Chapter 10: Sylvia III

One day, Sylvia had suddenly told us about a technique that me and Art could both use. 

"Try absorbing mana while you are making movements. Ideally you should be able to absorb at least a fraction of the mana you would during meditation while you are fighting. Although you would be spending mana faster than you can absorb mana, you will be able to prolong the usage of it." Sylvia gently chided.

"Humans have a very linear mindset in regards to mana and find it hard to deviate from anything that already works. Practice hard now, though, because you can only acquire this skill while both your body and mana core are immature. Even mana beasts learn to do this naturally, but humans awaken much too late and in most cases, their bodies are not adept for this ability when they first awaken. Considering you two are so young, there shouldn't be a problem if you practice," continued Sylvia with a proud puff of her nose.

I nodded at her words before contemplating about it. I'm guessing I have to try and split my thoughts into two. This was akin to multitasking but much more difficult as absorbing mana took quite a lot of concentration. Furthermore, she said you should also be able to do this whilst fighting which meant it was going to be even more challenging to grasp this technique.

-

Just like that, two months had swiftly passed.

However it was today, that Arthur had suddenly asked Sylvia about her wound.

"Sylvia, please tell me what's happening to your wound? Why is it getting worse? It wasn't like this before! You saying it was only a fester every now and then was clearly a lie! This isn't going to go away on it's own, it's actually getting worse!"

Sylvia let out a deep breath, knowing that he had realised what was going on. Managing a sheepish smile, Sylvia whispered, "Art. Yes I am dying. But I will get angry if you blame yourself, thinking that you two are causing this. I have been dying for quite a while now. You are doing me a favor by allowing me to leave this forsaken cave a bit faster."

As expected... I had long realised that her injury was getting worse with each day that she had spent with us. But, why was she going to such lengths for us? Any question I had asked about her wound would simply be met with a cold shoulder as she swiftly changed the topic.

Sylvia, somehow detecting the feeling of guilt from me, spoke, "Tori, just like Art, please don't blame yourself. I do not regret what I have done, so please just move on and feel at ease." She said, showing a weak smile.

I was surprised by her words. She saw right through me, despite my face not having a change in expression. Yet, her words of reassurance had made me feel even more guilty...

As soon as she finished speaking, a bright golden glow radiated out of her body. Shielding my eyes from going blind, I tried to focus on the shape forming from where Sylvia once sat.

In place of the ten-meter titan-like figure was a dragon even larger. From her snout to the end of her tail, she was clad in a pearl white coat of shimmering scales.

Beneath her iridescent lavender eyes were glowing golden runes that marked her neck and ran down to spread around her body and tail like sacred engravings. These markings reminded me of a very elegant, almost celestial, tribal pattern, branching out harmoniously and with purpose like carefully placed vines. The dragon's wings were of pure white adorned with silver bladed feathers so fine and sharp that they could put swords forged by master smiths to shame.

The golden light enveloping the dragon dimmed until it fully replaced the once titan-shaped being.

"There now... Do I look a bit more like a Sylvia?" Sylvia let out a toothy smirk.

A DRAGON!

I was too stunned to speak, my legs nearly giving out with my fingers slightly shaking.

Dragons exist in this world too? No, impossible! This definitely isn't my previous world...

Perhaps the dragons here are different...

I breathed in and out as I tried to compose myself.

"S-Sylvia?? Y..you're a dragon?" Arthur spoke.

"Now That I am in this form, we do not have much time. Yes, I am something you humans refer to us as 'a dragon'. The reason I am dying is because I had been inflicted with this wound after narrowly escaping from my captors. I had sensed one of them approaching dangerously close a few days ago, so I feel that my time of hiding is drawing to an end. This form will alert them of my location, which is why I only have time to explain what is necessary. I am giving you two this to take care of from now on."

One of her bladed wings unfolded and revealed a translucent, rainbow-colored stone. With a myriad of colors and shades, this stone resonated an aura that made me hesitate in holding it, as if I wasn't worthy.

Without waiting for me to respond, she continued, "Everything will reveal itself when the time comes so just hold onto this and do not let anyone know that you have it. Most will not know what it is but everyone will be attracted by the aura it emits."

I just blankly nodded at her words.

Sylvia then proceeded to pluck a feather from her wings with her claw and handed it to me. "Wrap the stone in this to conceal it."

After doing as told, the once divine radiant stone merely appeared to be a smooth white rock, pretty, but ordinary.

I then looked up to see Sylvia go to Arthur before Sylvia's snout gently brushed against Arthur's chest–where his mana core is. Sylvia's purple eyes and the gold markings around them, blazed brighter than they had when she first transformed. As the markings grew dimmer and then disappeared, it gave off wisps of golden smoke that crackled with sparks of purple.

A sharp yelp escaped Arthur's mouth as he blinked, confused and surprised. He continued to just stare at her as she moved her head back, leaving a trail of blood from a hole in his worn down shirt. Arthur's sternum had bled, but when he ran his hand through the area, there was no wound.

Sylvia's expression had grown visibly pained and weak; it was even more apparent for a mighty dragon that was much bigger than her previous form. What caught my attention, though, was that her once shimmering purple irises were now just a dim yellow with the beautiful runes that flowed across her face and body, now gone.

*BOOM*

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion.

