The dragon keeper led them through the Abyss, knowing every stone that he crossed and every crater on the ground they were walking on—where they would possibly trip, the cliff-sides, and all other things. He knew the place like the back of his hand, yet he didn't need the light to see ahead. He was bordering the edges of the light.

The strains of gravity was still heavy on Valeriana's group that they were feeling the soreness as they continued. It was akin to walking and dragging a dumbbell chained to ankles. The difference was that it weighed down the whole body and strained every muscles.

Saeed and the others were already soaked with sweat from the unexpected workout. Though it was much cooler in the abyss than the top, the heat their body generated numbed the difference.

Baffled by his keenness and familiarity with the place, Omar asked, "Can't you see where you're going?"

He turned to look at Omar and said, for the second time that hour, "See these eyes, smart boy?"

Omar was daunted by the ferocity he had in his tone that he flinched back and held his arms up in surrender. "Alright, sorry. I was just curious."

"Curiosity kills the dragon!" He then glared at Femella, making the young dragon cower in Valeriana's arms.

Until now, Valeriana still could not decide whether to call her Femella or Heron. She had refused to leave her side since the keeper declared that the dragon has 'imprinted' on her. It seemed the same with baby ducks back home, anyhow. They would follow around the first person they see, which must have been what happened.

But this dragon also saw Saeed and the others, how come she didn't choose them instead?

"How did the imprinting thing happen, anyway?" She asked the half-dragon man.

"You fed her—that I can guess. The hand who first feeds the dragon is declared as its benefactor automatically in its mind—she was fed something she really liked." He huffed. "What exactly did you give her?"

"Oh, I packed a meat sandwich and I just sorta . . . I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"That dragon cannot come with you." He continued. "Her place belongs in the Abyss where she can be protected. I doubt your abilities and the place you live in. Judging by the looks of it, her kind descends from the blue fire, one of the hottest flames, which can be reflected from her scales. That dragon will grow about the size of ten, full-grown men and will lose all its cuddly self in twelve years' time. Where exactly do you plan on keeping it? Your backyard? I doubt it." He ranted.

"But I can't exactly abandon her, can I? She thinks I'm her mother. That'll be horrible. Mothers don't leave their children alone." She adamantly insisted.

"And how will you care for her?"

"I'll find a way. The academy is a big place, so I won't have any problem for the next eight years. We have a lot of vacant facilities she can reside in. I'm sure the headmaster won't mind."

Saeed, Omar, and Gavin watched their exchange curiously, interested by the development of the situation.

The dragon keeper stopped and gave her a look. "The academy? The Celeste Academy, you mean?"

"Yes, I'm currently studying there with the others. It's a pretty big place." She smiled at the thought. "So you are aware of the outside world. I was about to say that you literally lived under a rock." She laughed. "If this was a chat box, this is the part where I would be saying LOL . . . haha."

The half-dragon dude gave her a glare, but this wasn't enough of a threat to stop her. She was used to glares. Corvan had one on every time she was around. No one could possibly beat Corvan.

"Valeriana, what do you think the other students will think?" Gavin asked in concern. "I'm not against a dragon, but they are a pretty rare specie of celestial beasts. It may put her in danger."

"They'll get used to it. She's a pretty little thing! Oh, yeah, I haven't decided on what to call you? What do you say about Femeron?" She snuggled the small dragon and it purred in her embrace, its huge golden eyes looking up at her akin to the purity of a child's admiration and curiosity for a mother.

Now she was really starting to feel like one!

"Femeron?" The guys chorused.

"Yup! Short for Femella Heron Kerrigan, such a cute name. Don't you think so too, dragon dude?"

"Do not call me dragon dude and I do not care." He replied, scoffing as he resumed his pace and started walking forward once more.

"Well, yeah, if you won't give us a name, then I'll keep calling you dragon dude."

"Whether or not you take Fem—that dragon with you will be decided later. So shut your mouth and do not irritate me if you wish that I consider this thought of letting a dragon leave the sanctuary!"

