A Space Oddity

by J. J. Pavlov

  "Is it really so special?" Accommodating me, she extends a hand toward mine. "I think you are far more special, child of the stars."

  "Chaos." I say while grasping her proffered hand softly. It feels warm and is the sensation of a living being whose past I now know. "My name is Chaos."

  I shake her hand lightly as if sealing a contract with the official revelation of my name. There are more things I want to know from her, such as how she ended up keeping a dragon in her exile and why the underground labyrinth was filled with mechanical traps. Or how she met Adano and turned him into a follower of hers who provided her with new challengers.

  But for now, we need to find a way back. She nods in silent understanding.

  Chapter 86 - Here Be Dragons

  They make it safely across the sea and reach Enorath on the evening of the second day. Even though Asoko was the one who had to carry seven people on her back, those not used to travel by air are the ones feeling exhausted instead. Since she flew at a relatively low altitude, nobody had to freeze at least.

  Once they land in a forest beyond the coast of the Fatas Triarchy, they make camp, and everybody once again splits their roles before mealtime. This time, Asoko goes hunting with Tamariki instead. Dregana climbs up onto a tree and stays on the lookout for dragons or Fatas in the sky. Lenoly remains to ready the camp, while Hestia and Ninlil go to fetch water from the nearby stream and help her set up. Daica forces herself up despite her exhaustion to once again go foraging for herbs and mushrooms with Senka.

  But after all the cooperation, awkward silence lays itself over the group once they come together for dinner. Then they go to sleep without exchanging many words, most likely owing to their tiredness after clinging to Asoko's back all day long.

  Although Tamariki and Ninlil have no reason to attack Asoko in her sleep at this point, she still remains awake the same way her other half has been doing ever since they met. Once she sets her mind to it, it turns out to be surprisingly easy - just another perk of being a Crawling Chaos. Though she wonders whether or not that will have adverse effects on her psyche.

  Since they're a distance away from the Dragon Mountains and the forest is in the middle of nowhere, the likelihood of being discovered by either dragons or Fatas is relatively low. Ultimately, Asoko is doing it for her peace of mind rather than out of any real urgency.

  "Can't sleep?" Lenoly, who screamed for a good while right after takeoff, whispers to the Crawling Chaos leaning against the tree next to her.

  "No, I'm fine. What about you?" Turning her head to face the bakari, Asoko gives her a wry smile. The embers of the fire barely illuminate her face, so she isn't sure whether her expression can be seen. "What's keeping you up?"

  "Thinking about everything that happened." Lenoly replies in a glum voice. Her grandfather died two winters ago, and with him, the last member of her family. In other words, the academy had been her home ever since, and there had been no clear vision of her future. But she risked even the little security she had to help Chloe because she's that dear of a friend to her.

  Vitalis, on the other hand, had a family living in a cottage two days from Kongenssoevn. She was the oldest of three children, and her parents are still alive. When she was willing to all that up for Chloe, her love must have been real rather than motivated by that one time she was swallowed whole.

  "It's my fault." Asoko suddenly admits, upon which Lenoly stares in her general direction in the darkness, trying to make out her silhouette. "If not for me somehow ending up in the transportation room, Chloe wouldn't have had any reason to come to the academy."

  In truth, Mithra is the most likely culprit for her faulty teleportation. Subsequently, Senka got herself caught by Ninlil, which in turn forced Chloe to infiltrate the academy. There, Daica's blunder resulted in a battle where a stealthy rescue attempt would have sufficed. Several failures and unforeseeable circumstances led to the outcome where Vitalis was killed, including the slime girl's decision to attack the professors.

  Nobody in particular was to blame, but Asoko is indeed the precursor for the chain of events that caused them to end up here in the wilderness of the Fatas Triarchy.

  "If not for you, we would have been executed the next morning." But Lenoly could never blame her. All of them were going to be hung for treason, as Chloe, Daica, and Hestia attacked guards of the royal citadel. And the little bakari became an accomplice when she tried to help them.

