Location: Dragon King of Destruction's Temple, Bushyasta; Zahhak's bedroom
Φ Standing at the outside side of the door, Garəbra knocks on it and says, "Zaza, Zaza, please tell us if you are okay."
Soon, the two giant doors that house Zahhak are pushed open, making a small opening, and through that opening, Jamshid walks through and flips its ears up.
"So is he okay?"
Jamshid nods in response, causing Garəbra to ask, "Does he want to talk?" Causing Jamshid to shake his head from side to side in response.
Feeling discouraged, Garəbra says, "If you need to talk, or just want to hold someone, you can come to any of our rooms, Zaza. We love you very much."
She slowly walks away, and Jamshid walks in slowly where he sees a giant extravagant bed in the centre of the room, and walking closer to it, he jumps ontop were Zahhak, whose eyes pour out tears relentlessly, sits as his bed fills with enough water to soak it.
Jamshid comes up and hugs his face with his ears, causing Zahhak to say, "I am such a bad man letting my cousins and aunt worry about me. But I just can't bring myself to get up and leave. No wonder I am still here."
The bunny holds him tighter, causing Zahhak to say, "At least you're still here for me. What do you think I should do, Jamy?"
Picking up whatever items it can around the room, the bunny starts to reform things into the shape of Garəbra, Paouruazi, and Indrani, then hugs them all.
Clearing his tears, Zahhak says, "You're right. It's better to be with family than to be alone."
He quickly jumps off his bed and lands on his two feet, then starts running forward with Jamshid holding onto him.
Location: Dragon King of Destruction's Temple, Bushyasta; Corridors
Sneaking around the hallways, Zahhak says, "I don't want to cause any of the servants' troubles. So make sure not to make any noise, Jamy."
He uses his tail to hook onto whatever he can, allowing him to move in three dimensions to avoid the servants throughout the castle. Landing on one of the large persepolitan pillars, Zahhak looks throughout the room and says, "Auntie's temple really is large, I wonder if Dad's is as well. It's so big that even if a Dragon were to enter our Dragonoid form, we would still be able to move around. Makes it easier to sneak as well, isn't that right, Jamy?"
Jamshid hits his ears against Zahhak, and the boy then turns his face downwards, and says, "Yet there are a lot of people running around. I wonder why that is.
Zahhak starts to listen in on the conversation around him, causing a lot of information to swarm him all at once.
"What a mess by those so-called servants of truth to make us have to restructure all the goings on of a large festival like this."
"Don't they know how ridiculous it is for us to reschedule a festival with no specific date in mind?"
"We prepared so much food that it would take a couple of months to years to clean it all up, and now we have to randomly do that again."
"Hey, we need more people to help us provide accommodation for all those who travelled to the 7th Realm for this festival."
"People are already scrambling to find accommodation, we need to know the number of open inns they are."
"It's been a couple of centuries since the last log of that; we have no idea how free beds there are."
"People are full up with alcohol out here; we need help now."
"We are busy."
"Can't the Deva's hurry up and just get those Royal Horns to come so we can just continue to the festival instead of all of this?"
"Making Zahhak wait like this is such nonsense."
"Apparently, the Blood Dragon and the like are enjoying some time in the 1st realm before they head off."
"Tell them to move the hell off!"
"If you want to say that to a Great Dragon, go ahead."
"The Hunting Dragon is currently putting things in his realm, so he hasn't rangled them yet. He will probably get everyone set out by morning, so we can just bet on that."
Zahhak's eyes open wide as all of the information processes through his brain, and turning his head towards Jamshid, he says, "I think I have a plan."
The rabbit shakes its head from right to left, and Zahhak says, "If not now, when?"
It crosses its ears over and over. "I am a member of the Dragon King of Truth's household. I have a right to enter my family's historical domain and set things right. See how much trouble they are causing for everyone here. If I head out now, I can finish it."
Jamshid continues to shake its head from right to left, as Zahhak puts his hands together and begs. Jamshid starts to relent as the intensity of his fervour, until it shakes its head up and down.
Grabbing Jamshid, he hugs it and says, "Then let's go, just you watch, I will sneak out of this castle with great levels of speed and skill."
Location: 7th city of Mount Hara: Naēca; northern entrance.
Covered in a cloak, Zahhak stand at the side of a building and looks out towards the northern entrance, and says, "It's covered in guards? It's never this tight; it's usually much freer. How am I supposed to get past it now?"
Suddenly, he sees a drunk man walking over towards the guards, and they quickly restrain him, as they say, "Another one? It's like these people don't understand if you get drunk close to these areas, you could fall right off the edge of the mountain or right into the next floor."
The other guard says, "What else can you expect? They got a taste of our King's power for a brief moment. Makes you really feel your mortality, not something that many young Dragons ever feel."
