Chapter 61: Twin Link
Clint!
The sound of earrings softly tinkling went unheard. Kyrios swept back his bangs with a depressing expression, he paid no attention to his weeping earrings. The red glow of them intensified more as he shifted his weight on the chair.
"You still look so strict, Old man."
"Are you bragging about being a few centuries younger?"
"I'm nearly two millennials younger than you!"
"If it wasn't for your deceased father, I'd have accidentally roasted you with my dragon breath for your slander."
"Haha! That's why I'm so grateful to my esteemed father."
"Be grateful to me as well, you punk!"
"Hahaha!"
"What is this?" Unable to understand the situation, Kyrios mumbled with a frown.
He was so worried about his twin sister that he couldn't sleep a wink for the past few months. But there were two parents that lost their children in this incident chatting happily.
One was his father; Elysium. The other was the Titan King Ragnar.
Judging by their conversation, they seemed to be close. Very close.
"So, have you had any luck with the missing children?" Ragnar asked, changing the topic of their conversation.
The moment he asked, the atmosphere of the throne room changed. A dark shadow fell on Elysium's face.
Tap.Tap.Tap.
He tapped the armrest with his long slender finger, lost in thoughts. The fur cape rustled as Ragnar crossed his four arms, standing upright. But his expression was also dark.
Kyrios, consumed by the atmosphere, held his breath as he watched things becoming serious for the first time since he sat on the chair. He also wanted to know the answer to King Ragnar's question.
"I've deployed all ancient dragons on other planes, risking war with Angels and Demons. And I've personally asked Thanasios of Celestial Plane. The Primal plane and the Void Plane are also under surveillance. But amidst all, I am ashamed to say that there are no signs of them just yet."
"Could it be that there was something going on with demons? Especially with the Scubbuss Queen?"
"Could be. The demon you caught lurking near the gate was also a Scubbuss, isn't it?"
"...are they trying to wage war again?"
"Who knows. The Scubbuss you caught died without giving us much information. But pests like demons are quick to wage wars for fun. Though, it's hard to read that cunning Sin of Lust."
"Sigh…I never thought I'd see the day of the resurrection of a never-ending racial war."
Ragnar's words made Elysium frown. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a low and meaningful chuckle filled the throne room. Everyone, including Kyrios, paid attention to the person that voice belonged to with worried eyes.
"Trust me. You wouldn't be able to."
It was Endymion.
Sitting on a chair reserved for the royal family, he looked at Ragnar as if he was amused by a child's declaration of becoming a superhero when he grows up.
Ragnar unfolded his four arms and bowed respectfully to Endymion. Although Endymion had a benign smile on his face, everyone knew how not to take his words so lightly.
Endymion was a dragon that held thousands of years of ancient wisdom. Furthermore, controlling the Time attribute—a rare primodial element—made him already enigmatic. His voice undoubtedly carried up the weight of past, present and future.
Not to mention, the last war Demons waged was put to an end by Endymion. He lost too much at that time. Hence, "war" was a matter not to be looked down upon when Endymion was there.
"I am deeply grateful to know that, Your Majesty." Ragnar replied, still bowing his head.
"What Majesty? I am merely an elderly man. That title doesn't belong to me anymore." Endymion waved his hand with effortless elegance and dignity.
"Yes, I'll keep that in mind, Your Royal Highness." Ragnar smiled, lifting his head.
"Anyway, drawing prolonged attention to unusual matters wouldn't be beneficial. Besides, war is not a problem. We have to find the children first. I am thinking of personally joining the search party that went to Void Plane."
"Are you saying—" Elysium immediately sat up straight on the throne when Endymion mentioned the void plane.
"It's not a prophetic dream." Endymion cut him off.
"Ah…"
"But it's the least I can do. Since we have the Prime-Dimensional Gate here, I can cross the plane without any difficulty…"
Listening to his grandfather talking, Kyrios had a strange feeling. Something stirred inside his pounding heart. Something he struggled to name. His earrings dimmed a bit as he rolled his thoughts inside his brain.
'I want to go.' His golden eyes darted around.
"You can't." Then came a gentle whisper.
"Huh?!" Kyrios flinched so hard that it looked as if someone had discovered his deepest darkest secret and was now blackmailing him.
He glanced at the owner of the voice. Plum purple hair, violet eyes, tan skin and pointy ears…it was Netzer, his and his sister's personal assistant. Studying Kyrios' shifting expressions, Netzer smiled gently, curving his violet eyes like crescent moons. It was as if he knew what Kyrios was thinking.
"I know this sounds heartless, but Your Royal Highness, you are the next in line to the throne. Even if His Majesty approves, the house heads and council would never let you go."
"Ah…" Netzer truly had a talent for reading Kyrios. Groaning, Kyrios dropped his head. He fridgeted with his tiny fingers like he didn't know what to do. The red glow of his earrings slowly came to life once again.
