The Sword Of The Fire Dragon

"Elements of Nature: Dragon"

Arya jumped several steps back in shock. The dragon he had seen earlier, which appeared not too big while flying in the air, turned out to be enormous, about three times the size of an adult elephant.

The handsome young man could only stand frozen. His knees trembled violently, especially when he saw the sharp gaze of the creature's eyes in front of him. It was precisely the same sight he had seen before.

The massive dragon writhed its head a few times and let out a loud sound as if expressing its anger. Its crimson eyes remained fixed on the human figure before it.

Not knowing what to do, Arya stood still. The dragon did nothing either. They simply stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.

Lacking certainty, Arya decided to speak, even though he wasn’t sure whether the dragon could understand him.

“Excuse me… I have no ill intentions whatsoever. I came here because I saw the bright red light from afar.”

The dragon let out a low growl while moving its head. Arya couldn’t understand what it meant.

“As for that sword, I have no intention of taking what isn’t mine. Let the sword remain there forever. If I may, I’d like to take my leave,” Arya said.

Without waiting for the dragon’s response, Arya turned around to return to his training ground. But after taking only four steps, a deep voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

“Stop, young man!”

Arya’s eyes widened in disbelief. He never imagined that the dragon could speak. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. Fear coursed through his mind. If forced to fight, there was no way he could defeat a dragon of that size, especially one radiating such immense energy.

“Come back, young man!” the voice echoed again.

Arya let out a heavy sigh. He needed to gather his courage to turn back around.

Once he felt mentally prepared, the handsome young man mustered his bravery and turned to face the dragon.

There was a noticeable difference in his view. The dragon’s once crimson eyes had shifted to a calming shade of blue.

“There’s something I need to ask you, young man,” the massive dragon said.

Arya nodded slightly. “Please, what do you wish to ask?”

“How do you possess an element of my world? Who are you, truly?”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Arya replied. He genuinely didn’t know that his body had unknowingly absorbed an element from the dragon’s world.

“Don’t lie!” the dragon’s deep voice roared. The gust of air from its mouth shook Arya to his core. Its wide eyes flared red once more.

“I wouldn’t dare lie to you. I truly don’t know what you mean,” Arya said, swallowing hard.

The dragon stared intently at Arya. Its eyes gradually returned to their calming blue hue. It saw no trace of deceit in the young man’s expression. Could it be that this young man was the cause of the commotion in the dragon’s world, leading to its displacement into the human realm?

“What exactly were you doing yesterday?”

Arya began to understand the dragon’s question. But could his actions really have drawn the massive dragon to Earth?

Slowly, Arya explained to the dragon what he had done the previous day. He also apologized if his actions had caused the dragon any disturbance.

“There’s something you must know, young man… You didn’t just pull me into your world, but you also caused a major uproar in the dragon’s world. The barrier shrouding our realm was breached because of your actions,” the dragon explained.

“But I didn’t know my actions would cause such chaos in your world,” Arya defended himself.

“Logically speaking, how could someone like me, who has only begun learning martial arts, breach your world? I didn’t even know there was a dragon’s world until now. How can you blame me?” he added.

Hearing Arya’s rebuttal, the dragon looked at him with slight irritation. However, it also realized that the breach in its world wasn’t entirely the young man’s fault.

“I admit it’s not entirely your fault, young man,” the dragon said, falling silent. It began to contemplate the possibility that if this young man could cause such a disturbance in its world, there must be something extraordinary within him.

“If our discussion is over, I’d like to take my leave. I need to rest as I have more training tomorrow,” Arya said.

“You may go,” the dragon replied, nodding before disappearing into the sword embedded firmly in a stone.

As the dragon vanished, the bright red light emanating from the sword also faded away.

Arya walked away from the site with a sense of relief. Yet, his mind swirled with questions about the massive dragon and the sword he had encountered.

Asking Sarwana might be an option, but didn’t Sarwana himself know little about the existence of a dragon’s world?

Silence. That was the decision Arya made. He would not tell anyone about the dragon he had just met. He feared people would think he was crazy if he revealed the secret. He decided to let the secret remain in his mind.

When he arrived back at his training spot, Arya lay down on the black stone. The persistent drowsiness quickly closed his eyelids, pulling him into slumber.

The night passed swiftly. The warm morning sunlight greeted the Earth, awakening Arya from his sleep.

The handsome young man stretched his arms and began some light exercises to loosen his muscles.

Not long after, Sarwana arrived, bringing fruits with him. Among them was Tundra moss, a rare delicacy from the ruler of the Panguripan Gorge.

“You should fill your stomach before resuming your training, Arya. I’ve brought some fruits for you,” Sarwana said, placing the fruits and moss on a stone.

“Alright,” Arya replied without stopping his movements.

“I’ll be off now, Arya. My scouts have reported an unusual number of people entering the forest. I fear they might venture into the Panguripan Gorge, so I need to keep watch,” Sarwana said.

Arya paused and looked at Sarwana. “It’s unusual for so many people to enter the forest. What are they looking for?”

“I don’t know yet. I’m still waiting for a report from my scouts about their intentions,” Sarwana replied before leaping away.

After eating, Arya began his training. Unbeknownst to him, a pair of sharp eyes observed him from a distance.