Zay crouched down and carefully lifted Lyra into his arms, holding her in a princess carry before standing up to face Renzo. "Hold her for a moment," he said. Renzo nodded and took Lyra.
Zay crouched back down, grabbed his coat, and shook off the dirt before slipping his hands into the coat and zipping it up. He reached his arms out, and Renzo met him halfway, taking Lyra back into his arms. Zay held her tightly and whispered,
"Wake Lily up or carry her. We don't have time to spare. Follow me, keep up, stay fucking quiet, and whatever you do, do not look behind us or anywhere besides ahead at me."
Renzo nodded quickly, picking up Lily just as she woke up. He knew he didn't have time to explain. Zay activated his violet aura in a thin layer around his body and took off running down the pathway ahead of them. Renzo followed behind, his red aura coiling in a thin layer.
"Stay quiet and don't look behind," Renzo said, not taking his eyes off Zay but directing it toward Lily. She simply nodded, not understanding what was happening.
'Why the hell would that be activating?!' Zay thought as he swallowed hard.
His mind raced with possibilities, as the last time Danger had activated was in his previous life, in a place known as the "Dusk Zone." It was located within the sixth realm of this world.
Refusing to think of that place, Zay shoved it aside and continued running. He took a sudden right turn down a smaller passage off the pathway he had been running along. Renzo kept up with him, running right behind him as the two navigated through the path.
Zay came to a small cliff and stopped running, with Renzo slowing to a stop behind him. He looked over the cliff and saw a drop of an unknown length, leading straight down to spikes of rock jutting out from the water. He looked up at the sky, where clouds gathered. The jump across seemed almost impossible, but Zay chuckled to himself.
"No choice," Zay muttered, as he ran back a bit.
Lily looked up at Renzo. "He isn't going to… is he?"
"Oh, he sure is. And we'll be right behind him," Renzo said with a smile crossing his face. "Damn, I love adventures."
Zay closed his eyes, getting into position with Lyra in his arms. 'I don't know how the hell this will go with her... but I don't have shit to lose, besides months of redoing all of this.'
His violet aura faded as he focused it all into his arms to hold Lyra and his legs, before taking off. He surged down the passage, seeing the edge of the cliff ahead. He planted his feet at the edge, concentrating all of his aura into his legs, strengthening them. He leapt into the air, shifting his aura back into his arms in the span of a second.
Renzo and Lily watched as it seemed like Zay was flying through the sky. Zay glanced down and saw the ground beneath him. He placed his head down toward Lyra's stomach and tightened his grip on her as he slammed into the ground. His eyes flew open as his legs absorbed the full impact. He bit down on his bottom lip, forcing himself to push up and move out of the way before collapsing onto the hard stone. Blood began to instantly start to drip from his bottom lip.
Renzo placed Lily down. "Hope you can do this," he said before running back and mimicking what Zay did. He redirected all of his aura from his body into his legs and surged forward, his feet landing on the edge. He bent his knees for the jump and leapt off the edge.
Wanting to scream, Renzo forced his mouth closed by biting down on his coat. His foot missed the ground where Zay landed but caught on with one hand, taking the full impact in his arm. He felt his bone shatter into pieces. With his other hand, he grabbed onto the edge, knowing it was certain death below him if he didn't.
Zay rushed over, forcing his legs to move as he grabbed Renzo's arm, focusing all of his aura into it as he pulled Renzo up. Zay stood slightly, then pulled Renzo the rest of the way, slightly throwing him onto his stomach on the hard stone. Renzo was alive, though his arm felt like it was in pieces.
Zay looked up and saw Lily still standing at the edge. He shouted, "HURRY UP!"
Lily took a large breath. "Come on... I can do this... they both did it. As their older sibling... I-I have to be able to do this... even if I have a fear of heights." She muttered before running back a bit.
"Fuck it. If I don't force myself to go now, I'll never do it." She slapped herself across the face, and her aura surged around her legs. Suddenly, the water below erupted upwards. Rain began to fall rapidly, slamming into the water as lightning struck around them. Lily was already running and jumped. She made it halfway across before quickly beginning to lose height.
