Chapter 18 - Show me your story

I opened my eyes to the cavern. The endless fall had ended, and I was on my knees, paralyzed. I had forgotten I was wrapped up in Doran’s attack. The ground was scorched by my body was unharmed.

I spotted Ari and Gideon ahead of me, they also were wrapped up in the attack.

“Hehehe.” That sadistic chuckle was sensual in my ear, trying to give rise as Discordia looked down on me.

What? “I hope you’re still sane after that adventure, my little puppy.”

“Yeah... Yeah, I’m feeling better now...”

Discordia’s eyes squinted, her cracked smile turned to disgust.

“Why do you look so... At peace. It’s repulsive.”

Huh?

My face felt laxed. My mind and body felt a weight lifted. I didn’t feel bored, nor excitement. I was just here.

“I guess human nature is unpredictable after all.”

Discordia’s eyes twitched, I felt a strong kick to my side, knocking me to the ground.

“YOU HUMANS!!! YOU HARM ME!?!?” Doran was thrashing around, throwing his tail weakly into the others.

Ari and Gideon were shaken up from the blaze, stuck in their minds. Soup warrior was attending the bleeding out Conrad and Wilfred charged with another bottle in hand, protecting the wounded Audrey.

“You... You really find every possible way to ruin my fun.” Discordia kicked my stomach in. I grunted with pain. “Don’t act like you’re at peace! Don’t sit here and pretend you are content!”

“ACK!” She jabbed her pointy heal into my shoulder.

“You are my pet! You aren’t ready to be free from my leash.”

“Argh!” I groaned. Discordia pulled my head up by my hairs, forcing my attention up.

“You will watch as all these people die. Let’s see if you mind is truly at peace.”

The fight was destructive.

Doran thrashed in pain but showed no signs of going down. The tight space was dangerous as the rocks crumbled down from above, the warriors had to dodge Doran’s enormous feet.

His mighty jaws chomped down, grabbing ahold of Wilfred sword as he was then thrown aside.

“Audrey!” Wilfred yelled, trying to get the others attention to her.

“YOU SHALL SUFFER!!!” Rather than building his breath, Doran choose to use his teeth. Audrey stared in horror as his mouth descended, feeling her final moments.

Before Doran could reach, Audrey felt herself get thrown to the side, watching as her savior took her place.

“DAD!!!” She yelled.

Gideon now within the jaws of the beast, smiled, giving Audrey loving eyes. He was eaten, the teeth biting into his waist, ripping his body in half.

“GIDEON!!!” The warriors cried,

We all watched as Doran swallowed him, indulging in the flavor of blood.

“I SHALL CONSUME THE LOT OF YOU!!! I AM DORAN!! THE DRAGON OF THE KING!!!”

He roared, all our faces distorted into fear.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Discordia laughed as she witnessed my expression. “There! There it is! Hopelessness! Oh, the joy to see you make that face!”

I couldn’t feign my reaction. The situation was far behind what I had imagined, hopelessness brewed in my chest.

“AHAHAHA!” Discordia kept to her laughter, unable to break from the hysteria.

“Hey! You!” The awkward voice called out, garnering mine and Discordia’s attention.

“Ah... There he is. The fool.” Discordia looked down in pity as Lard made his appearance.

“L- Lard...” My voice was weak, both by the numbing of my body and the situation at hand.

“You... You used me... You tortured our Goddess... Why?” Lard was at a loss.

Discordia smirked, the tips of her lips reaching from ear to ear.

“You really want to know? You really, realllyyy want to know?”

Lard and I sat in silence, awaiting her answer.

Doran smashed the walls of the cavern around him, flinging people around. Audrey kept to her magic attacks, exploding on impact as they hit his massive body, he reacted with a dark blaze attack. Blue lightning bounced around the cave.

“It’s because I really hate reincarnation!” Discordia chuckled with the chaos unfolding behind us.

What?

I was confused.

“You and you humans get to try over and over again. Starting a new life each time. I don’t want to live that way!” She voice cracked, her emotions out of control scaring Lard. “I want to be me! I want to stay the person I am in this life and the next! I refuse to start from zero!”

