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Alora’s eyes squeezed shut as she yawned, her tongue poking into the air. She exhaled and closed her mouth, smacking her lips a few times. She blinked and looked around before tilting her head. Where was she? Her surroundings were an open plain with nothing in sight, not even a single tree. The sky was blue and the day was bright, but there was no sun in view either. She spun around in a circle and frowned before sitting down on her butt. “Hello?” she asked. “Anyone out there?”

There was no response except for an eerie silence. The grass underneath her crinkled as she fidgeted. She wet her lips with her tongue and looked around again. Her wings spread open, and she leapt into the air, soaring up towards the cloudless sky. The sea of green below her was vast, unending. She flew forward hundreds of meters, but the scenery didn’t change a single bit. Just when she was about to have a panic attack, a lone figure walking on the ground caught her eye, and she dove towards him like a meteor.

Alora crashed into the ground, depressing the grass and soil in front of the bald man, knocking him off his feet. “Hey!” She tilted her head. “Aren’t you the bath warmer? What’s going on? This is really weird.”

Zyocuh swallowed, his face pale. “There seems to have been a small mistake,” he said. “We’re currently inside your soul.”

Alora blinked. Her neutral expression contorted, and she glared at Zyocuh while baring her teeth. “That’s a lie,” she said. “I must be dreaming. I fell asleep in that bath because it was so comfortable and I was so stressed from losing to Vur all the time. That must be it.”

“What? No,” Zyocuh said. “We’re really inside your soul. Why do you think we aren’t?”

“Hello?” Alora leaned back and fixed her expression. “Look at this place? It’s so drab and dreary and boring and totally not the soul of someone as interesting, awesome, and amazing as me. If this place really were my soul, then I’d be like, uh, a plant or something. But I’m a dragon, so there’s no way this is my soul.”

Zyocuh frowned. “Shall I explain to you what really happened?”

“I’m not going to believe the words of a dream person,” Alora said. “That’s just stupid. Grandma had a dream that Grandpa was cheating on her, that’s why she flew all the way out here to live with us until he decided to apologize. But then he fell asleep for a long while. Hmm. Anyways. The moral of that story is to not believe in dream people. Right.”

“This isn’t a dream.”

“That’s exactly what a dream person would say!” Alora lifted her tail and slammed it down on top of Zyocuh. To her surprise, instead of flattening him, he only let out a grunt as he caught her tail with his hands, holding it above his head. His knees buckled, and veins bulged on his neck, but other than that, he was fine. Alora withdrew her tail and pointed at him with an accusing expression. “See! If you weren’t a dream person, you wouldn’t have been able to stop that!”

“We’re inside your soul!” Zyocuh shouted back. “And to get out, the both of us need to cooperate!”

Alora narrowed her eyes. “Alright,” she said and sat back. “Let’s say that we’re actually inside of my soul. The question is why the heck are you here? Is this the same kind of magic you used to attack Vur? So, you actually tried to pull a fast one on me. I see.”

Beads of sweat formed on Zyocuh’s brow as Alora’s aura pressed down on him. “No,” he said and took a step back. “That’s not it. While I was strengthening you, a phoenix attacked me and set me on fire. And as you may or may not know, phoenix flames can burn away your soul and prevent resurrection. The only way to save myself was to jump into the pit, turn myself into blood, and merge my soul with yours through the strengthening spell.”

“A phoenix?” Alora asked. “I don’t believe you. What are the odds of a phoenix showing up where a dragon is? Two extremely rare creatures ending up in the same place? Nah. You’re lying.” She nodded. “Either I’m right and this is a dream, or you’re trying to take over my soul. And that can only mean one thing.” She smiled at Zyocuh, showing her teeth.

Zyocuh swallowed. “What?”

Alora’s smile widened. “I’m going to eat you.”

“W-wait,” Zyocuh said and took another step back as Alora crept forward. “Let’s talk this through.”

“Do you talk with bread?” Alora asked and tilted her head. She moved to the right, keeping her head pointed at Zyocuh as she walked in a circle. “Why would I talk this through with you?”

“For one, bread doesn’t speak,” Zyocuh said. “It’s not alive in the first place.”

Alora blinked but continued to circle the bald man. “But you said you turned yourself into blood. Doesn’t that mean you’re dead but still persisting as a soul? I wonder if souls taste differently than actual living things. Probably not, right? Even the grass feels like grass, so you should taste like you.”

“You’re not actually going to eat me, are you?” Zyocuh took a step back, but Alora took a longer stride to maintain their distance. He swallowed as he rotated with her steps, keeping his gaze locked onto hers. “Grimmoldesser always said he didn’t eat humans because they didn’t taste good. You wouldn’t want to eat me.”

Alora shrugged. “Some people like vegetables, some people don’t. Just because one dragon thinks humans taste bad doesn’t mean all dragons do.” She licked her lips. “And Vur said we shouldn’t terrorize our food before eating it because it’d make them taste bitter. But I, a dragon with a refined palate, happen to love that bitter taste. Now, I’ve never eaten a human before, but I’m sure my tastes are the exact opposite of my evil uncle’s, so I’m sure I’ll love eating you.”

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