Chapter 18

"It's a scroll?!" Tai blurted out.

"Yes, unfortunately. I was surprised to hear anyone else possessed the curse of Serpent magic. I mean, it hasn't been used, in what I can guess, Generations. Based on your inability to completely use the magic I was cursed with; I can assume it hasn't been a taught scroll. Were you perhaps born with it? It doesn't feel very likely, but I suppose the possibility of this potent curse may have been hereditary," Lady Kinkijou said.

Hide nodded, his ears drooping.

He thought he was doing well with his 'Curse'. He knew how to effectively stay in the color he needed, but otherwise, he had no clue what to do. It seemed to be working in his favor.

"I can control it just fine." Hide snapped.

Tai set her talon on his, brushing her wings against him.

"He's had a long day. He doesn't know what he's talking about." She said, looking nervous.

"Oh, I'm well aware. He's just a snappy male, who has no clue what he's doing. He can barely control the light inside of his mouth. For moon's sake, he can barely contain his own tone for a moment." Kinkijou said, a smug smile twitching to her mouth, as her scales shifted through hints of red, purple, magenta, green, and even some orange in there.

"Yellow one, I merely forgot, did you say you had my curse too?" She asked, her scales shifting to a sandy yellow.

"Oh, yes. My lady, I can shift my body to look like anyone in this room. Maybe just a smaller version." Tai said, smiling.

"Show me," Kinkijou demanded.

Tai looked over to Hide, with her eyes scanning every part of his body. Every little scale, and every little birthmark, star-like scale, down to his very horns. Within a few seconds, she had become a perfect replica of Hide himself. Down to his fish-like tail.

"I present to you, the king of doofuses; Hide Yashira," Tai said, bowing gracefully.

Kinkijou began clapping, seeming delighted.

"How thrilling! Tell me, do you even change the matter in your body to match the feel of another dragon's scales or fur?" Kinkijou asked.

"Well, the most I can do at the moment, is change my height for a short period of time. Maybe an hour or so is how long I can go, before I collapse, and need a day's rest. I try not to do it often because of that fact." Tai informed her.

"Ah, what a shame then. I was hoping I could take someone under my talon, metaphorically speaking. Maybe a new successor for the war." Kinkijou said, sighing quite a lot.

"You know about the war? But how?! You've been secluded from the Kingdoms for generations! How can you know about that?!" Tai asked, seeming excited.

"Because I'm the grand dragon who had the original vision about it. Some PineForest dragons decided to take my idea and pass it along to their children, in hopes for it to pass down. Eventually, I suppose the information got out to the continent, and here we are. I'm surprised your friend here had a little part in it." Kinkijou replied, her scales shifting with small hints of pink and orange.

"A small part?! Can you recite the original vision for me? Pleaasee! I have to know!" Tai asked eagerly.

"Well only because you asked so kindly," Kinkijou said.

She swiftly made her way up, defying the laws of physics seemingly in one motion. She was floating in the air like any dragon would float on the wind current like fish. Her cerulean eyes began glowing white, the color completely draining as she held her talons in front of her heart, seemingly holding out for a drop of water. With another motion, she curled her body, like a snake would if it were slithering in the air.

"The prophecy states 'One dragon, with the dragons of choice, will start the war. The war to end them all. The war to kill millions; destroy clans and Kingdoms alike. The war to bring on new lives, the war to bring on a new prophecy. A new legacy of dragons meant to kill him, and his associates. A dragon, small and pale, from the kingdom of sand, shall bring him wisdom. A dragon red as fire, and as big as the sun itself, will provide fierce protection from the Kingdom of Blazes. A dragon as Amber as ore will provide tireless nights and wealth from the kingdom of the swamp. A dragon with shifting scales, adapting to both water and air will provide knowledge of the continent, and finally, a dragon with the blessing of a bird, and the moon, will come from the Kingdom of the Night to provide stealth. These dragons will help the dragon, willing to start the war. These dragons will bring doom to our nation, that many call home. This male will bring chaos and discord wherever he goes. The god of this world will make her decision whether to kill him or spare him; when the time is right." Kinkijou announced.

"Seems fairly plain-cut.." Hide interrupted.

"I'm not finished," Kinkijou announced.

"With these dragons, the male in question; will kill the god we all call Kania, and take her kingdom, status as a god, and the continent we call our own. He will go on to destroy other continents. And when the time comes, Kinkijou of the rainforest will die, as her thousands of years as a demigod, will sink to an end." She pronounced.

Lady Kinkijou's eyes shifted back to her cerulean color, before she fell out of the air, crashing into the unstable stone. As she crashed, the ground began shaking, and it felt like they were going to fall any second. Soon enough, it happened. Hide, Tai, and Kinkijou, all went crashing down, as the floor of the temple had fallen below them. Soon, Hide found himself sinking his talons into a stable sandbank. The bank had an arena looking around them. The seats were empty, but it had a glowing pillar in the middle, with a square area of stone around the outer edge of the small spire, with a diamond shape floating above it, as it began glowing in Hide's presence. Hide had noticed it only seemed to be glowing because of the sunlight peeking into the chasm in the deep arena. He had no cares though, as he swiftly felt his talons squelch with each step, within the goopy, watery sand. Hide made his way to the inner square, beating his wings against the stale air, to get a better look atop the spire.

Hide peered into the diamond rock, that seemed to be holding something within. As Hide began reaching for it, Kinkijou began coughing.

Hide whipped his head around, facing her. Her eyes were flickering from their god-like sense before, to her cerulean blue eyes, which seemed more normal than ever.

"Kid.. please help me! I can't stop this! It hurts so bad! Please! I'll do whatever you want! I'll stop you from becoming a rage machine fueled by homicide! I'll help you find any dragons you need!" She called.

He turned back, facing the rock. Hide felt it made the most sense. She literally knocked him and Tai into a pillar earlier with her tail and brought the entire temple to ruin without moving an inch. Besides, he had no interest in helping a dragon who made him feel like a nuecence. He didn't really care if she died right now. In fact, he hoped for it. Something felt off; and he knew he'd much rather watch her die, than spare her, and be killed with a 'Sike! That was a test' Kind of move.

He slowly grasped the rock, feeling the smoothness of it. It looked to be made of andesite, and had a ring glowing around it. It seemed to be a pale gold as it's glow became brighter. Before much long, he heard screams of terror, and agony from behind him.

"FOR MOONS SAKE! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY OLD DRAGON. LEAVE THIS PROPHECY TO THE DRAGONETS!" Hide screamed, his tail lashing with anger.

He opened his eyes, seeing her flopping around like a fish out of water. She had Tai by her side, as she set a small pile of sand over something on Kinkijou's body.

"The serpent curse causes her to stick to an area of the palace where it was less prominent. Basically, the air here is so filled with the fallout of the curse, that she can't really stand being here." Tai explained.

"What's with the sand." Hide asked coldly, his talons practically glued to the rock.

"Well, I read in a scroll when I was young, that a god-like dragon, this old, and this wise, needs whatever element it's in, to help weaken the force of curses, harm, that sort of thing. So, I set sand on an open wound, and just left it like that while you were yelling." She snapped.

Hide gripped tighter onto the rock, slowly making a half of it roll off, like a lid to a jar. Suddenly, the rock popped open, the glow from the ring brightening.