He stopped before a wall, skewered Valeriana with a glare, and then kicked the wall beside him—not once, not twice, but thrice. They stared at him in shock and jumped when a loud rumble was heard. The ground trembled beneath them as molten lava bubbled at the base.

The four others jumped away warily and watched as the lava ate away the wall, revealing an entrance. When it cleared entirely, the dragon keeper was the first to step in. There was a flight of stairs that led to lower ground.

"Hurry up, we do not have all day. If you truly wish to have the guardian beasts purified, we will need to set out before the end of this day. The summer ends tomorrow and the channel will be closed then." He said, motioning for them to follow him.

Unhesitatingly, he descended and the others followed, although they were still wary of the lava charring them.

The path was steep and narrow. The stairs flew in spiral. When they reached the bottom, there was an opening that led them to an unforeseen place—something that they never thought existed in the Abyss.

"Sweet home Alabama!" Valeriana whistled.

They looked at her and frowned at her strange expression.

"What? I'm surprised!" She told them.

The ceiling was as bright as the skies outside and it was literally an oasis in the middle of the desert. There was a freshwater lake in the middle and mountains of rocks and dirt piled together to form towering hills where water cascaded, misting the air. There were greens growing on the surface and the air was a lot cooler.

"I was expecting a lava chamber, especially with the entrance." Saeed commented. "But this is way better."

The moment of peace was soon destroyed when a gigantic body flew over them, roaring unceremoniously. The gust of wind rushed at them, throwing their clothes and hair out of place.

The cape around their guide fluttered, and under the light, they could see more of how he really looked like—a cross between a man and a dragon; a dragon keeper. His hair was icy white, including the hair of his brows. He had fanged teeth and a broad, muscular form beneath.

"Corvan would be dying to see this." Valeriana thought. Somehow, she thought that Corvan would really appreciate the beauty of this place which existed in his lands.

"Damn dragons." He gritted his teeth. "I told you not to fly around like that! Palmer, you bastard!" He exclaimed. "No dinner for you later!"

"Hey, I just have something to say." Valeriana said, petting Femeron. "When you say 'damn dragons', aren't you aware you're practically half-insulting yourself? I mean, you are half . . ."

"Like I said, do not call me a half-dragon. I am not." He said. "Your people and dragons cannot procreate."

"I can see why. It'll probably hurt." Saeed commented.

"Idiot, what are you saying?!" Omar hit him angrily.

"I mean—to give birth to eggs!"

"People are no chicken!"

"Stop it, you guys. I don't want to listen to such a weird conversation!" Valeriana was frowning at them disapprovingly.

"Can you please keep it down?" Gavin asked, sighing.

There were two dragons, which were half the size of the bigger ones, wrestling on the ground; snapping and baring their teeth at one another. It was a total chaos. Aside from those two, there were lots of them flying around, roaring, howling, noisily cluttering the entire place. There were streams of fire flying everywhere.

'What do you mean? I found it first!'

'What? I found it first!'

"Andromeda! Delem!" The dragon keeper pointed to the two wrestling dragons. "Stop it right now, you two!"

The two dragons rolled away from each other and seemed to roll their eyes. Then, as though going through the teenage stage of being overly sassy and moody, they growled at the man.

'Ugh. So boring! He stole my toy!'

'What do you mean I did? How could you! You piece of . . .'

"Stop that right now and don't you dare look at me like that! What do you take me as?" He chided. "Instead of wrestling like that, why not help look for the twenty other newborns, huh?"

They did not seem to care.

'We don't want to!'

"Alright. You two asked for it!" He exclaimed. "Your wings are clipped!"

At his threat, the two dragons behaved themselves within an instant.

'Are you serious?!'

"Clipping their wings?!" Valeriana asked in shock.

