Albion laid on the motionless surface of the Black Water, his body trembling from exhaustion. Blood dripped steadily from the slash across his body, pooling dark crimson blood into the fluid beneath.
Beside him, Reiga—the Black Dragon—coiled his long, serpentine body along the surface of the dark floor, his gaze remained fixed on the boy laying in front of him.
"You are looking at this all wrong, Albion," Reiga spoke, his voice low and resonant, carrying the weight of the space itself. "The Inner World did not simply appear fully formed. It grew alongside you, born from an abnormality within your mind."
"You were never alone here. At first, there was no elaborate mental realm, only Amon, the manifestation of years of your suppressed negative emotion. The Black Water and the darkness formed around him because you were emotionally hollow at the time."
Albion looked up, his breathing shallow as he listened.
"Then Yang appeared," Reiga continued, his long body shifting slightly over the water. "He was not created because you consciously decided to create a dragon. He was the unconscious result of your love for fantasy, the books that gave you comfort during your childhood. When Yang appeared, the Hollow Sun formed with him as the realm's first source of light."
Reiga lowered his head closer to Albion's level, his voice steady.
"Yang circled only half of that empty sun because the other half belonged to an unseen presence—to me. Yang introduced order, boundaries, and balance to this realm. He stayed by Amon's side because Amon was the lonely, unwanted consciousness carrying everything you refused to feel. Yang calls Amon 'King' because Yang recognizes the burden Amon bears. He protects the part of you that was abandoned."
Reiga paused, his steady gaze holding Albion's.
"I emerged much later. I took form when you finally began to realize that your own life had value. Where Yang was born from the imagination that helped you survive your childhood, I was born from the self-worth you developed despite everything you endured. Yang protects Amon because Amon is the abandoned part of you. I protect you because you are the part that refused to remain abandoned."
Reiga leaned in slightly, his tone shifting from explanation to quiet, direct confrontation.
"Do you understand now, Albion? It is not your fault. Amon is not your burden to bear."
Albion's eyes widened. Hot tears began to well in his fuchsia eyes, spilling over his pale, cheeks.
"Sure, Amon may have been created from negative emotion," Reiga continued gently. "But that does not outright justify every decision, every action, or everything he says. It does not justify him wanting to be the king, wipe out everything else, and walk a path of no return. He is not your burden to carry. This is not your fault. You are but a child. Don't pin the blame on yourself. It's selfish. It's arrogant. And it is so undoubtedly cruel, Albion."
A strange warmth began to fill Albion's heart. Tears rolled continuously down his face as he began to silently cry and sniffle, biting down hard on his lower lip to keep his composure.
"I know," Albion managed to say, his voice thick with emotion as he looked at the black dragon. "I don't have any right to boss you around or give you any orders. But... I know that if you go through with this decision, you might die."
"I would rather drop dead right here and right now," Reiga cut him off instantly, "than do nothing and let the person that I care for die in my place."
Albion swallowed hard, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
"Thank you, Reiga," Albion whispered. "I wish... I wish you and me could have spent more time together before all of this. But I was so focused on the outside world and about being king that I completely neglected you. I owe you, Yang, Amon... I owe all of you a debt that I can never repay. But I'm going to try to ignore that and keep moving forward. Not as a king... but as a wizard."
Albion looked directly into Reiga's eyes.
"I don't have any right to ask you this, and I know that I'm being really selfish right now by doing so. But, Reiga... will you help me? Will you help me save Amon? I can't do this alone. I tried."
Slowly, Reiga lifted his front clawed paw, resting it gently atop Albion's head. The touch was soft, warm, and heavy.
"Yes, my King," Reiga spoke in a low, gentle voice that filled Albion with a deep sense of safety. "Yes, I will. If you can't finish this fight, then I'll be the one who ends it."
A strange warmth spread through Albion's chest. It wasn't the same warmth he felt when he became friends with Juvia, but a warmth similar to what he felt when he was with Sheila. He couldn't fully describe it yet, but he knew he was getting closer to figuring out what it meant.
Albion looked up, offering the simple truth in his heart.
"Thank you," he whispered quietly. "Thank you for loving me.".