Cross Worlds

Chapter 47: "Raevoth"

"You really trust him enough to bring him here?" Raichi asks as he looks up at the dragon standing above him.

"You're the one who asked me to bring him here, and you're asking that now?" The dragon tilts his head slightly. Raichi shrugs in response, getting a chuckle out of the beast. "He has a good soul. As I said to the other's, if I truly didn't trust him, I would've killed him."

Riku laughs nervously, averting his eyes. "Yes, thank you for not killing me..."

"Ah don't be scared." Raichi says as the dragon lays down behind him. "He may be a big scary dragon, but Raevoth's a big softy." He snickers.

"Raevoth... That's his name?" Riku asks. Internally, he's thinking, "That's such a badass name!"

"Yep. Raevoth, the Blue Starlight Dragon. It still surprises me you knew nothing about him. Felt like no matter where I went before I ended up in the resistance, everyone seemed to know who I was. So, it's pretty amazing you don't know who Raevoth is." Raichi explains.

"Yeah, well..." Riku chuckles awkwardly and averts his gaze once more. He doesn't miss the way Raevoth stares at him. "We're not talking about me right now. You both brought me here so we could talk about you privately, right?"

Raichi is silent for a few seconds before sighing. "Yeah. It'd be hard to admit my defeat in front of literally everyone. Word will spread in no time I'm sure, but still."

"Lost..? Are you kidding?! You're literally the strongest out of everyone in the resistance aren't you?! I could never hope to actually beat you Raichi, come on." Riku stares at him, dumbfounded.

"Raevoth isn't me, Riku. The only reason he came out is because...well, I really didn't wanna lose." Raichi narrows his eyes. "God...what would they all think of me if they saw me like this? How am I ever gonna face them if I keep losing to everyone around me..?"

Riku grows silent and closes his eyes, sighing. "So that's what it was. I can't say I know how you feel, but I also can't say I don't know how you feel either." Gina and Haruto come to mind yet again for Riku.

"Yeah... Raevoth only comes out on two conditions. One, I call for him, and two, if I'm in a really dire state of mind. Well, I guess there's a third...if he can sense I'm about to die." Raichi explains

"I see. So, since you didn't win with what you consider to be your own strength, then it's your loss?" Riku asks.

"Yep, exactly my point. If Raevoth has to come out in a fight at all, then mentally it's my loss. Of course, nobody can beat Raevoth, so I guess together we never really lose." Raichi grins cheekily.

Riku walks over to Raichi and takes a knee in front of him. "If you keep thinking like that, then you are never going to realize your true potential, Raichi." He states bluntly.

Raichi blinks a few times. "Huh?"

"I don't have to see the other kids with special beasts to know they'd all be incredibly proud to see how far you've come. That's beside the point though. Do you have any idea how fucking amazing you are Raichi?!" Riku roughly grabs his shoulders and shakes him. "You are the only one in the entire world to be chosen to inherit the powers of this crazy strong dragon! He chose you dumbass!"

"I-I know that, but!" Raichi whines as he's being shaken back and forth.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming you can't just simply make him as strong as you with a snap of your claws, right Raevoth?" Riku looks up at the dragon.

Even Raevoth looks moderately surprised by Riku's outburst. "...Correct. If I could do that, I would. I want to see my chosen succeed with my power. However, he has to master that power on his own. If his body cannot handle it, the magic will not respond to him. It's not different than any normal human being awakening their magic and having to train to make it stronger."