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When Avila reached Pol Hain, it wasn’t the sea breeze and the lively residents that lived there that greeted her. Instead, the port was busy repairing extensive damages caused by some fights, which clearly had the use of supernatural abilities…or dragon’s fight.

The dragon noticed an acquaintance, a dragon which she immediately called. The silver dragon came to her, noticing her and Terrador standing at the edge of the town.

“What happened, Argum? This place is a mess. Did some dragon got drunk and destroy everything?”

“Oh, Avila, great timing! You know, he’s calling for you.”

“Who?”

Argum explained everything that happened the night before, just a day before Avila reached Pol Hain port city while they walked towards where the dragons came together.

“Xiciro barely survived that fight with the mysterious dragon when he threw that bomb-like thing away from his body,” said Argum. “His body had fractured ribs and limbs, and one of his wings was broken. He lost consciousness for a day, and the first thing he said when he woke up is calling your name, Avila.”

When they reached the group, she could see her father laid to the side weakly, while one of his legs was being mended. He raised his head weakly, and Avila could see that he was barely conscious, yet suddenly became eager when he saw Avila.

“Hey, you come in the best of timings,” said Xiciro. “So, what’s news back inland? You wouldn’t fly here with the earth guardian if not for something urgent.”

“Bet you still have it in you the way to kick a dragon’s ass, huh?”

Xiciro made a chuckle. “Really, now, don’t make such claims. He still whooped my ass, right? Oh, and for you young dragons, can you leave us alone? This is a private family matter.”

One by one, the dragons left the vicinity of the port, leaving only Avila, her father, and Terrador. When they both made sure no dragons or humans could overheard them with the noise-cancelling shield both emitted, Avila turned serious and said, “What kind of dragon can do this to you and cutting that port like tofu?”

“First, I need to hear your story. What happened back in Qeveriyt and in Dragon Realm? Both of you coming here won’t help me recover.”

Avila hesitated for a moment, before saying, “Yort is dead.”

Upon hearing that, Xiciro made a low growl, full of sorrow that tragic moments came when they were in the most peaceful part of the age. Yet, Avila gave more troubling news.

“My mate…Seraphor…he is in a critical state when his elemental magic overwhelmed him. Something is definitely wrong here, Xiciro. There is a dragon out there, bent for revenge, and our greatest savior is down.”

“Yort left a dying message,” said Terrador. “It’s ‘son’. Does it have any significance to you?”

“So…he killed Yort before trying to get me,” said Xiciro slowly. “This is a mess…a whole goddamn mess.”

“Is he what I think he is?”

“Yes…his name is Shirdan, Ceroz’s only son and the inheritor of his light dragon magical abilities.”

There was an uncomfortable silence between them, before Terrador said, “Sorry for cutting this silence, but who is this…Shirdan we’re talking about?”

“I guess I need to come clean with you too, Terrador, about my past. A hundred and fifty years ago, Avila, Seraphor, Raithorakh, and many other dragons and other races went to this very harbor, an ancient seaside fortress called Pol Hain, to fight and end the reigns of the Dark Rising Hearts, the dragon leaders of those betraying the pro-dragons to the anti-dragons, the old name of Dragonsbane. The fight is very great and very costly, as both sides gradually lost allies. Their leader, Ceroz, battled both my daughter and her mate in a deadly battle, where in the end, Raithorakh was killed and they were thrown to separate dimensions. You know the rest of their stories…but, I was once in that group, and the only survivor of the Dark Rising Hearts, a fact not many know about.

“I’ve repented, yes, due to Avila’s help and my dear old love, Legna, but, for years, I have forgotten the only seed that can revive the entire Dark Rising Hearts, and that’s Shirdan. He’s different from his father in many ways, and he’s not a megalomaniac, and he’s supposed to be a good kid, until both of you kill Ceroz.”

“But Yort is not involved in that killing. What does he have to do with this?”

“A catalyst. I’m sorry to say this, but Yort’s death doesn’t give any meaning to anything except to tell us that Ceroz’s legacy is still not over, yet still gives us the clue, because Yort is involved in the fight, and the way he killed Cordandar…might cause Shirdan to plan his revenge from him.”

“But his revenge is for his father or for his friends?”

“Shirdan had a strained relationship with his father and actually walked out of their argument once, some days before you all came,” said Xiciro while grunting. “I don’t know what he is going to do with the rest of your crew, but your lives are in danger. Shirdan could have been the most dangerous foe you’ll ever face.”

