17 The Last Call

Akai gave a call out to the ancient dragons. He was in dragon form perched on the sides as he gave out a call. He shouted into the sky with the frequency that only the dragons would hear. "Ancient Dragons, hear my call. I have discovered a very grave threat to our kind. Please come to Mt. Geolith. It is of absolute urgency," Akai shouted into the sky. This was the last chance that he would give to the dragons. He hoped that they would listen.

The weather was cold and dark. The wind blew snow across the top of the mountain.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Miura said while hanging onto Akai's back and holding backpacks full of Akai's gear. She was unable to understand that call. To her, it was just a shouting roar at the sky.

"Just deal with it. I've already my job. You just have to do yours."

"I feel like I got the hard job."

"You're the one who wanted to follow me. This is how you follow me."

Akai flew to a clearing that a person can safely land his feet on near the top of the mountain, but not close enough to the actual meeting place. Otherwise, the ancient dragons would be able to know she was there. She wouldn't be able to see the fight, but have enough range for her magic to take effect.

"They'll be here, any moment, now. I need to get myself ready," Akai said.

Miura climbed off of the dragon and used her chains to latch onto the sides of the mountain. She was able to stand on the side of the mountain with the chains keeping her supported.

Her breathing was hard. There was a lack of air up on Mt. Geolith and the snow blew into her face.

As Miura was properly able to stand where she was, Akai transformed himself into a human-form with the wings and tail. He didn't have the illusive ring equipped, so his black scales showed.

He landed on the side of the mountain next to where Miura was standing.

He took the armor pieces from his backpack and quickly put it on.

He sensed a dragon nearby. He quickly put on his new set of armor and sheathed his blade. He stood to the top of Mt. Geolith and sat as he waited for the dragons to approach.

Akai's senses perked. He could sense the dragons coming. At that moment, he stood up on the tip of Mt. Geolith. The ancient dragons arrived one by one. First, Kytlmyne arrived and said "Akai. I hope that you aren't wasting our time." The ancient dragon of the forests landed on the mountain.

Then, Aquis arrived. And lastly Azor. The three remaining ancient dragons in the world all gathered in one place.

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The three ancient dragons perched themselves to the mountain while Akai stood to the tip of the mountain in human form with his wings and tail out. It was a cloudy night sky. The wind picked up snow and dragged it across the dragons' bodies. Miura was hanging onto the side of the mountain with her magical chains below where the other ancient dragons have landed. The snow covered her body. She shivered as the other dragons had their conversation above her.

"Welcome, great ancient dragons," Akai said with a bow while standing atop the mountain overlooking the ancient dragons below.

The other dragons looked in suspicion. They felt that something wasn't right.

"Why did you call us here? What threat? And why are you in human form wearing that outfit?" Azor asked.

"I have told you about the mind degeneration of dragons. Have any of you looked into it?" Akai asked while ignoring the question about why he was in human form.

Kytlmyne was the first to reply. "As I said before, this degeneration is nothing but a myth. There is no such thing."

Akai retorted, "Yet, one of your dragons has apparently experienced not being able to control himself. 1200 year old dragon, as I recall. That is quite enough time for a dragon to have full control over his urges."

Kytlmyne paused. The other two dragons listened.

"Yes. I remember the dragon. I banished him from our lands, so that he could reflect upon what he has done. It was just a momentarily lapse. Not some indication of a disease," Kytlmyne said.

"I must admit that it's unlikely. We have been alive far longer than any other being in the world. The only one that, supposedly, gone mad was Jezeboyah," Azor said.

"I must agree with Kytlmyne and Azor," Aquis said and paused for moment, "but if it true, then that means that we just have to learn to adapt. Learn better ways of control over our animal urges."

Akai looked at Aquis. She seemed to be the only one with reason, but it wasn't enough. He knew that no amount of self control would work. If his mentor, Jezeboyah, wasn't able to take control over himself, then he doubted anybody, including other ancient dragons, can. He thought to himself that maybe he can at least convince Aquis of the looming threat. If that was the case, then his plans as a dragonslayer wouldn't need to happen. With the help of an ancient dragon, they could surely find some way.

Akai smiled with relief and opened his mouth, but Kytlmyne intervened.

"If! If it's true! The boy's claim about a degenerating mind is nothing but an excuse he made for slaying our friend," Kytlmyne yelled.

At those words, Akai's eyes turned yellow with rage. His helmet hid those features, so none of the other dragons could see it. He regained control over himself very quickly. He became quite confident in control over his own animal urges, even if sometimes they leak out on occasions.

"Don't you dare, Kytlmyne. Even before Jezeboyah's death, you always looked down on me. If you have some personal vendetta against me that I'm unaware of, then look past that," Akai said.

