The Dragon King's Heart

Laina bit her lip, hoping she did not hurt his feelings. Seeing Dante's face on Thorne just did not feel right. Not to mention, seeing him each time brought back memories of her time with Dante. It made her feel a little sad as she was reminded of the fact that they were parted. 

"I do... but this isn't the way you want to look, is it?"

Laina's words got through to him. 

"What do you want me to look like then?" he asked her. 

She shook her head, reminding him, "That's a question I want you to ask yourself."

Thorne reflected on her words. After some time, he straightened his back and closed his eyes. In the blink of an eye, he changed his appearance. While he retained the color of his hair and pupils, Thorne changed the shape of his face, raising his cheekbones a little. 

When he was done, he opened his eyes. Laina brought him a handheld mirror. 

"How... how do I look?" he asked her as he put down the mirror. 

"Perfect," she replied with a smile. 

From that day on, Laina and Thorne's relationship improved. Their chat broke the ice between them, allowing them to communicate better. Everything worked well as they came to understand each other well. 

Thorne remained by her side, taking care of her every need while she recovered. After the ceremony, Laina's body was further weakened. When she tried getting out of bed to go for a walk, her legs trembled and almost buckled. 

If Thorne had not been there to catch her in time, she would have fallen to the ground and gotten hurt. Still, she insisted on taking a walk through the garden in the Temple of the Sun. 

It was filled with rare exotic plants that Laina had not seen before. Each of them were vibrantly colored and in full bloom. While they admired the flowers, a messenger came to Laina. 

"The Oracle wishes to speak with you, Your Majesty."

Laina went at once, with Thorne by her side. When she got to the Oracle's office, she was greeted warmly. 

"Queen Laina, please take a seat," the Oracle offered. 

Laina took a seat at the table while a cup of hot tea was served. Thorne stood by her side, watching over her. 

"How are you feeling?" the Oracle asked, her voice filled with care and concern. 

"I've seen better days, that's for sure," Laina joked, "I hope a bit more rest would improve that."

The Oracle nodded understandingly. She had a reason for calling Laina to meet her here. There was something she wanted to give to Laina. The Temple of the Sun was founded millennia ago. Some say, their history dated all the way back to the dawn of the first civilization. 

"Throughout our long history, we have had many artifacts and relics passed down through the generations. Of which, there is one that we consider to be most precious."

So precious, in fact, only the Oracle knows of its existence. While the relic has been recorded in historical records, most of its information is largely unknown. Laina had never heard of such a relic before. 

Seeing as the Oracle was taking time to tell her this story, it must be of great importance. 

"Legend has it, that the Sun takes the form of a maiden. She once roamed Gaeia, traveling through the lands on her own, some say she traveled with a partner."

When she came upon the people who worshiped her, she received a vision of the future during a Solistice. As such, she took a dagger made of her own light and slit her palm. From it, three drops of blood dripped into three separate crystals vials. 

She handed the three vials to the Oracle of that time, asking them to keep it safe. There would come a time when it would come in handy. The Oracle continued to explain that ever since Laina had completed the ceremony, the only vial they had began to glow. 

This had never happened before. 

"The only vial? What happened to the other two?" Laina was curious to know. 

"According to our records, the other two vials have been lost. We have been trying to recover them but at times, it feels as if they simply did not want to be found."

Each time they were close to getting it back in their hands, the vials would mysteriously disappear. It was as if they had a mind of their own. The Oracle opened the box she had placed on the table. 

True to the story, in it laid a small crystal vial. The clear quartz crystal bottle contained a small amount of liquid. It was emitting a soft red glow. Laina instantly felt a  connection with the liquid. 

"I thought you said it was only a drop," she asked as she picked up the vial. 

The Oracle chuckled, "That was just a detail to make the story a little more interesting. The rest of it remained true though."

Laina laughed along too. Holding the vial in her hand, she could feel a little heat radiating from it. There was something about it that felt familiar. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not figure out why. 

"What do I do with it?" Laina asked. 

"You drink it."

Without any hesitation, Laina uncorked the vial. Just as she was about to drink it, the Oracle stopped her for a moment. 

"Once you drink it, three things will happen," she said as she raised three fingers. 

"One, you will feel the energy coursing through your veins, unlike anything you've felt before. But it does not last forever.

Two, each time you use the energy, depending on the amount used, its effective time period will diminish.

Three, and I know you will think of this, it will not give you the energy to enter the Celestial Realm. That it cannot do."

Laina listened carefully, "I understand."

With that, she drank the contents of the vial in one sitting. There was a slight iron taste to it but nothing out of the ordinary. At first, Laina did not feel any different. The Oracle took Laina's right hand and looked at her palm. 

Just then, she began to feel a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest that spread throughout her entire body. Red veins covered her skin, all the way down to the tips of her fingers and toes but not above her neck. 

"Do not panic," the Oracle said calmly as she observed the red veins on her palm.