  Asoko suppresses the urge to restate her earlier self-accusation. She has never been the type to get depressed over mistakes, and this time wasn't even one of her own making. It's counterproductive to dwell on the past as one can't change it; when one can't fix what's broken, continually thinking about it will only bring insanity.

  "What will you do when we reach Arkaim?" Instead, she changes the topic to take Lenoly's mind off her dark thoughts.

  "I don't know. My great-grandparents fled the Dominion when Queen Pelomyx took the throne." She replies in a sheepish tone. Her opposite is the daughter of that queen, so she just admitted that her great-grandparents were deserters. "It should be fine after all this time, right?"

  "Why did they run away?" Her interest piqued, Asoko pursues the matter.

  "They didn't want their children to grow up into tools of war. They thought the new queen would mobilize every able person to seek revenge for King Aldeath." Lenoly explains while looking up through the canopy of trees. The stars are clearly visible in the night sky, some twinkling as if beckoning her toward them. "Back then, there were demons and even some humans who smuggled demons over to the Kingdom of Lares for a large fee."

  Her grandparents had converted all their belongings to gold and silver and used up every last piece of it to make the arduous journey across the ocean. The Fatas Triarchy's sea is known to be unguarded, as the winged beings don't usually care about worldly matters, and the Empire of Terminus guarantees their independence.

  Once they snuck past the sea blockade of the Alliance navy between the Cape of Nervis and Pontis Daemonis, they faced the dangers of unsteady weather and possibly encountering sea dragons in the northern parts of the Solus Ocean.

  The whole journey took them six moons. Many demons that came with them died in the ship's hold from malnutrition or sickness. But when they reached the hidden smuggler port in Blereath, they were glad to have risked their lives. The Kingdom of Lares was - and still is - far from the wars between humans and demons. Sparsely populated with plenty of arable lands - provided one had the will to work hard - proved to be the haven they had heard rumors about even back in the Dominion. Here, they could start again.

  "We bakari look human enough that we could blend in with them." Lenoly explains while pointing at the top of her head. One of the two horns is broken now, but using a large witch hat, she could hide it without arousing suspicion all this time. "Though the males often had to file their horns down since theirs grow longer than those of females."

  She smiles wryly when her fingers reach the broken stump of her left horn. It doesn't seem to hurt now, but it must have when it happened.

  It must have been a hard life, but they were at least free from war. The hatred toward demons isn't as intense in the kingdom as it is in the empire, so they only had to be good neighbors to avoid persecution even if they were discovered. That was easier in small villages than in large cities, so it's a wonder that Lenoly somehow ended up at the Royal Academy.

  "Oh, that. Professor Vangir discovered me in the woods one day while I was playing with fire." When Asoko puts that question into words, the little bakari stifles a chuckle at the memory and explains. "He never noticed that I was a demon until Grand Master Eklundstrom pointed it out. You should have seen his face."

  Professor Aldebrand Vangir, the demon-hating fire professor who nearly killed my other half when he exploded from inside her. It's indeed ironic that he was the one to discover a demon and introduce her to the academy.

  Lenoly falls silent after her little story, and her smile f
ades away as she stares up into the night sky once more. Then she turns her head away as if she knows that Asoko can see in the dark, and covers her mouth with a hand. Her quivering shoulders suggest that she's suppressing sobs; one thing led to another, and she was reminded of all the awful things that happened.

  Getting up from her position at the tree, the Crawling Chaos moves over to Lenoly, who jumps up in surprise. But before she can turn around, Asoko embraces her from behind, causing the little bakari to gasp in shock. Then she squirms to turn in her hug and look into her face.

  "Miss Asoko-" She begins but is interrupted by a kiss to her forehead.