"Not cutting them. I'll be binding their wings to keep them in place and force them to walk around. There's nothing worse for a dragon than not to fly." He answered, then resumed his sermon. "What are you waiting for? Move!"

'Why do we have to look?'

"Same question as to why I'm looking after you two!" He yelled after them.

The two dragons flew off.

"Wow. I wouldn't want your job." Valeriana told him. "It's like being a shepherd herding a cattle."

"A big cattle with . . . sharp teeth and . . . huge wings and claws . . ." Saeed added.

"This place is a mess." Gavin said. "Valeriana, your singing did this, you should take responsibility."

"I didn't mean to! You guys are pushing things into me when you're just as guilty! Have some pride!" She exclaimed and their faces soured. "Besides, how do you exactly put a herd of dragons to sleep?"

"I don't know but it surely does not include you singing." Omar said shamelessly, making Valeriana narrow her eyes at him. Infuriated, she swung out her feet and kicked his chest. Omar was pushed back at the force and landed on his face. "Hey! How could you! I don't care if you're a girl! I'll kick you just as hard!"

"Stop it. Stop now. You all are not helping." The dragon keeper answered.

"Why do we not find the alpha dragon and have him make all these dragons calm down?" Gavin suggested. "I have seen several instances like it."

"You're looking at him." He said.

Their faces literally said 'dafuq', or so would Valeriana describe back in her world. Still, this guy as an alpha?

"Who are you? I thought you were a keeper!" Omar exclaimed.

"I am. That's my role. I lead the dragons, I keep them safe." He said. "Anyhow, you all should go with the other dragons and search for the hatchlings. I will try to get this situation under control."

"Okay. So, do we go outside?" Gavin added.

"Of course. I'm sure the hatchlings won't go far. They'll be too scared." He continued. "And whatever you do, do not feed them. If I hear you've been feeding them, I will gut you all."

"You three go out of the sanctuary and this girl will stay. Those dragons will help you find your way around and back."

"I'm staying?" Valeriana asked.

"Of course, you will. You have to talk to somebody."

"What somebody?"

"Who else? My mother."

Valeriana's eyes flew out of her sockets. She watched the dragon keeper walk away, passing through a crowd of rowdy dragons. Gavin, Saeed, and Omar all exchanged glances and bid the only girl in their group goodbye. Valeriana stared at them as they left and, given no other choice, ran after the dragon man.

"So there's a dragon lady?"

"Once again, we are not dragons. My mother is a drakaina. I am a drakon."

"You just changed the 'g' into a 'k'." Valeriana reasoned out.

He growled in irritation. "You must irritate a lot of people."

"I am known to be pretty irritating." She replied nonchalantly. "So, dragon dude . . ."

"What did I just say?" He seethed.

"Okay. Drakon dude."

"Stop referring to me that way! I swear to Arland if you call me that once more . . ."

"Then what should I call you?" She asked him. "Stop being all Mr. Mysterious and just tell me your freaking name. It's called courtesy."

He sighed. "Vallore."

"There. Was that hard?" She asked. "Right, Femeron?"

The dragon perked up and gave her the dragon smile which made her go 'aw' for the umpteenth time that hour. Another dragon came rolling down the hill and went past Valeriana. The length of its tail almost got her, but she managed to duck in time.

"Hey! That was rude! At least look where you're going!" She yelled after it.

The dragon was white and had the same golden eyes as Femeron. It looked at Valeriana with a haughty expression, making her fume and turn to Vallore with her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Teach your dragon some manners!"

Vallore looked back wearily.

"Do you not think I tried?" He asked. "Come on."

He led Valeriana into a wide and bright cave. Inside, it looked like an ordinary home with an extraordinary interior design. There was a woman sitting on the floor with the head of a dragon on her lap—and she didn't look like a mother. Her white hair tumbled in waves down her back and she had a golden circlet on her brows. She was dressed in a pale blue dress that was both conservative and elegant. The sleeves were lengthy and spread out on the floor.

