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The Dark Father

Xiciro's head was still dazed the next morning. He realized he was sleeping inside a tent while he tried to regain his memories. As he slowly rearranged anything he remembered everything and he blushed to himself (despite of him being a dragon) and tried to find a way out until he found Bartoz was in front of him giving him a breakfast.

"You're lucky Seraphor never remembered you being a nemesis. He'll gut you," said Bartoz with a snarl. "Let me tell you one thing, Xiciro. If you ever try to do anything foolish I will be the one to kill you. Understand?"

"Are you trying to reflect yourself?" replied Xiciro. "A defiler to both sides, as you has done to us and them and yet, you still stand in front of them like an old friend you are."

"It's called redemption, Xiciro. I can't trust you enough, yet you have proven me that you're still better than those betrayers." Bartoz went outside. "I'll be watching you, dark healer."

The dragon left without giving more comments, leaving Xiciro inside the big tent. As the black dragon was yawning, he also wanted to drink. He wanted to get out when Bartoz was blocking his path. The dragon's unnecessary suspicion made Xiciro annoyed.

"You have started to annoy me," said Xiciro. "I've stopped making myself a threat to anyone yet you still believe I will deceive the dragons I have started to love."

While they were walking, Bartoz made a remark. "It is because of you that I lose faith in trusting you. You're the one that is manipulating me to betray my friends. Talking inside my mind and controlling my limbs made me realize that you're my enemy."

"Don't give the wrong idea, Bartoz. I've realized my mistakes and I have enjoyed my life here, but you are trying to ruin it! Why are you such a thorn?"

"Because, if you want to convince me that you're harmless, you will need to help me in errands, or else I'll tell Seraphor on your past deeds."

"You're threatening me."

"Yes I am, Xiciro, and I mean it."

Xiciro that was able to sense the darkness in another dragon's heart knew that Bartoz was also as tainted as him and Avila were, but seeing that Bartoz had violated him the day before gave another shiver to the black dragon if what the dragon meant by 'errands' was anything like that.

As Xiciro walked to meet Seraphor, he had second thoughts. What if Seraphor did remember him and he made a new enemy? He started as a vile dragon, and of course by time those he helped would turn on him and destroying his new-found life. As he watched the dragons, he wanted to make a smile on how silly the dragons were, but as he had been too drawn into darkness, he wouldn't want to crash the happiness of the purple dragon making jokes with the mythical draconians. He just left them while he wanted to talk to a dragon he once saved from impending death. He passed a human-sized mirror and saw what had become of him, as the vague memories of his past returned to him.

He didn't remember how time had passed. He even almost forgot about his whelp hood. He remembered being an outcast in the middle of the flourishing race he was once in. He only remembered the part when he at first met a beautiful black dragoness of his own race, loving her at first sight. The dragoness wasn't like how a dragoness should act. She was tough and even tougher than Xiciro in term of strength. The black dragon always must pay her a little bet he made. Normally he paid with gold he had, but slowly, the dragoness demanded more.

"So, ready to give up, Xiciro? Whatever you do, you won't be able to defeat me with your small body like that," said the dragoness. As Xiciro was still young, he wanted to try to get the dragoness' cave for his own, but the dragoness was not only big, but faster than him. Every time Xiciro wanted to attack with his dark powers the dragoness was able to deflect them and using reinforced darkness she even managed to make Xiciro stopped and gave up many times.

"I...I give," said Xiciro, as he remembered his embarrassment. As he cleaned himself from the struggle, he wanted to return to his cave to take some gold he had, and when he realized he was losing them faster than he could gain, he wanted to run away from the dangerous dragon, as he was scared on being killed. Yet, the dragoness, with her strong jaws, locked Xiciro's tail in place. Forcing his body would rip his tail tip so he gave in to the dragoness' action. As he fell, his already weak body was turned upside-down with his abdomen part facing up by the dragoness.

"Oh, I know your intention, alright," said the dragoness with a hiss. "From how your darkness reacts, I'd say you have no gold left, right?"

Xiciro had no other way to admit by nodding weakly with pleading eyes.

