Frozen in Darkness
by BridgitKiido

Disclaimer: I don't own GX. It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, who is a brilliant man. I'm just a teenage girl finishing up high school.

Chapter 8
White Dragon Oracle

The town below the Obelisk had been a lot busier, the last time Sho had been there.

Now, granted, it was a rather tiny town, barely large enough for those who lived there, and last time he had been there, it had been for his brother's coronation, and therefore almost everyone in the country had come, hoping to get a glimpse of the new Kaiser before he retreated to the palace to work out a new plan of action that would, hopefully, end the war that had plagued them for an entire decade at that point.

(Though it was a stupid war, really. One day the former Blizzard King of Nordia had sent troops onto Academian soil, and he wouldn't remove them or say what he had sent them for. No one ever doubted that Kaiser Samejima's decision had been wise, but no one had wanted the war, either – the countries had been close friends ever since they had been founded a millennium before. Many legends even stated that the first Blizzard King and the first Kaiser were good friends who worked closely together to make sure that their countries were built to help each other – even the stories that didn't claim friendship admitted mutual respect.)

But to see the town as it usually was, so deserted… the heir of Academia would have wondered if they were in the right place, if it weren't for the towering structure in the center – a large, bluish-white pillar, pointed at the top, with a square base carved to open into a cave-like catacomb. At the very peak stood a statue of a white dragon, its wings unfurled as though it was ready to lift off and fly away at any time, facing toward the northern border.

"Are we in the right place?" Asuryn asked, expressing Sho's doubts for him. "Such an important oracle would have more visitors, I would think."

"We're in the right place, nya," Daitoukuji replied confidently. Pharaoh, sleeping comfortably in his master's arms, stretched a little and yawned before returning to sleep.

As if to confirm that, two cloaked figures emerged from one of the houses – a teenage girl and an older man, both with darkened skin from being out in the sun so often. Both of them also had black hair, tied up so as to keep it out of their eyes, though the man also wore a hood over his head.

"Welcome to the Obelisk," the older man, his face covered in wrinkles. He motioned toward the girl. "This is Sara, and I am her teacher. You must be here to see the Oracle, if you have come this far."

"Yes, we have," Sho replied.

The girl replied, "The Oracle will be willing to see you tomorrow morning. For tonight, however, we would be honored if you would stay with us as our guests."

The members of the group glanced among one another before Daitoukuji spoke up. "We would be happy to accept your invitation, nya."

Kioku knew that he should probably stay by either Thunder or Sho's side during dinner. After all, Thunder was his creator, his Aniki, while the Prince was the one he had been created to protect. However, both of them seemed involved in conversations that would probably not be very polite for him to listen to even if he was particularly interested in hearing about their topics, so he spent his time in the back corner of the front hall, curled up in a position that, for most hounds, would have meant that he was at least partially asleep.

Not that he was asleep. Even if he was physically capable of such, which he was not, he was hardly tired, and his duty was still to protect.

He wasn't expecting to be joined by anyone, but eventually he was when Sara came over with a plate of food. "Are you hungry?" she asked, in an effort to be polite to her guests.

"No, thank you," Kioku responded. "I can't eat."

"Oh," Sara replied, somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry."

"No, it's all right," Kioku reassured her. Then, as an attempt to change the topic, he commented, "Your ears… you aren't human, are you."

Of course he would point out the ears. But Sara wasn't particularly upset by that. "No, I'm not human. I'm a Kuroten. Probably one of the last remaining in the world, but still a Kuroten."

"Why would you be one of the last remaining?" he asked, his head tilting.

Sara shrugged. "Ask the Blizzard King. For some reason, thirteen years ago, he ordered the extermination of our race. His soldiers killed my parents, my friends, my neighbors… almost all of the members of my village, and from what I heard, almost all of the other villages were decimated too. I managed to escape over the Academian border, but I doubt that there are any others who are still alive." Quietly, she added, "I still wonder if my little brother is okay…"

"I'm sorry," Kioku replied, hanging his head slightly. "It must be hard, to lose everyone you care about."

Sara smiled. "Thanks. I get by well enough here though. The people of the Obelisk are so kind – they took me in when I had nowhere else to go, and as long as I do my chores and greet visitors warmly, I get good food, a place to stay, even some training in combat." She might have said more, except that a bell sounded in the kitchen. "Well, that means that the carrots are ready. I'm sorry, again, about the mix-up."

"It's not a problem, really," Kioku replied contently. And as Sara left the room to bring the carrots to the dinner table, he curled up into his position again.

He wouldn't mention it to anyone, but for some strange reason, he could have sworn that he had seen ears like those before. He just wished he could remember from where.

"And here we are," Sara's teacher said as he led Sho and Judai to the entrance to the Oracle's room. Even given the situation, the Prince had only been allowed to bring Judai with him. Asuryn, Daichi and Thunder lived in Nordia and were therefore not permitted due to diplomatic concerns (after all, technically the peace treaties still hadn't been signed), and though the public excuse was that only one person was permitted to come with him, the real reason why Daitoukuji couldn't come was for safety reasons. On the off chance that Darkness decided to 'call' him while they were in there, that would cause a problem.

"I will wait out here. While you meet with the Oracle, be respectful. He always responds to inquiries to the best of his abilities, but if he grows tired, he must not be pushed."

