David found himself once more in that bloody scene, surrounded by rubble covering piles of dead orphans, with a man standing on top of the wreckage holding a familiar silver-haired girl while saying with a rough and monstrous voice, “I’m sorry.”
David was then jolted out of bed by the sounds of an ear-splitting bell, ringing loudly and signaling the dawn of a brand new day. David then got up with tired eyes; his nightmares didn’t really allow him to get much of a satisfying sleep, and the ear-splitting bell didn’t really help matters. David then, with a massive yawn while stretching, got ready to start the new day. Once David was up and ready, donning his uniform with the crest of the Golden Dragon on it, he faced the door with a mix of fear and hesitation, not knowing what new trials the day would bring. David then let out a deep sigh, knowing that he still had to step out into the world once again, but the fear still lingered on. Recalling everything that had happened to him so far, it was a wild ride, but it wasn’t over yet, and he still had to open the door to face what awaited him on the other side.
David then, mustering all of his courage, stretched out his hand to the door and opened it before stepping out of his room to greet the brand new day.
David made his way through the academy halls, and as he did so, he didn’t fail to notice all the eyes that were on him from all directions, along with the whispers and murmurs about him by the other students of the academy. His heightened senses didn’t make the act of ignoring them an easy task, as he could literally see them through the ground underneath, and the students weren’t exactly being discreet about their conversations about him. David, though unintentionally, managed to catch some of the faint whispers around him, with them being mostly talks of how he was Ibierana’s long-lost son, the next Golden Dragon Warrior, and his incredible feat of facing an entire army of dark dragon warriors alone before being captured by them. David sighed upon hearing how great of a feat they believed he had accomplished, knowing that in reality, that so-called feat he accomplished was nothing to be proud of, recalling how during those moments he was completely consumed by the darkness within, losing all control to it and becoming a savage beast. David let out a deep sigh as he recalled the immense pain, rage, and frustration that enveloped his entire body, turning him into something akin to a beast, along with a power greater than anything he had ever felt before. David then crushed his hand into a fist as he recalled what he was about, what he wanted to do, and what he could have done if he hadn’t intervened and freed him from the clutch of the darkness within him.
David then let out a deep sigh, recalling the face of his unlikely savior, the most feared being in the entire world, the one responsible for inflicting a devastation so great it threatened to dismantle the entire world right down to its foundation, and the one responsible for ending the life of his mother, the Dark Dragon Lord himself. David wasn’t entirely sure why, but he couldn’t bring himself to resent the Dark Dragon Lord for everything he had done.
He knew he was considered a monster by all, a great evil that threatens the entire world by his mere existence, and the one who took claimed his mother’s life; that alone should be enough reason to make him detest, if not outright loathe, him with every fiber of his being, and yet… David recalled how it felt to be free from the control of the darkness and stand face-to-face with the dragon-armed monster every soul that walked on the surface of the earth feared with all their heart and felt not even an ounce of fear, anger, or hatred within but instead a strange sense of comfort and gratitude. David didn’t understand why he felt that way; maybe it had something to do with his forgotten past, or maybe it was the connection the Dark Dragon Lord spoke of when they first met. Whatever the reason may be, the fact that David could be in the presence of such a monster and feel comfortable, without an ounce of rage, anger, or hatred over all the unspeakable atrocities he was responsible for, which included ending the life of his very own mother, both immensely baffled and scared him.
David was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice a presence racing through the halls, moving as quick and swift as the wind itself before finally tackling David in a tight and unexpected embrace.
“What’s up, cous?” Flora spoke while squeezing David tighter in her embrace.
“Flo…ra… I can’t…breathe,” David spoke while struggling to breathe due to how tightly Flora held on to him.
“Oh, sorry about that; I just got so excited to see you,” said Flora as she finally let go of David, much to his relief.
David took in as much air as he could after being deprived of it while being held by Flora’s surprisingly strong grasp before turning his attention to her.
