How Far Is Far Away?

Alaric, Kol, Hope, and Landon walked out of the wooden shack.

Coincidentally, this shack was the Dragon's lair, so when they walked out, they also encountered the Dragon coming their way.

They looked at the Dragon girl, and she looked right back at them. Both sides were awkward.

Until, "Grrrowl!", the Dragon growled lightly, with some confusion.

"We don't want any trouble.", Alaric spoke cautiously, with some fear hidden in his voice.

Then the Dragon, "Grrowl!!", growled again, and extended her hand towards them, like asking for something.

On the other hand, when everyone was focused on that Dragon girl, Kol used his telekinesis to directly take the knife from Landon's pocket.

"Hey!", Landon exclaimed.

Then Kol spoke to the Dragon girl, "Calm down. Easy girl! All is good. You want this knife, don't you?", while showing her the knife.

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"Growl!", she nodded her head.

"Sorry, you can't have it.", Kol spoke while making the knife disappear, putting it away inside his storage space.

Such spaces could be easily created with a simple space spell, but they could come undone just as easily as they were created, and they certainly weren't sturdy enough to survive the jump between worlds.

Kol then spoke to the Dragon girl in an enticing tone, "But don't fret. I can grant you what you REALLY desire. Think about it, you...", but he was interrupted.

With a loud growl, "GROWWL!!", the Dragon girl got ready to attack. Her eyes started glowing in red fiery light.

Sensing the danger, "Back inside, go! GO! GO!", Alaric spoke in a hurried voice and a fearful tone.

Everyone started running back inside, except for Kol. He stayed back.

At the same time, with a roar, "RROAAARR!!", the Dragon released her Dragon breath.

Kol didn't move from his position and just extended his hand at the incoming stream of fire.

Dragon's breath impacted upon Kol's telekinetic shield but did no damage whatsoever.

Seeing her fire being ineffective against his telekinetic shield, "Roarrr!", the Dragon girl roared again in anger.

But Kol wasn't going to give her another opportunity.

"Boom!", leaving cracks on the ground behind him, Kol appeared right in front of her.

Then, "Bang! AhhHukk!", he kicked her right in the gut.

Even as the air was knocked out of her lungs, she powerlessly flew back ten meters due to the impact and only stopped after sliding five more meters on the ground.

This kick wasn't meant to kill her, or knock her out, but to just be painful. To let her know the difference in strength between them.

Kol didn't pursue. He just stood still and observed her writhing in pain on the ground.

After a while, the Dragon girl slowly stood up.

And then, with a loud road, "RROAAARRRR!!", she transformed into her Dragon form.

The change didn't seem biological, but more magical, like how wizards in 'Harry Potter' used transfiguration spells, or their animagus forms, or like how werewolves in 'Twilight' turned into wolves. It happened quickly.

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Then, with another roar, "Roarr!", she fired Dragon's breath.

This one was much more powerful than the last one, not only hotter, but the impact behind it was tremendous in comparison.

But Kol stopped it just as easily.

What followed was a one-sided beat down.

(AUTHOR: "Himinnheim", is Kol's kingdom. It means, "The World of Heaven".)

The technological development in Himinnheim was very strange, kind of like in Asgard. In some areas, it was highly developed, decades ahead of the twenty-first century, but in other areas, it still retained the backward influence of the fifteenth century.

This was apparent especially when it came to weapons. This area was never given importance, since werewolves, vampires, or other supernatural creatures easily solved most of the problems of that nature.

This didn't go unnoticed by Kol, which was the reason why he established the Dragon riders.

The Dragon riders were a legion of warlocks and witches who rode Dragons on battlefields.

Unfortunately, due to the rarity of Dragons, it was nothing more than an idea. In the entirety of Himinnheim, there were only two Dragons.

So his army of Dragon riders was a pitiful number of two.

To add salt to the wound, they were both male Dragons too. So they couldn't even mate and produce offsprings.

For Kol, each and every Dragon was a precious resource.

While beating down the Dragon girl, he was extremely careful not to accidentally hit too hard and end up killing her.

On the other hand, even in her Dragon form, she couldn't do much against such odds.

