Otis looked up at the stone dragon statue, patiently waiting for a response.


    As for the stone dragon statue, it spread its wings wide.


    "You..."


    It closed its eyes.


    "Are..."


    Otis lookedposed from the outside, but his heart hammered in his chest.


    If he inherited the legacy, he would be powerful.


    If he became powerful he could get revenge.


    If he could get rev-


    "NOT WORTHY."


    The stone dragon statue roared, letting loose domineering gales of wind.


    The winds threw Otis'' body across the trial room, smashing him into the wall.


    The stone dragon statue reverted to its old resting position, then froze. It was no longer willing to talk with Otis.


    As for Otis, he coughed up blood through grit teeth.


    He was angry.


    Why wasn''t he worthy? He wed his way up through all the tests, just to be told he wasn''t enough?


    Otis took a step forward, then a pressure forced him onto the floor.


    The pressure threatened to annihte his entire existence.


    Still, Otis stubbornly lifted his head, looking at the stone dragon statue with fierce eyes.


    ...So his ancestor did not want him to inherit the legacy.


    Otis frowned.


    "Fine. I''ll do it myself. I don''t need your stupid legacy..."


    Then, he cked out.


    ...


    "Waaaaaah!~"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH"


    La had been dragging Apollo along for nearly an hour now.


    It seemed she forgot what their goal was in the first ce, getting lost in the joys of this blue world.


    Apollo was exhausted.


    Part of it was because he had been forcefully brought along by La at terrifying speeds, but it was also because he had been screaming the whole time.


    Screaming gets really exhausting after a while, you know?


    As such, Apollo eventually gave up.


    He had a half dead expression on his face, only uttering a few groans every now and then.


    La noticed this. She looked at Apollo with her beady eyes.


    "Friend?"


    Apollo did not respond.


    La tilted her head to the side but did not slow down her pace.


    "Why did you stop cheering!"


    Apollo''s eyelids were fluttering, nearly closing.


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Ah! You are tired? We should take a break then."


    La ripped open the space, taking him back to the snowy forest.


    Apollo fell onto the snow on his hands and knees.


    Tears were forming in his eyes.


    "t... ground."


    He mmed his face into the snow.


    "How I''ve missed you!"


    La held her hands together.


    "Aww, you missed me! Hehe, I won''t leave, I swear! We will go on adventures in the fluffynd every day!"


    Apollo trembled.


    "No! No fluffynd!"


    La pouted.


    "Ehhh? Why not? Fluffynd is the best!"


    Apollo got up with his shaky feet and ran away into the forest.


    "I don''t wannaaaa!"


    La chased after him while waving her hands in the air.


    "Wait for meeee!"


    With that, the two of them ran through the forest. One was in tears while the other wasughing.


    Eventually, Apollo had reached a clearing.


    He froze in ce, staring at the sight with curiosity.


    La tackled him from behind, wrapping her arms around his stomach.


    "Hehe, I win!"


    The air was knocked out of Apollo as he hit the ground hard.


    "O..."


    La got up quickly. There was a pout on her face.


    "Ah, sorry! I didn''t mean to hurt friend!"


    Apollo gently rubbed his forehead.


    "Mmm..."


    La grabbed onto Apollo''s hand and helped him up. She looked at him with pleading eyes.


    "Forgive me?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Ok..."


    La raised her hands into the air.


    "Yay!"


    Then, she turned to look at the clearing in front of her.


    "Eh? What is that?"


    It appeared to be a city. Eerie ck walls towered over the duo, not bothering to hide their dominance.


    The overall shape of the wall was a square, with pirs at each corner. These pirs reached up high into the sky with a point, almost like it was trying to pierce the sky. Lined across the top of the walls were smaller versions of these pirs, but that was only rtive to the four main pirs. If one were to get up next to one, they would find it substantiallyrge.


    The walls themselves appeared to haverge veins. Though they were still, they seemed to be squirming around like snakes.


    They could see a gate in front of them, with a texture simr to the walls. The gate was a little shorter than half of the length of the wall but was wider than three-quarters of the wall''s width. This gave it a fat, yet strange appearance.


    There was probably some sort of practical use to this type of gate. After all, it looked quite jarring aesthetically.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I... don''t think we should go there."


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Whatttt? But it looks so cool!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "We were supposed to find the... person to y with!"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Person? Who?"


    Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Em... I think it was Ky... Kaiben knows you?"


    It was Kn Noia.


    La gasped.


    "We have to find we both know you?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "What?"


    La''s furry ears perked up.


    "Ah, you''re right!"


    Her tail swayed from side to side.


    "I have an idea! We ask the people in the cool ce!"


    Apollo opened his mouth but closed it soon after.


    Suddenly, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger on his chin. There was a serious pondering expression on his face.


    His eyes lit up.


    "You''re right! Let''s go quickly."


    Somehow or another, La made Apollo forget his concerns. His concern about the people that resided in such a strange ce.


    This ce gave him a strange feeling. It was as though a memory buried deep inside his mind festered, but was not enough to breach the surface.


    And so, La and Apollo ran through the snow, kicking it up behind them.


    ....All the while unaware of the dangers of this city.