Please, wake up!

Ling silently looked at fighter's body, that currently wasn't moving at all, Wich only, spoke more about the fact that the Dragon Warrior has died. But he was still in a stupor. Right Before his eyes flew all the 7 years that he shared with the brown-haired man, from the very beginning and to the end. From the moment, when he didn't even recognize Zilong at all, until the very moment when he thrust his  blade into him, forcing him to take his very last breath.

Finally, Finch silently falls down on his knees, right in front of the dragon. Now, there was no longer a soft smile on his face, his eyes no longer showing determination as they used to.

Guy gently pressed his palm to Zilongs neck, desperately clutching at the fact that he may still be somehow alive. But it was all in vain.

No pulse...

Ling haven't started crying, no. Now he was bursting with hatred. Self-hatred.

"Why... Just why did you trust me so much, why, despite how much I pushed you away from me, you still tried to help me."

He tightly gripped hilt of his sword, after which it crumbles into many blue feathers, just as it disappeared into thin air.

"Answer me, Zilong! You can not just die like this!"

Finch gently lifted brown head along with his body, gently pressing it to his own, he began stroking his hair.

"Not in my arms..."

He was still warm.

Naturally, there was no answer. The dead ones, do not speak, and Ling was very well aware of that.  He knew perfectly well that even that he did not aim, he made the blow as deadly as he could possible. And it showed an excellent result as expected.

"I did said that his kindness is worth nothing. After all, no matter how kind he was, it did not give any strength to him. Now that the main problem on my and your path is no longer there, the capture of Cadia is only a matter of time..."

Saying this, The Black Dragon approaches  assassin, while sitting on the ground, only aggravating this whole situation in the eyes of Blue Finch. Now he embarked on the very path with no return, which the exact same Zhong told him about.

"However, you did say that you took my side, only for the sake of your revenge on Zilong. Most likely, after committing this revenge, you are going to leave me. But I'm surprised you don't look all that happy after what you have done. "

Man said these words with an obvious grin. Naturally, he guessed that Ling was not really going to take revenge on Zilong in the first place, and, to be honest, least that he expected was that he would actually decide to kill dragon. More precisely, he was expecting Ling to kill him instead.

"I wonder what does it feels like to be killed by someone you thought was a close person to you, because from the outside he was pathetic. He literally stuck the sword in himself. Regrettable -

"He's not pathetic..."

The guy abruptly interrupts him, still not letting go of the brown-haired head, continuing to stroke his hair.

"If one of us really is pathetic, then it is only me."

After all, Finch had only just realized how he felt about this idiot who was always smiling no matter what happened, always accepting all his mistakes, appreciating and protecting him at all costs, as if Ling was the only one he really cared about.

It is really a pity that now, that he will never be able to know that their feelings for each other, are mutual.

Ling stared into empty brown eyes again, and could no longer hold it back, his tears begin to flow from his eyes.

"I am sorry, Yun Zhao... Please forgive me for everything."

Tears were already streaming down Ling's pale chin, and then, dripping directly onto  face of the lying dragon warrior

"Enough, Cyan Finch."

Another voice sounded. Luo Yi also decided to join this conversation. She was noticeably tired of standing and waiting for both at the entrance, so she decided to intervene.

"You are either staying with us...

She began talking by looking down at the killer, rather arrogantly.

Or with him?"

With a slight grin, looking at the now dead brown-haired man, geomancer finished her phrase.

___________

"Ling..."

"Mm? Has something happened, Zilong? What kind of drooping gaze is this?"

"If... I really die, will you cry?"

"Wh-what?!"

The young man immediately hits the interlocutor on the forehead, which is why he immediately cried out, grabbing the place of impact with both of his palms.

"F-fool! What a stupid question?! How did you just ..."

"Please do not cry. I don't want to feel guilty afterwards, because I made you cry."

"Pf! Just try to die, I'll get you out of the ground, you understand?!"

"Ahah, after your words, even if I wanted to die, now I obviously don't want to."

"Idiot!"

"I know, I know, you tell me that all the time."

____________________

Then Ling noticed something strange...

His own tears, which were on the face of Oriental Fighter, evaporated, and then, a bright light, like a sun glowing right behind him. Orange, no, even a fiery bird feather fell directly into his palm. But where from?..

He decided to raise his head up, and what he saw, left him surprised. He was surprised to see a huge bird, which he had only heard about in the seemingly stupid stories of Weidan. She was glowing so brightly red, slightly blinding his eyes.

________________

"You have incredible strength, Ling. You can't even imagine how this strength strong."

"But what is this power? Can I lift objects with my own mind? Control the lightning? Tell me, master!"

"The time will come and you will understand what kind of power it is."

"But with Zilong you talk everything!"

"Oh, believe me, my boy, I am clearly not telling him everything."

_________________

Is this... the same power he talked about?

The fiery bird flies up to him, literally passing right through him. His body began to burn incredibly bright. In an instant, the dark scales that were all over the body disappeared flawlessly, leaving behind  nothing, as if it had never been there in the first place. Dark Wings behind Finch's back disintegrated into many golden feathers, which then covered him from head to toe, not long after, disappearing as well. His dark robe of Night Shade changed to clothes similar to his usual, but with minor changes, starting from the main color, which  now was orange, down to the elements of the clothes itself, the top got a collar, and the small gold brooch turned silver, taking on the shape of a feather. The latest changes have touched the guy's hair - it has become golden.

