Symbiotic Ascension : A Progression Fantasy Adventure

"Wow!"

"Is that the Duke of the Stars?"

"It's his dragon!"

"Make place!"

Soldiers of Munirp immediately vacated an area for Glenn to land in, which he did without hesitation. Soldiers gasped in awe and disbelief as Pebble, the majestic beast, raised a great cloud of dust with his landing.

'Every time I think about this damned dragon, I curse myself for letting you name it Pebble!' Diamanes grunted.

Glenn rolled his eyes and dismounted. Pebble grunted and turned into his old, cat-sized form, as adorable as always.

'He likes that name. Isn't that the most important?'

'Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night.'

Glenn chuckled and entered the officers' tent under the watchful eyes of the Saints guarding it.

"Ah, Glenn, my boy! You got that filthy rat Golrik and that annoying Cerimius, I heard!" A man who looked closer to bears than actual humans went and gave a huge slap on Glenn's back. Unlike when he first met him during the ball that introduced him to nobility, Duke Noir was now wearing a black steel armor that made him look even bigger than he was, which was one hell of an achievement. Despite the crushing heat of the Ink Dunes, he wore thick, black fur strung across his shoulders.

"You heard correctly, geezer. So, what did you call me out here for? I know I have more necromancers to hunt, what could make you pull me out?" Glenn replied with a smug smile.

Duke Noir bellowed into a broad laughter. "You? Ay, I didn't call just you here! Watch your head before it bursts open!"

Glenn's eyes widened. "You don't mean?"

"Hah, look who we have here." Sahro entered the tent, his fox strolling up behind him. The Black Heir was wearing his usual desert clothes, his mechanical prosthesis hissing with steam and crackling with electricity. Raijin had grown taller, reaching his master's chest in height. Two more tails had grown out of him, too, for a grand total of three.

The two men gauged each other for an instant before exchanging a brotherly hug, chuckling.

"Still stuck at the Sixth Circle?" Sahro mocked. Glenn's eyebrows rose, and he punched his friend's shoulder lightly.

"You don't seem to be a Newborn Ruler yet, are you?"

They laughed and shook their heads when two peerless beauties entered the tent.

"Glenn, Sahro! It's been so long!" Milena ran in and hugged both Glenn and Sahro together, with all four arms. Duchess Dela Luna had sweated long and hard to make her two additional robotic arms feel like her fleshy ones, and was now undoubtedly a powerful opponent in melee combat, instead of the relatively dangerous dagger wielder she used to be.

"Haha, it's good to see you're doing well, Milena." Glenn smiled before feeling a shiver down his spine. He glanced at Liara, who was looking at him with crescent golden eyes, a fake smile plastered on her face. Glenn gulped and extricated himself, approaching her.

"...Liara."

"Glenn."

A moment of awkward silence passed until Liara eventually sighed, and her fake smile melted away. She hugged Glenn, who returned it without restraint. Duke Noir had to chuckle mockingly for them to let go of each other. A silent 'We'll speak later' passed in their eyes, and they turned to the Commander of the Ink Dunes' front.

"I have a room in the back if you need to let go of your stress, you both, bhahaha!" Duke Noir bellowed.

Glenn looked at him very seriously. "We'll take it."

Liara nodded. The Duke stared at them for a few seconds before exploding in even greater laughter.

'This dude really loves laughing. He's like a bright uncle who saw so much shit he can only laugh now,' remarked Diamanes.

'You said the same thing the last time we saw him.'

'I did?'

'What can I say? You're getting older, prattling on like that.'

'Shut up! I am still a very youthful thousand years old Diamanes, I'd have you know!'

'Sure, sure.'

The ramblings in Glenn's mind faded away to leave a place for Duke Noir's meeting.

"Very well!" He slammed his hands on a large granite table at the center of the tent. "Duke Glenn the Devil's Hand and his team. I called you here because there have been some developments on the Crown Prince's front."

"Rich boy got himself hurt?" Sahro frowned, his arms crossed.

Duke Noir chuckled and shook his head. "Bahaha, fortunately, no! What he did manage to get, though, was an entry point into the enemy lines! The Royal spells are certainly working their wonders on this battlefield!"

'Somehow, I don't doubt that.' The corner of Glenn's lips curved upward. Lucian had also been training with them and was on the cusp of breaking through to the Seventh Circle. He just needed that one last push, that key to unlock this higher realm of strength. Just like Glenn himself.