Kol didn't use any magic spells or fancy tricks, just a series of punches and kicks, and the poor Dragon had no chance to retaliate.

In beginning he was careful, trying not to make her lose consciousness, but then he just used telepathy to force her to stay awake as he proceeded to beat her down.

Of course, he could just use telepathy to make the Dragon submit, but he didn't want a mindless puppet, but a fierce Dragon who would submit to him of her own free will.

Dragons were proud creatures. To make her submit, Kol must beat her down with absolute advantage, making the difference in strength between them apparent.

Especially this particular Dragon. She was a slave to Malivore and she didn't even know it.

When she came for the knife, she didn't know why. The knife wasn't shiny at all, and hence couldn't be considered a treasure by a Dragon's standards.

Yet she came for it as if her life depended on it. It was like she was acting subconsciously like it was her instinct to take that knife.

An instinct far greater than what it otherwise would be for any treasure, self-worth, or even her own life.

Therefore, while beating her down, Kol was also using telepathy to make her aware of her subconscious actions, making her conscious of the memories hidden deep within her subconscious. Letting her know that the real enemy was Malivore.

Plus, except for the fact that they couldn't talk, Dragons were sentient creatures with just as much intelligence as human beings. So Kol would prefer to avoid taking away their free will if there was another way.

Around fifteen minutes later, of one-sided beat down, where the Dragon couldn't retaliate no matter what she did or how much she struggled.

Kol succeeded in making her remember the memories hidden within her subconscious part of the mind.

But it didn't do much good.

Even now she was connected to Malivore, and if she did not obey, he could just teleport her back into himself anytime he wanted.

(AUTHOR: Remember when Necromancer was granted freedom by Malivore when he delivered the knife?)

But if she brought the knife to him, then in exchange, Malivore would release her.

She was doing all this for her freedom. That was why she was so desperately fighting even after remembering why.

Because she didn't want to go back inside that endless darkness.

If there was some other Dragon in her place, it would have already bowed down and submitted long ago.

Nearly an hour later.

The Dragon now laid on her belly, unmoving.

She was badly bruised and beaten, bleeding from many wounds.

Now the look of defiance was finally gone from her eyes, and all that remained was despair.

Kol stood near her head, with hands behind his back, looking down at her fiery-red slit pupils.

He spoke, "Looks like you're finally willing to listen to what I have to say.", in a tone that inspired calmness.

In response, the Dragon jerked her head and moved her giant eyes to look up.

"Don't look so down. You need that knife to earn your freedom, right?", he continued.

In response, "Groowllll!", she growled pitifully.

But this time, besides the anger, her growl also contained sadness and despair. It was the kind of voice that would put anyone in a depressed mood.

Then he continued with a sigh, "Sigh!", "It's such a pity. It's so sad that I can't even put it into words. A Dragon, one of the most powerful species in existence, reduced to THIS pathetic state!", his eyes contained pity and despise for her.

In response, "Roarr!", she roared as her gigantic body shook.

Observing her reaction, Kol spoke, "I mean, it's one thing to be defeated by me. We are on different levels, fundamentally speaking. You may be a Dragon but you're still a mortal, while I am a God. There's no way you can win against me.".

Then continued, "But to be defeated by some mud monster? Some witchy contraption! Can you still call yourself a Dragon after that?".

All Dragons had one obvious weakness, their pride. It was so great that they viewed other creatures as mere ants.

That was the reason why they would burn down villages just to collect some treasures. Because if a piece of diamond was hidden inside an ant colony, then who would care if getting it would mean a bunch of ants burning down?

What Kol was doing here was using the Dragon girl's pride against her.

"Roarr!", the Dragon roared in anger.

Kol asked, "Angry?".

Seeing her struggle more and more desperately, trying to get up, he spoke, "If you're angry then why are you still doing what he wants?".

Then he asked, "For the knife? You need it to EARN your freedom back?".

And commented, "Pathetic! Since when did the Dragons need to EARN anything? If you want something, then just take it. I can give you freedom. Show me your worth and I'll just grant it to you.".

