Chapter 124


    #124 The Dragons Vault


    Despite the Creature’s push, Cassandra pained to finally reach the upper level. She was really tired,


    hurting all over and not sure about what she should expect next. She just hoped that crack in the


    ceiling wasn’t going to have her in another deadly trap. She had already almost died too many times


    today… The only reason she was feeling just a little bit better was Kian. Though she had no idea how


    the little dragon had found her and gotten there, him being all jumpy and fine meant Kassian ought to


    be safe and sound somewhere out there as well.


    Cassandra had no idea how long she had stayed unconscious, but she felt like it had been a few hours


    at least. She hoped things had moved up there, and in a good way at that. She was silently dying to


    see Kairen again… Cassandra didn’t want to get her hopes up too soon, but she hoped he was


    somewhere near. She had that strange conviction in her heart that the War God had returned to the


    Capital…


    *Kyun!


    “I’ming,” she sighed, trying to pull herself up and catch up with the excited baby dragon.


    She had no idea what to expect once she had climbed out of that breach, but anyway, she wouldn’t


    have been able to imagine that. This looked like another cave, only much, much bigger, and actually


    carved to have a roughly square shape. The walls were definitely made of the same material as the


    one below, though, that shining grey stone… Cassandra had no idea what it was, and she couldn’t


    remember having seen anything simr within the Pce’s walls. So where in the world were they?


    She felt a bit too tired to stand, but she remained seated to look at her surroundings. Kian was already


    happily running around and sniffing everything with curious eyes. It looked like a much bigger cave,


    and it continued past her line of sight as if she had emerged on one end of it. More curiously, she


    noticed some strange, ck spherical shapes. A lot of them were broken open, and looked so old they


    could crumble and fall into dust at any second. Stones? Their shape was a bit intriguing, and Kian too


    kept sniffing them with curious eyes.


    Everything there was really quiet, but Cassandra could hear some sort of faint winding from the


    other side. The light wasing from a little hole in the ceiling, too. This was definitely sunlight, and


    this opening was too round to be a natural one. Who would have carved a window in a cave, and why?


    In any case, it was too high for Krai to carry her up there, and actually, she wasn’t even sure it would be


    wide enough for her to get through. The distance was blurred with all her surrounding looking like the


    same rocky walls.


    She finally stood up, and the baby dragon immediately ran back to her to rub his body against her leg,


    somehow like a cat. Kian was apparently determined to stay around her, and though he kept venturing


    everywhere, he wasing back to her every ten seconds or so. Since the young Dragon looked so


    fearless and enthusiastic, Cassandra walked further into the cave, intrigued. There was nothing but


    those countless, countless broken spheres. She couldn’t understand what they were. They were not


    made of the same material as the stones, they were darker but gave off a simr feeling.


    As she kept walking, the echo of her own steps made her slowly realize how big this new cave actually


    was. Unlike the one from before, this one continued for miles like some tube getting wider and wider.


    The breach she hade out through was already far behind her when she found another window


    above her, throwing light on bigger broken spheres. She suddenly realized she had been wrong. Those


    things weren’t spheres.


    They were empty shells.


    Now that she could see some moreplete ones, the shape wasn’t so round but simr to Kian’s


    dragon egg. She hadn’t noticed before because even the material looked different, and none looked


    alive or illuminated like Krai’s egg once was. She was baffled. What were those dragon eggs doing


    here? Moreover, there were hundreds of them! Some looked so old they were almost turning into


    stones…


    The baby dragon squealed, sniffing one of the eggs and putting his little front paws on it to look inside,


    but Cassandra grabbed him and carried him instead. Somehow, she didn’t like the idea of Kian ying


    with empty Dragon shells, this whole ce felt like… some cemetery. There was a really uneasy


    feeling growing in her heart from seeing those empty shells. From the looks of those, they must have


    belonged to dragons that lived years and


    years ago, maybe centuries…


    Cassandra kept walking, and as her arms got tired, Kian jumped out of those to walk ahead. However,


    this time the baby dragon didn’t look so curious anymore. He actually had his wing close to his body,


    and looked more cautious than before. Was he feeling something she didn’t? Cassandra hoped they


    wouldn’t meet anything dangerous in there. She kept trying to understand the Emperor’s purpose. Did


    he know she would find the Water God in theke and understand what that Creature was? Did he


    even know about it? Or was he hoping she’d find that breach and get here? She hoped the old man


    was alright…


    “Kyuuu?”


