The Black Dragon

"It doesn't make sense..."

Leia examined the two that sat before her, her eyes resting upon the black dragon that sat in her sister's lap. She didn't know what to think, even though a week had passed after the incident in the Archive. Laya's actions from within the pit brought about many questions within the alchemist, but the biggest questions she had involved that dragon. It was no larger than a small dog, but its origins were a complete mystery, even for her. Not even the records from the Bavarian Illuminati said anything about a being like this, no matter how many classified files she went through.

From what Laya had told her, the dragon's name was Nidhogg, but the weirder part was that she mentioned something about a Custodian creating it. Leia had heard of these "Custodians", the files that she went through that were left behind explaining some sort of higher being that was very dangerous. However, when she went to investigate any more of the files, there were several lines of text that were omitted, only explaining some "divine power" that would reshape the world.

It was already weird enough as is, but to have those same beings referenced in whatever this dragon's history was... she couldn't make heads or tails of it, especially with no information about what either of them were. Maybe the previous Controlling Director omitted these lines of text for a reason, but she wouldn't know why.

"Okay, I'll explain it again. So, Nii-chan here-"

"I will NOT be calling it that."

Leia immediately cut her sister off, not wanting to go along with any shenanigans that her older sister may be trying to push her into. While she wanted to get to the bottom of this, Laya was one who was going with the flow of the situation. Perhaps it was due to her activating the Relic, but she was quite calm about all the information she received about what these "Gods" were or how Nidhogg came to be. In contrast to Leia's furrowed brow, Laya wore a more relaxed expression, leaning back into the office chair seated across from the alchemist.

She stroked the top of the dragon's head, though it remained indifferent to the attention it was receiving. Leia, on the other hand, was starting to get a bit agitated with the way she was treating this... creature, one that they had just found days ago, like a regular household pet. It wasn't unlike her, but for a being that exuded such an aura that brought fear into Leia in just a form of light to be reduced to... this?

It made her livid, though she wouldn't let it show. It also didn't help that Laya had decided to hold onto both fangs that they found, since she was the only one who was able to cause a reaction from them. As much as Leia would have liked to research them, she couldn't cause a series of events similar to the ones before like Laya.

"Well, IT was locked away by the Custodians. When the Yggdrasil System fell, it was able to call out to us."

Leia crossed her arms at this revelation, leaning onto the table behind her and causing the half-filled water bottle behind her to fall over. Laya's words, while making sense to someone what knew the situation, were completely going over her sister's head. If she knew who the Custodians were, what their motives were, she wouldn't have an issue with this explanation. In addition, this "Yggdrasil System" was another thing that they had no information on. Unlike the Custodians, something that they had a very bare minimum understanding of a concept for, the Yggdrasil System was nowhere in any files she had access to.

She would have liked the name in their information, at the very least, but this was also another complete mystery, so she tried to recall exactly what this led to from Laya's explanation. "And this "Yggdrasil"... that was the pillar that made the hole from before," she asked, her gaze remaining on Nidhogg. Even though she didn't have the ability to hear what Nidhogg said, it was shaking its head and nodding when it could provide answers to general "yes or no" questions. The dragon and Laya nodded in unison, which only made Leia become a bit more disgruntled. She wanted an answer, whether the outcome of these events was within her control or not.

"So... if it was calling out to us, why couldn't I hear it?"

Laya shrugged, looking down at Nidhogg before scratching behind its right horn with her nails. Unlike before, Nidhogg closed its eyes, providing some sort of reaction that was akin to a dog. Its tail swished back and forth, which brought an even larger smile to Laya's face. She adored the small dragon, always pampering it after the incident where they found it.

Even though it had appeared from the fangs, manifesting from a cloud of what could only be described as "shadows", Laya never bothered to find out if it could get back into the fang or not. She didn't mind, since she always found a way to use Nidhogg to annoy Leia, whether it be letting it run around the house unsupervised or just showing her some "cool trick" that she was able to teach it. Regardless of this childlike wonder, this didn't stop her from answering Leia's question to her.

"Dunno. That's a complete mystery to me..."