The dragoness had raised one of her paws, but then when Xiciro had felt the worst, he felt warm caress from the paw on his own abdomen part, making him blushed. The sensation tingled him and he even lost his breath for a moment. It was strange. He lost any desire to fly away, but as he started into the dragoness' eyes, he saw some eagerness, but also to know that the dragoness was also shy.

"I...uh, wanted you to stay," she said slowly. "It's not like I'm going to make you a food! It's one way to pay off that debt. Hey, maybe if you are willing, you'll love to stay a night with me."

Xiciro gulped and become nervous. He heard many things with his friends on the awkward situation. One side of him wanted him to struggle free, but the other side wanted the dragon to just give in and do what the dragoness said.

That night, he gave up on her desire.

Each day, Xiciro was like being dazed with a strong sensation. Not only because of his eagerness to meet the dragoness again, but also, to hone his fighting skill with her. As time went by, his effort on taking the cave slowly faded, as with the dragoness' intentions to defend her cave. When she heard Xiciro's unique roar, the black dragoness would also walk out and greeted him like friends. Their fights slowly became the time to talk, as they became friends. Not only that, the black dragon had also found a love, many years later, with the same dragon, as they always share many things with her.

"So, Xiciro, I...like to say thank you on getting here often, though I believe, it's not really right to fight all the time."

At the night of the full moon, when they were watching the night sky from the remote dragon cave, Xiciro got his first warm nudge from the dragoness. He was happy beyond measure, and he felt like his entire world was for the dragoness in front of him, as he was ready for anything to come.

"But, uh," said Xiciro with a timid tone. He remembered he was a timid dragon yet able to fight properly. "I have been thinking...maybe this is not the right time to say it..."

"You want to mate me, right?"

It was like all of Xiciro's body exploded into tiny bits when she said that. How did she know about the smaller dragon's intentions? Did she read his mind?

The dragoness was silent after talking about it, but then she made a draconic chuckle before bursting into a laugh which was mixed with choked roar.

"Oh, you really are serious on that, aren't you?" she said with a little laugh she still had. "It's okay for us to do it, but are you willing to take responsibility as a father if you have offspring instead of being a wild dragon? If you do, you can move here all you want. In fact..."

She took a step forward and with strong set of paws, pushed Xiciro down. Without having any time to react, the smaller dragon was kissed by the big dragoness. He blushed all of the sudden, and as his yellow eyes connected with her vision, they knew each other's intention. With the tip of their snake-like tongue, they connected their saliva, before Xiciro braved himself to put his front hand-like claws behind the dragoness and connected their maws, kissing passionately that night.

As he remembered many things from his past, he forgot that Bartoz was watching him, and with a sigh, he said, "Damn. Now I thought you're not a straight dragon at all."

"W...wait, you saw my mind? How?"

"Not your concern now, Xiciro. You really are a nice dragon. I'm sorry I doubted you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Your mind is clouded. Let me clear that for you. It's something you must know."

When the dragon put one of his paws on Xiciro's head, flashing images of memories were projected in front of the dragon's eyes, and everything he knew past that point was like a sudden blow to him.

He suddenly remembered his race. He was an Argoon dragon, like the one he was trying to kill. It explained his fangs and his snake tongue. But not only that. The projection gave him more detail on his past, on everything he had forgotten.

It had been some years after their first mating. Xiciro and the dragoness had been waiting for their eggs to hatch, but after many years, no dragons hatched from the eggs, despite of having a favorable environment. Xiciro was too distraught on the fact when he was the first to realize that the eggs had dead dragons inside them, based on how he controlled his darkness. He wanted to tell it to his mate, but he knew the dragoness had been so eager to have offspring and would refuse to take more time to get them.

Yet, his mate knew about the secret eventually, and fell over arguments on Xiciro.

"Why didn't you tell me if the eggs are all dead?! What are you thinking, Xiciro? You think that I'm not going to accept the fact that my first eggs had died?"

"This is for our sake, too, my love," said Xiciro. "If I had talked to you, you'll be too stressed to even..."

