4 Chapter 4: The Unaccepted Dragon

Arroth and Zaganon returned to Xuelian on the carriage sent by Araya. They had lost too much Qi and they couldn't maneuver their swords in the air and fly. Luckily Arroth knew Araya's communication array passcode and was able to contact him and explain their problem.

Araya didn't hesitate to help, even sending them the kingdom's dragon tamer to help with Zaganon's size. Xuelian wouldn't let a massive dragon inside their territory: they want peace and balance, and a big dragon would tip their palace to the edge. Arroth was grateful to Araya because of this but still felt that he was weird and scary.

Arroth had to pay for the damages done by his brother's transformation, and, with a few wooing words, he was able to lower the price to 6 gold coins. The succubus was sad that she wasn't able to 'serve' him, but she still accepted the payment.

The tamer handed Zaganon a pill and let him ingest it. Zaganon shrunk into a size, enough for Arroth to be able to carry him in his arms. The tamer grinned, before tickling Zaganon’s belly like they do with babies. Angel or not, dragon tamers loved dragons, and this dragon tamer wasn't any different. "Baby dragons are the best!" He shouted.

Araya smiled and thanked the tamer. "I was surprised by what happened too." He laughed and scratched his head. "I thought we could kill Dayan if we work fast."

The tamer wrapped a diaper on Zaganon and chuckled. "No sweat, Dayan has been on the loose for thousands of years. I don't think King Xienein would blame you."

"I hope so."

They rode on the carriage back to their kingdom. Arroth was supposed to meet with Araya, but when he returned, he found out that Araya was still asleep in bed. The angels didn't give him any explanation but gave a mocking glare instead. "King Xienein is willing to talk with you," they added.

Arroth nodded and asked where he could find him.

"His office is on the third island." Those angels dispersed and flew back to work.

The third island was the smallest floating island in the kingdom. On it was the palace of royals, as well as the main office of Xienein. Their home was erected on the island, and the only beings that could enter were those who were given passes.

Arroth didn’t have a pass and had to apply for one to report to King Xienein. The angels, much like the demons, didn't like seeing his face anywhere near them. One of the cherubim gave him a stink eye with his human eyes. His other eyes stared daggers into his soul. They were the ones that worked as guards of the three floating islands of the kingdom. Their main residence was in the second peak inside the first sphere. They were very close to God, second only to the Seraphims.

That Cherub did give Arroth his pass but mocked him about his insecurities.

Arroth ignored him. Even though Zaganon spoiled him too much, he could still take those angelic criticisms. He made his way into Xienein's office, standing in front of a massive door made of silver and gold. Arroth knocked three times and pushed open the door. "Your majesty, Arroth reporting."

"Take a seat." A mellow voice, calm and sweet, sounded from inside the office. When Arroth saw Xienein, he couldn't help but raised his brows. The king had long ash-blonde hair, grey eyes, and a halo around his head. He wore a white brocade decorated with cloud patterns and a silver earring in his right ear.

Arroth felt at home with his presence, unlike how he felt with Araya. Truly a worthy, beloved king.

Arroth cleared his throat and discussed with him what happened in his travels.

"And your brother?" Xienein furrowed his brows, eyes expressing worry about the situation. This was the first time that Dayan had cursed someone to turn into a dragon, and why a dragon? Xienein was worried for Zaganon's well-being. They have not heard of anyone who has turned into a dragon, and they don't have any record of this sudden change. Xienein, as the king of angels, known for their thousands of records, doesn't know how to help.

"He's with the tamer." Arroth watched Xienein's expressions change. He knew that this is a novel experience for the both of them, but Arroth wanted to know how Xienein would react. "He's currently sleeping and cultivating his core."

"So, Dayan escaped, still." Xienein furrowed his brows, stood up, and took out a folder from his shelf. "I've sent many angels before, however, your brother is the first one to experience that." He sighed and handed Arroth the file. "This might help in finding him."

It was Araya that recruited them, but Dayan was a big problem in the kingdom. He stole a very important artifact of the Kingdom, and Xienein has more files regarding him.

Arroth took the file and opened it. There were pictures of angels as well as all the information they've collected throughout their expedition. Arroth looked over every part of it and found a familiar face among those angels. He noticed one angel having similar features as his brother and the same-shaped eyes like his. He read through her profile and found that that woman had visited the demon realm about 200 years ago, the same year his mother came. Arroth continued to read through it - contrary to his expectations, he didn't feel anything about that woman. He might not have even thought that this was his mother, but, because she had the same face as Zaganon, Arroth understood.

