Halcyon Days

Prologue

It was a never-ending plain of ice, stretching out to the countless of horizons that fell upon this barren piece of land. Not a single blade of grass could thrive, not a single shred of leaves left unfrozen; the harsh winds that drove the land to prosper with the everlasting winter could easily uproot the bare trees and send them flying across, only to have themselves sunken into the freezing waters where the ice above them cracked upon the contact of tree barks falling on it.

And yet, one lone figure stood upon this desert of ice and snow, eyes glancing out into the darkened heavens which cleared upon his presence being felt. A ray of light shone upon the area his feet stood on, serpentine clouds dispersing. The young boy brought his hands up in front of him, shielding his deep, navy eyes from the blinding beam. As another icy wind breezed past him, threatening to push him off the land which he thought he had trespassed upon, he collapsed to his knees, the sleeves of his kimono flying around wildly.

The ice beneath him cracked, another ray of light birthed from the core of the earth below. He moved his palm away, a narrowed sapphire orb glistening with frozen beads staring at the scarlet hue giving off its radiance. His vision blurred, slurred mumbles escaping his lips as he felt himself slipping away into the darkness. And just before the snow disappeared from his sight, a voice echoed in the icy domain:

"Are you lonely, Soujirou?"

Another crack in the ice; he felt himself sinking into freezing waters, bubbles appearing on the surface as the ray of light appeared further and further away from him. Before he could do anything to stop himself,

"Yes," his mind called out as everything fell dark.

The dragon unfurled its wings, taking another soar in the frozen heavens. "Do not worry, Soujirou." With every flap, a rain of ice descended to the plain of ice below, where the hole in which his purple-haired friend fell through was slowly being covered by another layer of ice. "Another dragon will be joining us soon."

The snow suddenly ceased to fall.