Just as light of fiery bird began slowly fading away, she herself became noticeably smaller, the last thing she did before disappearing was flying to Zilong's body, flapping her wings, as in return leaving several of her feathers on him and they as passed through his skin.

Ling looked at himself in shock, not understanding how this was possible. All the dark energy that was in him disappeared. But this is not the only miracle...

Sharp cough.

Ling immediately turns around, and what he saw made his breath stop.

Zilong, whose body he pierced through the blade, barely lifted himself from the ground, holding on to his stomach, where that unfortunate wound was.

"Yun!"

He instantly run to where Oriental Fighter was, grabbing him by the back, forcing him to take a sitting position. The brown-haired man himself was no less surprised - he felt how at that moment his powers were fading away, but now, he absolutely did not understand how he survived.

"And how do you now explain this, Cyan Finch?"

There was anger in the Black Dragon's voice. It meant only one thing - should leave as soon as possible.

"Ling, what's going on?..."

"There's no time to explain, Zilong!"

He immediately picked him up in his arms, at that moment a light of energy appeared in front of his eyes, around which there was the same light aura. His body immediately began to burn inside, because of which the chaffinch with all its might leaped onto the nearest branch of the tree, and how he did it in time - if a girl had hit him now - the escape would have become impossible.

"Master, I will go after -

"Stop, Lo Yi. Let them go. Anyway, they have nowhere to go...:

Ling jumped with all his strength from tree to tree, as far from the Black Dragon as he could. He held Zilong in his arms, gripping him deeply, afraid to let go of him even for a minute .

"L-ling... Ling! Wait, we've gone far enough, stop!"

"We need to get away from him as quickly as possible, he can send Lo Yi after us!"

"LING!"

After this scream, guy inaccurately landed on a tree branch, which he immediately fell off down with Zilong, dropping him on the ground.

"Ngh... Please explain to me what happened... I don't understand."

Oriental Fighter looked with a slightly worried look at the frightened face of his partner, as he was still catching his breath, but in the end he breaks a little silence between them.

"You were dead, Zilong. I killed you..."

"Wha... But I'm alive, right? How could you have killed me?"

"You were dead, Zilong! I stabbed you through with my blade when you came to me and you fell down dead!"

The killer's voice trembled, which the fighter immediately noted, that made him in an instant closing the distance between the two of them , hugging him tightly.

"Hush. I'm alive now, right? Everything worked out, I'm fine and you... By the way, about you. What's the matter?"

"I don't fully understand yet, but it looks like I discovered the powers of... the phoenix? The huge fiery bird first made all these modifications to me, and then healed you."

"Okay, that sounds pretty weird, but I believe you."

Smiling softly, Zilong finally began to distance himself from Ling, but Ling, in turn, did the exact opposite, he grabbed Zilongs shoulders, not allowing him to leave.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry that you had to suffer so much because of me..."

"Ling, I didn't suffer. And even if I did suffer, the main thing is that my suffering has paid off with your safety."

"It is I who must protect you, Keeper of the Dragon Spear, you know..."

"Okay, okay, I'll try to patronize you like that, but I promise nothing."

The brown-haired man smiled again, lightly stroking Ling's short, silky hair. Finch, in turn, did not push him away this time , which was quite  surprising.

"By the way, about your confession..."

The guy abruptly breaks the silence, looking away.

"Oh, I understand that you hardly have the same feelings for me, I think it would be better if you just -

"I like you too, Zilong."

There was silence between Finch and the dragon. Zhao stared at Ling with a dumbfounded gaze, while he only smiled as he watched the guy in front of him widen and widen his eyes in surprise.

"W-wait, are you serious?..."

"Yes, you didn't expect? Although, given your reaction, you didn't expect it at all, right?"

"Yes, it definitely made me wonder..."

Both of them gone silent again. Zilong gazed directly into Ling's amethyst eyes while he gazed into brown. The Dragon Warrior leaned forward slightly,  almost touching Finch's lips with his own.

But Ling within a second managed to substitute his hand, thereby preventing the guy from kissing him.

"It's too early for a kiss, don't you think?"

With a slightly insidious grin, he rose from the ground, shaking himself off from dust and leaves.

"Hah, yes, you are probably right, I hurried."

The brown-haired man got up after him, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Will you return to Weidan or..."

"You know that your company is much nicer."

"Oh my God, what is being done, Zilong decides to renounce the Great Dragon? How Horrible!"

Naturally, Ling says with feigned drama, after which he laughed slightly, seeing how the guy turned away resentfully.

"Hmm, how about stopping by Wanwan and Baxia at the Dragon Altar, informing them that the Oriental Fighters are no longer obliged to obey the Great Dragon?"

"I think this is a great idea, but before that... I'm terribly hungry..."

"On the way, can we go to Dragon City and have a bite to eat in one eatery?"

"Is this an attempt to ask me out?"

"Note that I was not the one who said it, but you."

"Who is the last, he pays for everything."

After these words, Ling immediately jumped on a tree, rapidly heading north where the Dragon City was. He knew how passionate his partner was, and therefore had no doubt that he would follow right behind him.

"Well hold on, Cyan Finch!"

The body of the brown-haired man was covered with a fiery flame, and he immediately ran after the guy, keeping up with him for a second.

As their silhouettes slowly disappeared among the trees of the sunset forest ...

The end.