“It’s your fault, you know, for avoiding your friends for the past few days,” said Flora.
David, upon hearing what Flora said, scratched his head awkwardly before saying, with a hint of guilt in his voice, “I wasn’t avoiding anyone; I just…*sigh*, needed some time to myself, you know, after everything that happened.”
She wasn’t wrong; even though David didn’t outright avoid his friends, he still kept his distance from them during the past few days. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to be with them, far from it; it was because he needed some time to himself to process everything that happened, and also because a part of him was scared of what might happen if he ever lost control to his darkness, recalling his horrible nightmares, which served as a reminder of the beast lurking underneath his skin.
Flora, seeing the sad look on David’s face, just sighed before saying, “I get it; after what happened a few days ago, it’s only natural for you to want to be alone.”
Flora, as she spoke, couldn’t stop her mind from going back to the moment where she found the dead, lifeless corpse of her father lying on the ground. Seeing him like that, dead with his eyes shut, she felt a rush of pain and sorrow greater than anything she had ever felt before, and during the cover of darkness of the night that very day, Flora wept and cried her eyes out, unleashing the pent-up sorrow, pain, and frustration she had been holding in from the very moment her eyes found the gruesome and grim sight of her father’s dead body.
The past few days had not been easy for her; she struggled with grim and painful nightmares where she had to see her father’s corpse lying before her feet over and over again in an agonizingly painful cycle of death, and during the day she had to face the painful truth that from the very moment she opened her eyes, she was waking up to a world without her father in it. But she managed to get through it all and push past the pain, thanks to the simple fact that she wasn’t alone; Susan and Akiri were always there for her, sharing the same pain and loss, making the agonizing pain she felt from within lessen day by day. But there was still something that bothered and troubled Flora greatly, and that was the fact that David, despite having faced his fair share of turmoil due to what happened that day, chose to stay away and endure his pain alone.
Flora snapped out of her train of thought and then faced David, her cousin and the only family she had in the academy. She knew him well enough to know he was the kind of person that was always willing to help anybody that needed it, but in the process, he tended to ignore his own well-being, and that scared her a bit. She knew David was strong and could handle a lot, but there were some battles where strength wouldn’t be enough and there was only so much one person could handle alone; she was scared if David continued enduring so much alone, he might lose himself to his pain and sorrow.
Flora then took a deep breath, knowing that there was nothing she could say or do that could stop David from being David, but at the very least, she could remind him that he didn’t have to face it all on his own, placed a hand on David’s shoulder before saying with a warm smile on her face, “I know you’re hurt just like the rest of David, and you probably feel like you have to deal with this all on your own, but remember that you have friends and a pretty amazing cousin who care about you.”
David, upon hearing what Flora said, just flashed a smile at her before saying, “Don’t worry, that’s the one thing I can promise you I will never forget.”
“Good, because if you don’t, I’ll hit that noggin of yours until you remember,” said Flora as she playfully hit David on his head.
“Noted,” said David with a smile on his face.
“Come on, let’s get going. For once I’m actually looking forward to attending class,” said Flora as she began to move forward while gesturing for David to follow.
David walked by Flora's side, an act that took him back to the first time, not so long ago, when he roamed the very same halls along with her as a student, albeit an unofficial one of the academy, recalling the look of annoyance on her face due to having to deal with David's somewhat na?ve character. David couldn’t help but chuckle slightly while nodding his head as he thought how so much could have changed in just the span of a few days. Back then he was just a na?ve little boy who was eager to see the world and jumped on the very first opportunity given to him to do so, and now, sigh, David wasn’t really sure what he wanted anymore.
“Are you okay, David?” Flora asked, noticing the lost look on David’s face.
“I’m fine,” David said as he snapped out of his train of thought and back to reality.
“Are you sure about that? Because for a moment you seemed lost in your own head,” said Flora.
“It’s nothing; I’m just a bit nervous, that’s all,” said David.
