Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 795 - 794 - Lis

The world was pain.

It was the secret Lis had learned early.  The powerful consumed the weak to grow even stronger.  It was a fact of life you had to accept or die.

She had watched her father get slaughtered for protecting her mother and her.  Her mother then had to do things to let them survive but Lis never fully understood them.

Eventually, however, something went wrong.  Her mother became very sick and told her to leave.  Lis got everything and simply ran into the wild.  The last few months had been terrifying but then she saw the boys.

They had been toying with the hurt fox as it stood guard over its child.  It was like something snapped in her.  She moved faster than she ever had before as she snatched up the tiny fox.  The wounded fox was not happy until their eyes locked.

Something passed between them and it went wild at the boys who ripped it apart.  Lis tried to run but she had hurt something in her body as the boys caught up too fast.

She covered the baby and refused to let it get hurt so long as she lived.  She knew she was going to die.  She suddenly understood how her parents felt and in that moment she accepted it.

She would not let the baby die!

Then something blocked the sun.  The world dimmed as a massive beast was in the sky!  It was not one of the dangerous birds.  It was a snake or something as it had no wings.  It had emerald scales and was massive.

She felt all hope die in her until she realized the beast was not after her, but the boys.  It seemed to crush them like it was simple.

She felt its anger but once the boys were knocked out, he shrunk to the size of a man.

She did not know much, but beasts that could transform were to be feared.  They were likely the overlords in the current world.  She felt death was coming when all of a sudden she heard his gentle voice.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the shining vial as he stood back.  For a brief moment, she thought she saw the figure of her father smiling at her but the memory was so difficult to hold onto.

Still, she fumbled and drank the liquid.  It was bitter but it made the pain fade instantly.  She then watched as the man easily bonded with the young fox.  She trusted that more than anything else.

They left the area after a time as the boys could not have come far from a village.  Lis moved back towards the area she lived and saw the man was smiling as she snuggled the baby fox.

It snuggled against her and fell asleep as no doubt it had been through a lot that day.  The towering trees were not so scary with the beast nearby.  It seemed like everything gave him a wide berth but not out of just fear.

The wind seemed to sing in joy compared to before which she found odd.

"You were very brave, by the way."  His voice made her jump but the little ball of fur calmed her.  Lis was unsure why but she felt safer than ever.

"I just acted.  Mom says I need to think more."  She felt a pang of sadness when she said that.  She would never hear her mother again.  Just like her father.

"I am sorry for your loss."  Her head snapped and he pointed at his nose.  "I could feel the sadness flow off of you when you spoke."

She did not like that.  She did not like the feeling he knew more than he should.  His smile was kind but that meant nothing.  It could all be a trap.

He seemed to know her train of thought as he backed off a bit.  It irked her how considerate he was being!

The kit suddenly whimpered which made both focus on her.  The little fox was crying when the man held out his hand very gently.

"Pet her. Speak calming tones.  She will feel safe again."  Lis nodded and did as instructed.  Very quickly, the kit was happily sleeping again.  The man, Lind, seemed to look very heart broken at that moment.

"Little Fluffy is smarter than she looks.  Even at the Body Refining Realm, she is aware of your pain."  Lis nodded slowly as the whimpering had started when she got upset.  She made sure to be calm as they finally came to a simple cave.

There were a few large branches draped over the entrance but she did not pause as she headed inside.  She was about to tell Lind to stay out but he had stopped already.  He was doing something with his hands that were now glowing.

Lis ignored it and pulled out some cured meat strips.  The moment they were exposed, the tiny fox perked up awake with her tail wagging.

"Eat."  She held out a strip and the fox tried but its teeth were not sharp enough to rip the preserved meat.

"Let me."  Lind spoke from outside and she frowned but nodded.  He then conjured fire!  It was gold and red but quickly softened the strip to the happiness of the fox!  She smiled as she clearly enjoyed the meat.

"She will need soft meat for a while before being able to handle tougher things."  Lis nodded and ate her own meat.  She then frowned as she thought she should share her food.

"Don't worry about me.  When you get to my realm, food simply becomes about pleasure.  Thank you for the thought though."  He read her mind again!  It was not fair!

A giggle came from the man but he resumed his weird hand movements.  It was only a little later she saw the sun glint off of something floating in the air.  Before too long, the pressure of the area changed slightly.

It felt a lot stronger than a village feeling when she left it a few weeks ago.

"May I ask some questions?"  She shrugged as she watched the fox flop over on its back happily.  Her little tongue stuck out and Lis could not help rubbing her belly which seemed to make the fox very happy.

"Why are you in the wild?  It is very dangerous out here."  Lis knew that but even at her age, beasts were easier to deal with than other humans.  She might get eaten but at least she knew the danger was there!

"Safer."  She only spoke the one word and he seemed to accept that.

"May I know where your village is?"  She pointed farther north but still west of where they were.  She knew the path back as she had gone to get food a few times until the money ran out.

"I see.  Thank you.  May I leave Little Fluffy with you then?"  His question surprised her.  She had expected to be told to come with him or that she was his now.  It was something so common she already saw it most of her life.

Yet, Lind simply asked if she could stay with the cute fox?

He smiled as he held up his large arms around him.

"I have put up some protection here.  I will not force you to come with me but I hope you will take some supplies."  He then put some more sparkly vials and food in front of her!  "Can you read?"

She shook her head.  She knew enough to see costs if they were posted but that was all.

He seemed troubled before he brightened up.

"I will leave some pictures for you.  You know numbers?"  She nodded and he proceeded to draw on white scrolls that suddenly appeared.  She was stunned by that ability as she had never seen it before.

Once he was done, he laid out several pictures of her!  She was in stances and there were numbers.  One had her sitting in a lotus position with numbers around her and positions of the sun!

Others had various stances and were highly detailed.  She could almost see herself holding the stances!

"Follow these in the order numbered on the bottom.  Start with the first one for a few days before starting the next and repeat.  The first is about breathing.  Breath like this."  He then demonstrated it and she recognized it as similar to those boys and girls that were always getting stronger.

She slowly nodded and began to study the scrolls intently as Lind spoke to Little Fluffy.

"Guard her well.  You are family now."  She yipped and wagged her tail as he pat her head.  She wished she could talk to Little Fluffy!

Lind then went to leave and Lis felt like she wanted to stop him.  He waved back at them.

"I will be back soon but I need to get some more information.  Stay inside the shimmering area and you are both safe."  She slowly nodded as he took back to the air like it was as easy as walking.

A feeling came back to Lis then.  As tears began to flow, the small head of Little Fluffy rubbed against her.  Safe, she was safe for the first time in a very long time.

She resumed studying the scrolls and tried to mimic the number pattern for the breathing but it was hard!  It was like she had never really taken a breath before!

She kept at it until she could not anymore and then noticed each diagram had a picture of the vials with a mark of 3 on each.  She found the right one, a pale green one, and drank a third of it.

Her body, that had been sore and wiped out after just breathing felt revitalized!  It was just like before but she also felt odd.  It was like it was much easier to breathe compared to before.

She smiled for the first time in a long while.  She could get stronger!  She could survive!

She looked back up into the sky and her eyes sparkled.

"I will remember, Lind Frey."  She played with Little Fluffy and practiced the scrolls.  She also made a note to learn to read when she could.  She did not know when, but she would.

She wanted to know more about the world that he lived in.