The water below caught her, pushing her upwards.
Renzo saw this and coughed. "D-damn, that is badass."
'I knew she had power to control the environment… but does it have some sort of passive that increases its effect over time?'
Zay watched closely, knowing Lily didn't use it often.
The water formed into a ramp of sorts, and Lily somehow slid down it, landing perfectly on the other side. She looked back as the water fell. Three seconds later, the water crashed into the body of water blow and her aura faded.
The three of them looked around and noticed four stone pillars, and a single pathway stretching forward, and a small field of roses to their left.
Renzo shifted slightly, clenching one eye shut in pain as every movement in his arm sent fresh waves of agony through his body.
Zay noticed this and decided to lie down, refusing to move. His legs felt like they were on fire, and he knew that walking any further might cause them to shatter like glass.
After a few hours of resting and talking about various things, Zay attempted to stand. With his aura focused around his legs — enhancing both strength and healing—he managed to get up. Renzo had kept his aura coiled around his injured arm the entire time, and thanks to his blood regeneration, it fully healed within just a few hours.
"We should get going. Since we have the second sacred relic, we probably only have a few more left. If we're lucky, we can find the rest in this dungeon — or whatever the hell this place is," Zay said, taking a few breaths.
Zay and Renzo both stood up and stretched before Zay walked over to Lyra, who was still unconscious. He knelt beside her, clenching his hand into a fist before extending his index and middle fingers. Gently, he reached out to her neck to check for a pulse.
After a few seconds, he felt a steady rhythm beneath his fingertips. Slowly, he placed his arms underneath her and lifted her back into his arms before shaking his head.
"What the hell happened to her?" Zay asked, sighing as he began walking down the only pathway ahead of them.
Renzo, walking behind him, replied, "From our best guess, it was just aura overuse or something."
"Odd... I've never felt her using aura at all," Zay said, turning his gaze down to look at her face before looking back up and continuing down the pathway.
Lily glanced back for a moment, her eyes catching a glimpse of something bright orange watching her. She shivered, then turned back to face them and ran to catch up. "...I think... we might be getting followed," she whispered, positioning herself between Renzo and Zay.
Zay turned his head over his shoulder, glancing back at the top of the cliff where they had jumped from. He didn't see anything. "Are you sure?" he asked, stopping for a moment and turning his body to face the cliff.
"I swear I saw something glowing orange—maybe bright orange—staring at us before it vanished," she replied, her voice filled with confidence.
"Let's just go, then," Renzo said, placing his arms behind his head and continuing forward.
After a few steps, he added, "Let's not run into another fucking wolf. I only won that fight because of the field... If it had been an open field, I would've died, and it would've eaten all of us. I don't want to fight another damn wolf with glowing orange, bright orange, dark orange... hell, I don't even want to see the damn color orange again in my life."
Neither of them said anything but followed behind him.
As the three continued down the only pathway ahead of them, green torches began to light the way forward. The ground became slightly wet as they pressed on. After an hour of walking, they came to a large iron door, the size of the pathway.
"What the hell is behind this thing, I wonder... there's absolutely no way it's something that can kill us, right?" Renzo said sarcastically and dramatically before walking over to the very small handle, which was the perfect size for his hand. He reached out and grabbed the iron handle just as the door started to open by itself.
Zay looked over at him with a blank expression, but it was clear from his face that his disappointment was very obvious. Renzo saw this and smiled before giving a thumbs-up.
Zay got the first look inside and saw nothing but a golden light, shining down on a room filled with gold, weapons, a few wooden chests, silver, rusted weapons, and several hundred books scattered across the ground.
Lily walked forward and glanced in from a closer point. She saw several books the size of herself and even larger, huge swords as if giants used them, small iron anvils, wooden staffs, weapons made of gold, weapons made of wood, and several other things.
"Should we go in?" She asked, turning her gaze toward Zay and Renzo, who stood next to each other.
The two brothers shared a look before Renzo waved his hand forward. "Go ahead and enter a damn dragon's lair. Let me know how that goes!"