She looked up and saw the both of them. Her eyes were the same as her son's. "You're home. Finally." She looked down at the dragon on her lap. "Amrys, get up. Vallore is here."

The dragon lifted its head and looked their way as Vallore's mother came forward.

'Finally. The brat came.'

"You should stop calling me a brat!" Vallore replied, pointing at him angrily.

'Who is that woman you have with you?'

He had opened his mouth to reply, but she beat him to it.

"The name's Valeriana Kerrigan, thank you very much." She gave Vallore a warning glance. "Amrys, right? Nice to meet you." She answered before the man beside him could.

'How odd.' The dragon tilted its head and gave her a questioning look.

"I thought ordinary Valemnians did not possess the capability to hear celestial beasts? Dragons are especially hard to form a connection with." The dragon lady said, eyeing Valeriana. "You do not seem to be a drakaina."

"I am not a drakaina." She answered. "I am a Direct Controller and hearing animals and beasts is my specialty."

"I see. How wonderful." She smiled. "What bid you to come to the Abyss? And seeing as my idiotic, good-for-nothing son brought you here, you must have really important business with us."

"Jameela said you can help us."

"Jameela?" She asked in surprise. "I haven't seen her in ages! How is that woman?"

"She is—wait, how do you know her?"

"We're close friends. She saved one of my dragons before." The woman answered.

"But . . . she . . ." She trailed off. "She was the one who . . . said . . . we should wake up the dragon."

Realizing what that meant, she found herself closing her eyes and groaning.

Vallore's mother chuckled. "She tricked you, didn't she? That sly damsel." She continued giggling. "Oh, and my name is Delphyn. Del is good, especially for you, young girl."

"But, mother, she—" Vallore tried to protest.

"Oh, hush, you son of mine. Leave us alone and get those dragons under control. They've been too rowdy!"

"That's her fault!" He pointed at Valeriana.

She stuck her tongue out him in response as she followed Delphyn into the cave. "You heard her."

Vallore fought the urge to roll his eyes at the two women and left instead. Delphyn was an accommodating host. She led Valeriana to sit on the comfortable, cushioned ground, and gave her a cup of hot milk.

"You too, Amrys. Go and help my son. Me and this girl will have to talk."

Amrys did as he was told and crawled out of the cave, spreading his large wings and taking off in a flash. He had a particularly very long body, so his movements were similar to a snake—much like Marcius, Charles's familiar.

As Valeriana sipped, she could not help but stop. It was milk, but . . . not the ordinary milk she got used to. "May I ask what this is?"

"Ooh. Dragon milk. You know why I love it so much? They come out hot. No need for boiling." Delphyn replied as she sat down next to her with a bowl and another cup of the same thing. "Here, for the little one you're holding."

Valeriana accepted the bowl of milk and set it down to her side. Femeron seemed to smell what it was that she looked excited. The fifth-ranker placed the baby dragon before the bowl of milk and let her consume it.

"She seemed to have taken a liking to you."

"I sort of . . . fed her."

"Nonsense. Earning the trust of a baby dragon to feed it is near impossible for just anybody, anyhow. That little one's fate is tied to yours. Otherwise, she wouldn't have accepted the food."

"But Vallore said—"

"Don't believe every little thing that boy tells you. He barely knows anything." She huffed. "He's very keen on the old ways and is very afraid of change. Some dragons are meant to leave, I'm sure that he's quite aware of that. Our roles may be their keepers, but we have no right to tie them down to this place."

"I see."

"Besides, a mother does not leave her child behind." She told her. "It'll be absolutely horrifying if we were to separate this little thing from you. What have you decided on calling her?"

"Vallore called her Femella, and I wanted to call her Heron. So, I decided to mix the two and call her Femeron instead—short for Femella Heron. Isn't it cute?"

"Absolutely a fantastic choice!" The woman agreed. "Now, about this problem of yours. Why do you need the assistance of our dragons? You have mentioned Jameela. I cannot turn away when you say it's her."

