Dawn of a Dragon Mage, page 28
“Over here, you ugly waste of space!” Gwayne called out. He summoned the last bit of magic he had and created a time portal right in front of him. It was half the size of Aven, and with each second that he held the spell open, the weaker he got. He was sapping all his strength to keep this gate open.
“Fools. You do not have the strength to reflect my power a second time,” the Zirconium Dragon taunted. She roared and unleashed yet another breath attack.
Gwayne smiled despite being on the verge of losing consciousness. “Whoever said we’re going to reflect it?”
The Zirconium Dragon didn’t even hear his retort. She unleashed her blast at full force. It struck the temporal gate and, instead of shattering it, provided the energy output Gwayne needed to turn a simple space-time gate into a time-travel gate. It glowed bright white as soon as the breath attack struck it.
Inside that strange portal, brimming with power, Garret saw something. Divine knowledge. The path to victory. The portal’s light illuminated the Zirconium Dragon, and it became clear that she was missing something… part of her essence was no longer present.
Because Garret had it. Like he had the essences of the other primordial dragons.
Words from Selina pulled him out of his stark realization.
“Got you,” she said with a smug look. She created a lightning arc that pushed the temporal gate and caused it to blanket the Zirconium Dragon. As it enveloped the enemy, Gwayne altered his spell, and it sapped away the dragon god’s power.
“No… you insolent mortals! What are you doing?” the Zirconium Dragon cried, her voice panicked.
Garret looked up at her and closed his hands together as he started summoning three primordial powers that had been asleep deep within him. “You’re a god, there’s no denying that… but what is a metal dragon god against the power of the Alloy of Divinity?”
“What?” the Zirconium Dragon screeched. Even the dragon summoners of the Last Bastion couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They all descended and flew to assist the trio. Sir Yoseph and Beatrice both stood by Garret’s side.
“I don’t know what you’re up to, lad, but you better do it soon,” Sir Yoseph told Garret.
“I took your essence from the Arachnid… and I already have the essence of the Platinum and Titanium Dragons,” Garret said. “You know what this means.”
For the first time in what could have been thousands of years, the Zirconium Dragon looked afraid.
But it was too late. There was no going back.
In a sudden flash of light, Garret combined the powers of his iron dragon along with the unified essences of the three dragon gods. His skin was covered in the most beautiful metal of all: a crystalline metal that shone with all the colors of the rainbow. He reallocated the metal and created the most magnificent armor, helm, shield, and sword.
“Now,” he addressed the Zirconium Dragon. “Now, you die.”
Chapter 30
Garret slowly sauntered toward the Zirconium Dragon. The enemy roared in defiance and attempted to destroy him with a powerful tail swipe. Garret ignored it and simply parried the tail with his divine metal shield. When the black metal dragon attempted to charge closer and bite him, , Garret stood his ground and slammed a metal-covered fist into the dragon’s face, causing the monster’s lower jaw to cave in. Bone, flesh, and sinew splattered all over the rooftop from that one punch.
“It’s over,” Garret told the Zirconium Dragon. “You’re just too blind to see it.”
“Too blind to see what, exactly?” the dragon god demanded as she roared and took a fearful step back.
Garret brandished his divine sword and conjured more metal to form wings that sprouted from the back of his armor.
“You came to the past to ensure your survival,” he said. “You feared the prophecy that one day a dragon summoner would destroy you… yet your efforts of self-preservation were the exact actions that led to this very moment. You created your own doom. By avoiding your fate, you sealed it.”
The Zirconium Dragon looked down at him with disbelief written all over her ancient, reptilian face. “I am a god, you foolish mortal. I have existed since the beginning, back when the world was young and the first touch of evil was but a faint and distant dream. The world as it is mine by right of conquest. Fool… now it is time you die and—”
She never got to finish her sentence. The Zirconium Dragon’s jaw was suddenly sliced clean off her head with one quick slash of Garret’s divine metal sword.
