"...Fire is intent. It consus because it chooses to move forward. It illuminates because it refuses stillness."
The flaming tiger, Vulcan, sat calmly before Anna, teaching her the principles of fire magic.
Over the years, he had beco quite fond of the human. Not only did he like to teach her, but he also liked the fact that she absorbed all of his teachings. Clearly, she had a rare talent for the arcane arts. If he taught her two things, she would learn ten. Such was her aptitude.
The experience of imparting his knowledge to her was deeply gratifying to Vulcan. And in the process, he found that his own knowledge of fire magic had deepened as well.
"I understand." Anna nodded.
She sat cross-legged on the ground, the rocky plain around her scorched black and cracked by lingering heat. Beside her, the giant tiger lay calmly, his vast presence steady and reassuring as he gently guided her through each step.
"You must not command it," Vulcan continued. "You must align with it. When your will and the fla agree, power follows naturally—"
The giant beast abruptly paused, turning his head towards a certain direction, his vertical pupils narrowing.
Sensing the sudden disturbance in Vulcan, Anna couldn’t help but frown a little. She turned towards the flaming tiger and asked, "What’s the matter?"
Vulcan remained silent for a mont, then imdiately got on all fours as he stared in the direction of the House of Cards.
"Sothing’s wrong," he murmured in a grim voice.
Anna had never seen the tiger act so solemn before. As a result, she, too, couldn’t help but begin to feel the gravity of the situation. She quickly rose to her feet and said, "Don’t tell ... are we under an attack?"
The possibility of the secret plane being breached was utterly ridiculous to her. She had lived here for more than two decades, and had naturally co to learn many things about this place, its four great guardians, its spirit, and lastly the Magus who created it.
Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that a place as profoundly secure as this plane could co under attack.
"No, it’s..." Vulcan began, but his words trailed off. He sharply turned his head in another direction, exposing his sharp fangs and radiating a nacing aura.
He quickly appeared before the red-haired princess, shielding her from what was to co. Anna, too, felt the air shift and quickly circulated the mana within her and got into a fighting position.
A few monts passed, yet nothing happened. But in that ti, Vulcan beca more and more solemn.
At last, the space a few ters away tore open, and a small portal was ford. From it, a tiny black puppy flew out. The cute beast landed on the rocky plain, looked around curiously, before his gaze landed on the giant flaming tiger, and finally on Anna.
"Woof!"
Vulcan was on high alert. Although this newcor looked like a harmless, adorable puppy, he knew better. Beneath that gentle facade lurked a ferocious beast capable of imnse destruction. The flaming tiger sensed it instinctively.
Anna, on the other hand, slowly found her eyes widen in surprise.
"Lord Blackie?!" She blurted out as she erged from behind the towering tiger and approached the cute puppy.
Vulcan’s pupils constricted. "Anna, do you know this beast?"
"Yes, uhm..." Anna stood beside Vulcan and tried to think of the right words to say. "He’s a friend. No, more precisely, he’s my little brother’s friend."
"Woof! Woof!" Blackie nodded, sticking his tongue out as he continued to play the role of a harmless little puppy.
It reminded him of the good ol’ days in Moon City, when everything had been lighthearted and free. Well... only the little boy he loved to tease was missing.
Vulcan relaxed his guard ever so slightly. "Your little brother? You an Adam Constantine?"
Anna smiled warmly. "Yes."
"Wait..." Vulcan suddenly recalled sothing as he turned his gaze towards Blackie. "Could this beast be that gno’s familiar? The ones you ntion who saved you and your party on your way here?"
"Yes, that is correct." Anna nodded.
"I see." The tiger nodded. "Well, then, you have my gratitude."
Blackie simply nodded in response.
"Lord Blackie, what brings you here?" Anna couldn’t help but ask curiously as she approached him. "Is Lord Berger also here?"
"I have a letter for you," said the wolf pretending to be a pup. "And yes, Berger is also here. He’s... having a chat with the Joker."
Before Anna had the chance to respond, Vulcan blurted out in astonishnt. "Is that the source of the violent disturbance? Don’t tell ... are they actually duking it out?!"
Blackie awkwardly replied, "Rest assured. Berger won’t go overboard."
Vulcan’s jaw was agape, and he couldn’t help but think to himself with incredulity:
It’s not Berger you should be worried about going overboard. It’s Nielk!!
Without waiting a mont longer, he rushed towards the House of Cards in a blazing trail, leaving behind his parting words, "Anna, I shall return soon."
"...Sure." Anna was rather taken aback by the strange turn of events.
She turned to the black puppy and respectfully asked, "Lord Blackie, who is the letter from?"
"See for yourself." Blackie opened its maw wide and spat out a letter, its seal stamped in red wax.
Anna subconsciously grimaced, wondering how she’d have to grab the dirty letter. But on closer inspection, she found that the letter was neat and clean.
Silently heaving a sigh of relief, she tried to unseal the wax, but found it to be a herculean task.
"You have to inject your mana into it," said Blackie as he gracefully licked his paw. "Only you can open the letter, and perhaps only you can hear what it has to say."
"Oh, okay." Anna did as told.
A mont later, the letter flew out of her hands and hovered before her. It folded inward and reshaped itself into the lower half of a humanoid face, the edges of the envelope transforming into lips. At the sa ti, a formless barrier arose around the princess, sealing the space.
Once all of that was done, Anna heard a voice she hadn’t heard in a very long ti.
The envelope’s lips curled into a gentle smile as it spoke:
"Anna, it’s ..."
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