Avila knew Xiciro wasn’t lying. True, he had a habit of letting others down, especially with his snobbish nature, but aside from that, he is a good friend and a good father, so if he said it was serious, it really was, as he had no time for any sense of humor.

“For now, he cannot fight both of you, but he’ll try to find any dragons and any beings that are still alive and involved in that fight, which was the senior members of your Order and…those Shifters.”

Hearing the word ‘Shifter’ made Avila snapped back to him. How could he possibly know of them? This caused her to say, “Xiciro, where did you know any Shifter? No Shifters ever met you before, is there any that’s still alive?”

“Oh, he may be referencing me.”

Avila had never heard that voice for a long time, and for such a very long age, she never thought she could hear that voice. Instead of being nostalgic, she was shocked, and as she turned, she saw it.

Before her, a brown-furred giant wolf walked toward her, with a sword as long as it sheathed at his back. He never changed, even after his age should’ve ended.

“G-Gordon?”

“Long time no see, Avila,” said the wolf to the dragon. “Surprised to see me?”

“Of course I am! You…you’re supposed to be dead!”

“The problem with immortality is…you outlived your sons. Well, I’m not the only Shifter in the world, so I don’t feel bad. By time, you’ll be hardened by the deaths around you, when your time never ticks.”

“Then you’re in danger! Gordon…”

“I know, I know. This big bad black dragon is one of the Dark Rising Hearts, right? Aside from you, I’m the only one who knew him during the fights. I also know that the Defiler’s son is not the only problem we’re facing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Up north, there will be an uprising of the anti-dragons calling themselves ‘Dragonsbane’ now. Your ruthless Order had them enough, and they took up guns and blades to fight the evil of this world, which is you dragons.”

“So it has started.”

“I know they are going to fight us, with some weird magic to actually ‘kill’ us, but is there any chance that we can prevent any more bloodshed from both sides?” said Avila. “We still have Shirdan and the Order is currently in a political problems with most of the dragons prefer not to support them. If this starts, the peaceful days will be over.”

“That is why, I journeyed across the continent, both this one and the neighboring one, to give you one of the biggest armies yet to come. This may be our last fight, but this time, no dragons are going to war.”

“You mean…”

“It’s time for the Shifters to act. This is not only your war, Avila, but our war, for a different circumstances.”

That night…

“The Dragonsbane destroyed many Shifters’ home after their massive loss to the dragons,” said Gordon with Avila listening in the dragon shelter of Pol Hain. “Over the time, they became overzealous, thinking that all non-humans don’t deserve any rights to even live normally. Werewolves, hellhounds, and the races from Ternor were reluctant to cross, seeing how this continent had a troubling problem, and this caused them to temporarily halt their business. Many dragons are being put here to stop the Dragonsbane from bullying them.”

“But does Shirdan have any connection to them?”

“As far as I can see, the Dragonsbane are still not ready to return to their old way of manipulating dragons to fight for them, yet it can be a possibility.”

Avila sighed. So much for peace, she thought. Then, she quickly said, “Hey, Gordon, do you know which of those in our old group are still alive?”

“Well, aside from me and Rex, there’s Shariot, Angelus, Legna, Seraphor, and you. The rest…went off their own ways.”

There was a silence, before Gordon said, “I really miss Raithorakh and Richard.”

“It’s their choice, Gordon, so let them be. They have finally found the peace they had. How about Xerocia and Ernest?”

“Are you sure you want to pursue them? They’re not the one we can call ‘heroes’, you know.”

“But they are the most powerful dragons in our group.”

“Yet, let me tell you, Avila. This is not the fight of the dragons anymore.”

“I don’t care. Despite what the humans thought of us, the Dragonsbane is still the dragon’s enemy. The Order may be ruthless and driven by political standings, but all dragons know what they had done to us for over 10000 years since the days of Grandos,” said Avila. “You can take your friends into battle, but we dragons will protect you from unnecessary deaths, whether you like it or not.”

“The problem is, Avila…even if you want to help…there’s a bigger problem.”

“And what is it?”

“The Dragonsbane is occupying the northern plains, that is true, but you’ve got a problem there. They don’t know if any dragons ever lived in the Northern Region, and if you attack them in full force, not only you hurt your relationship with them, but they won’t sympathize with giant fire-breathing creature swooping down from the sky and make a hell of a barbecue out of a village, like what you did.”

