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The Lost Dragon Saga (Part V)

"Hurry after them!" Kardonyth commanded.

Cid opened up another portal, and everyone rushed through. They reached the destination only a few seconds after Rak and I.

"The finale commences!" Rak exclaimed. "Once this world receives _your_retribution, I will inevitably claim the Dragon Key!"

"You never could win when we were all together. You even failed to achieve victory when it was just me unaware of who I was, and Kardonyth as a dog. Now the four Guardian Dragons are reunited and joined by Cid. I applaud you for your perseverance, but being hopeful at this point would be foolish." I smirked.

"It would be 'foolish' for me to hold on to hope no matter what? Isn't that what you heroes do? You hypocrite!" Rak yelled.

"Touché," I retorted.

"I really do suppose I shouldn't have enjoyed and savored my scheme so much, but I really wanted to prolong the torment of you all!" Rak yelled. "I will now do what I should have done earlier!"

"Yeah? What?" I asked.

"I already told you!" Rak answered. "I am going to unleash pandemonium upon this world!"

"I already told you!" I replied. "You will do no such thing!"

"You simpleton!" Rak yelled. "Can you even fathom what I am capable of, and what I am about to do!? Any and all magic in this world, the magic which these inhabitants comprehend, is extremely basic! In their final moments they will get a taste of magic they couldn't even begin to understand or dream of!"

When Rak mentioned other people, it dawned on me that I was completely focused during the first altercation in this world. I failed to notice how much devastation was already being caused around us then. I started to look around, and first noticed that we were back in the same spot right outside the place I had called my home. It had been reduced to ruins. I then noticed that the people scattered around us were ravaged by fear, by panic. Pieces of our surroundings were scathed. This time, I was so focused on what was going on around us, I didn't see Rak put his hands in the air. The ground began to shake, and the wind began to roar.

"NO!" Cid screamed. "How is it that you know forbidden spells!? That should be impossible!"

"None of your business!" Rak yelled.

"I say we take our positions and surround him!" I exclaimed.

"Good idea," Kardonyth replied.

We, the four Guardian Dragons, formed a circle around Rak. I took my place on the south side, and the others took their places as well. We were then flabbergasted when, in an instant, Cid was in the center, and had Rak by the throat.

"What is this?" Rak asked.

"What are you doing!?" Kardonyth asked.

"If asphyxiation was all it took to kill me, I'd already be dead!" Rak exclaimed. "You've gone mad."

"Cid!" Kardonyth yelled. "What is going on!? I want an explanation right now!"

"You'll get one once he puts his hands down!" Cid replied.

"And if I don't, you'll kill me yourself?" Rak laughed.

"The ground and wind are getting more violent!" I yelled.

"How about I put my hands down when you put yours down?" Rak asked Cid.

"Why should I trust you?" Cid asked.

"Look at what I'm doing, and look at what you're doing," Rak answered.

Cid hesitated, but relented. He let go of Rak, but as soon as he did, Rak had blasted him. The unprepared Cid was sent far back.

"Cid!" Kardonyth yelled.

"How dare you touch me, you filthy creature!" Rak screamed.

I couldn't wait any longer. I breathed my fire at Rak, but he wasn't distracted enough. He encapsulated me in a barrier, and my breath was deflected onto me. The others then breathed their fire, but Rak switched to putting himself in a barrier. We breathed until we were breathless. Our flames were unable to penetrate the barrier.

"I may not be able to destroy this world, but I can destroy you all!" Rak raised his hands. As he was preparing to cast a spell, he was unaware of tiny, twin projectiles of energy coming his way. They lacerated his hands. "Damn it!" His hands were withdrawn without hesitation.

