The following days were a series of beatings that the young man took, although they were increasingly difficult to apply because he learned at an impressive speed. Alternating the fencing and magic lessons to create an efficient barrier, Ezequiel showed data about the planets they passed by, very detailed data. On the fifth day, when they were about to take off for the last stretch that would end in the world of dragons, Ezequiel said:

"Son, you are about to go to the most secret and well-guarded planet of the eighth plane. I know that from the moment Saci opens the portal, you will learn the way, but you must promise that you will never go there without consent unless it is a great emergency. Dragons do not like intruders and can become dangerous even for the most powerful of wizards, besides that not even the Supreme Guardian in person has the right to appear without due authorization, understood?"

"I promise, Ezequiel," Igor replied. He stroked Saci's neck and continued. "I believe that our friend Saci trusts me, otherwise he would never have brought us here."

"You can be sure. Let's go, Saci?"

A mental laugh echoed in the heads of the two and the giant rose to the skies, gaining height with a dizzying speed. As he watched the ground become more and more distant and everything smaller, Igor asked:

"Ezequiel, why are dragons so reclusive? There are no records about it in the Citadel, otherwise I would know."

"Well, it is not something that the older wizards like to tell," explained the old man, "but you have the obligation and the right to know. In a very remote antiquity, when the druids were dispersed and disorganized, divided into clans scattered throughout Europe and well before the Citadel was created, they discovered the dragons. Actually, we were discovered by them, who liked Earth very much. A great pact of friendship was established between dragons and Celts, especially because they could travel through the planes, since the druids who were not of the first level depended on planar capsules to change planes and, as you know, the planar capsules have limited capacity and time and would only be discovered a few centuries later. To our misfortune, a group of megalomaniac druids wanted to dominate everything and everyone. Most of these druids were of the first degree and quite powerful. They initially decided to enslave the dragons, dominating them with magical arts. There were several of them on Earth who, under the yoke of this group that came to be called warlocks, did so many horrors that the dragons began to be hunted by the mundanes, instead of revered. A druid, helped by a foreigner who appeared out of nowhere at the most opportune time, revolted and managed to save the dragons, canceling the spell of domain. This foreign druid, who was very powerful and young, managed to defeat the warlocks allied with the Romans in an attempt to destroy and assassinate the last Celtic region of the world. It was a hard battle that brought together a few druids, half a dozen warriors and a desperate population against hundreds and hundreds of Roman soldiers. Years later, this druid raised the Citadel as our kingdom and became the first Supreme Guardian and the only one with the right to enter the world of dragons without asking for authorization. Years later, he handed over the cloak and retired.

"But when was that?" asked Igor. "You speak as if you had witnessed and participated in that war."

"There by the second or third century," he replied. "Yes, I was present and fought for our freedom. It was a violent war."

"I was never a big fan of history and now I see that it was a mistake."

The two stopped talking at the exact moment that Saci opened the portal through which they crossed and entered that mythical world. By coincidence it was night and they were illuminated by a yellowish moon, huge. They were over a stormy ocean and flying at high altitude. Ten minutes later, they came across a high cliff where, at the top, there was a small but imposing castle. Around and behind, several immense peaks and full of caves surrounded it. Saci flew straight to the highest tower of the castle and landed. The wizards went down and Ezequiel thanked his friend. The great dragon rose in the air and headed for a cave in one of the various peaks.

"What castle is this and who does it belong to, Ezequiel?" asked Igor, curious. "From what I notice, the dragons live in the caves!"

"This is my castle," explained the wizard. "Here is all the wisdom stored by Man and other species that interacted with him in various centuries, more than thirty thousand years of history. This place is one of the safest in the Universe, because of the dragons, and contains the original documents of everything that exists in the Citadel library."

"I feel a barrier of pure magic around, "commented the young man, "and I believe it is very difficult to open a portal here."

"It is not possible to open," reinforced Ezequiel. "Let's go inside that I'm hungry and want a decent meal."

― ☼ ―

It was already the second day they were in the Castle and Igor received exhaustive lessons of fencing and combat tricks, besides needing to read several books that the Guardian of Wisdom passed him. He, who already had a very extensive knowledge, was impressed by the range of new things he learned because Ezequiel knew with all the precision what to look for in that soup of books that was there.

