The flock that descended on the village wasn’t particularly large. All in all, there were less than three dozen cracklings, flapping their wings eagerly as they approached. The number wasn’t what bothered Dallion, however; it was the size, or rather the shape. The creatures weren’t birds or large bats… they were miniature dragons, or at the very least something that would pass for such.

The moment he saw them, Dallion cursed himself for not realizing earlier. But how could he? Other than a few mentions here and there, he hadn’t seen a dragon in the world so far. The Green Moon had asked him to find one, but when Dallion had looked into the subject, he’d found that the creatures were unbelievably rare. Even scrolls barely mentioned them. And yet, here he was, looking at an entire flock.

You told me that dragons were rare, Dallion said.

They are, Nil insisted. Outside of the realms, there have been less than a dozen encountered in history. Actual combat is known to have occurred only in two of those cases, including the epic battle between Emperor Tamin the Third. What you’re seeing aren’t dragons.

They could have fooled me!

Not only did the creatures look like dragons, but they behaved similarly as well, heading directly towards those spots of the village that contained food, or rather livestock. That was the reason the barns suffered. The creatures didn’t want to destroy the village—they wanted to eat. That made even less sense, considering their nature. However, that was a problem for another time. Right now, Dallion’s only task was to help out and make sure that the village made it in one piece.

Gleam, can you get here? Dallion asked.

Now you need me? the shardfly grumbled from his realm. You should have thought of that before you closed the door.

Can you? he almost shouted.

I can break through, but you’ll have to foot the bill.

Do it, Dallion ordered.

Meanwhile, the village defenses had already sprung into action. A dozen people with flimsy bows started shooting at the invaders. The arrows did little in terms of harm, crumbling to bits the moment they touched the dragon’s scales. Occasionally, one would make it, causing the creature to burst in a puff of black dust. In many ways their death was similar to that in the realms, although here it felt a lot more real.

Dallion stood up and drew the harpsisword from the sheath on his back.

Only indestructible items are guaranteed to harm them, Nil said. Remember, the creatures aren’t mere cracklings. Out here, they are far more destructive.

Somehow I got the notion, Nil. Dallion grumbled. Watching what happened to the roof of a freshly mended barn the moment one of the dragonlets landed was more than enough to give him a sense of what was going on. Instantly a fine mesh of cracks spread from the spot, adding decades of aging in mere seconds. Given the number of creatures, even with his speed, Dallion wasn’t able to wipe all of them out before they had dealt substantial damage to the city. That’s why he didn’t even try. Instead, he focused on one of the creatures and played a chord on his harpsisword.

Sounds filled the air, louder than Dallion had ever played before. Despite there being no markers in the real world, Dallion felt the link being established between one of the creatures and his weapon. The dragonlet paused. No longer attempting to break through the roof, it flapped into the air, attracted by the sounds.

“That’s it,” Dallion said, as he played a second chord.

More of the cracklings turned his way. Those already in the air redirected their flight to the top of the mill, where Dallion was standing. The rest looked up, intrigued by the sounds, though not curious enough to fly there just yet.

The sound of breaking glass was heard a few houses away. Glancing down, Dallion saw the whip blade fly towards him.

Add a window to your tab, Gleam said. Whoa! What the heck did you do? I haven’t seen so many dragons since… actually, ever.

“Stay nearby,” Dallion said, still playing. “Make yourself invisible and don’t do anything until I tell you.”

If you say so…

The whip blade disappeared. The dragonlets didn’t seem to pay any notice, flocking towards Dallion in greater numbers. Remaining cautious, they flew around him in circles, trying to figure out exactly what he was. The curiosity that Dallion had unleashed through the strings of the harpsisword was doing its job. One single line strike and he could destroy two-thirds of the crackling infestation in an instant. However, two-thirds wasn’t good enough.

Just a few more, Dallion told himself.

Around him, the cracklings were getting more aggressive. The uncertainty brought was starting to fade, and a few were moving closer, going so far as to attempt to hit Dallion with their small tails. Thanks to his combat splitting, none of them managed to do so, but the instances that dallion had to make to keep safe were progressively increasing.

