Previously
Upstairs, the dragons stood in a circle watching the guards. They could feel a warmth spread through their chests.
Shin-ah placed his hand above his heart and closed his eyes.
Kija turned and saw his brother's reaction. "Shin-ha, are you okay?"
He nodded and let his hand dropped. Without opening his eyes, he spoke, "They're inside."
Kija nodded and turned to Jae-ha, "You felt that too, didn't you?"
Jae-ha nodded while furrowing his brows. "It's as though, I can feel someone down there besides Zeno. Almost like….." His sentence trailed off.
Kija nodded and understood what Jae-ha was about to say. "Another dragon."
-x-
As Yona cracked open the door, she couldn't help but hold her breath. She could feel a slight breeze surround her, ushering her inside. She entered the room followed by Zeno and the sky general ready for whatever was there waiting for them.
-x-
Present
Yona stood in the middle of the room and looked around. She felt a comforting energy surround her as though something was trying to get her attention. The presence wasn't menacing, but comforting and warm. She didn't know who it was that was reaching out to her, pulling her towards the alter, but she knew that she could trust it. The candles warmly flickered as she approached as though the flames were affected by her sudden presence. She let out a deep breath before approaching the alter and lowered to her knees. She clutched the medallion in between her hands as she silently meditated and opened her heart to the presence that had pulled her forward her into a state of meditation.
Zeno and the sky general were silent as they watched the princess. Zeno knew that the sky general couldn't feel it, but he knew that his brothers could upstairs and had a suspicion that Yona sensed it as well. Standing on the side, he could feel a light whirlwind circling around the room. The whirlwind felt as though it contained something familiar within it. The feel of the wind brought back memories of long ago. It danced across his skin causing goosebumps to appear. He held up his arm and smiled knowingly, "They're here."
The general looked at him, "Who?"
Zeno shook his head and lowered his arm, "Zeno and the miss's brothers. I think they have waited a long time for this day."
He raised an eyebrow, 'The hell is this guy talking about? Brothers?'
Zeno looked back lovingly at the princess, "I think the miss has found what she was meant to find."
The general looked at him questioningly, "Find what?"
Zeno's eyes softened, "The missing piece that was lost long ago. A piece that Zeno remembers quite vividly."
"What the hell are you talking about kid?"
Zeno held out a hand as though he was offering it to someone invisible, "Zeno has been around for a long time. Zeno thinks he now understands why Ouryuu chose me, it was to ensure that this moment would come."
The general looked back at Yona, he could feel something shift in the atmosphere and felt as though it was coming from her. He never much cared for the dragon gods or the dragon warriors. To him, they were echoes of a time long ago that had no place in this era. Looking between the content faces of the Ouryuu and Yona and the growing feeling in his chest, he couldn't help but think otherwise.
-x-
Yona slowly felt her mind drift blocking out everything around her. The only thing that she could feel was the medallion. The nerves that were within her seemed detached as they couldn't sense anything outside of the blackened world that she found herself softly drifting towards. She couldn't feel her hands holding the relic.
"My king."
Yona gasped at the ghostly voice. Biting her lip, she waited until it spoke to her again.
"We have been waiting for you."
Suddenly, she was in a new world. A world that she didn't recognize, but it felt familiar to her somehow. Groaning from the sudden change, she stood up and looked around.
She was standing on what appeared to be clouds. Looking in the distance, she could see the light of dawn poking through the white. The colors of dawn lit up the sky. The clouds changed colors as though they were glittering. All of the colors of the sky bounced in between the clouds as though millions of mirrors were reflecting life off of one another. The sight took her breath away.
"It's good to see you again, Hiryuu."
Yona turned around and saw echoes of the past smiling at her.
Standing there, were the three original dragon warriors. Looking above them, she could see shadows of the dragon gods hovering over their vessels. Her feet began moving without her knowing. She was running towards them. As she got closer, she could see something gold and red curled up behind them. She stopped and threw her arms around the man who spoke, the first Seiryuu.
She could feel tears begin to fall as he knelt down and returned her embrace. She could feel the other two warriors approach her and place their hands on either shoulder. Turning to each of them, she gave each a hug as they bent down to her level.
Taking a step back from them, she wiped her tears away and smiled at them. "It's good to see you too Abi, Guen, Shuten."
She felt Guen running his hand through her hair, "Tell the kid that we're fine. He needs to hurry up and get his ass up here."
She laughed, "I'll make sure to let him know that, but I can't let him join you yet."
Abi smiled and nodded knowingly, "We know, take good care of him for us Yona."
Shuten barked out a confident chuckle, "Yeah, I need to kick his ass for not visiting us."