At dusk of that second day, Saci appeared in the castle and called him to the terrace of the tower.

"Hello, my friend," said Igor as a greeting. He looked to the side and saw two more dragons as big as Saci.

"You must come with us, Igor," said the dragon, laconic as always. "Climb on my back."

The wizard obeyed and the dragons took flight, in silence. Curious, Igor asked, using pure mental communication, to the surprise of the other winged giants who were not used to seeing humans transmitting thoughts:

"Can I know where we are going, Saci?"

"The council of elders wants to see you," explained the dragon, in his proverbial calm. "They knew what happened and are too worried."

He said no more and the young man did not insist either. He knew he was not in danger with Saci, because he felt his thoughts very friendly. Quiet, he enjoyed the interesting landscape of that continent, where gigantic mountain ranges and peaks so high that in some the air was rarefied for human beings, despite the denser atmosphere of that planet. They flew at high altitude and Igor had to resort to his powers to be able to breathe. He found it strange that the dragon had done that, because he should know that he could not survive there without his powers, unless that was some kind of test or prerequisite. Shortly after, Saci plunged over a peak so big that it stood out from the others. From that distance it was possible to see that the goal consisted of a cave whose entrance was so small that the wizard doubted the sanity of the dragon in wanting to fly there. After some time he noticed that he had a very wrong perspective, because the peak did not stop growing along with the entrance, which was now bigger than a good-sized cathedral, which brought him a more accurate notion of the size of the mountain and the absurd speed at which they flew. As they crossed the opening in the form of a slit, they saw themselves in a gigantic circular enclosure, perhaps with about seven hundred meters in diameter – more or less seven soccer fields – and well three hundred and fifty in height, whose vaulted ceiling had many frescoes painted with art too abstract for a human being, all of it phosphorescent in different colors, predominating the orange.

"This is the most sacred place, where for countless generations our people gather to make some important decision for the good of all," explained Saci. "Never a living being other than a dragon entered it, not even our great friend and human savior, so, enjoy the occasion well. Sorry for the rarefied air, but I know you could resist it. Here, there is no other way to enter."

"Thank you for the honor, Saci!" Igor bowed. "Don't worry about the air."

Since they approached the place, the young man had been hearing something that bothered him a little, as if it were a swarm buzzing low and without stopping. Now that they entered the cave, the buzzing increased considerably, hindering his concentration. Fascinated, he saw that around the whole enclosure there were several levels arranged every twenty-five meters in height and two in distance. In them, quiet and organized, hundreds and hundreds of dragons waited. It was at that moment that Igor discovered that the buzzing he heard were the thousands of thoughts exchanged between them. At the exact geometric center of the phenomenal pavilion that was that cave, there was a tower of about sixty meters in height by about thirty in diameter and it was there that Saci left his load, flying back.

"You must wait on the scaffold. In general the meetings are conducted from here, but our elder chose to leave you in the center."

Igor followed him with his eyes and saw that he was moving to a larger platform, like a half moon of his forty meters and that stood out from the other platforms, being well in front of the gigantic entrance of the cave and at half the altitude. Saci placed himself next to a huge dragon, much bigger than him, but whose leather was grayish and dull, unlike the glossy colors of most of them. The wizard concluded that he should be facing a very old specimen of that civilization.

The elder began to "speak" and all the buzzes stopped at once. Knowing that this should be paramount for him, he paid close attention:

"Brothers and sisters: I declare the council started," he began by saying with a very clear thought. "This time the meeting was at the request of... (unintelligible, but Igor assumed that it referred to Saci's name) who foresees a great danger out there, especially in the third plane, a danger that leads us to a new council meeting after more than a thousand years without meeting for a debate."

"Our species is old, very old, and has seen enough crises over the aeons."

"We are the entities that live the most in the known Universe and therefore we are very few, but it is also a duty to know what is going on around us so that a misfortune does not fall on the dragons and," he paused briefly and continued, "(Saci) brought, together with Ez, the Great Guardian, frightening news from the Citadel, because they are all dead, at least in appearance."

For a few seconds, Igor heard the intense buzzing, but soon stopped and the leader spoke again:

"This man is a wizard of the Citadel, the last one with the guardian Ez and they have difficulty in facing the great threat. According to the guardian, the danger is so serious that it can even destroy all life in the third plane, starting with Earth, but the worst is that he can move between planes and it seems that only the power of the dragons can contain it, but not destroy it."