“Did you see that?” Gwayne blurted in awe. “She was killed by a steak of light!”
“That streak of light… could it be…?” Selina said, equally awed.
It turned out that the flash they had seen was Garret flying toward their enemy, slashing her jaw off, and then flying back down to where he stood, all in the blink of an eye.
The dragon’s jaw had dropped to the rooftop, where blood started to fill the cracks.
Despite her missing jaw, the Zirconium Dragon stood her ground, preparing to unleash one final breath attack. Everyone braced themselves and built some sort of magical shield. Selina and Gwayne began charging their magic, but they didn’t have enough to even build a basic shield anymore.
Garret, however, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. When the dragon unleashed her breath attack, Garret walked right into it. The blast hit his metal-covered skin, but it didn’t affect him. He didn’t even flinch when he took the hit head-on. He just continued to saunter forward, his weapon in hand, his armor absorbing the dragon’s breath.
He walked closer, and the breath attack grew in intensity.
Still, he approached the dragon.
Without a word, he blinked toward her, pulled back his sword, and slashed, instantly decapitating the Zirconium Dragon.
Her head rolled off her giant neck, eyes wide open but ghastly white with the lingering stare of death. Dismissing his weapon, Garret gripped her neck as blood fountained from it and unleashed his own breath attack, right into the wound. The might of the unified dragon gods surged through the monstrous dragon’s corpse until it exploded in a shower of blood and bones.
Garret walked over to the dragon’s skull, planted his foot on top of it, and kicked it over the tower’s edge.
Garret dismissed the Alloy of Divinity, and his armor returned to its normal iron form. He let out a sigh of relief and fell to his knees. Immediately, Selina rushed to his side and caught him before he could fall.
“W-what happened?” she asked him.
“Oh, about the Alloy of Divinity?” Garret understood her confusion. “It’s gone… but not forever. I can still feel the essence of the divine dragons within me. I just don’t think I can use it whenever I feel like it.”
Selina nodded and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I’m sure you’ll be able to access it one day whenever the need arises.”
“Let’s hope the need never arises, eh?” Gwayne said as he hobbled his way over. “I’d rather relish in the boring, ordinary days instead of going through all this again.”
“You’re right,” Selina said with a light chuckle. “One thing all the ballads about champions and heroes tend to forget is that this kind of life is full of suffering, death, and disappointment. An ordinary life doesn’t seem so bad in comparison.”
Sir Yoseph approached. “I have to thank you three… You brought peace to a land that hasn’t seen happiness—genuine happiness—in centuries. We can start rebuilding again.”
“It’s what we came for,” Selina said. “I’m just glad we could actually accomplish what we set out to do.”
Garret turned his gaze to Gwayne. “What about you? You have a lot to do… You’re the crown prince of this era, you know? You’re King Gwayne Fraeldhen Vilfort. Our descendant.”
Gwayne nodded and looked at the people of the Last Bastion, all of whom looked back with smiling faces. “Yeah, I have to stay here. This is my era, after all, and now that we’ve won the war, it’s time to start the next phase. You’re right, I’m the king, so it’s my duty to aid my people. The Zirconium Dragon spent centuries destroying this place. It’s now our job to restore it to its former glory. I’ve seen what this kingdom can be. I’ve been to cities along with you and the princess, from Dornwich to Caerleone and more. I’ve seen beautiful grasslands, swamps, and snowy mountaintops. I’ve seen cities full of life and people celebrating all sorts of festivals. I know I won’t fix everything in my lifetime, that’s impossible, but I should start laying the groundwork for future generations.”
“We will miss you,” Selina said as she hugged him. “It’s not every day that one gets to journey with a great-great-great-grandson.”
Garret gave Gwayne a pat on the shoulder, which the latter then turned into a full embrace.
“I know you’ll do us proud,” Garret said. “You’re a Fraeldhen. You’re a Vilfort. It is a little sad that we’ll have to find somebody to fill in your slot for Team Iron Clad. Maybe Mercy.”