"Giving commands to an ancient dragon. I do enjoy the vigor of youth," Azor said, "But know your place."

"I apologize if I have offended, but the dragons' degeneration of the mind is a grave threat to us all," Akai said and continued, "Aquis, ruler of the seas. I can tell that at least you are thinking on the issue."

"I haven't decided whether it even exists, yet. Just hypothetically thinking about it," Aquis replied, "We don't actually have any proof that it exists. It could very well be that that dragon you mentioned did just lose control for a brief moment. 1200 years old isn't a long time. Jezeboyah may have lost control, but we don't actually have proof of it, except-"

"Except my word," Akai interrupted.

"Yes. We only have your telling, but as you mentioned that 1200 year old forest dragon, maybe we would be able to meet him and ascertain the truth," Aquis finished.

Akai's body moved back.

"I... I... I had to kill him," Akai said in a sorrowful tone.

"You what!? You killed another one of us!?" Kytlmyne angrily shouted as he climbed the mountain towards Akai.

Akai said painfully, "I had no choice. He was a danger to -"

"I'm sorry," Aquis interrupted with a sigh. She wasn't completely certain this degenerative disease existed or not. Nonetheless, since there was no proof except for the word of a young dragon pup, she shook her head and said, "Maybe this disease does exist. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe, you're just not mentally ready for responsibility. Since, we don't have any physical proof, I can't readily believe your claims."

"No. I swear. I didn't have a choice," Akai said, but they didn't believe his words. Even if they did, they had no proof to support them.

Azor didn't say anything and only looked down in pity for the young boy.

Akai's one last chance to convince the ancient dragons went down in fire.

He looked inwards to himself. He knew that he couldn't convince them, now. He thought to himself, was he actually committed to what he was about to do. He knew there was no turning back.

Akai let out one more statement to try and convince them. It was a shot in the dark.

"I've had visions. Visions that showed the dragons destroy everything. Visions that showed the world in ashes. Visions that -"

"Enough! I've heard enough nonsense from this boy!" Kytlmyne yelled.

"Visions? You've been seeing things? Maybe, there is something wrong with you. I'm so sorry, young dragon," Aquis said worryingly as she shook her head.

Azor said, "I guess that means there is nothing to worry about. I'll be heading out, then. Hopefully, we don't get called upon again by some crazy dragon."

With that, Akai's heart broke. Even the one dragon who may have believed him once would no longer give her support. His eyes became yellow as tears burst out. The other dragons couldn't see behind the helmet, but tears dripped from the bottom of it. He didn't want to kill any more dragons, but the vision of a destroyed world festered in his mind. He couldn't let that happen.

Azor began to fly upwards and as he did, he asked Akai, "By the way, you didn't answer why you were in human form and why you decided to wear those human toys on you?"

As Azor ended the sentence, the slits where Akai would usually see from began to glow red. Small fires began to spew out.

"AGGHHHH!!!!" Akai screamed as he looked to the sky. Red flames fired upon the cloudy skyline. The The fire went from red to blue as he screamed fire out of his helmet's visor. His scream became a roar. Akai's broken heart forged into steel as the love for all other life outweighed his love for his own kind. He truly believed that he was the only one who could save the world, even if it means sacrificing one species to save the rest.

The ancient dragons saw this as just a child making a tantrum. They didn't take him seriously.

The other dragons looked at him and they were quite confident that they would be able to subdue a young dragon by themselves. Together, they thought, it would be easy. They had no intentions of putting the young dragon in any real harm. They planned to just knock him out, so they limited their own power. A mistake. They underestimated the young Akai. His spirit along with his enchanted weapons and armor along with the help of a witch gave Akai a unique edge.

As the blue fire raged towards the sky, the clouds above became darker. They began to form a huge storm right in front of them. As the ancient dragons saw the spectacle, chains penetrated under the mountain floor and through to the three ancient dragons. The chains grabbed Aquis and Kytlmyne in suprise and immobilized them to the mountain's rough rocks. Azor saw this as he was flying and noticed another set of chains coming towards him. He dodged the chains and they went back into the mountain.

The storm clouds above formed in seconds. Lightning and thunder crackled as more snow began to cover the mountain.

Akai's roar ended as his blue flame dispersed into the air. As he looked back down, his visor's openings and glass eyes glowed yellow as he stared at the ancient dragons.

Aquis and Kytlmyne were struggling to break free but they were completely immobilized by the magical chains while Azor was flying above Akai.

Akai's wings flapped as he moved higher. He unsheathed his sword. He placed a hand on the dragon scale blade. In a couple of seconds, white fire grew and spewed from the blade as he looked between the ancient dragons.