David sat silently in the headmaster’s office, and seated across from him was the headmaster, staring intensely at him. There was a moment of silence shared between the two that Richard spent thoroughly examining David with his eyes and David spent feeling immensely uncomfortable and nervous. As Richard looked at the boy seated across from him, he couldn’t help but wonder just how a boy who looked so innocent and pure could possess such a monstrous level of power within him. As though it wasn’t enough for him to be Ibierana’s son and inherit all her power, he also possessed that mysterious dark power the Dark Dragon Lord possessed as well. As Richard stared at David, he realized that he was looking at someone capable of saving and protecting their world or burning it all down to ruins; he had equal chances of being a protector or a destroyer. And even though he had witnessed firsthand just how devastating David’s power could be, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe that such a power came from the boy seated before him.

  Richard, with a deep breath, broke the silence between him and David by saying, “How have the past days been for you, David?”

  David, upon hearing what the headmaster said, simply sighed before saying, “I wish I could say they’ve been alright, but…” David paused for a moment before bowing down his head and recalling the nightmares that had been replaying over and over and over in his dreams while he slept, denying him a peaceful slumber during the night and filling his mornings with a feeling of fear and dread as he awoke from those dreadful nightmares he had to face at night.

  Richard, upon seeing the look on David’s face, simply let out a deep sigh, knowing that despite everything, David was still a child, and no amount of power he possessed, no matter how dark or twisted, would change that fact. Richard could help but let out a sigh as he thought about how fate can be so cruel, even to someone as innocent and pure-hearted as the boy before him. He wasn’t even a man yet, and it seemed as though the entire world was resting on his shoulders. He had lost both his mother and the memories of his past, and now he has to bear the responsibilities he inherited along with his power from his mother, and on top of that, there was that dark power, destructive and maddening; it completely consumed David and took complete control over him, transforming him into something that was nothing less than a monster. Richard then looked at David once more, this time with a look of sympathy, understanding the bounden responsibilities now placed upon him were immense, along with the constant struggle to maintain himself and resist the darkness trying to lay claim on him. Richard could only hope, for the sake of the world, that the child before him can find the strength he needs to fight the battles ahead against those outside and those from within.

  “I understand; it must not be easy for you with everything that has happened,” said Richard.

  David, upon hearing what Richard said, remained silent and simply wore a look of sadness and guilt as he recalled everything that had happened during the past few days and how it was all his fault.

  Richard, upon seeing the look of guilt on David’s face, just sighed before saying, “Fret not about a past you can’t change, and do blame yourself for acts and deeds you did not perform with your own hands. Those were the words of a wise man I once knew.”

  David, upon hearing what the headmaster said, raised his head to look at him, and then a small smile formed on the boy’s face, giving the headmaster a small glimmer of hope for David, as he was pleased that he had not sunk so low into the abysmal pit of despair that he could not muster the strength to smile. Seeing that small smile on David’s face gave Richard hope that he was not yet all too dark and could still muster the strength to fight against it.

  Richard then cleared his throat, recalling the reason he brought David to his office and what he wanted to tell him.

  “David, as you know, you were enrolled in the academy under somewhat unusual circumstances,” said Richard, recalling how David, along with Delamu, came into his office during the dead of night just to have David enrolled in the academy.

  “Yes,” said David, recalling how the headmaster was reluctant to enroll him in the academy back then.

  Richard then let out a deep sigh before saying, “Well, in light of the revelation of your true identity as the son of Ibierana and the next Golden Dragon Warrior, along with the dark dragon warriors’ attack on the academy,. I think it would be best if you don’t attend classes like the regular students.”

  “What?” said David with a look of shock and confusion on his face, wondering if what he heard come from the headmaster’s mouth was true.

  “You want to expel me,” David spoke with a pondering heart, wondering if the headmaster really wished to expel him from the academy, thinking about Flora, Akiri, and Susan, and how he would never be able to see them again if he got expelled.

  “No, of course not,” said Richard, much to the relief of David, thankful that he wouldn’t have to leave his friends, especially Susan.

  “Phew, thank goodness,” David sighed, causing Richard to let out a light chuckle.

  “Rest assured, David, there is no way I would allow you to leave the academy so easily after all you are the son of Ibierana and the next Golden Dragon Warrior,” said Richard.

  David, upon hearing what Richard said about him being the next Golden Dragon Warrior, bowed his head down once again, looking at his hands and recalling the darkness lurking deep within and the level of destruction and carnage it would wreak if it was ever unleashed, before saying, “Yeah, I am, I guess.”

