Starry Resonance

Now that the time came to reveal what they had done, Yvain found it hard to speak. Facing his friends he knew what they would say, that he shouldn't have been so rash. And they would be right to say it.

Nora felt his hesitation and decided to tell them the truth herself. "The man we killed was the ruler of the dragon race, known as the Dragon Emperor. He also happened to be my husband. Due to some personal reasons, we entered a battle to the death from which I came out victorious thanks to Yvain," she said.

"And may I ask why such a battle was taking place inside a dungeon on Great Divider?" Nelimir asked. Yvain noticed that Freya had crossed her arms and was now looking at Nora in consternation. He didn't know the answer to his friend's question so he could only wait for his lover to answer herself, but no reply came. When he looked at her, he saw that she was hesitating. Her eyes darted from Nelimir to Yvain with worry.

"Before I tell you, I'd like to know something," she said. Nelimir gave her the go-ahead and Nora asked, "How do you feel about the monster races?"

Nelimir, as if expecting the question, answered smoothly, "What you want to ask me is if I'll use the fact that you're from the dragon race to harm you, am I correct?"

Nora nodded, becoming tense while waiting for the answer. Yvain was confused for a second at her question but then realized that she didn't know what their guild stood for or Nelimir's plan.

"I won't, none of us will," Nelimir said, "I don't know how much Yvain has told you, but I intend to break the isolation Empryon has set upon itself. And the first step to achieving that is to slowly integrate the monster races into our society."

"That...is unexpected," Nora managed to say. "Excuse my rudeness, I trust you all for the most part, but Empryon's hatred for anyone other than themselves is renowned."

"Understandable. Now, about the location of the battle," Nelimir said.

"Yes, well, to understand the reason why we were in a dungeon you need to know who I am first and what that entails."

Yvain knew she was about to reveal her godhood and was hoping Nelmir could control himself.

"That, and the goddess of dragons," Nora said.

"Excuse me?" Nelimir's mask of austere leadership began to crumble. "Yvain did you know of this?"

Yvain shook his head."She only told me right before we joined you guys."

Nelimir slammed the table. "Nora, you will be joining our guild," he loudly proclaimed, joy plain on his face. Freya didn't seem happy with his sudden choice but remained quiet.

"Please don't make a repeat of last time. Think of your image as our leader," Yvain said. He found it ironic that he was trying to stop his friend from making rash decisions when this is what he wanted from the start.

"Are you referring to the goddess of villages?" Nora asked. Yvain nodded and Nora smiled at Nelimir, "I've been told that you have an interest in our race."

"I've been stuck in a xenophobic society that believes itself to be the center of all creation. Knowing that there are beings around us that undoubtedly breaks those beliefs is refreshing," Nelimir said.

Nora laughed, "We are just like any other race inside this world. Though we have some peculiarities." She rested her hands on the table. "One of them is why our battle took place in a dungeon." Taking on a bitter smile she continued, "You see, my late husband intended to kill me and steal my powers. It's common knowledge that if you want to gain something from a god, you must offer an official challenge to the stars called 'Godless trials' which the god is then forced to accept no matter the circ.u.mstances. Once the ritual is completed a dungeon will be created with the god inside."

Nora's love-filled gaze landed on Yvain, "What many don't know is that the form of challenge and its requirements to pass aren't chosen by us. We only chose what the challenger will earn if they come out victorious."

Nora shook her head. "The goal of the dungeon was to find my mate. I didn't know how you would be tested, but the child you protected was most likely a recreation of my daughter," she said sweetly.

Yvain's eyes widened as Nora grinned. She closed the short distance between them slowly and licked his lips before Yvain pulled her closer and they kissed. Her slimy tongue immediately entered his mouth and the couple was once more trying their best to eat each other. He was already set on helping Nora find her daughter, but knowing that the child in the dungeon and her kid were the same now created an undeniable need to do so.

Nelimir loudly cleared his throat and the couple broke off, both panting while a string of saliva hung between them.

"What's her name?" Yvain asked.

"Charlotte," Nora said. She licked her lips and it took all of Yvain's willpower to hold back from kissing her again.

"Is this normal of finding a mate?" The couple looked at Nelimir at the same time. It was obvious that his friend meant their display of affection.

It was Nora who answered. "That's something I've been trying to figure out," she said. "The dungeon only served as a filter. It was meant to hold back my late husband from reaching me."

"So the plan failed and at the same time the dungeon did something more than finding you a mate?" Nelimir said.

