Sorry for not updating recently. The start of the year had been hectic. My FB account got hacked and some old problems flaring up.

You can read the rest of this series (edited) on my website mylovelywriter.com.

An hour later and they were nearing the Empyrean Volcano. It was a really long flight that Valeriana's rear end was starting to burn as she sat on Amora's back. The accompanying dragons took turns in holding the net so as to give each other a chance to rest. Other than that, they stayed away from it if unneeded. It seems they were repelled by the stones more than Valeriana hoped.

The lions were guarded closely. Although they lacked the energy, they were secretly gnawing at the ropes. Whenever they did, the dragons growled at them and snapped at their limbs. This kept them from doing any funny business.

The volcano had grown much, much larger. She didn't think it would be that big at all. From a certain angle, the cone was almost perfect save for the crater on top. Glowing lava lines trailed down its sides, and there was no life within a hundred kilometers around it. The volcano was still active. She could tell it recently erupted by the cooled magma on the ground.

"Are you alright, Amora?" Valeriana asked her dragon. "Do you need to switch out?"

'My wings are starting to hurt,' Amora said. 'So, yes, I would love a switch.'

She raised her hand and yelled, "I need a switch!"

Vallore flew forward with Palmer at her call. His jade dragon steadily meandered through the air beside Amora. "I'll take it."

Amora flew to the side to prepare for the switch as Palmer got into position. Vallore was petting his dragon to keep him focused.

When the switch was successful, Valeriana could finally take a breather. The process had been done smoothly as they have been continuously doing the past few hours. The twin-tailed lions were fairly quiet, save for a few, occasional roars. She felt Amora stretching out below her, a small tremor passing through her body and wings.

'I'm so tired,' said the dragon. 'I never took a flight this long.'

"Are we almost there?" Valeriana called out to Vallore.

"Yes, fifteen minutes at most," he answered.

"I never knew the journey was so long, no wonder Gavin sought for your aid," Valeriana said. "This would've all been impossible without you guys."

"I get the reason why my mother accepted to help you," Vallore said. "We, the drakons, have responsibilities we must fulfill. Now that the dragons are strong enough, time has come for us to leave the Abyss. She meant two things when she said that," he said.

"How long have you been down there?" Valeriana asked, shifting on her seat. "If you don't mind me asking."

"For as long as I remember," he replied. "I was born in the Abyss."

"Then, how old are you?"

"A few hundreds," he told her.

"Wow," she whispered. "Where's your father?"

"He . . . is long gone. It is precisely why after my mother passes away, I will be the last of my kind. I get why she bid for the dragons to be freed from the sanctuary. After the drakons die out, they will know no one to look after them. They have to stand on their own feet."

"Look, I'm really sorry about that and I am so sorry for asking so many questions, but I really have one last thing."

"What is it?"

"About the whole Arland's bloodline thing. What did that mean?"

He gave Valeriana a look. "I don't know myself."

Liar, Valeriana thought. However, she did not push it. Instead, she shrugged and steered Amora away from Vallore and Palmer. The dragon obeyed her conveyed will and flew out in the open.

'The drakons were the most powerful of all beings in the Continent of Fire and they were also the guardians,' Amora told her. 'They had Arland's bloodline, something no one else had. However, only few of them were ever born, and during the Great War, most of them perished. The dragons were endangered alongside them and so, they were commanded to take sanctuary and take care of one another until they could recover. They then disappeared and appeared four thousand years later in a battle between the twin-tailed lions.'

"Did we just make history?" she asked, her eyes widening.

'Well, yes, this is the first time the drakons and dragons actually emerged so it will no doubt be commemorated.' Amora laughed.

"I never actually thought the twin-tailed lions weren't the original guardians."

'They're worthy of it, do not be mistaken,' Amora said. 'They were one of the fiercest in the Great War. They earned the title for their ferocity.'

"Everyone! Prepare!" Vallore suddenly exclaimed.

Valeriana realized they have arrived at the foot of the volcano. It was much, much taller than she imagined. They looked like ants flying up their hill.