She rolled her eyes before Zay laughed lightly and smiled. "Should I bring her in or keep her out here?" he asked, looking down at Lyra.
"...If it is a dragon's lair, then nowhere is safe, honestly. Just bring her in with us?" Renzo said, shrugging his shoulders, not really caring, before walking up to Lily and staring inside the large room.
Zay sighed, taking his eyes off of Lyra and looking forward. Just as he was moving, he heard a slight cough and looked back down to see Lyra opening her eyes. "W-where the hell am I?" she said softly, her vision blurry. Renzo and Lily turned to look back after hearing this.
Her vision cleared up after a few seconds, and she looked up to see Zay. A slight blush crossed her face before he set her down on her feet.
The first thing she did was check her sleeve and noticed that the key she had picked up was still there. She exhaled slowly and looked around.
Zay took a few minutes to catch her up on everything that had happened since she became unconscious.
"W-wait, so you carried me the entire time?" she asked, looking up at Zay. He nodded.
"I-I see... well, t-thanks for that," she said slowly before turning around and looking inside the large room ahead of them. Her blue eyes glowed with a golden light for a split second, which Lily noticed. Lyra spoke up.
"The third sacred relic is in the silver chest next to the entrance of the door," she said with a soft smile.
Lily stared at her face for a moment, noticing the blush on her cheeks. Lyra looked over at Zay before turning away.
"I think... we found who has a crush on our younger brother," Lily whispered into Renzo's ear. He looked confused, then glanced at Lyra and noticed it. "Well damn," he whispered before sighing.
Lily spoke up after doing a fake cough. "Which side is the silver chest on?"
"Walk in, look to your left, and it's on top of the golden coins. Whatever you do... don't take the gold or anything from this room besides the damn relic. For the sake of us all."
Renzo decided to go through with it and sighed. The moment he stepped inside, everything shifted. The pressure on his body almost made him vomit as he entered the chamber. His eyes grew heavy as he heard heavy breathing coming from all around him.
He looked up and saw a dragon in the sky, its eyes closed, yet somehow flying in circles as it slept. It was a large dark blue dragon with flames across its body, white claws, and snow formed around its claws.
Renzo kept his mouth closed and forced himself to walk to the left of the door, where he saw the chest. He reached out and touched it. The moment his hand made contact, a loud creaking sound echoed through the chamber. He looked up and saw the dragon's wings flap harder as it lifted its head, though its eyes remained closed.
Renzo reached his hand into the chest, and the Resonance Lens appeared along with a message:
[+1 Sacred Relic]
He stepped back slowly before walking out of the chamber. As soon as he did, he placed a finger over his mouth, carefully walked over to the iron handle, gripped it tightly, and slammed the door shut. It locked on its own.
He exhaled deeply before collapsing to the ground. Wiping sweat from his brow, they heard a roar coming from inside. The dragon's wings fluttered loudly, and wind rushed through the bottom of the large door as the dragon landed.
"Well... how the hell do we get out of here now?" Renzo asked, smirking, trying not to seem scared. But deep down, he knew death was on the other side—how could any of them kill a dragon?
"Get all three sacred relics, place them together on the floor, and the portal will open!" Lyra said. As she spoke, the other sacred relic Renzo had appeared in his hand as he thought about needing it. He placed both of them down, and Zay walked over to them on the ground and placed his down as well. The relics formed a perfect circle before they floated about 5 feet into the air, and a blue portal opened.
Renzo walked in first, vanishing from sight. Lily followed right behind him, and Lyra stood still next to Zay for a moment, looking up.
"Thanks again. I know you didn't trust me much more than they did... but it all worked out, so I hope you enjoy this life of yours," she said, smiling. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Zay on the cheek. Then, she closed her eyes, smiled again, and walked toward the portal, stepping through it.
Zay stood still for a moment, unsure of how to feel about the situation. His mind raced, but ultimately, he shook his head and walked up to the iron door of the dragon's lair. With a creak, the door opened, and the smell of ancient fire and ice filled the air.
"Zya. The Dragon of Greed," he spoke with a calm but firm voice as he entered the chamber.
