Forging The Fire

20 ⚔️ Midnight Departure

He finally reached the weapon room. The glass door awaited him again. He held the side panel of the door frame and pulled it open. It didn't open. He pulled even harder, squinting his fingers. But the door seemed to be stuck. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open it. He now used both of his hands, squinting his fingers against the side panel of the door, pulling as hard as he could.

He let go of the panel and swallowed. He could see through the glass that Bella was inside the room, doing something. He continued to struggle to slide open the door. He was now even pushing his feet on the side panel, but the door just didn't want to open. After a while of continuous hard work, Bella finished her work and glanced at Diato. She shot him a look as if to say, What the hell are you doing? And she almost cringed at him.

He saw her leave the room beside him, walking straight through the doorway panel. The door was open. He instantly jerked back his hands from the panels, as he saw Bella passing through the doorway. He felt stupid now. He was pulling on the panel which was screwed to the wall. He wasn't even pulling the door, he was pulling the panel.

He finally let go of the panel and entered the room again. His nose senses the familiar scent of metal and metal polish. The room had no windows or any other doors. The only thing the room had was a Room large enough to fit three double-decker buses Horizontally. The Walls were painted with a colour that looked grey to some people while it looked off-white to others.

The glass shelves stuck on the walls carry Several Knives. There were eight to nine shelves on each wall: all of them filled with different kinds of knives piled on top of each other. Various kinds of medieval Weapons like Swords, Clubs, Spears, and Bows were hanging from the iron nails. The wall on the right had all kinds of Different Swords while the Wall in the middle had All Of the spears you would have seen in your entire life. The left wall was full of bows.

The Weapons were hanging as if they were in a museum but with no glass protection. There were also Some wooden tables with glass tops and wooden legs on the corners which had things like arrows, Grips, Handles, Empty quivers, And many more piled like a mountain on the tables. The door was on the bottom left corner of the room.

He remembered the room quite well. The chair in the corner where his trainer was seated just before the event's final selection. He recalled the fun moments he had with his trainer. Those jokes he made, those slits he got from training. A warm smile curled up his lips automatically as he recalled his moments with his trainer. He even told Diato his name. Diato always used to call him a trainer. He looked away from the chair and glanced at the club hanging from the nail on the grey wall.

He went to the metal club and snatched it from the nail, almost ripping the nail apart from the wall. He also grabbed a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Diato shoved as many arrows as he could into the quiver. He filled the quiver with so many arrows and that wouldn't even fall even when the quiver was hung upside down. But he could pull the arrows with his fingers. He wore the quiver with the strap across his chest and the bow hanging on his shoulder, its string also spread across his chest to his waist diagonally. He grabbed a handful of knives. And wore the knife belt, specially made to carry knives. He shoved around ten knives in the belt, which was the limit.

He pulled out the fireproof suit from the cabinet under the glass table and wore it under his clothes. He tied the dragon-finding watch on his wrist, and a wristwatch on the other hand to keep track of time. He made sure he wasn't making any noise. He didn't want to be caught doing this. He made his way down the corridor to the basement.

He went near a dirt bike. Entered his first mission code. 29sj50aj27. He somehow remembered it. The bike roared to life. He flung his leg on the other side of the bile over it. He made it roar more by twisting the race and driving out of the basement.

Under the shroud of the night sky, Diato emerged, his silhouette cutting through the darkness like a lone wanderer. Clad in a worn black leather jacket that whispered tales of countless journeys, he straddled his dirt bike, its metallic body glistening under the moon's soft glow. The absence of a helmet revealed tousled hair that danced freely in the cool night breeze, adding an air of wildness to his determined demeanour.

With a masterful grip on the handlebars, Diato revved the engine, breaking the silence of the night with the powerful growl that resonated through the tranquil landscape. The bike's wheels churned the earth, stirring up a celestial dance of dust and shadows that trailed behind him like a cloak of secrecy.

Each twist of the throttle was a symphony of control and freedom, his journey unfolding with each bend and curve of the rugged terrain. The moonlight kissed the contours of his face, casting fleeting glimpses of determination in his focused gaze, while the stars overhead bore witness to this nocturnal escapade.

In this quiet escapade under the cover of night, Diato rode on, a lone adventurer seeking the mysteries hidden within the DragonSpines, and himself. The engine's rhythm matched the beat of his untamed heart.

*****

Terra glanced out of her room's window and saw a man on a dirt bike leaving the organization. She stared at the man for a while, trying to figure out who he was. A thief? The moonlight softly landed on the terrain below him and his bike, making it shine. She finally caught a glimpse of him. Diato. She knew he was about to do something stupid, but she didn't know he was going to do something this stupid. Her eyes grew wide as she recalled the book lying on top of the side table of his room - Dragons Of the DragonSpines - and she knew he had read it.

He is going to the DragonSpine Mountains, She thought, to know about himself from the spell at the Dragon Ruins. I remember thinking of going there, and instantly regretting it after reading the unknown cave part. She flicked the light switch on of her room, as she hauled herself to a sitting position on her bed, her feet dangling from the edge.

She jumped out of bed and dashed across the room, exiting it in a smooth movement, and closing the door behind her. What should I do? She thought as she leaned against the door on her back, in the corridor. Should I tell Max? James? No James would want to kill Diato as soon as possible when he finds out he's a dragon! Whom should I tell? She cried inside, her heart pounding against her ribs, should I go alone, after him? He has already left. If I want to stop him, I should either go alone or take Max with me. John is a C rank, he can't come with me. And Max would probably reject the offer.

*****

It was worth a try. She made her way across the corridor the way to Max's room. She grabbed the knob and twisted it. It opened right away. She never understood why people were careless enough to not lock their doors before sleeping. It wasn't like the place was robber-free. She strode across the room and went to Max, who was sleeping on the bed with his blanket thrown on the ground, his room messy with empty dishes and clothes lying around everywhere. Several minimalistic paintings of Greek gods and the pyramids of Giza.

A shadowy figure appeared at the doorway, it was very dwarf in size and stood on four legs. A tail wiggling around her feet, and oval-shaped green eyes staring into the soul of Terra. For a moment, her heart sank. She realised it was just Max's cat - Maxcat - she sighed in relief as she turned back to Max, who had woken up, and now was staring at her too. Her heart sank again but she realised that he was awake from the moment she walked in, but it was too dark for her to realise.

"What is it that you want?" He asked in a sense of annoyance.

"I had a flavor to ask you for" Her tongue wiggled, making her struggle to speak.

"Okay, what flavour do you wanna ask in the middle of the night?" He said, his annoyance slightly faded into a smile because of her wrong pronunciation.

"Yeah... So... Umm.. " She said as she fought her urge to tell Max about Diato or not. She wanted to spit out everything like vomit, but couldn't. It was the middle of the night, after all.