The Lost Dragon King

Chapter 6

​Josie stepped out into the hallway, holding a thin gold chain with an old, strange-looking metal pendant attached to it.

​She walked past her furious sister and handed Elijah the chain and the locket. She had seen it lying in the back of Kathy's drawer earlier, and now she was giving it back to him so that he would leave her sister's life forever.

​"Here," Josie said softly, her face neutral as she placed the cool metal into Elijah’s trembling, open palm. "Take it and just leave."

​Kathy’s eyes went wide with sudden rage. She got extremely irritated and scolded her sister loudly right there in the open hallway.

​"Josie!! What the hell are you doing?!" Kathy screamed, trying to snatch the locket back, but Elijah quickly pulled his hand away and clutched the locket tightly against his chest. "Why are you giving him anything?! Are you out of your mind?!"

​Josie didn't back down. She looked her older sister dead in the eye and didn't change her stance at all.

​"He was just earning his money by working hard, Kathy, which isn’t a crime!" Josie said firmly. "He was divorcing you anyway, so what was the point of hiding the locket just to see him suffer? That's just cruel!"

​Kathy’s face flushed with pure fury. She threw her hands in the air, shouting at her sister at the top of her lungs.

​"He wasted three years of my life!!" Kathy roared, her voice shrill and full of hatred. "Three whole years I spent living like a pauper with this useless waiter! I should at least get that much as my compensation! He deserves to suffer!"

​Josie frowned, looking at her sister with disappointment. "So you're admitting to stealing it?"

​"I didn't steal anything!" Kathy snapped back defensively, crossing her arms tightly over her chest and looking away. "I just... I just didn't pay attention, okay?! It must have been lying around somewhere in the house!"

​Elijah stared at the locket in his hand. The metal felt heavy, smooth, and familiar against his bruised skin. Tears of mixed pain and relief welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision as he looked up at the younger sister.

​"Thank... thank you, Josie," Elijah mumbled in a raspy, broken voice, clutching his only possession tight.

​Without saying another word to Kathy or Jordan, Elijah turned away from the apartment. He didn't even look at the trash bags containing his old clothes. He left everything else behind, slowly limping down the dim staircase with tears streaming down his face.

​Elijah trudged away from the apartment building, the metal locket clutched firmly in his right hand. His plastic slippers dragged along the pavement, making a scraping sound as he walked aimlessly down the street without any real destination in mind. His mind was completely blank. Everything he had built over the last three years was completely shattered into pieces.

​It wasn't long before he sensed a presence behind him. The subtle sound of soft footsteps following his exact path made him stop in his tracks.

​Elijah turned around slowly, his tired, bloodshot eyes widening slightly. Standing a few feet away were the same two strangers who had rescued him from the alley days ago: the stern-faced old man and the dark-haired young woman, Mia.

​Mia's eyes were blazing with intense, murderous anger as she watched Elijah’s battered and tear-stained face. She turned to the old man beside her, her voice trembling with rage as she insisted, "Look at him! Those arrogant people have been tormenting our Master! Please, elder, allow me to go back right now and eradicate them from this world!"

​The old man immediately turned to her and admonished her harshly, his voice low but stern. "Quiet! Calm down right now, Mia!"

​He glared at her, reminding her sternly, "You know the rules! You cannot misuse your powers this way! We have to remain composed at all times, no matter what happens."

​"This isn't misuse!!" Mia argued back. "You yourself taught me that I could do anything to protect our Master! Look at his state! Those bugs were clearly tormenting him and making him bleed!"

​"That is enough!" The old man cut her off firmly, raising his hand to silence her completely. "Do not be so hasty! We cannot act or take a single life unless the Master himself gives us the explicit order to do so!"

​Mia bit her lip and relented, lowering her head. But she couldn't hide her frustration. She pointed toward Elijah, almost pouting like an angry child. "But... but look at him! He has been crying!"

​The old man sighed deeply, his harsh expression softening as he looked at Elijah’s miserable, tear-stained face. He finally agreed, nodding slowly. "Fine. We will go to him now."

​Meanwhile, they didn't seem to register or bother that their loud voices and strange conversation were reaching Elijah in clear snippets.

​The two of them approached Elijah together, stepping closer until they were standing directly in front of him. The old man bowed his head slightly, addressing Elijah with deep, profound reverence.

