New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 724 Owed Reward

She did as asked, and almost immediately, she felt the immense vein of power passing directly underneath them. And crossing into it, another massive one.

"Ley lines! And big ones! Did we always have this here?" she asked, opening her eyes.

"Well, unless someone changed the Ley line positioning under the palace, I think we did," Astaroth said, chuckling.

"Such a thing is impossible," a voice said, coming from behind them.

Phoenix jumped in fright, realizing someone had snuck up on them, and lit her hands on fire. But a finger snap later, her fire was extinguished.

"Calm down, Queen Phoenix. I am no enemy."

Her head snapped in Astaroth's direction, noticing he was still sitting there calmly, and she wondered who this man was.

"Did I come here at a bad time, Aravelle? I can come back, if so."

Phoenix looked at the two of them, who seemed so casual in each other's presence. And yet, she had never heard Astaroth talk about him.

"Who is this man, Astaroth?"

"Hmm? Oh, right! I haven't introduced you two. I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind, with all the crap that keeps piling up lately. Phoenix, meet—"

"Aravelle," the man interrupted.

"Aravelle of the Dragons. Progenitor of magic, and original proprietor of this tower. As well as a man you helped, in an era lost to time. But I don't expect you to remember me, since I looked much younger back then."

Phoenix looked at him long and hard, trying to replace this man in her memories. But nothing came up.

Looking at his colourful robes, ornate with all kinds of dragons on them, she wondered if he had a dragon fetish, or if the title had another meaning.

But then, her memory flashed with a person's face. One who was the master of a certain green dragon who had tried eating her in a dungeon they had completed not too long ago.

"You! I know you! Where is that slimy green shit?! He still owes me a reward!"

Astaroth choked on his saliva, her words making him remember the anger Phoenix had been in when they had left the dungeon.

'Is that why she was mad? Did the dragon skimp on rewarding her for her help?'

Aravelle started laughing, the acidic words a refreshing thing for him. How long had it been since someone talked to him like an equal, apart from the arrogant young man sitting on the dais before him?

"Did my dragon not compensate you for its life intact? That sounds about accurate for a green dragon. There is a reason they associate green with the colour of greed."

Phoenix fumed in place, reminded of the slight she had been a victim to.

"Logith, come on out," Aravelle called out.

A small gout of green smoke suddenly came out of his chest, before expanding and transforming into a human shape before their eyes.

As the smoke parted, it left them with a woman whose sickly white skin held greenish hues, and whose forehead contained a few stray scales. Her body was covered with a furisode-style wear, black with green clouds embroidered into it.

"What do you want, you immortal prick?" the woman asked, looking at Aravelle, her back turned to the two others in the room.

But Phoenix immediately recognized the voice. Even though the intonations were a bit lighter, given the smaller size, it was undeniable.

This was the green dragon that had wronged her.

A firebolt crashed at the green dragon's feet and forced her to turn her head.

"You. You owe me a reward," Phoenix growled, her eyes darkening.

The woman's face paled, which felt oddly impossible, given her already very pale skin. She snapped her head back toward Aravelle, her eyes wide.

"Why did you call me out? Let me back in! Hurry!"

Aravelle raised an eyebrow. Logith the Venomous was begging him to hide?

What kind of sick joke was this?

"Hurry up, you bastard! She'll burn us all just to get her way!" Logith exclaimed, stepping toward Aravelle.

"Then give her what she wants. Is it that much to ask, you greedy dragon?" Astaroth chimed in.

The dragon hissed at Astaroth, recognizing one of her kind's aura within him.

"No one asked you, boy!" she seethed.

"Please Aravelle! This isn't funny. Whatever I did, I apologize. Just let me get away from her. I'll do anything!" she begged, grabbing onto the man's robes.

Aravelle snickered.

"You really left an impression on her. She's grown hundreds of times stronger in the last thousand years, and still, she fears you. Even though she should be able to snuff you out like a candle. Strange," Aravelle said, scratching his chin, looking like a scientist watching an experiment unfold.

"Look at me, you oversized lizard in human clothes! You. Owe. Me. A Reward!" Phoenix erupted, her body catching fire.

"EEK! Stop! Stay away, you madwoman!"

But Aravelle had seen enough. He waved his hand, snuffing out Phoenix's flames once more, and chuckled.

"Alright. Let's get this sorted."

With a loud sigh, Logith hung onto Aravelle's robes.

"Thank you. Now let me inside."

Aravelle smirked at the woman.

"Oh, you aren't in the clear yet. I said, let's settle this. She says you owe her a reward, and I can guess she's telling the truth. So give her her due and let's be done with it. I still have a conversation to have with them, so quite wasting my time."

The dragon in disguise grimaced, feeling forced to part with something precious. She hated giving out her stuff, regardless of how valuable or not the stuff was.

"Oh, fine!" Logith exclaimed, raising her hands to the ceiling.

"People always want stuff from dragons. It's never 'Here take this, venerable dragon.' Or 'here is an offering, fair dragon.' No. It's always 'die, foul beast!' Or 'I'm here to take back our kingdom's wealth, you filthy monster!' When are people going to respect us?!" Logith complained, stomping her way to Phoenix, who eyes her like a predator.

"Here! You greedy woman! You should be called a dragon. Unbelievable how people have become greedy these days!" Logith complained, slamming her hand onto Phoenix's chest.

Immediately, a heat coursed through her body, which, in normal circumstances, wouldn't affect her. But this time, it felt like liquid magma was coursing through her veins, as they turned green for a moment, pulsing roughly, burning her body up.

"Argh! What the fuck did you do to me?!" Phoenix shouted, falling to her knees and rolling up on the floor.

"Oh, now you complain? I gave you what you asked for, you greedy girl. I hope you use it well. Now, I'm going back to rest. And I don't want to meet you again!" Logith said, sending both her arms over her head.

She walked back to Aravelle, who, this time, let her back inside his body, as she turned to green smoke again, disappearing inside his chest.

Phoenix writhed in pain on the ground for a few minutes, before the pain subsided, and she could breathe normally. She was already angry at the dragon, and now she was furious.

But she could feel something was different inside her. A power was there, that wasn't before.

She took a moment to reach out to it, and a ball of flames appeared over her hand, a vibrant green. She looked at it, her eyes filled with intrigue.

"Now that this has been settled, let's get back to why I am here, shall we?" Aravelle said, sitting in front of Astaroth on the ground.