"Zerodra, I command you to wake up!" Meera roared as loud as she could. Her voice echoed throughout the snowy mountain range to no avail. The dragon didn't even stir. The archdragon was so still that she couldn't even be sure if he was even alive, as for one, he wasn't breathing, or if he was, then it had another way of breathing, as no air passed through his nostrils, which were big enough that a train could pass through them.

  She hung her head. The witch patted her shoulder. "It's okay, dearie. I'm sure you'll eventually get him to move if you keep commanding him using his real name."

  Meera sneered at her. They had been at this for hours, and what seemed easy when they began now seemed next to impossible. She and the witch could've had a sparring match using only their loudest skills in this ear canal, and still, this dragon would continue sleeping.

  "Then you try something," Meera said, rolling her shoulder and pushing her hand off.

  "I am doing something," Kalrina replied. "I'm keeping us afloat and staying alert. For when that dragon wakes, we must get to safety at once."

  Meera rolled her eyes, then extended a hand towards the archdragon and activated Mirror Shard Fury. A hail of sharp mirror shards bounced harmlessly off its scaled eyelids. Since that didn't work, she pulled off all her chakrams and rained them on the archdragon in rapid succession.

  Her divine weapons were as harmless as raindrops. Since that didn't work, she unleashed one of her strongest skills-Shadowflame Devastation. Dark flames unleashed from her hands, washed over the white dragon's snout, and did...

  ...absolutely nothing.

  Meera yelled in frustration as she almost pulled out her hair. "Wake up! Wake the fuck up right now!"

  "Have you tried shaking him?" Kalrina said, sitting down, cross-legged as if meditating.

  "Fuck this!" Meera jumped off the platform and activated Druvis Might as she fell. Then, she propelled herself with Mirror Wing and punched the dragon's jaw as hard as she could.

  Two things happened. Firstly, the scale underneath her fist jiggled slightly from the impact, and her hand turned black immediately from frostbite. But that wasn't all. A cold like none other was permeating through her, and not even her armor could keep her warm. Her whole body shivered uncontrollably.

  She shot away from the dragon as fast as she had fallen onto him. Her hand had lost all sensation as the blood froze underneath. She activated Vitalize, and the feeling began to return as sensation returned to her hand.

  "So, do not touch the Archdragon of Frost," Kalrina said. "Who could've thought of that?"

  "You're getting on my nerves, witch."

  "Why don't you channel that anger into waking the sleeping beauty, dearie? We can quarrel some other time."

  "At this point, I would give him my firstborn if he would but fucking move a little."

  The witch opened her eyes and gave an amused look. "Would you really?"

  "What? No. Shut up and let me think."

  Meera had tried just about everything she could. At this point, she knew that no combination or variety of skills would wake Zerodra up. He was in such a deep sleep that he might as well be dead, and she would have assumed so if not for the fact that she could Identify him. She sighed in defeat and plopped down beside the witch.

  "So, you're giving up that easy?" Kalrina asked, finally opening her eyes and turning towards her.

  "I don't know what else I can do?" Meera complained. "I've tried everything I can think of. I've shot him with all my skills. I've rained down my chakrams at him. That would've made more than a dent in Tigris's scales, and I barely managed to scratch him. Even shouting his true name at him did nothing. So, if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears?"

  "What a strange expression." Kalrina chuckled lightly. "But then you do speak in a strange manner sometimes. So, should we head back to Drurith? That insane Cosmarian bought us some time when he threw us here."

  Meera shot to her feet. "Oh. That's it! I would say you're a genius, but then I know you can hardly form conscious thought, so I must say…you did quite well for you."

  Kalrina squinted her eyes. "I'm going to ignore that."

  "Good, because get ready." Meera stood, cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted at the top of her lungs. "Raxor, your friend Eryx says hello!"

  Her voice echoed, growing louder and slowly fading away. At first, nothing happened, then something stirred on the peak where Zerodra slept. A fissure broke through the frozen snow, and an avalanche started as all the snow flowed down the mountain.

  The archdragon exhaled through his fangs. A hissing sound blew up the snow that fell over his mighty head. A deep guttural sound thrummed through the mountains. It could only be coming from the archdragon.

  A white tail uncoiled from around the mountaintop and smashed into a neighboring peak, which must've been dozens of meters away. Then, the whole mountain seemed to come alive as the dragon rose on his hind legs and spread his wings. Snow fell from him in droves, and the mountain seemed to have shrunk in the presence of the titanic beast before her. The mountain had indeed shrunk, for Zerodra was about half the mountaintop he was sleeping on.