Seeing that, Netzer sighed in secret.
"I'm certain Her Royal Highness would have said the same. She wouldn't want you to also be in danger when she's in trouble too. She must have faith in you so that you can manage by yourself in her place when she's not around."
"Y-you're right!" Kyrios' slumped shoulders and dropped head regained its vitality. The red glow dimmed slightly at the mention of his sister's expectations.
Before Kyrios could gather courage to meet those expectations and Netzer was about to sigh in relief, something shifted inside Kyrios.
He paused. Like someone had freeze time, like a low level robot with its battery ran out, all his activities and actions, including his thoughts paused. Netzer sensed the shift within two seconds. Just as he was about to reach out, Kyrios shot up from his seat as if he was possessed by something.
His innocent and round golden hue eyes widened. Rosy lips parted. Cold sweat ran down his chin. His knees buckled like something heavy settled on his shoulders. Grasping his aching heart with both his hands, he looked out of the closed glass window with a pale face.
"Y-your Highness?" Netzer cautiously spoke. He looked confused as to why his master was acting strange all of a sudden.
Then, it happened—
Kyrios' earrings glowed so brightly that it looked blinding. It took less than a quarter second for the adult inside the room to notice his change.
Kyrios staggered as if he was hit on the back of his head with something heavy like a hammer. Even though he was confused, Netzer catched him cleanly, not letting Kyrios collapse.
"R-Ria…" Kyrios mumbled, not taking his eyes off of the window.
He wasn't just merely looking out of the window. All of his senses were focused on far beyond it.
Very far beyond…
Somewhere far away.
He felt like something that had been attached to him since he was born was about to rip apart, snapped in two. It came directly from his heart.
It was painful.
"Ugh…" Tears involuntarily flowed out like a flood.
Kyrios grasped his clothes tighter, as if he wanted to reach his agonizingly throbbing heart bare handed. He raked his brain to figure out what this physical and emotional pain was.
That was when he saw it.
〖Ding!〗
The usual sound. Kyrios' eyes widened more as he looked at the sky-blue transparent window.
〖
〖The connection with the other end is shaking〗
〖The connection with the other end is getting unstable〗
〖WARNING!〗
〖If the connection with the other end get broken, the user will receive a great mental shock by breaking the skill:
〖You will be sealed and forced to hibernate untill you recover〗
"Huh?! Ughh!" Kyrios made a confused noise. Then, understanding the situation, he gritted his teeth.
There was only one way to break the connection between the
That was none other than the death of one party. That was the only way the skill can break to the point of the alive one getting a mental shock.
And getting a warning of the possibility of breaking that link meant…
"Dad!!!" Kyrios shouted, barely tearing his eyes off of the window. His voice raw and primordial, as if coming from the depth of his very being.
He looked at his father with desperation and urgency.
"Dad! Ria is in danger!!!"
While others made more confused faces, Elysium and Endymion stood up as if springing out of their seats.
After all, they knew from records that all dragon twins had the ability to sense each other's emotions, as well as their death.
"Where?!" Elysium called out.
"There!" Kyrios pointed out of the window, still clutching his heart.
"Guide me, Son."
Elysium took long strides as the entire throne room watched in confusion. Before long, he was pushing the window in no time. He looked back once casually, his yellow diamond eyes signaled Kyrios to follow him. Without saying anything anymore, Elysium jumped out of the window.
"Wh-what?!" Kyrios could hear King Ragnar exclaim in surprise in Titan Runic.
However, Kyrios had no time to hear him out or explain anything. He shook off Netzer's support roughly and ran towards the large window.
Never have he seen his earring glow so brightly before.
Never have he felt his heart aching so painfully before.
Never has he been this…anxious before.
Kyrios halted in front of the massive arched window, opened wide like the wide mouth of an abyssal monster. Just in time Elysium, who had already turned into his true dragon form, soared high up to the sky. This display of change brought the throne room into chaos.
Yet Kyrios cared for nothing. He followed Elysium without hesitation. The way he jumped out of the window, his expression determined to the point of sending shivers down someone's spine, appeared like a scene from a heroic story only bards tell for entertainment.
Thud!
The entire throne room looked at the place where the loud thunder came from. The chaotic atmosphere soon died down.
Thud-Thud.
Endymion walked past Ezekiel and Netzer with heavy steps. His amber eyes were unreadable. Some held their breath, sensing his leaking dragon fear even from afar. With a hardened expression, Endymion halted before the window where his son and grandson jumped down. He, as well as all the others inside the room could see the two dragons flying away from the window.
Woosh!
There was no word.
No hesitation.
Not even a glance.
Endymion jumped down and followed both of them in terrifying silence.
