The flickering of a carriage and the wooden wheels stomping against the boulders of the rough terrain. Indistinct voices babbling something near him. The sound of horses' hooves.

This was what Yoichi sensed in his subconscious. His mind was still unable to regain consciousness, and his thoughts could not break away from Therion's vision.

​​

Unlike the Tear Vision, there was no Kenji in the desert this time. The dragon that had enveloped his body in flames was bigger and more powerful. Its wings were black as night, and its eyes were purple.

Why had Therion and Kenji both been in that desert during his visions? What was the connection between the two of them? If Kenji had indeed inherited the powers of the supreme dragon demon King, how had Lumya's most powerful demon ended up in the hands of a simple farmer?

A drop of sweat dug into the thin layer of dust on Yoichi's cheekbones, traveling down half of his face and entering his ear. As soon as he felt the wet sensation brush the sides of his face, Yoichi opened his eyes.

A squeezing feeling 0n his temples was causing a weak but constant headache, so annoying and invasive that it slightly clouded his vision. Before his eyes, fluffy white clouds were scattered here and there in the blue morning sky.

A pleasant fresh breeze caressed his face and his bare arms. Before he even turned his gaze, the young tamer tried moving the fingers of his hands, realizing that he had reduced tactile sensitivity.

As the tendons connected to the fingers entered a state of traction, an intense burning enveloped both him arms, causing Yoichi to grimace of pain on his face.

Gradually, his mind associated the last memories with that pain: thanks to Kenji's draconic power, Yoichi had managed to prevail over an incredibly strong enemy, but to do so, he had overtaxed his body, temporarily losing the use of his arms. After the soreness of his upper limbs, his mind had also deserted him, darkening his gaze and leaving him unconscious on the cold cave floor.

As soon as he realized he was still alive and no longer inside the Blackvault Mines, Yoichi's eyes widened, and he tried in vain to raise his torso and sit up. When the young tamer's abdominal muscles contracted, the lactic acid of his untrained physique prevented him from even the most basic movement, forcing him to remain lying down.

"Where... where am I? Kenji? Kenji?!" Yoichi stammered, turning his head to the right and finally starting to breathe clean air again. In front of him, beyond the edges of the straw mat that housed his tired body, Shioko's red hair hung down her back.

The red-haired tamer was sitting next to Yoichi, watching over him. The few details of the visible environment around her outline confused his sense of direction so much that he couldn't tell where he was.

"Hey! Yoichi! Yoichi, you're awake!" the archer rejoiced, turning to him, moving her hands to the green grass beside the mat, and letting hrt already crossed legs follow that movement.

A familiar smell came overpoweringly into his nostrils. It was a sweet but pungent fragrance, generated by a thin grayish smoke that swayed proudly between the grass and the air.

When his sense of smell was able to recognize in that smell the same as the incense in the private room of Ryutaro, his elderly master, Yoichi began to speak again. "Ryu... Ryutaro-sensei?" he called, hoping in his heart that he would receive a speedy response.

The confusion clouding his thoughts suddenly vanished, and all of Yoichi's senses returned to work as they should.

"Don't move that much, boy. Your arms aren't fully healed yet" - the wise voice of the supreme Ryutaro, the gatekeeper of Goldhaven Arena, echoed in Yoichi's ears like the song of a nightingale. Suddenly, a feeling of warmth and security enveloped him, making him feel protected.

Shioko moved sideways, crawling on the soft, damp grass. With that movement, she revealed the other two people behind her: the elder Ryutaro's tall headdress contrasted with the blue sky, and his long, wrinkled fingers were touching the body of his friend Enatsu, lying on a mat identical to his own.

Enatsu was lying down and unconscious. The upper part of his body had been denuded and in the center of his abdomen, the same wound that Rokuro had suffered from the attack of the evil Ogai.

With extreme thoroughness and with the professionalism worthy of the right-hand of the Emperor of Tentochu, Ryutaro was unrolling long leaves soaked in some strange ointment over the young merchant's wound.

Yoichi's friend's face and body had been cleaned up, and his most superficial wounds had been carefully treated. Next to him, the brave Moruba slept heavily. Around its furry body, sterile gauze pads soaked in that same ointment.

At the sight of one of his two masters and his best friend recovering, Yoichi could not hold back tears of happiness. The corners of his dehydrated lips curved into a pristine smile as the tears that flowed under his eyelids gave a new light of hope to his eyes.

Shioko was silent, respecting Ryutaro's concentration and giving Yoichi the time he needed to recover. She, too, seemed particularly happy that her colleague was safe and sound.

Before Yoichi could continue speaking, something gently touched the back of his head. Immediately following that tactile sensation, a faint breath tickled the tips of his ears.

The young tamer turned his head back. The little Kenji's red eyes smiled at him, sharing the joy of that moment and the happiness of being able to breathe again together.

Trying to stay strong, the blond-haired warrior lifted one arm and slowly moved it towards his Oracle. His hand touched the center of Kenji's forehead, nestling perfectly between its small black horns.

"Hey, buddy... looks like we made it somehow," Yoichi smiled. Kenji squinted its eyes, enjoying every second of that moment and purring to its tamer.