“Well that don’t apply to me. I’m a teleporting deathbringer.”

“I hope you’re joking, because I’m not. They may hate fire-breathing dragons, but your kind is the worst. You think it is a good idea for you to go with the Order saying ‘hey look, I’ve got my hero coming to kill some goddamn dragon-haters and strike fear in your hearts’? It will be worse. The Order will be treated as dictators coming to get the Northern Region and there goes your alliance.”

Gordon then sighed. “Avila, I know you’re better than this. You used to be the brains in our old group. Just tell me what happens, including the fact that Seraphor is not with you.”

“Is that really necessary? We are now grown-ups, you see.”

“I know you guys better than the others. You are inseparable, as if meant to be together.” Gordon then moved closer to Avila. “We’re still friends, right?”

“Okay…I should’ve not doubted you on this,” said Avila with a sigh. “Seraphor is sick, and right now he won’t be able to help us.”

“Well, that’s new. The only hybrid dragon in the world falls sick.”

“His powers nearly killed him, and right now…I don’t even know what I need to do. At this point he’s not going to survive!”

“Avila…”

“I-I’m sorry, Gordon, but he’s everything to me. I don’t want my children to see that their father is going to die in such a young age. We don’t want them to experience what we had gone through many years ago, Gordon. It’s alright…you can fight your own battle. Thank you for coming to me. At least you’re still alive.”

“Avila, wait,” said Gordon while walking near to her. “Look, I know it’s currently hard for you to think clearly, but then...just get back to me, okay? You…really need to be alone right now.”

As Gordon left her alone, she quickly turned around and said, “You heard everything, didn’t you, father?”

“My dear, knowing my son-in-law in trouble is enough. He’s bound to get into one of those eventually,” said Xiciro from in front of Avila, using his unique dimensional powers. “I knew his race before even he knew himself.”

“Do you?”

“To put it simply, dear, they are not that different from us.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

The mysterious yellow dragon landed on a snowy northern coast, where there was a big cave mouth in front of him, partially concealed by the snow. In it, Shirdan breathed a flame to a nearby wall, where there was a fire trail coming from the place he started to the end, where there was a door.

Shirdan walked towards the door, while saying, “My father’s legacy…hidden in a snowy coastal cave. I might have a guess for what’s inside, but for me to know the secret to plan my revenge, I guess I’ll find a better way.”

He then made a yawn, before laying on the floor when a human came to him, where he raised his head and said, “What do you want? I’m tired.”

“I know you’re tired, but let me ask you something, Shirdan,” said the human. “Just…what do you want to avenge?”

Shirdan made a sigh. “Well…to put it simply…do you still remember the battle of Pol Hain where those…anti-dragons were heavily defeated?”

“Almost all humans in the Western Region knows about the story. But, if you’re avenging your father…”

Shirdan made a scoff. “To avenge a father like that would be a total disgrace for my mother, Andelhaus. No, I have another one in particular, the one that have taken them away from me. The Dark Rising Hearts still had decent dragons, not crazed ones like my father and Sart, or betrayers like Xiciro. No, I’m talking about Cordandar, my only friend.”

“But he’s the craziest of the all, right?”

“For a mad genius.” Shirdan made a sigh. “Well, he’s dead, what can I say? I am the son of the Defiler, I’m a dragon, and I want vengeance. Yort is not really enough for that. The rest of the senior members have something to do with it. And for that, this door might leads me to something I can use.”

Andelhaus then scratched his head. “You know, for a good dragon like you, I think revenge is out of the option. Settle down and let everything go…”

Shirdan made a growl towards Andelhaus, while saying, “I saved you because of your idiocy! Openly saying that you’re a pro-dragon? I still hate the Order, but I don’t hate all dragons, yet…”

“Then will this legacy do you good?”

“What else can I do? I may not be able to kill them, but surely, I can cause them suffering, especially for the Order.”

Shirdan then turned his head aside, trying to get away from Andelhaus. In his mind, he knew he was still angry for the dragons to kill Cordandar, the only dragon that was very important for him, and the only one who didn’t think of him as a test subject that cost him his young life. He believed Cordandar wasn’t evil, like Xiciro now, and he wanted to make those who kill him suffer.

Yet at the same time…he wanted to destroy his father’s legacy of Dragonsbane, to make his connection to his father severed, and for the liberation of dragons, and to erase his connection to his past.