"As far as we know, this human is directly responsible for the catastrophe of the Citadel." One of them spat out a flame, identifying who expressed himself. "It is true that there are attenuating factors, but—"

"We all have a very large debt to Earth and the Citadel," identified another, using a much more intense flame. "I was one of the saved by the Guardian and his friend."

"I insist that the debt is very debatable, since it was the humans who imprisoned and enslaved us. Remember that we vetoed humanity until it was evolved enough," said again the first dragon to contest. "The fact that they freed us was still an obligation of theirs."

"I vehemently disagree," said another dragon. "It is true that they imprisoned us, but it was a small and evil group. Our saviors risked their own lives to free us and never asked us for anything in return. I, at least, feel indebted to the human druids."

Several dragons spewed fire in support of the last comment and the first dragon said:

"I surrender to the opinion of the majority, but it was this human who released the entity. He is the one who committed the crime."

"We cannot consider an accident and a sad chance of nature as a crime." Saci's thought was strong as if he shouted and very well known, not even needing to see his flame to know who it was. "Igor has a hundred times more virtues than faults and I consider it a duty to help him in return for what they did for us. They sacrificed themselves for us and now it is our turn to help fix things."

"Exactly," continued the elder, "and I think it's time for us to contribute to pay the debt. Since they freed us there on Earth, our people have become distrustful of humans and until today only the Guardian Ezequiel has the right to move in this world, but I propose that Igor, wizard of the Citadel and any other survivor that we can save, have free access. I think it's time to end the fears and mistrust, since, in the past, we were excellent friends and allies. I am of the opinion that we have to suspend the veto, since the wizards have long evolved."

"Supported." The unanimous mental response was so intense that the wizard staggered, taking his hands to his head.

"In that case, we will try to rescue the wizards that we can and bring them to our world where we will give them a continent."

Igor thought it was time to manifest himself. To make it clear that he was the author, he raised his fist from where a strong light gushed, like a spotlight.

"My friends," he began to say, stopping the light. "I thank you from the heart for this help that you propose, but I can not abandon everything. First, someone too important to my life was imprisoned by this threat and I prefer to die than not to try to save her. Then, I still have hope of reversing the evil. I thank you once again for your offer and ask for permission to move around here because it is very difficult to fight that and I may need a place to run away in order to protect myself or recover from a setback, but, as long as there is a spark of life in me, I intend to fight in order to exterminate it. I want to say, also, that the Citadel and the Crystal World will always be open to the dragons, our best friends. If I reverse the evil, I will make it a reality because our borders have never been closed and you will always be welcome."

After this short and inflamed speech there was total silence and then all the dragons threw flames into the air, causing a considerable rise in temperature and making Igor raise his barrier of protection.

"How do you want to carry out your plans, young wizard?" asked the elder.

"I still don't know, friend, but I know I can never give up on my peers," said Igor. He leaned slightly and continued, seriously. "It is my nature to help those in need, even if they are not of my species, which is not even the case."

The oldest dragon was observing that creature so small and incomplete, belonging to a species whose life flowed too quickly for his standards and understanding. He had lived many hundreds of thousands of years and knew that he was getting closer and closer to the transition, although there were still a few millennia left, but those beings lived miserable hundred years, some of them a few thousand, perhaps like that specimen there present. In return, he saw the tenacity and determination of the human species and everything they created since they met about two thousand and two hundred cycles ago. Yes, they were different. Yes, they were incomplete and made many mistakes, perhaps because they lived too little to acquire true wisdom, but they also had as much nobility in their soul as a dragon.

"So be it, young wizard who is called Igor. The world of dragons will always be open to your essence and you will have our unconditional support as long as you exist, but I must warn you that soon you will go through a great ordeal and weigh on your shoulders the whole future of two species of living beings. Remember that, when the change occurs. More, I will not be able to inform."

There was a new torrent of sneezes of fire that Igor imagined to be a way of applauding and knew that he had won an invaluable gift. To accompany the general mood, he raised his left hand and a ray of plasma energy gushed up with a huge thunder, but he was careful to make sure that it did not touch the ceiling and, to give effect, he created a huge sphere of energy fifty meters above his head.

