As irritating as he may have been, teasing her with every opportunity, Elias still protected her each time. He owed him the life she was still holding onto, even as Perak threatened to take it as his own.

The dragon tried to approach her, but was stopped in his persistent attempt by the fox, who immediately defended against his claws.

“I don’t understand why you are trying to protect this human, Saika. Have you forgotten all of the Orians who harmed you in order to obtain the relic? They are greedy beyond measure and would do anything to get what they want even at the cost of your life. Do you think this little human will act differently from the others before her? Let me have her and I promise you will be free and no longer suffer as the guardian of the Freedom of Wind.”, Perak slyly whispered into the fox’s mind.

“This is my duty as a warrior of Asteria. I will not allow you to kill any of the chosen ones anymore.”, Saika whispered back.

 A that very moment he grew bigger, but not enough to match half of Perak’s size, grabbed Aira in his mouth and threw her on his back.

A portal opened out of nowhere, swallowing both of them.

Aira grabbed and held him by the fur on his back while he took her  through many portals, which opened as if by his command.

In contrast to the other portals before, beyond the ones through which Saika passed, there was nothing - not even a small piece of land or rock to put one’s foot on. There were either empty dark spaces or they ended up high in the sky, above oceans spreading endlessly.

Aira realized that the fox was trying to lose the dragon, but did not see the point in trying to resist him anymore. Unless the final boss was defeated, an exit portal might not even open.

“Do not lose hope!”, Saika spoke as soon as he noticed Aira was no longer holding tightly onto his fur.

“You can talk?”, Aira asked, startled.

“We need to find him.”, Saika added.

“Who?”

“The one who will defeat Perak.”

“Are there any other being here?”, Aira asked, surprised.

“You will meet him soon.”

“???”

Aira was even more confused. If there was someone else who could take on Perak, why did he not step in earlier? “Would Elias have been still alive, if he did?”, she wondered, her lips trembling, about to cry.

“Ha-ha! I must confess, your teleportation skills are unmatched. But, I already got used to them.”, Perak laughed, suddenly appearing in his human form behind them, trying to snatch Aira from Saika’s back. “Oh! Don’t be that surprised!”, he said, looking at Aira’s shocked and Saika’s irritated faces. “Did you think I would just stay put inside this damned prison and do nothing? I have already learned your skills. No matter how much you try, I will catch you.”

Saika dodged Perak’s every attempt to come closer, then opened portal after portal, repeating the same, until they reached a wide piece of wasteland. The fox put Aira down, shielding her again from Perak who ferociously charged at him like a hungry predator.

Although smaller in size, Saika managed to keep him at bay, but soon became visibly tired. Both him and Aira grew anxious.

“There is no need to struggle, Saika. Just give the human child to me and I will let you live. After I possess her body, you will be free. I can help you gather every lost Asterian beast and rebuild your kingdom in Oria, ruling over them and over all humans.”, Perak attempted to persuade him.

“You used to be one of the greatest being in Asteria, admired by all. And here you are now, like a shameless snake, trying to use a helpless human just to live a little longer. Accept your fate, Perak! This is where and when your life comes to an end. You lived enough and would have lived more were you not a traitor hungry for power.”

“What do you know?”, Perak growled enraged, swinging his arms like swords, desperately trying to cut through Saika’s fur and skin. “Those greedy Orians always came for help and they received it in exchange for nothing. The higher beings of Asteria gave them whatever they asked for, disregarding our wishes and complaints. And what happened? Those Orians used that power they received from us to start wars and turn against us. Even after the bridge collapsed they still keep asking for help to this day as if it was not their fault to begin with. And you expect us to just accept the fact? We did not betray Asteria. Asteria betrayed us by confining us here instead of joining us in destroying what was left of that cursed Oria.”

Perak roared, then, from multiple places on the ground, chains shot upwards to catch Saika. The fox dodged them all, while pulling as far as possible from Aira as to keep her safe from the chains.

However, that decision turned into an opportunity for the great Dragana to sneak behind the girl and open a portal, which swallowed her in an instant.

“Aira!”, Saika shouted desperately.

A moment of distraction was enough for one of the chains to catch his tail, then others crawled up on the rest of his body, trapping and pulling him to the ground.“Perak, don’t make the same mistake again! The destruction of Oria will not give back what you had lost.”

“It will not, but I’d rather have it gone than see the Orians live happily on the graves of our own. The blessings must be stopped even if I have to do it with my own hands by crushing each and every pillar.”, Perak said, then disappeared.

Author notes:

QUIZ:

Where would you keep a giant fox if you had one?

A. In your basement.

B. After you teach it to growl at night you move it in your annoying neighbor’s basement to scare him.

C. On the lonely mountain you climbed in search for a martial arts teacher and offer it to him as a fee because you are poor.