"There's something down there!", you said excited and pointed down to the lake.

In the middle of the deep, dark blue, something else had appeared. A golden circle shimmered in the dim light of this rainy day. Red tiled wrapped around this circle. It looked like a temple, but a long bridge was attached to it.

"I've never seen this.", Baldur frowned and let his dragon land on one of the drowning statues head. "Is that the world bridge?"

Curious, you looked up to him.

"The what?"

"Right. I forgot, you don't know anything.", he smirked and patted your head as if you were a child. "It's the temple that the gods once used to travel between worlds. But it was lost many eons ago. Why did it return?"

Still confused, he tried to make sense of it.

But you were not interested in the building. Instead, your gaze wandered up to the hills in the distance. You frowned as one of the mountains seemed strange to you, long and smooth. It looked like there were scales shimmering in the distance.

"Baldur?", you patted his arm.

He glanced down.

"What?"

"What is that?", you pointed towards the strange mountain.

For a moment he looked at it. Then his gaze darkened.

"The world serpent...", he said and twisted a strand of his beard between his fingers. "Strange changes indeed."

Swallowing heavily, you stepped back. Your back hit his chest.

"The what?"

"The world serpent. You don't know about it?"

"I- I do. Mother told me about it. But... she said it was just a myth. A bad omen."

"It is.", his hand lay in your shoulder to give it a barley visible squeeze. "We should check the temple. The guardian is probably in there."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just... feel it.", he huffed. "Ironic, isn't it? Come on, boy! Bring us there."

As the dragon landed on the bridge, a shiver crawled down your spine. Somehow, this place felt strange.

Baldur didn't seem to sense the threatening atmosphere. Without hesitation he slid off the dragons back, but stopped and glanced up at you.

It was easy for him to notice the worried shimmer in your eyes.

"You don't have to go with me.", he said. "Stay here. The dragon will protect you. And if he fails, I'll be there."

He tapped his chest to remind you of the amulet that was handing around your neck.

With an unsure expression, you locked your fingers around it.

The surface felt cold, yet it seemed as if a magical power made it gently vibrate like the beat of a heart.

"Will you be alright?", you asked.

Fear was audible in your voice. You feared to see him once again, neck broken and covered in blood. The sight had caused something inside of you to crack, like the glass of a window.

You didn't want to see him like this again, even if it meant nothing. Even if he would always return to the living, you never wanted to see him like this again.

It made your heart bleed.

A huff escaped him, mocking and a little offended.

"I'll always be alright, little butterfly.", he said and walked towards the huge entrance of the temple.

With your eyebrows knitted together you watched him disappear inside. The sound of the heavy doors falling shut filled your ears.

A sigh escaped you.

The dragon shook his head. A deep, hot breath escaped him.

The heat caused the salty water and algae, that covered a large part of the building, to hiss and dry out. The smell of roasted fish filled the air.

"Are you worried too, boy?", you asked and patted the scaled behind his ears.

The dragon growled.

You frowned, smiling.

"Boy. A weird name. Don't you have a name? Is that your name? Just boy?"

Disinterested, he yawned, loud and long, let himself drop to the floor and started snoozing. His tail danced through the air for a while before it also dropped and curled around his massive body.

He seemed like a cat, just way bigger and covered in red and black scales.

The thought made you chuckle.

"Fine...", you let yourself fall to your back and glanced up to the sky. "I should get some rest too."

You yawned.

Above, seagulls screamed. But they were not the only ones flying around. Some other birds chased through the air. They were big birds, with long wings and small eyes. Their feathers were as black as sin, even their feet and beaks.

At the sight you shivered.

You turned your gaze away and shifted to the side.

But even after a while passed it was still impossible to find rest. Your heart was beating wildly inside your chest and thoughts were racing through your mind.

"Baldur...", you mumbled and sat up straight again, to throw a glance at the door of the temple. "What takes you so long?"

You threw a checking glance at the dragon.

He was still sleeping. Every breath he let out made the ground heat up and glow like stones in the middle of the summer sun.

He slept to tight that it would have been an unnecessary hassle to wake him.

So, instead of wasting your energy, you slid off his back, down one of his wings and dared to set one careful step onto the ground.

The touch of the stones of the bride felt slimy, wet and cold against your half naked feet. As you took a step, you slipped and fell to your knees. The impact chased a sharp pain through your knee.

A scream escaped you.

But as you got up, no blood was showing. Only the hint of pain beat underneath your skin, that slowly faded with each step you took towards the entrance of the temple.

Your hand reached out. But your fingers didn't even touch the door yet as it started moving.

Surprised, you stumbled back.

Baldur's silhouette appeared.

Relived, you sighed and smiled.

"I was worried.", you said and hugged him.

Wordlessly, he started down on you.

"You're bleeding.", he said.