Now that was confusing. He seriously decided to unleash an apocalypse just to become a dragon? And they say I come up with complicated plans.
– I longed to gain the ancient power of the dragon! – the director continued his rant. – I sent the previous enchanter on maternity leave! I invited you to take her place! I shrouded the castle in the Veil of Despair! I framed the steward! I took your body! And I will destroy you all! Every one of you!
Kazimir laughed again, his laughter filled with madness. And power. We all knew that we couldn’t stand against a dragon. Or rather, I could have… if I were in my own body.
The director swung his clawed paw, sending another deadly weaving at Altair. The enchanter awkwardly jerked his green mohawk and ungracefully fell to the floor. I was ready to be thrown back in time again, but… nothing happened. Why? Ah, I get too distracted during battles. Another of Kazimir’s spells hit me in the chest. Well, at least it was painless this time.
Outside the windows, darkness reigned. Once again, we stood near Zheka, sitting in the center of the runic circle.
– Again? – Asya, stuck in the director’s body, was surprised.
– Yes, again, – I grimly confirmed, walked to the enchanter’s table and climbed on it with my feet. The rest of the company rushed to the oak tree, hoping to find shelter behind its mighty trunk again. So, the loop only triggers if all four of us die? Well, I’ve seen worse.
– What have you done, you idiots?! – Kazimir roared, bursting into the auditorium and transforming into a huge lizard on the move. – Decided to stop me?! The great Vseslavsky himself?!
– Yeah, – I calmly replied. – You wanted to seize the dragon’s body, gain power, and you slept with the enchanter. We all know that. Want some tea?
The director froze in place and looked at me bewildered.
– How do you know?! – he exclaimed, ignoring my question about tea. Too bad, we could have resolved everything peacefully over tea.
– I have my sources, – I waved my hand significantly. – Better tell me, why did you decide to conduct the ritual of forced evolution? Why change the structure of ley lines if you just want to steal a dragon’s body? Why all the complexity?
– I didn’t change anything! – Kazimir roared. – And I’m not planning any ritual! And besides, you’ve annoyed me, stupid girl!
Before I lost my life again, one single thought flashed through my mind – how is it that he’s not conducting the ritual?
Outside the windows, darkness still reigned. Once again, we stood near Zheka, seated in the center of the runic circle.
– I’m tired of this! – Asya shouted, and it seemed she started crying. I understood her, but I had no time for tears.
– If he’s not the one conducting the ritual, then who is? – I quickly asked the enchanter.
– I have no idea, – he shrugged, clearly upset. Yes, it’s not every day that old friends betray you by inhabiting your own body.
– What have you done, you idiots?! – Kazimir bellowed, bursting into the auditorium and again transforming into a huge lizard. – Decided to stop me?! The great Vseslavsky himself?!
– Shush! – I snapped. – Stop yelling. Better tell me, what role do I play in your plan?
Perhaps Kazimir didn’t even know that I was the Guardian. What if my admission to the academy was really just an accident? I don’t believe it! He could sense the true nature of a dragon, but not my power?
– And what do dragons usually do with beautiful girls? – The director laughed and grabbed me with his huge scaly paw. – They kidnap them! So, I will kidnap you. And marry you!
Wait a minute. Marry me? No, I disagree. And besides, I wanted to marry this body first! When it still belonged to Asya! And how, pray tell, am I supposed to fulfill my marital duties? I, for one, love girls, not huge reptiles.
However, my moral turmoil didn’t concern the director. Gripping my-Asya’s body tightly in his paws, he swiftly, as far as it was possible with his size, slipped out of the auditorium. Well, at least he clearly doesn’t know that I’m the Guardian.
I leaned against the cold, damp wall of my cell. So, it’s time to think. What do we have? I’m an adult man in the body of a young girl, locked in a dungeon guarded by a real dragon who wants to marry me. And the dungeon itself is in a castle hidden somewhere outside our reality and trapped in a time loop. Plus, I still don’t know who initiated this whole mess with shifting ley lines. Did I forget anything? Doesn’t seem like it. Well, I’ve seen worse.
