Simo

 As usual,

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A week or so has passed since the battle against the Shade invaders has concluded, and grandmother departed. Immy and Sidus had surprisingly ended up putting their differences aside and left for the southern region, venturing deep into the land of the tainted. 

Their reason? According to them, was that feeling of helplessness, that feeling of weakness during the previous fight. I offered to go with them, but they were fast to refuse when asked why? They said it was because I was too strong, and with me, they will not be able to truly go all out and test their limits since I acted as their shield. 

I was honestly quite saddened that my cute little siblings had grown so much that they no longer needed me to protect them. A chuckle escaped my mouth as I thought about that, 'I don't think they ever needed me to protect them,' I shook my head. 

With them gone, It was up to me, Essie, and Ynos to hold the fort. Father remained unconscious and unmoving ever since grandma had healed him. Still, his breathing was deep and steady. Since grandmother did not mention that anything was wrong with him, I figured it was just a matter of time before he some up. 

Essie on the other hand was quite nervous concerning this matter, she had refused to leave his side, seldom stepping out of the cave at all, not even for her usual flights around the mountain. I attempted to persuade her otherwise and explain that he was going to be okay, yet she surprisingly remained stubborn and refused to budge, so I could only shake my head and let her be.

Three more days after Immy and Sidus left for the tainted lands, Ynos came up to me as I was sitting down at the entrance of the cave with Ayona resting by my side. Following behind him was an earth dragon golem, a bit smaller in size, with stiff mechanical movements. 

Ynos then explained to me that he had reached a bottleneck in his earth magic, and was hoping to visit the kingdom of the Fairies, precisely, the fairy mother, in hopes of gaining a flash of inspiration that might help him breakthrough whatever was stopping him right now. 

This was even more shocking news since this was Ynos we were talking about, Ynos who kept a tiny pyramid made out of fairy skulls, that same dragon wanted to now visit their kingdom? At first, I immediately thought that he was going to raid them, yet to my surprise, Ynos shook his head and expressed his sincerity in hopes of better honing his earth magic. 

It took me a while to believe, but it was because of this that I came to realize just how much the previous battle had affected him...had affected us, all of us. Immy and Sidus who could not stand each other's guts were now traveling together in hopes of growing stronger, they put aside their differences. 

The prideful Ynos who did not like to think too much about anything, and preferred to bash through whatever obstacle came his way, had decided to put aside his pride and seek his most hated enemies, all in hopes of growing stronger. 

None of them...No, none of us like that feeling of hopelessness, that feeling of powerlessness with that dreaded aura pressing down on us. Three of my little siblings had already left to improve themselves, left I'm hopes of never feeling that useless nor powerless again. 

Essie still had grandmother who promised to come back for her to pass her rite of passage, hence why I had no doubt her strength would soar after that. Everyone was actively trying to improve, yet what could I do? How was I supposed to go about that? 

Thinking about such matters, I remained seated outside of our cave for three days and three nights. On the morning of the fourth day, I finally stood up to leave. I bid my goodbyes to little Essie, who seemed reluctant to see me go, and made my way north towards the edge of our continent. 

My destination, the wide-open sea. I was in no hurry to arrive and leisurely flew across the sky, enjoying the natural sights. The destruction of the landscape brought by the battle seemed to be limited to the area surrounding our mountain. 

The further ventured north, the more untamed the wilderness grew. Though the forest below me looked massive, my presence seemed to cause its residents to cower in fear as I flew by. I would sweep down to pick up any unfortunate prey that caught my eye whenever I felt like eating. 

When I grew tired of flying, I would walk, and when I grew tired of that, I slept. My journey although peaceful and relaxing was quite boring and lonely. This caused me to feel a bit of longing for my cute little siblings. Although we did not spend all our time together, their presence around me was nonetheless calm and reassuring. 

With my slow pace, It took me almost another week before I finally reached the Dragon road. Once I left the forest, I immediately dropped to the ground and made my way across the wide gravel road. I still recalled my grandfather calling these statues that stood by the sides, the honorable ones, dragons that fell heroically during battle. 

"Phew, still as huge as I remember it," I mumbled to myself as I glanced at the distance where the sea of statues seemed to extend to infinity before I took my first step. 

With slow but steady steps, I marched across the Dragon road, this time carefully studying the statues on both sides. Each statue represented a dragon, none the same as the previous one. Each sculpture depicted a story, and as all stories must come to an end, it also spoke of a heroic death. 

Fascinated by how different they were, I continued my march in awe. It took me four days and nights before I finally stood before the giant black temple. Turning to my left, I glanced at the familiar sculpture of the old poison dragon. 

"Amanita," I muttered, before lowering my head in respect. 

With that out of the way, I slowly made my towards the temple, and climbed the large set of stairs leading to the entrance. Once I stepped foot inside, I quickly lowered my gaze before the massive sculpture of the king and gave my respect. 

Grandfather was not with me this time, so I was not going to make the same mistake as before and foolishly stare at the King's eyes. Closing my eyes, I muttered a soft prayer, hoping it would reach his ear. 

"I pray for your blessings my King, and the safety of my siblings and family," The second I finished, a soft warm feeling suddenly surrounded me. 

"What-?"