  "Just Asoko is fine." The Crawling Chaos whispers a moment later. Even though it's too dark to see each other, Lenoly doesn't doubt that she just gave her a warm smile. She feels compelled to bury her face in the chest before her to savor the embrace. Then the emotions overwhelm her once more, and she lets her tears flow unhindered, her cries muffled in Asoko's cleavage.

  Stroking her head, the Crawling Chaos keeps her company until she falls asleep. Even then, she keeps her arms around the little bakari throughout the night, as if to tell her that she's safe.

  Aside from Daica and Tamariki, who are sleeping soundly for very different reasons, everybody else overheard their conversation. Each one of them is thinking their part as they gaze up into the star-studded sky above.

  Ninlil, in particular, can't fall asleep when she mulls over everything leading up to this moment. She used to pride herself in being as steady as a rock, there to help and protect the students under her care. In her tenure at the academy, she had to knock out many students that acted up and dueled each other using magic. But never had she witnessed professors and students killing each other. Her heart hadn't been prepared for that.

  As everybody else drifts into sleep in the silence, the catgirl lies awake with her thoughts, and nobody to comfort her.

  The next morning, the group of eight sets off as soon as the sun rises. Once again, everybody gets on Asoko's back, as they prepare for the flight over the Dragon Mountains. According to Senka's calculations on the map, it's a distance of almost four thousand kilometers to the other side of the Enorath continent.

  Then would come the hardest part of their journey yet - if one could be so optimistic and hope that they won't encounter any dragons on their way across their mountain range. Crossing the Solus Ocean that lies between Enorath and Ceogath, only broken up by Yagrath. Considering the Dark Continent is a forbidden place, they would have to fly nonstop or touch down on the high sea.

  In other words, once they made it through the Dragon Mountains, they would have to gather enough food to last them for more than ten days. The Solus Ocean is about twice as wide as Enorath, and flying in a straight line may not be possible even with the great navigational tool that is a magic map.

  But for the time being, talk about crossing the ocean is moot if they're attacked by dragons while traveling across their habitat. While Hestia and Dregana could help, it would be dangerous for the others riding on Asoko's back. Though in such an emergency situation, she wouldn't hesitate to swallow them to keep them safe. Ninlil warned against doing that, but complications be damned.

  The Dragon Mountains has a similar average height as the Kongensgrad, the mountain range separating the Isdalen plains from the Slaettermark in the Kingdom of Lares. Around half a year ago, Chaos tried to traverse the latter with Kamii and Daica, but the winter weather was too dangerous, so they had to go through the tunnels underneath.

  While many peaks are snowcapped year-round, the continental climate of Enorath coupled with the fact that it's summer makes the flight a relaxing one. Barely any clouds dot the sky, and the temperature is quite mild at the altitude where Asoko flies.

  But that soon changes when she has to ascend higher into the sky to avoid the mountains. Not wasting time to descend into the valleys again, she maintains an altitude that Senka guesses is over two thousand meters high. When translated for the others, they realize that they're about a league in the air.

  "W-what would happen i-if one of us fell?" The one stuttering isn't Daica, but Lenoly, who grabs onto Asoko's tentacle seatbelt tightly. Her speech is impaired by freezing winds and fear of height alike.

  "Head goes splat." Senka replies while using her hands to visualize what that would look like. Ninlil joins Lenoly in staring at the doll girl with a pale face, her whole body stiff from holding on for dear life as well. Her usually aloof and dignified image is cracking.

  Even though Tamariki can't fly, she's not in the least afraid of falling. Considering she could jump from the flying Dregana's back without sustaining any injuries, it's safe to say that she's physically strong enough to withstand a drop from any height.

  The doll girl's lack of fear stems from the fact that she seems to be able to mend broken bones and twisted limbs within seconds. And she's light enough that her terminal velocity may even be too low to cause any grievous injuries on impact.

  Hestia and Dregana can both fly, so they aren't afraid even if somebody were to say that their ride would disappear in a moment. But Daica unexpectedly appears to be free of worry as well. She showed her fair share of terror during the previous flight, so either she got used to it or has given up on everything. In the latter case, all one feels is serenity.

