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"So, you're saying he joined your secret little organization," Blaze murmured after Jarak finished telling his lengthy story.

'I knew it. He had a plan for himself before he left,' she thought. 'To insert himself in such a questionable organization that wears comical attire not even suited for battle, he must've been truly desperate. But who in the faction was he so afraid of to make him leave like that?' She was certain that Winter wasn't a traitor, but joined the organization for his own benefit.

"Yeah, yeah," Jarak said with a roll of his eyes, lazy until his long tail gave a sudden swing, pointing its sharpened end at Blaze's head. "Storytime is over," he scowled. "Got any last words?"

Blaze clenched her teeth, knuckles turning white as her tremoring fists tightened. She glared helplessly at the sharp tip of the tail held above her grounded form, barely holding herself up with her elbows. This was it. This was it for her. Here, her journey would come to an end, and she would join her tribesmen in whatever the hell place it was that came after death.

She lowered her head and snorted softly, a bitter smile plastered across her bloodied lips as a single, hot tear shed from her eye, forming a small droplet on the cold ground. "I don't," she said. "But I do have a message for my people. Can you perhaps, pass this message on to them through Winter Ashkin? You can at least do that much for someone who had entertained you from boredom, right?"

Jarak clicked his tongue in annoyance. Just how much does this woman want from him? She'd been asking questions since the moment they've met, and even when she was about to die, she didn't stop. But even so, he'd grant her this favor. It was the thing that kept him sane in his inhuman livelihood, after all…giving and promising favors to those that died by his hand.

But still, he couldn't understand her.

"Are you deaf or something?!" he asked, exasperated. "Did you even listen to what I said, or are you just plain crazy?" Jarak circled his finger at the side of his head, wondering if she was insane. "Winter Ashkin this, Winter Ashkin that… He's a traitor! A traitor, I say. Do I have to spell it out for you? Are you sure he will pass the message if I tell him to?" His line of questions wasn't about his own morale or whether he would grant Blaze's request or not. He simply couldn't believe she still trusted Winter after what he did to the Ember Tribe.

She shook her head. "Thank you, but I choose not to believe such accusations until I hear it from him himself. Massacring the tribe and killing my brother…that is something he cannot have done," Blaze firmly insisted. And she truly believed so. Why would Winter kill someone he saved many times, his own best friend, nonetheless? He was someone who would dare sacrifice his own life for her and her brother, and she knew from her experiences in previous expeditions. She wasn't going to fall for such foolish rumors.

With a defeated sigh, Jarak said, "Alright, what's the message?" In the end, he couldn't change her mind, even though he had seen the truth with his very own eyes. Rumors of a Frost Dragon's appearance were nothing but an excuse the people created to explain what happened because who in the world would believe the witnesses that claimed a human with a dragon's power had massacred an entire tribe of dragon-slayers in less than an hour?

After a few moments of silence, filled with only the sound of her heavy breathing, Blaze finally put her thoughts together. But could Jarak blame her? There was simply too much to say, and she only had so much time left.

"Here…," she began quietly, struggling to choke down the growing emotion in her voice. "I…am Blaze Estereon, a proud dragon-slayer from Tribe Ember, Lunargard Faction. Today, the hymn of death plays, and I die without seeing the rays of dawn shine on my fallen tribesmen. The lioness failed them when they needed her the most, and not being able to avenge them will be my only regret. Still, I have faith in the survivors left. Please, carry on our tribe's fiery will, rebuild our tribe back to its honorable place in Lunargard. And lastly, on the day the light shines once more…don't forget us, those who fell in night's misery."

Blaze closed her eyes and kept them shut after saying her heartfelt last words. "Please," she whispered, "pass this on…"

Jarak went silent for a moment.

Though he found Blaze annoying, he held nothing but respect for her selflessness. She had saved her subordinates many times today, and even in her last moments, her heart was with her tribe. She wasn't just fighting for herself; she was not the same as Jarak, who was doing everything he could to satisfy his greed for power. It made him think, standing for others was truly a sign of weakness as he, a selfish person, was standing over Blaze, the selfless person representing her people. But why…did he feel something hit deep inside that he couldn't explain?

He could carry on and chase greater powers for the rest of his life, but he could not imagine himself being as tranquil as Blaze when it would come to be his final moments. Was he doing something wrong all along?

He shook the thoughts out of his mind.

Forget about that. Now was the time to kill.

"Farewell, Blaze Estereon," Jarak bid. "In the end, your excellent display of your capabilities could only carry you this far. Y'know, all good things must come to an end…"

Without a moment more of hesitation, his long, sharp tail struck forward and-

Whoosh!

"…w- what?! Who the hell-?"

Jarak whirled around to see Winter glaring coldly at him, his tattoos scattered over half his body as his single-handed grip on his tail tightened. His attack was meant to kill, but Winter had caught it at its highest point of momentum, forcing it to a full stop at a hair's breadth away from Blaze's neck.

Jarak tried to release his tail from his grip, but his struggling came to no avail. Winter's one hand didn't budge at all.

'What the f*ck?' Jarak was left in shock, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets in rage and surprise. What the hell was going on? 'I'm in the Awakened Stage and he's only just entered the Incipient Stage, but he can stop me?! What kind of deranged dragon did he link with?!'

Winter leveled his gaze, unfazed by the fact that he had technically just gone against his senior's will. Actually, their roles seemed reversed, Winter being the one in charge, while Jarak was the unsophisticated, hot-headed rookie.

"You're taking too long, so I hope you don't mind me coming here," Winter said, though his tone was domineering.

Jarak clenched his jaw, raging, but he had no choice but to give in.

"I…don't mind," he said through his teeth.