Past the beautiful creature laying before him was what looked like a large grass island. It was mostly flat, with few minor hills and trees here or there. This must be where the white dragon lives.

The white dragon looked into Rai’s eyes, “What do you call yourself, little dragon?”

Rai stared back at it. He still couldn’t fully grasp that he was actually in front of such a majestic dragon. “Um... I’m Rai. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Dragon.”

The dragon let out a roaring guffaw. “Never in my thousands of years has one referred to me as Mr. Dragon. What a comedic little dragon you are.”

Rai felt slighted for some reason. His eyebrow twitched, “Well, you’re a dragon and you sound like a man, and I don’t know your name, so it makes sense for me to call you Mr. Dragon. And what’s with this little dragon stuff, I’m clearly not a dragon... even if I can feel a link with other draconic beings.” He’d let out some of the frustrations that were building up for a while.

The white dragon tilted its head, “What are you saying? I can very clearly see that you are a dragon... your blood is of mine. You’re my descendant.”

Rai had been thinking about this for a while, and what the dragon was saying fell in line with his suspicions. Still, Rai stared at it blankly, “I don’t know you. How can I trust your words?”

The dragon shook its head, which was surprisingly so powerful an action that it blew a gust of wind towards Rai. He held his footing as best he could. “You might not trust me. But your body does. Do not think lightly of draconic blood, boy.”

Rai sat down. He didn’t fully acknowledge the dragon’s words, but it was true that his body felt a strong kind of familiarity in its presence, “Okay, putting that aside for a moment, what’s your name?”

The white dragon did not speak for a moment. Its eyes were mesmerising as Rai looked into them. His concentration was broken, “You already know it.”

Rai stared at the dragon deadpan, “How would I already know it? Vitria that doesn’t make any...” Rai’s eyes widened. “... sense. What the fuck.”

Vitria laughed so hard that Rai fell over from his sitting position.

Rai sat back up, “What the FUCK?! How does that... I’m so confused.”

Vitria folded in on itself. Rai watched on in astonishment. The transformation process for a dragon to turn into a human was... incredible. Its voice was now feminine, “You should recognise me now. I believe you’ve seen me once before, as per the Phoenix’s games.”

It was the woman from the first vision shown to Rai.

She sat down on the grass in her human form.

Rai looked into her eyes. They were pure white, just like in the vision. Her obsidian hair was also reminiscent of the same image. “You’re the same... the pregnant woman from the first vision. Vitria.”

She nodded, “That I am. The mother of all dragons. The ruler of life and death. Nice to meet you, Rai.”

Rai stared blankly at her. He decided to simply lay down, “I need a moment.” Rai laid on the grass.

Vitria giggled as she watched him, “You’re a funny descendant. The first to make me laugh this much, which is kind of sad now that I think about it. Was I really not that funny? I hoped my descendants would’ve inherited some of my funniness.” She frowned as Rai drowned out her words, “Very well, we have a bit of time since you passed the first two trials quicker than expected. Take a few minutes to rest your mind.”

Rai was already doing that. While laying down, Rai decided to trust his instincts. His entire body yearned to trust and follow this being in front of him. For now, he would trust in Vitria’s words.

After a few minutes of just resting and allowing himself to reset his mental state, Rai sat back up and looked at Vitria, who was already looking at him.

He sighed, “What was the point of those last two trials?”

She smiled at him, “If you couldn’t pass those, then that simply meant you weren’t worthy enough to see me.”

Rai stared at Vitria disapprovingly, “That’s a little... egotistical.”

She pouted at him, “I didn’t choose for it to be that way!”

Rai rolled his eyes, “Do you happen to know what a Mahj is?” Vitria shook her head. Rai frowned, but since this was probably also a trial he moved on to what was more important, “You called me your descendant. What on Zenith did you mean by that?”

Vitria tilted her head as she looked at Rai, “I thought you were smart. You saw me pregnant as well. You can’t put two and two together?”

Rai facepalmed, “Just explain it please. You were a Warden, weren’t you? You must’ve gained a draconic form af-” His mouth forcibly shut.

Vitria pointed her finger at Rai, “No. I am the Eldest dragon, Vitria Eld. Before accepting the Creator’s blessing, I was a dragon first. Understood?”

Rai nodded. He could move his mouth again after Vitria lowered her finger. “You’re saying that I’m part of the bloodline of Wardens?”