Half a dozen more of the creatures joined in, leaving their preferred perches. Only a handful remained away, but Dallion could wait no longer. Taking a deep breath, then performed his attack.

Spark! Dallion thought as spin performing a line-attack around him.

The sword split the air. The real world, however, was harsher than the awakened realms, limiting the range of the line attack to several dozen feet. Nonetheless, that was good enough to slice through the majority of the gathered cracklings. Screams filled the air, as over twenty of them turned to dust.

“Gleam,” Dallion managed to utter as he fell to his knees, completely drained of strength. “Finish them.”

The whip blade flew into action. Still invisible, it didn’t have any qualms attacking the creatures in their confusion. Several were sliced on the spot. A few attempted to flee, but were quickly pierced by the blade as well. That was the vast advantage to having indestructible weapons—the standard crackling defenses were useless against them.

Must not faint, Dallion tried to clench his fists in an attempt to remain conscious. It was difficult, however. Line attacks weren’t something he was adept in, especially in the real world. Everything around him was fading. Just then, the harpsisword began playing a melody.

So reckless, Dallion heard a motherly voice as the sounds embraced him. You did well. Get some strength.

The fading stopped. Strength flowed within him from the sounds, reinvigorating Dallion to the point he didn’t fear falling off. A few moments later, he even felt strong enough to stand up.

Harp? he asked, but the nymph didn’t reply.

That was really cool, gramps! Onda said, completely ruining the moment. You’re getting cooler by the day!

Dallion’s first reaction was to shout back that he wasn’t old. On further reflection, though, he chose not to—doing so would only make the hammer guardian more annoying. Instead, he focused on what was done to the village. From what he could see there were several damage spots, mostly on barns on the edge of the village. Nothing seemed particularly serious, even the locals could do the mending, or replace the damaged segments, if that was easier. The avians had mostly been killed off. Gleam was chasing the last remaining few, who had never fought an invisible enemy before.

“All clear!” Banra shouted from the ground. “They’re gone!”

“Right,” Dallion replied, putting in as much force as he could in his voice. “I’ll be right down.”

“Nice to see you’re not all talk. With this many, I feared we’d lose half the village.”

“They weren’t after the village. They were after the barns.”

“You can tell us about it later. Get some rest! We’ll deal with this.”

Dallion attempted to protest, but it was pointless. Anyone who was an awakened knew exactly how exhausting his attack had been and pretty much dragged him to a bed in the village chief’s house. Being too weak to offer any resistance, Dallion complied.

It took less than a second for him to pass out once he had laid down. When he next woke up, it was already morning. Two large mugs of honey water were placed on the ground beside the bed, as well as several baskets of fruit.

Dallion didn’t even pause to complain, gobbling down everything as if there was no tomorrow. Only upon finishing did he feel somewhat alive.

You really outdid yourself this time, Nil said. Concern could be felt in his voice. It’s not a bad thing. The more you do something, the more your body gets used to it. If you keep practicing diligently, you’ll be able to do multiple line attacks per—

Why didn’t you tell me they were dragons? Dallion interrupted.

I wasn’t sure they were, the old echo replied. Strangely enough, Dallion felt he was telling the truth. It was the most likely possibility, but there are other creatures they could have been. And the reason I didn’t share my suspicions was because I didn’t want to make you freeze up.

That’s total crap! Dallion slammed the floor with his fist. When have you seen me freeze up?!

How about the time you saw the sand dragon?

Dallion blinked.

Yes, I know about that, just as I know pretty much everything that has happened to you since your awakening. I’ve been living in your realm for centuries from my point of view. Did you think I wouldn’t learn about your past? The reason I didn’t say anything on the matter was because I didn’t want to burden you.

I thought I had to share things in order for that to happen.

And what do you think you do when you sleep? Or when you dream? Why do you think it’s so dangerous to have your realm invaded? Anyone can whisper suggestions. What makes invading echoes really dangerous is learning your secrets so that you no longer can distinguish between your thoughts and theirs.

