The giants look at each other and want to say something to Ben. But before they get the chance, more giants emerge from the village.
"A dragon? Why are you asking?" A giant that looked to be the oldest because of his white hair and beard asked.
"I am a Dragon Slayer, so I can smell it. Don't misunderstand though, I have no intention of slaying the dragon. I just want to meet it and ask it some questions." Ben hastily said to avoid a misunderstanding.
"What Dragon Slayer Magic do you use?" The elder giant asked.
"Sun Dragon Slayer Magic. I am Ben, son of the Sun Dragon Escanor. I swear upon mine and my father's name that I mean you no harm. As long as we're not attacked, I won't attack anyone." Ben said while putting his right hand on the left side of his chest.
"...Follow me." The elder giant instructed as he turned around and walked away.
Ben and Mira follow him and the other giants except the guards walk behind them. They enter the village and see that everything there is gigantic. Ben and Mira were astonished with the sight of this giant village.
"It is truly a strange coincidence." The elder giant said.
"Pardon?" Ben asked with uncertainty.
"Our village's name is Sun Village and one of our guests is a Sun Dragon Slayer." The elder giant added.
"Sun Village, huh? Can I ask you a question? I am a mage with a rather significant position on this continent, so I have access to a lot of information. But I've never read about or heard anything about this village. This is a village of giants, so it should be quite famous if people know about it. Why is it's existence unknown?" Ben asked.
"It's because we hid it on purpose. That's why we built this village among these mountains in the middle of a desert. We want to stay neutral among all races so we hide ourselves. There hasn't been a kingdom that discovered this place, that's why you didn't find anything." The elder giant informed him.
"But the guards mentioned a child who left the village before. And it also seems that this child is a human." Ben noted.
"We'll talk about that later. We'll arrive soon." The elder giant said.
Ben was too focused on the village that he failed to notice that the dragon's presence is getting closer. They walk through some tall, spiky rocks and the heat increased. Bright light can be seen from afar and they soon arrive at their destination.
In front of them is a massive fiery flame that is guarded by some giants. Ben can now feel the dragon's presence clearly, but there's no dragon at all. The source of it's presence is the flame in front of him and he knew this feeling very well.
"So it's not a living dragon, but a dragon's soul." Ben remarked.
"Correct. As expected from Lord Escanor's son, you realized it immediately." A voice came out of the flame as a facial feature appeared on the flame.
Mira was surprised but Ben didn't show much of a reaction. He experienced this sort of thing already with Smog's soul, so it wasn't a surprise.
"It has been 400 years, son of Escanor." The flame dragon said.
"400 years? What do you mean? I haven't been alive for 400 years, you know. Also, I'm sure that this is the first time we've met." Ben said, confused.
"It might be the first for you, but not me. It might be confusing for now, but you'll know the reason why in the future. It's better if you don't know much because it will just confuse you." The flame dragon said.
"...Yeah right. I've never been this confused, so let's end it at that. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself properly even though you seem to know me. My name is Ben Cooper, son of the Sun Dragon Escanor." Ben said.
"And I am his wife, Mirajane Cooper. Nice to meet you, sir dragon." Mira said while bowing.
"I am the Fire Dragon, Atlas Flame. The people in this village call me the Eternal Flame, the guardian of this village." Atlas Flame introduced himself to the two.
"Fire Dragon? So you are the same kind of dragon as Igneel." Ben said.
"Yes, I am a close friend of the Fire Dragon King, Igneel. Though I am weaker than him, he is weaker than the ancient dragon god Escanor." Atlas Flame explained.
Ben hesitated a bit before asking, "Atlas Flame, can you tell me more about Escanor? To tell you the truth, I don't know a lot about him. He just picked me and gave me his magic before he entered eternal slumber."
"Yes of course, little one." Atlas Flame said.
Atlas Flame then told Ben what he knew about Escanor. He himself didn't know much about the Sun Dragon Escanor who is considered to be a legend among dragons. Escanor isn't someone that Atlas can meet like he wanted, so Atlas Flame can only tell Ben what he knows.
Based on Atlas Flame's story, Escanor was respected by every dragon. He was the strongest dragon even among 5 ancient dragon gods. His strength was even feared by the real gods and there was a story about him fighting a god, the truth can't be confirmed though.
"He has the presence of a true king, respected by all races, that is the dragon god Escanor. His steps carry dignity, his words carry the truth, and his anger carries disaster. One shot of his breath could melt a mountain and he has the power to split a continent in half. Those stories were passed down between dragons." Atlas Flame said.
Escanor is one of the few dragons who remained neutral in every war in the past. He just watched over them and made a move to stop them when things went too far. The Sun Dragon Escanor was also known as the world's guardian because he prevented it from being destroyed by it's inhabitants through war.
He is a peace loving entity, but that doesn't mean he is a pushover or meek individual. He is actually a battle-hungry individual that enjoys battles. Though he doesn't like fighting without reason or conquering and controlling anything with his power.
One of his most famous battles was with the Sun Demon, Midas. The story was similar to what he read on Midas' coffin that he found a few years ago. The record on the coffin was even more detailed than Atlas Flame's story.
"Lord Escanor disappeared one day without anyone noticing it. That's why I was very surprised that he taught a human child magic in his final days. He was a neutral individual, so it was surprising to find out he taught you, a human, his magic." Atlas Flame said.
"Is that all you know?" Ben asked.
"Unfortunately yes. I'm sorry that can't satisfy your curiosity." Atlas Flame apologized.
"No, it's fine. I'm not expecting to find out much about his legend. But I'm hoping to know about something else. He has tremendous power so I also have the chance to reach that too. Thanks for the information. This is the most I've found out about him." Ben said.
"You're welcome. Ah, I also have a message for you." Atlas Flame said.
"Message? How could someone leave a message for me to you as if they know that we'll meet." Ben said suspiciously.
"Well of course they knew. It's because the one who gave me the message is you from the future." Atlas Flame told him.
Ben was more confused than suspicious. He could tell Atlas Flame wasn't lying but it doesn't make any sense to him. A.I Chip then informed him it might be possible with Time Magic.
Ben's eyes widened and he smiled widely, "Hey Atlas Flame, that means the past you met the future me, right? So that means I can use Time Magic in the future. I must be skilled enough to have the power to go 400 years in the past."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not you that returned to the past, but me who went to the future. It's-" Atlas Flame was cut off.
"Wait. Someone's here. Someone that has a lot of hostility. I can feel their blood lust." Ben said as he looked back while getting his guard up.