Chapter 300: Fall

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- Freya (The Goddess of Beauty) ~

Floating down the bustling hallway, I glided past clerics, bishops, and devotees. Their conversations bubbled with enthusiasm and their faces gleamed with joy.

Today was a day of prayer, and the church of Frigg, the goddess of Motherhood, was awash with believers. Typically, my church was similar, but that day, their prayers would not reach me.

*vwoom* Coming into the extravagant main hall built from marble and gold, with a ceiling so high it could accommodate even the largest of dragons, a breathtaking mass of mana washed over me. However, I was not the one to receive it.

On the opposite side of the hall was a massive stone effigy depicting a beautiful woman, poised gracefully with a child cradled in her arms. It drew prayers like moths to flame, yet not a soul ventured near it.

But it wasn't their reverence that kept them away.

*vwoom* Floating over to the statue, the air steadily grew heavier before eventually forcing me to anchor myself to the ground with divinity. -Ugh...- *tap* By then, those praying had become motionless, and the dust in the air remained still, hovering listlessly.

But I continued forth, walking past the statue without hesitation before looking up at the towering, 150-meter-tall doors at the end of the hall.

Before I knew it, a look of annoyance had fluttered across my face. -This bitch...- Even with the eyes of a god, I couldn't see through it. -To think she's already recovered enough to use her divinity so shamelessly...-

*tap* *tap* *tap* Continuing up to the door with a look of frustration, I thrust my fingers into its surface. *CRACKLE* Cracks slowly began spreading through it before I pulled my hand back and threw open the colossal door as if it were made of paper. *FWOOOSH*

A wave of mana slammed into me nearly instantly, causing my knees to buckle and soul suddenly feel heavy.

But after just a moment, a voice, icy yet melodious, echoed from the vastness beyond the doors. "To desecrate another's sanctuary as such."

Behind the door, a gigantic stairway loomed over me, culminating in a lavishly adorned throne. Upon it sat a woman, exuding the grace and beauty of motherhood but with a chilling demeanor that clashed with her appearance.

"I see you have not ceased your antics, Freya."

"Don't even get me started, you conniving bitch. Just tell me what you called me here for."

She immediately rested her cheek on her knuckles with a sense of aloofness. "In a moment. For now, how are you handling-"

*CRACK* I cut her off with a burst of divinity, cracking the intricately built floor. "If you say a single damn word..."

"Peace, Freya." She held my gaze, unyielding as she spoke. "I summoned you to give you some information and an offer, not to start a fight... Your reaction answered my question, regardless."

"Tch..." With the click of my tongue, my tensed hand eased. "You know what, alright. Just make it quick."

Her face remained still and emotionless as she responded. "Tomorrow, there shall be an event in Bahamut."

A hint of confusion instantly found its way onto my face. "What event?" -I don't believe there should be anything...-

She slowly leaned back, a faint smirk appearing on her lips. "It's recent news, known only to a select few mortals, currently. The academy in Atlas, where so many of your dragons are stationed, is going to have a front row seat to.. quite a spectacle."

Suspicion instantly started gnawing at me. "I'm going to need you to explain in detail."

She leaned forward, the light catching her eyes. "In a moment. For now, I have a proposition. There's someone in Atlas that you might find.. interesting. I want them gone."

Alarm bells instantly echoed through my head like a siren's voice. "Then send Vidar. Or better yet, handle it yourself."

"Patience, Freya," she intoned, a hint of allure lining her voice. "This individual, I believe, is related to that.. anomaly we sensed."

-What?!- I instantly recognized what she was referencing, but before I knew it, she had me in her web.

"From my findings, a peculiar truth showed itself. The so-called 'Eye of Bahamut' might just be what we believed never existed..." She had me so enraptured that I didn't even notice the sly smile creeping onto her face. "Odr's 'cell'... And now that 'artifact' has transferred hands, from the Ragnarok family, to an individual."

Thoughts ripped through my mind for a moment before I finally calmed down enough to respond. "So what's in this for you."

The silence that filled the room was excruciating. "He knows far too much. Left unchecked, he may become a thorn in Odin's side. I cannot allow that." She slowly straightened her posture before at my core. The real eyes of my soul. "Should you succeed, I will retrieve the artifact for you. However, in exchange, you will do me a favor."

Every fiber of my being was yelling at me, yet somehow, I didn't even notice.

"Whenever you are to speak with Odin, you must speak with me first. Always." She watched my demeanor in silence for a moment before smiling and relaxing her posture once more. "The academy in Atlas, 3.5 west, 1.3 south. 'She' will be waiting for you."

The next thing I knew, I standing in front of the pristine marble door, as if I had teleported.

But rather than being teleported, it felt as if I had yet to enter the room in the first place.

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- Vasilias Ragnarok ~

The sun painted the horizon with shades of gold, orange, and pink as I soared through the sky, the thoughts of Poniriá's plan still weighing heavily on my mind. Her drive and determination was impressive, but also unnerving, and the more time I had to think, the more it gnawed at me. -Why doesn't someone like her have a reputation?-

Over the past day and a half, I had spent most of my time in the estate's lower library researching into the academy and Chalastís family's past, but throughout my research, while there was a small amount of information related to Poniriá being a schemer, most of what I found was quite the opposite.