The three golden arch dragons flew away from the Selene Palace as the people in the throne room stared at them in disbelief and confusion. Within a minute, they again fell into chaos even Ezekiel couldn't handle.
Meanwhile…
—Kyrios, Is she somewhere closer to us?— asked Endymion.
—I-i'm not sure. I feel like she's close, but not close at the same time—
—Then, are we going in the correct direction?— Elysium closely followed Kyrios.
—Yeah, I feel a strong pull from this direction—
—...—
—...I think I know where we are going— Elysium mumbled, glancing at his silent father. Endymion nodded without a word.
It took them less than a minute to arrive at their destination.
From a far, they could see the massive gate made up of space cherry colored crystals. Elven guards, as tiny as matches from above, were running around as if they were a part of a provoked ant hill.
Most of the devices and weapons that were set up there to prevent any enemy from crossing the gate were either fully active or ready to strike.
And they could also see the current gate keeper; Kairo, and Lady Zoe; the grandmother of Euclid, in their dragon form.
Lady Zoe, an ancient Pteron-dragon with a colossal 89 meter length body was advising the elves and commanding the weapons to be lowered.
Meanwhile Kairo; The young adult Arch-dragon with his 60 Meters long and 32 meter height body covered in silver scales with pale butter yellow tips, was looking straight at the entrance to the Prime-Dimensional Gate.
Kyrios followed his gaze.
The result?
His heart nearly dropped.
Roar!
Elysium let out a booming roar.
It contained surprise, disbelief, joy, relief, concern, fear and many more tangled emotions.
Roar!!
Endymion followed. His roar was no different from Elysium's.
Roar!!!
As if not to be outdone by the two adults, Kyrios also let a loud roar with all his might.
People below looked up.
Some wore disbelieving expressions. Some wore reverence, and some were trembling in fear.
But to the three golden Arch-dragons, nothing matters.
Yes, nothing.
Except for the tattered little girl supported by Euclid, nothing else mattered to them.
All three of them transformed into their human forms before even properly reaching the ground. That's how impatient they were. Parting the golden mist, they practically jumped down from the sky and ran towards the girl.
"Sister!!!" Kyrios couldn't help but cry after seeing his sister's state.
Despite being made of nano-tec, her clothes were tattered. Her body and face was covered in dirt, with wounds all over. Blood still leaked from some deep wounds, turning into Mana particles before reaching the ground.
Her face was pale. Lips dry and cracked. The air of elegance she always carried was nearly gone.
"Brother…" yet she still replied to him with a gentle smile. Her earrings glowed in a brilliant blue hue.
So how could he not cry?
How could he not worry?
How could he-How could he…not love this wonderful sister?
"Waaaahhhhhh!!!! Sisterrrrrr!!!" Overwhelmed by his emotions, Kyrios plunged into her embrace like a lost child finding his mother.
Kyriaki wobbled. If not for Euclid supporting her from behind, she'd have already kissed the ground. Her body was too weak to bear Kyrios' weight and speed.
"Oh…thank goodness."
Kyrios wasn't the only one to shed tears.
Crying like an opened waterfall, Elysium knelt down and embraced the twins with trembling hands. Like a dry tree finally welcoming a drizzling rain after years of patience, stretching its dry branches towards the cloudy sky as if asking for more, he slowly tightened his grip around them.
His movements were so heartbreakingly tender and so very gentle that it pained the onlookers.
"Thank goodness you're safe. I'm so glad…I'm so so glad." he mumbled repeatedly. His shoulders shook with each tear he shed.
"It's okay…I'm here now." Kyriaki calmly patted the two crying men despite her visible fatigue. Her usually indifferent face now held relief and a hint of joy.
"...Ria." A deep voice, molded by years of wisdom, echoed in Kyriaki's ears. Although deep, it was undeniably soft to hear. Kyriaki looked at Endymion who called out to her while tilting his head.
Perhaps because of his long years of experience, Instead of crying, he held pure joy on his face.
"Grandpa…"
"...Welcome back, my child." He then bent down, embracing all three of them as if they were a treasure with no measures to know the value.
"Yeah…" Kyriaki chuckled.
Then, as if realizing something, her face twisted.
"Ah! Wait a minute! Wait!!" She struggled in their arms.
The three men looked at her with bewilderment.
"My guests…" Kyriaki awkwardly smiled, her golden pupils darted towards the group of survivors before returning to her family.
Though, she had already lost the liveliness in those golden eyes in that mere second. They could see the strength leaving her body in real time. She too seemed to realize that fact before anyone else. Hence, her expression was that of pleading and a hint of warning born from protectiveness.
"Don't…" Her voice became weak as she collapsed into their arms. "Don't…touch…them."
Those were her last words.
"RIAAAAAA!!!"
That day, the cries of the three golden dragons echoed throughout the moon.
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