Chapter 18 S2

The dragon looked at him intently. His golden gaze resting on the angel standing before him, he wagged his tail and bowed his head before answering.

"I wonder what would drive a young angel like you to do something as dangerous as performing an awakening ceremony without going through the ritual," he said in his guttural tone.

Niris wrung his hands. He wasn't going to like the reason, but he couldn't lie to her. He had to tell him the truth straight out or risk angering him more than anything else.

-The elves asked me," he began, his eyes fixed on the ground. They have something I absolutely need, but I didn't want to risk revealing the ritual to them.

The dragon remained silent for a moment before questioning him again.

-This thing, what is it?

NIris closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, plucking up courage.

-A sword from my master, Southern Voice," he finally replied.

-Voice of the south?" repeated Gizzare in surprise. You mean...you're Lou's pupil?

Surprised to hear his master's name come out of the dragon's mouth, Niris raised his head.

-You know my master?" he asked.

-Wait, did the elves tell you to wake me up so that they can give you Voice of the South? continued the frowning dragon.

-....not really, it's more to prove my good faith that they've asked me to do this, then we'll ask them for the southern voice," replied the prince.

The dragon looked at him seriously this time. His reassuring aura had transformed into an omnipresence tinged with anger. The angel felt uneasy. He knew the dragon wouldn't like his explanation, but he had no choice...

-Those dirty hypocrites! How dare they ask you such a thing when they don't even possess the southern voice!" raged the dragon in his thunderous voice.

-Didn't they? Niris was speechless.

Had he heard right? Elves didn't have the Southern voice? Then why had they pretended they did? Gizzare sighed at his perplexity.

-Aaah, I can't believe it. I knew this story would turn out badly,

-Do you know what I mean? Do you know the last master of blades? Niris harangued him with questions.

His mind was in turmoil. The dragon's reaction was quite different from what he'd expected, and he was a little confused by what he was saying.

-It's a long story, but Lou and I have been comrades for a long time," continued the dragon, who had softened. Back when she was still alive - well, I'm not sure what she is now, since she seems to be alive again? Anyway, when she was alive, I was still active. Not much any more, but I helped her from time to time on some of her missions. And above all, I witnessed the creation of Zorkiel. So I couldn't really ignore what was going on...

-Wait," the angel cut him off. I...I don't quite understand what you're saying. So you knew Lou before she went to sleep, so far so good, I'm sure. But what do you mean by "elves don't have Southern Voice"? What if they don't? And where is it, then? Why does Lou remember leaving it with the elves? And what about Zorkiel's creation? If you could start from the beginning, and a little more slowly...

Faced with the angel's panic, the dragon gave a slight laugh. The sound, which resembled the clink of a rock, surprised Niris, who found it strangely melodious. Then he crossed his front legs and rested his tail in front of him to find himself in a comfortable position.

-You're so young," he said with a touch of nostalgia in his voice. I'm going to tell you everything I know bit by bit, but it's going to take a while. Do you mind?

Niris shook his head vigorously. He opened his ears wide to hear the tale of the dragon master before him.

-Southern Voice, I think you know, is a sword that seals memories," began the dragon. The problem is, it's an enormous power, very difficult to master, even for someone like Lou.

The angel's eyes widened. He'd never dared imagine his master being overwhelmed by anything, especially a sword! For the master of blades, this was no mean feat. This sword had to be particularly powerful to pose a problem for the greatest master of them all.

When the going got tough and Lou felt her sacrifice was fast approaching, being the last master still alive, she decided to entrust her treasures to trusted individuals who would keep them hidden after her death to prevent the resurgence of a self-proclaimed master of blades. She would take three of them to her grave: Danse mortelle, Charisme flamboyant and Clef fashionista. The other two, those whose power was too great for her to integrate into her body as she had done with the others, she had no choice but to hide.

The dragon paused for a moment. A veil of shadow passed over his eyes. He continued.

-Voice of the South and End of a day are two blades of incomparable power, and equally unimaginable danger. So she hid Voice of the South in an unsuspecting place, guarded by an infallible person, and to make sure she wouldn't be used against her will to find it, she sealed her memories of the place where she'd hidden it. It may seem like excessive protection, but when you understand what End of a day is capable of, you'll understand why she did all that.

Niris nodded weakly, saying nothing. He was captivated by the story.

-In any case, the operation didn't go very well. At the time, Lou was going through a difficult period. Hostile populations were increasingly attacking those closest to her, and she sometimes had to make the difficult choice between following her obligations and protecting her family, often having no choice but to opt for the former. She had become the target of numerous attacks aimed at taking her life, and was going through hell. And that's when Zorkiel appeared.