The more I dug, the murkier the waters became. Stories of her well-thought schemes were closely accompanied by stories of her rashness, just as stories of her being a gem in the Chalastís family were accompanied with claims of her being banished from the family for irrational behavior. And the worst part was that most of these were years, or even decades apart.

Her lineage records were even more baffling. Some records asserted she was a direct descendant, while others believed she hailed from a distant family branch.

Everywhere I looked, it was like trying to piece together a jigsaw with extra, mismatched parts. -She is quite a well known political figure though... Perhaps they are just opposing sides of the same story.-

In my eyes then, there was no reason for me to have any doubt. The Poniriá I met was undoubtedly eccentric, but she didn't strike me as someone warranting skepticism. It was what my gut told me after all.

Furthermore, as promised, her plan was already underway. Rumors had already begun spreading through the city like a wildfire, and people's admiration for Myles and interest in Siratha and the Ancient Fenrir had all been growing exponentially.

The stage had been set, all that was left was to meet with with her and finally get the ball rolling. -But I still have an hour to kill...-

Continuing to fly over the city for another moment, I watched the sun slowly sink below the horizon before turning back to the estate.

As I came in for a landing, I noticed Krystallo standing out in the open, and as I finally touched down, she came running over in a hurry.

"Brother!" She flung herself at me, clutching my chest in a panic. "Whereever you're going soon, don't!"

-What?- "What do you mean?" Her panic caught me quite off guard.

"I had a bad dream! A really bad dream!" She sounded like she was holding back tears.

"Relax. Breathe..." I gave her a look of worry as I tried to embrace her. "Was there anything specific about the dream that you remember?"

She instantly nodded while looking up at me. "I-It started with what l-looked like the body of a big brightly colored dragon being desecrated. W-When I approached it, the ground suddenly shook and the horizon went up in flames! Th-then when I t-turned around, the scales of the body had turned black and it l-looked like yoours!" She finally broke into tears as she pushed her forehead into me.

My gut instantly raised warning signals. Although I had told Mother about the plan extensively, Krystallo had been purposefully left in the dark. -Where is this coming from?-

But my largest priority was to calm her down. "Krystallo, look at me," I gently wrapped her in my aura as I sat down and lifted her chin, forcing her gaze to lock with mine. "It was just a dream. Nothing has happened yet, so please-"

She sniffled, "Yet?!" As a fearful look spread across her face, her grip on me tightened.

-Shit...- "That's not what I meant..." Gently caressing the top of her head with my aura, I tried to take a step back. "You remember what Mother taught us, right? As we get older, our dreams start becoming more and more like premonitions, but that isn't until at least the late Elder stage. Before then, a dream could be anything from a visualization of your desires, to your fears." The tears in her eyes glistened as she looked up at me, pulling at my heart. "There is nothing to worry about. You know how strong I am, right?"

She hesitated for a moment before hooking her claws onto my scales. "But.. what if it is a premonition..."

"I promise to be extra careful just in case, okay?"

As I gently cradled her, her grip eventually loosened, though her face still held a shadow of uncertainty. "You better be..."

As the stars finally started coming out, I continued holding her close, but while I wanted to comfort her, I couldn't deny that I was unsettled as well.

Still, my mind told me to chalk it up to mere coincidence. After all, dreams are often our subconscious mind's way of working through our fears, anxieties, and desires. But the timing of her dream with Poniriá's plan was uncanny.

Feeling her finally shift around, I looked down to see her staring in the direction of the academy with a shimmer in her eyes.

"Just promise me," she whispered with a slight waverting in her voice. "Promise me you'll come back safe..."

Finally letting out a stress-filled breath, I eased my nerves. "I will, I promise."

She slowly nodded before beginning to pull away, momentarily hesitating before letting go completely. "If you aren't back soon.. I won't forgive you..."

Watching her slowly trod back to the estate, a heaviness settled in my chest, and after just another moment, I let out another sigh and looked up to the sky. "Ilios."

He instantly revealed himself next to me as if he was waiting for it.

"I want you to watch over them while I'm out, but before I go..." I momentarily glanced over at him, seeing his fur slowly wave in the calm breeze. "What do you think?"

As if waiting for it, he trotted over and sat in front of me, looking up at me with an unreadable expression before standing up and touching a paw to my chest.

Almost instantly, the mana in my reserve began to stir and a small suction of mana formed, quickly topping it off, but after a moment he removed his paw and stepped away, quickly following Krystallo's footsteps toward the estate.

Finding myself sitting out beneath the stars, all alone once again, I glanced down at my chest, the glow beneath my scales seeming brighter than normal.

I still had some time before I needed to meet with Poniriá, but now wasn't the time to be lounging around. -Let's go early...-

*FWOOSH*