Days went by with nothing new, or special happening. I would go to my usual spot training for the upcoming knight recruitment. While my mother and father would continue to be called out on quests.
My father was currently on a quest that was taking him longer than usual, a whole month had passed by. I was expecting him to come back any day now, so I could test the effect of the crystal I had absorbed.
I went home after my training on top of the hill. When I arrived home I opened the door and could hear my mother crying. I rushed to the kitchen were her voice was coming from.
My mother had her head down leaning on the table.
"Mother, what's wrong?" I asked.
She lifted her head from the table and couldn't stop the tears running down her face. "It's your father, he's not well"
She came over and knelt to my eye level trying to hold back her tears.
"Let's see him together I'm sure it will make him happy"
She grabbed my hand and started leading me to their bedroom. As we got closer to the room her grip got tighter around my little hand. We stopped just outside the bedroom door.
"Before we go in, I need you to be strong Ray,"
I nodded in response.
"Your father is sick Ray, don't listen to what he says but we need to be there for him" She began to open the door slowly.
My father was lying on down on the bed. When we entered the room he didn't even acknowledge we were there. His skin was pale and dried up as if he hadn't eaten for days, his hair had started to fall out and his eyes were sunken in. This was not the strong man I once knew.
As we walked over towards my father's body I could hear a few words coming out from him.
"The shadow.... it will kill us all... we...will all die...the shadow..the shadow" My father whispered to himself.
I quickly activated my dragon eyes skill, his body had changed aura from yellow strong gold to a dark sinister purple colour. I had never seen this colour before. What had happened to him?
I looked towards my mother who was staring at my father.
"What happened to him?"
"let's go talk outside"
As we were leaving the room my dad kept repeating the same words over and over.
We were sat down by the table as my mother had explained to me what had happened to father. My father had been infected by something called the shadow plague. A disease widespread through the continent with no known cure.
He obtained the plague on his latest quest. The plague had already covered half the continent and his latest quest took him near the border. My father had always found it hard to say no to people especially if they were in need.
The knights had brought him back while I was away. Saying he had been infected fighting on the front lines, protecting the citizens of a small village that was about to be overrun by shadow beasts.
As I was lying down in my room I was thinking of what had happened? I had never heard of the shadow plague r shadow beast in my time. There was crucial information that I was missing. How long had it been between me turning into a human and a dragon?
I didn't even know the state of the world I was in today. I was simply obsessed with my goal of revenge, that the thought never came. My family didn't own many books and my mother had told me all that she wanted me to know. when I pressed her for answers she simply said I would find out later.
I opened my status window and looked at the list of skills. The skills of the dragon eye and summon pet was there but underneath a figure could be seen.
It still said 1/1000 even though I had the summon pet skill. I never had this skill when I was a dragon so it might be only my dragon skills that this figure is related to.
I remember I had a skill that would clear all status conditions, perhaps it would also work on my father. The problem was I still had no idea how to unlock skills. I thought maybe the condition was to defeat a new creature but when defeating the crazed monkey my skill list had no change.
Then even if I found out how to unlock the skills, I wouldn't even know what skill I would obtain next.
I didn't know how long my father could last in his current condition. My mother would have to stop working to look after him. luckily they had saved up a bit of money that would last them but when that money ran out what could they do?
To get the answers that I wanted the best chance was to get into Roland knight academy. With their help and knowledge, I would find the answers I was looking for. What the black plaque was and what had happened to the world after my defeat.
Two weeks remained until the knights would arrive in town looking for candidates. I needed to get into that academy now more than ever. I had lost my family before, I wasn't ready to lose another family again.
*****
In a cathedral-like church hall somewhere in the land, a group of elders had gathered. They were all wearing white robes surrounding a giant glowing ball object that stood in the middle of the room.
The elders began to speak to one another with worried looks on their faces.
"The prophecy has been told," One of the elders said.
"Yes but this is difficult"
"Difficult indeed"
"We must search for the boy with red hair and guide him on the right path, for this boy has two destinies. If we fail, he will bring the destruction of the world, if we succeed, he will be the saviour."
The elders nodded in agreement.
"We must inform the land quickly!"