"Watch the net! We are aiming for that place!" he pointed to a seemingly flat ground on the volcano's body. It was a bit higher than they were, but the steady advancing made it clear it was a lake of lava. It spilled out the sides, but there was enough space around it to walk on. The vastness was astonishing. It span as far as a football field would go.

The air was hotter in the vicinity, but the dragons paid no heed to it. They didn't seem affected at all. The twin-tailed lions, however, started thrashing in the net. They didn't have much energy during the flight, but now that they were at the volcano, the energy seemingly returned. The ember crystals started vibrating, as though resonating with the lake.

"Be careful!" he exclaimed.

Valeriana held on tight to Amora. She trusted the dragon very much, but the ground was a trip she wasn't willing to take alone. They were so high up, and with the darkness, it was impossible to determine how so.

They were all tense. Gavin, Omar, and Saeed turned quiet. They had been engrossed in a conversation amongst themselves but the announcement had them steeling. This was something they could not afford to mess up.

"Here comes the tricky part," Saeed said, sighing. "Bathing big cats."

"Ooh . . ." Valeriana winced. She knew the very relatable pain since her best friend Xandra took care of a cat once for their other friend who went on vacation. They tried to bathe it. It started thrashing the moment it saw the water and even ran off when its paws touched it once. Xandra had three, parallel scratches and some more along her arms.

"So what we gonna do?" she asked. "Just dump the whole net in?"

"You have any other ideas?" Vallore inquired.

"The—um, no. But it's boring," she commented.

"It's better boring than troubling."

The ascend was steady, however, the lions grew wilder and their roars louder. Soon, the thrashing disrupted the flight and made it far harder. To everyone's horror, the ember crystals vibrated until they cracked and burst.

"Hey, hey! They're tearing at the nets!" Omar yelled. "We have to be faster!"

But the warning went in vain. The nets weren't that durable. It gave in as soon as sharp nails swiped across. The weight the dragons were carrying suddenly vanished as they slipped through.

"Quickly! Dump them all in while they aren't—"

"Holy crap," Valeriana whispered. "How are we going to—Amora!"

One lion came flying for them. Amora dodged and ensnared the beast under her claws, snarling at it before tossing it to the lake of lava. When it landed, there was a simmering splash and a cry of distress.

Bright light flared as the beast Amora threw sank down, the molten river clinging to it and swallowing him whole. When he emerged, the darkness had left its fur, and a clean brown came to sight.

"It worked! Let's play beasketball, Amora! Grab 'em all! Shoot 'em to the lake!"

Amora's chest rumbled in delight as excitement lit her eyes. She dove for one lion who was trying to get away, her claws securing the beast before tossing him to the direction of the lake. She turned to another lion who was attacking a smaller dragon and grabbed him by the tail with her mouth, repeating the same action.

"Quick," Valeriana said. "If you can, push them into the lake," she told the dragon.

It nodded at her understandingly and wrestled with another lion, pushing him to the direction of the lake with all his might.

"Secure the vicinity! Do not let any of the lions get away!" Vallore yelled commandingly.

The dragons moved to obey his command.

"If you can, try to push them into the lake!" she yelled.

Amora was attacked by two lions at once and Vallore himself was struggling with three. Their wildness was staggering, but they were nowhere near their prime self. The ember crystals have drained their strength and weakened them to an extent that they have been easy to subdue. However, they were very passionate and stubborn creatures. They refused to give in without a fight.

The dragons were roaring fire. Seeing as the lions were appalled by this, they used it to their advantage. Soon, one-by-one, the twin-tailed lions had no choice but to be driven into the lake.

Valeriana was doing the victory dance inside her head.

Even so, just as she was about to turn, a huge body lunged for her. She was thrown off Amora's back, who roared at the suddenness. Valeriana's heart had jumped to her throat as soon as the hulking form of a twin-tailed beast collided with hers.

"Avaro," she said through gritted teeth.

He was driving her from thousands of meters off the ground. They were quickly zooming down and she was firmly caged between his legs. She cursed mentally and reached for his back.

"Come back to your senses," she told him. "Damn it."

'What senses?' he asked her. 'Art thou saying darkness is senseless?'

"What is up with you people when you're possessed? You become like smartasses! Stop it!"

