-Shortly before the fight-

Tailing from a far enough distance, Ben knew he was going directly against what Kinsoriel had told him. Keeping on the dragon’s good side was critical, but something else superseded even that: his life. There was no doubt in Ben’s mind that his MC would die if he didn’t get involved. Harax was behind the biggest couple of betrayals from what he was allowed to remember. It didn’t matter if he gave his word; Harax would go on to break every tenet of the draconic religion, duels included.

This wouldn’t matter if Kinsoriel won, obviously, but that was the problem. While he wanted to believe that Kinsoriel had a chance, seeing the disparity between the two dragons in person shattered any such hopes. There was no way he could match up to that behemoth as he was right now.

“Moira,” Ben said over his shoulder while following.

“Yes, m’lord?”

“I need you to go ahead of me. If it looks like Kinsoriel is going to lose, you’ll have to bail him out.”

She took a moment before responding. “How shall I carry out your will?”

“That’s going to be your choice.” How she did it didn’t matter to him so long as his protagonist was alive. That said, the gasp she made was loud enough to make him think he had said something wrong.

“My… choice?” Before he could ask what that reaction was about, she had zipped ahead of him with an eagerness he hadn’t expected. “I’ll make you proud!” She called back.

Something about that interaction managed to make him more uneasy. After biting back the bad feeling he had, the ex-Author hurried his pace to catch up.

A great force traveled through the ground and Benjamin’s legs, causing him to stumble. Had the duel already started? Creeping forward more cautiously, Ben tried to see what had happened.

The huge stone tower that marked the start of the story now lay in ruin. Moira, now in a smaller version of her natural form, stood beside Kinsoriel. Despite the different physiology and with his back turned towards him, Ben could understand the black dragon’s body language. Slumped shoulders, drooped wings, an overall relaxed posture; this duel hadn’t just started, it had ended.

Seeing no sign of Harax briefly made him think that his MC had done the impossible. Only when he approached the dragon and saw his face did he understand. Kinsoriel’s expression could wordlessly convince anyone that the rubble was in better shape than him right now. The limp and dangling arm added to that effect further.

“Geez, that doesn’t look good.” Benjamin prepared to use Vitalitize, pressing both of his hands together in a prayer pose. “Do you want me to fix it for you, master?”

Kinsoriel’s face was locked to one position, unmoving save for slight twitching from a swollen eye. Nothing was said for or against what Ben had offered. Coming from someone who would always respond, the silence was especially eerie.

Not wanting to let this uncomfortable nothingness continue, Ben went ahead and cast the spell anyway. “Vitalitize,” he said as tendrils of light flowed out of his hands and towards the injured dragon. They wrapped around the arm and shoulder, twisting and turning until they fully enveloped it. Light pops interspersed the pulses of healing. Kinsoriel grunted and twitched occasionally but otherwise remained completely still.

Once the arm was back to normal and the tendrils moved up to the head, Moira decided to speak up. “We are blessed to be under our Lord’s guidance.” She placed one of her wing arms around the sulking protagonist. “Fret not, Kinsoriel. Though these times may appear bleak, they will not last. Fayten has much in store for you. Have faith.”

This was what broke the black dragon’s unchanging expression. Once the snaking lights of magic left his face to move toward the wings, Kinsoriel took on a bitter scowl. Nothing was said, but enough was felt.

Looking over at Moira while doing his best to maintain concentration, Benjamin said, “Could you leave us alone for, I don’t know, half an hour?”

The sniveling noise she made sounded like she wanted to object, but she relented. “As you wish m’lord.” She then took her leave through the forest.

Once they were left alone, Ben finished up healing the last noticeable injury. The light coils pushed, pulled, and pulsed at the wings until they were in pristine condition. Their job done, the tendrils drifted away and disappeared in a small burst of sparks.

Now in a much better state, Kinsoriel’s expression seemed to soften. He still didn’t say anything, so perhaps some prodding was needed.

“So, uh, how does that feel? Better, right?”

His MC closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In a flat tone devoid of emotion, Kinsoriel finally spoke. “Why did you intervene?”

