“I-Is that...?” Yuri’s voice was shaking. “Krista, we need to retreat!”
“No.” Krista shook her head. “I don’t sense any hostility.” That was Krista’s intuition based on her experience of being on the battlefield when the fire dragon had appeared. Besides, how would they even retreat from such a thing? And to where? How could they possibly resist the being before them?
“We can’t count on that! We need to give the order to retreat immediately or else—”
“Yuri, calm down! I don’t think it’s an enemy!” Somehow, Krista could just tell. The dragon was unsettling in the extreme and undeniably divine, but it had none of the blazing animosity Krista had felt in the fire dragon.
“Let’s see!” the dragon said, its voice bizarrely upbeat. “Which of you am I allowed to break again? Only the black dolls? That sounds right, I think. Well, then, let’s have some fun! Maze Marine...”
Suddenly, water began rising from the earth up to the sky. It started with a single droplet, but soon it was flowing upward, toward a single point in the sky. The dolls, too, were drawn up one by one into their prison in the air. Some of them struggled or destroyed themselves in great explosions, but nothing they did could breach their watery membranes and affect the outside world.
Eventually, the water collected into a single body—a miniature ocean floating in midair, so vast that it hung over the entire battlefield. Then it began to shrink, the deep blue ocean growing smaller and smaller. The dolls split apart under the pressure, making a horrible metallic sound.
The whole thing lasted only a few seconds.
Something fell from the sky with a dull plop. It was a small lump of metal—all that was left of the dolls. The force of its landing buried it in the ground. It would be a long while before anyone noticed its presence.
“Is that it?” said the dragon. “Well, that’s a little bor—inghhh?!” An enormous ball of fire, big enough to engulf the dragon’s entire body, cut off its words. The ground split open as jets of flame rose up to consume their foe, forming a circle of defiant fire.
“Don’t you think you’ve won!” declared Reanna, turning her attention away from her clash with Krista. “I’ll burn you to ash! I’ll use your body for spell components!” It was an act of true bravery. Even Krista found herself a little in awe. Hardly any human could launch a counterattack in such a situation. However...
“Ah ha ha!” the dragon laughed as the flames died down, leaving not a single scorch mark on its body. “You got me! Ahhh, I’d missed this sensation! This is what a battle is all about! Pretty strong too, for a human-scale creature. I feel just the slightest bit warm!”
“No...” Reanna fell to her knees in disbelief. And who could blame her? Her opponent was simply out of her league. Krista could only think of one being who could stand up to that thing. All a human could do was lower their head and beg for mercy.
“I hate to disappoint you,” the dragon said, “but you, I’m not allowed to break. So I’ll just have to knock you all out instead!” Everyone on the battlefield could clearly hear the words that were spoken to them. And then, just as the dragon said, they were out like a light.
As always, Krista was the only one who could follow what had happened. She’d heard a voice invoking a skill: Force of Sin. Then something ran across the battlefield, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Only Krista herself and the commanders of the two armies, Grascas and Margrave Reinholt, were left standing. Aside from them, every human on the field had collapsed onto the ground, unable to resist. Even Yuri had succumbed to the attack and fallen unconscious.
Krista had a sense that if Nacht were here, she would say that her level simply wasn’t high enough. Even standing before the thing in front of them took considerable mettle.
“Okay, okay,” the dragon said. “What’s next again? Oh, right! In the name of the ancient dragons, I issue a proclamation to both countries: end this war and depart at once. Should you refuse...well, I think you know what’ll happen, right?”
Nobody had ever heard of a dragon interfering in a battle like this before. Nobody knew what intentions this creature had. But mere humans were powerless to disobey.
“Honestly,” the dragon muttered to herself. “A devil bringing an end to a war. I’ve gone pretty soft too, haven’t I...” Nobody heard those last words. There were only three people left standing, and they were all in shock over the sudden developments of the last several seconds.
“Oh, and one more thing,” the dragon said. “That one’s the girl named Krista, right?” Confused and dismayed to have been singled out, Krista nodded her head. “I have a message from my mistress. ‘Sorry I ended up meddling after all. I’ll make it up to you next time we meet.’ That’s all.” And with that, its enormous body vanished without a trace.
People said later that the war between Sindoria and Estoll was brought to an end by the ancient dragons, acting as the messengers of peace. Krista alone, however, knew the truth—that what had happened that day had come down to the whims of a single girl.
~ ‡ ~
Aisha walked quietly down the soft carpeted hallway, ignoring the house’s eye-catching decorations. She looked straight ahead, unwavering, as she made her way to her destination. In her mind, the only thing she could see was Izuna.
Aisha and Izuna’s bond had been born out of a mere coincidence. There wasn’t any deep reason behind it. There didn’t need to be. Aisha could remember Izuna extending a warm hand out to her as if it were yesterday. Aisha was beyond grateful. If it hadn’t been for that chance encounter, she would have never had the strength to move forward.
To be perfectly honest, this was far from the first time Aisha had come to someone wanting them to be her friend. When she’d lived in the village, she had asked people to be her friend many times. Aisha hated being alone, after all. But every time, she would be met with a look of intense disdain. Then, they would force themselves to smile and offer Aisha their hand. Aisha was a strange girl. She had no friends who were willing to accept her as she was. They would play with her for a while, only to quickly grow to resent her presence. They made fun of her and ignored her, and in the end, she would go home alone.
Nobody had fun playing with Aisha. Nobody enjoyed speaking with her. They refused to smile when she was around. And at last, she understood. It all made sense. Aisha had never had any friends after all. She had been alone the whole time. She was left sad and empty, kicking rocks as she made her way home alone.
Izuna had been astonished, even perplexed by Aisha at times, but she took the girl’s hand and held it gently regardless. Nobody had ever done that before. And when Aisha came to her with her troubles, Izuna listened and gave the matter serious, honest thought. To Aisha, the short time they had spent together was an irreplaceable treasure.
She wanted to see her again. She would see her again, no matter what.
Aisha stepped into the room and called out the name of her only friend in the world. “Izuna!” There was no response. Izuna’s chambers were dim, illuminated only by soft candlelight. Aisha could see a canopied bed in the middle of the large room. Behind its curtains, she could see the shadow of a girl’s face. There were two other figures on the bed as well—dolls. They were lifeless, their forms twisted, and they no longer spoke. A tear fell from the girl’s eye and onto one of the dolls she was holding.