The tears of the dragon

The dragon had crashed in a clearing near the Northern mountain of the dwarves. He was out of strength after flying for so long frantically. Talim's body was in his claws and he held her tightly against him with a deep love. Tarim was not ready to face the fact that his twin sister would not wake up anymore. 

Out of desperation, he laid his head over her in an attempt to protect her, knowing that it was too late. "I was not here for you," he thought as he had an incredible feeling of failure, the guilt was killing him. Seeing his claws in the silver color and his scales now black, Tarim knew nothing would be the same anymore. 

He spent his life thinking he would die at the same time as her like every other dragon, but fate has been cruel to him to separate him from his beloved and force him to survive through the mourning of the lost one. The pain was unbearable and he was unable to move an inch. 

As the time passed, Tarim only felt worse and worse. Until the breaking point when tears rolled down his cheeks. It was a rare thing to see a dragon cry, but it was even more rare to see a dragon crying blood. 

The drops falling from his eyes were crimson red, seeing the abomination he became, his heart tightened and the suffering was only greater. Not dead and not alive, he was trapped in this state of uncertainty. Lost, alone, mourning the death of his other half with a heart that was not beating anymore. One of his tears fell on Talim, covering her magnificent white hair. 

Tarim let out a scream, he panicked, trying to remove it from her. He tried to clean her with his large claws without success. The dragon only managed to make more mess as his tears continued to fall all over the place. The situation was completely out of control and Tarim was now unforgiving himself for making the body of Talim dirty. 

He wanted to leave and search for help for someone with little hands but he could not let her alone again. Tarim would not support losing her, even if she were only an empty shell now. So he roared, he roared as heavily as he could, in the vain hope that someone would come to help him, but his roar scared every creature around. 

Nobody would come to him, nobody would clean her face, and nobody would give her a proper dress before she would be buried. Tarim was at his lowest point and everything seemed lost. 

It was cold, this was all she could feel. The incredible byte of the cold took her to the core. Talim opened her eyes and she saw nothing but darkness. She had no hands and no body, she was lost in the middle of the universe and she saw once again the paths of shadows in front of her. 

"Hello?! Someone?!" She wanted to yell but noticed her voice was in her mind as she had no mouth to speak, "Please, I need help!"

In the obscurity of the void, a form detached from the shadows, and when the figure approached her, Talim recognized Zuline. 

"Where am I?" 

Zuline came close to her and shook her head with a sigh, "You are nowhere."

"What happened?" 

"You died."

Talim recalled the last memories she had and she remembered Ëmie's face when she was passing out unconscious. She could have tears in her eyes as she understood she had been poisoned so easily.

"So this is what happens when someone dies?" Talim thought with a trembling mental voice.

Zuline took a long inspiration, she seemed more annoyed than anything else, "No. Usually, the souls find another place of peace, or they join the Ombrae. Here is nowhere."

"But what happened? Why can't I find peace like others?"

"Because Ëmie tried to revive you using Zarkhaïm's blood."

"Then, am I alive?"

"No, the magic you share with your brother revived him but not you."

Talim had an expression of shock, she didn't think her mistake would have killed her brother as well. She felt an extreme guilt but she was relieved he could be revived.

"I am glad he survived… But I don't understand. I am not dead and not alive, and I am nowhere."

"You are also everywhere. This is the universe," Zuline said while spreading her arms to show the immensity of the void, "The worlds and the shadows, the light and the infinite dark. The full and the void. Only Jessadians can come here, but you, you managed to lose yourself so much that the universe itself doesn't know where to put you."

Talim chuckled a bit, "What about my brother? Is he doing well?"

"He yells your death desperately. He also gave you the cursed blood without even knowing it."

"If he gave me the blood, why am I not with him?"

"It seems that you are given a choice, maybe because of the nature of your bond. There was already magic in you two."

"What can I choose?" Talim asked with a shaking voice.

"You could follow me to a resting place, or…" She paused before continuing with an incredibly cold voice, "Or you could come back to him, choosing the path of the blood and living an eternal life of desperation." 

"Jäwell doesn't seem desperate, why would I suffer?"

Zuline chuckled, "The smile can hide many things, child. You will learn this the hard way." 

Talim could not see herself, she was only a soul. Immaterial and unreal. Her voice was echoing from nowhere and she listened with every part of her. The universe was so great that she didn't know where there was a top and a bottom but she felt incredibly fine at this moment. 

Zuline was upside down, far, close, looking at her, and looking behind her at the same time. The powers of the Jessadians were something unknown and she was experiencing the aura of Zuline for the first time. The former leader was able to gather what could not be touched and move her through the eternal path of the worlds. Zuline could know about the past, present, and future at the same time if she wanted to and something in her voice was letting Talim guess that Zuline had seen a terrible fate for the dragon queen. 

Talim had felt a cold chill running through her, Zuline waited for her answer even if she already knew it. 

"I want to go back to him." 

Zuline sighed longly, even if she stated clearly she hated Talim for the fact that she abandoned her people, there was now only pity in her eyes.

"You are choosing to suffer for a loved one. Will you not regret it?"

Talim was terrified, if she could have a body, she would be trembling like a leaf.

"Tarim is my other half. I would give my life for him," but then she asked timidly "Will I suffer so much?"

"More than anyone could imagine."

Zuline's words were cold and distant but she had a sense of empathy for her at this moment. Talim's choice was not without remembering Zuline the choice she made to betray her tribe to save the Ombrae. Involving in a bloody war, and suffering greatly in the name of the inhabitants' survival. Hiding herself as the real reason for her engagement, to help Jäwell.

"We are not so different after all," She stated sadly before she began to walk in the direction of Talim. She caught her in her shadows and she took her time to move in space. There were a multitude of colors and scents that Talim never felt before and she was amazed by this incredible experience. It felt like a second and a millenia at the same time to Talim, savoring these last moments of peace.

"Are you ready?" Zuline asked with a hint of pain, "Are you sure?"

Talim wanted to nod but she had no body to do it, "I am. I want to be with my brother."

"Good luck little one, you will need it." 

Talim felt herself suddenly falling like a stone, she was incredibly little and incredibly tall, but there was no floor under her feet. She only saw the lips of Zuline high up above her murmuring, "I am sorry for you."

The queen looked under her and she saw her legs, her arms, and her hair eventually came to beat her face. As she felt, she heard her heart pumping in her chest so strongly that it became painful. 

A voice echoed in her mind, yelling for her name, calling for her, and she recognized the sound of Tarim. 

"I am here!" She tried to answer him, "I am coming, brother!"

Her voice was loud but he couldn't hear her. Talim's heart was tightening as she could sense the despair and suffering of her brother as if it were hers. 

She tried to scream louder for him, "I am here!!! I am alive!"

Talim was closer and closer, she had the hope to reach for him finally, she would be touching him very soon. The queen was flying over the clouds of the Ombrae and she was falling quickly back to her body.