“What?”

“You know the Canon, Benjamin. You know what it means to receive outside help in a duel.”

Subconsciously, Ben took a step back. “I-I don’t-” he started before being interrupted by another, immediately recognizable voice.

“Come on Ben, you should know that. You’re the one that came up with it, aren’t you?” Both Ben and Kinsoriel’s heads jerked towards the well-groomed man. Standing there in setting inappropriate clothing and holding his book was none other than his brother.

“Stromwell,” he dragged out as he clenched his fists.

“You again? Why are you here?” Kinsoriel said with his usual grumpy attitude.

Ben had to stop and look back at the dragon incredulously. “You’ve MET him? When? Where?”

“Please, please,” Stromwell interjected as he opened the black book, “you can discuss this at another time. I believe Mr. Kinsoriel was more concerned over your interference, yes? Let’s see what this ‘Canon’ as you’ve called it has to say about this?”

If there was ever a time when Ben wished he had a larger mana reserve, it was now. The book was right there, and if he could just get his hands on it, this would all be over. Vitalitiize had consumed everything he could spare, and Stromwell would notice if he tried to take a swig of a mana potion.

Without needing to touch anything, the pages in the book flipped over rapidly. When they stopped, Stromwell brought his eyesight downward.

“There it is. ‘The one who taints the sanctity of a duel by receiving outside help shall be considered the loser and an enemy of all upstanding dragons.’ Not a good look for you and hard to shake off I’m afraid,” he said as a light smile stretched across his face, “unless the help was unintended.”

Kinsoriel grumbled while Ben’s face went flush, realizing what his brother was doing. “What are you getting at, deathbound?”

“I don’t have to explain further. You know full well what I am implying.”

Looking up at the dragon’s face gave Ben nothing to work with. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking immediately, and considering the situation, this was more than concerning. Seeing a fiery eye glance over filled him with more dread than he cared to admit. His MC wasn’t actually considering killing him to salvage his honor, was he?

“For being brothers, I must say that your callousness in suggesting such a thing disgusts me. Whether or not I wanted to mend my name with his blood matters little. I am still bound by my word. I promised that I would not harm or kill him, and thus it stands.”

Internally celebrating, the ex-Author couldn’t help but cross his arms and waggle his eyebrows at his brother. Perhaps provoking the snob wasn’t the brightest of ideas, but some childhood habits had a way of rearing their ugly heads at the worst times.

Shifting to a small frown, Stromwell stared at Kinsoriel while the book flipped pages once more. “Ah, yes, that promise. Simply following another part of your doctrine, as though they aren’t obviously in conflict with one another.” The book stopped again. “I’d wonder what you’re thinking, but why wonder when I can just take a look right here?”

He pulled the book close and skimmed over the section. He chuckled. “As expected.”

Ben tried to put a stop to this, pleading, “Don’t do it!”

Stromwell shot a snide glance at him as Kinsoriel’s voice overturned his own. “And just what is it you expected?”

“You’re using that promise of yours to justify not following your duties as a dragon.”

After a short silence, the air rippled with an ear-blasting “WHAT?!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Ben pleaded with his MC while he recovered, “you aren’t going to like what you hear!”

“You are wondering if your belief in the Canon is misplaced when someone like that other dragon can break it freely. You feel like a failure, having let down your parents again, even in death. And, your most pressing thought,” Stromwell said as he closed the book with a loud thump and stared up, “how is he doing this?”

For the first time in the entirety of this journey, Ben saw the confidence of the dragon completely shatter. Kinsoriel’s strong visage was a shadow of itself, twisted with an unknowing horror.

One word fell from his mouth. “No…”

Waggling a gloved finger, Stromwell chided, “Ah ah ah, dragons shouldn’t tell lies, now should they?”

The look of terror morphed into rage. In a split second, Kinsoriel’s claws had collided with the ground where Stromwell once stood.

“Save us both the embarrassment now, you know how this ends.” Stromwell, now stood beside Benjamin, placed an arm around him.

Kinsoriel reared back and prepared to strike again, but stopped a few inches from hitting the vulnerable man. Stumbling back into his brother’s arm, Ben patted himself to make sure he was still okay.

