Let me die already

I stared at her, still trying to process everything that had just happened. "That's an understatement."

Valeria snorted, rolling her eyes. "You have no idea, kid. That overgrown lizard is the biggest pain in my ass."

Carlos, who had been quietly fuming in the background, shot her a glare. "Excuse me? Who's the pain in whose ass here?"

Valeria turned sharply, her eyes narrowing as she took a step toward the dragon. "Oh, don't even start with me, Carlos. You've been leeching off this girl's magic like a parasite, and you know it."

I blinked, trying to follow their conversation. "Wait, what? Leeching off my magic?"

Valeria shot me a sideways glance, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, Ren. Your little friend here? He's been squatting in your body, feeding on your magic. That's why you can't use it properly."

I stared at Carlos, feeling a mix of anger and disbelief. "Is that true?"

The dragon huffed, looking away like a guilty dog caught stealing food. "It's not like I'm doing it on purpose," he muttered.

Valeria's eyes flashed with fury. "Not on purpose, my ass! You've been living off her power, and now she can barely access it because of you. Get out of her body, Carlos!"

Carlos flinched, backing away slightly. "I'm not going anywhere! I like it here it's comfortable."

"Comfortable?!" Valeria's voice rose in pitch, and I could see the veins in her neck tightening. "You're freeloading, you lazy, magic-eating bastard!"

Carlos bristled, his tail swishing angrily. "I'm not lazy! I'm… I'm conserving energy!"

Valeria's eyes blazed with purple fire, and I took an instinctive step back, feeling the heat radiating from her. "You're eating up her magic like some bottom-feeding leech, and you're calling it conserving energy? Get. Out."

Carlos backed up further, his eyes darting between Valeria's glowing hands and the void around us. "I well, technically, she's still alive, so I don't see what the big deal is—"

Before he could finish, Valeria lunged forward, grabbing him by one of his enormous horns and yanking his massive head down to her level. "I said, get out."

Carlos let out a yelp, his claws scraping at the dark ground beneath him as he tried to pull away. "You crazy woman! Let go!"

Valeria snarled, pulling him even closer. Her hand flared with intense purple flames, and I could feel the heat building like a furnace. "I'll burn you out if I have to."

Carlos, despite his size and dragon form, looked genuinely terrified. He glanced at me, as if I could somehow intervene in this chaos, but I could only watch in stunned silence. The atmosphere crackled with tension, the air growing heavy with the raw magic swirling around them.

"Okay, okay!" Carlos finally shouted, wriggling out of Valeria's grasp. "I'll leave! Damn it, I'll leave!"

Valeria smirked, releasing him as he slumped back. "Good. Now quit your whining and stop sucking her dry."

Carlos glared at her but didn't dare say anything else. His massive form began to flicker, the shadows around him rippling as if they were struggling to hold him in place. Slowly, he began to shrink, his colossal body breaking down into smaller fragments of light and dark.

As Carlos dissipated, a sharp pain surged through my chest, and I doubled over, gasping for breath. It felt like something was being pulled out of me, something deep and ingrained. Valeria's eyes softened slightly, and she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ren. This will be over soon."

I nodded, though I wasn't sure how much longer I could endure the sensation. My entire body felt like it was being hollowed out, piece by piece.

The void around us swirled faster, and in the center of it all, Carlos' form condensed into a smaller, humanoid shape. He still looked irritated, his eyes glowing faintly, but there was no longer any trace of his dragon form.

"Happy now?" Carlos spat, crossing his arms as he stood before us. He was no longer a towering beast, but a man, no older than 25 by the looks of it. His long black hair flowed past his shoulders, and he wore an expression that could only be described as 'perpetually annoyed.'

Valeria grinned, clearly pleased with herself. "Oh, much better."

I stared at Carlos, who now looked far less intimidating, though his energy still crackled in the air around him.

His black hair was wild, cascading over his shoulders in waves, and his sharp features looked perpetually unimpressed. He wore a simple black robe, tied loosely around his waist, as if he couldn't be bothered to put in any effort.

His eyes deep, burning red flicked between Valeria and me with a mixture of irritation and resignation.

"Let me die already," he muttered, rubbing his temples as if this entire ordeal was just one massive headache.

I blinked, still trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the last few minutes. "Wait… what?"

Valeria chuckled, folding her arms across her chest. "Don't mind him. He's been grumpy ever since Elira and I dragged him out of his little 'eternal slumber'."

Carlos shot her a withering look. "You dragged me out of peace and quiet. Do you have any idea how long it took for me to find that perfect state of oblivion?"

I was still trying to process the fact that this guy had been living inside me, feeding off my magic. "So… you've just been hanging out in my body, eating my magic?"

Carlos shrugged nonchalantly. "It's warm. Cozy."

I looked at Valeria, completely at a loss. "And this is okay?"

"Absolutely not," Valeria said with a wicked grin, her purple flames still flickering in her palms. "Which is why I'm about to kick his ass if he doesn't back off for good."

Carlos groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You know what? Fine. I'll stop eating her magic, okay? Can I go back to my nap now?"

Valeria raised an eyebrow, her smile fading. "You're not napping, Carlos. You're training her. You and I both know she's going to need help with controlling her magic, and you're the best one to do it."

"Wait, what?" I cut in, looking between the two of them. "You want him to train me?"

Carlos groaned louder, as if the idea of any effort was physically painful for him. "No, I don't want to train anyone. I'm tired."

Valeria's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Carlos."

He threw up his hands in surrender, his long black hair falling in his face. "Fine, fine! But I'm not happy about it."

I wasn't exactly thrilled either. "Great. I get a dragon-turned-lazy-man to teach me magic."

Carlos shot me a deadpan look. "I'm not lazy. I just value rest."

Valeria rolled her eyes. "Call it what you want. You're going to help her. If you don't…" She let the unspoken threat hang in the air, the purple flames in her hands flaring once more.

Carlos flinched, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'll train her. But can we at least get out of this stupid void?"

Valeria snapped her fingers, and with a sudden whoosh, the black void dissolved around us, replaced by the cold night air and the shimmering lake. I gasped, feeling the fresh air fill my lungs, and looked around. We were back by the lake, the water still glistening under the moonlight.

I felt a slight weight shift beside me, and when I turned, I saw Carlos standing there, looking less than thrilled to be back in the real world.

Valeria smirked, folding her wings behind her as she turned to me. "Welcome back. Now that Carlos is out of you, you should feel a lot better."

I blinked, glancing between her and Carlos. "Uh, thanks?"

Carlos crossed his arms, looking like he would rather be anywhere else. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

Valeria snorted, smacking him lightly on the back of the head. "Nope. You're stuck with us."

Carlos groaned again, rubbing his forehead. "Let me die already."