The sheer slope of the mountain turned from rock to glass about halfway through my stumbling descent. It wasn’t the slick, tempered kind; it was a scratchy, hastily hardened layer of bubbly slag that said plenty about the range of Sparkles’ breath weapon.

  Oh, and speaking of things that were said, I would like to reiterate to any party members reading this entry that I distinctly told you to wait at the summit.

  No, I don’t want to hear it.

  You disobeyed my direct order!

  And so Nora, ever willful and reckless in ways that differed from mine, joined me in my jaunt down the mountainside despite my repeated orders not to, just shouting “Dragon!” as if that explained anything and everything.

  Even Oliver and Relias had agreed I was supposed to go first!

  But that's still not what happened.

  Oliver had taken up semi-permanent residence in my sword hilt, so I wasn’t entirely sure if he simply couldn’t leave or just didn’t want to. Honestly, though, I’m reasonably certain it would’ve been the latter either way.

  Relias was the last to abandon the plan. He was right to be pragmatic, staggering us about to be able to draw the dragon’s attention differently, should that be required.

  I was still the first to make it to the edge of the runic depression, the poorly tempered glass crunching like hard candy beneath my boots. The stone bowl itself was clear of fragments, but its electric blue glow suggested that it would be a bad idea to cross its threshold without being invited.

  Sparkles herself hadn’t bothered to stand, her draconic bulk still coiled between the twin bonfires as her tail swayed back and forth, scattering the firelight as if it were a disco ball. Omitting her half-furled wings, she was about the size of a barn, and a good six times as far away. Bands of color rippled around her opalescence, only to fizzle whenever the ground renewed its mini quake.

  Her breath seemed to match the seismic intervals, each exhale ending with a small trail of smoke that rose past her upper left fang. It was clear, however, that she was not the source of the tremors.

  She tilted her head, her gold gaze unblinking.

  “Well?”

  I suppose it makes sense that a dragon’s rigid mouth is not exactly conducive to human speech, but the fact that she managed to sound so sharp without vocalizing threw me off a bit.

  “Um. Yes. It’s nice to meet you… Sparkles… My name is—”

  “That is not an explanation.”

  “I thought I should introduce myself first—”

  “Ten seconds.”

  Nora skittered off the slope toward my right, piously holding her staff horizontally behind her, a gesture of both non-aggression and barely contained excitement. I gave her a worried glance but pressed on.

  “Sorry! Short version. We’re not here to steal or stab! We’re here to fix Naught. It’s, uh, malfunctioning… Though you probably already knew that…”

  Sparkles’ tail stopped in mid-wave. Then it fell with a crash that rattled the entire basin, the nearby glass gatherings screeching from the impact.

  “With the Otherworlder,” she intoned, “the First of Men I once threatened to smite… and the Demon King who sought to bribe me?”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  “Um…” I paused, hoping she had a sense of humor. “Projects this complex usually require a diverse skill set?”

  For half a heartbeat, I thought it worked. The air went still, with the glow from the bonfires dimming as if she were considering it. Then the light sharpened again, and I realized she was exhaling through gritted teeth.

  “You presume overmuch, mortal,” her voice rumbled. “Your team brings origin, ruin, chaos, and defiance in extreme measure. The First of Men, the Demon King, a vessel of indeterminate potential… and then there is thou.”

  I swallowed, noting again that apparently just referring to me as me was moderately infuriating. “We’ll try to behave ourselves while we’re in Paradise,” I promised. “We’ll just go in, reboot and—”

  “Scoot!” Nora finished the slogan brightly, far too pleased with herself.

  A puff of smoke curled from Sparkles’ nostrils, and the air temperature spiked several degrees. The bonfires behind her flared in what could only be described as immediate rejection from upper management.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  Relias, who had just passed by on my left, raised his head. “O Great and Noble Dragon, before you stands the ultimate reincarnation of your original Master, Chosen One of the Goddess—”

  “You trespass again upon the Origin of Fire! None shall enter the Gates of Creation while I still draw breath!”

  The first blast was telegraphed by a dramatic inhale. Flames roiled across the vast basin, their molten orange glow swallowing everything in sight. I summoned my aura even as I raised Faith to block the focused attack. The shield grew several times in size, a deep, echoing BAH-DUM reverberating across her steely surface.

  An unmistakable battle anthem kicked in, drums and horns rumbling, with a suspiciously triumphant yet invisible choir chanting in a Latin-esque language.

  “Boss music?” I muttered, scrunching up behind Faith for imminent impact. “Really?”

  Faith ignored my questions.

  “Flamma verte!” Nora shouted.

  The dragons' flames shot skyward at her command, instead of slamming into my shield. A gold circle flared around my feet as Relias answered from my left, coating me in an extra glow.

  Alright, maybe their presence was required after all.

  Faith’s melody wavered between a minor and major key, clearly both improvising and taunting me to strike back. Will buzzed in his sheath, black and gold lightning crackling and spiraling together until the hilt shimmered with iridescent fury.

