Dragonlord

Ep 154. I’m Sure We’ll Meet Again. (7)

Ep 154. I’m Sure We’ll Meet Again. (7)

“YOU’RE HER HUSBAND?!”

Light and Ilias screamed back at the pretender in unison, their voices echoing throughout the cavern walls.

Meanwhile, the pretender returned a hearty chuckle at the two girls’ shocked reactions.

“…That would be correct! Quite the reaction, I must say.”

Light’s lips immediately sealed shut at the revelation. She suddenly found herself at a loss of what to say – or to be specific, there were too many things to say, and she didn’t exactly know which to begin. Or if they were even appropriate.

On the other hand, Ilias’ expression lit up in enlightenment as the youngling came to a small realization.

“Right, Lord Serenis could never explain why she woke in a human boy’s body…so that wasn’t a coincidence then?”

“As fate would have it, I’m inclined to say it wasn’t. Even accounting for the remaining dragonkin, it’s quite likely that I am the soul most attuned to Serenis. Others may find our dragonlord a bit…daunting, to carry.”

“Daunting?”

Ilias tilted her head with a puzzled expression. She’d merely made the connection from their relationship, but Adam’s answer was confusing her further.

Fortunately, Light soon chimed in to clarify for the red dragon.

“…I think he means they’ll go crazy. Like Aymeia did.”

“Ohh…”

Giving an affirming nod, the pseudo-dragonlord then turned their gaze to face the unconscious steel dragon once more.

“Now, with that said…there’s something else I need to tell you two about Raizel. And this, you do need to tell Serenis when she awakes.”

At the mention of Raizel’s name, both Light and Ilias quickly silenced themselves, looking attentively towards the speaker before them.

“I’ve done what I could, but there’s only so much that can be done with magic alone – burn wounds especially so. The rest will require proper treatment at the nest through medicine and the like; the quicker, the better.”

This time, Ilias was the first to nod.

“I can take us right now!”

“Mm…hm. And while I appreciate the enthusiasm, there’s still one more obstacle to overcome. Even if Raizel were to make a full recovery, I’m afraid it won’t help help open her eyes.”

“Huh?...Why not?”

“At the moment, she’s…an empty husk. That is to say, Raizel’s body isn’t in possession of her soul at the moment.”

“…”

The hope in Ilias’ eyes were quickly snuffed out by Adam’s last remark. She blankly stared back for a while longer, then towards her friend in silence.

And this time, it was Light who’d respond first.

“…Reaper?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“…”

“…Hence why you must inform Serenis when she awakes. Making sure Raizel’s body remains alive is important, yes – but without the soul to occupy it, there’s little point.”

The two listeners brooded over the last comment. Ilias gripped her hands into a tight fist, while Light’s forlorn gaze sunk to the floor.

Another minute of silence had to slip past before the half would break it again.

“…One more question.”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“I still don’t understand why you don’t want Serenis to know who you are.  Shouldn’t she know whose body she’s in?”

“Well…”

Adam beamed back a bittersweet grin at the half girl’s question. He briefly glanced towards Ilias, then proceeded to answer Light’s question.

“Light. If you were to die and be reborn in Ilias’ body, would you steal her freedom to claim the body as yours?”

“What? Of course not!”

“Mhm. And I’m sure that’s how Serenis would feel.”

“…”

As his reply effectively silenced the cat half, Adam beamed a soft smile back at Light.

“I don’t mean to say that Serenis robbed me of my freedom. As much as she’d disagree, having her with me has done good for the both of us. Had she not occupied this body, I wouldn’t have remembered who I am: I would’ve lived out this life as a human boy named Zion, oblivious to who I once was. So, in a way, her presence is allowing me a second life as well.”

“Couldn’t you just tell her all that? If you tell her that you want her with you, I’m sure she’ll reconsider…”

“Perhaps one day. But for now, I’d rather she remain oblivious to the truth.”

“…Because she’d flip out if she knew?”

“Flip out…haha. In a way, yes! She’d flip out.”

Light crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she considered the implications of Adam’s ruse.

As far as she’d seen, Serenis hadn’t seemed so close-minded as to ignore those around her – it seemed reasonable to think that the dragonlord would remain calm, even after knowing her lover was wishing for her to occupy their body. Keeping the dragonlord oblivious seemed nothing short of making a small problem grow and fester.

Logically, it made sense.

‘…But if I were her…’

As Adam had exemplified, Light would never take someone’s freedom away to live a second life for herself – especially not when it was someone important to her like Ilias.

And that was final.

It wouldn’t matter what the other wanted; the very premise was out of the question. If Light were to learn that she’d been robbing her family of their freedom to so she could continue living, the guilt would kill her on the spot.

So, in a way, the current arrangement also made sense.

Perhaps not in the most logical manner, but nevertheless in a sensible way.

“…Okay, last question. Just one more.”

“Hm?”

“…How DID Serenis come back to life? She didn’t seem to know the answer herself…do you?”

“How, you ask?...”

Oddly enough, Adam had always known that Serenis would return to life.

He’d always known that the dragonlord would require his presence. Hence his endless cycle of rebirth.

But if someone were to ask how he’d known, he couldn’t possibly provide them with a concrete answer.

‘I just knew. Somehow, I just…knew.’

It’s not that anybody had told him – he’d died years before Serenis had. The piece of knowledge had somehow been resting in his soul, as if he’d been planted with the information from some unknown source.

In the end, Adam grinned back at Light, petting her on the fluff of her ears.

“Perhaps some things are just meant to be.”

“Huh?”

Light stared back at the pseudo-dragonlord with a quizzical stare, more confused than before he’d returned an answer. But all Adam could muster was another series of chuckling, followed by petting the half on her head.

“I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. Sorry, Light.”

“So you don’t know, either…”

“Haha. No, that I don’t.”

“…And you’re okay like this? You don’t want to…talk to her or anything?”

“I’m alright as we are right now. I’m…”

Adam briefly closed his eyes, imagining how their reunion would seem.

‘…It’d be awkward, to say the least. Perhaps absurd is the better word…’

Meeting Serenis, becoming dragonkin, having Eden, and reuniting in this era were all events that he would’ve considered absurd in the past.

Yet now, they all seemed perfectly natural – as if they were inevitable from the start.

So, maybe a reunion wouldn’t be so absurd after all.

“…”

In a barely audible voice, he whispered into the air.

“…I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“Huh? Us?”

Realizing that the Light’s perking ears had picked up on his whispered words, Adam beamed back one final time at the half, returning an affirming nod.

“…Of course, Light. And Ilias too.”

This was where he belonged; this was where he’d stay. Regardless of where Serenis would go, he’d forever remain at her side.

And eventually, when the long-awaited family reunion comes…

‘We’ll be right here to welcome you back home.’