Chương 405: Terror begins

Vale froze at the sound of the word.

"Wrista." He knew that word. His expression tightened as he stared up at the huge serpent. Why had the serpent said it? Had the dragon somehow felt what had happened to him? Could it have sensed what Vale had seen inside his own soul? No. That should have been impossible. Everything had happened far beyond it's reach. The serpent had remained inside its domain, deep beneath the lake. There was no reason for it to know what had happened inside Vale's body, much less inside his Conceptual Plane.

And yet, it had spoken. Vale slowly looked up at the ancient dragon.

"... Morda?" The old word left his mouth with care. it's huge eye narrowed as it studied Vale. For a moment, the dragon said nothing. Then he gave the same answer.

"Wrista." Vale's eyes widened. He stood completely still. It knew. Maybe it didn't know everything. Maybe it didn't even know what had truly happened. But it knew something. Vale lowered his head in respect before speaking again.

"Revesh morda?" The serpent stared down at him with one huge eye. For some reason, the dragon almost looked amused. It was hard to notice, but Vale had spent enough time around the creature to see the small change in its face. Instead of answering right away, the serpent spoke in his strange tongue.

"Ishra, revesh." Vale stayed quiet. He waited for more. The answer had not told him anything. Surely it was going to explain himself. After a short pause, the dragon spoke again.

"Malista morda." Vale's eyes widened.

"Serev?" The serpent gave a slow nod.

"Serev." Vale slowly straightened his back. He felt comfortable enough to stand properly in front of the ancient dragon. His mind, however, was already racing. Wait. That can't be right. If It was telling the truth, then something did not make sense. Then how did the darkness reach me? Vale turned back toward the serpent.

"Serev cusido drias?" The serpent gave no answer. He simply stared at Vale. The silence lasted long enough for Vale to understand. It wasn't that Revesh didn't know the answer. He simply did not want to give it. Vale slowly lowered his head.

"Revesh." The great serpent moved. Its huge body shifted through the water as it came closer. Vale stayed still as it lowered his head toward him. The dragon came so close that Vale could feel the warmth of its breath against his skin. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. His heart began to beat faster. It wasn't only fear. Part of him was simply aware of how dangerous this creature was. It could swallow him in one bite if he wanted to.

Yet here he was, standing inches away from Vale as if he were studying him. Vale felt each slow breath against his body. the serpent's eye narrowed as he looked him over. Then the dragon spoke.

"Kashia." The word was quiet. Almost casual. It slowly pulled away. Its huge body sank back into the lake, sending water across the shore. Within moments, the serpent disappeared beneath the surface. The water slowly settled. The ripples faded. Soon, the lake was calm again, as if It had never appeared. Vale stood there in silence for a few seconds before letting out a scoff.

"What the hell do you mean, kashia? I'm not some freak, you know." He kicked a small rock near his foot. It skipped across the water once before sinking into the dark lake. Kashia. It wasn't exactly a normal word. Ancient Draconic had never been that simple. Depending on the situation, kashia could mean a lesser being. It could refer to someone beneath the speaker in power, rank, or even nature. In simple terms, The Serpent had placed Vale beneath himself. Or at least, something close to that.

The problem was that Ancient Draconic wasn't based only on words. Half of it was language. The other half came from the bond between two beings. The meaning of a word could change depending on who said it and who heard it. A single word could hold a much deeper meaning if the right bond existed between them. Vale didn't have that bond. His own powers blocked it.

"Another problem," Vale muttered with a tired sigh. He turned away from the lake and started walking back toward the barracks. The new buildings soon came into view between the trees. Vale slowed as he looked at them. It was almost a shame. They had worked so hard to build them, yet they were probably going to leave them after only a short stay. Still, there was no other choice. Korin's condition was getting worse. His powers were becoming more unstable with every passing day.

If they didn't reach the domain of his Enigma soon, there was a real chance that he would lose control. And if that happened, someone would die. Vale swallowed as the thought crossed his mind. There was no point trying to make himself feel better about it. If Korin lost control completely, none of them could know what would happen. Vale kept walking until something else caught his attention. The forest drake was resting beneath the trees. Her young were lying close to her body, sleeping peacefully.

They had grown a lot since Vale had first taken them in. The smaller drakes now stood almost half as tall as Vale at the shoulder, and their bodies were growing stronger every day. Vale couldn't help but smile when he saw them. He walked closer. The mother raised her head. She didn't growl. She didn't tense up. She simply watched him. That still surprised Vale. When they had first met, the creature had barely known anything about humans. Yet somehow, she had learned to trust them.

Her young were easier to understand. They had grown up around the group and had never had much reason to fear them. But their mother was different. Why was she so calm around people? Why did she trust them when she barely understood them? Vale stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Like I know. I've got enough problems already. That's someone else's problem." He gave a quiet chuckle. He was talking to himself again. It happened less often than it used to, but the habit had never fully gone away. Some things were harder to change than others. Vale continued toward the barracks at a slow pace. His mind was still stuck on the Serpent's strange words. At the same time, he couldn't stop thinking about everything else that had happened that night. Then— A door suddenly flew open.

Korin stepped out of the barracks. He was breathing hard. His whole body looked tense, as if he were fighting something that no one else could see. His shoulders shook, and his fists were tightly closed. His eyes flickered. Vale knew that look. Madness. His expression hardened. He rushed toward him.

"Hey, Korin, what's u—" Korin didn't let him finish. He stumbled forward and grabbed the side of the barracks to keep himself standing. His breathing became rougher as he struggled to stay on his feet.

"We have to leave." Vale stopped. For a few seconds, he simply stared at him. Korin's breathing grew worse. His eyes flickered again, and that strange presence behind them became stronger. It was almost as if something else was trying to look through his eyes. Vale's expression lost all humor.

"Is it that bad?" Korin gave a weak, bitter laugh. His voice was barely above a whisper.

"It's much worse than you can imagine." Vale gritted his teeth. He turned toward the other barracks and took a deep breath.

"Everyone!" His voice shook the quiet camp. Vale didn't care what it woke up. He didn't care what might be hiding in the forest. They needed to move, and they needed to move now.

"Wake up!" Doors began opening around the camp as the others slowly stirred. Confused voices came from inside the barracks, followed by the sound of people getting to their feet. Vale raised his voice again.

"We're leaving. Pack everything you need!" He looked back toward Korin. The boy was still struggling to stand, and the look in his eyes had only grown worse. Vale's expression became grim.

"We have to leave. Now!"