Hearing this, the Dragon was surprised.

Her kind did respect the strong, and Kol was certainly the strongest being she had ever encountered.

So if he said he could free her of her fate, then she believed it without question. Because her life was already in his hands and he chose not to kill her.

She forgot to struggle for a moment and just looked at him incredulously.

Then Kol continued, "Prove yourself to me. Show me that you're worth saving and I will give you anything you want.".

Then he looked her in the eyes and continued, "Anything at all. Freedom! Power! REVENGE!? Just show me you're worth it."

For a moment, the Dragon forgot everything and just looked at him blankly.

Then her eyes showed defiance like no other. Anger much greater than when she fought with him, or when she was insulted just now.

It wasn't directed at Kol.

This was the anger that was buried deep within her, the flame that had been growing for nearly a thousand years, yet too afraid to show itself.

At this moment, all of a sudden, she had no reason to fear. That which truly bounded her was now gone, all the shackles broken.

With a roar so loud like no other, "ROARRR!!", the Dragon girl got up.

Dragons might be smart, but they were still impulsive creatures, therefore easy to manipulate.

She didn't attack Kol this time or tried to go for the knife.

She looked up at the sky, and, "ROAAARRRRR!!!", roared, like challenging the heavens above.

However, just as soon as she got up, a space distortion occurred all around her, and she started to feel a pull from inside.

This was exactly what Kol wanted. This was the defining moment.

He was watching closely, so as soon as the distortion occurred, Kol reached forward and grabbed onto the Dragon with both hands.

At the same time, he started chanting a spell.

There were two ways with which Malivore could still influence the supernatural creatures who he released from within him.

One was putting hints in their subconscious.

Kol could easily deal with that with telepathy.

Another was a mark that allowed Malivore to summon them back inside whenever he wanted.

This mark was somewhere in their bodies, and it just teleported them back to him.

(AUTHOR: Like, "Flying Thunder God Technique", in reverse.)

This was troublesome, but Kol still had two ways to deal with it.

One was to find out exactly where it was placed and then neutralize it.

But it would be time-consuming to find it unless the mark was activated.

The second method was to learn the composition of the mark and create a spell matrix to neutralize it.

Everything in existence is comprised of countless physical qualities, all related to each other.

However, every physical quality can be expressed in terms of inter-related functions of physical quantities.

Therefore, everything in existence, even the world itself, can be expressed as mathematical equations.

Magic worked in the same way, just way more direct.

So Kol just needed to figure out the composition of that mark to come up with a spell matrix that would work universally on all such marks.

However, Kol had to study one of the marks first to come up with such a universal spell matrix, and to do that, the mark had to be active.

Like it was now.

Without wasting any time, Kol chanted a spell to find out the location of the mark, and then he sealed it while it was still in the activated state.

With this, he would be able to study it later.

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My Dear Little Hope,

I suck at Goodbyes, so I am leaving this letter to explain why I have to leave so urgently and so you will not worry about Landon suddenly being teleporting away.

I know that the coming days will be hard without me around. You'll miss me a lot, and cry a lot of tears. I know this will be difficult for you.

For I will no longer be able to keep you from the storms of life,

From the world's pain and strife.

But you must hold on.

Trust me, it's difficult for me too.

But against all my instincts, I must let go.

For this is the only way for me to not only protect you but this world as well.

The appearance of the Dragon girl wasn't just a coincidence.

It was just a beginning.

For a place exists in this world, which houses the supernatural creatures from each, and every myth or stories you've ever read, and even those you haven't read. Where all the monsters from your most terrifying nightmares and even those of fantasies, actually exist.

And thanks to our friend Landon, its gates are now wide open.

All of this is connected to Landon and that knife.

He is no mere human.

So don't be worried that he suddenly disappeared along with me, the Dragon, and the knife.

For I have taken upon myself this great burden to save your world. I am going to thoroughly investigate the cause behind all of this.

Which is why I have left. For now.

I will return eventually and explain everything to you in detail. Don't try to look for me because I am going somewhere far, far away. You'll never find me there.

Try not to miss me too much.

