"Are you sure this is safe?!"

Seth winced slightly as his sister screamed in his ear. She was sitting behind him as they flew on Omelette's back, the rest of their travel companions galloping along the ground beneath. He kept them a little separate from the others, not just so he could get some privacy to reconnect with his sister, but because he could feel the constant weird looks. They weren't just from Erik either, every one in his party kept looking up at the Wyvern with suspicious and curious expressions.

Even Astra, although Seth suspected that she had different reasons than the rest.

As they flew, Ophelia had her arms locked underneath his armpits like she was a backpack, and squeezing so tight that it might actually fix his chronically terrible posture.

The wind was rushing past their heads, but not nearly enough to drown out her voice, especially when she was shouting directly in his ear. He could hardly blame her though, when most people thought of flying it was in a plane, not roughing it on the back of a monster once thought to be mythical.

"Sure, it's plenty safe. If you fall, then Omelette here will definitely catch you, won't you bud?"

He let out a soft laugh, patting the side of Omelette's neck causing the Wyvern to let out a low rumbling growl of satisfaction. However, based on the way Ophelia's arms locked even tighter around him, she didn't seem to appreciate his joke, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Are Ava and Woe okay, did you find them before me?"

"...No. I mean Yes. They're okay, I know that for certain. But I didn't manage to get to them. By the time I got home after everything went down, they were gone."

"Let me guess, Lucifer got to them first?"

"Wait, you know he's back?"

"Oh I know a lot more than you realise dear sister."

"I'm sure you do Sethy. Since they were out of the picture, safe even if it was with that horrific asshole, I thought it would be better to come see you. We had trouble getting out, as I'm sure you figured.

You were the only one I wasn't certain about and... Okay, I really can't ignore it anymore, like seriously I need to ask. Where did you even get a dragon? What kind of name is Omelette? And what in the hell is going on with your arm?"

She squeezed his arm, which was still the monstrous make shift prosthetic he had picked up from one of the corpses. Thankfully it didn't have a smell to it, and had regained its colour when the mana from his - also newly scavenged - core had run through it.

Omelette let out a huff of irritation at the passive insult of his name. If it was anyone else, he would have seriously considered chomping on them for such disrespect, but since this was essentially his aunt he let it slide.

He had never had an aunt before, it wouldn't be nice to eat her just after he got her. It wasn't her fault she didn't understand his majesty and amazingness yet, but surely his Father would set her right.

"First off, Wyvern not Dragon. That difference will be important for later. Secondly, Omelette is a fantastic name.

As for the rest? Well... It's kind of a long story."

"Longer than this terrifying flight?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Let's find out. It all started when I went into work after a night long gaming session..."

***

"...So I stabbed my spear into it and electrocuted it. And that was the end of the Legendary Nessie. What do you think, pretty cool huh?"

Seth puffed out his chest, feeling proud of himself after dumping the story of his last few months on his sister's lap. He had missed a few details here and there, but he was sure she got the gist of how amazing her brother had turned out.

By the time he had reached the end of his wonderful and fantastical tale, they had finally arrived back into the safe bosom of good old Ravenkeep. Returning home to strategize and plan their next move, since their initial plan was a bust.

"Hmm... Nah. You're definitely lying. No way you did all that, You definitely made some of it up. But I know one thing that's true."

"Oh, And what would that be?"

"That you totally have a big crush on the electric girl."

She cackled evilly, poking him in his cheeks from behind, gently pushing his head from side to side. He batted her hands away, clicking his tongue in annoyance. Seth quickly stood up, leaving her sitting on the saddle alone.

He pulled her forwards, tying the reins of the saddle around her wrists so that she didn't fall off, all while she looked at him with curious eyes and a devilish smirk.

"What are you doing? Gonna leave me in the car while you talk with your girlfriend or something? Hehehe."

He smirked back at her, giving her an innocent smile that didn't reach his eyes, as his spear grew to its full size in his hands.

"Not exactly. I'm going to take the fast way down, you on the other hand are going to take the fun way down. Hear that buddy? Nice and fun, with extra spins."

He cackled softly as her face paled slightly.

"You wouldn't dare..."

"You used to love rollercoasters, right? Or did you hate them? You know, I never could quite remember. Oh well, I'm sure you'll be fine. Have fun~"

"You traitor!"

With his final word, Seth stepped backwards off of Omelette, dropping into a free fall as Ophelia's shrill shout faded into the background, replaced by the roaring of the wind rushing past his face as he plummeted towards the ground, cackling the whole way down.

Back on the ground, Seth's alter ego 'Lord' Corvus was standing in the courtyard, hands behind his back. It was an exact mirror of when he had seen the group off, only this time he was not waiting alone. Standing beside him was a woman in void black armour, with oil like hair and glowing emerald eyes.

With their matching outfits and both holding an air of supremacy and power, they seemed like the ultimate gothic power couple. It was a sight that set the rumour mill ablaze, many of the workers within the castle were lucky enough to witness the pair.

Some spread the rumours with their lips, while others spread it across the communication network with their gifts. It spread like wildfire, cascading across the city so fast that the group hadn't even gathered in the courtyard fully before everyone and their mother knew about the Lord's new flame. Gossiping about where she came from, who she was.

It had barely been ten minutes and already some voracious fans were penning dramatic slash fiction of the dark lord corrupting an innocent maiden into his bride of shadows, while others simply wept to themselves that they could not have been that maiden.

It was as scandalous and titillating as it was utterly fictional. As for the objects of this hot new goss, once again Seth was completely unaware of his own rumour mill, and it was probably for the best that the dragon didn't know such rumours either. It would probably put her in a melty mood, and he quite liked his city unmelted. It looked nice that way.

"You have some nerve to make me wait Worm."

"You're the one who said you wouldn't help with the assaulting Lightbringers compound to retrieve the parts of the gate. Why is that again?

"Bah, I have far more better things to do that slaughter worms for other worms."

"Uh huh... And the real reason?"

The dragon snarled at his blasé reaction and monotone voice. She supressed the urge to tear him apart, even if this was a worthless puppet, she needed the worm on her side to do his job.

"Tch, fine. This world limits me. I can barely function, it's like being starved of air. This form is all I can manifest myself in and even then my abilities are limited. If I over exert myself, I would fall into a slumber until the world adapts to my power, which it may never do.

And I would rather die than spend the rest of my life in this world, even in a slumber."

Corvus nodded his head, showing that he understood the answer, but spoke no more on the matter as the rest of his adventuring party arrived in the courtyard, followed quickly by his true body. The last to arrive was Ophelia, who had to be helped down from the back of Omelette and looked so green from the experience it was almost as if she had the ability to change colours.

Through Corvus' eyes, Seth analysed the situation, noticing very clearly the strange looks all of his group was giving him behind his back, thinking that he wouldn't notice. He also caught the little glances Astra was giving this version of him, before focusing back on his real body.

Once everyone was properly dismounted, and Ophelia's escape group were led away to be integrated into the city, the Lord finally addressed them, speaking in a firm and gravelled voice.

"I'm glad to see you all back in one piece. Now, You must have some questions. I think it's time I gave you some real answers."