Flora, upon hearing David’s reply, just nodded her head with a slight smile on her face before saying, “I’ll never get you, cuz.”
They both then continued on their way, moving through the academy’s hallways before eventually arriving at the assembly hall, where all the students had gathered to hear a special announcement from the headmaster. Once there, David and Flora found themselves with a massive crowd of academic students from all the academic schools.
“Flora, David,” a familiar voice called out to them from the sea of students that surrounded them.
David and Flora then turned around and spotted none other than Akiri pushing through the crowd of students, fighting his way through just to make it to where they were, eventually getting close to them only for him to slip and fall on top of Flora. Akiri, with a slight blush on his cheek, was wearing a nervous and frightened smile on his face as he looked at Flora’s face, which was as red as a rose at the moment, mistaking the red tint of her facial complexion as a sign of her fury before daring to open his mouth to speak, but before a single word could be uttered, a massive gust of wind sent him flying straight to the roof before crashing down hard on the ground below. The nearby students who had witnessed the ordeal looked at Akiri with a look of pity, feeling sorry for the misfortune that befell him, while David, on the other hand, couldn’t help but snicker a little, knowing that Flora’s outburst wasn’t caused by a mere outrage of fury, having spotted the blush along with the flustered and embarrassed look on her face.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Flora, hearing David snickering, turned to him, now directing her annoyance and rage towards him, and asked, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” David said while trying to resist the urge to burst out into laughter right there on the spot.
Flora, seeing the amused look on David’s face as he tried to hold back his laughter, couldn’t help but feel even more embarrassed and flustered, causing her face to heat up and turn red once more. Flora then immediately decided to shift her attention away from David and onto Akiri, who was currently down on the floor with spiraling eyes.
“Hey, four eyes,” said Flora as she went to him and helped him up.
“Flora, why are there four of you?” said Akiri as he struggled to stand on his two feet.
“Do that again and I’ll help you see stars without your glasses,” said Flora.
Akiri simply gulped nervously upon hearing what Flora said, knowing she meant every word she said.
“Noted,” said Akiri nervously.
Akiri then shifted his attention to David. He then approached and, with a warm smile and an extending hand, said, “David, how have you been? I’ve barely seen you around lately; at one point I even thought you had actually left the academy.”
Akiri's words sent a wave of guilt through David as he was ashamed of himself for staying away from his friends during the past few days.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” said David as he received Akiri’s hand, grasping it firmly in a tight handshake.
“No worries, I get it; you needed some time to yourself, especially after everything that had happened,” Akiri spoke in a somber voice filled with understanding, and in his eyes, though he tried his best to hide it, David could see the subtle hints of sorrow and pain.
“Yeah,” was all David could bring himself to say upon seeing the pain Akiri was trying his very best to conceal.
“Well, it’s good to know you’re still here.” said Akiri with a light chuckle and a bright smile.
David, upon seeing the bright smile on Akiri's face, had to force himself to form a smile on his while simultaneously trying his best to keep the overwhelming feeling of guilt from completely consuming his heart as he wondered to himself how Akiri could still muster up the strength needed to smile while also concealing the immense pain and sorrow he held deep within his heart. At that moment David couldn’t bring himself to say anything before turning his attention to Flora, noticing that even she was pretending to be all right and, like Akiri, was hiding her pain well but not well enough for him to not notice.
David just sighed at his two friends, wondering why they were concealing their feelings from him, but then again, he wasn’t really in a position to question their decision; after all, he was the cause of their pain, and instead of being with them to console and comfort them during the past few days, he chose to instead keep to himself and stay away, a decision he was too proud of at that moment.
“Hey guys,” a cheerful voice greeted them from amidst the crowd of students. Then all three friends turned their heads to see a familiar warm smile greet them all. David couldn’t help but gaze longingly at the figure that had approached them with a face that looked like he had fallen under some kind of a spell. All his senses focused solely on the figure, tuning out the noise and the presence of everyone in his surroundings with his heart pounding and racing underneath his chest until he was brought out of his trance by the clicking sounds of a finger snipping next to his ear.
