"Ahri…Her name is Ahri."
The breathtakingly beautiful woman adorned in silk robes remained silent for a moment.
Her eyes faintly widened, her surprise almost non-existent on her face, "He formed a connection with Ahri within only a few moments." She thought briefly.
What Xaryus had done was nothing short of a miracle, or something out of a fairy tale. A young child forming a connection with a dragon – to the cold woman – was something strange… something dangerous.
"Let them down," she spoke suddenly, her voice clear and soft.
The cave shook violently as Ahri's massive body began to turn, her impregnable scales gliding across the cave opening.
Eventually, the pale blue light peeked back into the cold tunnel, revealing the top of Ahri's head. Hesitantly, the brothers looked at each other for a moment before a cold hand pressed against their backs, gently pushing them onto the dragon's head.
The woman's gentle nudge held a subtle yet monstrous strength.
Stepping atop Ahri's head behind the two young boys, the dragon swiftly moved down from the opening and to the base of the cavern.
Looking upwards, Zadius could see that the cave opening was almost thirty metres above the cavern's floor.
As they reached the bottom, Xaryus and Zadius carefully climbed down the centre of Ahri's head, leaping to the ground from her snout.
At the cavern's base, near the magnificent blue lake, the temperature was freezing. Xaryus and Zadius were already beginning to shiver, and their breaths were becoming shallow.
As they stood, they could feel an insanely dense amount of animus coming from the strange lake; it was the source of the unnatural cold.
"One moment." The cold woman spoke, landing on the cavern's floor unbothered by the deadly cold.
With a single, gentle movement of her hand, Xaryus and Zadius could feel the dense animus in the air around them move towards the strange woman as if she commanded it.
"That power is not coming from her spite, is she commanding animus outside of her body without the use of Law!?" Xaryus thought.
Eventually, the cold faded and the temperature slowly became bearable for the brothers. After the small gesture of kindness, the cold woman simply returned to her original position beside the lake.
Ahri did the same, nestling herself around the woman so that she could rub her head.
Xaryus had tried to approach the cold woman in an attempt to try and rub Ahri's head as well. However, Zadius rejected the idea and dragged him off to the side.
They sat a good distance away from Ahri and the blue lake, keeping their focus on the cold woman.
Xaryus could faintly sense that the cold animus that emanated from the lake was being absorbed by the dragon.
But he didn't know why….
Zadius on the other hand simply looked at them cautiously, too afraid to glance at their shadows longer than what was necessary.
Meanwhile, Ahri had kept one of her eyes open as the woman gently dragged her hands across her rough scaled cheek; her gaze stuck on Xaryus.
Xaryus returned the dragon's long stare as he grumpily sat next to Zadius, "I'm going to pet that damn dragon…" He thought briefly, his gaze growing with determination.
As if hearing his will, Ahri began to rustle and tried to stand. However, the cold woman had tightened her grip on the beast's scales, slowly bringing the dragon back down to the ground.
She moved her hand across Ahri's eyes gracefully, immediately sending the blue scaled dragon into a seemingly deep sleep.
Turning to the young brothers, her gaze focused on Xaryus for a moment.
He could easily feel the woman's cold intent encompass him; but it quickly vanished.
"It's been so long since I've seen such young humans, but it's strange… You two have killed people before, haven't you?"
The cold woman's voice was soft yet Xaryus and Zadius could clearly hear it from such a distance.
Their bodies tensed at her words; there was no way she could have known. But they did not know what kind of entity she was, or how powerful she was.
A moment of silence passed and she continued to speak.
"Ah, I see… the toll that it's having on your minds is great – especially on you, strange child…" the woman's gaze shifted towards Xaryus for a moment.
"A shame you had to live such a life until now." She continued.
Zadius' face contorted in confusion, the confidence that the woman spoke with, and her choice of words… She had known or seen much more about them than she wasn't letting on.
Slowly, the woman raised up from the ground and strolled towards the brothers. Xaryus and Zadius' eyes widened with anxiety as she approached them.
The woman wore a gentle smile as she took a seat in front of the brothers. Her mind seemed distant as she sat beside them, but she immediately moved her lips, thinking aloud.
"Two boys, one with a radiant soul and another with a soul ensnared by darkness. Should I kill them now and quicken their fate, or let them live and suffer… make myself… suffer?"
Her cold words were directed to herself, yet it caused a clear sensation of danger to wash over Xaryus and Zadius.
"…My apologies. It's been many years since I've spoken with others… I sometimes speak my thoughts aloud." She explained with a soft smile, gently running her hand across Xaryus' head.
"In truth, your souls are much more profound than that which is common for your kind. I believe you refer to them as 'stigma', a manifestation of one's soul, will and fate. To see such powerful stigmas in humans is a rare sight, and meeting me here today is an even sicker joke played by fate… or a blessing, I cannot tell."
The cold woman continued to speak, her words directed towards Xaryus and Zadius but they felt as if she was truly speaking to herself.
"Are you going to kill us?" Xaryus asked nervously as the woman's cold hand sat atop his head.
"No. You remind me of someone I knew long ago." The woman replied before gently placing her other hand atop Zadius' head.
"You also remind me of his friend… and for allowing me to reminisce about a memory I had long forgotten. I will grant you relief. Your power will rise by leaps and bounds, but this is all I can provide. Law is like an all-powerful yet precious scale, those who attempt to break the balance it has put in place are not treated kindly."
The woman's words were strange yet meaningful.
The only concept that the brothers understood was Law.
***
Law was a strange and boundless entity or system that had come into existence after the dusk war. As its name suggests, it is the culmination of all absolute laws that govern the world and a guide for awakened, and entities deeply connected to Etherios.
For awakened to use their mystical abilities, they must first seek a connection with Law that allows them to bring about their miracle-like power.
***
However, Xaryus and Zadius were never able to ponder on the woman's words.
A cold but welcoming sensation had suddenly filled their chests.
In confusion, Xaryus glanced down towards his stomach and Zadius' gaze stayed on the pale, blue eyed woman.
A sorrowful yet kind expression cradled itself across her beautiful face; the moment Zadius saw it, he was comforted by her smile.
It reminded him of his mother.
Then, without warning, the warmth suddenly turned into a searing heat.
A wave of blinding, hot pain tore through their bodies. Their muscles locked and their voices cracked into agonizing screams that echoed throughout the cavern.