“Paige would be a good candidate, too,” Gwayne said. “If only Hollen and Gongan were alive…”
Selina nodded though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “We’ve lost a lot of people along the way. This war has truly wrecked many people’s lives, across two different eras.”
“That reminds me… who was the Arachnid?” Gwayne asked. This got everyone’s attention, and some of the Last Bastion folks approached as they waited for Garret’s answer.
“He was Prince Fawkes Nathaniel Yvol Destrahl, the youngest of the emperor’s children.” Although Garret spoke to everyone, he was looking at Selina.
She gasped. “What? B-but why would he go through all these hurdles just to harm us?”
“Harming us wasn’t really his goal.” Garret bit his lip as he mulled over his choice of words. “Prince Fawkes likely thought he had no place in the Destrahl Empire. He was the fourth son. He would inherit no title or land of true significance. So he sought to make his own destiny. He thought that serving the Zirconium Dragon would give his life meaning… In the end, he realized it was the opposite. Therefore, when all hope was lost, he came in and saved us. He found meaning in aiding us and ending this war.”
“In some ways, despite all the harm he’s done, he ends up a hero,” Selina surmised. “The world has an odd sense of humor.”
Gwayne broke into a wide smile. “Yeah… you could say it’s ironic.”
Everyone groaned and prepared to leave. Gwayne commanded that the metal dragon summoners who still lived would be imprisoned but not executed. He figured that perhaps with his new authority, he could convince them to switch loyalties and aid in the coming restoration project. They were metal dragon summoners, after all, and he didn’t want to waste their potential.
Vivianne aided in getting the wounded back to the Last Bastion. Pollux and the others figured that the obsidian tower shouldn’t be destroyed; they could use it as a new outpost. Of course, the whole structure was ready to collapse, so it would require a lot of repairs and maintenance.
Garret and Selina, however, took the next caravan ride to the Last Bastion. There they were given time to rest and recuperate. They met a young restoration dragon summoner, who specialized in healing magic. This young girl, who turned out to be a great descendant of Princess Sophia Fraeldhen Destrahl, was named Valarie. Many referred to her as the Raven because she was always dressed in black feathers despite being a medical expert.
Valarie attended to all their medical needs. Gwayne needed the most attention due to the numerous fractures he had suffered during the battle.
Several weeks later, things were beginning to settle down. It was on the fifth week when Garret and Selina decided that they had rested enough. They had given as much advice as they could to Gwayne and his council regarding their plans for the kingdom’s restoration. They knew they couldn’t return home, so their goal was to find some method of opening another time portal back to their era. It wasn’t certain what would happen if they didn’t return, but it was likely that Gwayne would never be born, not to mention all his ancestors that trace their lineage to Garret and Selina.
With all their things packed, Garret and Selina were ready to venture out into the wasteland when Gwayne came to bid them farewell.
“Guess what?” he said.
“You’re not coming are you?” Selina said before she quickly added, “Not that it wouldn’t be nice to have your company, but you have so much to do here!”
Gwayne smiled. “I’m not coming with you. But you’re not going into the wasteland.”
“We can’t stay here, Gwayne,” Garret said. “We need to find a way back to the past. If we don’t, you might not even be—”
“I can create a time portal,” Gwayne interrupted. “That final battle strengthened the bond between me and my dragon like nothing else.”
“Truly?” Selina said, jumping up and down in her excitement.
Gwayne blushed and scratched his head. “We truly have grown, haven’t we? It’s been one heck of an adventure.”
“Don’t say it like we’re done,” Selina told him. “You never know when we might send a message across time to bring you back to our era and help us on another quest.”
Garret smiled. “We may not be able to see you. We may be thousands of years apart. But know that we will always be looking out for you. We will always keep you in our hearts and minds. No matter where you go, no matter what time era we each live in, you will always be a part of Team Iron Clad of the Silver Wolf Military Academy.”