The Duke pointed at a specific spot on the map spread on the table. "So far, we've only seen defeats and retreats against the Celestial Gods!" He grinned widely and pushed a pawn, a purple one. "I want your team to reform and strike at this point! With this, we will shatter their offensive and begin hacking at their supply lines!"

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "What about that thing we asked for our participation?"

Duke Noir stopped for an instant. "Ah, you mean that ex-Count, Mortelli?" He rubbed his chin, thinking. His grin widened in realization. "You're lucky, boy! A report from the main front spoke of a powerful Munirp man fighting side by side with the dead raisers and their green beasts!"

'Yes!' Glenn clenched his fists as his buried anger rose again. Each day this worm lived was one stolen from Redan. Soon enough, that bastard will join his old teacher in the grave for his crimes.

"When are we departing?" He asked, his eyes of purple steel. Duke Noir laughed broadly and crossed his arms.

"Now, of course!"

***

Flap, flap, flap!

Glenn felt the hands wrapped around his chest all too consciously. Liara pressed her face to his back, leaning on him. They were flying on Pebble, the Ink Dunes stretching before their eyes.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

A few minutes earlier.

"It's been a while since we all fought together," Sahro grinned. "Don't hold me back, Glenn."

The latter sneered. "I should say that to you. Pebble, ready to take flight?"

Pebble, the one-eyed dragon, growled and jumped off Glenn's shoulder, landing in the black sand and transforming into his huge, massive shape. Milena gasped in disbelief.

"I heard rumors of it, but Pebble did grow to be one tall dragon!"

Said dragon chirped happily as he rubbed his head against her in recognition. Milena laughed as she returned the gentle pat. Glenn stopped and looked at Liara, curious.

"I don't see Whitey with you. Did something happen to him?"

Liara smiled in that blinding way and pointed at the sky. Glenn looked up just in time to see a white flash descend upon them, landing with grace next to Pebble. Whitey, once a small, cute and a little ridiculous bird, was now a massive griffin with sharp, intelligent eyes.

"He grew a little too big for the tent," Liara ran her fingers through Whitey's feathers. "And unlike Pebble, he can't change his size. Not that I'd want him to. The way he is right now is perfect."

Whitey chirped and butted head with Pebble. The two were relatively similar in size, even if the dragon was slightly larger. Raijin growled unhappily and turned away, sulking. Even if the fox had grown, it was nowhere close to the massive dragon and griffin.

"A dragon and a griffin..." Milena shook her head dejectedly. "They're supposed to be creatures of legend, and yet here they are, our personal rides. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Sahro scoffed. "Nonsense! They're suitable companions for legends such as us!" He flinched and smiled apologetically at Raijin, who'd bitten his ankle. "Yes, you're even better than them, Raijin. Yes, you can't fly and I can't ride you into battle, but you're great too!"

Glen closed his eyes in regret as he realized he wouldn't be able to let Liara ride behind him. Since she had her own ride, why would she come with him?

"Whitey," Liara commanded. The bird nodded in understanding and approached his beak to Glenn's left, purple hand. Diamanes, who'd been watching the family reunion, suddenly sprang awake.

"Wait, wait, what does the bird want with me. No, Liara, don't tell me..."

A shadow passed over her eyes. "Glenn, get him out of here."

Glenn gulped. "Yes, m'am."

"Glenn, no, I don't want to go back in that bird—!" The entity's voice failed to stop him as he reached into his soul in a practiced manner and kicked Diamanes out. A purple, vaguely hand-shaped cloud hissed out of his hand. Whitey swallowed the cloud without leaving Diamanes the time to say a word.

Liara jumped on Pebble without asking and pointed at Sahro and Milena with authority. "You too on Whitey's back. Thanks." She turned to Glenn intently. The young man smiled and shook his head dejectedly.

"Yes, yes." He turned to the other two, who were watching with amused gazes. "We'll see you at the war front, then."

Sahro shook his head while Milena shot him an encouraging thumbs-up.

And now here they were, flying back into the fight, just the two of them.

"Roar!"

...And Pebble.

"So," Glenn licked his lips awkwardly, "How have you been doing?"

"Terrible," Liara replied instantly. Glenn's face darkened, and he turned to face her, worried.

"Why, what happened?"

Liara sighed and pressed her chin against his back. "...I didn't enjoy being without everyone. Be alone again."

