Starry Resonance

"I know of them, but that's about it." The human race didn't allow even a bit of information that wasn't vetoed by the ruling powers to be released. While he always had a favorable curiosity toward them growing up, it was only a special case. Everyone else followed the ideas of carnage, savagery, and wickedness that were painted for them.

"Then I'll just get to the point, what I'm fighting is a man from the dragon race." Yvain's hand, that was spreading the medicine, stopped. A cold thought washed over him. Would he have to fight that beast again? The destruction that blanketed the forest would make some sense. But then, who was this woman? She fought that beast and survived? She was covered in a lot of wounds, and she had looked like she was really about to die, but Yvain now knew that couldn't have been farther from the truth. How strong was she? And could he become that strong?

His hand, which had stopped on her belly, started shaking up and down as Nora laughed. "No, you won't actually have to fight a dragon. That form was lost to their race long ago." Yvain released a breath he didn't know he had been holding, his shoulders sagging a bit.

"What about the destruction surrounding the forest? Did you guys do that?" Yvain asked, starting up his ministrations on Nora's body again.

With a pensive expression, Nora guided Yvain's hand toward a wound on a blind spot and spoke, "How much do you know about starlight?"

"I know that it's the power given to us by the gods in the sky. With it, we can use abilities that will allow us to surpass our limits. The most important point though is that we aren't allowed to go outside the human continent without learning it, as it would result in an early death." Yvain said.

"That's the gist of it. The destruction around us was caused by it. Once you reach a high enough level of power things like this are the norm," Nora said.

"Level of power? Are you talking about what you said before? Protos, was it?" Yvain asked.

Nora didn't answer immediately. Yvain, almost done healing her wounds, just focused on his work.

With a skeptical voice, she finally spoke, "Do you know how levels of power are ranked?"

Nora stopped Yvain's hands. Slowly, she dislodged herself from his arms and went back to sitting face to face, this time without their knees touching. Yvain felt a bit depressed at her body heat slowly leaving him, but he could feel that her mood had changed. He closed the bottle and handed it over, noting the change in her expression. As with its sudden appearance, the bottle on her hand instantly disappeared.

"Who taught you about starlight?" She was completely serious this time around, her voice business-like. Yvain didn't like it, but he followed suit.

"My guildmates and I used the information handed to us at the creation of our guild to learn it. We're basically self-taught," he said.

"Then why don't you know about its ranks?" Nora asked.

Yvain gave her a shrug. "That information was never given to us." Why did it matter anyway? He and his master were already able to use starlight.

"Don't give me that dismissiveness," Nora said with mild annoyance, "if you don't know about ranks then you shouldn't be able to use starlight."

"What else do you want me to say? If I say I can use it, then I can use it," Yvain said.

"Alright, show it to me," Nora said. Yvain found funny the way she looked at him now. It reminded him of his time training under his master. "I can't," he answered straightforwardly.

"So you can't use starlight." Nora sighed.

As if her head suddenly caught on fire, Nora started rubbing her temples. "But then, how can you still use starlight!? If you're here you obviously passed the dungeon's trial. Did you not use any starlight in it? That would be impossible. Even more so if you fought a dragon!"

Yvain, feeling like she wasn't really expecting an answer, just looked on curiously as she started biting her glove while looking at nothing. He couldn't help himself from smiling. Is this how Selt felt whenever he went off on the kid? Yvain didn't know how to feel about that idea.

Nora's gaze focused back on him, and with a defeated look, spoke, "What are you smiling at? If what you're saying is true, then we're going to die."

"Finally, something we can agree on," a male voice Yvain hadn't heard before came from his back. How hadn't he noticed him? But Nora didn't seem startled. She didn't look at the source of the voice either. She only looked at Yvain with determination.

"I can tell that you haven't given up at least, so I won't give up on you," she lifted her sword and pushed it in front of Yvain. When he grabbed it, he realized that Nora's arm was trembling, her whole body was. It puzzled him. Up to this point, she hadn't seemed like someone to balk from a fight. And whatever he didn't know about starlight, he was at least certain that death was par for the course. Maybe it wasn't her own death she was scared of?

Whatever the case, he wasn't planning on either of them dying.

Turning around, Yvain's newly formed determination started to crumble instantly. In its place came immense exasperation.

"Did you manage to cop a feel?" Yvain found Selt standing next to a large man. The kid was smiling from ear to ear, most likely taking in every detail of Yvain's expressions with glee.