“I kind of miss being just Null,” Gwayne said with a laugh. “I guess I can’t just be a nobody now. So many people depend on my leadership.”
Selina smiled and gave him a hug. “Honestly, you’ve already endured more than your fair share of suffering for this world. With all you’ve accomplished during times of war, I’m sure you’ll do great in times of peace and restoration. Good luck, Gwayne.”
“Thank you,” was all Gwayne could reply. Wiping away a tear, he huffed and took a deep breath before he clasped his palms together. “You guys ready?”
* * *
Gwayne brought Garret and Selina to the Last Bastion’s main hall. People were already gathered there, eating and chatting. Garret and Selina faced the crowd and gave everyone one final wave.
Gwayne summoned the energy needed to open a time portal. Once again, he started by creating a gate of temporal dissonance. As soon as he had that built, he altered the spell and increased its mass into one point of singularity. This erupted, and the gate turned white and sparked with powerful gravity waves and temporal energy.
“Well, look at that,” Garret told Gwayne with a look of pride. “You don’t even need the tools anymore or the temple. You can open a time travel portal at will now.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll emerge just mere seconds after we initially left,” Gwayne told them. “But I can’t really control where you’ll emerge… I’m trying to direct you to Danustre so let’s just hope it works out.”
“I know it will.” Garret gave Gwayne a wink. “You’ll do fine. You’ll make a great king.”
“We love you,” Selina said as she walked hand in hand with Garret as they went through the gate.
Unlike before, this journey through the time gate wasn’t an uncomfortable experience. Garret felt like he was simply wading through a thick body of water, slow but at ease. A welcoming warmth washed over his face, and a faint tingling tickled his fingertips.
A few minutes like this passed, and he suddenly opened his eyes to discover he was inside the main audience hall of the royal castle in Danustre. Selina was by his side, and she too was just beginning to regain consciousness after the journey.
Ahead of them were nearly three hundred people: royal guards, some knights, and the royal court members, along with the king, queen, and even the prince.
“Uhm,” Selina mumbled as the gate closed behind them. “W-we’re back.”
There was a moment of utter silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
The king rose from the throne and demanded for everyone to leave the room, shattering the awkward silence in an instant. “I’m sorry, everyone, but we will continue these discussions tomorrow. The princess and Lord Vilfort have returned from their task. I am sure that the gossip has already spread, so you all know what I am talking about. Everybody out, please, thank you, thank you.”
The royal guards carefully and politely escorted everyone out. There were commoners who were scheduled to speak with the king and present their concerns, and the court members assured them that they would get their time. The king didn’t often allocate the afternoon for an audience, but he would this time for their sake. This seemed to placate the crowd, and everyone left without further complaint.
As soon as the doors were shut, Princess Selina rushed up the stairs to the throne and gave the queen and the king a warm hug. She even managed to embrace her brother, who seemed to be better dressed and more attentive than on other days.
“You look better,” she told Prince Yendrick.
Her brother blushed but nodded in response. “You humiliated me. All of you did. But at the end of the day, I brought that humiliation on myself. I was a coward for so long… If the kingdom is to fall into my hands, then I should be more responsible and capable.”
The queen leaned in. “Your brother has been attending his lessons. He’s always present during audience calls like today, and he has even attended your father’s war council and business meetings.”
King Fraeldhen grinned and beckoned for Garret to join them. “Yes, my buffoon of a son is starting to shape up. I am proud of that… and I am proud of you for returning here today. I can only assume you are here to bring word of victory?”
Garret nodded. “We do. We’ve defeated the Zirconium Dragon. We’ve saved our fate and the future.”
“But where is Lord Gwayne?” the queen asked. “Has he decided to stay in his time era?”
Selina nodded. “Yes, Mother… after all, with his father gone, he is now the rightful king of Fraeldhen in the future. We’ve defeated the Zirconium Dragon, but the world… oh, Mother, the world of the future is a dead and desolate one covered in sand and the Shroud! He has a lot on his plate.”