  Richard could sense hints of doubt and fear in David’s voice as he spoke, almost as though he wasn’t sure or didn’t believe in the words he said. Richard then cleared his throat, bringing David’s attention back to him as he raised his head to face him once more.

  Richard, sensing the lingering doubts and fears within David’s heart, decided not to address the matter for the time being, thinking the reason for his doubts was due to the events that occurred during the past few days and that he may still need some time for it to all sink in and for him to come to terms with who he was and the level of responsibility placed upon him.

  “What I meant when I said that you shouldn’t attend class along with the regular students wasn’t expulsion,” said Richard.

  “Oh, then what did you mean by that?” asked David, wondering what the headmaster meant if it wasn’t expulsion.

  “Well, you see, David, you’re not like the other students of the academy. “You’re special,” said Richard, causing David to internally sigh, wondering if being him was what people considered special. Being ordinary didn’t seem so bad; at least then he wouldn’t be a danger to everyone around him.

  “And because of that, we can’t have you take part in classes like other students,” said Richard.

  David, upon hearing what Richard said, remained silent, pondering to himself for a moment, and realized what the headmaster was trying to say.

  “You want me to take a different way from the other students,” said David with a hint of sadness in his voice, understanding the headmaster’s reasons for having to separate him from the other students. After all, he was there during that fateful day, along with the other teachers of the academy, and witnessed for himself the full destructive fury of the darkness within, and after witnessing what he did, David couldn’t blame him for wanting to separate him from the other students, but still, he would miss sharing classes with Flora.

  The headmaster, seeing the look of sadness on David’s face, cleared his throat before saying, “It seems as though you misunderstand my intentions for wanting to stop attending other classes. I rest assured, David, I didn’t make this decision because I believed you were dangerous or some sort of threat to the academy, especially since you’ve given me no reason to perceive you as such.”

  David, upon hearing what the headmaster said, looked at him with a look of shock and confusion before saying, “But you saw what happened when dark dragon warriors attacked and what I did to them.”

  “It wasn’t you who did any of it intentionally; you had just witnessed an army of dark dragon warriors attack and end the lives of the four Golden Dragon Generals, one of whom was your uncle. Witnessing all that was a lot to take in, and so, in the heat of the moment, after witnessing so much carnage, destruction, and death, your kind and frail heart couldn’t bear it, and it broke you, causing you to snap and lose control over yourself,” said the headmaster.

  David, upon hearing everything the headmaster said, bowed down his head, wishing that there was a way he could bring himself to accept and believe the headmaster’s words about what happened that day being just a result of his being too weak to bear everything he had witnessed, but it wasn’t just that he was too weak; it was more than that. He had indeed lost control of himself, but it wasn’t just because his heart was too weak; no, he had lost himself. The darkness lurking deep within him feasted on all the pain, sorrow, misery, and frustration he felt during those moments; it took over, blurring, distorting, and numbing all his senses until all he could see was complete and utter darkness. David then looked up to face the headmaster’s face, knowing he knew fully well that whatever happened during the battle with dark dragon warriors wasn’t because of a faltering heart; he had witnessed it all for himself after, and David was more than certain that he was no fool, nor was he ignorant, so why lie to him?

  “Sir, may I ask you something?” David said in a serious and somewhat cold tone in his voice.

  The headmaster, upon hearing what David said, just sighed before saying, “Yes.”

  David, upon hearing the headmaster’s request, took a deep breath before saying, “Why am I still here?”

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  The headmaster, upon hearing what David said, widened his eyes in shock as he was taken aback a bit by David’s question.

  “What do you mean by that?” asked the headmaster.

  David then let out a deep sigh before saying, “Even if you wanted to overlook everything I did during the dark dragon warriors’ attack on the academy and the fact that just being near me at any given time is dangerous, there are still the dark dragon warriors to worry about. They are still after me, and every moment I spend here puts the entirety of the academy in danger, so why am I still here?”

  The headmaster, upon hearing what David said, remained silent for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh and chuckling a little before finally saying, “You’re just like your mother, you boy.”

  David, upon hearing the headmaster say about him being just like his mother, paused a moment as he wondered what he meant by that, but before David could ask, he was stopped by the headmaster saying, “You may take your leave now. Head to the cafeteria and have your breakfast. Once the academy’s bell rings, Flani will meet you to escort you to your new classes.”

  David, upon hearing what the headmaster said, wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to utter a single word, so he just ended up nodding his head, got up, and took his leave. Once David was gone and the door was shut closed, Richard let out a deep sigh followed by a smile while he nodded his head.

  “He is certainly his mother’s child,” Richard spoke as he thought about David, replaying in his mind the conversation they had and the last thing he asked him: “Why am I still here?”