My itch was finally scratched. Discordia in her venting of her true self was answered.

Me and her are the same. There was one thing, one little detail that separated us.

“You’re not bored of reincarnation. You’re afraid of losing this part of yourself.”

Discordia froze, both their eyes turned onto me.

“What?” She asked.

Doran’s blaze attack had finished, he had gone suddenly still, making the warriors wary.

“AAARRGHHH!!! MY INSIDES!!! THEY BURN!!!!”

All eyes were on Doran. He jumped up and down in pain, inelegantly trying to tear through his stomach, as if his stomach was on fire.

“Gideon... He never used his vial...” Conrad muttered, still fighting the immense pain of his missing limbs. The warriors let out their tears.

Discordia watched stunned, not knowing what to do.

“You see Discordia...” My words garnered her attention. She looked down with wide eyes. “You find human nature unpredictable... That’s no farther from the truth... Everyone either follows their story, or get lost in the past...”

“And what is your story?” She asked, her eyes cold and piercing.

“Mine? Right now, it’s forming an unexpected bond.”

“What bond?”

As Discordia asked her question, she felt the sudden death grip around her shoulders. Her vision being on me, was not somewhere dark, a pressure she has never felt.

“This is for the Goddess.” Lard stated, Discordia looked up as Lard teleported away.

“Oh... Most naughty.” She raised her hands up in embrace.

With a slam of Doran’s foot, Discordia was crushed under his foot. Blood splattered onto the ground.

“YOU DAMN! DAMN HUMANS!!! YOU’RE BRUTALITY HAS NO END!!!” With his cries, Doran rushed to the tunnel, stomping his powerful feet as he made his escape.

“AFTER HIM!!!” Wilfred charged, urging his fellow warriors.

“RAHHH!!!” They all screamed, not letting up the pursuit.

Lard stared dumbfounded as they all ran past, taking after the dragon.

“Lard!” I called onto him as I laid on the ground.

“Toshiro! Are you okay?” He asked concerned by my lack of movement.

“She paralyzed me is all. But I need your help.”

“Anything.” He responded.

“ARRGGGHHHH!!!” Doran’s cry echoed, the air vibrating to the deep tones. “My body!”

He bumped into the wall, crumbling the loose rocks.

“My eye!” He slammed his foot, imprinting into the ground.

“All your tricks! I will have this world burn for your insolence!”

The warriors chased from behind barely able to keep up.

“We can’t let him take the Goddess! There’s no telling if we can catch up with his flying at night!” Audrey instructed.

“We need a plan! He is hurt, but his power is still too much!” Wilfred stated.

“With only the three of us what could we hope to do!”

“Don’t count me out yet sis!” Their eyes averted to the man following behind, his arm exposed and veins apparent.

“You’re wounded Ira! Stand down!” Audrey demanded as they ran.

“Not till the fight is won! We still have our Goddess, remember?” He held up his vial.

“That’s our last one.” Wilfred stated.

Audrey bit her lip. “Fine! But we have to make it count! Only use it if we can get to his brain or heart! Understood!?”

“Yes!” Everyone was in agreement, ready for their finally battle.

The moonlight shined at the entrance. Doran was already outside.

“Ground your resolve men! We live!”

“OR DIE!!!” They all shouted, roaring at the top of their lungs.

“RAAHHHHHH!!!”

Sprinting out of the cave, the spotted Doran, he had pushed through the tree line.

“My tummy really hurts.”

“Eh?”

The group stopped dead in their tracks. The mighty voice had gone soft. His thrashing wasn’t present despite the smoke emanating off his wounds.

“What... What is going on?” Audrey was flabbergasted.

“Hi guys.”

With the sudden greeting, all of them turned their attention to Toshiro’s wave as Layla and Lard sat around him.

“Huh... What happened to Doran...?” Audrey was unable to process the moment. The others just stared.

“Oh. We granted him the same blessing as we have you. The gift of relaxation.” I smiled.

“Huh?” All of the warriors went silent.

“I really need a nap.” Doran stated, flopping over onto his side like a dog.