  Meera gulped at the size of the calamity she had awoken. Then the archdragon roared. She covered her ears with her hand, but it was useless. Her eardrums burst immediately. Kalrina cried out, and they stormed away, avoiding the clunks of frozen snow that blasted away from the dragon.

  But they weren't so lucky this time. A block of ice fell on them and shattered the mirror disc they were on. Before Meera could activate Mirror Wing, Kalrina formed another disc under them. Then they zipped down into the snow. The mirrors curved around them and encased them in a mirror ball. They were encased in darkness, but Meera could still see the outside world where the archdragon's roars threatened to destroy all.

  Snow and ice rained down all around them. Their protective ball cracked as several pieces fell on it, but the cracks healed as soon as they formed. Soon, they were mostly snowed in, and only a small portion of the mirror ball lay exposed. Her ears healed quickly with Vitalize.

  "Well, now you've got your wish," Kalrina whispered. "Given our amazing luck, it would be too much to hope that he ignores us and moves on."

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  "If he moves on, how would he know what has happened to his beloved Akhessai? Open a hole in the ball."

  "He sees that we are human, he will attack first and ask questions later."

  "Then open a smaller hole."

  Zerodra finished roaring, and his wings curled into his back. "Who dares utter that wretch's name in my presence?"

  Meera glanced at Kalrina or where she was supposed to be. "He said they were friends."

  "And you believed him," Kalrina shot back. "That mad Cosmarian is going to get us killed."

  "Open that hole."

  "And you're also going to get us killed."

  "Are you going to open that hole, or should I make one myself?" Meera asked in a controlled voice.

  "Fine. Fine. Hold your horses, dearie." Kalrina gripped her arm. "Just make sure you don't call him by his dragon name. We should keep that card up our sleeve until it is absolutely necessary."

  Meera nodded. "Understood."

  Then, a small hole opened up above Meera's head. A little snow fell in, and a cool draft came with it. The dragon was towering high above, examining the mountain range and looking for them. If he moved his right foot, even a little, they would be squished like bugs. No skill would be able to put them back together.

  The archdragon was terrifyingly beautiful. It had almost perfect white scales with a twinge of blue. Muscles rippled underneath his scales, giving him a majestic feel. None of the other dragons she had seen so far even came close to such awe-inspiring beauty. He had a greyish underbelly with a big scar—a triple set of parallel, linear scars that passed diagonally across his chest.

  "Where are you?" Zerodra roared. "Come out now!"

  "I'm here, sir," Meera shouted, and even to her ears, her voice sounded nothing more than the squeaks of a mouse compared to the archdragons roars.

  Zerodra's head snapped to her, and his eyes squinted. They were grey in color and slitted. "I cannot see you. Come out. So, I can thank you properly for waking me up."

  Meera glanced at Kalrina, who shook her head vehemently. "I cannot, Your Majesty." She shrugged, not knowing how else to address the archdragon. "I-I'm…pinned under the snow. I won't last long, but my message is of utmost importance."

  Zerodra bent down and sniffed. All of a sudden, Meera found it hard to breathe, as the dragon had sucked in all the air. He roared. "You smell like a vile human and of my Agniaz." He paused. "Did she send you?"

  "Yes, lord," Meera quickly added. "In a way."

  "Deliver your message, and then I will ease your passing," Zerodra said.

  Now that it came to it, Meera had not much thought about how to say her piece that the archdragon didn't level the entire mountain range in his rage. Here goes everything.

  "T-Thank you, my lord, you are most kind and generous."

  "You're getting on my nerves, human," Zerodra growled. "Speak your message so I don't have to breathe the same air as you any longer."

  Kalrina elbowed her and made a motion that said, get on with it.

  "My lord Raxor, I bring grave tidings. Much has changed since you went into your deep slumber. Your Akh—" She stopped herself and used Akhessai's worldly name. The words just spilled out of her rapidly. "Agniaz Dawnbringer has been slain and turned to stone by her friend Veridiana, who has hollowed out her stone body and has been using it as her base."

  Zerodra did not react. His eyes didn't widen. He didn't gasp or even change his stance. It was like he had become a statue himself.

  So, Meera went on. "She has formed a sisterhood of sorceresses who live inside your mate and have called it their home. Right now, your sons, Ignis and Tigris, are waging a war against these sorceresses to avenge their mother, but the battle seems to be locked in a stalemate."