“Fools. You do not have the strength to reflect my power a second time,” the Zirconium Dragon taunted. She roared and unleashed yet another breath attack.
Gwayne smiled despite being on the verge of losing consciousness. “Whoever said we’re going to reflect it?”
The Zirconium Dragon didn’t even hear his retort. She unleashed her blast at full force. It struck the temporal gate and, instead of shattering it, provided the energy output Gwayne needed to turn a simple space-time gate into a time-travel gate. It glowed bright white as soon as the breath attack struck it.
Inside that strange portal, brimming with power, Garret saw something. Divine knowledge. The path to victory. The portal’s light illuminated the Zirconium Dragon, and it became clear that she was missing something… part of her essence was no longer present.
Because Garret had it. Like he had the essences of the other primordial dragons.
Words from Selina pulled him out of his stark realization.
“Got you,” she said with a smug look. She created a lightning arc that pushed the temporal gate and caused it to blanket the Zirconium Dragon. As it enveloped the enemy, Gwayne altered his spell, and it sapped away the dragon god’s power.
“No… you insolent mortals! What are you doing?” the Zirconium Dragon cried, her voice panicked.
Garret looked up at her and closed his hands together as he started summoning three primordial powers that had been asleep deep within him. “You’re a god, there’s no denying that… but what is a metal dragon god against the power of the Alloy of Divinity?”
“What?” the Zirconium Dragon screeched. Even the dragon summoners of the Last Bastion couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They all descended and flew to assist the trio. Sir Yoseph and Beatrice both stood by Garret’s side.
“I don’t know what you’re up to, lad, but you better do it soon,” Sir Yoseph told Garret.
“I took your essence from the Arachnid… and I already have the essence of the Platinum and Titanium Dragons,” Garret said. “You know what this means.”
For the first time in what could have been thousands of years, the Zirconium Dragon looked afraid.
But it was too late. There was no going back.
In a sudden flash of light, Garret combined the powers of his iron dragon along with the unified essences of the three dragon gods. His skin was covered in the most beautiful metal of all: a crystalline metal that shone with all the colors of the rainbow. He reallocated the metal and created the most magnificent armor, helm, shield, and sword.
“Now,” he addressed the Zirconium Dragon. “Now, you die.”
Chapter 30
Garret slowly sauntered toward the Zirconium Dragon. The enemy roared in defiance and attempted to destroy him with a powerful tail swipe. Garret ignored it and simply parried the tail with his divine metal shield. When the black metal dragon attempted to charge closer and bite him, , Garret stood his ground and slammed a metal-covered fist into the dragon’s face, causing the monster’s lower jaw to cave in. Bone, flesh, and sinew splattered all over the rooftop from that one punch.
“It’s over,” Garret told the Zirconium Dragon. “You’re just too blind to see it.”
“Too blind to see what, exactly?” the dragon god demanded as she roared and took a fearful step back.
Garret brandished his divine sword and conjured more metal to form wings that sprouted from the back of his armor.
“You came to the past to ensure your survival,” he said. “You feared the prophecy that one day a dragon summoner would destroy you… yet your efforts of self-preservation were the exact actions that led to this very moment. You created your own doom. By avoiding your fate, you sealed it.”
The Zirconium Dragon looked down at him with disbelief written all over her ancient, reptilian face. “I am a god, you foolish mortal. I have existed since the beginning, back when the world was young and the first touch of evil was but a faint and distant dream. The world as it is mine by right of conquest. Fool… now it is time you die and—”
She never got to finish her sentence. The Zirconium Dragon’s jaw was suddenly sliced clean off her head with one quick slash of Garret’s divine metal sword.
“Did you see that?” Gwayne blurted in awe. “She was killed by a steak of light!”
“That streak of light… could it be…?” Selina said, equally awed.
