.

"Fuck!" Syèl, consumed by rage, roared, "Are you showing off!?"

The dragon suddenly paused, and then turned to regard the humes once more. Its golden brown eyes blinked, as if surprised to see the duo were real. After a few brief seconds, a deep, gravelly voice boomed, "...humes? In my home? You made it past the Death Zone?"

"Death Zone?" Syèl questioned with a sneer. "What kind of welcome is that!?"

The dragon's eyes gleamed with curiosity and a bit of humor. "Welcome? Did you perhaps miss the 'Death' in 'Death Zone'? You should not be here."

"Yeah, well, we are now," argued Syèl, and then added with a frown. "By the way, do you mind lowering your head a little. This posture is killing my neck."

"Keep this up, and your neck won't be the only thing getting killed."

Syèl's eyes went wide with rage. "Are you threaten—"

"Okay, that's enough," Kashi interrupted as he stepped between Syèl and the dragon. Glaring at Syèl, he whispered with a frustrated laugh, "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"What're you talking about?" Syèl said as he glanced at the dragon. "We can take him." He met Kashi's gaze and then added with a weak smile, "Okay. Maybe we lose an arm and a leg in the process, but I think we can take him."

Kashi rolled his eyes. "I like my limbs intact, thank you very much." He then sighed and said, "Let's try talking first."

"Talk?" Syèl crossed his arms as a groan escaped his lips. "Ugh. Should have known you would choose the boring route. Fine, do what you want."

"Thanks." Kashi chuckled and then turned to look at the dragon. He adopted a respectful expression, right arm to his chest, as he bowed and then said, "Nornesh, I presume? I am Kashi of the daeben, and my friend is Syèl Rifatora. We've come to discuss a matter of great importance."

"Importance?" Nornesh's maw stretched in a cocky smirk as he regarded the daeben. "You humes vastly overestimate your matters. I have watched generations come and go. Men and women struggling everyday for 'important matters' lost to the sands of time. What matter do you possibly have that could be of importance to me."

"Razznik."

Nornesh paused, his eyes going wide in shock. "Well, that changes things." The old dragon laid on the ground, thankfully reducing his height so that Kashi didn't have to strain his neck too much. With a thoughtful look in his eyes, he said, "Talk. I will decide your fate afterward."

Kashi smiled, and then said, "Razznik is most likely returning within a few weeks. He will be summoned by the Chaos Order if we do not prevent it. Normally, I would not ask for your help as I believe we should use our own power to deal with our issues, but I have reason to believe the Chaos Orders' Transcendents will interfere should we prove victorious. As such, we require the aid of all Transcendents to hold them off. A one-off favor if you will. I will owe you one in the future."

"HAHAHA!" Nornesh burst out in animated laughter. "Owe me? Me!? What possible worth is your favor? Do you think there is anything you can offer me that cannot possess on my own?"

Kashi's smile disappeared, his expression turning frigid and cold as he declared, "I do not think... I know."

Nornesh's gaze likewise turned frosty as he glared at the daeben. "You know? Choose your next words carefully as they might just be your last."

Kashi, however, did not back down under the dragon's heart-stopping glare. "No. You need to watch your next words carefully."

Syèl raised a brow as he stared at the daeben. "Uh... Kashi?"

Nornesh growled, "Are you threatening me?"

"I do not waste time with threats," Kashi coldly retorted. "I am telling you that I have the one thing you want, but can never have."

"...Are you trying to piss him off?" Syèl asked, but neither party paid him any attention.

Nornesh issued a cold laugh, gaze hot and burning as he demanded, "Tell me, daeben. What do I want?"

"The same thing as every living being in this world," replied Kashi as he spread out his arms. "Acceptance. Love... Family." The daeben revealed a wide grin as he stated, "Divine Dragons are unique creatures. There can only be a handful in existence at a time. However, they cannot mate with any other species, including Elder Dragons and below. Thus, they are cursed to never bear children. Some say it was a measure by the gods to prevent extremely powerful species from destroying the ecosystem. The reason doesn't matter." Kashi's gaze pierced Nornesh's as he stated, "You do not have a family of your own, do you?"

Nornesh revealed a toothy grin as he stretched out his neck. "I wonder how I should end you. Burning? Maiming? No. This insolence deserves a bit of a... personal touch." He reared his head back and then opened his mouth, revealing a deep chasm lined by razor sharp teeth. "...I haven't eaten a hume in such a long time. Perhaps this is a good a time as any to rekindle that particular craving."

Contrary to Nornesh's expectations, Kashi did not back off from this threat, but rather walked up to him with a placid grin. "Do not get the wrong idea. I am not afraid of you. Worst-case scenario. You kill me. Big Whoop. So what? I maybe lose my life, but you definitely lose any opportunity of avoiding a lonely existence. Divine Dragons are immortal by age, aren't they? Eternity is a long time to spend all alone, don't you think?"

Nornesh paused, several thoughts running through his mind as he examined the daeben's confident expression. Indeed, he could not sense any fear or hesitation. What if Kashi was telling the truth? What if there was truly a way to have a companion to pass the years with? Someone Nornesh wouldn't be forced to watch succumb to the sands of time?

The proud dragon revealed a thoughtful gaze, and then once more rested his head on the ground. He then looked at the daeben and said, "...I'm listening."

A/N: Hey Guys! Sorry I was away for so long. I got Death Stranding on two weeks ago Friday, and couldn't put it down since. It's such a strange game, and I can't put in words what I love the most about it, nor is it easy to recommend to others. The online gaming community is torn between calling it a 'walking simulator' and a great game. Honestly, to me, it's the most captivating game I've played all year. Right up until the end, I clocked over a hundred hours but didn't notice the time pass at all.

Finally finished it this morning, and I must say, it truly is the game of 2019 that will live on in my memory for years to come... I'm humming BB's tune as I write this. God, the soundtrack...