Omega's Rebirth

Celeste wrung her hands together nervously as she stood at the mountain range,

It had been almost an hour since she had come to him and the winged man was yet to say a word.

Not to Celeste at least, the winged man still hummed that tune that was always on his lips,

Celeste had heard this tune from him so many times that it had her wondering more often than not just what meaning it held to him, for it to be so fondly remembered.

But of course, this was not an answer Celeste could dare seek to know, when it came to the winged man’s wrath, Celeste knew well enough that there would be no exceptions.

It almost seemed as though the winged man had no knowledge of Celeste’s presence because of how well he had ignored her since her arrival.

Try as Celeste might, she just could not hide her apprehension.

Celeste herself was a force to be reckoned with and it was not often she would find herself so entirely intimidated like she always would with the winged man.

It was a bittersweet feeling, the fact that she could never be an exception to the winged man but to Celeste...he was always the exception.

Once again, Celeste awaited his judgement, hoping dearly that her error this time had not gone beyond the mercy the winged man would allow.

It had taken decades to earn his trust and confidence, losing it over a moment of oversight was nothing short of horrifying to Celeste.

The winged man tilted his head to the side, passing a fleeting glance to Celeste.

He had taken his time knowing every moment of silence conveyed a greater message than his words would.

His senses were perfectly tuned, he could hear every quiet inhale, the shifting of feet, all indications of Celeste’s anxiety, yet he would only speak when it pleased him to.

And even when he did speak, the words the winged man chose to say were not one would expect given the present situation.

"You are strangely quiet today Celeste, it is unlike you. You have nothing to say for yourself then?" The winged man asked.

"My Lord, I..." Celeste began to explain but truly having no words to say, she instead settled for silence.

"You allowed the Starron girl slip through your hands, I wonder what exactly it was that consumed your attention so." The winged man said in a casual tone.

Celeste cringed visibly, the team she had dispatched to see to the Starron girl had failed terribly, the Starron girl had safely arrived to Keep Skies which was not a part of the plan.

It was a complicated situation, Celeste had been so focused on the troll golem and her plans for it that she had not been as attentive to the one affair she should have been most attentive to.

"Tell me Celeste, you have to say it in words for me to understand... though I would not claim to be a very understanding man... I do try." The winged man added.

"I...my intel informed me that the young lord of Scabbard could not take dragon form, I assumed he would be easily overwhelmed."

"They were to find an opportunity to attack but then Lord Decaron showed up. Lord Decaron is a seasoned battle dragon...he sensed our pursuit and diverted their route."

"We did not realize the change in flight path until it was too late, they took a longer route contrary to our expectations and we failed to track them down before their arrival." Celeste reported in a shame filled tone.

"Hmmm..." The winged man hummed in response.

"You wondered if I was aware of Azkar’s plans for Fort Blazed..." The winged man continued.

"It would not be likely that Azkar would act without my order, you should know this much."

"To gather the magical energy Azkar requires to pull of an interdimensional spell on a scale far greater than that of the Isle of Kezrar Dun..."

"Can you begin to comprehend how many decades it has taken? Or how long it shall take to recover his strength to what it was before he took Fort Blazed?" The winged man asked, falling quiet for a moment.

"We have stayed in the shadows all these centuries, what great risk it was to uncloak our true strength at Fort Blazed knowing it would alarm the dragons? Do you realize?"

"Yet why do you think I have given the order at this time to take Fort Blazed of all twelve fortresses? Risking everything?" The winged man asked again.

"I... I..." Celeste stuttered, unable to provide a response.

Truly, Celeste had no idea. She had said nothing more of Fort Blazed upon discovering it was the winged man’s order, but she truly did not understand why he had taken such a step.

Celeste had concluded it was just to stir a big enough trouble for the dragon lords that they would realise their supposedly flourishing dynasty would not hold for much longer.

"No, Celeste. I was not making a statement. Why must I bother wasting resources on a statement of such magnitude?"

"Fort Blazed has always been the first target and it was for nothing else but the treasure guarded by Dragon Lord Starron of Fort Blazed."

"The very treasure now guarded by his daughter whom you let slip through you hands...I will run you through it, slowly."

"Decades worth of magical energy expended, Azkar is at his weakest point indefinitely, the dragons will know of Azkar’s true identity soon... yet, it was all for nothing."

"The treasure was still delivered right into the hands of the dragon king."

"Now tell me Celeste, how can you compensate me for this? And of what use are you to me if you cannot?" The winged man’s tone was still calm and casual, as though Celeste had not just let his plans fall to shambles.

"I will do anything... just say the word." Celeste vowed, her eyes wide in horror as she realised the magnitude of her failure.

"The word..." The winged man murmured playfully, passing Celeste a look.

"Now Celeste, I want you to do... everything." He finished.