The Lost Dragon King

Chapter 7

“Oh, I get it now!" Elijah shouted, shaking his head with a bitter smile. "So this is your new trick, huh?! Using my parents' memory to guilt me or blackmail me into coming along with you?!"

​He took a step backward, pointing a trembling finger at the two of them. Tears of pure frustration welled up in his eyes, but his voice was full of deep resentment and exhaustion.

​"I told you both plain and simple—I am completely broke!" Elijah yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing down the empty street. "I don't have a single penny to give to anyone! Not to you, not to Kathy, not to anybody! If anything, if you two take one look at my bank balance right now, you'd be the ones handing me money out of sheer pity! I don't even have six cents left to my name!!"

​He threw his head back and laughed at the absolute absurdity of the situation. Here he was, covered in dried mud and blood, being followed by two strangers talking about his useless locket as if it were made of solid gold.

​"So just leave me alone!!" Elijah barked, his face red with emotion. "Stop following me like crazy people!"

​The old man didn't flinch. Instead, he took a step closer, looking at Elijah with deep sadness and profound respect in his gray eyes.

​"Master, why do you think that way about yourself?" the old man asked gently, his tone calm and steady. "You are not a beggar. You are, in fact, extremely wealthy. Your true worth is beyond anything this world has ever seen."

​"Stop lying!!" Elijah shook his head firmly, refusing to hear another word. "I am not rich! I'm not even close to rich! I spent the last three years scrubbing dirty plates in a restaurant kitchen just to buy grocery items! Is that what rich people do?!"

​He wiped his face with his dirty sleeve, his voice dropping into a desperate, broken plea.

​"Just go away... please," Elijah whispered, staring at the ground. "There is nothing special about me. There is nothing I can do, and there is absolutely nothing you can possibly want from a loser like me. Just leave me to rot in peace."

​Mia stepped forward, her dark eyes flashing with absolute conviction. She refused to let him tear himself down like this.

​"That is not true, Master!" Mia insisted loudly, her voice full of fierce determination. "You are not useless! You can do anything you want! Whatever you wish for in this world, you can achieve it!!"

​Elijah snapped back instantly, his temper exploding all over again.

​"IF I CAN DO ANYTHING, THEN WHY COULDN'T I SAVE MY OWN MARRIAGE?!" Elijah screamed right into her face, his raw voice cracking under the intense grief. "Tell me that! If I'm so powerful and special, why did my wife leave me for another man?! Why did she throw my ring in the dirt and call me a broke loser?!"

​He gestured wildly at his bruised body, mocking them with heavy sarcasm.

​"What exactly do you think I am capable of, huh?!" Elijah asked, sneering coldly at Mia and the old man. "What is my great talent?! Can I wash dishes really fast?! Can I cook food for you?! Is that the kind of pathetic work you two want from me?!"

​Hearing his heartbreaking words, the old man’s eyes filled with emotional tears. He stepped forward and clasped his hands together in a desperate plea.

​"Master, please... we beg of you to remember yourself!" the old man pleaded, his voice trembling with emotion. "You are not a mere mortal bound by the rules of this world! You possess powers far beyond your own understanding!"

​"Powers?!" Elijah scoffed loudly, staring at him like he had completely lost his mind. "What are you even talking about?!"

​"Yes, Master!" the old man persisted urgently. "You possess the supreme power of manifestation! Meaning that whatever you think of, whatever you command with your mind and voice, will instantly appear and happen right before you! You can control reality itself!"

​Elijah stood frozen on the sidewalk, staring at the old man and Mia as if they were patients who had escaped from a mental asylum. He genuinely couldn't believe the absurd nonsense coming out of their mouths.

​"Are you serious right now?" Elijah asked, blinking in total disbelief. "Have the two of you confused some stupid fantasy movie with reality?! Is that what's happening here?!"

​He shook his head in disgust, turning around to walk away from them.

​"Listen to me carefully," Elijah said firmly over his shoulder. "Nothing like that exists in the real world! There is no such thing as magic, or manifestation, or secret powers! Magic doesn't pay rent, and it doesn't stop your wife from cheating on you! So stop talking like lunatics!"

​But the old man persisted, taking quick steps to keep up with Elijah's limping pace.

​"It is not a lie, Master!" the old man repeated again and again, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "The Master can manifest anything! You are capable of everything imaginable in this universe! You just need to command it!"

​Exasperated beyond his limits, Elijah stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around to face them, his breathing heavy, his mind completely pushed to the edge by their endless persistence. He decided to humor them with pure, biting sarcasm just to prove how crazy they were and shut them up once and for all.

​"Fine!" Elijah yelled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at them with pure annoyance. "Fine! If I can really manifest anything, and if I can really do anything I want..."

​He pointed his finger directly at both the old man and Mia, his voice dripping with venomous mockery.

​"...then I want the two of you to start floating in the air, right in front of my eyes, right now!!"

​The moment those exact words left his mouth in anger, a sudden, unnatural chill swept across the quiet street!

​The wind instantly died down. The air around them grew heavy and thick, vibrating with a strange, invisible energy that made the hair on the back of Elijah's neck stand straight up!

​Elijah opened his mouth to laugh at them, waiting for them to look stupid. But before he could make a sound, the laugh froze completely in his throat.

​To his absolute horror and shock, the old man's shoes slowly lifted off the hard pavement!

​At the exact same time, Mia's boots also broke contact with the ground!

​Without a single sound, without any ropes, wind, or machinery, both of them actually began rising straight up into the air! They floated effortlessly, rising one foot, two feet, three feet off the ground, hovering suspended right in front of Elijah’s wide, terrified eyes!

​Elijah’s jaw dropped so low it nearly hit his chest. The locket slipped from his fingers, hanging loosely by its chain as he backed away in pure terror, staring at the impossible sight floating right before him.