"It didn't fail. He used something to weaken the dungeon's power and in turn weaken me." Nora sounded uncomfortable. "I don't know how he acquired it, but it's not something you find just lying around."

"As for finding my mate, I don't think that's it. Those of the monster races can be a bit more passionate than humans when it comes to relationsh.i.p.s but..." Nora paused for a moment and took Yvain's hand. He didn't make a move as Nora rubbed her face all over his palm and took deep breathes. "This feels different, the dungeon couldn't have done it."

Yvain's eyes darted around the room nervously, not knowing where to look. He was pretty unabashed about most things but Nora's act felt too intimate to have an audience. His eyes suddenly stopped moving when he saw how white Freya was.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She had been uncharacteristically quiet this whole time.

Freya shook herself and looked at him. "Just something in the food," she said unconvincingly.

"And how about you Yvain? Do you feel any different?" Nelimir cut in.

"Besides the feeling of unconditional trust I have in her and...uh, physical needs, not really," he said with a shrug. Nora had settled his hand in her own once more and was giggling at his words.

"I guess whatever is making you both act like this will have to be set aside for now." Nelimir inclined forward a bit, setting his elbows on the table. "I understand the why of you two fighting inside a dungeon on Great Divider, but now I'd like to know why you two were here in the first place."

"It has to do with the daughter I mentioned. My ex-husband sold her off to someone in Empryon, so I'm here to get her back," Nora said.

"It's another of the reasons why we can't leave Empryon yet, or at least, I can't," Yvain said, wanting for his friend to understand the weight of his commitment to Nora. To his surprise though, Nelimir didn't seem to be against the idea.

This was the biggest issue they were all now facing. To make matters worse Nora knew more about them than they knew of her. In other words it was possible that the dragon race controlled more information than the enemy.

"It will certainly cause problems, but they will be shouldered for the most part by those of your race that live outside of Empryon," Nora said calmly. "But we can't stay here waiting to be found. It's best if we leave as soon as possible."

"Be found?" Nelimir asked.

"Before the Dragon Emperor died he used a skill called 'Imperial Hunger'. It lets his subjects know he was murdered and the location of his death," Yvain said.

"So that's the roar we heard from the village," Nelimir said absentmindedly.

"You heard that?!" Yvain exclaimed.

Nelimir was briefly taken aback. "Yes, it made all of us lose our footing for a bit, that's why so many villagers were at the goddess of village's house."

"You're saying that roar can reach to where the dragon race is?" Freya finally broke her silence and asked Nora.

"Yes," Nora said.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"If that roar has such a wide range, it's possible that others in Empryon heard it too, and if they did-"

"This place will be crawling with a lot of interested parties," Nelimir finally realized the gravity of the situation. "If we're caught here it could create an infinite number of unforeseen troubles."

Freya nodded. "And considering that an emperor from another race, who could face off against a goddess, is dealing with humans from Empryon," Freya was starting to look worried, "I think there might be powers at play, which we can't stand up against, that aren't even related to monsters."

"I...didn't actually think that far," Nora said apologetically.

"You don't need to, that's what these meetings are for," Nelimir said kindly. "We'll be leaving as soon as we finish out conversation then," he said, then looked at Yvain. "What did you have in mind for helping us become stronger?"

"Nora could train us," Yvain said affectionately.

"Me?"

"Her?!?"

"You are impossibly stronger than us," he told Nora. Then he looked at Freya, "And you know that we've both been stuck in place for months now. Roesia seems to have made a small amount of progress, but Nelimir hasn't been able to even make starlight appear."

"As much as it shames me to admit, I don't have the genius-like ability you all seem to ooze out by breathing," Nelimir said ruefully.

"And we killed and emperor. Too many things could go wrong and we need to be ready to face them," Yvain said.

Nora was mulling over his words seriously.

Freya looked endlessly frustrated but he could see that his master understood the truth.

"My power isn't even half what it used to be," Nora said, "I don't think it'll easily come back." She studied her hands with a sad expression.

"Why not?" Yvain asked.

"I don't know. They started decaying when my ex-husband used that weird statue. Today when I woke up a small amount returned but it has stopped since," Nora said. "But if you're fine with me, I'll do my best to guide you all. Not to mention that I think you've been going about it wrong from that start."

"Then it's settled. We'll start moving immediately and we can be trained by Nora at we go," Nelimir said. "Yvain, go get Selt."