    Kian had stopped, looking a bit wary of whatever was ahead. Cassandra caught up with him with a


    frown, and indeed, there was a noticeable change in their surroundings. The eggs around them were


    considerably bigger, and unlike the previous one, they still had some color on them. They were getting


    closer to the end of that strange . tunnel, she could feel it.


    Moreover, she was starting to realize where they were standing. She had forgotten about this ce,


    actually. Suddenly. Kian froze, and ran back towards her, hiding behind her leg. Something was scaring


    him? He wasn’t growling, but his eyes were focused on something right after the next turn… Cassandra


    walked over. The wind she had heard before was getting louder, anding in little waves. It wasn’t


    wind, but breathing. They finally met with an impressive mountain of golden scales.


    “had!” She eximed.


    What was the Emperor’s Dragon doing there? Recognizing the magnificent creature, Cassandra ran to


    it, but the gigantic dragon looked uninterested. He was curled upon himself, his ruby eyes half-open,


    looking incredibly passive. He didn’t even seem to care about them and didn’t react. Seeing that


    Cassandra wasn’t scared, Kian came out, too, and carefully scurried over to look. The difference in size


    between the two was impressive… Kian was like a big cat, while had was like a little mountain by


    himself.


    However, the baby dragon kept looking around the giant dragon and poking at him curiously, and the


    older one didn’t seem to care. Cassandra realized he was somewhat his grandfather, but the golden


    dragon lookedpletely disinterested in anything. He was so calm that Cassandra had no fear


    approaching him.


    “had, what is it…?” She asked.


    He could answer, but the ruby eyes shortly shifted to her, without any other kind of reaction. It looked


    like he was… depressed. That realization carved a hole in Cassandra’s heart, as a scary thought


    sprouted in her mind. She shook her head, chocking up a little, and tried to look around. There was


    nothing else but empty dragon shells here. This was definitely the Emperor’s Dragon Vault, but what


    was had doing there? (3


    Abandoning the old dragon for a few seconds, Cassandra made the detour around his body which


    upied half of the way, to check what was past him. She gasped.


    A gigantic door. It was made in the same stones as all the walls there, but this square shape and the


    gigantic handle on it couldn’t be mistaken. Cassandra was amazed. So they really were in the Dragon’s


    vault! Moreover, didn’t Shareen say before that this ce was right behind the Throne’s room?


    Meaning they were just a few steps away from getting back inside the Imperial Pce! Cassandra


    hurried over, but somehow, she couldn’t even understand how to open that door. That handle was way


    too heavy! She couldn’t even move it at all, how was she supposed to pull on it? She suddenly realized


    this was how the Imperial Family members were the only ones who could get in. It took superhuman


    strength to get that lock open… or a Dragon’s help. Lady Kareen was human, yet she had been here


    before to retrieve Kian’s egg. She couldn’t have done it by herself. However, with the help of a


    dragon…


    Cassandra turned back to had. Would the Emperor’s Dragon help her? Opening that door would be


    a matter of seconds for him, but how to convince a dragon?


    She walked over to him. Kian, a bit lost by her back-and-forth, decided to sit down and tilt his head,


    observing her


    movements. Cassandra didn’t have time, she just went back to face the dragon’s head. She knew


    had wasn’t going to hurt her, as the Emperor did like her. Wouid he help her, though? She wasn’t


    sure of the situation outside, but it was very probably had had somehow been forced in there. He


    was the Emperor’s Dragon, though. Even if there was something locking him in here, he was the only


    one strong enough to break out! He only needed the will to.


    “had, please, you have to help me get out of here,” she said.


    This time, he didn’t even move an inch. The golden dragon looked like he had absolutely no intention to


    do anything. Even if he was depressed, he couldn’t simply stay here! Cassandra walked closer,


    desperate.