  Still nothing, but at least the dragon breathed heavily now. It was like the first snow had started sliding down the mountain; now, she just needed a little more noise to turn it into an avalanche.

  "And-And the final insult is that somehow Veridiana learned Agniaz's dragon name, which was how she was able to defeat her." Now, the dragon's eyes widened a little. Meera continued, "And what's more, she's revealed the secret of the dragon's true name to the worlds. She's been using Agniaz's true name for her sisterhood. They call themselves…"

  Kalrina gripped her arm and shook her head. "Don't do it," she whispered.

  But Meera was committed now. "The Sorceresses of Akhessai."

  And that started the avalanche Meera wanted. It started slow, like a wail that thrummed through the mountain's stone. The snow shivered all around, then suddenly, the dragon's fists clenched, his head jerked up, and he let out a cold white beam, piercing the clouds as it shot up into the heavens. The temperature plunged, and even her armor couldn't keep her warm any longer.

  Kalrina shivered and quivered uncontrollably. Her lips turned blue as the sorceress was being frozen alive. Splotches of frostbite formed on the exposed parts of her skin—her face and hands. Meera hugged her to provide any warmth that she could. She reached into her pockets with a shaky hand, pulled out a green Health potion, put it to Kalrina's lips, and drank deeply.

  Her color returned as the frostbite withered away, and thankfully, the archdragon's cold beam had stopped. Thankfully, Mirithia was in another part of the sky, or she feared the archdragon would have woken Aetheron with his attack.

  "How dare you utter her name, filth?" Zerodra raised a fist, no doubt, to smash her flat.

  "Before you strike, lord. I'm just the messenger. I did not mean to utter the great Agniaz's name as I know I'm not worthy, but I knew you would not believe me otherwise."

  Meera gulped and wondered what would have happened if he had awakened when she called him by his true name.

  That stopped the archdragon from flattening them, but his fist remained there, ready to strike. "I told her that keeping that foul thing around would do her no good. How many days have passed since Veridiana's treachery?"

  "Days?" Meera said. "My lord, you've been sleeping for almost five hundred years, and Agniaz was petrified four hundred years ago."

  Zerodra breathed heavily. "LIES!" His tail smashed into another mountain, cutting off its peak and hurling it away.

  "No, my lord. I speak the truth. Four hundred years have passed since her passing."

  "That cannot be." An aura of bluish light engulfed Zerodra's fist. "You lie, human. My sons would have awoken me long ago if it had been so."

  Now, Meera was about to play a final gambit that should get the dragons off her back if it worked. If it didn't, then there was nothing much she could do against an angry archdragon.

  "My lord, forgive me, but there is no easier way to say this," Meera began, and Kalrina's grip on her elbow tightened. "But I don't think your sons wanted to wake you, my lord, or at least not until they could rival your power. I've heard rumors that Ignis should soon become an archdragon himself. He didn't want to lose his grip on power since, in your absence, he's become the de facto king of the dragons."

  "These are bold claims." The aura around his fist died down. "But I wouldn't put it past them. They're dragons, after all."

  His fist opened, and he reached down with his clawed hand. His hand smashed into the snow around them and scooped up all the snow and the mirror ball they were hiding in. Then his fingers closed around the ball but didn't crush it.

  "Get ready to run," Meera said as she thrust one hand inside her Dragon Hoard Belt and grasped her strongest weapon—the level 3 chakram. She had no doubt that even with this, she could do nothing more than annoy the archdragon, but it might give them an opportunity to escape.

  The archdragon's fingers opened, and he blew away all the snow with a chilly breath. Again, the temperatures fell beyond freezing. "Come out of your shell, humans."

  Meera glanced at the witch, wide-eyed. After a long moment, the witch shrugged. "Nothing to it, love."

  The mirror ball opened to reveal the frigid world outside. They were standing on the archdragon's massive hand. They were the size of flies compared to him. All he had to do was clench his fist, and they would be squished like bugs.

  "There you are," Zerodra spoke, and his smelly breath filled the air around them. "It reviles me that I entreat with insects such as you. I ought to kill you for what your kind did, but you've brought me news of my heart's passing. Now, let's test if your words are true, for if they prove false, even Aetheron himself will not be able to save you from my wrath."

  With that, the archdragon spread his great wings and took to the air, no doubt heading toward Akhessai.