  “Stop that, you two!” I chided, though I drew the sword anyway.

  The dragon just told you how to proceed, Oliver said from the hilt. She spoke the truth.

  “You can sense her animus?”

  If Oliver answered, it was drowned out by a primal roar. The entire basin shuddered, then rang as Sparkles surged forward, her claws striking stone with each step.

  Another blast rippled toward me.

  “Ignem exstingue!” Nora screamed.

  Although the forefront of the flames slammed against my shield, there was nothing behind them to sustain their assault. A hissing spray followed as Sparkles began to hack and cough, her thunderous charge stalling mid-stride.

  I risked a look over the rim of Faith.

  Relias leveled his staff at Sparkles, who seemed to have been magically snuffed out.

  “Vinctus esto!”

  Golden runes sprang up in a lattice and wrapped Sparkles in radiant bands. She thrashed, shaking her muzzle in long, violent sweeps. Then she sneezed, expelling a glob of molten white snot that steamed as it splattered on the ground. She stomped several times, and the runes beneath her feet flared white before bursting apart, burning away Relias’s spell into nothing.

  “Try that all again!” I shouted as she inhaled once more. “Make her work for the oxygen!”

  Relias set his feet and gripped his staff in both hands. “For rage unrestrained and fury untamed,” he started to chant, “Let anger be silenced, and passion contained.”

  Nora took her turn before he finished, shouting over him with, “Extingue originem ignis!”

  The dragon shook its head and coughed only smoke again for a moment, but then started to charge at me once more.

  I skittered away, using my aura to give me an extra burst of speed.

  Does she not care that the others are hindering her?

  “Because she knows you’re the only one who can kill her,” Oliver answered. “So what are you waiting for?”

  …

  Relias’s chanting reached its crescendo. “…Where breath brings destruction and flame breeds alarm, let chains be for calm, and calm to disarm! Vinctus esto!”

  This time, large golden chains erupted from the circle, whipping around Sparkles and slamming her bulk down to the ground. Wings, tail, and claws all fought the bonds while the dragon’s muzzle continued to leak sticky strands of snot. For a few breaths, she seemed trapped. Her eyes then narrowed, and she shimmered, her form evaporating into diamond dust before she translocated herself out of the magic holds. With no evidence of remaining congestion, her head swiveled toward me, and she translocated again, snapping her neck forward as teeth flashed before my eyes.

  I dove and rolled; her maw closed where my head had been. Rising swiftly, with Faith ringing in my hand, I kept dancing as her neck lunged repeatedly. Each bite seemed targeted, yet she missed by the same fraction every time, leaving her jugular in range for just too long.

  Will’s hilt crackled angrily. “Rachel, stab her and be done with this!”

  “Why is she just using her head? She could be using other parts of her to stop me from dodging!

  “You’re overthinking this!” Oliver yelled even as doubt crept into his tone.

  I danced out of the path of her teeth again.

  “You… always… You can’t befriend everyone!”

  This time, she swung across my side before descending, leaving herself open for a full slash.

  It worked on you. And this is just too obvious. She’s goading me into attacking her.

  The sword stopped glowing. “I can’t make you undo your choice, no matter how much you will regret it.”

  What?

  I jumped back from another swiftly aimed bite and shouted, “You wouldn’t attack Raela like this, so why are you attacking me?!”

  At the mention of Raela, the dragon bristled. “I will tear you apart before I let you pass!”

  The basins of fire flared behind us, turning her form into a silhouette of refracting light.

  Faith returned to a buckler as I sheathed my sword to fold my arms. “Except you’re missing me on purpose.”

  She rose on her hindquarters, coiling as if to slam her front claws down in a show of death from above. I tilted my head and gazed upward as spittle rained from her teeth, her scales projecting a lens flare of epic proportions.

  “You’re very limber,” I called up to her. “But I’m still not sure how this helps us resolve the issue at hand.”

  There was a long pause. Then, her neck slithered downward so that she could stare into my eyes. For the first time, a wry smirk tugged at her muzzle as though her features had softened to putty for this one tiny moment.

  “Thou truly art not taken in by this?” she asked, her tone laced with sardonic weariness. “Very well, stubborn little spark.”

  She stretched once more toward the sky, then settled daintily on all fours a few feet in front of me. The bowls of fire behind us flared a surrendering white, and Faith’s music struck one final, resonant chord.

  “I see thou likest to do things the hard way.”

  ***

  Post-Chapter Omake:

  Nora: I told you before, no alliteration for 1500 words, and you couldn’t even make it to five!

  Rae: I wrote this entry long before you complained about my word choice. No retcons for you.

  Nora: You’ve got an answer for everything now, huh?

  Rae: I try to have a few excuses on hand, sure.

  Nora: He’s a bad influence, you know. You used to be so innocent!

  Rae: You're the one who taught me that. And you do realize I’ve known him for longer than you, right?

  Latest Chapter on Patreon:

  https://thelastraeofhope.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page

  Also, feel free to join my