The man was taller than Selt but smaller than both Yvain and Nora. He was wearing a suit of armor that was now in pieces, but its past majesty could still be felt. With features that put him around the same age as Nora, he had a dark full-grown beard accompanied by slicked back hair that ended in a ponytail. A longsword with some blood on it was hanging from his right hand. But three things separated him from the other three people completely.

"Take care of your companion," the man said to Selt, then strolled toward Nora without even a glance at either of the other two.

Yvain stood in front of him, unsheathing the sword and throwing the scabbard aside. It wasn't a weapon he had ever used before, but his master had thought him how to handle any they could get their hands on so that he could find what he was best at. So while a bit uncomfortable, he could still be somewhat competent with it.

The man didn't stop, neither did he look at him. With his gaze focused on Nora he treated Yvain like air.

Yvain didn't pay mind to the implied insult, it was something he could use to his advantage. But before he could make a move a ball of dirt hit his face. Spitting out some of the dirt that fell into his mouth he glared at Selt who was grinning at him.

"Your opponent is me, idiot," Selt was already running toward him. His arms were raised in a clumsy manner ready to punch out. Yvain didn't attack of course. While keeping an eye on the approaching man he dodged Selt's fists with no effort. If the enemy paid him so little attention then he would do the same, to a certain extent.

"Can you tell me what you've been up to all this time? I thought you were doing some actual recon, not getting chummy with the enemy." Yvain said.

Still doing his best to land a strike, Selt spoke, "Just because he doesn't have a pair of t.i.t.s doesn't mean he's an enemy." Yvain looked back at Nora.

She was ignoring the two of them fighting and only glaring at the man approaching her.

Images of the little time the two had spent together rushed through Yvain's memories in an attempt to see if any discrepancies could give validity to Selt's words. None appeared. And even if they did, as much of a fool he knew he was for thinking it, he would still protect her even if he died. Not for a need to protect an innocent life as he had done with the child, but because he had found someone he might actually be able to fall in love with. And that was really the biggest reason for his decision to follow his friend, right? He would still help Nelimir realize his dream, make no mistake. But despite his curiosity toward the monster races, what he wanted the most right now was Nora. And to prove it, he was about to kill a man from a world he had been extremely eager to learn of.

Using the kid's body as a shield, the man reacted exactly as Yvain wanted him to. No one would ever imagine that the unassuming thin Selt would actually be an unkillable monster. The man's plan was simple, to take out both of them at the same time. But as he was getting ready to attack, blood poured out of his mouth and the wounds that had been acc.u.mulating over time finally took their toll. At that moment his body staggered for a split second, holding him back from landing a killing blow on Selt, and leaving himself wide open to Yvain's attack. It came in the form of a slash straight to the man's neck. Nora's gasp could be heard behind them.

The sword embedded itself halfway. With blood now coming out of both his mouth and neck, the man could only stare with wide eyes. Yvain could understand what he was probably feeling, as he went through the same thing when Selt came into his life. But the man's expression quickly shifted into fury and indignation.

"Decapitate him!" Yvain heard Nora scream, but it was too late. Before Yvain could push the sword further in the man grabbed it with his b.a.r.e hands. Lights similar to the ones that showed up on Yvain when he was using 'Skyfall' now appeared on the enemy. The image of a dragon appeared behind the man and a roar that pierced Yvain's mind, sending him into unconsciousness, burst out of the beast's throat.

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When Yvain next woke up, he was lying on Nora's l.a.p. He quickly got up, searched for Selt, and found him still out of it not too far away from them. Right next to the kid lied the head of the man that had been trying to kill them, completely cut off from its body.

"I finished the job as he was roaring," said Nora.

A disbelieving look appeared on Yvain and she answered the question that she knew he would ask, "I hopped on one leg," she said, moving her one good leg up and down as if showing it off.

A chuckle escaped him at the silly image, with Nora following suit. Yvain was surprised at how easy the fight had been. But if Nora had been this weakened then the man was probably in a similar state. And unlike the man, Yvain had Selt as a secret weapon.

Suddenly everything around them started shaking. Yvain looked around and saw trees disintegrating into dust. Higher up a crack could be seen becoming longer in the sky.

"What's going?" Yvain asked, standing up to go wake Selt up.

"The dungeon is collapsing."