“Earth to David,” Flora spoke while snapping her fingers one more time to snap David out of whatever trance he fell into.
“What?” David spoke in a daze as though he had just woken up from a long nap.
“Your spirit seemed to have left your body the moment you saw her,” said Flora while pointing to the familiar face standing next to her.
David’s eyes then returned once more to the sight that ditched him from the world around him, a sight that he was quite familiar with but always seemed to have a way to leave him breathless and with a pounding heart every time his gaze landed on her. Susan couldn’t help but giggle a little upon seeing David’s face freeze upon landing his gaze on her, an act that seemed to have brought him back to reality far more effectively than a snap from Flora’s fingers.
“Hey…Susan,” David spoke, a bit nervous and hesitantly, with two small red dots forming on the sides of his cheeks, an act that made Susan giggle once again.
Flora, sensing the unease and nervousness in David’s voice and seeing the two red dots on his cheeks, smiled mischievously, seeing this moment as the perfect opportunity to get some payback.
“Susan, does David look alright to you?” asked Flora with a sly grin on her face.
“He looks fine, why?” replied Susan.
David, spotting the sly grin on Flora’s face, immediately sensed that she was up to something but wasn’t exactly sure what.
“I don’t know; he looks kind of pale to me. Isn’t that right, Akiri?” said Flora to Akiri.
“I don’t know, he seems alr…” Akiri was cut off midway by Flora shoving an elbow into his stomach and then looking at him with a smile so sinister it made him reevaluate his life choices and if he had mistakenly befriended a creature that was more terrifying than a man-eating beast.
“Well, now that you mention it, he does seem a little pale,” said Akiri.
David, upon hearing Akiri’s reply, wore a look of shock and complete and utter betrayal, while Akiri wore a sorry look, telling him with his eyes that it was either that or face the wrath of the monster standing next to him.
Flora then spoke, with a grin that made her resemble more of a devil than a girl, saying, “Why don’t you take a closer look, Susan?”
David, hearing what Flora said, turned to her, looking at her like a scared puppy begging for mercy, while Flora, with a sinister smile on her face, made David finally understand why Akiri was so frightened of Flora and just how cruel his cousin was, swinging her side to side very slowly with a devilish grin plastered on her face.
David's pleading gaze was soon averted away from Flora and on to Susan, who had taken a few steps closer to David and leaned towards his face to examine him to see just what was wrong with him. David, being so close to Susan, felt his heart begin to pound underneath his chest as though it was going to burst out at any moment; he also felt his breath grow heavier and heavier as he struggled to send air down his lungs. His body then began to heat up, and his face turned beet red with sweat dripping down his face.
David then heard a snicker and then diverted his gaze away from Susan and onto Flora, who stood next to Akiri, spotting his devious cousin trying her best not to burst into laughter, holding back the immense urge she felt to let out the loudest laugh ever heard in the entire academy’s history, while Akiri stood by her side sending a look of pity his way.
David cursed Flora within his mind, wondering if they were truly related by blood, before diverting his gaze back to Susan only for his face to instantly turn as red as a tomato.
“I don’t see anything wrong, David. Are you feeling okay?” said Susan, seeming oblivious to Flora’s devious plan and the effect she being so close to David had on him.
“Don’t listen to Flora Susan; she’s just messing around. I’m perfectly fine,” David spoke with a nervous smile while trying his best to hide the fact that his heart was currently pounding underneath his chest.
“Alright then,” said Susan before leaning in closer to David and planting a kiss on his cheek, an act that sent a rush of overwhelming emotions through David and made his heart feel like it had burst wide open within him.
“Good morning, David,” said Susan with a playful smile, which made David’s face, who was yet to get over the lingering sensation of her lips pressed against his cheeks, grow redder with steam escaping from both his ears along with a smile on his face.