The dragon's gaze seemed to lose itself in a distant time that only he knew. Niris remained silent, waiting impatiently for what was to come.

-One day, she made up her mind. Once End of a day hidden, she came straight to me. At the time, I was the only being, along with End of a Day's guardian, in whom she had absolute confidence, and above all, who was powerful enough to assist her in her task. When she asked me to seal her memories with Voice of the South, I told her of the dangers, but she persisted. At the time, it was the only way out. Even I had no alternative if she died. And she was exhausted, tired of fighting. So tired that she longed for the rest of death to get her out of this ordeal.

The dragon looked at the young angel with pain and sadness.

-Truly, life has not been kind to the last master of blades," he said in a tone that broke the prince's heart. So she went through with it, and erased her memories of End of a Day, trying to select everything connected with the sword's whereabouts. But of course, it didn't work. Voice of the South has a will of its own, or rather it reacts to the will of its possessor. And Lou, at that time, wanted death. She wanted total oblivion. So the sword erased more than just the memories of End of a Day's whereabouts.

The dragon paused for a moment, then continued in an even more serious tone.

-She forgot everything that caused her too much pain, everything that was emotionally insurmountable at the time. So she forgot everything about me, and everything about the Guardian of the End of the Day, because at the time we were her closest companions, and therefore the first victims of her demise by the people of the intergalaxy. Our memory...had become too painful for her.

Niris felt his heart clench as he heard Gizzare's last sentence. He could feel all the pain in her words, the pain of forgetting a loved one.

-She doesn't remember me," he repeated, as if realizing what he was saying. Especially the fact that she entrusted me with Voice of the South.

-She....gave you Voice of the South? Did you?" exclaimed the angel, stunned.

The dragon nodded slowly.

-I'm the guardian of the sword that sealed his memories. And therefore the guardian of End of a Day's location.

Niris stood open-mouthed before the creature's announcement. He couldn't believe it.

-They could have told us from the start that the sword was in your possession! he protested, vexed at the idea of having been played.

But Gizzare slowly shook his head.

-The elves have no idea where Southern Voice is," he explained. They don't even know it's on their planet. When I realized that Southern Voice had sealed all Lou's memories of me, I found it too hard to go on living. So I decided to plunge myself into a deep sleep. And to ensure that no one would learn of the sword's existence, and knowing that the elves would protect me, I went into hiding on Liore. Before leaving, I implanted a stigma in Lou so that she would know that Voice of the South was on Liore if she ever needed to look for it.

Niris went from surprise to surprise. All this arcane knowledge he had only read about in the ancient books of the Sophianopolis library seemed to him to belong to a bygone age. So to have a living, conscious being talk to him about them as if they were mere grandmother's remedies fascinated and terrified him at the same time.

-If the Liore elves weren't surprised to see you arrive and claim Voice of the South, it's probably because Lou went to their council to warn them that one day she'd be back to ask about her sword, and until then they'd have to protect her at all costs. If they didn't express the fact that they didn't see what she was talking about, which is quite possible given their deceitful nature of considering silence not to be a lie, they may have used this opportunity to achieve their end.

Niris rubbed his chin. It was true that they had never promised to give them Voice of the South if he woke Gizzare. They had made the request seem like proof of his good faith towards them, not a bargaining chip for the sword. They would surely have confessed they didn't know where the sword was once the ceremony was over. He clenched his fists. These methods were absolutely detestable, but so Elvish! He should have expected something like this from those damned creatures!

-Well, at least that makes things simpler! he finally breathed.

What was done was done, there was no point in lamenting the past.

-Before you give me the sword, can you tell me what you meant by "Zorkiel's creation"?

The dragon looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before answering.

-Zorkiel is not strictly speaking a living being," he began vaguely. His existence had a beginning which is not that of a life, but rather of a thing endowed with will.

Niris watched him for a moment, a little puzzled. He didn't quite understand what Gizzare was trying to tell him.

-I can't tell you what Zorkiel is, young angel. That's for you to find out. But Zorkiel isn't a living being, he's something far more complex, and far more dangerous. If we compare him to the last Master of Blades...or rather, put him in opposition, it's not for nothing. There's a reason for this. They say he's your master's natural enemy, and frankly, there's a reason for that.

-Why can't you just tell me what he is? I've got to beat him, I'm running out of time and I absolutely have to...

-No, I can't give you such information simply because it's part of the memories Lou has sealed with Voice of the South," interrupted the dragon from his patient millennium. If she learns again what Zorkiel is, and why he exists...I can't imagine what might happen.

