Chapter 113: Big White Gets Better
Stepping out of the tallest tower and sinking into the carriage, I didn’t rush to leave the Royal Academy. Instead, I instructed the coachman to take the War Chariot for another trip to the dorms.
My plan was to collect some of the things I’d left behind before, mostly necklaces, clothes, and odd badges from my notes. Anything I could carry away, I would; what I couldn’t, I’d let Sara and the others deal with.
I’d forgotten last time, and after today, I probably wouldn’t return to the Royal Academy—certainly not for several years, if ever again.
Thinking that, I entered the dorm only to find it completely deserted.
Sophia was still MIA, and even that plush, expensive velvet blanket had been whisked away. Sara and Daisy were also nowhere to be found. I initially thought they had just stepped out for a moment, but after asking the dorm manager, I learned that Daisy’s father had stormed into the academy a few days back and had a major showdown with the two girls.
Since then, it seemed no one had set eyes on them.
After thorough questioning, I confirmed that the two weren’t likely in any danger, but it also seemed they wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. So, I hastily packed my things and left the academy.
To be honest, most of the stuff was just clutter. The only thing I felt a strong urge to take was a notebook—just in case some nosy person decided to rummage through my stuff. Clothes and jewelry? Please, they no longer piqued my interest.
Even my bed wasn’t worth keeping. I thought the girls deserved a new roommate—this was the only reason I felt inclined to sort through my belongings.
Night.
Stars danced with the cool moonlight, and the sky, shrouded in a silver mist, decorated the ancient expanse of the cosmos. South of the Royal City, about twenty kilometers away, lay the familiar, serene woods, deep green under the night’s veil. Under the moon’s glow, the sea of branches swayed like waves in the wind, whispering lonely tunes in the chilling night.
Standing in the tallest part of the tree sea, cloaked and gazing at the distant green city, I looked up at the bright moon in the night sky and slowly closed my eyes.
Buzz—
With a buzzing tremor, a blinding white light suddenly flared in my chest, like carved jade branches floating into view, and I could faintly hear the ‘purr’ of a beast echoing from who knows where.
In the next instant, under that powerful, irresistible pull, my body slowly lifted off the ground, sucked into the branches like a whirlpool, entering that void.
Two dizzying seconds later, that familiar yet strange world appeared beneath my feet once again.
Surrounded by black rocky mountains, the surfaces were riddled with unsightly folds formed by cooled lava. Strange yet stunning red algae and silvery flowers sprouted in the cracks between the folds, blanketing almost the entire summit in vibrant colors.
Last time I was here, I definitely didn’t see these plants, did I?
And lo and behold, I even spotted a couple of crooked little trees further down the mountain!
As I descended, the cloak fluttering behind me like a flag in the wind, I landed on the peak of the rocky mountain, which had already been half destroyed by the Deity’s presence. I felt compelled to take off my hood, letting my black hair dance in the breeze, as the distant gray mist flowed. I could still vaguely see those massive dragon skeletons towering all around, their necks curving toward me, letting out a skyward howl.
Everything seemed unchanged.
Or maybe…
Everything had changed, just a little.
On the heads of the deceased dragons, their bodies shrouded in the gray mist, I could see, from afar, vibrant plants flourishing in the cracks between the rocks and high cliffs. Oddly colored shoots spread randomly, a confusing mix of fungi and plant life spilling across the mountains, stretching into the depths of the gray fog beyond visibility.
It was still as silent and dark as ever.
But there was also a newfound vibrancy.
It was a bizarre contradiction; this place once devoid of life wasn’t entirely without vegetation. It was all either wilted or dark, indistinguishable from putrid mud. This was the first time I had observed a hint of life amongst the decay and ashes, the desolation and d*ath on this land, seemingly abandoned by the divine.
Ashes…
Oh right, it seemed like the sky also no longer rained down ashes.
Way overhead, the mist rolled like waves, thick clouds drifting lazily, and gray-white light poured through. It felt as if the brilliance was clearer and brighter than I remembered.
“ROOOAAARRR——!!!”
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from the foggy sky, shaking the ground. As the sound rang out, a massive wave of energy swept through, momentarily dispersing the mist at the horizon.
I blinked in surprise.
Then a big grin spread across my face.
With a crackle, a bolt of lightning sliced through the sky, breaking the foggy veil, and the blinding light made me squint. Just a second later, a terrifying white silhouette burst forth from the gray mist like an oversized dragon, slicing through the clouds with ease, its massive tail sweeping aside the fog as it turned to dive towards me.
Boom, boom, boom!
That pressure felt like a train smashing into my face, the sound swelling from far away, and in a blink, the white dragon that seemed so distant crashed thunderously onto the massive rocks only fifty meters ahead of me.
Grass, pebbles, everything tumbled from the wind.
“ROOOAAARRR——!!”
After landing, the giant dragon threw its head back and howled to the sky. Its entire body was covered in white fur, with short front limbs, a bl**d-red exoskeleton on its chest, and a multitude of twisted, curved horns sprouting from its head, looming over me like a shade too large for the sun.
“Big White,” I called gently.
The dragon lowered its mountainous form, crawling slowly to the ground, and with a few ‘thuds,’ its claws landed on the side of the rocks—accidentally scratching deep grooves nearly half a meter long into the seemingly unyielding black peaks.
This was undoubtedly my Big White.
Its colossal head, the size of something from mythology, gradually loomed closer, and suddenly the giant dragon’s—well, one of its nostrils—filled my entire field of vision, releasing a strange, somewhat unpleasant odor.
As for Big White’s body…
If I casually estimated, saying it was a hundred meters small would be an understatement, and two hundred meters felt too little in comparison.
“Easy now.”
With such a massive frame, it was clear we couldn’t interact like old times anymore. As I noticed the dragon’s head twitching, I quickly stepped back to stop it: “No headbutting…”
Otherwise, I’d likely end up in its nostril.
Now THAT would be gross.
“Big White, you’ve finally fully recovered,” I said, placing my hands behind my back, gazing fondly at the massive dragon.