Chapter 4: In the Power of Chaos
A spider was crawling up the wall. I wonder where it’s going? Isn’t it cold in this damp dungeon? Why hasn’t it escaped from here? I would have escaped… If I still had the strength. But the door is locked, there’s a dragon outside, and there are no secret passages in the cell. I’ve checked several times, all to no avail.
The most I could do now was maintain a small fire in the center of my tiny cell to avoid freezing to death. At the same time, I was developing the girl’s inner energy channels to make her a little stronger. All my hope was now on my friends. Or more precisely, on Altair. Zheka and Asya are good kids, but they lack experience.
Suddenly, the spider disappeared from sight, and the fire noticeably dimmed. The underground prison slowly filled with billowing darkness, and soon I couldn’t even make out my own hands. I’ve seen something like this before…
– It worked! – a voice exclaimed as the darkness began to recede.
– There she is! The beauty! – the enchanter practically shouted in my ear. – And you didn’t believe it!
The darkness finally dispersed, and I could finally see my surroundings. I was sitting in the middle of Altair’s office, with Zheka standing next to me, looking at me admiringly. I got it. The enchanter figured out how to use our experimental – from the real to the real – spell. Last time we used it to bring a huge oak tree into the academy, and now they pulled me out of the dungeon. Brilliant! Zheka, in my body, had tried to merge with my spirit, trapped in Asya’s body. Well done! But they could have figured it out sooner.
– Thank you, – I sincerely thanked my rescuers. – How are things going here?
– It’s complicated, – the enchanter didn’t hide it. – The castle is still in a time loop. We still haven’t found the organizer of the forced evolution ritual. And we still don’t know how to switch bodies back. We only figured out how to get you out.
– Well done. Confinement always does me good. I have a new plan, – I said cunningly and clapped my hands.
Yes, this gesture would have looked cooler in my own body, but I didn’t have a choice.
***
You devise a plan, set everything up, and then you end up being the bait. Why do they treat me like this? Monsters. Just got out of the dungeon, didn’t even have time to warm up, and now I have to go back already. The gloomy stone corridor stretched far down into the darkness. As I recalled, there should be a large hall at the end. Oh, it’s so far from the sorcerer’s office! Why didn’t I think of setting up an ambush somewhere closer? I just hope Asya’s physical form is up to the task, otherwise… I don’t even want to think about what might happen.
Here, I need to turn and… yes, there it is. A huge black dragon lay in the middle of the large hall, peacefully reading a book by the light of the sparse torches. Quite a sight, I must admit. But there was no time to admire, it was time to act. And boy, was I scared!
– Hey, you! Overgrown lizard! I’m talking to you! You’re a fake, not a dragon! Can’t even keep hold of a girl!
Seems like he finally noticed me. And got very angry! Very angry indeed! Okay, now to run! Run and don’t look back, shedding adrenaline by the handful!
I tried to encourage myself as best I could. But in a situation where a gigantic fire-breathing lizard is chasing you, it’s hard to focus on anything. I think I just ran past the right turn… No, here it is!
Bursting into the sorcerer’s office, I stopped opposite the colorful tapestry, honestly stolen from the director’s bedroom. To hang this artwork, Altair even had to get rid of several bookshelves. Why did we need the tapestry? Its purpose was quite obvious – it covered a huge hole in the wall.
As soon as I stopped, my friends took positions around me. Unfortunately, the dragon was not far behind, and I didn’t even have time to catch my breath.
– Tsk-tsk-tsk, – hissed Zheka. – Come here, my little bird!
Yes, this guy could get on anyone’s nerves. Roaring, the dragon lunged at us, forgetting all about magic. Well, his loss.
The portal to the spirit world, hidden under the tapestry, received us very gently, as if we had landed in the arms of a loving aunt. This kind of transition worked with completely different substances of our universe, so the veil of despair was no barrier to it. This step was a Last Chance, we took it out of desperation. The chances of returning from the spirit world were very slim. Especially for a dragon.
However, there were certain pluses to such a transition.
– Hooray! – someone shouted to my right as the portal fog cleared. – I’m back in my own body!
And there’s the first plus. Crossing the threshold of reality removed all spells cast on a person. And I must admit, being back in my own body felt great. I could feel the strength again, sense the energy flows, catch the whispers of magic. And judging by the happy exclamations around, my friends were also happy with the astral return.