"I can't believe you're such a liar, Xiciro! I thought having that unique darkness of yours can make you a better Argoon. Yet, you give me rotten eggs!"

"I'm sorry, Avila, but...listen to me, hey!"

It was too late. Xiciro's mate had flown away before his eyes, and he was too distraught on his decision that he would have lost his only love. He wanted to burn the eggs to give them a proper draconic funeral when Avila returned to him and closed his maws.

"Don't worry, Xiciro, I'm sorry I'm such a fool," said Avila to him. "I was...unable to accept it, that's all."

"It's alright," said Xiciro while embracing Avila with his wing. "I...we'll find a way."

As time went by, Xiciro wanted to save Avila's new egg with everything he got, even by using forbidden dark magic that enhanced the dragon's darkness, but in turn making him almost falling into insanity just to save the egg. He returned to his mate and gave the egg a thing he thought to be a blessing, not knowing that the ancient Argoon darkness rite was more to a curse, and it made the egg black. Avila realized his mistake, and she roared to him.

"Y...you're a goddamn fool! What have you done?!" As Avila saw Xiciro's eyes, she gasped. "Y...you...what have you..."

"It's for the best of us, Avila. Believe me," said Xiciro. "It's better like this."

Avila saw Xiciro's black sclera, an indication that the dragon had been into dark arts that it tainted his soul and darkness, becoming a dark dragon. Xiciro also realized that Avila's yellow eyes had turned green, her fangs grew longer, and her wings were half-covered with feathers. Xiciro made a smile, but he also cried to the fact that they had both got tainted.

"Guess...we're too corrupted just to save our first child," said Xiciro while sobbing. "This...this is not right. I thought you're..."

"Without your intervention, she'll be able to use fire like a normal dragon, but you have given her darkness elements and permanently made her a dark dragon. She'll never survive, too, so I bargained my soul with the lord of the Dead, our ancestors, to give her a life, with a consequence that her soul will change into the Death itself."

"B...but...Avila, if you bargain with the Dead, then..."

"Yes..."

A dark void was formed behind her, and she stepped into it. "Take care of our child, Xiciro. You're her dark father now."

Xiciro wanted to hold her, but the void pulled the dragoness into the eternal darkness and closed before Xiciro could even reach the dragoness he loved for a century. This experience caused him to break into tears and fell beside the black tainted egg.

"What have I done?!" screamed Xiciro inside his mind. "This is not right! Why is our fate like this?! Is it because of us being Argoon dragons?!"

As he said that, he heard cracks from the egg. As he opened his eyes, he watched as the black egg hatched to reveal a small dragon inside it. It made small squeaking roar, and as she walked around, Xiciro saw the power of life itself, and he was grateful while crying out loud. The female whelpling was only squeaking with curiosity, and as Xiciro saw the small dragoness near his claws, he was able to make a smile to the small dragon, when he said to the small dragoness.

"It's okay, Avila. Father is here," said Xiciro with a smile to the small dragon.

Yet many years after that, Avila was given to one of the dragons from Xiciro's horde, where he also made a request to make him lose every memory, about his child, his mate, and every goodness he had in the world, as he flew away and became a betrayer to dragonkind and mankind, becoming one of the five Defilers, and his battle with his own child.

As the projection finished, he was unable to feel anything, even his head was spinning. The fact was too great for him to bear, even making him unable to stand.

"Xiciro, you're Avila's father," said Bartoz. "You...you're..."

"Stop your blabbering, Bartoz!" roared the dragon. "Yes, I'm the cause of her curse and I'm trying to kill her! You know everything and go get the hell away from me!"

"Xiciro...you're...I'm sorry on your mate," said Bartoz. "But at least, she's alive."

"But not for long," said Xiciro while opening his wings. "I must go to her."

"Why?"

"As you have seen my memories, my mate, Avila, gave her soul the Lord of the Dead, and the consequence was...Death itself."

"You mean...." Bartoz gasped. "No way..."

"A Death dragon is a strong being, but also a fragile mortal. If the dragon has acquired the power of the death and haven't got contacted by the void she'll be taken back by force. Repossessed, I must say. The dragon won't live long or even reach 100 years old."