With Xaryus guiding the way, Zadius followed behind towards the waterfall. They carefully stepped up onto the rocks near the crashing water and slipped between them and the cliff face.
Zadius would have just dismissed the rock formation as a simple rock shelter; however, the pale blue light emanating from it went against that thought.
"It could be a lost relic of some kind. If so, it can get us an ample amount of money." Xaryus spoke, stepping into the dimly lit rock formation.
Its entrance was wide, revealing a long cave that ran into the cliff side for about twenty metres before quickly descending.
At the point of descent, Xaryus could see the intensity of the light had increased. Tilting his head, he continued into the cave with Zadius only a step behind.
As they moved further and further in, they reached the point of descent and could clearly see a radiant blue light paving the way through the darkness that nestled within the cave.
Carefully, they walked downwards and with each step the warm air between the rocky walls became colder. Eventually, there was no warmth left and the cold encompassed the entire tunnel.
Whilst the pale blue light grew brighter and brighter, the brothers could see the warmth of their own breaths and their bodies began to shiver.
However, Xaryus pushed forward, driven only by his curiosity.
"It shouldn't be this cold, it's the middle of summer." Zadius said, hugging himself tightly to provide some type of warmth.
"You're right, whatever is causing this has to be special." Xaryus responded, his gaze stuck to the pale blue light below.
Several minutes had passed before reaching the end of the cave.
They thought they stumbled upon some beautiful artefact that exuded an unnaturally cold aura, but they had only stumbled upon an opening at the cave's end.
Now at the base of the tunnel, the cold was unbearable. The brothers were forced to circulate animus throughout their body just to tolerate the biting temperature.
Before them, the cave opened up into another extremely large underground cavern illuminated by a wide, glimmering, blue lake; the source of the stark, pale, blue light.
However, the cave opening was tens of metres above the floor of the cavern.
The blue light painted itself across Xaryus and Zadius' body, their expressions filled with wonder at what laid below them.
Down below, next to the still yet vibrant blue lake was a feminine figure adorned in an ornate blue dress. She was too far away for either sibling to distinguish her features but the creature beside her was easily recognizable.
Coiling around her, the large beast embraced the woman like a small child reaching out for their parent's affection. Its body was so massive, it made the wide cavern look like a small cage.
The beast was covered in a litany of blue and white scales, with a single long tail that curled around the expansive lake. Its wide back held too massive wings that could touch each end of the cavern if it so pleased.
The creature's large, horned head rested beside the woman as she gently dragged her hands across the beast's rough cheek.
Xaryus and Zadius could hear the creature's satisfied bellows from the distant opening at the cavern's side.
"Is that?" Xaryus spoke out, dumbfounded.
"A dragon." Zadius added, in a similar fashion.
Xaryus and Zadius were currently on Obis, one of three major land continents sat on the western edge of Etherios. Above them was Inux and below was Ucrana, the elven continent.
It had been around 110 years since the last recorded sighting of a wild dragon on the continent.
Many had started to speculate that the ancient beasts had gone extinct because of a new disease, but no solid proof had emerged and no other substantial theories had found purchase.
For the last few years, dragons were thought to have been long gone, excluding the ones that had already been domesticated or bonded with an awakened.
At that moment, there were only two known dragons on the continent.
Arkon the Infernal, a fire dragon that had been within the Lionheart family for 5 generations and Femyl the Unbreakable, an earth dragon controlled by the Gold Brand; one of the major merchant guilds on Obis.
But now there was a third…
"I thought Dragons were extinct?" Xaryus spoke out loud.
"I thought so too." Zadius replied.
"…They are very much alive." A third, strange but gentle voice sounded from behind.
Suddenly, a cold chill ran up Zadius' spine. His instincts screamed at him to immediately attack the strange voice behind him, but he couldn't move.
He was frozen in a cold and unbreakable fear.
Just by feeling the ominous energy exuded by the stranger behind him, Zadius knew if he had attacked recklessly, he would have died in a single moment.
Unaffected by the strange voice, Xaryus was still focused on the beautiful cavern. To his surprise, both the feminine figure and the massive dragon had vanished from sight.
He could have sworn his gaze never left the two beings down below, but at some point he lost his focus and then they were gone.
Xaryus' heart pounded as if it wanted to burst through his chest. The sound of heavy footfalls erupted from within the massive cavern, threatening to throw the brothers to the ground.
Then, at some point the cave opening was covered by a canvas of light blue scales.
Instinctively, Zadius took a step back, almost forgetting about the strange being behind him. Xaryus on the other hand was in awe.
Slowly, the dragon had opened its large eye in front of the cave opening. The beast held a cold, deep, ocean-like gaze that pierced Xaryus like a thousand shards of ice.
Yet, he wasn't afraid, his focus was glued to the strangely beautiful beast almost as if he was enthralled by it.
"…You may turn around." The strange voice sounded once more, ordering the two brothers.
Feeling an intense weight lift off his shoulders, Zadius slowly shifted his attention away from the hulking blue eye and turned back into the cave. His entire body screamed in fear yet there was nothing he could do but witness the source of alarm.
There, standing behind him was an otherworldly beauty, with a tall stature, smooth pale skin and blue eyes that looked like a vast and unfathomably deep ocean.
She had long, straight white hair that fell to her shoulders and was veiled by a deep blue and white silk gown that barely hid her naked body.
Even though the woman behind Zadius looked human, there was something strange about her.
He could sense it because of her shadow…
Her shadow was incomprehensibly cold and oddly inhuman, Zadius felt as if there was an abyssal, icy void trapped within the shadow cast by the cold woman.
It was something he had never experienced before in his entire life.
"She's not human!?" Zadius thought, trying to pull Xaryus closer to him.
Strangely, as he tried to tug his younger brother closer he was met with resistance.
He quickly glanced over at Xaryus and to his own surprise, Xaryus was just standing there as if enchanted by a beautiful woman.
His breaths had become shallow and as he exhaled, Zadius could not see the warmth of his breath.
His body was getting colder at an alarming rate…
"…Who are you!? What have you done to my brother!?"
Zadius erupted in nervous anger but the beautiful woman didn't respond. Her gaze was stuck between Xaryus and the draconic beast that blocked the cave opening.
"He's attempting to bond with the dragon?" The woman thought.
"You cannot bond with her, child. She is mine and mine alone." The woman's cold voice echoed throughout the cave and her icy hand placed itself atop Xaryus' head.
The moment she touched him, he immediately came out of his trance-like state.
Zadius had wished to reprimand the cold woman but he dared not speak.
Instead, he gave Xaryus a worried gaze; his younger brother was still staring into the large blue eye that encompassed the cave opening.
Xaryus then spoke clearly and briefly, "Ahri…Her name is Ahri."