​"Master... please, come along with us now," the old man asked in a gentle, respectful tone.

​Elijah instantly recoiled, taking a step back in sheer frustration and fatigue. He rubbed his aching forehead, exhausted and deeply irritated by their constant presence.

​"Why do the two of you keep following me everywhere?!" Elijah demanded loudly, his raw voice cracking. "Look, I'm really thankful that you saved my life, okay? But the verbal thanks is all I can offer you. What exactly do you want from me?! I told you before, leave me alone! There is nothing left in my life anymore! I have no wish to meet or speak to anyone ever again!"

​Mia stepped forward, her sharp eyes filled with deep urgency as she pleaded with him. "Master, please don't say that! There is still a great deal left in your life! Please, just come with us!"

​Elijah snapped back at her, letting out a harsh, bitter laugh.

​"A great deal left?!" Elijah yelled, throwing his arms up in the air as tears spilled over his bruised cheeks. "What exactly is left in my life, huh?! My marriage is completely over! The woman I loved for three years just threw me out like trash and showed her true colors! I have no home, no job, and no family! And now you two expect me to believe there is more to my life?!"

​He glared at both of them, shaking his head in anger.

​"I'm telling you plainly right now—I have no money!" Elijah shouted, pointing at his dirty, blood-stained gown. "I am broke! So if you two are trying to scam me or extract something from me, it isn't going to work! You're wasting your time!"

​As Elijah spoke, he noticed both of their eyes drifting downward, locking onto the silver locket hanging loosely from his hand.

​Elijah looked down at the metal piece and added bitterly, a cruel smirk appearing on his lips. "And don't bother looking at this either! It's not even real! I've already had it tested by a professional jeweller, and he said it's completely worthless scrap metal!"

​Hearing his bitter words, Mia slowly shook her head, a strange, serious expression settling over her face.

​She looked directly into Elijah’s eyes and said softly, "To humans, that locket may indeed be worthless scrap... but to people like us, it is worth more than anything else in this entire world."

Elijah stared at Mia in complete confusion, his dark-circled eyes narrowing as he clutched the cool metal pendant tightly against his chest. His brain was too tired, too broken, and too numb to process the ridiculous things coming out of her mouth.

"Precious?" Elijah asked, his raspy voice filled with confusion and disbelief. "What could possibly make a fake, cheap brass locket so precious to anyone? What the hell are you even talking about?"

He looked at Mia, and then at the stern-faced old man standing quietly beside her. A bitter, mocking laugh escaped Elijah’s throat as he shook his head in absolute absurdity.

"And the way you two speak..." Elijah scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "...it's as if the three of us aren't even human! What are you trying to say, huh? That we're animals? Or maybe aliens from another planet?!"

He let out another disbelieving, hollow laugh at his own words, wiping a streak of dried mud from his cheek with his dirt-stained sleeve. He just wanted them to stop talking in riddles and leave him alone to suffer in peace.

However, Mia didn't smile. She didn't laugh either. Her sharp, intelligent eyes grew extremely serious as she took a small step closer to him, her expression softening with genuine sorrow.

"Master..." Mia asked gently, her voice barely above a whisper, "...do you truly remember nothing at all? Nothing about who you are?"

Elijah instantly snapped, his patience completely wearing thin. "There is nothing for me to remember!!" he shouted furiously into her face, his chest heaving with ragged breaths. "I told you a hundred times already! Just leave me be! Stop bothering me!!"

Mia didn't back away. She held his gaze steadily, pressing further with a calm yet piercing question. "Don't you want to know who you really are, Master? Don't you want to know... about your parents?"

The moment the word parents hit his ears, the remaining air in Elijah's lungs vanished. His entire demeanor shifted instantly. His face turned ice-cold, his eyes darkening with a dangerous, lethal warning as he glared at her.

"Never..." Elijah whispered in a low, terrifyingly cold voice, pointing a trembling, blood-stained finger right at Mia's face, "...never joke about that again. Do you understand me? I have no parents. I am an orphan. I've been an orphan my entire life."

Mia didn't break eye contact. She held his fierce gaze steadily, her voice quiet, firm, and filled with unquestionable truth.

"You do, in fact, have parents, Master.”