The Kind of Evil

‎Rasmus slowly opened his eyes, and he saw walls of stones around him. He then looked at the ceiling and realized he was inside a cave. He didn't remember about being in a cave and thought that Aris might have brought him there to keep him safe.

‎"Welcome back..." Aris's voice could be heard from behind.

‎Rasmus turned around and saw Aris leaning against the wall. Her eyes were lazy like someone who was sleepy and trying to stay awake. She looked oddly exhausted, and wondered if the demons that came into the forest were powerful demons.

‎"Is it over?" Rasmus asked as he looked around, searching for the Crystallized Dragon's Breath that were in his hands before he got dragged into another realm.

‎"Yes, everything is over..." Aris nodded slowly. "And the Crystallized Dragon's Breath is in this ring..." She slowly lifted her left hand and showed the ring on her middle finger.

‎Rasmus was surprised that the spatial ring could contain the Crystallized Dragon's Breath. He remembered that Aris said the ring couldn't contain it back then, and yet the ring seemed to be fine with it inside.

‎"Did something happen?" Rasmus asked, knowing that something might have happened in the realm he was in.

‎"What did you remember when you were in that void realm?" Aris asked, her eyes stared into Rasmus's eyes.

‎"A presence of a True Dragon..." Rasmus muttered, leaning against the wall, his gaze distant. "I have never thought I would feel fear again..." he added.

‎Aris didn't want to admit it, but she also felt the same way when she witnessed how powerful a True Dragon was. She would die in that realm if she had to protect Rasmus. Luckily, Aristoria was there to protect him.

‎"I also met my late mother..." Rasmus said, his eyes stared blankly at the spot on the cave wall. "She said something about borrowing her power back... I assumed she took the power that she passed down to me," he continued.

‎"I met her as well..." Aris said softly.

‎Rasmus was curious about that since both his late mother and Aris were of the same essence. However, the way she revealed it, she seemed to not want to talk about it. He wondered what happened in the void realm, and why Aris seemed a bit different.

‎"You don't have to say anything, Aris. I'm not asking you to," Rasmus said as he looked at his surroundings.

‎Aris nodded and chose not to say anything. She then looked at Rasmus's legs with her eyes narrowed.

‎"Can you try to stand up?" Aris asked.

‎Rasmus raised his brows when Aris asked that question, but he decided to do as she said. When he folded his legs to stand up, he noticed something different. His legs were no longer stiff and numb, he could move his legs normally again.

‎Rasmus decided to walk around without using his cane. He was in disbelief that he could walk normally and his legs had regained their flexibility again.

‎"I can walk normally again," Rasmus said as he stretched his legs and then kicked the air a few times. "What does this mean?" He looked at Aris with his brows furrowed.

‎"It means you're ready for the next step..." Aris answered as she got up. "Are we in a hurry? If not, why don't we spend a week here?" She asked.

‎Rasmus never thought she would suggest he stay in the Spring Forest. He was convinced that something must had happened when he was unconscious.

‎"Yes, that's not a bad idea," Rasmus nodded in agreement. "I'm going to wash myself then," he said as he looked at the path in front of him.

‎Rasmus walked without having to use his cane anymore. It felt weird since he had been using the cane for months, and had gotten used to have something in his right hand.

‎Aris listened to Rasmus footsteps that were fading away. She then took a deep breath and pulled out the Crystallized Dragon's Breath from the spatial ring. She stared at it with a stoic expression, but her gaze was filled with thoughts.

‎(A few hours ago in the Void Realm)

‎"Can I ask you something?" Aris asked as she stared at Aristoria, sitting on her legs with Rasmus's head in her lap. "That Dragon's Blood, how did you obtain it?" She asked as she sat down in front of Aristoria.

‎"Because Sanya and I went to the Dragon's Maw. Have you gone there before?" Aristoria gently stroked Rasmus's silver hair, her soft gaze never leave his face.

‎Aris was surprised when she heard of Dragon's Maw, a place that not even Elders dared to enter. She didn't expect her predecessor and Sanya, the two of them explored the forbidden place in the world.

‎"No, I haven't. Although I'm strong, I'm not confident that I can get out of that place alive..." Aris shook her head.

‎"Yes, and we both were unsure if we would come back alive as well back then. It was Sanya that suggested me to go to that place with her," Aristoria answered as she caressed Rasmus's cheek. "I wasn't interested in exploring that area until she mentioned something about the truth behind the disappearance of dragons," she pointed out, staring at Aris.

‎"What did you find there?" Aris asked with a curious look on her face.

Aristoria smiled as she shook her head, she didn't want Aris to know about what she found in Dragon's Maw.

"You don't want to know, Aris. At least not now because you're still too young to understand. Perhaps, if you follow Rasmus, everything will be unveiled," Aristoria answered as she cupped Rasmus's right cheek. "Or, if you meet Sanya again, you can ask her," she pointed out.

"Please, tell me," Aris said with a serious expression, not wanting to be left in the dark.

Aristoria looked at Aris and began to chuckle as she nodded with understanding.

"Well then, I'll tell you what we found in the Dragon's Maw," Aristoria said as she took a deep breath. "Do you know that thousands of years ago, there are hundreds of True Dragons?" She asked with her brows raised.

"What?" Aris's face turned pale when she heard that there were hundreds of True Dragons that roamed Neva. "How's that possible? There can't be more than one Aristoria, and to think there are hundreds of them, that doesn't make any sense..." She muttered.

"That's what Sanya and I thought as well, but it's the truth," Aristoria nodded as she stared at the True Dragon, who was lying on the ground unconscious. "Sanya and I found their bones, scattered around the Dragon's Maw. And what we found it shocking was the fact that they all died by something as if they were fighting a being that was powerful enough to overpower all of them," she continued as she glanced at Aris.

Aris was petrified by the revelation, and the fact that she was unaware of such an event. She wondered if the elders knew about it or not, and if they knew, her trust in her own race would be no longer there.

"The elders knew?" Aris asked, furrowing her brows.

"They knew, but they chose to keep a blind eye," Aristoria nodded. "It's not because they don't want everyone to know about the truth, but it's because there's no point of telling that truth," she added.

Aris sighed deeply, realizing there was something that was gnawing at the world. The situation was similar to what the humans of them were hiding the truth during the Great Era of Neva. Both the humans and Orthias were dealing with something similar, and she wondered if they were connected to each other in a way. She then realized why Sanya chose to make contact with humans, and that might be the reason.

"Did you find out what it was? The being that killed all the True Dragons?" Aris asked.

"No, not even the elders knew what it was. However, you might be able to find the answer," Aristoria shook her head, and then looked at the True Dragon. "He's the last survivor of the True Dragon, if you can tame him or devour his power, he will submit to you or to Rasmus," she suggested.

"So you're planning to feed him to me?" Aris arched her brows, not liking the idea of it.

"Since you don't want it, then let my child devour him," Aristoria answered as she looked down at Rasmus. "He inherited Dragon's Blood, and the reason he's here, born into this world is because of that thing. I lost all my power the moment I gave birth to him, but I don't regret it," she continued with a gentle smile on her face.

"If he devoured the Dragon's Breath, he would awaken his Dragon's Blood in his body. He will become stronger than both of us combined since the Dragon's Breath is the essence of a True Dragon," Aristoria said and looked at Aris. "But don't tell him all that. He needs to find it out on his own. Can you do that for me?" She asked.

Aris nodded with understanding, still deep in thought about everything that she found.