Light of the Dragon's Eye

Chapter Twenty-Four

RECAP: Akira just found some books in Hiryuu Castle's library, and she went back to find Soo-won, only to see that he had fallen asleep. She is currently sitting by him, reading the books, looking for any information about the Winter and Summer Dragons.

THIRD PERSON'S POV

The Phoenix (Aki, not to be confused with Akira's nickname) and the Griffin (Haru) stand next to each other, watching the progress of their Chosen Ones.

"Soron seems to be doing well. He found the Summer Dragon, he's traveling with him, and there don't appear to be any complications," Aki muses, before a cocky smile spreads across his face. "Of course, that's to be expected of my Chosen One. If he has me to guide him, what could go wrong? Right, Haru?" He turns to the green haired male, expecting a sharp retort, but instead pauses at the sight.

Haru is frozen in shock, his hands trembling. "She....she's close...too close..." he mutters, his voice shaking. "Close? What are you-" then Aki pauses, his eyes widening in realization. "No, Haru, DON'T-!"

But he's too late. In a swirl of spring light and cherry blossoms, Haru disappears, leaving Aki in shock and dread. "No...they aren't prepared for this..." His expression is grave, and he sits down in grim thought.

???'S POV (AKA the dude who is the Chosen One of the Spring Griffin-refer to chapter 17)

I navigate through the crowds of people clogging the streets of Kuuto, narrowly dodging a few small kids that are playing tag. The gold light doesn't seem to be getting any closer, and I decided to take a small break in the capital city for a day or two.

Maybe this whole journey is pointless. Maybe I'm just hallucinating.

I head into a side street, which is much more empty than the main road, although there are still people milling about. I lean against the wall of a building, closing my eyes for a second, when something in the corner of my eye catches my attention.

A young woman, about my age, is on the other side of the street, near a small alleyway. She turns around to face me, and I see bright silver eyes, and a pale, heart-shaped face, framed by jet black hair.

I acknowledge how pretty she is for a second (only acknowledge, because I already have a girlfriend and I'm not some two-timing scumbag), but the second her gaze locks with mine, I gasp and double over in pain, my mind being pulled and stretched by something - someone -else.

Yuki...Yuki....!

I recognize the voice as the one belonging to that man, the Spring Griffin, the one I saw in the vision where I got that mark on my back. Crap, what's going on??!?

"Stop...stop it..." I gasp out in pain, although my voice sounds like I was kicked between the legs by a professional martial artist (on a related note, I seem to have a lovely soprano tone.)

The cries of the girl's name doesn't stop, and through my blurry vision, I can see that the young woman is crouching on the ground, holding her head in pain. Nnngh!

My eyes shut, and just as the thread of my consciousness nearly breaks, the voice stops, and I collapse on the ground, gasping for breath, a few people crowded around me. "Hey mister! You okay?"

Ignoring them, I glance at the corner, where the woman was, but she's gone. I move to stand up and try to follow her, but a wave of nausea passes over me and I fall back to the ground. I vaguely feel some people helping me up and leading me into an inn, but I pass out, the darkness welcoming me.

AKIRA'S POV (a few minutes earlier)

I sigh, setting the book down into the pile. Nothing, I've found nothing! It's all the same, Summer Dragon mad, Winter Dragon sad, world almost ending, ALL THE SAME!