"I understand," Sho replied. Then, he and Judai stepped through the doorway, and the door shut behind them.

"Welcome, travelers," came a voice ahead of them, and torches lit themselves down the sides of the cave – all of them blue flames – until they reached the end, where the Oracle sat on a tall stool. One could not see his eyes, for his head was covered by a smooth, light grey helm, shaped to resemble, if one squinted and turned their head about five degrees to the left, the head of a dragon. He wore similarly colored robes and gloves, though on what little could be seen of his legs he wore black pants. A long train of red hair poured out from behind his head, though whether it was natural or simply a part of the headdress was hard to determine.

"You are the Oracle, correct?" Sho asked, simply for confirmation.

"Yes, I am he. I speak only that which the first Kaiser bids me to." The Oracle stood up, abandoning his stool. "And you are the current heir to that throne, seeking a way to restore your brother, whose position has been usurped."

Without waiting for a response – it was as though the man already knew all of the questions that Sho wanted to ask – the Oracle continued, "Your brother is alive, in the palace of Academia. The Blizzard Prince is also alive, though not even I can discern his location. The one who has usurped the throne is no mere human, however, but a being whose body has been taken by a Wurm."

"A Wurm?" Judai asked. "What's that?"

"A corrupted creature," the Oracle replied, "born of spears and shadows. They infect those of human descent and create for them a world of pain and suffering, eventually driving them to the brink of insanity from the harm inflicted on their bodies before, if no remedy is found, killing them." Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Though, there has never been a case of this type of Wurm holding such command over the taken one's mind as well."

"So it's entirely the doing of this Wurm creature, then?" Sho confirmed. "How do we defeat it, then?"

"At this stage, in order to rid yourselves of the Wurm without harming the taken one, you must seek to destroy the other five Stars under his command, and take their prized amulets. When all seven of their rainbow stones are combined, you, the Heir, will be able to form what is necessary." He then turned to Judai. "Though, I sense power from you as well, one that feels… familiar. Your power will be necessary to restore peace as well."

"What do you mean by that?" Judai asked, but the Oracle raised his hand.

"Enough! I grow weary."

Sho and Judai looked at each other for a moment, and then Sho bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your help, Oracle."

And with that, the two of them left the room, and the Oracle returned to a sitting position. It could be quite exhausting, sometimes, to channel the first Kaiser. Especially when the inquiry invoked such a passionate emotional response as well.

Asuryn was not bored, she told herself as she sat patiently on a bench, her gaze wandering aimlessly through the sky. Boredom meant that there was nothing that she could do, while she was occupying her time.

Albeit by letting her thoughts wander while she waited for the others to return, but still.

She'd talked plenty with Daichi already on her travels, and the only topics that she hadn't discussed with him by now would jeopardize their secrecy – she still couldn't have anyone knowing who she really was, not even the heir to the throne who would keep it secret. Thunder and the Ojamas were giving Kioku some routine maintenance, so they couldn't be disturbed even if she'd had anything in particular she wanted to discuss with him. Who else was there to talk to?

Her gaze eventually fell on the top of the Obelisk once again, and she regarded the statue of the white dragon once again. It was a beautiful statue, even from this distance – it could almost be mistaken for an actual living dragon, if one looked at it in just the right manner. And almost more amazing than the dragon itself was the fact that such a large statue had been put on the top of such a skinny tower. How had the architects done that?

It reminded her, somewhat, of a tapestry in Nordia's palace. On the back wall of the Grand Ballroom was an image of a dragon as well, except instead of white, it was pure black.

"The white dragon is certainly a spectacle, isn't it." Asuryn looked up when she heard the voice suddenly next to her, to find Daitoukuji sitting there, Pharaoh curled up by his feet. How he had gotten there without her noticing, she'd never know.

"Yes, it is," Asuryn agreed, pulling her cloak closer around her.

Daitoukuji smiled a little before continuing, "There's a rumor floating around this place. Supposedly, it wasn't always facing toward Nordia, nya." When Asuryn turned toward him with her head tilted curiously, he continued, "It's only a rumor, but until the war began, the dragon is said to have had its wings folded, and to have faced toward Academia's palace. The day the war started was the day that those who live here first noticed that the dragon had suddenly turned, without any explanation as to why, nya."

"Huh," Asuryn replied, thinking over what he had said. "That's strange. A statue, turning by itself?"

Daitoukuji bent over and reached down to pet his cat, who purred happily at the man's touch. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it had help, or perhaps it was never really a statue."

"What do you mean?" Asuryn asked, now even more curious. Why would he think something like that?

Daitoukuji was saved from having to answer, however, by a voice that echoed from down the road. "Hey, everyone! We're back!"

And as Asuryn turned toward the sound of the voice, she saw Judai and Sho returning from the Oracle, both in one piece, though both seemingly slightly nervous thanks to the information they had gained. Asking Daitoukuji about what he meant could wait until those were done explaining what they had learned – it wasn't as though whatever secret he held was probably of all that much importance anyway.

Author's Notes: Sara's teacher is the Gravekeeper Leader, while the Oracle is the Duel Spirit Kaibaman, in case any of that wasn't alluded to clearly enough. As usual, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask them and I will make sure to answer them to the best of my ability, whether in the story itself or in an author's note.