It turned out that the flash they had seen was Garret flying toward their enemy, slashing her jaw off, and then flying back down to where he stood, all in the blink of an eye.
The dragon’s jaw had dropped to the rooftop, where blood started to fill the cracks.
Despite her missing jaw, the Zirconium Dragon stood her ground, preparing to unleash one final breath attack. Everyone braced themselves and built some sort of magical shield. Selina and Gwayne began charging their magic, but they didn’t have enough to even build a basic shield anymore.
Garret, however, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. When the dragon unleashed her breath attack, Garret walked right into it. The blast hit his metal-covered skin, but it didn’t affect him. He didn’t even flinch when he took the hit head-on. He just continued to saunter forward, his weapon in hand, his armor absorbing the dragon’s breath.
He walked closer, and the breath attack grew in intensity.
Still, he approached the dragon.
Without a word, he blinked toward her, pulled back his sword, and slashed, instantly decapitating the Zirconium Dragon.
Her head rolled off her giant neck, eyes wide open but ghastly white with the lingering stare of death. Dismissing his weapon, Garret gripped her neck as blood fountained from it and unleashed his own breath attack, right into the wound. The might of the unified dragon gods surged through the monstrous dragon’s corpse until it exploded in a shower of blood and bones.
Garret walked over to the dragon’s skull, planted his foot on top of it, and kicked it over the tower’s edge.
Garret dismissed the Alloy of Divinity, and his armor returned to its normal iron form. He let out a sigh of relief and fell to his knees. Immediately, Selina rushed to his side and caught him before he could fall.
“W-what happened?” she asked him.
“Oh, about the Alloy of Divinity?” Garret understood her confusion. “It’s gone… but not forever. I can still feel the essence of the divine dragons within me. I just don’t think I can use it whenever I feel like it.”
Selina nodded and gave him a kiss on the forehead. “I’m sure you’ll be able to access it one day whenever the need arises.”
“Let’s hope the need never arises, eh?” Gwayne said as he hobbled his way over. “I’d rather relish in the boring, ordinary days instead of going through all this again.”
“You’re right,” Selina said with a light chuckle. “One thing all the ballads about champions and heroes tend to forget is that this kind of life is full of suffering, death, and disappointment. An ordinary life doesn’t seem so bad in comparison.”
Sir Yoseph approached. “I have to thank you three… You brought peace to a land that hasn’t seen happiness—genuine happiness—in centuries. We can start rebuilding again.”
“It’s what we came for,” Selina said. “I’m just glad we could actually accomplish what we set out to do.”
Garret turned his gaze to Gwayne. “What about you? You have a lot to do… You’re the crown prince of this era, you know? You’re King Gwayne Fraeldhen Vilfort. Our descendant.”
Gwayne nodded and looked at the people of the Last Bastion, all of whom looked back with smiling faces. “Yeah, I have to stay here. This is my era, after all, and now that we’ve won the war, it’s time to start the next phase. You’re right, I’m the king, so it’s my duty to aid my people. The Zirconium Dragon spent centuries destroying this place. It’s now our job to restore it to its former glory. I’ve seen what this kingdom can be. I’ve been to cities along with you and the princess, from Dornwich to Caerleone and more. I’ve seen beautiful grasslands, swamps, and snowy mountaintops. I’ve seen cities full of life and people celebrating all sorts of festivals. I know I won’t fix everything in my lifetime, that’s impossible, but I should start laying the groundwork for future generations.”
“We will miss you,” Selina said as she hugged him. “It’s not every day that one gets to journey with a great-great-great-grandson.”
Garret gave Gwayne a pat on the shoulder, which the latter then turned into a full embrace.
“I know you’ll do us proud,” Garret said. “You’re a Fraeldhen. You’re a Vilfort. It is a little sad that we’ll have to find somebody to fill in your slot for Team Iron Clad. Maybe Mercy.”