With the way the two were, it was very possible that Leia would have been able to cause a reaction to the fangs as well, but there was something missing. Otherwise, Leia wouldn't even be having this discussion with her in the first place. Judging from the situation, there was an implication that this followed the same rules as a Relic would. However, if this was a Relic like the situation was implying, then that would mean that her sister was more of a Candidate than she was. What was it that Laya had that she was lacking?

"And these... Custodians..."

Leia moved her gaze up to Laya, her eyes narrowing as she made note of her sister's elation. Was it that? No, that couldn't be it. The two were on opposite sides of the spectrum in every way, so it wasn't out of the question that there was a possibility that it was personality-based. However, she knew that this wasn't the case either, even if Relics "chose" who got to use them through that holy chant.

Upon mention of the Custodians, Laya met her sister's eyes, bringing her free hand over her head in an exaggerated fashion and making an arc in the same shape of a rainbow. "They made EVERYTHING." Another reply that had any ounce of seriousness completely drained from it. A conversation like this was certainly a trial for Leia, especially when it came to the girl that couldn't have a serious conversation to save her life.

"Uh-huh... Sorry, I'm having a hard time understanding exactly why..."

Leia held up three fingers, as if to illustrate a point about the absurdity of the situation.

"...these God-like figures brought about a "system" that served no purpose, why they locked away a creature of what seems to have a sentient life and a consciousness, and on top of all of that, you're the only person that is able to speak to it and understand it perfectly."

She put down each finger with each point she brought up, her hands coming back down to the pockets of her lab coat after her hand finally balled into a fist. All the criticisms she had were valid, her end goal being to figure out the purpose of these higher beings. If they did all of this, surely it was for a reason, right?

Even if Laya explained all three of these things, it made no sense why this dragon was so attached to her. Laya hadn't done anything for it to act this way. At least, nothing that Leia wouldn't have already tried, all aside from pampering it like a baby. She believed that she was above that, there was no way she would stoop down to that level. Plus, there was always the issue of drawing it out, since this dragon only appeared from one of the fangs, with the other fang remaining dormant on top of Laya's dresser.

The room became silent for a few seconds, but within those seconds, Laya looked down at Nidhogg, then nodded. She wanted to help her sister understand, but with a situation like this, there was only one thing on her mind. As such, Laya would provide a response, one that she didn't know if Leia would like or not.

"It said that you're not attuned."

Leia let out a swear under her breath. That was always the problem, wasn't it?

Even though she received Galatine, she struggled the entire time attempting to activate it, though she didn't know why it never worked. From what she had read, the Relics were activated via a specific frequency, something they referred to as a "song". Because of this, she could determine that the previous Relics like the Shénshòujìng and a spear named Gungnir were able to be used by the previous F.I.S. organization they were funding. However, even those that used these Relics didn't have the compatibility to sing completely, so what made her so different?

"So, just because I can't sing, I can't hear it?"

Laya nodded, her face now displaying a somber expression as she examined Leia's face. She could tell that this conversation was only making her more upset, which was something she was trying to avoid. As prideful of a person Leia was, there were things in this world she would never understand. Her fist tightened, her anger getting the better of her as she let out.

"That's so bull-"

Before she could finish, a sigh could be heard within the room. While Leia didn't know what could have caused it, she could only come up with one explanation, so she turned to the dragon in her sister's lap. Its head was turned upwards, seemingly trying to stretch its neck muscles as it stared up at Laya. That sigh wasn't in the voice of her sister, it was much harsher, like the culprit was tired and exhausted. She knew it was that Relic, the one that her sister grew so fond of. Even she could tell that it was tired of having to explain the same thing over and over again to someone who just couldn't understand it. Once again, Laya silently nodded to it, then made a final comment to her older sister, one final attempt to assure her and try to take her anger levels down a notch, though she didn't know if it would work or not.

"It said that it's going to be hard to understand, but it's sure you'll get it eventually."

Leia smacked her lips at this revelation, her anger subsiding as she realized that this wasn't getting anywhere. In defeat, she could only utter one word.

"Whatever."

This chapter is a lot shorter than the prologue (thankfully), even if it was mostly exposition. The early chapters are going to be a bit slower, but you'll see them ramp up when we get through this. I do only plan on posting the twins' prologue arc for now, but depending on how I feel later about it, I might put up their other adventures!