“Aw phooey, you were this close to ending it already.”

Ben tried elbowing Stromwell in the gut. To both of their surprise, he had connected with his brother, taking his breath away. He suddenly appeared in front of the dragon, a hand placed over the spot he had been hit.

“I’ll cut to the chase then. Both of you, kill each other. I don’t care which, just do it.”

Hands placed out in a stumped manner, Ben shook his head. “Why would either of us do that?”

The stuffy man looked back at him with disdain. “I have better things to be doing than constantly checking what’s been going on. I want to be done with it. The last one standing gets the book.”

Shamefully, Ben couldn’t stop himself from considering this. His brother seemed genuine enough and would likely still consider this a win on his part. But could Ben even do the deed? He was drained, and he’d just healed what would be his last obstacle back to fighting condition. It wasn’t possible, so it wasn’t to be.

“Kill my servant, break my word, all for one book?” Kinsoriel scoffed. “I don’t care what bet you two have, but I will not humor this utter nonsense.”

“Look at me closely then as I say this. You may think it utter nonsense,” he pointed a gloved finger at Benjamin accusingly, “but he doesn’t. Now tell me, am I lying?”

The ex-Author’s eyes widened as far as they could. That sleazeball in a suit had set him up. He never intended to give him an out, that was all to plant the idea in his head. And he had fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.

“You are not, but you are wrong. He wouldn’t,” Kinsoriel said matter-of-factly in Ben’s defense.

“Wouldn’t he? I wouldn’t put it past him if he thought he could just undo it right after. Maybe you should ask if the thought crossed his mind.”

When his character didn’t reject this immediately and instead turned to face Ben, a chill crawled down his neck. The words that came after hung in the air.

“Did you think about killing me for that book?”

Tension started to build in his chest. To say nothing would implicate him in a far worse way. To say otherwise would shatter any trust and still have the nasty truth revealed. There was only one option, painful as it was.

“Yes.”

All sounds seemed to die out as he said it. Kinsoriel’s shocked look at that moment bore into Benjamin deeper than any anger ever could.

Muffled clapping filled the void. “And there we have it. Such a cold thing for someone to think about their master. You taught him all about magic, and how does he repay you? Plotting to stab you in-”

“I’ll hear no more of this!” Kinsoriel all but roared. “You,” he said with words like venom, “I know what you’re doing here, and it will not work. This attempt at goading me is neither clever nor well performed.”

Stromwell’s demeanor shifted ever so slightly as his face creased. “Excuse me?”

“My student… My peer has done nothing that I am not also guilty of. To hold one’s thoughts against them would make actions meaningless. If the gods refuse to punish those who do wrong, who would I be to punish someone who hasn’t done a thing?”

“You can’t be serious,” Stromwell said while pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I am. Now, I believe I asked you a question that you didn’t answer.” He squinted with concentration. “Why are you here?”

The well dressed man didn’t respond, instead looking over to Benjamin. He gave a glare before vanishing a moment later.

“Finally,” Ben said with a deep sigh. He sprawled himself over the ground, mentally exhausted, but happy to have survived another of his brother’s ploys. A tapping claw drew his attention back up to the dragon who had a complex expression.

“No mana. No names.” He muttered to himself.

“What’s wrong?” Ben asked.

Closing his eyes and taking a breath, Kinsoriel then looked at Ben with a look of trepidation. “You know how he was doing all of that, don’t you?”

Rubbing the back of his head, the ex-Author replied, “Yeah, but you wouldn’t believe me. I know how it sounds to you when I talk about that subject.”

Kinsoriel sat back on his haunches. “That burden rests on me. I want you to tell me everything, even if I might not like it. Everything.”

There was a part of Ben that recoiled at this. Was his MC going to take him seriously? Although irritating at times, there was a certain safety in the dragon not believing him. There would be no going back once this line had been crossed. But if his brother felt like making appearances now, it wouldn’t do any good to keep him in the dark.

With butterflies in his stomach, he made his decision. “Buckle up then. Where should we start?”