The sky trembled from the heavy beats of Rakar's wings. Each sweep cut through the air, as if tearing the night apart. The embankment was far behind them. The dragon's emerald eyes reflected the horizon, slowly turning to gold. The sun's disk was about to appear, and its first rays already pierced the sky, meeting them at this height.
Alishem stood, legs wide apart on the dragon's back, greedily gulping the air. His hair streamed behind him like actual tongues of flame, playing with the wind. He raised his arms, threw his head back, and laughed:
"It's so good to fly! And so high! So this is what Airo feels…" — his voice rang in the air, merging with Rakar's roar. "— This world is so beautiful after all!"
Dan stood closer to the dragon's neck. His coat billowed heavily in the wind, his face remained calm. He squinted slightly, gazing into the distance, at the golden thread of the horizon.
"Yes…" he remarked quietly. "It's been a long time since I spent time like this."
Alishem turned to his brother and squinted slyly:
"But it's true though… Where's the dragon from? I don't seem to recall such creatures being in the Rifts…"
Dan ran his palm over Rakar's rough scales. The dragon growled softly, but the sound more resembled a deep sigh.
"Long ago…" Dan began slowly. "Thousands of years ago. People back then told legends about monsters, huge winged lizards that burned fields, stole cattle, killed travelers… No one believed these tales… but I decided to check anyway…"
Alishem perked up, flames dancing in his eyes:
"Legends are just embellished facts…"
"But this time this wasn't embellished…" Dan fell silent for a moment. "When I found him. I expected to see a vile creature, like those we exterminate inside the Rifts… but before me stood a majestic being. His fire was like yours, just as bright and purifying…"
Rakar let out a low growl, as if confirming these words, and his dark wings shuddered in the air.
"And yet I had to kill him," Dan said quietly, running his hand over his scales. "He was too strong. He was dangerous. People wouldn't have been able to survive near him. But I didn't let his soul disappear…"
Alishem lowered his eyes.
"The Oath of Darkness…" he whispered. "You found a way to give life even through death… didn't let his wings fall…"
The words dissolved into silence, and only the wind whistled between the black wings. Dan's gaze remained fixed on the horizon, but deep in his eyes, fragments of memories flickered. Alishem, however, couldn't take his eyes off Rakar, his gaze blazing with delight and respect.
"Almost there," Dan said.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Rakar began to descend. His wings sliced through the morning air, and with every second the outlines of the land became clearer.
Where a battle had raged four thousand years ago, peace now reigned.
Craters from explosions had long filled with water and turned into lakes. Where the earth had melted under their feet, grass now grew green. The wind, which once raised sand and turned it into deadly arrows, now only gently swayed the tops of young trees. Everything had fallen silent. Only the mountains still stood guard, silent witnesses to those events.
Alishem looked down, and his voice suddenly became heavy:
"Brings back memories…" He fell silent and sighed heavily. "Of all the battles, this is probably the only one I wouldn't want to live through again."
His voice carried a weight, as if he had returned to the past and felt that heaviness anew. He didn't like to remember those days. No one did.
Dan didn't take his eyes off the approaching ground, asking quietly:
"Have you ever regretted your choice? Ever thought we made a mistake?"
"How can life be a mistake? How can one regret… I'm grateful for every day I've lived."
"And how much life was in your days?" Dan said calmly, but his words struck like a blade.
Alishem froze.
"Life? In my days?.. What does he mean?"
He tried to brush it off:
"I roam the world! I learn something new almost every day!" His voice took on a defensive tone. "I see beautiful buildings that get taller and taller every year, as if people are striving to reach the sky… I'm rich! I travel! I have cars, a yacht… I'm living, Dan! Isn't that life?!"
He spoke faster and faster, as if afraid to stop. The words themselves pushed him forward, but inside, a void was growing.
Dan, with a note of sadness, almost to himself, said quietly:
"I had all that too."
"Well, there you go! We can do whatever we want…" Alishem's voice trembled.
"What's the point of it, if there's no one to share it with?"
This question hit even harder than the previous one. Alishem had no answer for it, and while he could have parried, he still tried:
"Haha, why share with anyone?" Alishem replied, less confidently now, without fire in his eyes, though he understood Dan was absolutely right. Everything he had almost immediately ceased to bring him joy. It was all just another task, completed.
Dan didn't answer the question but continued speaking:
"I've seen people who got up in the morning not for themselves. Men, women, children… They all lived for their loved ones. So their family wouldn't go hungry, so their child could go to school in new shoes and a shirt. So their parents wouldn't worry about bills. That's why people work. That's why they become better—not for themselves, but for those they love. There was happiness in their eyes, even if there was only bread and salt on the table."
The image of Theo appeared before Dan's mind's eye, and the corners of the Lord of Darkness's lips lifted involuntarily: "He's not rich, but you couldn't call him poor either. An ordinary man: his salary was barely enough for utilities and food for him and his girlfriend. But he always remained cheerful, happy, and kind. One of those who could give away his last and do it with a smile: 'They need it more than I do.'"
His voice grew even quieter, and he continued:
"I've seen the fabulously rich, who could afford everything… anything their eyes fell upon, but in their eyes was a boundless void, fear, and bitterness. Surrounded by many, but utterly alone. All of them seemed to be screaming: 'Take it all away, but give me meaning.'"
These words struck Alishem like red-hot iron. The flame in his chest, which had flared up when he was boasting about his achievements, was extinguished in an instant. Everything he was proud of suddenly seemed small, empty, meaningless. He didn't know and couldn't know what it was like to live for someone else. And Dan, standing beside him, didn't fully know it either.
But now Alishem understood: "At least he's searching… that mortal woman… perhaps she is the answer…?"
"We're here," the Lord of Darkness said calmly and jumped off Rakar's back.
"Indeed… didn't even notice we'd landed…" Alishem said quietly, still remaining on the dragon's back. His gaze was fixed on the silhouette of Dan, standing in a wide clearing.
Alishem smiled, his sincere smile accompanied by only one phrase that soundlessly echoed in the Lord of Flame's mind: "So we are on the right path…"
If you had the power of the Lords, what would you live for?