"I was overwhelmingly unnerved. I choked Rak because I panicked." Cid spoke as he emerged from being incapacitated. "Just like how we are sustained by the air that surrounds us, magic is sustained by an essence which also surrounds us. That essence is known as Mana. Magic is only possible through Mana. A world without Mana is a world without magic. Higher levels of Mana mean higher levels of magic can be cast. All worlds are different, they all experience Mana differently, but they all share a single similarity. Mana starts out in every world's core contained in a sort of shell. Think of it like an egg. Mana 'hatches' early in some worlds, and later in others. It can take anywhere from several years to many millennia for the process to begin, and take another amount of time along that range to occur. As the shell breaks down, Mana gradually escapes into the world until the shell is all gone and all Mana is free. All the worlds even have different maximum amounts of Mana. I cannot stress enough the importance of Mana being brought into a world naturally. Mana is responsible for not just Magic, it is responsible for creation itself. It helps shape all that exists within a world. Dragons are nothing more than a myth to world whose level of Mana is too low. Even we cannot fathom who or what exists in a world whose level Mana is higher than ours. What Rak did, he used the first of the forbidden spells. He manually brought- He forced Mana into this world. The natural disasters which occurred were a side effect of that. He has defied nature's own order and produced irreversible, inexcusable chaos. What he has been intending to do is use the next forbidden spell. Mana can be transmuted into raw, volatile energy. However, once Mana has been transmuted, it cannot be restored. In other words, a world's level of Mana is permanently reduced. The transmutation of Mana can be as chaotic and devastating to a world as forcing it out. His plan was to release all of Gaia's Mana, and transmute it all at once. That would have obliterated this world and all its inhabitants. With the Mana that did end up being released and surrounding you all, he attempted to transmute that. I don't know the spells, I just know of them, but Rak shouldn't even be aware of their existence."

"You just can't accept that I have become a greater mage than you." Rak grinned.

"Anyone who relies on forbidden magic isn't great, they're worthless," Cid stated. He shot a disc of energy at Rak, and in a flash, an arm was severed from the latter's body. As I witnessed what had just happened, time seemed to slow down. It drifted away from him for a moment, and what I witnessed next was even more unforgettable. Muscle and sinew extruded from the wound, connected with the lost limb, and pulled it back to the body. In a matter of seconds, it was as if the damage was never done.

"NO!" Cid screamed. "There is more than one way to transmute Mana, and what Rak just did was transmutation!"

Rak focused. He conjured beams of energy which sprung up from the ground all around us. Cid tried to protect us all, but he wasn't quick enough. We were all knocked down, and incapacitated. I managed to force myself up, picked up Dragonfang, and pointed it at Rak.

"What do you hope to do?" Rak asked.

"I hope I have the 'magic touch,'" I answered. "How special I am goes beyond being a Guardian Dragon. The armor and the sword that aided me is proof. So go ahead and give me all you've got!"

"As you wish," Rak put his entire heart and soul into amassing a ball of energy. He sent it flying towards me with an all-out hurl. It was absorbed on contact with Dragonfang. I slashed the energy back at a flabbergasted Rak, who then put his entire heart and soul into defending. It was a futile endeavor. The energy broke right through and consumed him. There wasn't a single trace of him left.

"Arrogant fool," I said.

"Killing me has ended in failure!" The sound of Rak's laughter pierced the air.

"What the hell!?" Cid shouted. "This is impossible!"

"Deal with it!" Rak's voice boomed.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NOOOOOOO!!!" Kardonyth screamed. "This is just too damn annoying!"

"You won't have to endure me for much longer," Rak's voice echoed. "I'm going to end your suffering!"

"So go ahead and put an end to yourself, you bastard!" Kardonyth replied.

"When I send I'm going to end your suffering, I meant your lives!" Rak's laughter rung again.

"You're still a bastard nonetheless, you bastard!" Kardonyth shouted.

"I am now... Neo Rak!" The villain we've long known materialized before our eyes. He wasn't lying. He took a new, and infernal form. His titanic body sprouted from the ground, still under from the knees down. Dragon-like wings sprouted from his back, and horns from his head. In the palm of each hand was an eye, and his now long hair reached for the sky. It was painful to see how much the village was being devastated. As if it wasn't happening enough before, the massive hole from where Neo Rak originated was quite the fatal wound.