Glenn blinked. "You know you could have come fight with us on our fronts whenever you wanted, right?"

"Shut up." Liara's cheeks were flushed red. "I know that, but I wouldn't have been as useful there. I... I just..." She hesitated, struggling to find her words. The gears in Glenn's mind worked as fast as they could to find the best answer, eventually finding one.

"I missed you, too," he said with a charming smile. Liara's face lit up and beamed with an even larger smile, the white cross on her forehead gleaming slightly under the sun. She hugged him even tighter.

Glenn smiled brightly. At this moment, the weariness of the war faded away, replaced by this simple happiness.

His relationship with Liara was... peculiar, to say the least. It felt like his first relationship all over again, only she was as unprepared for it as he was. They both had heavy responsibilities, participated in a war, and had little to no time to enjoy together ever since their declarations to each other.

Glenn frowned. Now that he thought about it, that was something very, very annoying. He'd finally accepted his feelings and chosen to trust someone else with the weight on his shoulders, and yet he couldn't even 'court' her properly?

'Court...Hmf!' He almost chuckled at the thought. 'Diamanes really sees dating in weird ways. Courting... what an idiot.'

"Glenn?" Liara's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"You... Did you ever think about what you will do once it's over?" She asked softly, her chest pushing against his back.

Glenn ran his hands against Pebble's scales, thinking. "Once it's over... I can hardly see myself taking care of everything, so thinking about the 'after' always seems pointless."

"Ah." Liara lowered her head with a difficult expression.

"But," Glenn continued, unaware of the turmoil on her face, "Now that you mention it, I think I'd like to travel with everyone and explore the world."

Liara perked up with a bright, interested expression. "Exploring the world? You, an explorer?"

Glenn turned to face her, his eyebrows creased. "What, what's wrong with that? We've always been stuck in Munirp because of the Thorn's Church, or the war with the Celestial Gods, or to take care of things in King's Rise. I'm tired of Munirp, for Onnea's sake! I want to know what's beyond the Ink Dunes, what the Southern Continent looks like, or how these barbarians in the North fight!"

Liara laughed, shaking her head. "That suits you really well." Her smile faded away slightly, and she sighed. "Even though I don't think I'll be able to travel with you."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "Bah, your kingdom, once you've rebuilt it, will probably be fine without you for a few weeks. And aren't countries supposed to run on advisors instead of the King or Queen alone? Just leave the heavy lifting and come with me—" he caught himself, blushing. "Us, I mean. Us."

Liara's eyes narrowed with a playful expression. "Oh, but I'd be fine going with just you."

Glenn smiled. "Then let's go now. Pebble!"

Pebble roared happily as it suddenly dove downward, startling a surprised cry out of Liara. The wind hissed past their ears as Pebble aimed straight for the ground like a meteor. Liara instinctively pulled herself closer to Glenn, not exactly scared but a little surprised, for certain.

"Glenn—!"

Pebble suddenly spread out his wings, stopping their fall at the last second and rising a large cloud of sand beneath him. He took back to the sky with a soft growl that sounded like laughter. Liara's cheeks turned red, and she lightly slapped Glenn's shoulder.

"You...!"

Glenn laughed his heart out. "You should have seen your face!"

Liara crossed her arms and turned her head away. "I see how it is. Fine."

Glenn turned around instantly. "Hey, what are you doing? Grab onto me, I don't want you falling!"

"Don't wanna."

"H-Hey!"

Liara's sullen face crumbled as Glenn stared at her silently, the heat rising to her cheeks. 'We're close,' she realized, 'Very close. Just like that morning.' Her cheeks reddened even more, her heart racing.

Glenn swallowed heavily, his throat dry. Her golden eyes reflected his own, warmth filling his chest. They both held their breaths, their lips getting close to each other's—

"WHOOO!!! THAT'S AWESOME!!!" Milena screamed excitedly as Whitey suddenly shot past them into a violent gust of wind. Pebble growled, annoyed, and flapped his wings to gain back some distance on the griffin. Glenn and Liara flinched and turned away from each other, the magic of the moment shattered.

"Oh, oh, Milena, calm down!" Sahro's helpless voice rang in the distance, making them laugh slightly.

'Damn it,' cursed Glenn.

Milena shook her head, her hands trembling slightly. 'That... that was close.'

Putting aside that last moment, Glenn could feel it. The joy of being with his friends once again.

It was time to shake the world once more.