She giggled and looked around, "What is this place?"
The dragons smiled at her as Guen stepped forward and pointed over his shoulder, "Why don't you see for yourself, my king." The three bowed and stepped aside. The dragons hovering over them followed their movements. She could see their eyes glowing as they watched her.
She walked towards the golden and crimson bundle. As she got closer, she could see scales shimmering along with the dawn that was hovering overhead. Watching it slowly move, she could see that it was breathing. Standing in front of it, she smiled at the sight.
Two sleeping dragons were curled around each other in an embrace. Their limbs were tangled together making it look like they were apart of each other. A mixture of gold and red seamlessly intertwined with one another. Their scales bouncing life off of one another making it look like a gold and red hue surrounded them. She bent down and placed a hand on the snout of the golden dragon.
She smiled as she felt warmth move up her arm and touch her heart, "Ouryuu."
The dragon's eyes fluttered open and moved his golden eyes to look at her. She could hear a purring noise coming from him.
She giggled and stroked his snout, "Why am I here?"
The dragon untangled itself from the sleeping red dragon and curled its body around her. The Ouryuu's golden snout rested over her shoulder as he stared at his red brother. He nuzzled her face causing her to giggle at the contact. She reached over her shoulder and placed a hand on him.
She smiled and looked down at the sleeping red dragon. She cocked her head to the side. There was something about this creature before her that caused her heart to flutter. Hesitantly, she reached a hand out and placed it on the dragon.
The moment they made contact, she gasped as a voice echoed through her soul.
"Yona." She could feel the dragon vibrate below her and the Ouryuu around her tightened its grip around her ever so slightly. She smiled, "Hello Hiryuu."
She could feel the Ouryuu's breath on her arm as he leaned in closer.
She began rubbing Hiryuu's dragon, her fingers lightly dancing across his scales. "Are you asleep?"
He chuckled, "Something like that."
His laughter warmed Yona's heart. She could feel something spark within her as his deep laugh touched her ear drums.
His laughter died down and his tone turned serious, "Yona, in front of you is the sleeping form of my dragon self. When I descended, I left this body for a human body…... After my human body passed away, I saw that I would one day be reincarnated. Instead of returning as a dragon, I decided that I would wait for the day when I would meet you."
Yona smiled, "You are very beautiful Hiryuu."
He chuckled louder than before shaking the very frame of her soul, "Thank you Yona."
She could feel Hiryuu's mood turn solemn. "I'm sorry for making you remember everything. I had intended on making you remember slowly overtime... but... I couldn't hold back the memories." He grew silent, "I know how much remembering hurt you."
Her face softened at Hiryuu, "It's okay, Zeno was there to help me through it. He misses you and his brothers."
He sighed, "I know." His body let out a massive sorrowful sigh. His warm breath tickled Yona's legs through her dress. "Out of everything that happened, leaving him was my number one regret. Through my slumber for the past two thousand years, his fate has haunted me."
"I know it has, I remember the day when you figured out his fate." She let her other hand slip from the golden dragon and cradled Hiryuu in her lap stroking his scales.
Hiryuu's dragon breathed lightly, "When Ouryuu gave him his blood, he didn't understand that humans were never meant to live that long." His voice darkened, "That's one of the reasons why I have called you here."
Yona could hear Ouryuu whimper. She turned her head and looked into his sorrowful eyes, "It's okay, you didn't know. You only wanted to protect your brother." The dragon nuzzled her face gently.
She looked back down at Hiryuu, "Can we save him?"
He sighed, "Yes, but that is where the other reason of why I called you here comes in."
She cocked her head slightly, "What do you mean?"
The sleeping dragon below her purred, "I wanted to offer you my dragon blood."
Her hands froze and her eyes widened, "W-why? I'm not a warrior. I'm just a spoiled sheltered princess."
He chuckled, "Zeno wasn't a warrior either," he pointed our to her. nor was Abi. Their beliefs and personalities are what drove my brothers to choose them in the first place. It has nothing to do with titles or fighting abilities. It has everything to do with what was in their hearts."
Understanding, she nodded, "But, why ME? What do I have that is so special?"
"Yona your heart is full of kindness and selflessness. You have faced many horrors and dangers ever since you saw your father killed. You warm the hearts of others and have lighten up so many darkened lives. You have accomplished so much and I know that with your determination, you are not done yet. I want to give you a power that reflects the determined passion for others."
"How?"
The dragon warriors were all given physical attributes of a dragon in order to protect me. My blood however, carries a different ability that I can pass to you."
Her brows furrowed, "What ability would that be?"
Her hands could feel the dragon begin to warm up. "What I can offer you through my blood is something that you will understand once you return to Zeno."
