I Guess I'm a Dragon Now (Part 1)

Final Meeting

"So you're really leaving then?" Sheera asked with obvious worry  as both she and Rae met Asal, Farell and Ergen on their way out of the city. Sera was there now to, dressed in full plate armor as she prepared to leave. She even nodded her head once in greetings towards Ergen when she saw him, causing him to harrumph in reply. When he'd first left the... Land of Legends or whatever the place where he was born was called, he never would have imagined that he would have to fight along side the same person that had caused the death of his mother. And he certainly would have never thought that he'd be fighting something like a celestial griffin on purpose, much less the hero that would be with it... Wasn't the hero always supposed to win in these kinds of situations?

Knowing that he didn't choose the wrong side, but rather, the wrong side chose him, Ergen pouted in self misery before a familiar light flew in front of his eyes. Just like she'd always done before, Rae landed on the end of Ergen's armored snout, looking the most depressed he'd ever seen her.

"I... can't remember if I ever told you or not, but just in case, I'd like to thank you again for helping me save Sheera." Rae told Ergen somewhat hesitantly. "You helped me when I needed it most, even when no one else would..."

Suddenly thankful for not being able to speak as he would have been at a loss of words anyway, Ergen smiled inwardly before letting out a short laugh. His meeting with Rae had been... eventful, to say the last. Ever since he'd met her, he'd had to place his own life in danger numerous times, though it didn't differ much from his time spent in the Land of Legends. But even so, now he was about to face his last opponent... That was, if Echo's words could be trusted.

"I know we really didn't get along that much, but... be careful, alright?" Rae asked, and Ergen laughed to himself again before bringing one of his front feet up and gently tapping the top of her head with his scales. He hoped that the message would get across, and apparently it did as Rae smiled broadly at him before leaving to join Sheera again, who was still in the process of saying her farewells to her father.

"If everything works out, this war will be over within a month." Farell said with a smile towards his daughter as they separated from a hug. "But if we fail, I want you to go further west and seek shelter with the republic along with your sister."

"I understand, but I won't need to." Sheera replied until she finally turned towards Ergen. "Please, both of you be careful. And make sure to return to us."

"Don't worry, Ergen's the strongest guy I know, so there's no way that he'll lose." Rae replied enthusiastically in Ergen's stead, and he chose that moment to nod his head one more time before he jumped in the air and started flying into the sky, eager to be away from the gathering below him. He'd never been one for goodbyes anyway, and seeing as he couldn't speak, he saw no reason to stay. Not when he had more important things to be doing, such as making sure that the armor on his wings wouldn't be effecting his flight.

*     *     *

"Have you thought about what you will do now, in case you win?" Echo asked meaningfully at Clargen, who currently had a sad look about him as he looked at his avatar.

"Even if I win this round... I do not believe that I will advance with Chae any further." Clargen answered after several moments of silence, sighing as he stood off of his throne and walked forward to place his hand on the image of his disfigured avatar. "It is of no fault of hers, but I'm afraid that even my powers will not be enough to erase the experiences and trauma that she's had to suffer through... I will not be able to give her the life that she once had, even if she is victorious over your dragon."

"No matter what he's had to have gone through, I still can't believe that Emric has turned out to be this way..." Kyse, the God of Justice, also said sadly as he looked at an image of Emric. "For a man who once thought of nothing but saving his people to have fallen so far... it's truly baffling, even for me."

"It's an awful contradiction, isn't it?" Vos snickered to himself beside Echo. "The man chosen by the God of Justice committing the most horrible acts that any of us have ever seen."

"Mortals have free will, which is something that we must never rob them of." Kyse replied. "I just never expected for Emric's crimes to surpass even the evil that he once fought against himself."

"And now, the only question that remains to be answered is if his crimes will continue or if they will be judged for him." Echo spoke while she walked close to her image of Ergen as well. "This game of yours is ending while mine will only advance to the next stage..."

"Are you really so confident that your avatar will be victorious?" Clargen asked.

"I'm certain that he will be." Echo finally smiled up at her competitor. "After all, an avatar that doesn't have their god's support will surely fail. And also, hoping for his victory is the least that I can do for him."

"And how will you all handle it if your charges perish?" Vos asked eagerly. "There's plenty of room in the Underworld for all of them.

"The Underworld is not the place for Emric. Not anymore." Kyse stated angrily.

"I believe that I will take Chae's soul into my care for a few years to try and ease her torment." Clargen stated. "Only once I'm sure that she will never remember what has been done to her will I risk her being reincarnated... Like Echo said, as the one that put her in this situation, it is the least that I can do."

"As he is now, I can no longer place Ergen back in his previous world as his body there has already perished." Echo stated. "While I don't believe that he will lose, if it should happen, I will do everything in my power to reincarnate him into the best life possible."

"Oh? Aren't get being a little to soft on an avatar that you've only had for less than half a year?" Vos asked teasingly. "You're supposed to be evil, you know. Just like all of the others who reign over darkness."

"I don't plan on letting the opinions of others change either my decisions or my personality." Echo glared slightly at Vos. "And what about you? What will you do with Asal if Emric should be victorious?"

Suddenly, Vos lost his teasing smile as he looked towards where the Demon King currently was, marching along with his soldiers to confront Emric.

"I've been holding the boy's family back from reincarnating just for that purpose." Vos stated in a low tone. "Should he fall because of this game, then I will reincarnate them all together in a peaceful land so that they may live the life that they deserve."

"So much for a God of Death." Echo was now the one with a teasing smile. "Aren't you supposed to be evil to? You haven't gone soft, have you?"

"S-shut up!" Vos shot back, and Echo laughed slightly before her smile turned towards her image of Ergen. No matter how much she willed him to be victorious, she couldn't help but have her smile falter as she saw him passing over the heads of the Demon King's army once again. This battle that he was heading into... would most likely be the most fierce that he would experience in his current world. It would be a hard fought battle, and she knew that he was nervous about facing the creature that he felt he had to... simply because she'd forced him into his situation and directed him to confront it.

"Good luck, Ergen." Echo held out her hand and gently ran it over the image of her avatar. "I'll be cheering for you."