    “had! I don’t know what happened to his Highness, but…”


    This time, the golden Dragon growled as a warning, his ruby eyes opening wide. Cassandra jumped


    back in surprise. She wasn’t prepared for the Emperor’s dragon to actually get mad at her once she’d


    mention his owner. Kian, upset at had’s growling, jumped between her and his dragon ancestor and


    growled back. His attempts to growl were once again no more than a kitten’s meowpared to the


    fierce growl of a proper adult dragon. Still, it at least got had’s attention on him.


    …but you can’t abandon Kairen, continued Cassandra, careful with her words. “You know he is the…


    the favorite son, the one that should take the golden throne. He and Shareen ought to be out there.


    You can’t let Vrehan and Lephys do this!” 2


    Despite her plea, the golden dragon didn’t move much. At least, he kept his scarlet eyes on her, looking


    like he was listening, but not reacting much to it. Cassandra was desperate. She wasn’t even sure how


    much had understood her words. Krai had always seemed able to understand her, but maybe he


    was just imitating his master and reacting to her words. Cassandra wasn’t sure of anything anymore,


    but she nced down at Kian. Kassian was in danger out there, and so was his father. Maybe


    convincing the golden dragon was thest chance to save them.


    “had! You know the Emperor didn’t want this!”


    The golden dragon resumed his furious growling, but despite her fear, Cassandra continued.


    You can’t stay there and do nothing. Kairen needs you, Shareen too. The Emperor has a new


    grandson, Kassian, my son, and you can’t let him die!”


    This time, the dragon stopped growling, apparently having heard her. Cassandra grabbed Kian off the


    floor, though the baby dragon was still fearlessly growling at had.


    “You have to help me get out of here, please. Vrehan will kill them! Kairen, Shareen, even Prince


    Opheus, Prince Anour, and Lady Kareen too!”


    Having heard about the Imperial Concubine, had finally raised its head, making Cassandra sigh in


    relief. The Emperor’s love for Lady Kareen may save their lives, after all? Her name had definitely


    made his dragon react.


    “I know… I know His Highness wanted Lady Kareen to be safe. He loved her, and wherever she was,


    he was fine with it because she was safe, right? As long as Vrehan is out there, she won’t be safe


    anymore, had. You can’t give up on the one love His Highness wanted to protect. 1


    The Dragon suddenly emitted a long higher-pitched sound, that sounded like a wailing to Cassandra.


    She was actually crying. She didn’t want to admit the Emperor may have been dead, but the thought


    was making it’s way in, ineluctably. So many things were pushing her towards it, no matter how much


    she didn’t want it to be true. She wasn’t ready to hear it, but neither was had, and yet the golden


    dragon knew.


    “had, please…


    With a growl, the golden dragon finally moved. His humongous body slowly rose up, and Kian made


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    himself very small in Cassandra’s arms, obviously as impressed as he was scared. had was


    incredibly big, and once he was standing, his body upied more than half of the space there.


    Cassandra had to retreat against the wall to not risk being crushed. It seemed like he knew exactly


    what to do. The golden dragon turned around, his ruby eyes


    going to the gigantic door. Cassandra couldn’t imagine how had had been made to stay there, but


    she doubted there was anything that could efficiently contain the most powerful creature of this Empire.


    He growled and raised his paw to grab the giant handle. The size of his ws made that only two of


    those could pull, but still, he had no trouble lifting it unlike Cassandra earlier. She felt a wave of hope as


    the door started making an awful ruckus from the pressure. However, it wasn’t moving so easily. After a


    few seconds, it became obvious had had to use considerable strength to try and open it. Something


    was blocking it, but the golden dragon was not giving up. He started growling furiously, determined.


    “Come on, had… Please…” whispered Cassandra.


    In her arms, Kian started cheering too with excited little growls and squeaks, his eyes riveted on the


    adult dragon. had struggled more and more. The dragon growled furiously against that door that


    was not opening and kept pulling. Cassandra god worried to see the base of his w starting to bleed,


    but he wouldn’t stop. He kept using all of his strength, arching his back and putting all of his body into


    it. Cassandra felt the tension as if she had been pulling too, and silently cheered for him, praying that


    this was going to work.


    Finally, the door moved.