At the moment, they were freefalling. Valeriana wrestled with Avaro mid-air and whispered several apologies as she hit him, trying to keep a distance between herself and his claws.

'Valeriana!' Amora roared. She appeared behind them, but she was still very far off. 'Lookout!'

Valeriana freed herself from the confines of his clutch and moved herself to his side. She held on tight around his neck and avoided his fangs. However, he grazed the lining of her jaw, landing her with a few scratches. Avaro looked ahead of him and a strange light gleamed from his eyes momentarily, a flash of blue. He snapped his mouth around Valeriana's arm and threw her to his back. Valeriana screamed as his fangs sank a bit through the flesh, but she stubbornly grabbed onto his mane. Just as she managed to place herself safely behind his back, they suddenly hit the ground.

The impact was terrifying. It felt as though even her soul was shaken. Avaro took the brunt of the fall and injured himself, releasing a pained howl. And even if Valeriana was shielded from most of it all, the tremor crept to the back of her brain and caused her searing agony. She skidded away from his back and landed on hers. The terrain, however, was a steep slope. Her eyes were shut tight as she rolled down the hill. With the speed, she might've even caused Jack and Jill to lose face.

However, this was no hill.

The angle of the mountainside—volcano, really—lowered but she didn't show signs of slowing. Before she could comprehend what was happening, her body hit a rock, which impeded her advance. Despite her shoulders echoing with utter misery, her other hand shot out and tried to grab on. It was with woe that she felt the skin of her hands being torn off and her nails being chipped as it grasped the rough surface.

Even so, her feet suddenly shot out to nothingness and her body slipped past the corner of a cliff. With the remaining feistiness in her, she fought against the torture and let her fingers clamp around the edges. However, lacking the strength, she dreaded it as she lost the grip, inch by inch.

A scream tore from her throat as she felt herself fall for the second time. It was then that Amora came whizzing past, catching her with her back.

'Valeriana,' she called out. 'Tell me. How art thou?'

"I . . ." she whispered with an accompanying groan. "I'm alive. Thank god for you."

She breathed for a few moments. Her body was wracked with pain, especially her right arm. She remembered that rock she smashed against a few moments before and cursed inwardly. But then, she remembered something and called out.

"Avaro? Where is he?" she asked. "We have to find him."

They glided through the air and she shifted, mustering all of her strength to wound herself around Amora's neck. Avaro's body had come to a stop between two rocks and he showed no signs of consciousness.

"There!" she weakly exclaimed, sweating so much that it felt sticky.

Amora hovered above the spot with the beast and carefully plucked him. In a steady and careful ascend, she sharply raced through the air and carried them back to the lake of lava from which they had fallen from.

Something wet dripped on her upper lip. Brushing it off, she realized it was blood.

She slumped against her dragon's back, her grip loosening. Her vision was wavering and her consciousness was slipping from her grasp so fast she could not even fight. It was excruciating. She didn't want to feel it. She wanted to pass out, and her body was doing just that. Bearing with this pain would probably cause her to go insane. She didn't even know where it was coming from!

'Hold on, Valeriana, I beg thee,' Amora said. 'We are nearly there, it's just a short trip.'

Hearing Amora's encouragement, she held on. She still needed to see if Avaro was okay. If he was not well, Corvan would not be.

Amora gently landed beside the lake of lava. By that time, Valeriana's vision was spinning. Gavin had rushed to her side and checked on her worriedly. The twin-tailed lions were emerging in succession, and the darkness was finally gone from their eyes. Seeing this lit up a flame in Valeriana, a joy she haven't felt in a while.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," she repeated as she looked at Gavin. She blinked a few times and steadied herself as she disembarked from Amora's back.

She held on to Gavin's chest as she steered herself towards Avaro. Vallore had bent down to examine him, disappointment in his eyes.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked them.

"We can't put him in the lake," said Vallore as he stood. "He's far too injured. Instead of helping him, it may invoke his passage to the other side."

She could not even comprehend that one bit! "What?"

"This is a spiritual outlet," Omar cued in. "If on the verge of death, it will help in the passing."

"Goddamn it."

