"That's not what I ant." The Guardian shook his head. "I'm just curious about the reason you two chased after , or rather, Owl, instead of hiding in a corner and minding your own business."
"To protect you." Aryk replied, blushing a bit at how foolish he sounded. "I thought you were a magically talented kid, but still a kid. I noticed you didn't let anyone co close to you, so I assud you were physically weak.
"After you revealed your real nature, I kept following you, hoping that the legends about Dragons were true and that you would protect us."
"You're a brave and smart boy." Leegaain smiled. "What about you, Lilax?"
"I…" The young girl weaved several lies to save what little of dignity she had, but discarded them all. "I thought 'Owl' was my best bet at escaping. After you pointed out we had been herded to be fattened like cattle, I decided I had to get out.
"You had already proven smarter than most of us. When you displayed your powers and took down so many adults with a snap of your fingers, I thought you were a hero who had co to our rescue. I was wrong about that, but at least I'm still alive and free."
"I'm sorry for misleading you, then." Leegaain gave her a polite nod. "Don't worry, though. I plan to correct the situation the mont I find what I need."
"Thanks, Lord Leegaain." Lilax said.
"May I ask you a question?" Aryk asked.
"Within reason." The Guardian replied.
"Why are you still in the form of a child? Aren't you the mighty Father of All Dragons?"
"I am, and that's a problem when you are trying to infiltrate a place." Leegaain nodded. "This weak appearance gives the advantage of surprise. All the enemies I et think they can kill and attack instead of sounding the alarm.
"As I told you before, I can't let my quarry escape. The life of my daughter- Great Mother almighty!" The latest corridor had been much steeper than the others, and Leegaain suddenly understood the reason.
The sealed door didn't open into a room, but into the wide chamber that most Dragons used as the hallway leading to the inner part of their lair. It wasn't just the sheer size of the place that shocked Leegaain.
He had visited countless such places, and the antechamber to his own lair was much bigger and better furnished. The luxury items and enchanted artifacts didn't impress him more than a flea market could.
What cut the Guardian short and sent a shiver down his spine was the fact that he knew that place. He had already been there several tis in the past, and one more just a couple of days ago.
The location was of course different, but there was no mistaking it. The underground base, just like the ruins of Azith's secret lab that Leegaain had visited with Lith, was a perfect replica of the Eldritch's house back when he was a Mist Dragon.
'I can't believe I missed it.' Leegaain inwardly cursed himself. 'Sure, the other base was barren and everything was in shambles, but I should have recognized the familiar disposition of the rooms and corridors.'
"Is the Great Mother stronger than a Guardian?" Lilax asked. "Also, what's so special about this place?"
The ceiling was high enough to host an adult Divine Beast, and the furniture was beyond luxurious, but it was nothing that the young woman hadn't seen ti and ti again during their descent.
Lilax and Aryk couldn't see the engravings in the floor. They were blind to the pulsing of the power cores of the countless artifacts around them and deaf to the thrumming of the mana flowing in the floor beneath their feet.
Blades that cold cleave a castle open were just shiny things to them, and the historical value of the various art pieces was lost to the youths. Their perceptions stopped at the surface level, and they had already seen so many wonders that they had beco numb to anything that wouldn't bite their noses.
"It's complicated." Leegaain had no ti nor desire to explain why he called Tyris' na to his young friends. "As for your second question, this is a Mist Dragon's lair."
"Of course!" Aryk's eyes widened in understanding. "You are the Father of All Dragons, so your son must be a Dragon."
"He is." Leegaain nodded. "Or rather, he was. Now Azith is an Eldritch. It's the strongest, smartest, cruelest, and deadliest kind of undead you'll ever et. On top of that, an Eldritch has no need for a place like this.
"More importantly, he shouldn't be able to recreate it in the first place." Leegaain pointed at the various artifacts and pieces of art, stepping closer to study them.
"What do you an, recreate?" The tension in the Guardian's shoulders scared Lilax.
The young girl turned left and right as if the shadows of the antechamber could co to life and attack her at any ti.
"My son died 40,000 years ago." Leegaain replied. "He had a family that inherited his possessions. They kept everything of value and burned everything they thought he might want to carry with him in the next world.
"This painting, for example, was given to Azith's firstborn, who in turn passed it down in his family. It's currently in possession of Azith's grand-grand-grand-granddaughter!
"This blade, instead, Azith left to his niece. All these pieces are supposed to be sowhere else, in the hands of his descendants."
"How can they be here, then?" Aryk blinked several tis in confusion. "Is this just a mirage?"
"No, it's real." Leegaain shook his head. "Everything not enchanted is just a replica, A perfect copy, identical to the original down to the smallest stroke of brush or chisel. The artifacts, instead, present one notable difference from the ones I know.
"They have been Forgemastered with ans unavailable back when Azith collected the various pieces of his hoard. Their pseudo cores are more modern and improved. They look the sa, but so of them even have a power core!"
"A power what?" Lilax tilted her head in confusion.
"Never mind." Leegaain sighed. "All you need to know is that power cores were invented about a thousand years ago and that Eldritches aren't supposed to paint and carve, let alone Forgemaster anything.
"Their re touch can pulverize the toughest of stones, and their constant hunger fills their thoughts. An Eldritch like Azith should lack the patience and finesse to hold a brush, just like his black core should make it impossible for him to craft artifacts.
"Yet I recognize his hand in everything around us." Leegaain pointed at the various display cases and pictures. "He painted, sculpted, and Forgemastered with apparent ease until he recreated his entire lair piece by piece."
"And that's bad?" Aryk asked.
"Very bad." Leegaain nodded. "Especially for Azith's descendants. If he thinks himself a Dragon, he'll want his hoard back, but no Dragon would give up on a single coin they possess without a fight."
"This is good news, though." Lilax cleared her throat in fear. "If this stuff is what you were looking for, please, take it and bring us out of here."
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