Dragons high in the sky, scorched Earth on the ground, and a blazing sun. It was yet another thing that Elanore had seen before behind a screen, and here Naela was saying that she was born in a place like this. The vampire stared at the conflicted expression of the dragon before smiling.
"Hey, whatever happens, there is nothing that will be able to get in my way, so you don't need to worry."
The dragon smiled slightly. "I am not worried about that, mistress. I already know you can take care of anything, but I worry about what this place is...what it means to you." She gestured with her head to the slithery girl on her shoulders. "Even if you don't remember, it seems you have a connection with her. What about these dragons?"
"Don't worry, there is not another dragon that could replace you, if that's what you're worried about."
Naela shook her head. "No, and I already told you that I am not a dragon."
"Alright, then let's see what these dragons are all about, miss not-dragon."
It was clear that the dragons already noticed them the moment they entered, they stole glances, and many of them chose to land on the side of the volcano in a defensive posture. They were all like little tower guardians on top of a large castle, reminding Ella of tower defense games. I wonder if Naela would make a good unit? Would I want to position her towards the enemy entrance or more towards the castle?
When Ella thought about it, there was no way she'd put Naela at the beginning of the track. If she did that, it would be harder to protect her. No, I would have her as a last line of defense to protect against miscreants, and I'd be able to shield her up at the end.
Pink mana flowed around Elanore's staff, but there was a strange resonance between the purple atmosphere above them and the tip of Manapie. It was as if the two were almost in sync yet slightly off. It reminded Elanore of FM radio channels, and a single turn of a dial had separated the two.
She felt that if she turned the dial even a little bit, she would reach the resonance frequency, yet Ella didn't want to do that. Not right now, anyway.
Ella looked back up towards the dragons who stared down and did nothing. She took a step forward with her not-dragon, and then she took another step. Each movement was an inch further up the terrain and closer to the whirling purple sky. It was like a vortex above the mountain yet not sucking anything inside.
She summoned her shelf from her inventory and her cauldron at the same time. With her magic, she levitated the shelf right next to Pot. "You two have been quietly waiting inside of my inventory this whole time, but what do you make of this situation?"
Pot flapped his wings. "Yes, your majesty. Well, it seems that this is another domain entirely. We've separated from the mortal world."
The shelf voiced his agreement. "My senior is quite right, great one. This appears to be a new space, similar to lady Synnaria's realm."
Elanore nodded and placed a hand on her chin. "This event reminds me of that Kazaldoor undead. Didn't they come from a separated world like this one?"
Pot shook his body back and forth. "This and that are different, your majesty. This place contains a certain familiarity. As someone who was once a collection of spirits, I am quite in tuned with this."
"I dunno why you are surprised, mamma," the snake girl said. Everyone looked at her before she continued. "I mean, I did tell you that this was the space you had me guard. Do you still not believe me?'
Pot's singular eye widened, and his wings flapped like crazy. "That explains it! This is Her Majesty's!"
Elanore sighed and stored her two furniture companions back in her inventory. There was no doubt in her mind that she recognized this place, but she wasn't ready to call it hers. Her feet reached the bottom of a long flight of stairs leading up into the volcano's atrium.
As they started climbing, dragons on the side got closer. It didn't take long until they were within a few Manapies' reach, and she had to say, they were different than she imagined them to be. Some of them had four legs like what internet people argued about on Earth, yet some of them looked like a larger version of Naela.
They all came in various different colors, and some had more spikes than others. Though, they all seemed odd in a different way than Ella expected. They watched Elanore, Naela, and Neshy climb the steps, but none of them moved. And their eyes had a glossy tint to them as if they were blind.
It provided all of them with an overall creepy feel that made Elanore wonder if they were ghost dragons. Why would I have Neshy guarding a place like this?
They reached the top of the stairs, and they crossed a large lattice. The gate was several stories high and pitch black. This one held no words, but it opened the moment they got there. Heat from the volcano gushed out, but none of the girls were bothered by it.
Inside of the place, maga bubbled at the center, and along the edges there was a wide place for them to walk around. The thing was as large as a modern football stadium, yet the field was a hole of magma. And the stands was a simple metal walkway inside of the volcano.
It was like an atrium in the truest sense. With the Aorta above them, the opening to the sky and the swirling mass of purple. Elanore's eyes widened when she saw a figure descend from that hole.
The dragon was even larger than those outside, yet this one was pitch black as the door. Rather than the glossy eyes like his friends, the holes were pits of darkness, and as he descended a piece of metal started rising from the lava. The large landing pad responded to what seemed to be the lord of this place.
He landed with a resounding thud, and as he did, Ella performed her inspection.
Name: Asternix
Race: Dragon God
Age: 1011
Sex: Male
Level: 800
Devotion(s): Self, The Forsaken
Title(s): The Desecrated, The Forsaken's Shadow
Health: 500,000,000
Stamina: 500,000,000
Mana: 500,000,000
Elanore's spell cut off before she could see all of his classes. It was the first time that her [Inspect] glitched in the truest sense, and a loud grumble came from the one she performed it on.
His voice boomed inside of the volcano. "A feeling that is most unpleasant, and here I was thinking I'd never feel it again..."