That thought sent chills down Dallion’s spine. All of a sudden, he felt as if he were back in Dharma with an echo put in his realm by the village chief.

I do what I think is best for you. All of us do. We follow your instructions, of course, but we also have our own opinions on various matters. Going after something you knew so little about was a bad decision, or rather, is something I believe to be a bad decision. Vihrogon was of the opinion that you should learn on your own. I still contend that you aren’t ready.

There was no way to respond to this. In the eyes of the old echo, Dallion was never going to be ready. Harp also seemed to share his opinion. The two were among the oldest inhabitants of Dallion’s realm, and as such, they held a parental role. Nil was the one who taught Dallion the basics, and Harp was the one he usually went to when he sought understanding or advice. Vihrogon, in contrast, was like the cool uncle who spent most of his time adventuring.

I understand, Dallion said. Now tell me about the dragons. The villagers didn’t seem to recognize it. Is that due to some restriction coming from the Moons? Or the Star?

Neither. The reason they weren’t particularly bothered was because they’ve never seen one. Even the awakened don’t often get to see a dragon. From their point of view, the village was attacked by a weird type of bird they’ve never seen before. That’s why the descriptions didn’t match. It just as well might have been a firebird for all they knew.

Right…

As I told you, there aren’t many dragons in the world. In fact, there aren’t many magic creatures of any type in the world.

Come on. I’ve seen lots of them. Dallion finished the last few drops of water, then sat on the edge of his bed. The sheep, the griffins, the—

Those are magical creatures, not magic creatures. There is a subtle difference. Magical creatures are creatures with a few special abilities. Griffins, firebirds, sheep, even Gleam are magical because they have a bit of power of magic in them. Starspawn can also be regarded as magical. Magic creatures are beings that are made entirely of magic.

Like the Purple Moon?

There was a long pause.

Good to see that the ring library hasn’t gone to waste, Nil said after a while. Yes, the belief is that they were created by the Purple Moon eons ago. Since the Moon hid its face from the world, there haven’t been any new ones to appear. Most find their way to the realms, but not the real world.

Once again, Dallion’s understanding of the world shifted. If creatures of magic were still in the world they had to be incredibly powerful. If they wanted to remain hidden, they would have remained so. Dallion had little hope of finding, let alone defeating one.

So the whole thing is hopeless? He asked.

No, it isn’t, Nil sighed. Because of its nature, when a magic creature is killed, it doesn’t simply collapse and rot away with time. A huge amount of energy is released—enough to destroy an entire kingdom.

Enough to create the Glass Mounts?

Some claim that, but all of them are idiots, Nil grumbled. The magic released is too much for an explosion. That’s why it causes a tear in the realm of the world itself, transforming into something completely different—the creature’s shadow.

Dallion swallowed. The echo had just described the creation of a black hole. True, it didn’t have the same characteristics as the black holes back on Earth, but it was one nonetheless. Someone had managed to kill a dragon not too long ago and a dragon’s shadow had been born. That was why the creature kept creating “offspring” and also why they, like the dragon itself, were attacking places where livestock was held; they were hungry, even if they didn’t know what eating actually was.

Can it be reasoned with? Dallion asked.

No. It’s only a shadow of its former self, in every aspect of the word. It has habits, not intelligence. The only way to make it stop is to destroy it. Not even a Moon can change that.

This was the first time Dallion heard of a Moon not being able to do something. It was only Nil’s opinion, of course, but it was a substantial one.

The Star… did the same happen to him? Dallion asked. There were drawings of an Eighth Moon in the World Sword’s temples. Could it be that another Moon existed at some point, but was killed changing into—

One crisis at a time, dear boy, Nil laughed. It’s not even confirmed there ever was an Eight Moon. How about you deal with the “avian crackling” first and then move on to more serious matters?

Dallion nodded. This wasn’t a topic he was going to drop so easily, but for the moment, the echo was right. He had a dragon’s shadow to kill.