The Past

"You are joking..." Elian gasped, thinking of a fire-breathing monster flying over the land and decimating everything in its path.

"No... I am not." She sighed, shaking her little head, "It was a surprise for us all when we learned about it. There had never been a dragon Aspect manifested before, and it gave him incredible power. Dragons have not been seen for eons, and everything we know about them is through legends and ancient texts..."

"Didn't it warn you about him?"

"Well... he was a Hero, after all..." She muttered, not knowing how to answer his question. "But yes... In hindsight, they did. All of those tell us about their frightening powers, god-like aura, and how terrible they are, but... at that time... It was exactly what we needed. It was as if the world itself heard our plight and sent us the Hero we needed! The Lich Queen was not something that was a living being, not something any of us could have killed..."

"..."

"But a Hero... He could, and he did. Elian, you must remember that he is strong... But you can become just as powerful!"

"Yeah, if you say so..." He muttered, not really feeling all that powerful all of a sudden, "Heh, the word dragon alone says enough about his powers. So what? He can breathe fire?" he asked with a chortle, still feeling terrified but also strangely excited.

"Um... kind of..."

"Fly?"

"Not always; he has a limit on how long he can stay in the air."

"Is his skin impenetrable for human weapons?"

"If he manifests his dragon skin skill."

"I am going to stop asking questions, or I am going to get depressed!" Elian shrugged, feeling he had been saved from certain death and thrown into a death match as a reward. It was as if he had bumped into Mike Tyson and challenged him to a boxing match... even though he had never fought in his whole life. It seems that fate loves to joke around and won't give a second chance at life that easily.

"But you will have your own Aspect!" Sakku tried, sensing his falling spirits, "You can train and then... then... you can defeat him! You can! I believe in you!"

Elian had so much to say, but he held it all back in the end, not wanting to break the little fluffy's good mood, extinguishing those sparkles in her blue eyes. But, right now, he highly doubted it would be possible. Who would train him? How? Wouldn't his enemy find out about him? Then what stops him from gunning for him above everything else? This was something Elian would call a very, very bad situation. He was the frog in the frying pan. He had to do something... He was given a chance to live, and he was not keen on dying. Maybe he CAN fight him... with his Aspect. But... what it was? Was he also special like this Dalen guy? And first... what is an Aspect even? How does he call it forth?

"How do I know what my Aspect is?"

"Mmmh..." For a moment, Sakku fell silent, looking at him, moving her big eyes up and down, thinking, "I don't really know. It is... It is something that naturally manifests itself when you fight and concentrate really, really hard. It is an inner talent, your inherent powers taking a physical form!" She exclaimed, trying to explain, sniffing his body, but she could not tell the difference between Elian and any other humans.

"So... I should have one too, yes? But you don't know how I can manifest it... great."

"It will surface when you work hard enough. Um! It always does! I know it will. There were no Heroes in the past who did not have unique or powerful Aspects. You will be fine!"

"But all of those had been summoned correctly, no? Unlike me..."

"..."

Sakku had nothing to say or encourage Elian this time, but she was sure that whatever happened, he arrived here. Which meant he had to have something powerful hidden within him. When they needed someone as strong as Dalen, the cosmos provided. It had to be the same now, or their sacrifice was in vain, and she couldn't think like that. She couldn't. Or all that sacrifice was for nothing...

"Okay, okay!" Elian shrugged, slapping his face, trying to organize his thoughts. "We will deal with this step-by-step. You had a plan, didn't you? What were you planning next after summoning me?"

"Um..."

"Sakku?"

"..."

"You had a plan... Yes? Tell me you did."

"I... I will take you to the city! The... The king and the rest would know what to do after!"

"The ones who have been under attack by a summoned Hero? This does not sound encouraging..." He moaned, rubbing his forehead, feeling a headache rising within him.

"They would understand! I am sure of it! The king is wise, and his daughter is super strong!" She blabbered on, trying to say two words at once, "She was part of the Hero's group and fought against the Lich Queen. Then, after her defeat and after the turning of Dalen, she even clashed with him multiple times!"

"So there are strong people here. That's good!" Elian sighed, finally hearing something encouraging, "But it has to be the case, or this Dalen guy would have already conquered the world. Hm... Where is he now anyway? Nearby? Do we know his plans?"

"I think he is in the west... I am not good with this, Elian, sorry..." She mumbled, lowering her head, feeling guilty all of a sudden.

"It's fine; everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Okay, let's get to the... what was its name? Karnia?"

"Yes!"

"Let's go to this Karnia, and we can think of what to do next. I am not against going before the king, but let's take things slowly, okay?" He said with a bit of caution in his voice, "For example, I'd like you to tell me more about him and his daughter. I need to know what to expect!"

"Um, um. Let's see..." She hummed, wiggling her body to find a more comfortable position in his lap before continuing.

"I do hope they are friendly..."

"Of course they are!" She pouted, "The Princess is a great person! And... The king's name is Salanda, and he is not a bad man either. Our tribe always had a good and friendly connection to the royal family, and we were one of their longest-standing supporters. He is not a good fighter, but he is knowledgeable about the history of the land and would have been a perfect king if the peace had lasted a bit longer..."

"He made bad decisions when war broke out?" Elian asked, making her nod.

"Multiple. One of those led to the death of his wife, who was a master swordswoman. It was then that their daughter, Princess Nika, stepped forward, taking over and leading the armies, taking command from her father, revealing a side of her that nobody knew existed before. She not only took over the control of the army as their general but also fought on the front lines. She then trained with the Hero when we summoned him and has been the one keeping our side from losing after he betrayed us."

"I bet there were others close to this Dalen; what about them?"

"I don't know well... Hauh... I was not in their group. You know... our kind never fought in battles. We were never soldiers... But what I can tell you is that those who did not follow him, all of them died."

"This is a major storm, and the water is at our chins..." Elian sighed, pinching the ridge of his nose, making Sakku lower her head. Seeing him like that, she remained silent, knowing that nothing she would say now would be helpful. "Well, no reason to stress about something I have no power over... Let's rest for today. I had a rough day, almost dying before being transported here..."

"Sleeping is important; it heals the body and the mind and helps recharge your energy!"

"That is the main function of sleeping."

"But without energy, you can't use your powers even if you are rested!"

"..."

Elian wanted to ask a question or say something, but he had to realize there was something more to the energy Sakku meant than what he was thinking about. No matter... Sleep was what he needed because he felt his mind was overwhelmed, close to shutting down to spare him from any further shocking news. Lying down in the corner, on top of the old blankets and clothes, Sakku snuggled up to him closely, clearly looking for contact, acting like a scared puppy. She was way too cute, making Elian smile and feel relaxed at the same time. Hugging her fluffy body was like a spell, sending Elian into a deep, comforting sleep, allowing his mind to settle and sort out the startling news before he woke up the following day.