Chapter 60: Chapter 60 : Mars Red

‘How bitter,’ Rei thought before taking a sip of milkshake.

He had just completed the novel. His immediate thoughts were positive. The author had a gift for placing the reader in the heads of the story’s characters, even the minor and once-off ones. It was an immersive read, that had an air of authenticity to it that naturally drew one in.

Reclining back, Rei shut his eyes and entered contemplation mode. The novel wasn’t fast food entertainment, it needed a bit of digesting, which his mind was already in the process of.

The story went like this:

The novel’s world was a magical one. It opened up in the Dragon Realm, a place where magical beings called dragons resided. The main character, Draco Endus was born in this place and was a prince. Due to his lineage, he was an exceptional dragon, far above his peers. This had caused him to grow arrogant and act without consideration to those around him.

He grew strong, stronger than any other dragon, even his parents. With no one to answer to, he did as he pleased and eventually set his eyes on the forbidden ruins. Ignoring all warning signs, he entered. Exploring the decrepit ruins, he stumbled upon a room holding a giant portal. He didn’t have time to admire it though. As soon as he set his eyes on it, it set its eyes on him. He was sucked into it and transported to the world of Livera.

The world was your classic European middle ages fantasy story setting, with a soft magic system to match. Arriving at this new place, Draco’s interest spiked at all the strange sights. With the portal gone, and him unable to get back, he explored the world. The more he explored, the greater the desire to conquer it all grew in him. He was a dragon; it was in his nature. Humans, the dominant species on the planet were nothing but weaklings to him, nothing compared to his dragonkind, which themselves were nothing compared to him. Pride flaring up, he began preparations for his world conquest. But before it got started, he met a certain mage, the Red Mage.

Sensing the other’s power, Draco attacked. The result was…terrible. The Red Mage completely trounced him, leaving him on the brink of death. It was only due to the Red Mage’s negligence - no inability to see him as a threat- and a miracle, that he had managed to survive the encounter.

The experience had drastically altered Draco’s thinking and life course. The arrogance he once had, was shattered and so were any thoughts of conquest or even battle. Humbled and broken, he moved in search of the Red Mage. He wanted to reclaim what he had lost that day. But he would never be able to, as not long after, he learned that the Red Mage had gone mad and destroyed both a nation and himself.

Learning this devastated Draco; he roamed around Livera in a daze, with the ‘battle’ against the Red Mage dominating his thoughts. In this lost and helpless state, he came across a certain princess who was similarly lost and helpless. Meeting Alisia at a river, Draco sensed the two’s similarities and made contact.

He learned of her kingdom’s declining fate and her inability to prevent it. Draco offered to help her out, seeing it as an opportunity to free himself from the mental fog he had been under. She happily accepted, and he became her knight, her Dragon Knight.

The kingdom was threatened with problem after problem, but through the collaboration of Draco and the princess, they overcome everything that was thrown at them. As the kingdom prospered, so too did the relationship between Draco and Alisia.

The two’s progressing relationship from superordinate and subordinate to that of lovers, and their individual character growths while this was happening, were the main focuses of the novel.

As their relationship was inching closer and closer to the status of lovers, the White Mage arrived at their doorstep. He had heard rumours of a powerful knight and came in search. The White Mage was very powerful, far more powerful than Draco was, and wasn’t fooled by the polymorph magic that he had been using to blend into human society. He informed the princess about it. He didn’t just use words though, he also offered to give her the power, Mystic Eyes, to see the truth for herself.

The White Mage was a paragon of virtue in her mind, so Alisia accepted his offer and subsequently took in Draco’s true form. Draco, the prideful dragon was reduced to a nervous wreck as he awaited her reaction and words, but it turned out that he had nothing to worry about. She had long picked up on his many oddities during their many interactions and knew that something was amiss. Learning that he was a dragon didn’t waver her love for him at all. Accepted by her, the two became true lovers.

