Draconia Offline vol. 2

86.1. Owing an Explanation - Part 1

I'm standing on that ancient stone platform again, but my father is nowhere to be seen. That's strange for two reasons. First, he promised to give me a few days off before I recover from my concussion and I believe his word, however weird that might sound. Second, I have never experienced a lucid dream on my own.

I can still feel my head hurting, but I'm not dizzy in this dream. I walk around a bit, not sure what to do. I have no idea how to wake up and it doesn't seem like my father is coming. Now what? I look up and discover that the platform is part of a much bigger structure.

The dreamy surroundings that my father created have been hazy so far so I thought they are just a decoration, but what if there's more to them? It's not easy to muster enthusiasm for exploration with a migraine, but I push myself. If I can discover more about the secrets my father is hiding, I need to take that chance.

I walk for as long as the platform leads me and the closer I get, the less hazy the structure seems to be. I eventually reach the wall and touch it. It feels solid enough, definitely not just for decoration. I walk along it and, to my surprise, discover an opening with a wide staircase. Not willing to bother with something as unnatural to Celestials as climbing, I spread my wings and fly up, following the stairs.

I get startled when I'm suddenly enclosed between walls that seemingly appear out of nowhere. Everything looks even more solid now. I land on a marble floor and look frantically around. It might look ancient and alien, but it somehow resembles... a library?!

"Welcome supreme administrator!"

I twitch after the voice, but it echoes, giving me no hint of its origin. It sounds almost perfectly natural, but I suspect that it must be pre-recorded. What is this place?!

"Please, state your query," the voice says politely.

Oh, so I was right—it is a machine. What is it doing in my dream? Is it real or just a figment of my dreamy imagination?

"Ehm... can you tell me about Draconia?" I ask, not sure how to formulate the query.

"Language not recognised," it answers.

"Draconia dimension," I try again. Maybe it doesn't understand complex sentences.

"Language not recognised," it repeats stubbornly.

"How can you not recognise the language when you clearly speak it?" I frown.

It takes me a few seconds to realise the truth and the revelation makes me shudder—it has been speaking in an alien language all this time and I just didn't notice! Is that the Divementis language? And I can somehow understand? Understanding is one thing, though, how do I speak it?

"Draconia dimension," I try, but English comes out of my mouth instead.

"Draconia dimension," I repeat, but this time it's Japanese.

"Ugh!" I get angry because the migraine is still killing me and I can't focus properly. "Stupid machine, learn human languages!"

"Accessing information about human languages," the voice surprises me by cooperating.

Wait, did I actually speak Divementis just now?!

"Human languages refer to the languages spoken in the dimension called by the locals the Earth," it starts explaining. "Just like four ancient Draconian races, humans aren't telepathic so they have to rely on vocal sounds to communicate."

"Stop!" I interrupt it because that's not what I'm interested in. I've confirmed at least one thing, though. This place is like the Divementis equivalent of Wikipedia!