【Saihe】Chasing the clouds and chasing the sun

17

"How long is a dragon's life?"

"I don't know either," Saria said. "I've thought about it before."

It was the end of the first spring.Blooming magnolias fall in blossom, the woods turn from tender green to dark green, fluffy moss climbs up the rocks and exposed tree roots, the drizzle comes one after another, the river is full of joy, and nests are built in early spring The bullfinch hatched a chick.

Homer stared at the chirping chicks, a withered honeysuckle in her hair.Saria helped her take down the flowers.

Serena also looked up, the birds were extremely hungry, and their chirping was piercingly piercing.

She unconsciously twirled the withered honeysuckle with her fingertips, and said, "I don't know how long I have lived. I remember that at the beginning, there were not so many human beings, and many things were different. Mountains became rivers, and rivers became plains." .Now, people are everywhere. Only me is the same.”

The forest is very quiet, and the afternoon sun shines through the cracks like broken gold, floating around.Hemo stretched out his hand and put it on Serena's fingertips. Her strength was very light, and the touch was a little cold, but the magic that gushed out of her hand was warm, and the dried flowers that had decayed into brown were dyed brilliant golden again, petal by petal. Stretched, it bloomed again in Selea's hands.

"Unbelievable." No matter how many times she had seen it, Serena couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

She inserted the resurrected honeysuckle carefully into Hemer's hair, and Hemer still lifted his chin slightly, this time looking into Saria's eyes.

"Maybe it's not important." Hemer said suddenly.

"Hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago, there was only you. A human's life was too short compared to you, just like honeysuckle in the four seasons. A few years ago, decades ago, there was only me. But now ..." Hemer's cheeks were burning hot, she was not good at expressing, and it was unprecedented to say such words.

She didn't finish her sentence, but Serena's eyebrows and eyes were curved, and her smile was like dewdrops dripping into the river.

But now, I have met you.

18

Saria fell into a coma after returning to her human form.

Ifrit left, Selia lost consciousness. Even though she was ruined and wanted by the Paladins, Hemer had never been so flustered and helpless.She was at a loss again, as if trapped in a thick fog, unable to see the way back or the way out.

She took Saria back to their home.Fortunately, this sudden catastrophe did not affect their well-built hut in the forest.She couldn't detect what happened to Selia, she didn't have any scars on her body, she was peaceful as if she was asleep, but her whole body seemed to be burned by flames, the surface of her body was as hot as the inside of a fireplace in winter.

No matter how many ways Hemer tried, Saria still couldn't wake up.

"We have to bring Ifrit back...Serea..."

Hemo stayed by Serena's side, nourishing her hypothermic body with black magic from time to time, praying for her to wake up sooner.For the first time in her life, she was so shaken, feeling that she was always losing.

"Seriya..."

"...wake up..."

"I need you, Saria..."

"It's time to wake up..."

"my child……"

"This is your mission."

"……inherited……"

Saria heard Hemer's call.

There was also a strange voice.

She opened her eyes suddenly and found herself curled up in darkness.Then there was a rustling sound, and she tried to move.This is an extremely narrow space, and it is difficult to spread out your hands and feet.

Homer, Ifrit.She meditated.

With someone she cared about, the darkness became more and more cramped. She knocked on the surroundings vigorously, "click", but easily broke a gap, and a ray of light came out from the gap.

Serena hesitated for a moment, the scene in front of her was somewhat familiar.

She slowly knocked the gap wider enough to get in and out, and she leaned out, stepped out, and was in the sun.She sees her kind.

Dragon.

Every dragon that ever lived.

She is born, transforms, grows, decays, dies, rots, and ushers in a new life in an instant.She lived the long life that every dragon goes through.Love and hate, grief and pain, disappointment and hope.The rise and fall of dragons, their beginnings and their fall.

Gradually she understood the questions that had been bothering her for so long, the questions that Hemer had asked her, the questions that she hadn't and couldn't answer.

"How long is a dragon's life?"

Saria saw Hemer standing in the woods, the sun shining on the transparent down of her cheeks, and a withered honeysuckle on her head.

Everything around her dies while growing, sprouts while dying, the river flows continuously, just like the cycle of time, the past and the future are the present, and the present is the past and the future.An endless and indivisible chain, this is the life of the dragon.

"my child."

She heard countless voices whispering in her ears, telling her everything about the Dragon Clan.

"...This is the inheritance of life."

Homer looked into her eyes.

She opened her mouth.

It's a brutally simple answer.

The demise of dragons coincides with the rise of magic.

A ferocious tiger is always no match for countless weak carnivorous ants.When human beings discovered the power of dragons, they feared and thought of conquering at the same time, generation after generation, endless, never-ending, one day they killed the first dragon, stole the power that did not belong to them from it, and then, greedy Prompting them to use this power to kill more dragons.

Humans multiplied rapidly, occupying the entire continent and encroaching on the living space of other creatures, while dragons became less and less until they were almost extinct.

