Chapter 14: A New Relationship

Darkness.

Floating in a black space, Eldrin was patiently looking at his life force fleeing from his body, bit by bit.

He was content with his life.

Because of a twist of fate he had lost his home, and another one had given him the most beautiful companion one could imagine; her smiling face was still imprinted in his heart as if he had only lost her a day ago.

He knew he was supposed to be dying, but something felt off about this, the light disrupted the natural cycle of life, holding his soul in place.

Eldrin had been perfectly satisfied with succumbing here and passing the torch to a younger generations member, Little Flame, but now he strongly wished to protect her a little longer. The form change she had gone through was shocking, but it was still the Little Flame that loved to get patted on the head, and wanted to spend all its time lying in front of the fire while being told a story.

Unwilling to let things end like this, he struggled to live, yet nothing could be done about the ever-present darkness of death around him, the mana he was left with was not even enough to cast a rank 1 healing spell on himself.

Unsure on how long he had hovered in this twilight, Eldrin started to calm down somewhat. If the other party was including a necromancer or owned a formation to trap souls, he would have been captured by now, therefore the light shouldnt be something bad.

To his surprise the burning pain from his severe injuries did not reappear, only the refreshing sensation of the gentle light that sprung up at his waist and inside of him.

Propping himself up from the ground, Eldrin saw the aftermath of the battle he had fought, the remains of the hellhound not far from him. Little was left of the monster after Little Flame had ripped through its bones and flesh, separating the top half of its carcass from the hind legs, as a lot of the innards were sprawled around, shredded into a gory spectacle.

Behind this peculiar scene were the charred remains of the young human and his attendants, black broken bones and some parts of equipment strong enough to withstand Little Flames [Dragon Breath].

Thinking of the transformed dragons triggered a short burst of panic in his brain, he frantically looked around to grasp a trace of her now humanoid form. He didnt have to search long.

Next to her floated the second throne, made of pristine white feathers, and on which another beautiful being was seated. In her lap, garbed in a gown of white light resembling a sheer mist, rested a sleeping Little Flame, covered partly by the bright green hair of her pillow. That womans expression was that of a tender sister, full of love and concern as she looked at the small creature on her legs, yet she didnt seem to consider Eldrin at all, only watching over the napping girl in her embrace while lightly petting her head.

Eldrin had met a legend rank elf before, and though he couldnt grasp the extent of that mans power, he was still able to perceive his massive amount of mana.

Unsure on what these two graceful ladies could want from him, he decided to speak up first.

Excuse me, did you save Little Flame and me?

The gaze of the green haired woman turned cold as she lowered her head to look at him.

Flinching at the sound of that icy voice, he wondered if he had insulted her.

The pressure emanating from these aloof words alone forced him to kneel and ruffle the remains of his robes to look more presentable. Standing up to her was not an option.

The beginning of her answer contained an important clue for Eldrin to deduce her identity, she called him a mortal, implying that she herself wasnt one.

As the ones in front of him could smash Eldrin and take his life without even the need for a single hand swipe, he didnt dare to be arrogant and had hastily bowed down.

The voice of the purple haired female sent shivers down his spine, and an image of himself being impaled on a stake flashed through his inner eye, a thought promising him death if he didnt behave. The old elf wasnt worthy enough to know their names.

Ill indulge you by answering the question you asked.

It was indeed my sister and me who healed you as well as this little one.

As for the price of saving your life I think I will take that dragon here as compensation, she will surely make a great pet.

The thought of Little Flame getting sacrificed as repayment for his treatment shocked Eldrin.

We havent formed any type of contract, and she has siblings in this forest waiting for her.

The lady with the bright green hair continued to glare distantly at him.

This lowly one would need to precise that he had not expressed himself correctly, she has important family she doesnt want to part with. I acknowledge your superior existence as such, I would never scheme that kind of thing in an attempt to trap you. I simply enjoyed her company as a beast, before her transformation, and the only thing I can do to repay her is to give you the remainder of my life, though I recognize that she is of more importance to you than I am.

After this speech, Eldrin bowed down again to make sure not to worsen the impression they had of him, waiting for their decision.

He knew that he was acting unreasonably, but the elf still hoped that two individuals like these two immortals did not have a need for that particular dragon familiar.

When one of them stood up, Eldrin was ready to lie down his life for Little Flame, she was only a child after all, and his plan had been to die in this hunting grounds from the beginning, he would only go slightly faster, and it would be worth it, as it was to save someone.