The wind from his fall was strong, but the absurdity of the scene had everyone grounded and disappointed.

“Why do you guys look so sad? We won.” Layla asked concerned. not understanding their expressions.

I patted Audrey’s shoulders in kinship.

I too know the feeling. Our eyes met in a compassionate gaze. We had both lost our prey to a woman who works in the customer service industry. Layla was confused, almost breaking her concentration from Doran.

Everyone gathered around his exposed belly, the mood was low.

“I... I feel real dirty doing this...” Ira stated.

“Do you want to set him free from Layla’s ability for a proper fight?” Ari asked, he contemplated as he looked over to the confused archer.

“You did a good job Layla. We wouldn’t have stopped Doran without your help.” Audrey bowed.

The others watched as Ira drove his blade coated in the Goddess’s blood into Doran’s chest.

“Ohh... My heart feels an itch.” Doran’s final words wheezed as his head fell. The ground shook, the mighty dragon was dead, and not a single soul here was satisfied.

“Thank you, Toshiro.” Audrey turned to me as I stood idly by, I felt bad giving them the same service that was given to me.

“No need... I am sorry for your loss.” I bowed back.

Audrey let out a smile. The first emotion I ever read in her eyes was pride.

“Gideon... No, my father chose his final moments.” She turned, facing the mighty belly of the fallen beast. She glided her hands across the bumpy surface, course and rough. “Once again, I had lost a parent to Doran. But today... Today I feel victorious...”

“A- Again...” I questioned her words.

Before I could get an answer, I felt my arm lifted high.

“WE HAVE WON! ALL TO THE THANKS OF OUR LORD! TOSHIRO!!!” Lard expressed genuine emotion as he cheered.

“WE DID IT!!!” Everyone cheered, overlooking the earlier disappointment.

Excitement filled the air. I even let myself get swept up, jumping as we made fools of ourselves.

I’m having so much fun! Despite what I had just been through, the experiences and torment of others, one remotion lingered.

I am happy to be in this world. It was all thanks to the Goddess.

“Eh.”

The crowd shifted to confusion by my realization.

“What is it, Toshiro?” Layla asked concern.

“The Goddess was still on his back...”

The excitement dissipated. We all stared to the beast, fallen over.

“FUCK! WE NEED TO MAKE SURE SHE’S ALRIGHT!!!” Lard paniced as we all came to realization.

“T- Tosh...”

A weak voice got our attention, a fragile and withered body limped, using the dragon's body for support.

“ELVIRE!!!” I yelled. I rushed to her side, catching her as she fell.

I could feel her body, her skin wrapped around her bones. Her veins a weaker blue but her glow was present.

“Lard! Go get Conrad’s and the soup warrior’s vials! They should still have them!”

“Soup warrior? Oh! Okay!” He realized my plan before teleporting away.

Everyone gathered around in concern, seeing the Goddess’s state.

“Tosh...” Her hand was a skeleton. I could feel each bone as she touched my face.

“It's alright now Goddess. I got you, and we’re going to help you right away-”

A tear rolled down her withered face, catching me by surprise. “You... You remembered my name...”

I could feel a sense of passion as she rubbed my cheek.

“Your... Name...” I now realized what I had said this time. I had called it out.

She nodded. Her deep blue eyes reflected a passionate light.

“Say my name... Once more...”

“El... Elvire...” I muttered, not knowing where I have heard it before.

I felt a sudden appearance from behind.

“Here!” Lard teleported back, holding two vials.

“Thank you!” I gracefully took them. “I need you to swallow now Goddess.”

She looked to me in trust. She slowly nodded her head, opening her mouth just enough. Uncorking the vials, I poured them empty, letting every last drop into her mouth.

She sat for a moment, struggling with her body.

“I need you to swallow Goddess. Can you do that?” I asked nervously.

She nodded once more. With the slow closing of her mouth, she gulped. Her eyes closed, letting her body take the blood, we awaited in anticipation.

She was still. Unmoving as we watched.

“G- Goddess...?” My heart stopped.

“Phweh.” She let out a satisfying belch.

Sighs of relief went all around.

I felt such a moment of peace, our fight hadn’t been for naught.