  As the sky darkens, Asoko decelerates to a slow cruise, allowing those riding on her back to use magic to make a fire and cook dinner. Lunch consisted of leftovers, but there isn't enough for another meal. Since dragon scales are not only resistant to magic but also incredibly tough, she doesn't even feel the flame.

  Soon after eating, they fall asleep one by one. Even Lenoly and Ninlil seem to have gotten over their fear, or they're simply too exhausted to stay awake. Eventually, only Dregana appears to be looking out into the nightscape with distant eyes.

  While they were making preparations to leave after breakfast that morning, Hestia told Asoko about the dragonkin's past here in the Dragon Mountains. She may be thinking about her mother, who so cruelly abandoned her when she was still an infant.

  But this isn't a topic where the Crawling Chaos can stick her nose into. Even though her own mother also abandoned her, it was purely on accident, and she might welcome her with open arms. Therefore, she wouldn't even know where to start.

  Eventually, the dragonkin falls asleep, leaving Asoko to her lonesome self as she flies through the darkness of the night. All she has to do is orientate herself by the movement of the moon across the sky, so she doesn't even need any input from Senka. The doll girl said that she rarely sleeps, but whenever she has an opportunity to do so, she goes limp like a puppet with its strings cut. 'To save energy' according to her explanation.

  Remaining vigilant, she uses her night vision to keep her eyes on the surroundings. A dragon should be big enough that she won't miss it, but it's best not to let one's guard down in hostile territory. After all, the lives of everybody riding on her back depend on her to keep them safe.

  That's when she spots the black dragon against the snow in front of a mountain cave. Judging by the piercing red eyes staring right into hers, it's clear that she has been noticed by the opposite side as well. For the time being, it's not moving and only watching.

  Kiamedras is quite a bit bigger than Dregana, but from this far away, it's hard to tell how big this one is. Considering it doesn't take off, it must either be unsure of its chances for victory or simply not care about another dragon passing through its territory.

  Still, Asoko's tension runs high as she gets closer and closer to the black dragon's lair, which lies left to her flight path. Maybe she'll be only a few hundred meters away from it when she passes it by. Even now, the black dragon only stares, unmoving and without even blinking its eyes.

  Finally, she flies past it and peeks back to see that it has turned its head to look at her. Maybe it's still appraising the situation to see whether or not attacking her is worth it. From that angle, it shouldn't have been able to see t
he group riding on her back, though. That would most likely have given it a reason to attack, as it doubtlessly makes Asoko seem like a tamed and weak-willed dragon.

  In the end, the encounter passes without anything happening. Just to be sure, she continues to glance back from time to time even after the black dragon has disappeared behind another mountain. Only when she puts a considerable distance between herself and its lair does Asoko allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief. If a battle had broken out, things would have turned ugly.

  "That was lucky." Senka comments the next morning after everybody has woken up and been informed of the nightly run-in with a dragon. The others murmur words of relief as they partake in breakfast on Asoko's back while she continues to fly without rest.

  "Why did it only watch?" Lenoly wonders and glances at Dregana, who wears a distant look in her eyes as she gazes back the way they came from. She won't be getting an answer from her.

  "Maybe it knew Kiamedras." Hestia offers this explanation. "As an elder dragon, he was surely well known among the other dragons."

  According to research from the Empire of Terminus, conducted by daredevil mages and scholars from the magic academy of Vertex Mundia, not a single dragon has died in turf battles for several centuries, if not millennia. The Dragon Mountains were separated into territories held by dragons older than the empire itself. Due to an incredibly low birth rate, there had been very few fluctuations over the ages.

  In other words, some may have met Kiamedras before he ended up with Aurelia in her labyrinth, or at least heard of his unique golden appearance. After all, true dragons are either black, red, or anything between those two colors. Sea dragons are anywhere from blue to white, but look quite different from their flying cousins.