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"Father, nothing of the sort!" Drake said angrily. "Sheās my disciple, thatās not the type of relationship we have!"
"Y-Yeah..." Amethyst sighed, blushing as she became more embarrassed with each dragon they met who thought the two of them were mates. "Please donāt misunderstand..."
"Oh, alright then," Fafnir said, carrying a bag of crystals. "So what do you two need?"
"I wanted to speak with grandmother. Is she awake?" Drake asked.
"Your grandmother Svartalf? She is. Come with me, Iāll bring you to her," Fafnir said.
The trio took off into the skies once more, where Fafnir led his son and Amethyst to Svartalfās giant, imposing body, blending with the shadows of the land and the dark skies. Her glowing red eyes glared from above after she noticed they arrived.
"Oh, Drake! You have come back already!" Svartalfās head emerged from the dark clouds, looking down with a warm smile. "And... Hm?! Who is this dazzling sunshine here? A Light Dragon? Itās so rare to see them here... but she has a body of crystals? Thatās what Earth Dragons have..."
"Yeah, Iām a hybrid of the two," Amethyst said. "I heard Drake is the same for Dark and Ice Dragons."
"He is," Fafnir said. "But he primarily looks like an Ice Dragon at first. Anyway, what do you need, Drake?"
"We came here to report Umbralās death," Drake said. "Heās been slain by Amethyst. I helped her do it."
"I see..." Svartalfās happy expression suddenly changed, becoming rather sad. "Did you...?"
"I tried to speak reason to him," Drake said. "Doing that didnāt change him, unfortunately, but I learned about his past and what drove him to such madness. His plan was to destroy all mortals in the world. He hated them because they... I donāt know if they killed her or not, but they desecrated his motherās corpse, using her bones, scales, flesh, and heart. It was a group of people from the past. He was traumatized by this incident when he was young and started hating mortals ever since."
"I... damn..." Fafnir muttered, looking at his son with a slightly saddened expression. "I didnāt know that he went through that..."
"..." Svartalf remained silent.
"He told me that when he came seeking help, when he came back here asking you to do something so the mortals would stop desecrating her body, you did nothing, grandmother," Drake said. "He said... that you told him it didnāt matter. I didnāt want to believe it back then... but I need to ask you for the truth."
"Itās... true," Svartalf sighed. "We Dragons must obey specific rules. We cannot intervene with the world of mortals directly, even less when we die, our souls bound to the Draconic Records for the most part. We are ancient guardians, gods before gods. Our duty is to protect the world, not enact revenge or fester our hatred against mortals, whose lives are so short and fleeting."
"But thatās... it was his mother!" Drake said angrily. "Why didnāt you at least try to comfort him?! Donāt you know that what you did provoked so much destruction?! I learned from Alma and Amethyst that Umbral had destroyed three kingdoms already and had been ravaging dozens of villages throughout Svartalfheim! And... Amethystās mother... if you had helped him recover, she wouldnāt have been killed by what he became!"
"D-Drake..." Amethyst was moved as she saw Drake so angered at what happened to her mother, realizing just how much he cared and loved her. "Y-You donāt have to do this! Please stop... I appreciate it but... thereās no need to fight with your grandmother over this!"
"I... No, heās not wrong, Amethyst..." Svartalf said. "I committed a mistake. Despite my age and wisdom, I committed a very grave mistake. I thought the boy would get over it... but he didnāt. He went to those mortals and slaughtered them. He walked a path of evil, and ultimately, he was prohibited from entering the Records... He found his motherās soul, fragmented, corrupted by the evil energy of these mortals. She became a specter, merged with him... both of them were resentful, they hated us... it was all my fault... all of it."
"Then how do you plan to repent for it?!" Drake roared angrily, his body overflowing with draconic energy. "Millions have died! Amethystās mother is gone!"
"..." Svartalf looked down, saying nothing.
"Drake! Stop this! How dare you speak to your grandmother in such a tone?!" Fafnir roared angrily, confronting his son. "Youāre better than this, son! You should understand that sometimes."
"Shut up!" Drake roared angrily, his eyes glowing with red light as he roared at his own father. "Donāt get in my way, father!"
"D-Drake...!" Fafnir stepped back, feeling an immense pressure. His own son was releasing intense bloodlust against him.
Svartalfās eyes widened as she realized that by committing these small mistakes, a domino effect would occur, and someone bright and innocent, someone righteous and good, could quickly walk another path entirely... resentment mixed with hatred, all because she couldnāt be a better grandmother.
She felt she had to pay.
"Iāll offer my soul and my life," Svartalf said. "Either you or Amethyst can take it... My Dragon Soul Heart. Iāll die and disappear, repenting for all my sins... And either of the two, or both, can become the new Primordial."
FLASH!
Svartalf suddenly opened the palm of her hand, revealing a glowing black crystal shaped like a heart with a dragon head at the center, overflowing with primordial power.
"This is... the only way I think I could ever repent..." she said, crying, her big droplets of tears falling to the ground. "Iām so... Iām so sorry... Amethyst... Drake... I have been a terrible grandmother... I am not even alive anymore... I cannot... do anything..."
"G-Grandma..." Drake felt his grandmotherās regret. She had indeed changed from her cold past, where she used to ignore these things.
"Drake! Make it stop! Y-You canāt do this! You canāt kill my mother!" Fafnir screamed, crying. "Drake! Donāt you dare...!"
"Iām not..." Drake sighed. "Take that away. I donāt want it. Amethyst doesnāt either, right?"
"Of course not! Why would I?!" Amethyst said. "This is taking it too far!"
"A-Ah..." Svartalf was surprised. In the past, dragons were much more ruthless and less emotional.
But now, the newer generations were a lot more like mortals themselves, gentle, thoughtful, and above all, they had a lot of empathy for others, especially the little ones, mortals.
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