"He cheated death! He must have saved himself last second by transmuting Mana," I said.

"Wrong," Cid replied. "I've attained the ability to sense Mana. I sense that there is no less now than when he 'died.' This is unfathomable. I cannot even begin to explain this 'reincarnation.'"

The others gradually picked themselves up. They became ready to retaliate.

"You overreach yourselves," Neo Rak said.

"We can say the same about you," Cid replied.

"Do none of you know how to stay down?" Neo Rak asked. "Do none of you realize how puny you all are compared to me?"

"It is not the size of one's form that matters," Calic said. "It is the size of one's potential."

"Do not give me that 'willpower' talk again. Your strongest desires to protect that which you care for has fallen short every step of the way," Neo Rak responded.

"Conversely, you have failed to stop us every step of the way," Cid replied.

"Touché," Neo Rak retorted.

"Indeed. We all lost the right to ridicule," Cid responded. "However, the past is in the past. We are in the present, right here, right now. This is where it all ends!"

"This is where it ends for you, not for me!" Neo Rak exclaimed.

"You will menace no more!" I exclaimed. "I swear upon the South!"

"I swear upon the East!" Kardonyth exclaimed.

"I swear upon the North!" Calic exclaimed.

"I swear upon the West!" Alakin exclaimed.

"I swear upon the cosmos, you will die!" Cid exclaimed.

"Meaningless words!" Neo Rak exclaimed. "The hope of validating them is nothing but an illusion!"

Kardonyth, Alakin, Calic, and I all took to the skies and flew at Neo Rak as fast as we could. We each inhaled into our being the deepest breath that we could muster. We then unleashed those breaths in the form of fire.

"I can fight fire with fire!" Neo Rak smiled. Mimicking our actions, he breathed a great stream of fire at us. We merged our breaths to take on Neo Rak's. The breaths furiously wrestled. In the end, Neo Rak's overpowered ours, and we had to disperse.

"Can you now see how futile your efforts are?" Neo Rak asked.

Neo Rak waved his hands, and wisps of fire were conjured. They homed in on us, and we had to fly around trying to evade contact. When, after a while, the wisps had died off, we were relieved.

"Finally!" I sighed.

"It's not over yet," Kardonyth replied. "Our foe still lives."

"Thanks for a reminder I didn't need," I groaned. "The assault commences!"

We again projected ourselves at Neo Rak. We thought we were prepared, but we were not. We were caught off guard. Neo Rak's hands ignited. After forming fists, He punched me. I was sent far back just as Cid had been.

"Acorech!" Kardonyth yelled.

"That was overwhelmingly satisfying!" Neo Rak laughed.

I pulled myself together and forced myself to a halt. I pushed myself forward, and returned to the fray.

Neo Rak bent over as we continued to approach him. It was an unnerving sight as we did not know what to expect. It was when we were as close as possible that he shifted to an erect position. In doing so, he brought forth a pillar of fire from his roots. We were all completely engulfed. When it seemed that we were thrust to the threshold of death, our entire surroundings were completely engulfed in a solid, pure white light. The next thing we knew, we were lying where we had been before, as if time had rewound.

"The only way we'll put an end to this abomination is to combine our power," Cid stated.

"What do you mean 'combine' our power?" I asked.

"You'll see," Cid answered. "I need you all to take your places around me." We complied with his perplexing request. Cid raised a hand into the air. "Take a deep breath, then release your flame." We were even more disconcerted, but again we did as we were told. Four streams of fire were projected at Cid, and he mystified us even further. As they neared, his hand, they began to spiral, and together they formed an ever-growing sphere. Cid began to gradually release energy into the mix. As the ball got bigger, it got brighter. It seemed as if Cid was crafting a sun. He then raised his other hand and released a different kind of magical energy that fused with the ball.

