//LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! THE LONG AWAITED SEQUEL OF THE SCHOOL OF DRAGON RIDERS!
Enjoy, and VOTEEEEEEEEE
(didn't proofread lol)///
I took a shaky breath, and then I realized I'm stupid. I'm dead, I don't need to breathe.
I look around the small, dark room. Ever since I died, I've lived in a nightmare.
Literally.
Death was always a mystery, but it's supposed to be peaceful once you die.
Yeah, right.
A dark force ruled over the land of the dead. Every day, I'd get put in a nightmare. I was forced to fight Citro, I was forced to watch my friends die, and I was separated from my dragon. Areton.
Oh, I missed that big reptile.
But as a reward, I'd get to contact the living. And I soon got to realize that my death wasn't your typical death.
Because one day, I really died, and I got reunited with Areton. I was peaceful. I saw my friends again, and Tanya. I was with them for a few minutes, before getting sent to another nightmare- this one.
I looked around in panic, wondering, for the millionth time, why me?
I was separated from everyone, and had to live nightmares. Why?
"Because you were not supposed to die." I heard a deep, velvety voice whisper from somewhere behind me, and I turned around, aware of the shifting of my cloak, to see empty air. I was all alone.
"Okay, scary death monster thingy, care to elaborate?" I said in annoyance. Oh, look, Medea wasn't supposed to die, let's make her live a nightmare every day for ten years! So much fun, ho ho ho! Merry Christmas- what.
I broke my trail of thoughts, which got quite ridiculous from ten years of torture.
The thing decided to say random things to me sometimes, but it was never something serious. It usually made fun of me when I got scared.
"I am the essence of darkness, my dear Medea. I rule the land of the dead. It's a whole new world, death. You can do anything you want, and be happy forever. But you came here completely unannounced, and you sparked my interest. It takes a lot to do that, dragon rider. So, I put you on trial for ten years. I made you live your worst nightmares, and I let you contact your only living friend for a few seconds after each successful day. I was testing you. People usually break after the first few days, but you're still standing strong. That's why I decided to send you back. Back to life. Because, dear Medea, the forces of Death are disturbed. Because of you. Fix that for me." The voice said, seemingly coming out of nowhere. I grit my teeth in anger.
"How do I fix that? And what exactly is there to fix?" I asked in annoyance, and I imagined the mysterious voice roll its eyes.
"Somebody is disturbing it. Someone rose back from the dead when you died. A dangerous creature traded lives with you, and I failed to realize it until now. They are getting stronger, and if they keep getting stronger, the limit between life and death will be ruined. That is why you need to go back to the world of the living and kill that creature. You were not meant to die. I will send you back, and that will automatically send your dragon, the one that shares your soul, with you." The voice replied patiently. Someone dangerous got out? I wasn't supposed to die, what? How does that happen? I felt so peaceful upon death.
"Okay. Will I die after I kill it?" I ask.
"I'm afraid you will never die, Medea. By sending you back, we're defying the laws of death. Once in here, nobody is supposed to leave. Unless I send you back. But as I may be death, there is no life. Nobody to send you back here, and therefore, you will stay alive, until someone stronger than the essence of darkness appears and sends you back to me. Which is very unlikely." The voice said. What if I didn't want to go back?
"You have no choice." The voice said, as if it read my mind.
"I don't want to live forever." I said desperately. That would be terrible! But at least I'd have Areton with me forever. That would be nice.
"Maybe you won't. Goodbye, darling." It said, and my vision went blank.
***
I opened my eyes with a start, and I looked around me in panic. I felt weird. Different.
And like my lungs were about to explode, so I opened my mouth, taking a deep breath. I'm alive!
I sat up and looked around. I was sitting on a patch of grass in the middle of a forest. I glance up at the sun. Oh, the sun!
Wonderful, burning rays of sun! I missed that.
The creepy stalker voice said that Areton was going to be sent with me. I jumped to my feet instantly, flexing my hands as I felt alive again.
Alive.
Areton? I called out to the familiar presence inside of me, the one I didn't feel for ten years. I felt his excitement, and I heard a loud roar come from above me.
A smile creeped up my face as I notice the large shadow cover the sun, and my big, black, d
dragon came crashing down, breaking trees as he landed next to me. I started laughing from happiness, throwing my arms around his big, scaly neck as he licked my whole body in one motion.
"You big lizard, I missed you!" I said excitedly, looking at the dragon I shared souls with. His head alone was as big as me, making him almost as big as my ego.
"Any idea where we are?" I asked after a few minutes of just existing together.
Areton was just as clueless as I was, and I sighed in frustration.
"We need to find this guy before everyone finds out about him. Because if someone knows about him, that means he did something. And if he did something, that means he's powerful, and evil." I said, and Areton judged me for assuming it's a guy.
"Or girl." I added after he nagged me mentally for about a minute. Seeing he's satisfied, I climbed onto his back, and was about to cover us with shadows, only to realize I couldn't.
"What the..."
Whoooopsie. Those powers came from Citro, young Medea. Now you possess only your weaker dark powers, I'm afraid. Forgot to mention that. I heard the velvety voice from back when I was dead whisper into my mind.
No! I lost most of my powers- how was I going to defeat the one who came back from the dead?
I sighed in frustration, realizing that my dark side was gone. Completely gone.
The darkness inside of me wasn't there anymore. The monster that I conquered vanished, leaving me in my human form, a lot weaker.
