The Scholar's Rebirth

After giving it a long thought, Athena finally answered.

"I choose the ancient secrets."

"Sure but to do that you need wisdom tokens,and luckily for you,there's a started pack,do you want to open it?"

Athena clicked on it and was awarded 1000 wisdom tokens. She immediately unlocked her first Ancient secret with 500 points.

"Ding! Ancient Secret Unlocked: "Esha'lora's Call"

You have unlocked the lost song of the Ancient Dragon Pact. This song, once sung by the first Dragon Tamer, holds the power to communicate with and influence dragons, beings of ancient power. Use it wisely.

Warning: The song will only be effective under the presence of the dragon. The connection will grow stronger with each verse sung, but be mindful of your energy consumption, as this secret draws on your life force."

Athena clicked on the package and felt a wave of knowledge burst through her brain. At the Same time,she could feel her body getting stronger.

"What's this," she gasped feeling the strength coursing through her.

"An additional gift", came the reply,"the host is currently ill,cursed by a dark force,The system would fully cure the host once the island's core has been replaced."

Athena's heart sank. "Replace the Island Core?" she whispered to herself.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she asked the system,her voice cracked with uncertainty and fear. A dragon was said to live there,and myth or not,she was in no strong state to know.

----

Kael lay on his bedroll, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling of their small shelter. He had been trying to sleep, but his mind kept wandering to his sister. She hadn't come back in yet, and though he told himself he didn't care, he couldn't shake the nagging worry that something was wrong.

After a long, exasperated sigh, he sat up and grabbed his coat. "Stupid girl," he muttered, heading outside. "If she catches a cold out there, it's not my fault."

It didn't take him long to find her. She was sitting on a rock near the cliffs, the wind tugging at her hair. Kael was about to call out to her when he stopped in his tracks.

Eira was…talking.

To herself.

At least, that's what it looked like. Her soft, frantic murmurs reached his ears, and he felt his chest tighten.

She's losing it.

Kael cleared his throat loudly, stepping closer. "Are you planning to keep freezing out here all night, or were you going to come back inside sometime before dawn?"

Eira jumped, startled, as she quickly dismissed the system interface.

"Kael!" she stammered, clutching her chest. "You scared me!"

"You're the one scaring me," he shot back. "Talking to yourself in the middle of the night like some lunatic. What's going on with you?"

"I-I wasn't talking to myself," she said quickly, brushing past him. "It's…nothing. Just thinking out loud."

Kael frowned, crossing his arms. "Yeah right,I don't really care anway." He then stopped off angrily.

"This is exactly why I don't bother",he thought.

Athena just silently followed behind Kael while trying to get through to the system but all she got was silence.

She groaned after so many failed attempts,"Fine, we'll discuss this tomorrow."

----

Eira approached the healer's hut early the next morning, clutching her shawl tightly around her shoulders. The morning mist clung to the air, chilling her already nervous frame.

Inside, Mirela was humming softly, sorting herbs into small jars. The warm scent of lavender and chamomile filled the room, a stark contrast to the dread weighing heavily on Eira's heart.

"Ah, little one," Mirela greeted with a gentle smile, her wrinkled hands motioning for Eira to enter. "You look troubled. Come, sit by the fire."

Eira obeyed, perching on the edge of a small stool. She hesitated, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. "Mirela…I need to ask you something about the dragon."

Mirela released a low laugh," what could you possibly need to know. I myself don't even know much,all I know are stories."

"What stories?", Eira quickly asked hoping to get more information.

"I already told you the last time,people who went there never returned. And mind you,most of them were the King's men...do you know what that means?",she asked moving closer to Athena.

Athena slowly gulped,the quiet environment suddenly grew even more quiet. She shook her head and whispered, " No"

Mirela quietly continued," It means very trained men,well versed in magic,compact and the whole lot couldn't defeat the dragon." She suddenly turned away and gazed into the fire,as if trying to remember something.

" They came in big ships,over a thousand in number. The village was still occupied by a lot of villagers,we thought that we would finally be saved." She stopped talking and just stared at the fire.

Athena waited for a while before urging her on,"and then?"

Mirela sighed," Well...we turned out to be so wrong. Over a thousand elfs were slain that day, not even one remained. We were too scared to even go and check for their remains. But nothing could get the screams out my head for days. Sometime later,someone was sent to fetch back the ships,and that was it. People started leaving and never coming back. "

Mirela turned back to face Athena," Eira,I don't know why you're asking this but keep away. The dragons are wild creatures and cannot be reasoned with,no one knows what drew such a creature to our peaceful island,just focus on getting better."

Eira left Mirela's hut feeling worse than before.The healer's words had offered no concrete answers, but they had solidified one thing in her mind: no one else was going to help her.

She kicked a pebble along the path, muttering under her breath. "Talk to it. Great idea, Eira. Why not just ask it nicely not to kill me while I'm at it?"

"Perhaps that's not as foolish as you think," the system's voice chimed in suddenly.

Eira rolled her eyes. "You again. Let me guess, you're going to tell me to 'think' again."

"Indeed," the system replied, unbothered by her sarcasm. "You already have the means to survive. You simply need to understand it."

"What means? I don't have anything!" she snapped.

The system remained maddeningly cryptic. "Think, Eira. The answer is within you."

"Ugh, you're useless," she muttered, resuming her walk.

As she walked, her thoughts drifted, her frustration gradually giving way to an odd sense of calm. A melody floated into her mind, unbidden but strangely familiar. Before she realized it, she was humming softly, the tune growing into quiet words.

Her voice wove through the still morning air, soft and haunting.

----

Deep within the mountain, the cave was eerily still, save for the faint crackle of molten lava pooling near its edges. A massive dragon, its black scales glinting faintly in the dim light, lay motionless, its breathing slow and steady.

But as the soft notes of Esha'lora's Call reached its ears, its eyes snapped open—glowing orbs of molten gold. The dragon lifted its head, its sharp claws scraping against the stone as it listened.

The melody tugged at something deep within its ancient soul, stirring memories long buried.