  That was just a simple question, but it revealed so much about David’s character. Recalling the look of sadness in his eyes when he thought he was being expelled from the academy, and from that look alone, Richard could tell that despite everything that had happened, he truly cherished his time in the academy and was more than eager to stay, but that question he asked revealed something to him. The boy was not ignorant, neither was he a fool, nor was he willing to overlook the danger he posed just by his presence in the academy alone and the fact that he even pointed it all out to him: “Even if you wanted to overlook everything I did during the dark dragon warriors attack on the academy and the fact that just being near me at any given time is dangerous, there are still the dark dragon warriors to worry about. They are still after me, and every moment I spend here puts the entirety of the academy in danger, so why am I still here?”

  Knowing fully well that he could have been expelled for telling him of the danger he posed in the academy but still doing so anyway proved to him that David was more than willing to leave it behind—the academy, his friends, and all the memories he had made within the academy’s four walls—if it meant he could keep them all safe. He was willing to sacrifice what he held dear for those around him, just like her.

  Richard couldn’t help but chuckle once more, knowing that the road ahead for David was an uncertain one, but if he could maintain that pure golden heart of his and refuse to submit to the darkness within, then hope for their world still remained. But then again, Richard pondered with his face morphing into a serious expression, pondering to himself if David were to falter and succumb to his darkness, he along with the whole world might witness the emergence of another Dark Dragon Lord—no, something far worse, an unstoppable force that could completely bring the entire world to ruin, chaos, and complete and utter destruction. Richard then took in a deep breath know while thinking of how dire of situation he along with the entire world was in because for as long as the world had been in existent, they had always been a Golden Dragon Warrior, pure of hearted noble warriors who protected the world from the forces of evil. And then there was David, who possessed a pure heart just like the Golden Dragon Warriors before him, just like her, but at the very same time, he possessed a dark and destructive power that could potentially shake the world right down to its foundation. Richard thought of David as a living contradiction of sorts, a living abnormality, a boy with both light and darkness within him, with both sides seemingly battling for control, and whichever side won, it would either bring salvation and hope to their world or bring doom and despair to it. It quite literally horrified Richard to know that the fate of the world may quite literally rest in the hands of a sixteen-year-old and which path he chose to take.

  Richard then let out a sigh before he heard his office doors open up; Flani then stepped in.

  “How did your talk with the kid go?” said Flani.

  Richard, upon hearing what Flani said, simply let out a deep sigh in response.

  “That bad?” asked Flani, sensing the distress coming from Richard.

  “No, it went well; it’s just, I still find it hard to believe that he’s really her son,” said Richard.

  Flani, upon hearing what Richard said, let out a sigh of her own before saying, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” She spoke while her mind went back to the event that transpired days ago, recalling the monstrous power emanating from him, a power so great that even the full might of the dark dragon warriors couldn’t hold a candle to it, and the horrifying part of it all was that that power didn’t feel pure like that of the golden dragon warrior, and instead it felt chaotic, dark, and destructive like that of the Dark Dragon Lord himself.

  “It’s strange; he has a pure heart like that of his mother and is just as selfless”, Richard said while recalling how David willingly left with the dark dragon warriors to protect the academy.

  “But yet that power inside of him felt nothing like hers; it felt dark and twisted just like…” Richard could not even bring himself to complete those words, not wanting to ever compare someone as pure-hearted as David with a monster as vile as the Dark Dragon Lord.

  Flani sensed how troubled Richard was, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed his cheek.

  “You’ve made a nasty habit out of worrying too much. Like you said, the boy’s a good kid, and as for that power, it wasn’t like he used it because he wanted to. He was scared and frightened by everything he saw, and well, he just snapped. Stuff like that happens even to the most powerful of us; even Ibierana struggled to control herself after …” Flani stopped midsentence, not wanting to say anything that would remind her dear beloved of the painful past.

  Richard then let out a deep sigh before saying, “If only that was the case, my dear. I know what pain and horror of witnessing death and destruction can do to a man; I’ve both seen and experienced it firsthand. It’s maddening and next to impossible for anybody, much less a child, to understand and endure. And while yes, I will admit that David was distraught moments before that power manifested itself, it wasn’t solely a result of that. When he fought with the dark dragon warriors, he fought with a malice and vengeance in his eyes that didn’t come from a scared child; it came from bitterness, anger, and frustration, which were harbored deep within the darkest recesses of the child’s soul. That monster that we witnessed was always there lurking within that boy, and all that, having to witness the events that happened that day simply served as a catalyst to free it.”