Some human beings who have gradually mastered the most powerful power established the so-called kingdom. They locked this secret in the hands of a few people to stabilize their power. They called this power light magic and said it was a gift from God. Inherited from generation to generation, it has been handed down to this day.But these people are too domineering because of the power they plundered. The only thing they can't master is the magic about life. They would rather put it on the shelf. Over time, they call it black magic.

Dragons have a long period of infancy and youth, and they can only truly become adults if they meet extremely harsh conditions.

And the moment a dragon's life becomes an adult, it will superimpose the memories of all the living members of the same race, truly becoming eternal.

"Seriya..."

"...wake up..."

— It's time to wake up.

Serena heard that strange voice again, she opened her eyes again, and saw Hemo's surprised face in a trance.

"Seriya? You're awake!"

Hemer opened his mouth half-opened in surprise, "Your horn...your horn is gone..."

"I thought... I thought..." Hermer had tears in her eyes. She had too much to say, but she didn't know how to speak.

"Don't worry." Saria propped up her body and hugged the incoherent black mage, "I'm sorry."

"No..." Hemo choked up, and finally cried out, completely venting his emotions for so long.

"I'm an adult, Homer," Saria said. "Because of you. And Ifrit."

That strange voice told Serena that dragons are a loyal race, and only the heart of true love can completely transform a young dragon and obtain an inheritance.

What could be a more sincere feeling than being willing to give up your life for someone?

19

The king had twelve daughters.

They are all beautiful girls with the same father and different mothers. They are beautiful, intelligent and generous, and get along in harmony on the surface, but secretly they are intriguing and jealous in order to marry a richer nobleman or prince.

Ten years ago, the king's youngest daughter was born, and she was No.13.But the oracle said that the youngest daughter would destroy the kingdom, bring a red disaster, and kill her father herself.

At first the king didn't believe it, he was an arrogant monarch, but for some reason the oracle was secretly circulated among the crowd, more and more people knew about it, the king had to pay attention to it.

One day, the confidant received a secret order. In order to prevent future troubles, the king ordered him to kill the little girl with his own hands, and she was thrown into the wilderness along with the oracle.

The youngest princess in that kingdom should have died nine years ago, turning into a pile of dry bones, but now she was brought back safe and sound.

"A bunch of idiots!"

The king was furious. God knows what these stupid soldiers brought back. He didn't want a princess who was kidnapped by a dragon. It was just an excuse!

What he really wanted was the heart of a dragon!

There is a secret in the royal family: if you get the heart of the dragon, you can get eternal life.

When the king was young, he never believed in such nonsense, but as he grew older, his body was hollowed out by alcohol and sex, and he weakened irresistibly, only then did he remember the secret that only the right of inheritance can know.

He remembered that his cronies had babbled nonsense back then, saying that a dragon had appeared at the border, so he recalled his cronies again and asked for the specific address.It took so much money, so many gold coins, and so long to hunt, but what about this group of brave men, this group of low, dirty idiots, not only did they not kill the dragon, but they brought back a man who deserved to die a long time ago !

The group of brave men knelt together, their foreheads pressed against the floor, trembling, not daring to breathe.

The king brandished his sword and walked up and down the hall angrily, like a hysterical madman.

Suddenly, he stopped behind a young soldier and said to himself: "Since you can't complete the task, use your hearts to atone for it."

The young soldier was just 20 years old. On the way home, he thought that he would get a rich reward for fulfilling the king's order. He also thought about saving money to marry the girl he had admired for a long time. Unexpectedly, all he got was cursing and sarcasm.

He was sweating profusely, knelt on the ground and didn't dare to move. Hearing the king's words, a crisis emerged in his heart. Before he had time to beg for mercy, the sharp knife pierced his young heart from the back.

The smell of blood instantly permeated the entire luxurious hall.

Warm blood splashed all over the king.The mad king cut open the young soldier's chest, and used the tip of his sword to stir up his beating heart. The death of one person was not enough for him, and he walked to the next goal with vain steps.

The king's brave men died one after another. They had been promised generous rewards when they went out to fight, and they also won the enthusiastic cheers of the people when they returned. They did not die on the battlefield, but died under the sword of those who swore their allegiance to the death.

The king's sword was raised again, and the subject to be slaughtered did not accept the treatment with tears like the previous ones. He knelt lower and dropped his body to the ground, tightly against the shell-studded and gilded floor, crying Shouting for mercy, saying that the princess brought back had some abnormalities.

"Horns on her head! I swear! I saw it! She's a dragon, too!"

"My dear little girl?"

An intoxicated smile appeared on the king's face, and his blood-stained face was particularly ferocious and terrifying.

He pointed his sword at the brave leader who was kneeling in the front, and said loudly: "Brave warrior, why don't you bring my dear daughter here now, and let me have a look?"

He acted like an exaggerated father: "I miss her so much! Come on! Come on! Bring her here!"

"I will serve you to the death, my lord."

The brave leader saluted dryly, then turned his head and took a deep look at the soldiers who were dying in peace.

Not long ago, they were a group of good guys with excess energy, and they often made his head hurt from the noise, but in such a quiet hall, he couldn't help but miss the noise at that time.

TBC

*The flower language of honeysuckle is: love dedicated wholeheartedly.