"This is outrageous! I'm so weak!" I yelled in frustration, sifting on Areton's back. He tried calming me down, but I felt completely naked without the dark monster constantly in my mind.
I sighed again, clenching my fist. This is worse than I thought.
I then tried to use every single power I possessed, and luckily found out that I could still do most of the important stuff. Damn you, Citro!
I told Areton to rise, and I felt calmed immediately, feeling his wings beat behind me as trees became nothing but a blur.
"Not so high, I have to breathe now." I reminded him when I realized I'm having trouble with air, and he dropped lower.
We were flying above a forest, and I looked around. What I saw made my heart almost beat out of my chest.
"Areton! It's the school!" I said excitedly, recognizing the building from when I was still going there.
"Jack is there." I added, and I actually felt afraid. He grew up. Jack probably looked a lot different.
I looked down at myself, and I realized that I didn't look like a child any longer. I looked to be around eighteen, which was normal for a Datonx. My life wasn't going to be much different from before death, since as a Datonx I didn't age. Only that I could've ended it all whenever I wished to, and now I couldn't die. But I could get captured and torture forever.
But I died as a... fourteen-year-old? Right? I forgot, but I definitely wasn't eighteen. My body probably aged, as well.
But I didn't want to meet the new Jack. The 25-year-old Jack. Still, I felt longing for him in my heart. The only person I loved...
Was it real love, though? I mean, I was a psychotic monster. And I had to admit that my feelings stopped during the ten years in hell.
He probably forgot about me already. I did visit him every once in a while, but that was a grief word, and I wasn't even sure if he got my messages.
Areton felt my internal struggle, but he kept flying towards the school.
They must've noticed me, since I saw riders circling the grounds now, at a sight of an unfamiliar rider.
I chuckled, imagining what their faces would be like when I showed up, back from the dead.
Areton was probably the biggest dragon they'd get to see. He was the biggest before I died, as well, so no reason for that to change now.
Unfortunately, there was not nearly anough space for Areton to land on the roof, since it was full of much smaller dragons, and he'd probably break the building, anyways, so he slowly glided to the ground, coming to a halt near the entrance.
I stood still as my heartbeat quickened and other riders landed, on much smaller dragons. They circled me, and had bows pointed at me.
"I can't die, sorry guys!" I said, but they didn't show signs of understanding me. Were they deaf?
"Intruder! Introduce yourself." I heard a more grown-up version of a voice I held dear in my heart, and I turned around, seeing Jack.
He sure did grow up.
His facial features were much more mature, and his messy white hair was tied in a manly ponytail. He had a scar on his cheek, and his eyes flashed in recognition once he saw me.
"Medea?" he said in surprise, and I nodded, feeling shy. He was different than I remembered.
"But... how?" he asked softly, and shook his head. "Okay, follow me to my office." He added, and I nodded, jumping off of Areton.
"Harm Areton, and you'll deal with me." I said warningly to the riders who were still circling us as I walked by an orange dragon, towards Jack.
Before I got a chance to say anything, he walked over to me and pulled me into a bear hug, cutting off my oxygen.
"I can't believe you're alive!" he said, finally letting me go from his death grip. But it did feel nice to hug a living person.
I smiled at him.
"Believe it, because I won't die again anytime soon. Let's head somewhere private, I have quite a story to share." I said, feeling intimidated by the man standing beside me.
It's not the fact that he's 'older', since I was older, as well, and I felt older. I felt to be around eighteen, like my body.
It's the fact that he was different than I remembered.
I kept staring into his back as we passed guards, and I followed him upstairs, realizing we're headed into the headmaster's office.
"You're the headmaster?" I asked, and he nodded.
"Yes. Did you know that there's Ogre riders, as well? I helped build a school in their land, actually." He said in a voice much deeper than my old Jack.
"So we're at peace now?" I asked, completely out of sync with the modern world.
"Yes, we are." He said as we reached the familiar door of the Headmaster.
He opened it, and I followed him inside to see a little girl, no older than three, drop a book and stare at Jack.
"Daddy! Who's that?" she squeaked, and I widened my eyes in disbelief as betrayal hit me hard.
I just stared the at the girl as Jack crouched beside her, picking her up as he faced me.
Jack... had a child?
I felt completely and utterly betrayed, and Jack's smile dropped when he saw the expression on my face.
"We named her Medea, after you." He said, trying to break the wall of awkwardness that was being built between us.
"Uhm... okay. Okay. That's totally fine with me. Of course you continued your life. I was dead." I whispered, more to myself than to him. I searched my head for Areton, and his presence calmed me greatly.
"I like her!" the little Medea squealed, looking at me with her piercing blue eyes with her brown hair falling over her face. I forced a smile, but I knew it was a very, very sad one.
"I'm sorry, Medea." Jack said, and I refused to look into his eyes, feeling that he was a complete stranger.
I sat on a chair, telling him about how I lived in nightmares and how there was a creature that escaped that I needed to kill. And how I became immortal.
When I was done, I couldn't bear to look at him or to see him speak, so I just barged out of his office, slamming the door behind me in sadness and anger.
"Medea, please wait!" I heard him plead from behind me, but I ignored him, marching down the stairs and straight to Areton, who was stretching in the sun lazilay.
"Move it, you big lizard." I said affectionately, unable to be angry around my lizard. I climbed onto him, and he knew well enough to just start flying away. Wherever, just as far as possible from Jack.
And his child.
//Damn. That was intense. Can't wait for chapter two! If you're nice, you might get to read it real soon. Jk, you'll get to read it soon even if you're mean.