The angel swallowed. He had so many questions to ask, but he could feel his natural energy reserve dwindling. He couldn't stay any longer in the dragon's unconscious lair. If he didn't end their mental and energetic communion within five minutes, he'd be putting himself in danger.

-All right, I understand. I'll look for myself, it's up to me to defeat him after all.

The dragon softened as he watched the angel strengthen before him. Niris reminded him of his youth with a forceful vigor. He had nothing but empathy for this young man who was discovering a world full of pitfalls and with an uncertain future. Just like him in his day.

-It's not for nothing that it's up to you to destroy Zorkiel," continued the dragon with a gentle warmth in his voice that went straight to iris's heart. Lou may be powerless against him, but you have the key to defeating him. Your path will be the one that puts an end to his existence, I'm sure of it.

He paused before continuing.

-And always remember that time isn't something you chase, it's something you deal with. You deal with time, you don't chase it. Nor do we earn it. The world takes its course, with its share of misfortune and drama, but it's not up to you to solve them. Your task is to put an end to Zorkiel's existence, that's all. It's not to deal with the consequences of his resurgence, nor to take responsibility for the state of insecurity in a world as vast as the intergalaxy. That task falls to intergalaxy itself, to the peoples who inhabit it, to the institutions that structure it and keep it alive. Have faith in the consciousness and democracy of your species. It's a powerful and resilient regime that will stand the test of time, and that's why the angels have chosen it.

He paused and smiled tenderly at the angel, as he would at a younger version of himself.

-And don't forget your primary objective: to live your life to the full. Everything else is secondary. The stabilization of Niyari, the end of Zorkiel, the building of world peace...these are all incidental. Life is all that matters. And if you feel responsible for the fragility of world peace, remember that peace is something that is built continuously, without end. We must always fight for peace; it can never be taken for granted. So rest assured, you're not the one to save the world, nor the one to impose peace on the intergalaxy. Peace isn't imposed, it's chosen, it's built.

The dragon's words had the effect of a gust of warm wind gently enveloping him. All his fears had been dismissed with a wave of the hand, as if they were nothing more than dust on a shelf. He felt tears welling up in his eyes and stinging as he tried to keep them from coming out. Unable to utter a word, he nodded vigorously.

-I'm going to write End of a day's geolocation into your dematerialized chip," continued Gizzare, who understood how the angel felt. I'll keep Voice of the South and sleep here. Lou can come and find me when she wants her memories back. One day, she'll feel she's lost something precious, and she'll come back to me, I know it. Just before she disappears for good, she'll collect the fragments of her life on the side of the road. She's no longer part of this world, even if I understand that she's been asleep until this day. I'm not surprised, after all, she herself anticipated that such a thing would happen.

The dragon placed his muzzle on the wrist Niris was holding out to him, and a dial opened with the location of End of a Day. After recording it, Niris closed it.

-I wish you good luck on your journey, which has just begun, and I'll see you soon. If you ever need my help, call on me with this gem. It's connected directly to my mind. Even asleep, I'll hear and answer your call. But I want you to use this gem selfishly. It's only for the day when your own world is about to crumble, not anyone else's. Only yours. Only yours. If you feel you can no longer fight, then call on me. I'll come and help you.

Emotionally, Niris clutched the gem between his fingers before tucking it away in his dematerialized keychain. And, with a voice trembling with emotion, he thanked the dragon.

-Thank you, Gizzare. For everything. I promise to live a good life and to be happy, not to live for others.

Without answering his last words, the dragon moved his forehead forward and placed it against Niris'. A gentle warmth invaded the latter, and he felt himself gently returning to his body. Once the connection with his flesh had been fully re-established, he took a long breath and slowly reopened his eyes. He felt different. His first encounter with a dragon had transformed him, profoundly. He could feel it. Even his natural energy was different and flowed differently.

Slowly, he got to his feet and faced the valley's virgin forest with determination. Then, without waiting, he soared like an arrow into the sky before swooping down towards where the elves were standing. Without slowing down, he swooped down on the council member, who watched in awe as he came dangerously close.

The elves around them brandished their bows and spears, but Lou dissuaded them from doing anything by spreading her menacing aura around her. All the elves had wobbly legs.

Braking with his wings at the last moment, Niris kicked the elf in the shoulder, knocking her to the ground without injury. A split second later, he was standing over her, towering over her.

-You lying elf bitch, for not telling us you don't know where Voice of the South is, I'll let that dragon sleep forever! He threw it in her face with deep contempt. There's nothing more for us to do here, so we're leaving, whether you like it or not. And know that I'll never forget your cowardice and deceit. I, Niris d'Egea, will pass on what you have done and write it into history so that everyone will know that the elves of Liore are vile, manipulative beings who deserve nothing more than collective contempt.