TBATE: The Dragons Of Diacathen

Chapter 1

A/N(First Tbate Fanfiction so might messupp, good amout of this is copied from the LN but there will be changes)

Why didn't I notice this before?

She had been getting worse while creating the portal.

In order to send me home...

She was sacrificing her life so I can meet my family.

Sylvia let out a deep breath, knowing that I had realized what was going on. Managing a sheepish smile, Sylvia whispered, "Art. Yes I am dying. But I will get angry if you blame yourself, thinking that you are causing this. I have been dying for quite a while now. You are doing me a favor by allowing me to leave this forsaken cave a bit faster."

As soon as she finished speaking, a bright golden glow radiated out of her body. Shielding my eyes from going blind, I tried to focus on the shape forming from where Sylvia once sat. In place of the ten-meter titan-like figure was a dragon even larger. From her snout to the end of her tail, she was a clad in a pearl white coat of shimmering scales. Beneath her iridescent lavender eyes were glowing golden runes that marked her neck and ran down to spread around her body and tail like a sacred engravings. These markings reminded me of a very elegant, almost celestial, tribal pattern, branching out harmoniously and with purpose like carefully placed vines. The dragon's wings were pure white adorned with white bladed feathers so fine and sharp that they could put swords forged by master smiths to shame.

The golden light enveloping the dragon dimmed until it fully replaced the once titan-shaped being.

"There now... Do I look a bit more like a Sylvia?" Sylvia let out a toothy smirk.

"S-Sylvia?? Y..you're a dragon?" I said.

"Now That I am in this form, we do not have much time. Yes, I am something you humans refer to us as 'a dragon'. The reason I am dying is because I had been inflicted with this wound after narrowly escaping from my captors. I had sensed one of them approaching dangerously close a few days ago, so I feel that my time of hiding is drawing to an end. This form will alert them of my location, which is why I only have time to explain what is necessary. I am giving you this to take care of from now on."

One of her bladed wings unfolded and revealed a translucent, rainbow-colored stone the size of two fists. With a myriad of colors and shades, this stone resonated an aura that made me hesitate in holding it, as if I wasn't worthy.

Without waiting for me to respond, she continued, "Everything will reveal itself when the time comes so just hold onto this and do not let anyone know that you have this. Most will not know what it is but everyone will be attracted by the aura it emits."

Sylvia then proceeded to pluck a feather from her wings with her claw and hand it to me. "Wrap the stone in this to conceal it."

After doing as told, the once divine radiant stone merely appeared to be a smooth white rock, pretty, but ordinary.

While I was studying the feather-encased stone, I was suddenly pushed back as Sylvia's snout gently brushed against my chest where my mana core was.

Taken aback, I looked up to see Sylvia's purple eyes and the gold markings blaze brighter than they had when she first transformed. As the markings grew dimmer and then disappeared, Sylvia pierced her tongue into my core and wisped out a golden smoke that crackled in sparks of purple.

A mind numbing Pain erupted from my chest and spread throughout my body, it felt as if my was getting rebuilt over and over again, I layed flat on the ground curling into a ball hoping to escape the pain, eventually it started to go away just enough so I get to my knees and face Sylvia.  

Sylvia's expression had grown visibly pained and weak; it was apparent even for a mighty dragon that was even bigger than her previous illusion. What caught my attention, though, was that her once shimmering purple irises were now just a dim yellow with the beautiful runes that flowed across her face and body now gone.

Before I had the chance to ask what she had done, a giant explosion interrupted me.

I whipped my head up to see that the ceiling of the cave had been blown off and what came into vision was a figure that reminded me of Sylvia's previous form.

Clad in sleek black armor and a blood red cape that matched its eyes. The figure's pale grey skin matched the clouded sky in the background. The horns were different, though, as this entity had two horns that curled down and under its ears, lining its chin.

Sylvia immediately covered me with one of her wings in time to protect me from the falling debris and probably keep me hidden from our visitor.

"Lady Sylvia! I advise you to stop your stubbornness and hand it over. You've already caused us quite the trouble after hiding yourself! If you submit, the Lord may even heal your wound," the entity reasoned impatiently.

Immediately after he had finished speaking, the world around me seemed to pause. Everything but Sylvia and myself, the colors of the world were as though it was being seen through an inverted lense. What surprised me the most was that everything was still. The entity, the clouds behind him, and even the falling debris of the ceiling.

Ignoring the enemy, Sylvie casually peeked underneath her wing. "I'll open the portal now. I didn't have the time to make it go directly to your home but it should take you to a place with humans nearby. Do not let him see you and do not look back," she whispered, her eyes solemn.

I ignored Sylvia's instructions after I heard what the entity had promised. "Sylvia! Is what he said true? If you turn yourself over, will you be able to live?"

"Do not trust his honey-coated words. It will be worse off for you if you are found right now. As for me, I would rather die than go back to where he is," Sylvia said, impatience and anger mixed in her voice.

"No! I won't let you die here. If you refuse to go with him, then please, just come with me!" I begged.

"Unfortunately I cannot go with you. You will forever be in danger if any one of them finds out you have had contact with me. I need to stay here."

Sylvia gently wiped my cheeks with a claw, her draconic eyes lined with what I saw as tears.

"You asked me once, why I chose to save you. The truth was to satisfy my own greed. I wanted to keep you as my own child even for just a little bit. I intentionally prolonged the transportation spell because I wished to spend more time with you, but it seems I didn't even have the chance to finish it. I'm sorry, little Art, for my selfishness but I have one last request to make... can you be my grandson and call me grandmother just this once?"

"NOO! I don't care about all of that! I'll say it as much as you want if you come with me! Grandma! Grandma! You can't! Not like this!"

"I-I-I... Please, I'm begging you, just come with me. I-I don't know what you did but everything is frozen right now; we can escape! Please, Grandmother, don't go. Not like this!" I held on to Sylvia's claw, desperately trying to pull her away with me.

In my last moment with her, Sylvia's face blossomed into such a beautiful smile that I swear I thought I saw a human.

I could barely make out the words she said, before she pushed me into the portal.

"Thank you my child."