The Dragon's Abode(Compressed)

Part 2: Chapter 6

“She dove down the clouds amidst the rain of fire, the first of her kind to wander the earth. Like starry dust she rained down, turned to ash and survived. One with the stars, a part with the earth. Home is far, she hasn’t returned… then her legacy lived on. The will of the Phoenix.”

“Have your wings gone rusty, Phoenix. When was the last time you flapped them?” The dragon laughed, his remark intended to annoy the raven-haired woman immensely.

“In case your eyes had grown more rusty than my wings, dragon, I am no longer the child I once was.” The raven-haired woman replied.

Years had passed since she last felt the wind blew past her feathery tongues of fire. The wind reminded her of how unstoppable she once felt. The way it kindled her fires and served her flight, the way it felt like freedom whenever she took to the skies. It was almost like a newfound hope.

Her eyes that burned with flames of determination when the dragon urged her to take her flight, after a long time, were the same eyes that the girl’s grandmother was gifted with; the eyes that represent the burning star before the Universe’s own genesis. Her very form forged by eternal flames that shall live on even after the incineration of every Phoenix’s vessel from the Earth.

The two soared higher above the autumn-burnt hilltops. The sun was set ablaze by the clear autumn sky and the forest remained ever so quiet except for the occasional thuds in the sky made by the two gigantic beasts colliding head on.

The dragon advanced towards the raven-haired woman’s Phoenix’s form, encircling his serpentine body along her fiery length at his fastest pace. The blazes that could have burned any being alive or dead failed to have an effect on the dragon’s thick skin.

She felt in her the urge to free the fire completely when a voice, the voice of her guilt rang through her mind.

“To think you’d still have the guts when her blood is in your hands…”

The voice in her mind rang softly in a bare whisper.

She felt it, a tug at her very existence as if the core of her life’s essence ran dry. The guilt consumed her with every bit of fire she used. Her heart hung heavy and the unpleasant feeling surged through her distracting her from the duel.

It had been years since she last took the Phoenix’s form indeed and yet no one knew the suffering she had to endure in her solitude. The weight on her shoulder was too heavy and she cannot but shut the guilt out with every part of the Phoenix she’d let go. Yet she tries to make amends to make right the wrong she never did.

The dragon sensed her distress and spoke.

“Whatever it is that’s holding you back…let it go…”

“Only of it were that easy...” She thought as she tried hard to shut away the guilt.

Distracted and disturbed as she is, she decided to end the fight immediately. She could not afford to lose, not while her pupil is watching.

She looked down at the girl who had been watching them with intense curiosity and her eyes shone with new resolve. She tugged her wings in and stretched her form, thinning herself as much as she could as she oscillated between her Phoenix and human form. The dragon was taken aback by her risky counterattack causing him to loosen his grip on her. Sensing the dragon’s hesitation, she took it as a cue to spin herself out of his hold.

The dragon was thrown off when she gyrated faster than the time it took for the dragon to keep up and as soon as she had freed herself from the dragon’s hold she took the privilege to spring herself upward by kicking herself up from the dragon’s body to gain her momentum. She soared further and further up, her speed constantly increasing. She then stopped and stretched out her majestic wings. The fire from them outran even the light of day and if any soul were to witness the sight they’d admit her wings shone brighter than a thousand suns. She then fastened herself tugging her wings in and dove head on towards the dragon with turbulence.

The dragon was all too familiar with the method.

“A head-butt…” he thought and so he decided to face her head on.

With the certainty that she had gotten the upper hand she somersaulted and flung herself feet down taking the dragon down the heights that nearly had them crash landing on the meadows.

“Steady your reins you fire chariot!!!”

“I am trying…” She replied to the dragon as she flapped her wings hastily whilst steadily gripping the dragon with her gigantic talons lest they should crash land and cause an uproar in the village.

The girl who had been watching them both from the ground laughed in amusement at the hilarious spectacle before her. The dragon turned his head upon hearing her laughter.

His heart fluttered with joy at the present happiness of that time, yet guilt gnawed at his very being like it gnawed at the raven-haired woman.

“I cannot blame you, Azalea… I am the guilty one of all.” He thought as he looked away ashamed.

Though she admires the creatures of the sky, the girl could not help envy them for she will never soar above the clouds by her own wings. Her mentor had advised her against learning the Phoenix Art but she had never told her the reason why.

The deep respect she had for her mentor forbade her to go against her mentor’s will but looking at the grandeur and elegance of the Phoenix, she promised herself that she would persuade her mentor to let her walk the path of the Phoenix no matter the cost. She stood staring at her mentor embracing her Phoenix’s form and she knew no doubt that she had just seen the most beautiful being in her entire life.

The wind blew past her softly as she gazed up the sky and thought to herself.

“Of all the stars of day… the Phoenix shines the brightest.”

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A/N:

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the late update.
Also, I have decided to take a short study break starting today since I’ll be having my exams soon. I’ll be back as soon as they are done. Until then, take care.

With Love,
Zylixis