Battle of the Dragons Part 1 — Meilin

It was spring when I first stepped into paradise—Elysium; now a new cycle dawns, carrying with it the soft fragrance of cherry blossoms.

“I can’t believe it’s been two years since the start of our journey!” Himari giggled, with her hair tied like Yulan’s. It was beautiful. “And today is our second friendship anniversary!”

“Time flies.” I could still remember the day she desperately begged me for help. She was the only person willing to talk to a witch. When in a field of darkness, she was my only light.

I loved spring. The air is still cold, but the warmth of the sun wraps you around in a tight embrace, as if reminding you of a new beginning. It’s the time when most flowers bloom, and the winter white is painted over with soft, pastel colours.

The scent of the sun lulled me to sleep, as I drifted into a mystical dreamscape.

I was in a pure white room. In the corner was a mirror.

“Are you me?” A soft, gentle voice called out.

I twisted around in shock. In the mirror, I saw my reflection, but it was a much younger version of me. It was a little girl with a bright smile.

“Wow, I grew up this tall?” The girl gasped in awe. Her eyes shone with an ambition I could not recognise. With each word she spoke, a flower bloomed. The room soon blossomed with fragrant flowers, all of a lovely warm hue.

“Can I ask you questions?”

Seeing the young girl so joyful and lively, I couldn’t help but feel a sudden pang of sadness in my heart. “Of course…”

“Did we get to become a botanist?” The flowers flashed a bright scarlet red. Young Meilin’s eyes shone with excitement, gazing at me with anticipation.

“N-no…We haven’t graduated yet.” I had forgotten my aspirations. I didn’t know where my life would lead me. But the younger me had it all planned out.

“Well, I sure hope we get to be a botanist! I’m gonna discover new flowers so pretty, not saying that the flowers existing aren’t pretty…Oh! Right, I’m going to pluck out poison from poisonous plants and create a world where humans get to appreciate flowers all the time!” She grinned, stretching out her hands in a dramatic way.

Is this even me? She’s so full of life.

“Well, how’s mama and papa doing?”

My gaze darkened. The flowers turned slightly yellow. “They…umm…they’re doing okay.”

Young Meilin made a suspicious noise, as if not trusting me. “How are you doing then?”

I paused. How am I doing? I don’t know. A lot has happened since I was that young. But how am I now? I looked at Young Meilin, who was peering at me with an anxious look.

“Umm…it doesn’t matter.” Young Meilin said with a hint of hope, “As long as you’re living happily, then it doesn’t matter at all!”

I’m not even living on Earth right now. I looked at the optimistic young girl in the mirror. How would she feel if I were to tell her that?

Without meaning to, a single tear rolled off my cheek. The room’s temperature turned frosty. The flowers faded into a melancholy blue hue. I reached my hand into the mirror.

“I’m sorry. I’ll save you. I’ll save you and your dreams.” I held the girl close, feeling her warm body against mine. Just ten years apart can make all the difference. One’s fingers are cold, the other warm—one full of ambition, one ambitionless.

I clung to her; that’s where my tears and sorrow found their sanctuary.

“Meilin, it’s time to go!” A bubbly voice rang out, waking me up from my dream.

Warm fingers wrapped around mine, gently raising me. Smells like peach blossoms…I opened my eyes and found myself in Jianyun’s embrace.

“You’re awake…” He avoided my gaze, but didn’t pull away.

“Come on, you lovebirds!” Haruki called out playfully. I broke out of the embrace, but didn’t let go of Jianyun’s hand.

We were led inside the mountain by a lady named Himeka. Butterflies circled her. One of her eyes was covered by a sizable, golden butterfly, like an eyepatch. The butterflies mysteriously change colours depending on her mood, like the flowers back in my dream.

Though I do not know what the colours mean, as we approached the cave, they turned from grey to a royal blue. The colour of her eyes was altered as well, but the butterfly on her eye remained a pure golden hue.

The cave was dark, so we were each given a lantern. “The road ahead may be slippery, so please be careful,” Himeka warned us.

We wandered for what seemed like eternity until arriving at a gigantic tree.

The tree almost reached the cave's ceiling. The leaves are scattered all over the cave, in various shades of green, red, and purple. The tree was divided in half, with amber leaking from inside, forming a pool of amber crystals at its roots.

At the bottom of the tree, a dragon lay, its scales rising and falling to the rhythm of its breath. Its scales were white, with a hint of strawberry blonde.

“This is the furthest I shall take you. To reach Hieron Shrine, you must defeat the dragon.” With that, Himeka collected our lanterns and waited at the entrance.

“You aren’t leaving?” I was still peeking at her butterfly eye patch in curiosity.

“Due to a massive amount of visitors not being able to return from this stage, we’ve assigned shrine maidens to monitor the situation,” Himeka replied flatly.

Himari picked up her spear. “Meilin, let’s go fight the dragon!”

Himeka took out a giant bell and rang it three times. The dragon’s eyes fluttered open in response. With a roar, it spread its wings open and lunged for me.

“Oblierate!” I aimed for the dragon’s mouth, which reeked of ash, but it dodged and flew past me.

With a mighty breath, it blew a mouthful of fire at a whimpering Himari.

Haruki intercepts, by casting rainfall, a cloud that rains and follows the opponent. Jianyun came from behind and stabbed deep into the dragon’s spine.

It screeched in anger, throwing Jianyun off its back. But he had already created an opening. I cast Obliteration once more, hitting the dragon's tail.

The dragon bit on Jianyun, who was sent flying back by the impact, colliding with a crash into the wall.

“Haruki, Himari, cover for me.” I rushed to tend to Jianyun’s wounds, but the dragon was in my way.

“Got it!” Haruki used a spell to lunge Himari forward, who stabbed the dragon’s eye with her spear.

I dropped to my knees and quickly cast a healing spell on Jianyun. The dragon's fire breath had blistered the cave walls. “Is your head okay? Dizzy? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three.”

“Good, are you ready to go?” Without waiting for an answer, I returned to battle, casting another spell on the dragon. It had not yet gotten rid of Himari, who was perched on top of its head.

“Meilin, you shouldn’t fire spells before aiming.” Haruki panted, running around on two legs. It must've been draining. “Even the greatest mages have limits.”

I need an opening. Himari was busy stabbing at the dragon’s head, while Jianyun was at its tail. “Haruki, can you hold it still?”

“Only for a few seconds.”

“That’s okay.” I ran ahead as Haruki landed his spell on the dragon. It screamed and fell. “Death Blow.” I bellowed, casting the spell right at the dragon’s chest.

It hit the dragon right at its heart—a fatal strike.

Yes! We did it! I celebrated silently.

But then, the dragon stirred. It rose once again, trembling with fury. For some reason, it seemed even more dangerous than before. Even with both eyes gone, it still spotted me. The dragon's mouth curled up eerily.

It locked its bloody eyes with mine.

What?

How is it still alive...?