"Is that supposed to intimidate me?" Neo Rak asked. "You can't kill me! You already tried! Look at me now! I am practically a god! Shiver at the power of a god!"

"Arrogant until the very the end..." Cid responded. "Arrogance doomed your scheme to fail, arrogance got you killed once, arrogance will end you once and for all!"

"Oh, really?" Neo Rak asked.

"Arrogance has always been your undoing," Cid replied. "Arrogance and stubbornness, detrimental and fatal characteristics, have always been your greatest weakness. You have offended yourself more than we have. You have been your own worst enemy, not us."

"Wrong!" Neo Rak replied.

"Oh, really?" Cid asked. "You poured so much time into training your skills in magic, and it was all for nothing. No matter how much you improved, it was futile. Your attitude has always hindered you."

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!!!" Neo Rak screamed.

"Oh, really?" Cid asked. "How much longer are you going to be in denial? We have always thwarted your efforts, and that should be enough for you to see the truth."

"The truth is that you all deserve to die, and I will take your lives!" Neo Rak replied.

"It's over- It's time to end this!" Cid exclaimed. "This attack, this product of exasperation and desperation, it will be your demise!"

"In your dreams!" Neo Rak responded.

"Exactly," Cid whispered. He cast the orb at Neo Rak. The latter stretched out a hand in an attempt to block. When the orb made contact with the hand, Neo Rak became completely engulfed in fire. The flames became pitch black.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Neo Rak screamed.

"You may know forbidden magic, but I know magic beyond your comprehension. All the Mana in the world won't save you now," Cid condescended.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Neo Rak screamed.

"I've embedded magic within magic," Cid replied.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Neo Rak screamed.

"You very well know the answer," Cid answered. "Not only do those flames burn you, but they seal away your ability to use magic. You're powerless to do anything but die."

"You do not even grant me a quick death and spare me from a long, agonizing one!? You call yourself a hero!? A benevolent being!? Virtuous!?" Neo Rak yelled. "You are no better than I am!"

"You forced my hand," Cid responded. "There's just some magic in particular that I'm not inclined to use, and you made me use it."

"Yeah, go ahead and just try to say whatever you need to sleep at night, but I hope this haunts you for the rest of your days!" Neo Rak cried out.

We all just idled and watched a burning, screaming Neo Rak until there was no more burning, and no more screaming. In the end, not a single trace of either the old or new Rak remained other than the damage which was caused. All exhausted, the other guardians and I reverted back to humans and sat down. Sara, Teri, and Zade rushed up to us.

"I still can't believe you turned out to be Acorech!" Sara swallowed me with her amorous embrace.

"Well, I'll be damned!" said Zade.

"You're damn lucky!" Teri snapped. "I know you can't say 'No' to helping other people out, but you were way out of your depth! That armor and the sword was a miracle. You pulled yourself out of dire straits and started to hold your own. If it wasn't for that miracle, if you didn't turn out to be a dragon, you'd probably be dead. You, and Sara, and even Zade. I don't know what I'd do if I lost all of you," Tears began to escape Teri's eyes.

"You feel guilty for abandoning us, but you did it because you didn't want to see us get killed?" I asked.

"Yes," Teri answered.

"I tried to help you help Kardonyth, but I got overwhelmed," Zade confessed, his guilt also apparent.

"You and Teri should stop worrying. I'm the one who's sorry," I replied. "I shouldn't have asked you all to tag along, especially given the nature of the situation. I let my desire to spend time with you all become perverted."

"You take great pride in being of service to others, but you cherish friendship more than that. That's not shameful, that's commendable," Kardonyth responded.

"I... I suppose you're right." I laughed. "All the time I spend on the roads is already full of loneliness. Having friends in moments of reprieve is more important."

"Remember now, Acorech, none of that was real," Kardonyth replied.

"Oh yeah, nothing was real." I choked as my eyes started leaking.

"All that matters is that everything felt real, right?" Sara asked.

"I'm going to be candid, borderline cynical," Cid said. "The feelings come from the memories, so they're no more real."