I wish you the strength to face challenges with confidence along with the wisdom to choose your battles carefully.

Your incredibly extraordinary Uncle,

Kol Mikaelson.

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"So what do you think?", Alaric asked while driving.

In reply, Hope carefully folded the letter they had found on the car window and put it in her pocket.

"I think this will do.", She replied calmly.

But Alaric was surprised by her response, "What! What do you mean, "this will do"? No. No, this will not do at all. This situation is bad, it's much worse than we ever thought was possible. First your supposed "uncle" from some parallel dimension shows up, then there's this mysterious magic knife that gets stolen by some kid we all thought was human, but obviously either we're all crazy or he's something else.".

Then he continued, "When we go after him, we come across this completely normal-looking girl we all believed to be a Pyromancer, only for that to blowback in our faces when she turns into a gigantic Dragon. A fucking Dragon!".

"And now your uncle, if we still choose to believe that nonsense, is clearly something else too! Do you see the pattern here? A boy, not a boy. A fire-witch, not a fire witch. Both were after that knife. And if we remember correctly, Your uncle we thought was a Heretic is clearly, not a siphon vampire hybrid either! So what are the chances that he was never your uncle in the first place and only came to us for that same knife? Now they're all missing together with their grand prize, and you're still saying, "This will do"?? Hope, the whole world could end depending on what that knife can do. We have both dealt with situations like this before, so stop daydreaming and start thinking about our next move.", Alaric spoke in a hysterical voice.

After hearing all this ranting, Hope replied in an irritated tone, "Mr. Saltzman. I think you need to take a REALLY deep breath and calm down! When I said "this will do", I meant this letter is enough for me to do a locator spell to find them.".

She took a deep breath and continued, "From the very beginning, we have been assuming things. Kol never said he was a Heretic, we just thought he was based on the abilities he showed. I think it's about time we started asking some questions because clearly, acting based on our common sense doesn't seem to be working.".

"It's like the universe is playing some REALLY sick joke. Things that aren't even supposed to exist are suddenly showing up and we don't know ANYTHING about it.", Alaric replied.

This wasn't their first time dealing with world-ending events, but no matter how much experience one has about this kind of stuff, anyone will have a meltdown when they see a girl turning into an actual Dragon in front of them.

Everyone has their own process to cope with such things and this was Alaric's. Usually, he rants a bit before suddenly coming up with an awesome idea that saves the world.

Only this time it was different. This time they didn't have enough information to come up with anything, which was why he seemed a little anxious, but other than that he was fine.

After a short silence, Hope spoke, "I don't think he was lying about him being uncle Kol. When he talked to me last night, I could feel it. I can't explain how, but I just know he is family.".

"Well, I'll decide if I believe his "trying to save the world" crap when I see him. But you're right. By the way that he handled that Dragon, it was like he was playing with it. That was completely one-sided. Someone THAT strong doesn't need to lie about something like that. Chances are that he didn't beat our lie detector spell and he is Kol Mikaelson.", Alaric replied calmly.

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.

As Alaric and Hope were heading back, Kol had already arrived at his destination, along with the Dragon girl who was carrying an unconscious Landon Kirby.

In his letter to Hope, Kol wrote that he would be going somewhere far away, but actually, he just teleported back to the old mill where he originally planned on staying.

First, he cast an illusion spell around the area to make everything seem normal, then proceeded to chant a spell to transmute matter that directly created a large manor.

It wasn't nearly as grand as his castle in his world, but it was enough to serve as temporary housing for someone like Kol, who preferred big spaces.

The kids had a party here just yesterday, so nobody would be coming to disturb him, not to mention the illusion spells and wards were more than enough to keep away the unsuspecting teenagers.

It was obvious he would eventually be found out, but Kol didn't need much time. Just a couple of days to siphon enough phoenix energy and collect genetic material from both the Dragon and the Phoenix.

As for studying Malivore's mark, that would take even lesser time.

Kol didn't spend his centuries goofing around after all.

He was now better in Magic than Odin.

Odin had to invent, steal and collect mystic arts, then come up with its various applications. But Kol just had to learn everything and only sometimes had to invent his own stuff.