When the spirits calmed down, the elder continued:

"Soon we will have a new meeting for the elders to make the final decision regarding the type of additional support for humans. Thank you for your presence."

In this meeting, so short and objective, the wizard noticed how the two species had so many differences. In a short time they made a decision that, in any country on Earth, would take days or weeks to happen. Even in the Citadel, where the wizards decided everything much faster, they did not reach such a great objectivity. Deep down, he believed that telepathy could be involved in this accelerated process. Another great proof of the differences was that as soon as the meeting was closed, they all began to withdraw in an orderly way in groups, flying to the exit. In less than five minutes there were only four dragons, among them the first elder. Saci fluttered to the platform where Igor was and landed, accompanied by the oldest who looked the young man in the eyes.

He, the leader of the dragons and king of a world, lowered his head in a almost human greeting and rushed, saying goodbye:

"Goodbye, Wizard Igor. We will talk more in the future. You have the true essence of a dragon."

"Thank you for such a great and noble compliment, sir."

Saci turned to him:

"Climb, I'll take you to the castle."

"If you want to go with your peers, Saci, I can transport myself directly there without difficulty."

"You will not be able, because of the magic barrier."

"This barrier will not hold me, Saci. I never left there because I did not want to contradict your laws, but I can even open a direct portal to the castle."

"In that case, I will stay with my brothers. Soon, we will see each other."

"Thank you for everything, Saci," he said, out loud.

Igor disappeared from there to reappear right on the heels of Ezequiel who gave a scream of fright, jumping and colliding with the wall. When he saw him, he asked:

"Where were you?" he widened his eyes as he realized that he had used his powers without impediments. "How did you manage to use your gifts here?"

"Saci came to call me to accompany him to participate in their assembly," he explained, telling everything and ending by saying, mockingly. "The barrier of this castle was never an impediment for me. It's just difficult."

"What the hell, Igor, good thing you're on our side. Let's train." Ezequiel went to the practical plan, signaling for him to follow him to the courtyard. "Have you managed to hit the mutant protection?"

"It's difficult," confessed Igor, "but I think I got positive results by intertwining different beams of particles. I'm thinking of using rotational gravitons along—"

"Let's see, defend yourself," interrupted Ezequiel who attacked with the stick without giving him time to protect himself. However, Igor already knew his friend well enough not to be surprised and dodged the first attack with a twist of his waist while activating his personal barrier. But the guardian was insistent in the attacks, firing various types of things one after the other in true bursts of energy and various objects, without success. Then and by surprise, he wielded the sword and struck the strongest attacks he could, still in vain.

When he got tired, Ezequiel said:

"Enough. It's very good, very good indeed." He gave a treacherous laugh that Igor did not catch. "But I want to see something, because maybe you can't resist this."

As soon as he finished, he clapped his hands, murmuring something in the ancient language. A huge thunder, followed by a hurricane of respectable power hit the young man in full. Surprised, Igor was thrown and thrown to all sides, as if he were in the middle of a violent storm, until he rolled dazed across the entire length of the courtyard.

He was very angry when the old wizard started laughing out loud. He laughed non-stop and, every time he looked at the student, he laughed even more, so much that he came to bend over himself, holding his stomach that hurt from the effort.

Despite being very dizzy, Igor decided to give him back and stretched his hand in his direction, twisting his wrist. The stick, which was in the left hand of the wizard, turned back and gave him a medium lash on the backside, making Ezequiel lose his balance and start running to try to recover, ending up sprawled near his friend and with the staff moving in the air in his direction as if he were going to hit him more. Furious, he tried to hold him, but only managed when Igor stopped, laughing at his face and the stick became just that, a piece of wood.

Not resisting, he laughed again and the two sat for a good five minutes. When they stopped, Ezequiel said, getting up:

"The air is still your weak point in the barrier. It can penetrate it and not leave. Learn to control it and you will be indestructible."

"Indestructible may even be," finished the young man, with a grimace. "But I will also be an indestructible corpse, dead by suffocation."

"Learn to overcome problems and difficulties. This, are just insignificant details."

― ☼ ―

Igor woke up very anguished. He got up and looked out the window of his room in one of the towers of Ezequiel's castle. The red sun was rising at that moment and in an hour his yellow brother would rise, because the world of dragons was located in a double star and had three moons, which caused incredible effects with the shadows and the landscapes, which changed in appearance and color as the hours passed.