As the Goddess rested in my arms, I watched her, her eyes stared blanky into the night sky as if she too was at ease.

At ease?

I looked over to Layla, looking for answers but was met with her sleeping against the dragon's leg.

I guess I should give her this moment, I guess the moment was stressful.

A memory recalled, one only minutes ago.

“Toshiro! Are you okay?” Lard asked concerned by my lack of movement.

“She paralyzed me is all. But I need your help.”

“Anything.” He responded.

“Take me above! We need Layla’s power to win this fight!”

“I don’t think that’ll be possible.” Lard shook his head.

“What. Why not?” I asked, concerned for her wellbeing.

His eyes told me there was something wrong. “Let me show you.”

He softly gripped my shoulders. The scene changed from a damp cave to the open air.

I could see the caves entrance. We were in the perfect spot to stop Doran.

“Okay, what’s wrong-”

As I asked, I could hear weeping to my side.

My body was still paralyzed, but I was able to move my neck to get a view. “Layla?”

Layla shuddered. She had herself in a ball, crossing her arms over her legs as she cried. She was using the rock piles as a wall, leaning against them as she sat in despair.

“I- I’m sorry Toshiro... I’m not of any use to you...” She wiped her tears, apologizing through them.

I felt like I was experiencing this moment for a second time, I got Déjà vu.

I sighed, using my weaken limps to slowly crawl over like a worm, Lard felt awkward by the sight.

With enough strength I could muster, I was now leaning against the rocks, joining Layla in the moment.

“You have been a great help so far. You can do it once more-”

Layla shook her head, not giving me the moment to string my words. I just watched as she sat in silence, her eyes poking over her arms, soaking her cloths with tears.

I looked over to Lard. He also was at a loss for words. I turned my attention to the sky, listening to her weaken spirit.

Doran’s footsteps echoed, his stomping could be heard from out here.

“I lost a child...”

“Huh?” Layla was taken aback, the same as Lard from my sudden confession.

“I never realized that my actions affected others the same as they affected me... I never had compassion for human nature...”

Layla stared at me, bewildered by my words.

“But you... You trusted me... I could’ve been lying or leading you down a path you weren't met for. And you did it all with a smile...” Her eyes wandered, looking to the cave as the sounds grew louder.

“When the mother of my child looked to me, I expected anger... I expected her to curse me for bringing her to that point. Uncaring for her own actions...” The stars sparkled in the sky, my feeling of peace washed over me. “Life is complicated and scary. We’re in a fight for lives. In a realm far from the ones we were born in, with powers beyond our imaginations...”

Layla felt my gaze, turning to meet them without a second thought. Her eyes filled with passion, staring at my genuine smile.

“I want you to make your story your own. Show me who you want to be.”

Lard and Layla were speechless, not knowing how to respond.

FWOOSSHHHH

The sound of a strong wind picked up, the crumbling of the caves entrance resonated in our bodies.

“RAAHHHHHH!!!!” Doran roared into the night sky, breaking the tree line as he escaped.

Layla looked to the raging beast, then back onto me. I could see her eyes contemplate.

Doran shook his head with pain, turning his head to our direction.

“You.” His calling out was brimming with anger. The deep tone bristled the trees. Our bodies vibrated with the low frequency. Layla froze.

“You had caused me this pain... You caused the loss of my eye...”

His footsteps stomped the earth. His accusations carried immense pressure.

Layla went still, her eyes conflicted, but with one glance, our eyes met once more. Interlocked and deep, she stood silently, Doran let out a huff of breath, creating a breeze around us.

Layla felt relaxed, confidence brimmed as we stared into each other's souls.

With a clench of her fist, she turned and faced the beast. His inhale ripped trees from their roots.

“Ack.” He stuttered. Stopping his attack as the blaze emanated from his throat.

“My tummy really hurts.” He voiced.

“Eh?” The warriors have finally arrived from below, standing flabbergasted by the sight.

“Hi guys.” I greeted with a wave.

The events today through me through a loop. I watched contently while Layla slept on the very beast she helped take down. The group was celebrating.

With the battle finally over, our next mission had begun.