Vitria shook her head again, “An Aspect is nothing. You, my child, are of the bloodline of Eld. Your blood will attest to it. All of my descendants had such strange and unique Draconic visages. But none before you came to me prior to awakening...”

Rai frowned, “I’ve never had a divine form, and I don’t think I’ll get one.”

Vitria facepalmed, causing a smacking sound to ring across the island, “Rai. You are a dragon, not a divine whatever. It comes from your blood, not... oh. You must have been taught otherwise.” She looked like she’d just had an epiphany.

Rai stared at her, confused.

Vitria continued, “No, that makes complete sense. Your people are unaware of how the Aspect titles work. It’s not based on your blood. Families might tend toward one form or another, but the forms were granted based off that clan’s title as a part of its power. Not the blood that was passed down. Those... ‘divine forms’ are based off of our original forms. From what my descendants told me, more and more divine forms came to be as the titles passed through different bloodlines.” She crossed her arms and softly shook her head, “How idiotic would that be, a whole clan descending from one person? Truly an absurd notion.”

Rai understood. But one thing didn’t make much sense. “What about Sin? My... partner. She’s from the Raven family in the Deception clan, and her divine form is a much stronger version of her father’s Mimic.”

Vitria stared at him, “Another misnomer. Her Mimic is a bloodline trait, not a divine form gained from her clan’s Aspect title.”

Rai questioned it further, “What about Torvac? He was a Deceiver as well, but was he not a Raven?”

Vitria shook her head, “Torvac was a Deceiver. He was the first, but he passed the title to his best friend on his deathbed. Vesta Raven. You wouldn’t expect it, but Vesta was the original Mimic. The only reason I know that the Mimic is a bloodline trait is because I knew Vesta personally. Your... partner doesn’t have a divine form either. Just like you.”

Rai looked at the ground for a moment as he pondered. This was all making some kind of sense, but something else bothered him, “What about all of the divine forms in Zenith? How many of those are actually handed down because of the Aspects’ titles, and how many are simply bloodline traits?”

Vitria thoughtfully placed a finger on her chin. She thought for a moment before shaking her head, “I would assume that very few of them are bloodline traits. I’m not in the outside world, and am forever locked inside the Phoenix’s spirit so I wouldn’t be able to tell. But from the... honestly worrisome amount of dragons that have come here and talked to me about the world outside, I doubt there are many bloodline traits left in the Creator’s world. The people in that world also easily mistake bloodline traits for divine forms, it seems. That makes it much more difficult to discern between the two.”

Rai nodded. He took the information as it came, and accepted the answers he was given for one reason. His body fully trusted the dragon in front of him.

Vitria stretched her arms upwards, “You’re an interesting one though. As I’d mentioned, many of my descendants who have come here have had a unique Draconic form... but yours hasn’t awakened. I wonder why that is... Your father was Varon, correct?”

Rai nodded, “That’s what my mother told me his name was... How do you know him?” The opportunity to learn more about his father was a huge boon to Rai.

Vitria smiled at Rai, “I remember him visiting me, like you. He was a Warden, like myself. Exceptionally powerful. But he was also... lost. You simply remind me of him.”

Rai frowned, “Do you know anything more? It’s my goal to find him.”

Vitria pondered for a moment. She frowned at Rai, “He visited me when he was young, so what I know may not be of help to you.”

Rai shook his head, “Any information about him would be helpful!”

Vitria thought about it. She sighed, “The only thing that could possibly be helpful to you is that he was a weaponmaster. And a dragon.”

Rai stared at her, confused, “What do you mean by weaponmaster? He left me a sword, but that’s the extent I know about his abilities.”

Vitria giggled, “He could pick up any weapon and instantly know how to use it to its highest level. I thought that he was abnormally powerful.”

Rai smiled, “I... see. Thank you, Vitria.”

Vitria smiled warmly at Rai, “If it helps you somehow, then I’ll be glad. May you be blessed to find your father, little dragon. Lest we forget, your draconic form still hasn’t awakened, and I have no idea why.” She looked puzzled.

Rai shrugged, “I have no idea either. Besides, there’s too much that I don’t know about my own powers and abilities for me to worry about a draconic form anyway.”

“What, that little evolution that you went through? I can see it in your eyes. Those friends of ours that we stood side by side with against the Daemon hordes... their magic is imbued within those eyes.”

Rai stared at her, “The Ancients? You know of them?”

Vitria shook her head, “Not as much as you’d expect. They simply united with us to fight against the Daemon. Their magic was... somewhat unique, but that’s the extent of my knowledge.”

