While we laughed and enjoyed ourselves, something tore through the trees and fell in our direction. It was… Ignis.
The little dragon leapt out, trying to devour everything around him. He was incessantly begging for those treats, but I held him back — a small, ill-mannered, and hungry dragonling.
When we had entered the area, I had released both him and Astrel. Since we were within Auralith's territory, problems were unlikely.
Upon seeing my familiar, Valessia's eyes lit up. She looked at me as if silently begging to hold him.
— "Want to hold him?" — I asked, finding her expression strangely glowing.
— "Yes, please," — she said, taking Ignis from my arms and cradling him like a child as she fed him bits of cake, sweets, and crimson bread.
Ignis, strangely enough, seemed happy — purring softly, almost adorably.
But how…? What did she do to my usually grumpy little dragon?
Ignis was normally affectionate only with me and had no qualms showing hostility toward others. At most, he would huff at me when I didn't give him enough attention.
But laying there like a baby? He'd never done that before.
Maybe it was Valessia's maternal instinct?
No.
Ignis sent thoughts to me:
— "So that's why you stayed with those women? They feed you when I'm not around?" — he asked eagerly… and at the same time, looked at me suspiciously.
— "Yes, clever little dragon. That's why I say — find yourself a little dragoness, and she'll feed you all you want."
He looked at me, thoughtfully, actually considering the idea.
After finishing the last bite of cake, he licked his little paws and — just as expected — flew from Valessia's lap back to my shoulder, satisfied.
Ignis was still the same: well-behaved only when getting what he wanted, before returning to me.
A little opportunistic dragon.
Valessia seemed a bit sad to see him leave, as if her new child had just been taken from her.
I could only sigh. Ignis never changed, no matter what I did. Maybe it was just an innate trait of his sub-dragon species.
Valessia stared at him for a while, then shook her head in resignation and took a sip of tea.
I looked at her and tried to console her:
— "Don't take it too seriously. Ignis is just a little opportunist."
— "Don't worry. It's more common than you'd think. Familiars are usually like that."
— "Ahh…"
Ignis gave a small growl of apology and thanks. His intentions were superficial — but it was enough.
I tickled his neck and praised him:
— "At least you know how to apologize, right?"
— "Humph." — the little one huffed, blowing smoke in my face.
— "Haha... what a little dragon…"
Boom boom boom.
My heart suddenly raced. A voice echoed in my ears — and in Ignis's.
> "Hear me, my children. Destiny is inevitable. There is only one path: our race above all else."
My eyes slowly shut.
Then, my body — and Ignis's — collapsed like rocks to the ground.
Bruno...
Bruno...
Bruno...
Those were the last words I heard as my vision blurred,
And I was mentally transported somewhere else.
---
Terminus Aeternus
My eyes opened to a vast plain. I had no idea where I was.
— "Bruno…" — a voice echoed in my mind. It was Ignis, appearing at my side. He looked as confused as I did.
— "A mental attack?" — I wondered, preparing myself.
But no. I was wrong.
There was nothing there.
But I could faintly feel countless beings that resembled me… What is this place?
We started walking. Ignis climbed onto my shoulder — not wanting to fly or draw attention.
We chose the north… and began to move.
Walking…
---
POV: Flávia
I saw it.
Bruno's and Ignis's eyes turned slightly red — and then they collapsed.
— "Bruno!" — I cried out, creating a soft barrier to cushion his fall.
I rushed to him, shaking his shoulders, trying to sense anything… but I felt nothing unusual. Nothing at all.
— "Aunt Valessia, what happened?!" — I asked, frightened and concerned.
— "Mom, why did they faint? What's going on?" — Selena followed up, equally desperate.
Valessia used her vitae to probe for any anomaly in Bruno and Ignis, but she, too, seemed to find nothing.
There was a deep unease in the air.
A silent, unexplainable dread.
— "Has this happened before?" — she asked us.
— "No… not that I know of."
— "Yeah. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
— "Children, we're returning now," — Valessia declared, cloaking us all in her vitae.
Boom.
With a burst of energy, we were already near the castle — even Astrel had been brought with her.
We ran to the only one who might be able to help: my mother, Serapynhe.
If she couldn't do it, then only Dracula could — and he would never do something like this.
As soon as we arrived, we sprinted through the halls until we reached the main chamber where my mother and sisters were.
— "Mother!" — I shouted for help.
She turned immediately at my voice and rushed toward us.
— "What happened, Valessia?" — she asked, inspecting Bruno's and Ignis's condition.
— "I don't know. Their eyes turned red for a second, then they collapsed like stones. I tried to investigate… but found nothing."
My mother pointed two fingers.
A vitae as dense as creation itself ran through Bruno and Ignis, examining every corner over and over.
— "And?" — I asked, anxiety in my voice.
— "Nothing. I can't find anything.
Either he's faking — which doesn't seem likely — or he's been affected by something ancient, so primordial and powerful… that even I cannot interfere."
Her words froze my blood.
My mother… she can kill gods. She's feared by every race.
Only the dragons dare not take her seriously.
The dragons...? — I thought.
And then it hit me.
— "It was the dragons!" — I declared aloud.
Everyone turned to me.
---
POV: Bruno
Ignis and I kept walking.
A long time had passed — but nothing changed.
Same sky. Same plain. Same silence.
It was like walking in circles… or on infinite paths.
With no other option, we decided to fly.
But not with my usual vampire wings…
These were dragon wings?
— "Shit…" — I thought.
— "What's happening here?"
I flew north at full speed.
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crossed the sky — and entered my mind.
> "You are almost there. Continue north. After fifteen minutes, head northwest."
I was skeptical…
But I had no choice.
So I flew north for fifteen minutes — then veered northwest.
But I couldn't even tell how much time passed.
Hours? Days? Months? Years?
Still, I kept going.
Instinctively.
Without stopping.
Years.
Tens.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
Hundreds of thousands.
Millions.
---
As Bruno soared toward the unknown, a floating throne hovered above all.
Thirteen beings sat there — the Dragon Elders.
— "That Bruno isn't bad, huh? Still think it was a mistake to separate his soul from the body and raise him as a human," — one of them muttered in frustration.
— "We had no other choice," — another countered.
— "Deva (Bruno), Drake, and Chrol had low potential and too long a maturation curve. Raising them as humans was the fastest way to trigger their awakening."
— "But who would've guessed a young vampire would fall in love with him? Fate… is truly bizarre," — mused a third.
Then the highest-ranking Elder — the Second Absolute among dragons — finally spoke:
— "Unfortunately, a terrible destiny awaits us."
His words brought a heavy silence upon the council.