“Paige would be a good candidate, too,” Gwayne said. “If only Hollen and Gongan were alive…”
Selina nodded though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “We’ve lost a lot of people along the way. This war has truly wrecked many people’s lives, across two different eras.”
“That reminds me… who was the Arachnid?” Gwayne asked. This got everyone’s attention, and some of the Last Bastion folks approached as they waited for Garret’s answer.
“He was Prince Fawkes Nathaniel Yvol Destrahl, the youngest of the emperor’s children.” Although Garret spoke to everyone, he was looking at Selina.
She gasped. “What? B-but why would he go through all these hurdles just to harm us?”
“Harming us wasn’t really his goal.” Garret bit his lip as he mulled over his choice of words. “Prince Fawkes likely thought he had no place in the Destrahl Empire. He was the fourth son. He would inherit no title or land of true significance. So he sought to make his own destiny. He thought that serving the Zirconium Dragon would give his life meaning… In the end, he realized it was the opposite. Therefore, when all hope was lost, he came in and saved us. He found meaning in aiding us and ending this war.”
“In some ways, despite all the harm he’s done, he ends up a hero,” Selina surmised. “The world has an odd sense of humor.”
Gwayne broke into a wide smile. “Yeah… you could say it’s ironic.”
Everyone groaned and prepared to leave. Gwayne commanded that the metal dragon summoners who still lived would be imprisoned but not executed. He figured that perhaps with his new authority, he could convince them to switch loyalties and aid in the coming restoration project. They were metal dragon summoners, after all, and he didn’t want to waste their potential.
Vivianne aided in getting the wounded back to the Last Bastion. Pollux and the others figured that the obsidian tower shouldn’t be destroyed; they could use it as a new outpost. Of course, the whole structure was ready to collapse, so it would require a lot of repairs and maintenance.
Garret and Selina, however, took the next caravan ride to the Last Bastion. There they were given time to rest and recuperate. They met a young restoration dragon summoner, who specialized in healing magic. This young girl, who turned out to be a great descendant of Princess Sophia Fraeldhen Destrahl, was named Valarie. Many referred to her as the Raven because she was always dressed in black feathers despite being a medical expert.
Valarie attended to all their medical needs. Gwayne needed the most attention due to the numerous fractures he had suffered during the battle.
Several weeks later, things were beginning to settle down. It was on the fifth week when Garret and Selina decided that they had rested enough. They had given as much advice as they could to Gwayne and his council regarding their plans for the kingdom’s restoration. They knew they couldn’t return home, so their goal was to find some method of opening another time portal back to their era. It wasn’t certain what would happen if they didn’t return, but it was likely that Gwayne would never be born, not to mention all his ancestors that trace their lineage to Garret and Selina.
With all their things packed, Garret and Selina were ready to venture out into the wasteland when Gwayne came to bid them farewell.
“Guess what?” he said.
“You’re not coming are you?” Selina said before she quickly added, “Not that it wouldn’t be nice to have your company, but you have so much to do here!”
Gwayne smiled. “I’m not coming with you. But you’re not going into the wasteland.”
“We can’t stay here, Gwayne,” Garret said. “We need to find a way back to the past. If we don’t, you might not even be—”
“I can create a time portal,” Gwayne interrupted. “That final battle strengthened the bond between me and my dragon like nothing else.”
“Truly?” Selina said, jumping up and down in her excitement.
Gwayne blushed and scratched his head. “We truly have grown, haven’t we? It’s been one heck of an adventure.”
“Don’t say it like we’re done,” Selina told him. “You never know when we might send a message across time to bring you back to our era and help us on another quest.”
Garret smiled. “We may not be able to see you. We may be thousands of years apart. But know that we will always be looking out for you. We will always keep you in our hearts and minds. No matter where you go, no matter what time era we each live in, you will always be a part of Team Iron Clad of the Silver Wolf Military Academy.”
“I kind of miss being just Null,” Gwayne said with a laugh. “I guess I can’t just be a nobody now. So many people depend on my leadership.”