Rai digressed as he leaned backwards, resting his hands against the grass floor, “About my eyes, you can see it? What about my lightning? I can’t use it without hurting my body...”

Vitria grinned, “That’s what the trial’s for. Since you passed the previous trials... I’ll fulfil the Phoenix’s wish. In order to pass this trial, you have to cast Antithesis and Stormflow without any backlash. Start with Antithesis. You have to use your eyes like the muscle that’s casting the spell. It’s something that you’ve probably never done before, but that’s how you’ll untangle the web.”

Rai thought about it. Vitria was right. He’d never done that before. With Stormflow, Rai would layer his Flow State with the strengthening of his muscles, but that wasn’t the same as literally casting a spell with your eyes. He didn’t know exactly how to use his eyes like that, but he was glad for Vitria’s advice. “Thank you, Vitria.”

Vitria shook her head, causing her long obsidian hair to flail slightly, “It’s on you now to untangle your techniques.”

Rai had one last question, “How will casting Antithesis help me ‘untangle my techniques’?”

“I’m going to take a nap; you’ll figure it out once you get there.” She laid on the grass and rested her head on her hands. Vitria closed her eyes and went to sleep.

Rai was grateful for any advice at all. At least he had a direction now. “Sleep well.”

He stood up and walked further into the island. Rai found a nice large patch of grassland after he’d walked for a few minutes. Surrounding him was nothing but a few trees on one side, the ocean on another side, and a couple of small hills on either of the other sides. He sat down and allowed his mind to drift.

Let’s think about Antithesis first, like Vitria said. Antithesis imbued itself into my eyes... and I have to somehow cast it with them.

Start with the basics Rai, that’s the only way to do this.

He created a fireball in hand and shot it out towards the ocean. Rai aimed the same hand out towards it and tried to internally cast the spell.

Antithesis.

Nothing happened. The fireball flew until it ran out of momentum and plopped into the ocean, fizzling into steam.

Rai tilted his head and scratched his scalp. Okay, that’s not it.

Using my eyes... Hmm. Instead of aiming my hand out, and trying to shoot the spell out from my hand. I’ll focus my eyes on the spell and try to shoot the spell from there instead.

Rai shot out another fireball.

He focused his eyes intently on the fireball mid-air.

Antithesis.

A surging feeling of mana erupted in Rai’s eyes and head.

The fireball dissipated into thin-air. There was no black lightning this time. The other major difference was that Rai could feel the spell being maintained as long as he held his focus.

He withdrew the spell.

Rai looked at his hands. That’s... that’s it! It worked! He looked over at Vitria, who was still sleeping. The trial... I still have to complete the trial.

He decided to test how the new Antithesis worked.

Rai re-ignited his eyes. That same feeling of mana rushing to his eyes and head was refreshing. Unlike Stormflow, it was a soft feeling. He focused on maintaining the spell as he shot out numerous fireballs. Every time he looked at a fireball while maintaining the will to cancel it out, it dissipated.

This... is fucking crazy.

Rai had to test it further. He released the focus in his eyes. The feeling of mana surging within his head simmered down.

He ran over to the oceanfront of the island, past the sleeping Vitria.

Rai looked out into the ever-beautiful ocean.

A perfect testing ground.

Rai maintained the release of 20% of his mana.

He poured all of his released mana into hundreds of fireballs that he shot out into the air above the ocean. The feeling of no mana running through his mana channels was... a strange one. But Rai had to do this for the sake of knowing his limits.

Focus. Antithesis.

The surging feeling of mana in his eyes and head returned, and as Rai looked at all of the fireballs...

They dissipated.

Every. Single. One.

Rai looked on in disbelief. However, his disbelief wouldn’t last very long. In the bottom of his peripheral vision was something that stood out.

A reflection.

His reflection.

Rai maintained the state of Antithesis as he kneeled on the ground and looked at his reflection in the ocean’s calm waters.

Bright blue runes lined the outer edges of his bottom eyelids. He saw another pair of slightly different rune linings along the top of his cheekbones.

Rai activated and deactivated Antithesis multiple times. The runes appeared and disappeared every time he did so.

Rai sat back and punched the air numerous times. He’d figured out the new and evolved Antithesis. Now, it was a state of being, rather than a spell. As long as Rai could maintain the focus in his eyes, the spell would activate at his will. The best part was that he never felt his mana being drained as he maintained the spell. I suppose I should train my eyes like muscles now.