  Flani, upon hearing what Richard said, wished she could deny and refute his words, not wanting to believe that a child as pure as David could harbor a power similar, if not identical, to the power of the Dark Dragon Lord himself, but she couldn’t; having witnessed it for herself with her very own eyes, she couldn’t deny the fact that her husband’s words had some elements of truth within them.

  Flani then let out a deep sigh before saying, “If you truly believe that the kid has the same dark power as that monster, why keep him around in your academy, knowing exactly what he’s capable of?”

  Richard, upon hearing his wife’s words, simply sighed before saying, “I wish it was because I was a good man who genuinely wanted to see that boy grow up into a kind and noble soul, but sincerely speaking, it’s because I’m scared and desperate, Flani. There has always been a Golden Dragon Warrior there in the world to put everything right when the whole world spirals into chaos. The Golden Dragon Warriors have always been there to protect us from all the carnage and destruction brought about by the world. The world only exists as it is today because of them, and without them, the world is doomed to fall apart.”

  Flani, upon hearing what Richard said, couldn’t believe that those words came from him, but at the very same time, she couldn’t deny them either. For as long as she could remember, she had always heard stories of how the Golden Dragon Warriors fought with all their hearts and the immense power they possessed for the good of the world and to protect them all and recalled how comforting it felt to know that the world had a guardian and protector, someone who would always be there to guide them through darkness with a light that seemed everlasting. But after Ibierana, that light seemed to have faded away, and the entire world seemed to have fallen into despair. The Golden Dragon Generals, along with the Guard, tried to fill the void the Golden Dragon Warrior left behind with her death, but that void seemed to be too great. There was something special about the Golden Dragon Warrior that just made everything feel right, something that made people believe that no matter how bad things got, there was always hope and reason to keep fighting, and when she left, she took that hope and reason with her.

  Richard built the academy hoping he could bring back a tiny fraction of the hope the Golden Dragon Warrior created back into the world. He hoped that the academy could create able dragon warriors who could understand the world enough to know that there was evil and wickedness out there in the world but at the very same time know compassion and understand that just because they have the power doesn’t mean that they have the right to use it to impose it on others. It was because of this reason Richard always encouraged the teachers of the academy to never shy away from teaching the darkest parts of the history of the dragon warriors, from battles to war, bloodshed, and anarchy. The students needed to understand just how heavy of a responsibility their powers placed upon them and that it was their duty to use them for the betterment of their world and not for their own selfish desires. And he did it all because it was his way of ensuring that the peaceful world Ibierana left behind would remain peaceful, but even he wasn’t na?ve enough to believe that something as precious as peace could last forever. And just as he predicted, they had emerged once more, rearing up their heads out of the shadows to finish what their master started all those years ago, and this time they seemed to have set their sights on David, the lost son of Ibierana.

  They believed in their twisted little heads that the world’s salvation can only come from its destruction, and they plan on using David to ensure their twisted dream comes true. And after witnessing for himself what David and that dark power within him were capable of, Richard had no doubt in his mind that if he were to go astray and walk the wrong path, he would become exactly who the dark dragon warriors perceive him to be, their dark messiah, the one who would bring their twisted dream of the world’s destruction to reality, a second Dark Dragon Lord. Richard could not shake the uneasiness he felt as he pictured David standing alongside a dark dragon warrior wreaking havoc and destruction. The thought alone filled his heart with horror and dread, but yet at the very same time, recalling how it felt seeing David stand by Susan, Akiri, Flora, and Steven made him recall a similar sight with Victor, James, Marina, Eric, and Ibierana. The five of them did what most, if not all, of the entirety of the world believed was hopeless and impossible: they held on to hope even when things seemed hopeless. The Dark Dragon Lord had the world in the palm of his hands; he ruled and reigned over all, and there was not a soul alive who dared to oppose him, except for them. They never stopped believing in the world even during times when it seemed pointless; they never stopped fighting, especially Ibierana, who fought with everything she had and made the ultimate sacrifice all so the world could be greeted by a brand new day. Ibierana, like all the other Golden Dragon Warriors before her, stood as a symbol for hope and gave people of the world the strength they needed to continue fighting, and the same hope Ibierana inspired in the hearts of many was the same hope David inspired in Richard. That was why he couldn’t bring himself to abandon David even after knowing the threat he posed to the academy; he couldn’t let go of the hope he once lost when the world lost Ibierana and the legacy of the Golden Dragon Warrior. That was why, for his sake and for the sake of the world, he could do nothing more but believe that no matter what may come his way, he would never falter and submit to the darkness deep within him.