"Aunty is scary," he says, poking his head past the side of a building. Hearing the men's neck turn, he quickly retreats behind it and whispers, "Close."
Jamshid starts hitting his face, signalling him to leave, but Zahhak says, "We only just started our great escape, leaving now would be dishonourable. If we can't find a way out, we could just head for a different exit. You go on lots of walks around the city, can't you lead me to one? Do you know any other ways out of here?"
Jamshid freezes for a moment, as he slowly turns its head away from Zahhak, before quickly turning its ears into an X. Zahhak's face lights up, and he says, "You do know, come on, tell me!"
He continues to rub his cheek against the bunt while massaging its ears over and over again, until it forces Zahhak back, and then, after a tired look crawls onto its face, it sighs and starts to shake its head up and down.
"I LOVE YOU!" Zahhak says with a passionate yet restrained voice.
Jamshid starts to point its ears in a different direction, which Zahhak quickly follows as a signal.
-Break-
Location: 7th city of Mount Hara: Naēca; Northern Chinvat Bridge.
In front of Zahhak's eyes, a large area filled with clouds stands before him, which encages a bridge that only reveals its start to the boy. Looking at it, Zahhak says, "Wait, isn't this the bridge of dammed souls!!! Didn't Garəbra say if I ever walk on this without informing her, my soul would be ripped eternally from my body, and it will be burned in the underworld for 10000 years before I reincarnate into the flesh of a pig!"
Jamshid, using its ears, spells out a few letters one by one. "L-I-e-S? Lies, I was being lied to!!!"
The bunny shakes its head up and down, causing Zahhak to say, "And I believed you, teacher. To think you'd lie to me so viciously!!!! On the souls of my future children, I promise to feast on your head for these brazen transgressions."
"Now the thrones glorious adventure forwards shall not be halted!"
Zahhak rushes onto the bridge as Jamshid holds on tightly, and soon they both burst through the clouds as they walk forward. As he moves, Zahhak says, "Jamy, for some reason, it seems that my senses are betraying me in this swarm of clouds. Up no longer veils my head as down no longer provides me footing, it's like I feel everything happening all at once, how stra-."
"Who has stepped into our territory?"
The boy freezes as the voice envelopes his entire body. He whispers, "Jamshid, you didn't tell me that eyes would be attracted to my flesh here?"
The bunny looks around in confusion, and the voice says, "Again. Answer us, child. Why do you walk in these areas without purpose, without knowing? For any Shahāneh Dragon to have reached this point, you must have crossed through this area at least once in your life. Yet I can see it in the flesh that accompanies your soul, you have no idea of the situation you've currently found yourself in."
Confused, Zahhak turns his head and says, "See it?"
In an instant, all around him, Dragon's with eyes that look like empty night skies stare directly at him, with each of their eyes crystalising forming a beautiful pattern in each.
"We are the Aratavaena, the tribe in charge of gatekeeping the keys to destruction, the Chinvat Bridges. To sniff out liars who are filled with doubt, try to crush and pollute the world made from nothingness, Mount Hara."
All of their tails begin to extend, and their unified voice says, "Now, child, if you mean no harm, turn around and walk backwards to your parents or the guards. For we wish no blood be spilt by the innocent today, yet if that form is just a lie, understand we shall slaughter you without delay."
Zahhak's face tenses for a moment, then he says, "I was scared for a moment, but if you love the people of Mount Hara that much, you won't be condemned with my anger. However, a goal set out to be accomplished by myself is currently becoming the truth, so I don't have time to play here."
"Then know even at your tender age, pain shall be felt from your flesh to your soul."
From the clouds, tails start to whip around over to Zahhak, who dodges their blows and extends his tail to strike them all back. "I can't tell up and down, so I need to get rid of that first."
He quickly bites his tongue and shouts, "Dragon blood battle arts; Blaze!" Before roaring flames from his mouth that blast away the clouds, and push them further back, leaving a little opening on the bridge on which he stands.
"Now things are even, so come on out!"
He turns, but no faces are seen by him as, throughout the clouds pushed further back, they all lie. Zahhak slams his foot against the bridge and says, "You insult me with the distance you place between us. Surely you don't think making me run after you is an honourable way for a Dragon to fight."
In unison, their voices say, "Young child, this is our way of honouring you as our strength lies in our distance."
From the cloud streaks of light fly out and in, and instantly they crash into Zahhak before he can even blink. Looking throughout his body, he sees arrows that look like they are made out of Dragon scales stuck in him from head to toe, making him fall to his knees in pain.
Yet again, the voices say, "You have felt the first indignation of pain, young Dragon. You have a long, great life ahead of you; we can see it in the way the very world, from the physical to the spiritual, warps its way around you. But we can't allow you to think this level of pain is what foolishness shall bring, so please steel yourself as our full wrath is released onto you."