Her voice slightly raised in volume, "But, why can't you tell me?"
He sighed, "My ability is not a physical attribute, it's more of an internal power."
"Like Seiryuu?"
"Not quite," Hiryuu let out a shaky breath, "the power will give you the strength to lead the dragon warriors to their destiny. If you accept this gift, you will feel immense agonizing pain and your body will be scarred." Hiryuu's dragon's body began to slightly glow. "This is a gift that I give to you so the people of Kouka and the current dragon warriors can begin to heal. They have all been put through much grief and pain and I cannot stand to see that, and I know that you can't either. We bother want to offer a helping hand. What I am offering you, is a not only my blood Yona, but a drop of blood from the other dragons as well. You will be very powerful, but I trust you to only use in the aid of others. To light up their worlds and warm them from the cold and dark."
She began to breathe heavily, "If I do this, will I have the power to protect them?"
"That is something that only you can answer Yona."
She nodded and looked over at the original dragon warriors. They smiled and approached them. Kneeling down, they each placed a hand on the sleeping Hiryuu. The dragons above them descended and coiled around their arms so they could touch Hiryuu. His body began to glow brighter. "This is a gift that I will only give to you. This gift cannot be passed on. If you accept it, there will be no turning back. Understand, that this ability is dangerous for you to use. If you use it too much, your body will begin to weaken along with the other dragons."
She looked at the warriors who were smiling reassuringly at her.
She smiled back at them, "If I can protect my warriors, I will accept your gift."
The dragon purred. "Very well then."
Ouryuu uncoiled himself from around Yona and placed his nose onto Hiryuu's. She began to feel her body back in the shrine and she was slowly fading away from this world.
She could hear Hiryuu's voice echo through her mind, "Tell Zeno I said hi."
She cried out to him, "Wait! You still haven't told me how I can hold him!"
-x-
She opened her eyes and saw a small red pool begin to form within the creases of the medallion that she was tenderly cradling in her hands. A tear slowly fell and landed on her arm, images of her friends and the pain that she had witnessed flashed through her mind. "Thank you Hiryuu, I will treasure this gift."
Slowly she brought the medallion up to her lips and allowed the warm liquid to run down her throat. Lowering the medallion, she gasped and held onto her stomach doubling over on the ground in pain.
"Miss!" Zeno ran forward and held her, "What's wrong?"
She smiled and turned her head towards Zeno, "Hiryuu says hi." He froze and the fire in her body started to heat up causing her to shutter in pain. A surge of searing heat on her skin caused her to begin screaming in agony. She dropped the medallion onto the floor as it slightly glowed.
The general began to panic, "What the hell is wrong with her!?" he placed a hand on his sword as he felt something powerful within the room begin to awaken. The doors flew open and the dragon warriors stopped at the sight of her.
They had all ran towards the shrine the second they felt her wake up. The guards, unaware of why they were trying to go down there, tried to block their path. Kija, decided that since they didn't want to kill or hurt anybody, he allowed his claw to enlarge as he 'lightly' swiped the guards out of the way. They didn't look back as their bodies hit the floor in annoyed grunts.
She was crying and it was obvious that she was in agonizing pain. Her sobs tore at their very beings. Her pain was reaching out to them and instinctively tried to reach back out to help her. Kija ran forward and knelt down next to her, scanning for any injuries. "What happened?"
Zeno looked up at him panicked, "I-I don't know."
Kija stared daggers over at the trembling general in the corner. No doubt, he felt the awakening and was terrified of the feeling. The room held a new presence, and the dragons knew that a fifth warrior had been added to their family.
Yona pulled herself together long enough in between sobs and screams, "Get me... out of here!"
Without another word, Kija lifted Yona and cradled her back with his claw. She curled into him and held onto his robes for dear life as the pain increased along with her tears. Shin-ha and Jae-ha stood on either side of him. Jae-ha looked over at the general, "Thank you for your hospitality, but we need to get her somewhere safe." The general held up a hand as soldiers from the throne room began to run into the room, readying themselves to subdue the warriors.
Nodding to him, the three dragons made their way up the stairs into the throne room with a sobbing Yona in Kija's arms.
Zeno looked over at the medallion and picked it up. He could hear the voice of Hiryuu echo through his heart, "Take care of her Zeno."
He rubbed his thumb over the dragon on the medallion and smiled, "I will."
Zeno ran up the stairs with a confused sky general in tow. A breeze from the shrine hit the back of the general's neck. He shivered and closed the doors behind him. The breeze was like a sigh and anything that he felt was in that room was gone. 'Something happened in there, and I don't think that I like it.' They followed the sound of pain echoing throughout the palace.