Selina smiled and gave him a hug. “Honestly, you’ve already endured more than your fair share of suffering for this world. With all you’ve accomplished during times of war, I’m sure you’ll do great in times of peace and restoration. Good luck, Gwayne.”
“Thank you,” was all Gwayne could reply. Wiping away a tear, he huffed and took a deep breath before he clasped his palms together. “You guys ready?”
* * *
Gwayne brought Garret and Selina to the Last Bastion’s main hall. People were already gathered there, eating and chatting. Garret and Selina faced the crowd and gave everyone one final wave.
Gwayne summoned the energy needed to open a time portal. Once again, he started by creating a gate of temporal dissonance. As soon as he had that built, he altered the spell and increased its mass into one point of singularity. This erupted, and the gate turned white and sparked with powerful gravity waves and temporal energy.
“Well, look at that,” Garret told Gwayne with a look of pride. “You don’t even need the tools anymore or the temple. You can open a time travel portal at will now.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll emerge just mere seconds after we initially left,” Gwayne told them. “But I can’t really control where you’ll emerge… I’m trying to direct you to Danustre so let’s just hope it works out.”
“I know it will.” Garret gave Gwayne a wink. “You’ll do fine. You’ll make a great king.”
“We love you,” Selina said as she walked hand in hand with Garret as they went through the gate.
Unlike before, this journey through the time gate wasn’t an uncomfortable experience. Garret felt like he was simply wading through a thick body of water, slow but at ease. A welcoming warmth washed over his face, and a faint tingling tickled his fingertips.
A few minutes like this passed, and he suddenly opened his eyes to discover he was inside the main audience hall of the royal castle in Danustre. Selina was by his side, and she too was just beginning to regain consciousness after the journey.
Ahead of them were nearly three hundred people: royal guards, some knights, and the royal court members, along with the king, queen, and even the prince.
“Uhm,” Selina mumbled as the gate closed behind them. “W-we’re back.”
There was a moment of utter silence, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
The king rose from the throne and demanded for everyone to leave the room, shattering the awkward silence in an instant. “I’m sorry, everyone, but we will continue these discussions tomorrow. The princess and Lord Vilfort have returned from their task. I am sure that the gossip has already spread, so you all know what I am talking about. Everybody out, please, thank you, thank you.”
The royal guards carefully and politely escorted everyone out. There were commoners who were scheduled to speak with the king and present their concerns, and the court members assured them that they would get their time. The king didn’t often allocate the afternoon for an audience, but he would this time for their sake. This seemed to placate the crowd, and everyone left without further complaint.
As soon as the doors were shut, Princess Selina rushed up the stairs to the throne and gave the queen and the king a warm hug. She even managed to embrace her brother, who seemed to be better dressed and more attentive than on other days.
“You look better,” she told Prince Yendrick.
Her brother blushed but nodded in response. “You humiliated me. All of you did. But at the end of the day, I brought that humiliation on myself. I was a coward for so long… If the kingdom is to fall into my hands, then I should be more responsible and capable.”
The queen leaned in. “Your brother has been attending his lessons. He’s always present during audience calls like today, and he has even attended your father’s war council and business meetings.”
King Fraeldhen grinned and beckoned for Garret to join them. “Yes, my buffoon of a son is starting to shape up. I am proud of that… and I am proud of you for returning here today. I can only assume you are here to bring word of victory?”
Garret nodded. “We do. We’ve defeated the Zirconium Dragon. We’ve saved our fate and the future.”
“But where is Lord Gwayne?” the queen asked. “Has he decided to stay in his time era?”
Selina nodded. “Yes, Mother… after all, with his father gone, he is now the rightful king of Fraeldhen in the future. We’ve defeated the Zirconium Dragon, but the world… oh, Mother, the world of the future is a dead and desolate one covered in sand and the Shroud! He has a lot on his plate.”