Flora, who couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore upon seeing the look on David’s face, burst out laughing at how well her plan worked, with Akiri looking at her while wondering how diabolical and cute the girl standing next to him was.
David just stood there motionless with his gaze fixed on Susan, ignoring the world around him and simply focusing on her, but then he sensed something coming his way. Feeling his footsteps from the ground underneath and instantly recognizing him, although David didn’t really need to do that to know who it was, as hearing the way the other students were panicking and moving out of the way to avoid him, along with the overwhelming scent coming from his direction, anyone could tell who it was.
David then spotted him moving out of the crowd with an intense flaming aura surrounding him: Steven Finiton, the fiercest and most temperamental student of the academy, who, upon seeing David standing so close to his sister, sent a deadly glare with his eyes glowing fierce fiery red with rage, causing David to gulp nervously.
“Oh look, hothead’s here,” said Flora with an annoyed look on her face.
“Flora, you promised you’d be nice around Steven,” said Susan.
“No, I promised you I would resist the urge to send him flying to the nearest wall every time I see him,” said Flora while glaring at Steven.
“Flora, please don’t provoke a guy with anger issues who has a tendency to hurl fireballs at people,” said Akiri, begging Flora not to pick a fight with Steven, with the memory of how Steven dealt with the army of Dark Dragon Warriors all on his own still fresh on his mind.
Flora, upon hearing what Akiri said, huffed with an annoyed expression on her face before saying, “He better not cause any trouble if he knows what’s good for him.”
Steven, rolling his eyes out of annoyance at Flora, turned his attention towards David, and with the same fearsome look in his eyes and a fiercely burning flaming aura, approached David. David, seeing Steven make his way to him, felt an overwhelming feeling of pure and utter fear and dread wash over him, recalling how he and Steven didn’t particularly have a good relationship and he was more than willing to reduce him down to a pile of ash where he stood, not caring about how he was. David didn’t completely understand where Steven’s animosity with him stemmed from; all he knew was that the raging inferno that was the fire dragon that was currently approaching him couldn’t stand him in any way.
Steven, now standing from David, looked down on him like some kind of raging beast that was getting ready to pounce and devour him at any moment. There was an eerie silence shared between the both of them, almost as though it was the calm before a great storm, with the both of them staring each other down, David looking at Steven with a nervous and fearful look on his face and Steven with a look of intense rage that would cause anyone who made eye contact with him to tremble and shake. David at that moment thought he was as good as dead, but then, almost as though a miracle sent his way by the heavens above, an angelic voice called out, “Steven,” and then, before every student in the academy, who recognized Steven more as a raging bull than a fellow student, Steven found himself locked in a tight and warm embrace.
Steven then did something that greatly took everyone there by surprise, except Flora, Akiri, and David. Steven hugged the person that had dared to lock the raging hell-blazing inferno in a warm embrace, as she was the one person, quite possibly in the entire world, that he wouldn’t mind receiving a hug from.
“It’s good to see you too, Susan,” Steven spoke in a gentle voice, with his fierce and fiery raging eyes and aura vanishing in an instant upon feeling the warmth of his sister’s embrace.
David, upon seeing the sight of Susan tempering the raging inferno that was her twin brother Steven, sighed out of relief, thankful to Susan for stepping in at just the right moment before Steven did something, as he was worried for a moment that he might have ended up as roast beef if she didn’t. David then looked at the two siblings sharing a moment, recalling how distant they were just a mere few days ago; now they are as close as ever, with Susan possibly being the only one that could ever put out the flames of rage and anger that burned way too brightly in Steven’s heart.
David, along with the rest of the students of the academy, heard the assembly hall’s doors open up, and then, one by one, the teachers of the academy stepped in, with the final person to make it out the door being Headmaster Richard and his wife and Flani, a lady who couldn’t help but summon and inspire an immense level of fear and terror within the hearts of the students of the academy. They made their way to the front, gaining the attention of all the students as they all awaited with eager hearts to hear what their headmaster had to say.
