Asher lay on the ground and was unconscious.
The dragon, Ignifax, curled itself with Asher in the middle, as if protecting him.
The dragon's wings burned with a fierce, ethereal flame, yet surprisingly, they emanated a soothing, icy chill.
Remi had come out of the building to find Asher, but what she saw was legend itself.
Ignifax sensed Remi's presence but remained with Asher. Remi couldn't resist the dragon's beauty, sharp, golden-like claws, and brown eyes. Its scales were glassy and had shimmers of gold.
Remi approached them.
"Will he be okay?" She asked.
The mysterious dragon growled softly before leaping into the air and disappearing.
Remi looked up at the sky. It was a full moon. 'A full moon. An Ignifax.' She thought and felt goosebumps.
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After a while of what felt like three hours, Asher slowly opened his eyes to see Remi above him.
He jerked up, "What...What are you doing?" He asked.
Remi immediately got off him, "Sorry, I thought you wouldn't wake up, so I was ready to stay here all night", she replied as she placed a strand of hair behind her ear.
'All night, staring at me?' Asher thought.
He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I can't recall a thing. What happened?"
Remi felt goosebumps again and told him all that happened afterwards.
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At dawn, the Umbrax students left for the Nevermore Forest. They were placed in groups of three each and were given a silver crystal.
"If these break, you and your group will fail the test. You aim to carry it around with you and come back with a Griffin's egg," Lord Malovik paused.
Asher was set up with Remi and Marnie.
Unlucky. But he also wondered if the adults were doing this on purpose.
"If you're afraid of getting lost, then consider yourself lost already", Lord Malovik continued.
"Any form of sabotaging other groups, stealing their eggs, or breaking their crystals will result in your failure. Violence between groups will not be tolerated. Off you go!" He commanded.
The first task.
"We always stick together, huh, ginger head?" Remi asked with excitement as Marnie gasped in surprise.
Asher flinched. "Don't even think about it, it's nothing like that", he insisted and then turned to Remi.
"And keep your sweet talks to yourself".
He felt nothing could go wrong, at least if he was careful enough not to reveal his status screen.
A week earlier, he had noticed that those who owned Sageas had their details on the top right of their screen, which meant that, if he revealed his. Kaito's detail would be seen.
The one mistake he couldn't make that would ruin his life for eternity.
After walking around for thirty minutes, they couldn't find a single griffin. "At this rate, we'll never find one, this place is deserted!!" Marnie exclaimed.
"The first group has passed the test", Lord Malovik announced.
"Already?!" Remi asked.
Asher handed the crystal to Marnie, who looked confused. "Watch it," He said as he climbed up a tree.
Remi burst out in laughter.
"Griffins don't live up there, Asher!" She called out.
It was useless.
Asher came back down, and four groups had passed the test already.
"Illusion!" Marnie exclaimed, unleashing a burst of magical energy that brought a convincing Pyropex Griffin into life.
Both Asher and Remi were dumbfounded.
"You could have done this all along?" Remi asked.
Marnie let out a small chuckle. "Sorry... anyway, this could lead us to a real one," she assured.
They followed the replica Griffin's trail, as it led them deeper into the forest.
Ahser felt weird. "Marnie...are you sure this is safe?" He asked.
Marnie flinched and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. "Well...it's my first time trying this magic..." she blurted.
They all panicked.
"Your first time?! We're doomed! Where are we?!" Remi yelled.
Then silence crept in.
"Um...Marnie...where's the replica Griffin?" Asher asked, trying not to sound nervous.
It was gone. The magic had faded off. They were lost.
Remi could hear the sound of her heartbeat, and Marnie kept shaking.
HISS!
"Shhh..." Asher insisted.
They stood close to one another. "Asher, what's that?" Remi whispered.
They heard the rustling in the bushes, which made Marnie scream.
"Hey, be quiet!" Asher clamped his hand over Remi's mouth, but it was too late - her outcry had already stirred the Darklings, the vengeful spirits of those who'd met their doom within the forest's depths.
"Shit! Run!"
They managed to escape but felt like they were running in circles.
The Darklings sprouted out from all corners, surrounding them.
"Stay back! Stonewall!" Asher shouted, his hands gesturing swiftly. The ground burst upward, forming a rugged wall of rocks and dirt that blocked the Darklings' approach.
"Asher, how did you do that?" Remi asked in awe. They were covered with the rocky shield Asher had summoned.
"Grr! Now is not the time for that! Marnie, I want you to create an illusion of us when this breaks" His fingers twitched as he tried to keep the shield intact.
Marnie shook her head, "I can't do that, I told you it was my first time attempting that type of magic, it'll go wrong again!" She exclaimed.
The cracks on the rocky shield grew bigger.
"Please, I can't keep this for much longer!" Asher pleaded.
Most of the groups had returned to Malovik with their eggs and were watching on the Atherscope.
"How do they get out of that mess?" A student asked.
"Wait a second, that's Rowan's brother!" Another clocked as they all agreed that it was Asher.
"My lord, should we go and help them out? At this rate, they won't survive," A guard insisted.
But Malovik's reaction was unexpected. He laughed.
"Help out? They are doing just fine to me," He smiled. "They can handle it", Malovik confirmed.
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"In three! Two! One!" Asher counted down as the rock shattered into pieces.
"Illusion!" Marnie declared, conjuring a mesmerising replica of the three of them.
The Darklings were confused as the replica team attacked.
Ahser and the girls escaped, but a specific Darkling chased them to a dead end.
The Darkling stood still, and Asher's breath became heavy.
The dark, slick skin of the Darkling faded off, revealing an old man's soul.
"Woah!" Remi exclaimed.
It was Eddy, Asher's grandfather.
Asher felt a knot in his stomach, and he stood frozen in place.