The Vessel’s Choice
1153 Words
“…I’m sorry, what?” Aria repeated.
The enormous dragon’s golden eyes glowed brighter in the darkness below.
“You heard me,” Azryth rumbled calmly.
The ancient creature shifted slightly, stone cracking beneath its massive weight as it raised its head closer to the chamber floor.
Lucien stepped forward immediately, placing himself firmly between Aria and the abyss.
“She will not help you.”
Azryth regarded him with mild amusement.
“You speak as though she belongs to you.”
Lucien’s voice was cold.
“She belongs to herself.”
For a moment, the dragon said nothing.
Then it gave a slow nod.
“On that… we agree.”
Aria blinked in confusion.
“Okay, hold on,” she said, raising a hand. “Before the giant dragon and the immortal bodyguard continue arguing about my destiny, someone needs to explain what’s happening.”
Azryth chuckled softly.
“Fair request.”
Lucien didn’t relax his stance.
“You don’t need to listen to it.”
Aria sighed.
“Lucien, a dragon the size of a building just told me I’m the key to freeing it. I definitely need to listen.”
Lucien hesitated.
She had a point.
Azryth leaned closer to the opening, its massive golden eyes studying Aria carefully.
“You carry a fragment of an ancient power,” the dragon said.
Aria crossed her arms.
“Yes, we’ve established that part.”
“But what you do not understand,” Azryth continued, “is where that power came from.”
Lucien’s voice sharpened.
“Enough.”
The dragon ignored him.
“Long before human kingdoms existed,” Azryth said, “there were beings who shaped the balance of the world.”
Aria frowned.
“Let me guess. You were one of them.”
Azryth smiled slightly.
“I was their guardian.”
Lucien muttered under his breath.
“That’s one version of the story.”
The dragon’s eyes flickered toward him.
“You prefer the word jailer.”
Aria looked between them.
“…This feels like ancient drama I’m not qualified to handle.”
Azryth returned its focus to her.
“The entity you encountered earlier,” the dragon continued, “was one of those beings.”
Aria’s stomach tightened.
“The thing that tried to possess me?”
“Yes.”
Lucien’s voice cut in.
“It is a parasite.”
Azryth tilted its head.
“Or a prisoner.”
Lucien’s eyes hardened.
“It destroyed entire civilizations.”
“And who sealed it away?” Azryth asked calmly.
Lucien didn’t answer.
The dragon’s gaze drifted back to Aria.
“You see, child, that creature was imprisoned within you for a reason.”
Aria’s breath caught.
“Within me?”
Lucien spoke quickly.
“That is not entirely accurate.”
Azryth ignored him again.
“Your bloodline was chosen centuries ago.”
Aria stared.
“…Chosen by who?”
The dragon’s voice softened.
“By the ones who feared what that being could become.”
Lucien’s jaw tightened.
“They didn’t choose her bloodline.”
Azryth’s eyes gleamed.
“No.”
A pause.
“They created it.”
Aria’s mind went blank.
“…Excuse me?”
The chamber fell silent.
Lucien finally spoke, his voice low.
“Azryth.”
The dragon watched him calmly.
“You know it’s true.”
Lucien looked at Aria.
For the first time since she met him…
He looked uncertain.
Aria felt her heart pounding.
“Lucien…”
He didn’t answer.
That silence told her everything.
Her voice shook slightly.
“I’m not… human?”
Lucien stepped closer to her.
“You are human.”
“But?”
He hesitated.
“But your lineage was altered.”
Aria stared at him.
“Altered.”
“Yes.”
Her laugh came out hollow.
“So let me summarize.”
She counted on her fingers.
“There’s an ancient entity connected to me… my family line was apparently engineered to contain it… and now a dragon wants me to help it escape.”
Azryth gave a pleased rumble.
“Excellent summary.”
Aria pointed at the dragon.
“You don’t get to compliment that!”
The dragon chuckled again.
Lucien watched her carefully.
“Aria…”
She turned toward him.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
Lucien paused.
“…Possibly.”
Her expression hardened.
“Fantastic.”
The ground trembled again beneath their feet.
This time stronger.
The glowing runes along the abyss walls flickered.
Azryth’s gaze darkened slightly.
“The seal is weakening.”
Lucien looked down sharply.
“That shouldn’t be happening yet.”
Aria frowned.
“Yet?”
Lucien ignored that.
Azryth spoke calmly.
“Your presence accelerates the process.”
Aria groaned.
“Of course it does.”
The dragon’s eyes studied her carefully.
“You have two choices, child.”
Lucien stepped forward.
“She has more than two.”
Azryth ignored him.
“You can walk away and let the seals collapse naturally.”
Aria blinked.
“That sounds bad.”
“It would take weeks,” Azryth continued. “Perhaps months.”
Lucien’s voice cut in.
“And when it breaks, the entity inside you will fully awaken.”
Aria’s stomach dropped.
“…Oh.”
Azryth nodded.
“Or.”
The dragon’s golden eyes glowed brighter.
“You can release me.”
Lucien’s expression turned deadly serious.
“No.”
Aria looked between them.
“And if I did that?”
Azryth’s massive wings shifted slowly in the darkness.
“Then I would deal with the creature bound to your soul.”
Lucien scoffed.
“You expect us to trust you?”
The dragon’s gaze drifted lazily toward him.
“You don’t.”
It looked back at Aria.
“But she might.”
Aria rubbed her temples.
“This is way too much responsibility for someone who skipped breakfast.”
Lucien’s voice softened slightly.
“You don’t have to decide right now.”
Azryth disagreed.
“Actually… she does.”
The chamber shook violently.
A new crack split across the floor.
Something dark pulsed from the abyss below.
Lucien’s eyes widened.
“That energy…”
Aria felt the burning in her chest again.
Stronger than before.
The same ancient voice from earlier whispered faintly in her mind.
You cannot cage me forever.
Aria gasped.
Lucien grabbed her shoulders.
“What did it say?”
Her voice trembled.
“It’s waking up again.”
Azryth watched quietly.
“Then time is shorter than I expected.”
The dragon leaned closer to the opening.
“So tell me, vessel.”
Its golden eyes locked onto hers.
“Will you free the guardian…”
The darkness below pulsed again.
“…or the monster inside you?”
Aria’s heart pounded as the chamber continued to shake.
And for the first time since all this started…
She realized something terrifying.
Either choice could destroy the world.
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