Arlusia. Riley was sure of it, the fact that they were in this place was not an act of randomness. There could be several series of coincidences that brought them here, but this was not random, not at all.
A few years ago, Riley was fulfilling Aerith's wish—taking her away and just escaping everything. After he made a show of the genocide of Elder Skeem's people, Riley had been actively hunted down by every possible unit of men. He overtook almost everyone on the Outlaw list, ranking just below Diana and Pirate Queen Xra as the most wanted individual.
And so, he just decided to truly take Aerith away; away from everywhere else as he charted a course to the Unknown. They actually passed by Earth, but it only reflected their eyes for a few seconds before they once again traveled through the expanse of space without stopping—they even went into hyperdrive for very long periods of time, as Riley had brought all the energy cores he could fit inside the ship.
They traveled like that for almost 4 years, just discovering the Unknown… and its vast emptiness of nothing. There were several planets that seemed capable of life, but aside from scurrying wildlife, they have not discovered any civilizations.
But then, in the 4th year, something happened.
While their ship was flying in hyperspeed, the ship suddenly stopped as it detected a weird influx of energy in their path—it was a plaque similar to what Tedi showed him last time, just floating there in the expanse of space.
And of course, Riley treated the plaque with utmost care; letting his clones just handle it and bring it inside the ship. Unfortunately for him, however, no matter how careful he was… the plaque suddenly flew straight into his hands.
He quickly looked at Aerith, as he thought it was the last time he would ever see her… only to find that when he teleported, she was brought along with him.
And even with that shocking and truly unexpected event, Aerith's lips still remained sealed. The two found themselves in some sort of cave, a very large empty cave; with a ceiling that was probably more than a kilometer above the floor.
There was absolutely nothing there…except for the portal that led them to the world of Arlusia, casually hovering right in the very center of the cave. And of course, Riley entered it without any hesitation.
And then as the two of them were welcomed by this mysterious planet, the portal behind them just disappeared. And now, they were stuck here—no ship to help them navigate through the stars.
Suffice it to say, it was impossible for this world not to be connected to the advanced ancient civilization that created the plaque. Or perhaps…
…Arlusia is the ancient civilization?
"Here you go."
"...Oh."
And right after Riley was done reminiscing, the handler finished transferring his commission to his card.
It was too bad, Riley thought—he was looking forward to also killing this handler if he didn't give him his commission. But then again, he still could.
"Thank you, Handler," Riley then nodded as he made his way back to the Leville party, which were being tended for their wounds, "I am going to go ahead, okay? I will see you again tomorrow, everyone."
"Y…yes."
The Leville party could really only nod their heads in unison. Although Riley did not explicitly say it, they promised themselves that they wouldn't tell anyone about how strong he is—after all, there must be a reason someone like him is hiding his true strength.
Maybe… he was even one of the legendary Heroes of the past?
As for the so-called legendary hero, he just casually went back to the city. Riley stood in front of the tavern for a few seconds, before just shaking his head and deciding not to go home yet.
Instead, he went to find the city's local library—and as one might expect from a small city, there was really only a single library, and it was smaller than the taverns.
And with the bell of the door ringing throughout the entire library as Riley entered, he was quickly greeted by the only person that was there, the Librarian.
"...Hello?" The librarian seemed to be even more shocked that a person actually visited the library; his large glasses, almost falling from his face as he stood up and greeted Riley,
"Did…did you come here to read… books?" He said, not even caring about Riley's weird appearance.
"Greetings, Librarian," Riley nodded as he approached the counter, "I wish to read all you have about dragons."
"...Dragons?" The librarian's eyes lit up as a small smile slowly crawled on his face. But after a few seconds, he let out a small sigh and stepped out off the counter,
"That… will be tricky. Almost all books of literature contain a mention of dragons. Rare is a book of fantasy that does not hold such a grand idea of a creature."
"Are there non-fictional books that mention them, Librarian?"
"Non-fictional, there are studies of them…but they are also considered as fiction," the librarian adjusted his glasses as he glanced at Riley, "Do you wish to indulge yourself with them?"
"I would like to borrow them."
"Of course, of course. How rare it is that someone from this city read a book—I was starting to think that everyone was illiterate," the librarian could not help but chuckle as he started almost hopping to his index of books.
"Do you also have something on a species, or an ancient civilization called P'lopi? Or perhaps a place called Ahor Zai?"
"P—what?" The library tried imitating the way Riley said the word, but failed to click his tongue at the right time, "How do you spell that? Maybe we have it somewhere here in the foreign books section."
"No. Never mind, Librarian," Riley just shook his head and sighed.
It took a couple of minutes, but the librarian came back with his books—all 3 of them.
"This… is it," the librarian sighed, "If you return to me tomorrow, maybe I can find more?"
"That will be ideal, Librarian."
"Alright," the librarian then placed the books in front of Riley; his voice suddenly turning serious, "Please don't damage the books, you will have to pay for them. I am the only one that works here so please, I am already underpaid as it is."
"Do not worry, Librarian…
…I do not destroy things."
With the books in his hand, Riley immediately went back to the inn, only to find that Aerith has not left his room yet today. There was a tray of food on the desk, however, so it would seem she at least still has the will to eat.
"Do you want to try and read this with me, Aerith?"
"..."
And of course, Riley was completely ignored as Aerith just sat on her bed; like a statue that will forever hold her peace.
"I think I might have discovered something, Aerith. The dragons…" And even then, Riley spent hours reading the books aloud; glancing at Aerith from time to time whenever something interesting comes up.
But alas, aside from just speculations and theories, there have really been no sightings of dragons for the past thousand years. But one thing was for sure—at one point in time, there truly were dragons in the world of Arlusia… and all the sources say they come from beyond the skies.
And with Riley finishing all three books in no time at all, Aerith just closed her eyes and lay back in bed.
"I'll be going back to the library tomorrow to get more books, Aerith. Would you like to come with me?"
"..."
"Okay, I'll go by myself…
…Good night, Aerith."
***
The next day, as promised, Riley returned to the library; the bells, once again ringing throughout the entire building. This time, however, the library wasn't as empty, there were other customers scattered around the small interior and reading their books in peace—not even bothering to look at Riley as he stepped inside.
Riley then immediately walked to the counter, only to find a different librarian sitting at the station.
"Greetings, Librarian. May I ask where the gentleman that was here last night is? We have a prior engagement."
"Oh, Dave?" The current librarian shrugged as he turned to look at Riley, "He will be here later."
"Hm…" Riley then let out a small hum as he looked at the other customers that were there, "But he told me that he was the only one that works here. So…
…who might you be?"
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l