Forging The Fire

10 ⚔️ Where?

Diato grabbed the suit and took a good look at it. The hexagonal honeycomb-like pattern was shining. Diato also saw the fabric. It was stretchable, thin, lightweight, and still quite fireproof. He went back to his room and wore it under his clothes. John was also there in his room to help him get the suit on.

"Here, if you press your left thumb under your right underarm tightly: the suit will become half sleeved. And if you press your index finger there, the suit will become no sleeved." John explained, "and if you want to really protect yourself, just cover your face with both of your palms and the fabric will extend from the neck and cover your whole face. It can also suffocate you so as soon as you pull your hands back: the fabric will pull itself away from your face, allowing you to breathe." John was out of breath as he finished.

The technological stuff always gave Diato goosebumps. He wore the suit with the help of john as it was very tight. Especially near the chest. It made Diato suffocate for some moments before Diato's lungs adjusted to it. It felt like someone was constantly pushing on his chest but it didn't matter anymore as Diato had already adapted to the pressure after a while. He wore the grey T-shirt on top of it, along with jeans.

"I mean... Now you're ready, Diato" John said, handing him the glasses and a watch. His other palm contained a little what seemed like an earbud but was actually a Bluetooth communication device. Similar to a walkie talkie.

*****

They got into the basement through the stairs in the common corridor.

"Choose your Bike, buddy" John said, "I mean... they start from your mission code, so you can't take them unless you have a mission. Also you can't enter a fake one as it has powerful AI to recognize a mission code."

"Got it" Diato said. He pulled out the piece of that thick parchment like paper, and entered the code: 29sj50aj27, on the little key board on the petrol tank of the bike. It was unlocked with a green light on its speedometer.

John went to another bike and entered the same code. "You can unlock a maximum of five vehicles with one code" He explained.

Both of them exited the basement and crossed the river separating the northern and southern Senezwa. They saw the dirt pathway leading to Shenezwa. Diato wasn't very interested in what was on the right side of the road. They turned left and Troll Tog was in front of them. But still quite far away.

"We aren't wearing helmets!" Diato shouted at John so that he could hear it, because there was too much noise from their bikes.

"You don't need to shout! I mean... I can hear you from the device in your ear" John explained with his voice calm as the sea.

"Okay" Diato replied, "bu-"

"No, we don't need to wear helmets. I mean... we ain't going on a long drive!"

"Alright got it" Diato Replied.

Their bikes were not harmed by the pointed rocks on the dirt path as they were made pretty durable. Diato's breath got warmer and warmer due to the atmosphere. He had spent too much time at the forest, surrounded by trees, that he forgot what it was like at the bustling city streets. He was reminded of the warmth, and the smell of smoke, dust and mixture of smell from various people, reminded him that he was back in the city.

"This is Max" Max spoke in the ear device, "John, there is an emergency at Churchill Hood in the south. Leave Diato alone and head straight to Churchill Hood. There are radiations of a fully transformed C ranked dragon. People can't see fully transformed dragons. They'd be too weak to perceive their existence. You must reach there in time and kill the dragon before it's too late."

"On it" Said john, "good luck on your mission Diato, see you later. I mean... I gotta go"

"Yeah I heard that" Diato replied, "good luck to you too"

John accelerated his bike and went ahead. Diato stared at the back of John's head before it slowly faded away in the city fog. Diato found himself at the Troll Tog. Here I am, he thought. John was still visible in the distance as Diato hit the brakes of his bike to look for the Dragon. Where are you bald Eagle - No, Bald Dragon? I'll find you. He thought as his eyes hovered over the crowd like a camera. He scanned everywhere but the dragon was nowhere to be found.

He went further into the crowd and pulled out the glasses john gave him. He wore the glasses and pressed the button on its frame. His eyes grew wide as he saw that the glasses turned the world seem like a simulation. No colors were visible. Only the outline of people, land and buildings were visible. Black background with white outlines of each and everything including himself.

He struggled a bit to figure out what he was looking at but his body quickly adapted to his new surroundings. His adaptation sent a chill up his spine as he saw a bald man wearing a black hoodie. His outline had colors and his whole body was glowing in red color. He had found him. It was the dragon. Come on, I can do this! He thought.

He pulled out his butterfly knife, from his pocket. He was still standing near his bike. He lifted up his leg and climbed on top of the bike's seat. He barely balanced himself, as he felt his toes almost getting a cramp. He was glad he didn't get a cramp because if he fell, he'd lose one of his toes, according to him. He pulled the glasses from his eyes and shoved them back in his pocket. He was standing in the corner of the road and no one seemed to care that a person was standing on the seat of his bike with a butterfly knife.

He twisted the butterfly knife and its blade was exposed to the air, its metal shining in the raw golden sunlight. With immense force, he threw the knife. He forgot that this wasn't a normal knife. The knife folded itself back in midair and its blade was not exposed anymore. The blade seamlessly seemed to vanish in the hilt of the knife.

The knife reached the bald man and hit the back of his head. Diato panicked. What the fuck happened? He is not killed! He might turn into a dragon! What do I do? Suicide? No, I can't die a virgin! What should I do? He thought. His heartbeats raced like a bullet train and his heart sank into the sea of chaotic tranquility. His mind pounded heavily, sending chills down his spine.

He was in big trouble if the normal people saw a fully transformed dragon. The bald guy turned around, his eyes flaming with anger. His hoodie slid off his head as his head jerked here and there, trying to figure out who had hit him. Diato's eagle eye noticed the man's ears: it's not a dragon! He thought. He had accidentally hit a normal pedestrian. He was glad it wasn't a normal dragon. He was glad that his dream hadn't come true.

But then, an even bigger question arose: where was the dragon? Diato jumped down from his bike, hoping that the bald man didn't see him. Because he didn't want to get in a fight. He pulled the glasses out again. He smacked the glasses on his face and started looking again. He saw a man just behind the bald guy escaping the area in a motorcycle. Diato had made a mistake. He thought that the bald man was the dragon, but the man behind him was. The outlines confused him but now he was sure that the guy on the motorcycle heading to southern Shenezwa was the dragon.