The dragon's blazing red eyes locked onto him, the piercing gaze sending a wave of heat through the room. Zya's massive wings unfurled as she landed with a powerful thud, her claws digging into the stone floor. The flames and snow that had surrounded her claws receded as she fixed her gaze on him.
"You know of me?" Zya's voice rumbled, like the cracking of a thousand glaciers.
"You're a former Dragon Queen. Who wouldn't know of such a legendary figure?" Zay replied, his tone casual, yet respectful, as he stood tall despite her intimidating presence.
"What is it that you want from me, human?" she asked, her tone colder now, as her flame-scarred scales began to shimmer with an ethereal glow.
"A trade."
"A human... offering me a trade?" Zya's eyes narrowed as a wave of skepticism washed over her. "What could you possibly have that would make me feel greed? I have everything I could ever desire."
Zay paused, his mind briefly wandering. This wasn't going to be easy. But he had to take the risk. After a long moment of silence, he closed his eyes, collecting his thoughts before reopening them, his resolve hardening.
"I have information... a location. A place where your child will be in five years."
The dragon's pupils narrowed to slits, and a low growl rumbled in her throat. Flames suddenly erupted from her body, rising like a towering inferno. The heat surged around them, but she remained perfectly still, her wings extending as the flames coiled around her like a protective barrier.
"Who the hell are you?" Her voice was sharp, a mixture of fury and disbelief. "How do you know such a thing? What you speak of... is impossible. What child?"
Zay met her gaze unwaveringly, unflinching in the face of the dragon's overwhelming presence.
"Zay Yuso. You don't know me, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I can offer you that location that nobody else can give you."
The room seemed to grow colder as Zya's fiery wings dimmed to a soft glow, and her fiery breath slowed, though her claws still sparked with embers. She tilted her head, studying him carefully.
"And what do you want in return, human?" Her voice now carried a hint of curiosity, though it was laced with suspicion. "You come offering something of such magnitude... and yet, you ask nothing for yourself? That doesn't make sense for a human."
Zay smirked slightly, his eyes glinting with determination. "I won't ask for much. Just the opportunity to use your power when the time comes. Something that could help me in the future—something that could aid me in a fight I cannot win alone. A temporary alliance, if you will."
Zya studied him for a long moment, the air thick with tension. Then, she exhaled, her breath hot enough to scorch the stone around them. "You wish for an alliance with a dragon of my caliber? What makes you think I would ever consider such a thing? Even if you have information... tell me I should accept such a trade?"
"I don't expect you to accept right away. In fact, I wouldn't trust someone like me easily either," Zay said, a hint of a challenge in his voice. "But when the time comes, you'll remember my offer. And when you realize that your child's future hinges on a war you can't avoid, maybe then, you'll see the value of such information... maybe to cause the war to never happen?"
She turned her head to the side, her eyes lingering on him, then flicked them back to the vast cavernous expanse beyond her.
"You are one of the boldest humans I've ever met, Zay Yuso. Too bold for your own good. But I can see... something different within you," she said, then scoffed. "Very well. I'll accept this little trade of yours. However... if you dare harm any dragons I've ruled over, or my child... I will kill you."
Her eyes glowed crimson as a scroll made of animal skin materialized in his hands.
"I've already signed it. One-time use of my help in exchange for your vow not to harm any dragons or my child," she said, looking down at him with a sharp gaze.
He nodded, glancing around until he spotted a golden pen on the floor. He picked it up and signed his name in black ink.
Turning around, the scroll vanished into the Arbiter's Vault, and a whistle appeared in his hand before it vanished into the Arbiter's Vault.
'There are a lot of... differences happening here. Why is Zya, the Dragon of Greed, in the first Sequence? Not to mention where Ashgrave was... What the hell is going on in this loop? Is it because I decided to take Renzo and Lily with me? Maybe doing that is changing too much... It doesn't matter, I guess. But perhaps this won't be the last reset after all. And, the way Zya agreed so quick... something isn't right.'
Zay sighed and walked out of the chamber, leaving the door open. He entered the portal, and the sacred relics shattered into pieces before vanishing.