I whipped my head up to see that the ceiling of the cave had been blown off and what came into vision was a figure that reminded me of Sylvia's previous demon-like form.

Clad in sleek black armor and a blood red cape that matched its eyes. The figure's pale grey skin matched the clouded sky in the background. The horns were different, as this entity had two horns that curled down and under its ears, lining its chin.

Sylvia immediately covered me and Arthur with one of her wings in time to protect us from the falling debris and probably to keep us hidden from our visitor.

"Lady Sylvia! I advise you to stop your stubbornness and hand it over. You've already caused us quite the trouble after hiding yourself! If you submit, the Lord may even heal your wound," the entity reasoned impatiently.

Immediately after he had finished speaking, the world around me seemed to pause. Everything but Sylvia, Arthur and myself had paused.

The colors of the world were as though it was being seen through an inverted lense. 

What surprised me the most was that everything was still as if time had stopped. The entity, the clouds behind him, and even the falling debris of the ceiling.

Ignoring the enemy, Sylvia casually peeked underneath her wing. "I'll open the portal now. I didn't have the time to make it go directly to your home but it should take you to a place with humans nearby. Do not let him see you and do not look back," she whispered, her eyes solemn.

But, Arthur had heard the intruders promise and he ignored her instructions.

"Sylvia! Is what he said true? If you turn yourself over, will you be able to live?"

"Do not trust his honey-coated words. It will be worse for you two if you are found right now. As for me, I would rather die than go back to where he is," Sylvia said, impatience and anger mingling in her voice.

"No, I won't let you die here! If you refuse to go with him, then please come with us!" Arthur begged.

I also agreed with Art's words and spoke, "Sylvia, please come with us! Everything is frozen at the moment, so please escape with us!"

"I cannot go with you two. You will forever be in danger if any one of them finds out you have had come in contact with me... I must stay here." Sylvia gently wiped Arthur's cheek with her claw, her draconic eyes lined with tears.

"You once asked me why I chose to save you two. The truth is, it was to satisfy my own greed. I wanted to keep you two as my very own. My children... even for just a little while. I intentionally prolonged the transportation spell because I wish to have more time with you two. And now, there is not enough time to finish it. I'm sorry, little ones, for my selfishness but I have one last request to make... can you be my grandsons and call me grandmother just this once?"

Arthur's body was trembling, tears flowing down his face as he spoke, "No, No, NO! P—please, just come with us. We can leave together!"

"You know I can't... Farewell, Art." Sylvia replied as she pushed Arthur into the portal.

However, before Arthur was fully enveloped by the portal, he had managed to utter a few words, "No Sylvia! Grandma!" Arthur shouted.

Sylvia was surprised by Arthur's words as a beautiful smile adorned her face.

A moment of silence remained as It was just me and Sylvia that was left.

"Sylvia... Can you truly not go with us?" I asked.

She simply just shook her head, before her gentle eyes was placed onto me.

"Tori... You are not of this world, yes?" She spoke, her eyes one of wisdom.

I was slightly startled by her words. But, it's not like I had been trying to hide it. I'm not sure how human children acted, but I definitely hadn't been acting like one... I know my face generally always remains stoic, a habit I've formed before coming to this world and my intelligence was much higher compared to the average 4 year old, masked by the fact that I was always quiet.

I briefly contemplated her words, thinking about how to respond. Sylvia seemed to only hold good intentions for me and my brother and she also seems to be sure I wasn't from this world. So, I simply nodded at her words.

"As expected. Truth be told, I was only completely certain when I had revealed my true appearance as a 'dragon'. When you first saw my monster-like appearance, you weren't afraid, not even the slightest bit startled. Yet, you seemed quite shaken up when I revealed my identity as 'a dragon.' Something I would assume, is a little less scary." Sylvia chuckled.

"Yes, I've had some history with them in my previous life... But, I don't believe they are of the same lineage as you, Sylvia." I replied.

"I see." She uttered, contemplating a little before continuing, "Well, let's not ponder over this for too long, we don't have much time. Tori, I couldn't give you my will like I did to Arthur as I can only pass it to one person. However, I can give you something else, something that might help you much more." She spoke with her weak, yet dignified voice.

Before I could ask her what a will was, she continued to speak so I simply just listened.

"Artorias, from my own observations, I've noticed that your eyes hold unimaginable power... They have a subtle resemblance to that of my clan exuding a similar aura to them, something that I've managed to notice only after having spent these few months with you and Art. Perhaps that had been the reason you had mastered mana rotation so quickly or perhaps it was due to your past life. But, nevertheless, your eyes are very special as it seems to be guiding you, almost correcting any mistakes. If my guess is correct–a likely one– it would be even be more terrifying to think about." She explained to me. 

I carefully listened to her words, not missing any details as what she was saying seemed to be extremely important.

-

"Train hard, protect your family, protect your brother, protect the ones you hold dear... But, please also enjoy your life." Sylvia said before continuing, "Go, my child."

After Sylvia had finished, I slowly walked into the portal feeling only melancholy and reluctance.

I turned my head slightly before I spoke in a low voice, "Thank you for everything... Grandmother Sylvia."

I managed to make out her last beautiful smile, a smile so perfect and enchanting that it simply made my heart ache. I pursed my lips and I felt something wet run down my cheek, before my entire body was consumed by the portal.