Rai giggled to himself.

He returned to the spot that he’d found earlier.

For a few minutes, Rai allowed himself to be happy. He was happy at his progress. He also spent enough time focusing on absorbing the ambient mana, which was surprisingly abundant, to recuperate at least 10% of his own mana. But now, there’s one final thing to fix.

Stormflow.

Lightning surged in Rai's body. The feeling of his increased perception and body strength was a familiar one that he'd longed for. Stormflow had activated.

Rai didn’t feel any pain.

Huh.

HUH?!

“You did it.”

Rai was so confused that Stormflow forcibly retracted itself due to his lack of focus on maintaining it.

He flailed around a bunch as he exclaimed, “DID WHAT?! IS THAT IT?!”

Vitria floated over to him, “You untangled the web. Your lightning attributed mana was stuck in a limbo due to your usage of it in that fight against the Daemon. Antithesis had mistakenly been pulling it in since it evolved. But once you activated Antithesis, it released the rest of your mana.”

Rai stared at her with the most confused look on his face, “How does that make any sense?!”

Vitria giggled, “You’ll know once you read that other book you’ve hidden away.”

Rai’d forgotten. Living mana... The other book he’d gotten before the entrance exams. “Wait... how did you know about that book?”

Vitria stared at him, deadpan, “Rai, I am the master of life and death, you think I can’t look into those seals of yours? Speaking of which, why do you have a uniform in there? Do you not typically wear a uniform instead of storing it away?”

Rai blushed a touch, “It’s a spare... I keep ripping mine, so I carry a spare with me...”

Vitria’s face was blank. Then she burst out laughing, “You... you really are the funniest of my descendants!”

Rai blushed as Vitria laughed at him.

Vitria laughed for short while, then got back on track, “You got the book and didn’t even read it? A friend of mine wrote that, so you better read it!”

Rai was clearly confused, “What... what the fuck are you on about?”

Vitria facepalmed, “Just read the book when you get any free time. It will teach you part of mana’s true nature.”

Beside Vitria, a flaming hole in the fabric of space opened.

She looked at it. A sad expression formed on her face, “I think... it’s time for you to go now. Congratulations on clearing the Phoenix’s Trials.”

Rai stared at the portal that just opened.

Tears flowed down his face. “What... why am I crying?” He wiped the tears away, but more came.

Vitria tilted her head and watched him in a caring, motherly fashion. “Little dragon...” She whispered, “I hope to see you again one day. Please, break the Phoenix’s chains.”

Rai looked at her through his blurred vision, “But wait... I didn’t even learn about my draconic form... How... chains? What chains?”

Vitria hugged him, “Worry not, little dragon. Your time will come. Patience will take you far. Now go, return to your loved ones.”

Rai returned her embrace. He held her for as long as he could.

The world began to tremor.

Vitria shed a tear, “You should hurry.”

Rai steeled his will, “T-... Thank you, ancestor.” He let go.

Vitria watched as Rai walked towards the portal. She smiled at him warmly as he waved goodbye.

Rai left through the portal.

Vitria watched as he left.

The portal closed.

She sighed, “A’lar.”

Out of a new and larger portal came something different.

The Phoenix.

Vitria adored the creature's appearance. It was made entirely out of bright orange flames. Floating red runes lined each and every one of the flickers of fire. Its flames blazed hotter than any natural fire one could find.

It landed on the ground beside her. The entire island had become its perch. The ground rumbled as it spoke, “Eldest of the dragons. Ye may maketh thine own choices, but the trials may never end early! Pray tell, why must you act in such ways?”

Vitria giggled, “You may be old and wise A’lar. But you know little about us dragons.” She looked at the spot where Rai exited through the portal, “He will grow, and he will fight. I believe that to Transcend, one must find their own way.”

A’lar rumbled once more, “Ye hold no dominion over time, master of life! Must I shackle you again?”

Vitria laughed loudly, “Foolish bird. As a primordial, you are as old as Zenith itself. However... as a Transcendent, you are younger than a budding flower.”

A’lar roared. The world shook. “Insult your captor no longer. For another failure, thou shall drown for a thousand years. Be warned, eldest dragon.”

Boom!

The Phoenix exploded into sparks and lingering flames.

Vitria’s island was burning.

She sighed.

With a wave of her hand, the island returned to its previous state.

Her voice quivered, “One day... I will be free of your grasp. Damned bird.” Vitria’s tears flowed as she slept.

Until one day, she could awaken once more.