"Stop, don't push yourself," Saeed told her, jumping forward to help steady her. "You're bleeding all over, have you seen yourself?"

"Shut up," she said. "I just fell a hundred feet, of course I would look like this! And what do you mean Avaro can't be purified by the lake? That's bullcrap! If he stays like that, Corvan will—"

"The loss of a familiar will be too much to bear," Gavin said. "But we have no choice. If I hadn't . . ."

'Will thou beest willing to save someone if thou art capable? At any cost?' Cifaro's voice rang.

"Who says Avaro will die?" she said. The nostalgia brought tears to her eyes.

Such a majestic creature did not deserve to lose his life over something so petty as a demonic infection. Cifaro had sacrificed himself for his pack at the cost of his own life and he did it so gracefully. Back then, Valeriana did not know of how to help the beast.

Vallore held suspicion as she approached Avaro. He glanced at Gavin, Omar, and Saeed's way. They could not help but anticipate what she was planning. She stared a few seconds at her gloves. The look on her face was a bit unsteady and unfocused, but there was the obvious glimmer of determination and resoluteness in her eyes.

She pulled on her gloves and revealed her hand.

The infection was a matter Valeriana did not know much about. Aside from the existence of the parasites that filtered the energy going through the open channels of the aura, their existence was a mystery.

Avaro's aura was calm so it was easy to sort through and determine the spot of the open channels. However, while trying to pinpoint the possible place in which the parasite could be hiding in, she realized there was nothing.

"How come?"

The darkness of his aura was evenly dispersed and there wasn't a foreign source for it. It seemed to be an integral part of the guardian beast.

'Art thou saying darkness is senseless?' she remembered him saying.

Avaro's breathing was fast and the blood had soaked his coat. Valeriana's heart was filled with grief for the beast that the tears suddenly welled up from her eyes. She didn't know the feeling that came over her, but she reached out and touched Avaro, letting her fingers sift through his soft fur. She thought back to the first time they met and relished on the feeling she got. She wore no gloves, and she didn't care.

Her contact with the aura instigated flashes of memories here and there, but it had been faint. Her desire was to make him better and that desire was echoing from the bottom of her very heart.

The purification was not as effective as it had been with Cifaro in the lake before. The darkness was at the tip of her fingers. Despite her desire to reel it in, she could not.

Why? The question resonated from the back of her mind.

"Avaro, please come back," she whispered. "Avaro, please. Corvan still needs you. He's in pain," she said. "And you can't die, you're so cool. You can't let anyone taint your awesomeness."

'Eradicate us? Evil cannot be eradicated. It forever lies in the hearts of men. No matter what thou doest, it will always awaken. One way. Or another.'

"No matter how good the heart, it will always contain a sliver of darkness," she muttered. "That means, it's also the other way around."

She looked down at the mortally wounded beast.

"Valeriana, what—" Omar began.

Gavin, however, held out a hand and stopped him before he could disturb. "Stop." He shook his head.

People who commit treason in this world turned into demons. Erythnell's influence had them all corrupted, deprived of the right to choose between good and evil. But as much as evil cannot be eradicated, the flame which was good within cannot die. It exists in the heart of all beings, and there will always be a chance to go back. They just needed a little push.

"I'm appealing to your flame," she found herself saying. "I know you can do it, Avaro. You don't need a goddamn lava lake. You're a fighter, I know it."

As she continued to talk, she found something shocking.

Her hand did not reel in the impurities. Instead, it started doing the opposite. It was releasing an energy from deep within her, traveling through her fingertips and into the beast. The moment it touched the darkness of his fur, it was cleared. The white ate away at the black until nothing was left but a spot behind his ear.

Those who watched were in awe, even the twin-tailed lions and the dragons around them.

She too was shocked by the development, but felt the elatedness burst from her heart. There were a few drops of happy tears and a small cry of victory. She smiled down at Avaro as he returned to his old self. With the color of his fur fully returned, the calmness finally settled in.

She reached out, sighing out in relief as she closed her eyes and leaned on him. The tiredness suddenly came around and lulled her to sleep. With the purifying done, Gavin had raced forward and checked on her.

In the background, Vallore yelled. "Prepare for our return!"