Contrary to his expectations, no pain or suffering followed, but a hand landed on his shoulder.

The palm on his shoulder was infusing strength and warmth into his being, mending his exhausted muscles and bones.

Very good, that determination of yours seems genuine.

Your fate is to protect her for the rest of your life, and you can never leave her, as Little Flame didnt leave you behind when she could.

This judgement is thereby made by the goddess of life Gabriel, and her sister, the goddess of death Bael, and meant to put the life you owe the dragon known as Little Flame to good use. Does the elf Eldrin have any complaints to voice?

Kneeling hurriedly, a huge shock was plastered on Eldrins face.

I will use the rest of my pitiful life to protect Little Flame.

Treating him like an equal would be laughable, the cold attitude they were adopting towards him therefore didnt bother him at all, and on the contrary he was extremely honored to have personally spoken with a god, how many people could claim to have done the same?

If their only condition was that he couldnt leave her side, then Eldrin would have no trouble implementing this judgment, and would gladly indulge into allowing the little girl to stay at the mansion for as long as she would want to.

Rather, the whole ordeal was way too favourable for him, they had taken his intentions into consideration even though they had saved him, but he couldnt argue yet again in front of them or question their orders.

If you understand, then take her from my arms and make sure she will feel cared for.

When we will leave, the owners of these two bodies will return to consciousness. Whether you take them in too, or relinquish them to die doesnt matter to us.

With a wave of her hand and a slight frown, the bright green-haired woman sent him away, signalling that she had reached the end of the discussion, and of her patience too.

Keeping his face straight, he carefully held the little girl within his arms and realized that her scales were rather soft compared to what they used to be, and also that from the state of her eyelid, her eye was completely restored.

The old elf marched back towards the cottage, never looking back once. When he passed the open door, he threw a last glance towards the direction where Little Flame had fought against an enemy that she had had no hope of defeating to save her friends life, but the two charming figures who had been there a while ago were already gone.

After climbing up the stairs, he carefully laid down the slumbering girl on one of the armchairs and checked the room to the left of his bedroom, where the maids had been sleeping for a long time.

Walking closer to them, the elf picked up both feathers and observed the two women. Unlike their previous magnificent appearance, they didnt have an otherworldly feeling of beauty around them, although they could still be described as cute; and their hair had returned to their original blonde shade.

Trying to leave as quietly as possible for someone with old creaking bones, Eldrin returned to the living room.

The dreaming face of the small Little Flame drew his attention. Her new form would have reminded him of an elven girl her slanted ears and tanned skin if it werent for the scales lining various parts of her body.

Eldrin couldnt help but wonder what price she had paid to save his life, since she didnt have a single scratch on her skin, and her destroyed eye seemed to have recovered as well; the sleeping Little Flame seemed very serene.

Pondering about the days events, the old elf couldnt quite bring himself to associate the affectious dragon with the young girl cuddling in a chair.

Picking up the delicate body, he slowly walked to his room, his age taxing every step, and placed her under one of the blankets in the large bed.

With a sigh he put the watch on the nightstand and decided to worry about tomorrows matters tomorrow.

In another place surrounded by lush forest, Gabriel opened her eyes.

Even with their cultivation base, the two of them couldnt cross the distance to their goal fast enough to have a chance to see the disturbances source, but luckily there had been two suitable bodies devoid of consciousness in the vicinity, so she had lent her sister her perception.

Bael in turn had transferred their minds after being able to get a grasp of the two empty vessels, she had always been more adept at curses and mind magic, while Gabriel was excelling at healing and searching spells.

With her soul back in her own body, she turned towards the other half of the bed that was in the single room of a simple wooden cottage, as they didnt need any more.

Why were you trying to hide them from the world and went as far as to strike this kind of obscure deal?

How can you be so sure? That old goat estimated we would have to pay attention in around a few hundred years, when the dragon from the stolen egg would supposedly enter its adult form and create some trouble. Its only been around ten years, so how could that have been the child in question?

Tell me already. Theres no way you would not recognize that kind of transformation. I just dont understand why shes already able to change form.

Her sister escaped her arms and fled outside of their house, entering a majestic garden. All kinds of flowers and plants bloomed here regardless of the season they would usually grow, a feat accomplished by Gabriels magic.

And if it turns out that shes really the lost child the old thing talked about, well tell him where she is. But for now, lets just spectate and make sure that nobody disturbs them.

Unable to win against her mischievous sister, the emerald-haired goddess could only sigh and wait for the entertainment to come.