RE: ZERON I will return for you, even if it takes a million

chapter 16 : The Dragon in Chains

​As we racked our brains for a solution, Ora suddenly remembered something. "That’s it! I can get you inside without anyone seeing you."

​I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden spark of confidence in her voice. How on earth did she plan to smuggle a human into a high-security prison without alerting a single guard?

​"You can enter the space within the Time Sword," she explained. "Once you’re inside, I can place the sword into the magic ring."

​I was stunned. She went on to explain that because I had formed a pact and merged with the sword, I was now part of the Celestial Item itself. A master entering their own weapon was a process similar to how the weapon retreated into the crystal embedded in the master’s body.

​She mentioned that I could effectively possess the sword, just as the sword possessed me during battle. She then produced the Magic Ring—a storage item for spirit tools—from her mouth. Her plan was simple: once I was inside the sword and tucked away in the ring, Ora could slip into the prison unnoticed.

​I wasn't entirely sure if such a bold plan would work, but if it was the only way to infiltrate the cell block, I had no choice but to agree.

​"It isn't as complicated as it sounds," Ora added. "You just need to harmonize with the blade as you’ve done before and command it to take you in."

​I gripped the hilt, feeling its aura pulse through my veins. I focused on the presence of the Time Sword; a moment later, my body dissolved into pure energy and was pulled into the blade. I gasped, finding myself standing within the crystalline heart of the weapon.

​"Incredible... it really worked."

​Ora boasted that even while inside, I could still utilize the sword’s abilities and it would still obey my will. "Only Celestial Items are capable of this; they are specially forged for their masters."

​"However," she cautioned, "this is still a magic spell. It drains your energy every minute you're inside. You can't stay merged forever; once your energy hits zero, you'll be forcibly ejected."

​I reverted to human form and caught the sword as it materialized in my hand, excited by this newfound utility. Finally, we had a way in. My only remaining concern was the safety of Lavender and the children while I was on this mission.

​"Based on what you told me about the previous timeline, Lazarus only wants Lavender," Ora noted. "He couldn't care less about the children."

​She suggested that Lavender also merge with her own magic item and be placed in the ring. Unlike me, Lavender possessed a vast reservoir of mana, allowing her to stay inside her item for nearly half a day as long as she didn't cast other spells.

​I encouraged Lavender to try it. I told her she would be safer from Lazarus inside the ring where I could look after her.

​"I... I'm not sure if I can do it, Master Aren, but I will try," she said. Though hesitant and clearly unfamiliar with such advanced techniques, she followed my instructions.

​A few hours later, we put the plan into motion. Ora, being small and inconspicuous, slipped through a high window in the prison wall. She moved through the corridors like a shadow, eventually reaching the cell block where the rebels were held.

​Even though she was inside, Ora realized she didn't know what Frexia looked like in human form. The spirit she had spoken to had only shown her the dragon.

​"How am I supposed to pick her out of a crowd?" she muttered to herself.

​She approached a cell where several bandits sat in chains. They jumped when the small creature suddenly spoke to them.

​"Excuse me, do any of you know a woman named Frexia?"

​"Who goes there? What kind of creature are you?" they demanded, eyes wide.

​"Just an ordinary being. Answer the question: is Frexia held here?"

​One of them pointed toward the floor. "Frexia is our comrade, but they moved her to the solitary confinement in the basement because she's a Dragonaire."

​After thanking them, Ora hurried toward the basement. Seeing guards stationed at the heavy iron door, she knew she couldn't just walk past.

​"We can't let them see us. Better to put them to sleep."

​She spat out the Time Sword, which slid across the floor to the guards' feet. The crystal on the hilt glowed, and time ground to a halt. I leapt from the blade, struck both guards across the back of the neck to knock them unconscious, and dragged them out of sight. They hit the floor in seconds.

​"Why did you just spit me out like that?" I complained to Ora, brushing dust off my clothes. "You could have at least given me a heads-up!"

​She ignored my griping. "You need to be ready at every second of this mission. We don't have time to bicker."

​I retreated back into the sword, and Ora carried the blade through the small barred window of the inner door. "We're in."

​I was stunned by the sight before us. In the center of the dark cell stood a woman bound by massive, reinforced chains around her neck, arms, and even her long, scaly tail. She had striking blue hair and patches of dragon scales glinting on her skin.

​I was mesmerized. It was my first time seeing a Dragonaire—a half-human, half-dragon hybrid usually reserved for legends. I couldn't look away from her piercing, feline eyes.

​"This must be her."

​I emerged from the sword and approached her. Seeing her restrained by such heavy iron, I felt a pang of pity. But Ora hissed at me to stay back. She noted that something was wrong; there were no sealing spells on the chains or the room.

​She reminded me that Dragonaires are naturally powerful. Ordinary iron shouldn't be able to hold her; she could shatter those chains with a flick of her wrist.