The White Mage gave his blessing and offered her another gift. In the end, he was a dragon. He would outlive her natural lifespan by several times, so the White Mage offered to give her a special body that would allow her to spend the rest of her days with him. She readily accepted the offer and received a body that could live several hundred years.

Draco and Alisia lived happily as lovers, ruling the kingdom of Onslan and furthering its prosperity. Years passed by of this bliss, then a decade, but as it neared two decades…it happened. Tragedy struck. Their kingdom came under attack by the Black Mage and his Dark Legion. The whole kingdom was thrust into turmoil.

The capital, Dorshun was where the fighting was fiercest. The Black Mage and Dark Legion elites had come themselves. Draco fought hard, giving it his all. His flames burned brightly, charring all it touched. Still, as if unafraid of death, the attackers came pouring in. Draco held them off while making sure Alisia was safe.

This was noted by the attackers, who then deliberately went after her. Her Royal Guards were quickly dealt with, and Draco was left to carry the burden alone. He fought with a never before frenzy and determination, exchanging words with her, promising to keep her safe and not to worry. But…in the end, this promise was unkeepable. He was overwhelmed. An attack slipped through. Alisia’s magical artificial and protection spell couldn’t tank it, and just like that, she died. No last words, nothing.

At her falling visage, Draco exploded with rage and unleashed his true dragon form, obliterating all enemies around him. In the fiery and bloody aftermath, he felt no satisfaction, only anger, shame, and hatred, at those who wrought this tragedy, but mostly towards himself. He had failed his duty as her knight, failed to live up to his linage as a dragon, and failed his duty as her lover.

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The novel ended with the aftermath of this tragedy, with him vowing to kill the Black Mage and his Dark Legion.

‘I hope he gets his revenge. That was the first of the trilogy, let’s see what the other two books look like.’

Despite saying this, Rei didn’t rush to read the other books. Instead, took a moment to ponder about something that greatly interested him, the identity of the author.

‘Red Mars. Are you a group of writers? Or perhaps the Light or Darkness of the world?’

The author’s identity intrigued Rei. He wasn’t alone, the world at large had a similarly great interest.

Mars Red was an enigma. Their sex, appearance, psionic status, whether they were a group of writers or only one person...nothing was known about them.

Now, there were many mysterious writers out there that kept to the shadows. This wasn’t strange at all. What was strange - or rather noteworthy between Mars Red and other such writers was their longevity.

The novel Rei had just got done with reading was Mars Red’s first book. It also debuted more than two hundred and fifty years ago. In this quarter of a millennium, Mars Red had been releasing many acclaimed works, with their latest release being just over twenty years ago.

Of course, the idea that these novels were written by different people under one name was considered. This made sense, but the more prevalent speculation was that the mysterious author was either Dimitri or Micheal. This idea was co-opted by the writing style and word choice. Even in Mars Red’s modern works, there were still many antiqued phrases and metaphors used, that spoke of an aged voice.

‘I wonder if that’s true. Would certainly be interesting. We’ll have to ask him about it when we see him again.’

Taking another sip, Rei had the books make their return trip. Done with his tasks, he looked to his other self for company. With a thought, the Mental Link was established.

[[Yo.]]

[[Yo,]] Ralf returned the greeting before sharing his vision with Rei.

[[An apple? From Joel’s?]]

Questioning, Rei summoned a flat-screen television and had the sensory data stream through it.

Ralf took another bite. [[Yeah, just stopped by and got one, for extra luck…tossed a silver in the fountain as well. I’ve been down bad lately, I needed a boost.]] Ralf slowed his bike at the intersection, allowing the carriage that arrived before him to make the turn. Before taking to the streets, he had Greg give him a rundown of the traffic rules.

[[What have you been up to? Anything interesting?]]

Rei grew quiet at the question, only to remember that hiding things from his other self was ultimately pointless at this point. Sighing at the fact, he went ahead and laid out his thoughts.

Ralf rode forward. The two continued to trade words all the way to Ganurg’s western gate.

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