He washed his face and changed his clothes, climbing to the top and leaning against the low stone wall over the cliff. The landscape he had there was stunning, with the mountain ranges lighting up dyed red, but not even then that agony passed and he knew very well what it was about, too well, for his unhappiness.

When he felt the presence of Ezequiel, he was already by his side, looking at the sea. The two were silent for a while and the only thing that was heard there was the noise of the gentle weak wind, almost a breeze that blew from the sea, but that was a little cold. The guardian spoke first:

"Well, my son, although I have a strong idea of what it is about, I would like to know what bothers you so much."

"We've been here for six long months, Ezequiel." He turned his face to look him in the eyes. "Six long and endless months and I don't know how she is or what he can be doing there. I'm afraid of what I'll find when I leave here."

"Let me tell you something to calm your spirit, Igor, although this is not a rule. It is very rare for us wizards to separate. When we love, this love is to last a lifetime and that is why you are so anguished. Even after our better half is gone, it is unusual for one of us to remarry, except when her essence returns in another body or after a very, very long time. On the other hand, it is notorious that wizards, in general, only love their peers, excluding very rare exceptions. So, she must be a sleeping sorceress and, as a witch she is, she also feels this intense and unique love. Therefore, son, she will never stop loving you."

"But she is under the dominion of that monster—"

"It is very likely that this dominion will weaken gradually and your Eduarda should free herself soon."

"And what will he do after that?" Igor asked, even more worried. "I fear he will kill her. I must be there when she is freed. That black demon has killed everyone I loved the most!"

"It doesn't seem to me that he will kill her," said Ezequiel, thoughtful, but cautious. "Also because she is a weapon to be used against you, but, in fact, this can be worrying."

Igor turned his back to the cliff, facing Ezequiel. The wind had subsided and now only the faint sound of the waves hitting the rock, two hundred meters below them, was heard. Feeling the smell of iodine in the atmosphere, as intense as in the seas of the Earth, he sighed heavily and continued:

"Why didn't you tell me that it was you who led the fight in that war against the warlocks and founded the Citadel? I suppose that's why you know so much about battles, much more than I who was trained as Guardian of Security at six years old."

"Master or student, what difference does it make, son?" Ezequiel smiled, mysterious. "Wasn't it you who told me that? I had a great help at that time and I have serious doubts if I would have been victorious without it, but yes, I learned a lot about combat, especially until the eighteenth century."

Igor said nothing more, remaining silent to think. At the end of almost two minutes, he broke the silence, saying:

"I've decided; I'm going after her."

"You're not ready, Igor," he retorted, worried. "You've improved a lot, but you're far from being able to defeat that creature—"

"I don't care." As he spoke, his clothes changed to the white set with the cape hanging on his shoulders. "I need to find her and I've waited too long. You stay here and wait because I may need help. I'll be back when I can. See you soon and thank you for everything."

Igor began to float, wrapped in his personal barrier and waved to his friend, smiling.

"You command and I obey, my son, but at least have some coffee and eat something," Ezequiel tried, smiling, but the wizard floated higher and higher. Saci approached and landed next to the old man. They both saw him open a portal and disappear, closing it right away.

"What happened?" he asked.

The wizard looked at his longtime friend and said:

"The voice of the heart does not forgive the young ones, my dear. He went after her and try to contain the shadow, but I fear the worst will happen."

"Never has a wizard as strong as he emerged, Ez. Just see that not even we dragons can open a portal on this cliff and he doesn't even have to try, but he lacks a little of the centenary maturity of the wizards. We had something for him, but now he will have to wait. However, we will see each other many more times, before and after. Besides, you know very well what comes next and that silence was imperative. Paradoxes of time are too dangerous."

"Yes, he lacks some experience, but many other predicates abound. It is no coincidence that he is an elect and you would never take him to the council. You did that because you remembered the past very well."

"That is a fact... and another paradox."

"Yes," Ezequiel shrugged. "Now we know what will happen, at least in part. For the Goddess, I hope everything goes well."

― ☼ ―

Aeon: a million years. A. N.

Graviton – According to the Quantum Field Theory, the graviton is a hypothetical subatomic particle, without mass, that would be responsible for the effects of gravitation. A. N.