The Emperor Class

Dreu looked up and couldn’t believe his eyes. When Jojin said that there was someone important he must see, he wasn’t sure who the fire troll was referring to. He thought that someone might be a powerful shaman among the fire trolls. A part of him wondered if there was a prophecy he had to fulfill. He was, after all, called the champion of Xyheia by Jojin which made him sound pretty significant. However, he was not ready to meet a dragon face to face.

“Hail! Ulzrag the Red! I have brought young Dreu here.”

Atop the castle within the capital, Dreu saw dragons from afar and he was already mesmerized by their presence. Here, he was close enough to make out each red scale on the dragon. When Ulzrag landed mere meters away from Dreu, the impact nearly sent the young man flying. Once the dust settled, he could only think about how insignificant he was beside this incredible creature. The dragon greatly towered over him with him not even reaching the creature's knees. The presence of the dragon felt overwhelming, causing slight panic in Dreu. The young man didn’t know what the dragon wanted with him. He was merely an ordinary young man. When he possessed the Emperor Class, he had something that stood out. Due to Azorius, he now had nothing.

“Hello, son of Ross! I never expected to see you here.”

Ross? Does he know my father?

Before Dreu could ask anything, Ulzrag said that Ross was a good friend of his and a loyal follower of Xyheia. The dragon had the great honor of working with the man in evacuating other Xyheia’s followers to safety before the Right Arm of Xemir put a stop to their operations.

“He was one of the bravest humans I ever met.” The dragon lowered its head in what could be seen as a bow. “I apologize for failing to save his life.”

Dreu quickly bowed back and repeatedly said that the dragon did no wrong. A bow from a dragon was the last thing he expected but the dragon’s praise of his father gave him pride. He asked Ulzrag how it and his father met.

“Xyheia organized our meeting because your father’s goals and my goals aligned. We both wished to see Xyheia’s followers teleported to safety. To do so, we made the seemingly unimpressive farming community of Lullin our base of operation. With the help of some powerful illusion spells, the true nature of Lullin stayed hidden from the kingdom and even Xemir himself. The base served its purpose until the truth was discovered by the Right Arm of Xemir. Then, kingdom forces attacked and we are now dealing with the aftermath of that attack.”

Seeking answers, Dreu asked the dragon where they were. He hoped he could reach a proper conclusion from what he would learn from the dragon. However, he fully expected Ulzrag to question his sanity following the question. He even expected the dragon to scoff at his stupid question. To his pleasant surprise, the red dragon patiently explained their whereabouts.

“We are in a portal realm that exists separately from the real world. Time operates differently here too as a single day here is an entire year in the real world. This realm was supposed to give us a chance to escape Xemir’s followers but the demi-god Rowan managed to destabilize the realm and kill many of my fellow companions. We lost hope until we learned of your arrival.”

Dreu asked how Rowan could exist in the realm when he clearly existed in the real world. Ulzrag said that it suspected the demi-god forced itself into the realm. The teleportation spell for the portal realm was only meant for Xyheia’s followers. Yet, Rowan sensed it and, either through intentional means or by pure luck, a small part of him made it through. Since then, he had single handedly defeated anyone who challenged him. Even he couldn’t defeat the demi-god knowing full well that the Rowan in the portal realm only had a tiny fraction of the power possessed by the Right Arm of Xemir.

“If you cannot defeat him, then how do I stand a chance?”

To resolve the confusion, Dreu explained what happened at the capital and the moments before he woke up to see his family. He stated that the goddess had not spoken to him once following their encounter at the shrine nor did she specifically send him.

“I fear I’m not the champion of Xyheia you all hoped me to be.”

By then, Dreu noticed the large crowd of nonhumans gathered around him and Ulzrag. He was so engrossed by the conversation that he failed to see hundreds of trolls, centaurs and races he knew nothing about gathering in the cave. He could also sense a disappointed atmosphere developing among the spectators. The young man turned back to the dragon.

“Was Axichis lying? Are there no crystals that can resurrect those killed by Rowan?”

“I fear the duck was just told to get you here. He’s very good at making believable tales. While he was lying, he did it for good intentions. He also saved your life with his only ability.”

Dreu screamed at the top of his lungs and turned to run away from the dragon and the other nonhumans. He didn’t care what they thought about him. He just wanted to get away from these strangers he knew nothing about. He went down the tunnels he took earlier and didn’t stop until he reached the cave mouth. Falling to his knees, the young man cried his heart out.

Why? Why is it so hard to see my family again? Why do I keep losing those I care about? First, my family was gone when I returned to Lullin. Now, Bayard and the others are gone. Am I cursed?

When his tears ran out, Dreu sat down with his back against the mountainside. He stared up at the stars, recalling a brief conversation he had with his father.

“What are those things in the sky, father?”

“They are stars, son. When a person dies, he or she becomes another star in the sky.”

I wonder which stars are mother, father and brother.