Xienein didn't know the history of Arroth's mother. She had concealed her pregnancy to the world, and Xienein would even be skeptical to believe that she was pregnant with two demon offspring. He let Arroth read through the papers, while he searches for books that might help with Zaganon's situation.

"Your majesty, may I take this file to my dwelling?" Arroth asked carefully.

Xienein nodded and give him his regards. "I hope you find a way to get your brother's body back."

Arroth left Xienein's office after nodding. He walked past the many cherubim flying about, guarding the palace halls. He could hear the singing of Seraphim from the temple on the first floating island, empowering the very defense of the Kingdom. Arroth was leisurely flying on his sword towards the first peak, when he heard a commotion in the direction he was headed. When he turned his head to look, he saw a massive blue dragon destroying the city.

Zaganon didn't know what had happened. He was sleeping peacefully in the Tamer's cabin when he felt his body burst with spiritual energy. Half of his body felt calm and warm, but the other felt as if it was being burned and eaten alive. It was a contradictory feeling which even he wasn't able to suppress. He turned to where this energy was coming from and found the teardrop pendant on the desk beside him. He tried to lift his body to take a look, but for some horrible reason, something inside him exploded. The next thing he knew was that the houses beside the Tamer had been destroyed, and the cabin was left in ruins.

Arroth landed beside Zaganon and gave him a worried look. "Brother, are you okay?"

Zaganon stared at his feet, finding thousands of pieces of wood shattered in between his toes. He didn't want to be a bother to those angels and felt awful the moment he saw those judgmental eyes. He hated his origins, but he had to agree that the angels were much appreciated than demons. Seeing that he managed to anger them once again, made him want to slam his head in a block of tofu.

The cherubim were alerted, reading to fight; the thrones had stationed themselves in a perfect circle, preventing Zaganon from destroying their home. The scoffed in his presence - among the two brothers, he was the one with the most obvious demon heritage. With his black hair and horns that formed an arch around his head, no one would believe him if he were to say he was an angel at heart. They could accept a part of Arroth, but Zaganon was just another demon in their eyes. On top of that, he now was a dragon, destroying a lot of their property.

"F*ck!" A Throne cursed after seeing the destruction caused by Zaganon. The houses where they live had been smashed to pieces and the monument erected near their dwelling was left in ruins. "How can prince Araya let this beast in our territory!"

The angels around them cheered in agreement. They weren't judging their prince; rather, they were mocking Zaganon's luck, stating that he has no right to be considered as a friend of the prince.

Arroth would have stabbed these angels the moment they spoke ill of his brother, but because they were still in their care, he didn’t. He turned to his brother and hugged his head. "I'll get you out of here."

At that moment, Araya strolled out of his bedroom, hair disheveled, eyes puffed from just waking up. He looked down on his people and felt his eyes twitch. “I don’t get paid enough to deal with this.” He jumped down from his balcony, flicking his fingers and letting his wings glide him down. His sloppy features turned refined in a mere second and he donned a white flowy robe, his long white hair tied in a high ponytail, flowing with the wind. He pushed the Angels blocking his view and walked towards Arroth and Zaganon. “STOP!”

The whole Kingdom went silent from their prince’s decree. Araya kneeled in front of Arroth and gave him his hand. “Are you okay?”

Arroth stared at Araya with brows furrowed. He clutched on his brother's dragon arm, afraid of getting berated by this person. Looking at the man's distant and cold grey eyes was enough to shake him to the core. When the two first met, Arroth sensed that Araya was someone he couldn't fight. Araya was a strong angelic prince of the Kingdom, and it wasn’t surprising to see him in the middle of the spotlight. His face looks as if they were crafted by the gods, beautiful to the point it was unreal.

Even if the guy was good to them, that didn’t change the fact that Arroth has lost trust in the other beings a long time ago.

Arroth felt his throat dry up as he kept his gaze on the man. He didn't want to admit it, but Araya scares him. This idea felt odd to him since he didn't fear Xienein as much, but Araya could make his knees shake and his chest feel tight.

"Let me take care of things here," Araya said coldly, offering a hand to lift Arroth. He glanced at Zaganon and nodded. He gave Arroth another pill to turn him back into a small dragon.

Zaganon ingested the pill, and, after a short while, his giant body turned back small. Arroth caught his brother and hugged his little body. "Thanks."

Araya nodded and left to calm his people down.

Arroth had to accept it: this man was truly a person worthy of his fear.