​"What? She can break them? Then why is she still here? Why hasn't she escaped?"

​"I don't know," Ora replied. "I've seen Dragonaires before. I don't think she's bound because she can't leave. I think she's here because she chooses to stay."

​I was floored. "But they're executing her tomorrow! She can't stay!"

​Suddenly, Frexia spoke. Her voice was cold, yet it held a strange dignity. She praised Ora’s intuition. "I do not know who you are, but you clearly are not soldiers of Aksin."

​I introduced myself and told her we were there to help her escape before the execution. Silence followed as she let out a weary sigh and told us to leave.

​"I do not care who you are or why you are here. I do not need your help. I am a Dragonaire, and I follow no one’s orders but my Master’s."

​I was confused. What was her Master’s plan? Her life was on the line. "You're going to die if you stay!"

​"Die?" She looked up, a grim shadow crossing her face. "It would be better if they could manage that."

​She explained that she wouldn't resist the soldiers. She had chosen death as her path of atonement. As I tried to step closer, the air grew frigid. Shards of ice began to form on the walls around her.

​"What do you mean? You're just going to let them kill you? But why?"

​Frexia stood up, releasing a terrifying pressure. "Why should I tell you? I don't care what your business is here. Leave now and do not interfere if you value your lives."

​I tried one last time to convince her. "We have no ill intentions! We just want to get you out of here! Come with us!"

​Before I could finish, she lashed her tail. Massive, jagged spikes of ice erupted from the floor, hurtling toward me. They were sharp enough to skewer a man instantly. I barely managed to trigger a Rewind spell, snapping myself back to the hallway outside the cell.

​"She’s definitely not in a talking mood," I panted, my heart racing. "Good thing my reflexes were up to the task."

​"What now?" Ora asked. "She doesn't want help, and we certainly can't force a dragon."

​I told Ora that something didn't add up. If Frexia truly accepted her death, why did the previous timeline end in a massacre? In my memory of the execution day, she didn't hesitate to slaughter everyone in the plaza. Why the sudden change from "atonement" to "total annihilation"?

​Ora considered this. She suggested that even if Frexia wanted to die, her Celestial Item might act on its own to protect her—just as the Time Sword does for me. The "Blue Dragon" I saw might have been the item’s defensive manifestation.

​We went back in to try again, but she was even more aggressive. "I despise persistent pests," she hissed, filling the cell with frost until I was forced to Rewind again.

​Realizing she wouldn't listen to a stranger, I decided to gather more information. We returned to the other bandits’ cell. We offered to save them from the gallows in exchange for the truth about Frexia.

​The eldest bandit sighed and began to tell their story. Frexia had been adopted as a daughter by the leader of the Black Raven, a mountain tribe that had been displaced by conflict. They had encountered the Aksin soldiers when they were forbidden from settling on "government land."

​Aksin, viewing the tribe as a threat, framed them for bandit attacks on merchant caravans. Because the tribe carried weapons for survival in the woods, the government branded them a rebel stronghold. When the tribe refused to pay the "peace tax," it led to a bloody skirmish.

​The bandits insisted they were only defending their village, but they were never given a chance to explain. Outnumbered and outgunned, they surrendered to spare the rest of the tribe still hiding in the forest.

​"So you're here to die for your people?" I asked.

​He nodded. There was an agreement: the Black Raven would surrender their weapons and several key members—including Frexia—to prove they weren't planning a rebellion. "It was Atu Raksin, our leader, who ordered us to do this for the safety of everyone."

​I felt a surge of anger. They were being used as sacrificial lambs by their own leader. But the bandits explained that if they escaped, the government would retaliate against the entire Black Raven tribe.

​"That’s why she won't leave," I realized. "She thinks her death will buy them peace."

​We slipped out of the prison to regroup. As Lavender and I walked back to the inn, the pieces began to fit. Frexia had fought to protect her people, which led to the death of soldiers. To atone for the "trouble" she caused, she surrendered.

​But this was a recipe for disaster. If Frexia is on that stage tomorrow and something goes wrong—or if she realizes the government has no intention of sparing her tribe—the "Ice Dragon" will be born from her despair.

​"What do you think, Lavender? How can we help her?"

​"It’s a trap," Lavender said softly, looking down at her hands. "Even if we break her out, the government will just use it as an excuse to wipe out her village."

​Ora noted that Frexia probably thought the only way to keep her people safe was to eliminate the "enemy" entirely. That would explain why she eventually destroys the town and joins the Black Scorpion. There was a deeper tragedy here, rooted in the clash between the tribe and the state.

​"We know why she’s driven to kill tomorrow," Ora said. "So, what’s the plan?"

​I honestly didn't know. Do we smuggle her out and risk her village, or do we stay and try to stop the massacre? Tomorrow is the execution. If we do nothing, the first of the seven destroyers—the Blue Dragon, Frexia—will rise from the ashes of this town.