Heaven's Descent (III)

"You senile old dragon! You said you would answer my questions!" Zero stomped in rage.

Out of nowhere, Zero was snatched off the ground and in the silver dragon's claws. Zero yelped in surprise as he dangled like a toy in the silver dragon's grasp.

"Gah!" Zero yelled in startlement. The world ahead of him had begun to shift in colors. The dark void around him was changing quickly into bright light. He couldn't keep his eyes open because of the blinding light that made it difficult for Zero to see.

"You can open your eyes now." The silver dragon's voice rang loudly in his ears.

Carefully opening his eyes, he could see the world around him. They were both high up in the sky, flying over a large forest. Zero wasn't sure where they were and watched in awe at the world before him. The feeling of speed, fresh air, and the power of freedom all in one could be felt for Zero. It was an exhilarating effect that he could not get rid of nor ever forget.

"Whooooo!" Zero yelled in excitement. He held up his arms like he was on a rollercoaster ride.

The silver dragon chuckled and placed him on its back. Zero grabbed hold of the silver dragon's hair and watched with excitement. He could feel the powerful beat of the wings around him, the whistling air that could push him off at any moment, and the freedom of flight that he had never felt before.

With a powerful stroke of his wings, the silver dragon dove headfirst towards the ground. Wings tucked tightly into its side, the rushing wind coming towards them like a bullet.

Zero couldn't help but dig his claws into the silver dragon's back. He noticed not a single drop of blood escaped from his grasp. His excitement was quickly changed into fear, for he thought a couple of times that he would be thrown off the silver dragon's back.

When they were close to the ground, the silver dragon opened its wings wide and strong at the last moment. Then, a quick burst from a sudden updraft brought the silver dragon back into the air without crashing into the ground.

"You're crazy!" Zero exclaimed towards the silver dragon. His claws went limp from holding onto the silver dragon's back. He almost tumbled off the silver dragon.

"You won't be saying that when you have grown your own pair of wings." Silver dragon barked out laughing.

"I'll have wings?" The thought excited him to no end. He wondered when he would break from his child-like body and become a full-fledged adult.

"Yes. When you are an adult. By then, you will be at the end of your first stage of Growth by about two hundred years old. Then you would be moving into the second. Finally, when you hit five hundred years old, your final stage of Growth would begin."

"Two hundred years old." Zero stated in shock. He groaned.

"Luckily for you, your adult stage is coming around the corner. You had your first fire, no?"

"I did."

"I could see the small crown of horns commemorating your 150-year-old mark. Unfortunately, you only have another fifty years. Time will fly by as if it is nothing."

"I'm 150?" Zero whispered, confused. He only had been in the game of Growth for about a month and a half. The Growth game time was not ridiculously fast to the point where 150 years have gone by. Then it hit him. He was level 150 as of right now. Already pushing halfway towards 151.

Zero was excited; this meant that he had only fifty more levels to go before he would sprout wings. The problem was that the next fifty levels were much more difficult to level up than the 150 he blazed through. A smile erupted from the corner of his lips.

"I'm glad to hear that."

They flew through the endless forest, crossed large mountains, and finally arrived at the City of Diadem. Compared to them, who were high above the sky, Zero noticed the small amount of dots roaming around the city ground. The silver dragon's shadow covered a fourth of the city.

But what was strange was that even though the shadow flew across the city, not a single person glanced up at them.

"Don't they see us?"

"No. We are still in the dimension where death rules the living." The silver dragon flaps his wings and hovers above the city.

"Then why are we here?"

"Don't you know? Your body's here. I came to drop you off. Why else?"

"Huh?"

"Sigh. You have a lot of things to learn."

The silver dragon reached over his shoulder and pulled him off. "If I were you, I would practice transcending between life and death. There are things in this dimension that you would never know about otherwise. Secrets you never would've known till you take steps to face the darkness that stops you from moving forward."

Dangling from the silver dragon's claw, Zero glanced down to see where he was. He was over the Infinity Church's tower.

"Young dragon. Choose now. Would you like to go back to your sleeping body, or would you like to take a step towards your fears?"

Zero thought for a while. He wondered if this could be a possible quest in the game. "I'll take the chance to face my darkness."

"Wise choice, young dragon."

Once again, a heavy blast of air lifted them both up into the air, and this time a shimmering white light appeared before them. With a blast of strong cold wind, Zero held on tightly for his dear life. The world around him was a blur of light, making it difficult to see what was happening.

"Don't be afraid." The silver dragon called out with its deep voice.