Tears' Curse

Chapter 1

     -Long Sheng Jie, Realm of Dragons-

But to them, we are creatures that only exist in fairy tales.

She slashed her tail across the blue-inked sky, shutting out the familiar whisper from distracting her mind.

Higher than the birds could be, encircled by complicated webs of fluffy clouds, here sat a majestic castle rooted to a colossal, floating boulder. Along the verge, baby plant elves chuckled as they flew above the tiny yellow filaments of Tearless Aurora. Teal seeds of Astral Sapphire glistered in a rhythmic flow, showing off their thousand years of rich nourishment. Into the tranquil ambiance, Soulless Sonder exhaled another silver puff of swirl from the tips of their fronds, steadily increasing the fine networks of divine air floating around.

This was where she lived. A place where she once thought everything was as ethereal as it seemed to be until she was exposed to the harsh truth.

She was just a whelp when she first learned about the existence of Ring of Mortality—a transcendent wheel enclosing an electrified azure energy ball, levitating above a luminous golden hemisphere. Her species feared the click of the metal bar centered at the core of the half-circle. They feared being summoned as the next dragon for the recurring mission.

The mission that took her childhood companion away in the last cycle.

With another strong thunderous scratch across the sky, the white dragon flamed fireballs at her knuckles and shot them toward the mystical blooms. One blazing smash after the other. More. She needed to let it out more. The pain for failing to protect her friend.

"Xue Er?"

Felynx's voice from an approaching cloud tumbled her down to the ground.

"Xue Er! You all right?" The wool under his feet dispersed. Shades of concern flashed across his face.

As she retracted her claws, her scales dissolved, and her redeveloped skin took over. The thousand-year of cultivation finally proved itself as she flawlessly transformed into a slender, fine lady figure.

"Yes, I'm fine."

She stood and licked the new cut on her elbow, glancing at the half-Magnolia jade hanging at her pink sash. Her chest ached, remembering who had owned the other half.

As though Felynx could sense the overflowing guilt from the little dragon, he put his hand on her shrunken shoulder. "Don't carry the blame, Xue Er." He took a step closer. "It was never your fault."

She stared directly into her Master's amethysts, showering him with layers of unspoken pain. "How could it not be my fault? It was supposed to be me to go there."

"Because you weren't ready." He ended on a cold note.

"Xun wasn't ready either!"

Felynx tucked his hands into his wide, long sleeves and heaved a tired sigh. "Things happened for a reason, Xue Er. You can't stop a rainstorm just because you have an umbrella. You can't change history just because you have a time machine. You can't save Xiao Xun from dying..." he muttered, "just because you wanted him to be."

"Just because I wanted him to be..." she repeated, swaying on her feet. A drop of tear coursed down her pale cheek as the words slapped hard on her face.

"We, dragons, are meant to protect the mortals, Xue Er," he hesitated, "though they no longer believe in us like centuries ago."

Before her Master could finish speaking, Xue Er trudged away. Felynx followed behind her.

All of a sudden, she turned around. It was a little too fast that he almost knocked into her. "Let it be me this time, Master." Xue Er retreated a step to the back. "I think I'm ready."