"Right. We need your help to purify the guardian beasts. They've been turned into demons, and the only way to turn them back to normal is to bathe them in the holy channel, which is in the Empyrean Volcano. However, we have absolutely no idea how to do this. If you can help us to somehow lure the beasts and bring them to the volcano, it will be a big help."

"I have seen a disturbance in this world. This is what I'm afraid of." She sighed and looked problematic. "The blood moon will be coming in two years' time, and the power of demons will be at its peak. Containing them is near impossible."

"About the blood moon . . ." She said.

"The redness of the moon is due to the reflux of demonic energy. It is bound to happen every four thousand years. It's been three thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight since the Great War. The past has been buried with strife and struggle between demons and Valemnians. These symptoms are a sign to remind this generation to prepare for the oncoming war." She said.

"A war?" Her eyes shot wide at the last word. "There will be a war? In two years' time?!"

"Your king suffers a weakening." She said. "This is so because you can no longer contain the demons. They will start wreaking havoc throughout all the continents with no one to stop them. The demon lord has been sealed to a deep slumber by his brother. You must not let these demons lay their hands on his body and try to reawaken him."

"The demon lord . . ." She swallowed. "I heard he was sealed but . . . I never expected it to be . . ."

"I have lived countless years and the tales from my ancestors are unadulterated. We dragon keepers have existed long before the Great War but we went into isolation with the celestial beasts. You must find the wielder of Ouranos. Only he will be able to put everything back in order."

"The wielder of Ouranos?" She asked, confused. "The sword has been kept in King Friedel's tomb for thousands of years with no one to wield it! It's impossible."

"His bloodline exists, so a wielder exists." Said Delphyn. "And you must cultivate your strength."

Valeriana frowned. "Valemnia has been honing its forces for thousands of years now. We probably have enough Celestes to help with the battle. But is there really a need to have war?"

"Opposing forces will always clash, Valeriana. War is an unavoidable event in all realities. More often than not, it is calamity the brings forth the blessings, just as much as a rain brings out the rainbow." She continued. "The tension has been brewing the past hundred years, there is a need for it to be released."

Valeriana was silent for a moment. "I guess you're right. I cannot continue being naïve."

"Come." Delphyn stood.

Valeriana followed the woman's actions with her eyes and hesitantly stood. She looked down at her feet and saw that Femeron had finished the bowl of milk. The little dragon looked up with its bright, golden eyes and flashed her dragon smile at Valeriana. The dragon mom picked up the baby and ran after Vallore's mother.

"Where are we going?"

"We need to get the dragons ready. If it is how you say it is, then we should start moving."

"Yes! Right away!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"However, Valeriana. I must ask you be careful." Delphyn told her. "This matter with demons has bene ongoing for several thousands of years, it is not something that can easily be dealt with. If this becomes too dangerous, you must not do anything that will compromise your safety nor any of the people around you."

"But this . . ."

"Keep Femeron with you at all times and take care of that dragon." She gave them both a fond smile. "In this world, keep your enemies at the minimum and allies at the maximum. There is no use going against people whose strength you can use. You must be wise."

"I . . . know that."

"Here, accept this as a gift from me to you and Femeron." She passed the girl three, weird-looking fruits. It had the shape of a heart, but had patterns on its skin that resembled scales. "This is a dragon fruit."

"What's it for?"

"Food." She answered.

"Oh . . . okay." She accepted them, confused, before slipping the fruits into her pack.

"Well, then." Delphyn stopped before a cliff overlooking the entire sanctuary and straightened her back. "All dragons! Command!"

The wailing, roaring, and fire-breathing halted and silence permeated the air. Vallore, who had been in trouble trying to calm everyone, looked up in utter frustration at his mother. With only three words from the woman, the chaos had ceased. With no doubt, she was a full-fledged drakaina; a dragon keeper.

"Time has come we leave the Abyss!"