The Heir Of The Last Dragon

7. Current in the Shadow Path

The gates of the crystal hall closed with a soft thud that echoed deep within Ethan’s soul. Behind them, his father slept in a temporary eternity. Ethan stared at his palms, which still felt the lingering warmth of his final handshake with Silas. He took a long breath, trying to dispel the tightness in his chest, then turned to follow Isyra’s footsteps, which had already disappeared into the darkness of the northern corridor.

"Do not look back too often, Ethan," Isyra’s voice sounded cold, breaking the silence of the corridor now illuminated only by the blue glow of Rion’s scales. "Your steps become heavy every time you do."

Ethan snorted, quickening his pace until he was level with her.

"You have no right to dictate how I walk. I just left my only family in the hands of a stranger."

"Silas is no stranger to your history, even if you do not know it," Isyra replied without looking back. She held a magical torch that emitted a faint light, enough to show that the path ahead of them was beginning to slope steeply downward.

The Shadow Path. The name was not given without reason. The deeper they ventured, the cave walls were no longer made of solid stone, but of black, rotting roots that oozed a thick liquid smelling of sulfur. The air felt thin and damp. In the distance, a growl echoed, not from any beast, but a resonance of something far more primal.

"Nayana, ready your arrows. Bryan, guard the left," Isyra commanded.

Bryan nodded sharply, drawing his dagger with a highly efficient motion.

"Ethan, you watch Rion. Do not let him release frost-fire unless I give the word. His light can invite things we do not want here."

Ethan only gave a short nod. Rion felt different beneath his cloak. The dragon’s weight had increased, and his body temperature now felt like embers wrapped in ice. His first transformation had made Rion more alert; the dragon constantly emitted low chirps, as if communicating with the darkness around them.

Suddenly, Isyra stopped. She raised her hand high.

"What is it?" Ethan whispered, his hand reflexively gripping the hilt of his rusted sword.

"Quiet," Isyra hissed.

From the darkness ahead of them, a black mist emerged, moving against the wind. The mist did not scatter, instead, it condensed to form slender, faceless figures crawling along the cave ceiling. Shadow Creepers. They were scavengers of magical energy that usually only appeared in territories long held by Axandra’s darkness.

"They smell Rion’s energy," Isyra murmured. "Ethan, use your sword, but do not activate the fire yet. We must pass them without making a great commotion."

"Are you crazy? They’ve already surrounded us!" Ethan pointed behind them, where several similar figures began to emerge from the root crevices.

One of the Shadow Creepers leaped with lightning speed. Ethan reacted faster. With instincts that were now far sharper, he swung his sword. Even without the blue fire, the sword possessed an unnatural sharpness due to his synchronization with Rion.

The creature was split in two, but instead of dying, its misty body merged back together within seconds.

"Do not attack the body, Ethan! Strike the core in the chest!" Isyra shouted while performing a precise thrust with her slender sword toward another creature.

The fight erupted in the narrow corridor. Bryan fought with a brutal style, using his physical strength to slam the creatures against the cave walls before Nayana showered them with arrows dipped in holy oil.

Ethan felt pressed. His emotions began to rise again as he saw Bryan nearly snatched by the black claws of one of the creatures. He could feel Rion inside his cloak beginning to struggle, wanting to burst out and destroy everything.

"No, Rion! Not yet!" Ethan shouted in his mind.

However, the synchronization could not be contained. As Ethan’s anger reached a boiling point, Rion leaped out. The dragon was now the size of an adult dog. With one powerful flap of his wings, Rion released a wave of cold that froze the black mist around them.

The frozen creatures shattered into pieces as Ethan slashed them with his sword, which was now once again ablaze with blue fire.

"You are stubborn, Ethan!" Isyra shouted while fending off an attack from above. "This light will call a greater guardian!"

"At least we didn't die a pathetic death here because of your excessive theories!" Ethan shot back bitterly.

After a few minutes of intense combat, the corridor returned to silence. Shards of ice and fading black mist filled the cave floor. Ethan was panting, staring at Rion who now stood beside him, his breath exhaling blue steam. The dragon looked more formidable; his scales now had sharp, glistening edges.

Isyra approached Ethan, her eyes flashing with suppressed rage.

"You just announced our position to every tracker within a five-mile underground radius. Are you proud?"

Ethan sheathed his sword roughly.

"I saved Bryan. That is more important to me than your cowardly hiding."

"Cowardly?" Isyra laughed hollowly, a sound that rang sharp in the darkness. "You think I brought you through here because I am afraid to fight? I brought you through here so we would reach the Valtherion Valley before Axandra burns the place to the ground! If you keep acting like a brainless hero, we will never get there in time to save your father!"

Ethan fell silent. The words "save your father" hit him like a physical blow. He stared at his hands, which were trembling from the residual adrenaline. He knew Isyra was right, but his dislike for the way she commanded still made him feel alienated.

"That’s enough, both of you," Bryan interrupted, trying to mediate. "We are all still alive. That is what matters. Isyra, how much further are we from the exit of the Shadow Path?"

Isyra took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. She pointed toward the corridor that was beginning to widen ahead.

"At the end there is an underground river. We must cross it. If we are lucky, the current will carry us faster toward the valley border. But if not ...."

"If not?" Nayana asked in a small voice.

"The river ends at a waterfall that falls directly into a Dread-Wyrm’s nest," Isyra answered shortly.

Ethan looked at Rion, then at Bryan. The challenge ahead of them was becoming increasingly irrational. However, as he saw the reflection of his eyes, now almost entirely gold in a puddle on the ground, he realized that the way back was closed tight.

"Let’s move," Ethan said, his voice now lower and more controlled. "I won't make the same mistake again."

Isyra looked at him for a moment, searching for honesty behind those golden eyes, then nodded slowly. They moved again, this time in a tighter formation. The echo of their footsteps in the Shadow Path became the only sound accompanying the long journey toward a destiny that was drawing ever closer.

Behind the darkness, a pair of red eyes monitored them from a distance, waiting for the right moment to pounce on the dragon heir who was now beginning to show his teeth.