[Edanian Journey] Sylvia

Chapter 6: Roots of the Sealed Castle

I was cast out of the rift in space-time and found myself at Hermesia Castle. The door leading inside would not budge, no matter how I pulled or pushed at it. Then the Black Spirit remembered the key we had received. The Wanderer's Key fit the lock perfectly.

Beyond the door stood the Black Dragon, frozen in place. It was Markthanan, whom I had encountered at the Mountain of Eternal Winter, still caught in the silence of a time before we had met. Then Deian's laughter greeted me.

He claimed that he had died once, only for me to set him free. He had been trying to revive the Black Dragon, but raged that when I destroyed <b>Kehelle's Blessing</b>, the body he had spent so long piecing together collapsed just as it was nearing completion.

In the depths of his despair, a thornwood vine of Hadum had whispered to him. In exchange for having his wish granted, he had offered Ynix to Hadum and disguised a fragment of her power as the flame. He even laughed over Jordine's tragedy as though it were another victory of his own.

Deian declared that he would take the dragon's body and make the entire world kneel before him. When I pointed out that Hadum would destroy the very world he sought to rule, he answered that he would rather claim victory for a fleeting moment than perish in defeat.

He had discovered the <b>myths of the Blackstar</b> and used them to summon Godr-Ayed. Consumed by vengeance and desperate to enter this world, Godr-Ayed needed a way in. Deian wanted the body of a dragon. Their interests had simply aligned.

Before long, Deian realized that I had traveled back through time. Laughing, he declared that if I had come from the future to find him, he would simply tear apart the flow of time leading there. Outside the castle, I could hear my past self and my companion approaching.

When Deian tried once more to seep into Markthanan, the Black Spirit and I merged and rushed to stop him. The struggle carried us into the <b>deepest reaches of the dragon's heart</b>.

There, in a moment where time stood still, Markthanan opened his eyes and looked at me.