"Damn it!" Facing the ground, I punched it. "Why? When my memories were taken, I should've been dormant. Yet, as if there was a blueprint available, a complete set of memories was forged as a sort of replacement. Why? Forget the armor and sword, this is the real mystery."

"I suppose the networks of the Collective Unconscious are more enigmatic than initially thought," Cid responded.

"Well I don't give a damn about the Collective Unconscious, and I don't give a damn about what you say!" I snapped. "This pain I feel proves how real my other feelings are. Why was I put in this position?"

"Calm down," Cid replied. "Just because the past wasn't real, doesn't mean the future won't be."

"Indeed. I don't doubt that the friendships I have can continue, but..." I hesitated to continue. "What am I supposed to do about the way I feel? My feelings feel real, but they are a fabrication nonetheless." I looked up into Sara's eyes. "I'm in love."

"You mean-" Sara's eyes lit up.

"Just thinking about you brings me the most joy. I can't imagine life without you," I interrupted.

"I feel the same way. I'm in love with you too." Sara hugged me again.

"But you're really not," I cried. "You didn't know I existed before yesterday. Our affections are an illusion."

"Shut up." Sara kissed me. It felt so painful, but it felt so good.

"But-" I started to say when Sara pulled away.

"So what if your memories of us weren't supposed to be? That doesn't change the fact that they are." Sara silenced me. "That's not all. Whatever force forged them, didn't have to give you any friends, and out of all the people in this world to make your friends, it chose us. It didn't even have to make you memories that included being in love, but it did. It didn't just make you be in love with me, but it made me be in love with you. Despite these memories being fake, all those facts put together makes all this absolutely genuine in and of itself. I believe that everything that has happened, and everything that will happen, is fate. This is fate. We're Soul Mates."

"We're Soul Mates..." I echoed.

"Say it like you believe it," Sara said.

"Yes... Now that I think about it, I was thinking too much into it." I spoke as joy and ecstasy returned to me. "I believe that the Collective Unconscious brought us together. Not everything about these memories is grounded in falsehood, but this part was created to realize what has to be. We are meant to be. We're Soul Mates!"

Sara again kissed me. This time there was no pain, only euphoria. This time it lasted only several seconds.

"As beautifully romantic as this is, we should be going back," Cid interrupted.

"That's right!" I exclaimed. "Sara and I are from different worlds. Please tell me it's not too much trouble for her to come to ours!"

"Well, the natural structures of things have already been greatly disturbed in regards to what has happened, so sure, why not?" Cid answered as he opened up a portal.

"We've got a wedding to plan!" Sara exclaimed.

"Zade and I are invited, right?" Teri asked.

"Of course!" Sara replied.

I, united with my fellow Guardian Dragons, alongside Cid, Crystal, and Sara, stepped through the portal.

"Home sweet home," I said, staring at Dragon Heart Temple.

"It's beautiful, is it not?" Sara asked.

"It's home as long as you're there," I answered.

"As long as I'm with you, I feel that anything bad will be made good," Sara said. "That's why I stuck with you until the very end."

"I'm glad you did," I replied. "As long as you're with me, I feel that I can overcome anything."

While Sara and I were simply enjoying our relationship, Kardonyth and Crystal were working out theirs.

"We've been romantically involved for quite some time now, Kardonyth," Crystal began. "I really think it's time that _we_got married. I'm happy for them, but for them to get married before us would be something of an embarrassment."

"I know how you feel, but believe in me," Kardonyth replied. "I love you, but I don't want to formalize our decision to spend the 'rest of our lives' together if your life will end and mine will not. I _will_find a way to induce immortality. Perhaps Rak's undertaking was a blessing in disguise. I have no doubts that Acorech will be joining me in _this_undertaking."

When one door closes, another one opens. This wasn't the beginning, and it sure wasn't the end. This was only a part of what I like to call the "Guardian Dragon Chronicles."

End