12. Kadia

After several seconds of silence, Adrien cleared her throat and motioned for Kaida to continue her story. Kaida took a deep breath and then started to recite what she could remember of what happened to her earlier that day. When it came to the moment that her memories went fuzzy, she relayed the information she received from her dragon after waking up. The girls listened intently and had moments where they looked at each other with concern. None of it made sense to her because she had no idea what the Dark Dimension really did to her outside of turning off her moral compass and then tampering with her memories.

"Well, I wouldn’t say the Dark Dimension did that to you. It did affect your dragon. That is what it does. It brings out the animalistic side of any species with an animal counterpart or animalistic instincts. Vampyres do have moments where they get the thrill of the hunt when chasing after their meal if they hunt humans and they run, so that’s why it affects them so much."

"Okay, so why can’t I remember anything else?"

Adrien shrugged, "That’s a new one for me. I’ve never seen it tamper with memories before. That doesn’t mean it can’t. No one knows the lengths of power that dimension has. We still have a lot to discover with it. We’ve only been able to run tests and whatnot to understand it in the last few decades."

"Wonderful. So, we don’t know how to unlock my memories either?"

"Do you even need to? Sounds like your dragon remembers just fine. Ask her about it." Remy suggested.

"She’s healing. It took a lot out of her."

"Sounds like it. Anyone who fights it seems to have that issue," Adrien told Kaida.

"What can we do about it, though?" Kaida asked.

Adrien looked away from everyone, "I don’t know yet. It is a significant thing to face. No one has single-handedly gone up against the Dark Dimension and made it cease to be in existence. It’s almost like we can’t do that at all. That it will be its own entity, and eventually it will take over everything."

Remy scoffed, "That doesn’t sound daunting at all."

"How else can I describe it? This is why I accepted the rejection. I didn’t want this dimension unleashed onto the world. It’s daunting as hell! There’s only one artifact that I know can close the gap that I am sure my good-for-nothing ex-mate ripped open."

"What artifact is that?" Sundrei asked, "I never heard of an artifact being able to close any gate to that dimension."

Adrien pursed her lips as if she did not want to say. Kaida wondered if the artifact was a secret that Witches kept to themselves. Growing up, that’s all Kaida had heard about Witches. They were secretive and didn’t play well with others. Very few of them even joined covens because they could not collaborate with other members without wanting to kill them.

"The Sword of Divine Light."

Kaida couldn’t help herself. She vocalized an "ohhhh" at the sound of the sword’s name. Thankfully, no one looked at her, and Adrien continued explaining.

"It was said that this sword was molded between both dimensions and crafted for the Gods. It is curved so it can carve through one dimension to enter another and has runes etched into it to pierce through anything. The Gods have done their best to keep it from mortal hands because they could kill a God with it. In reality, it is hidden because of its ability to step through other dimensions. My coven believed in more than just two dimensions. There are more things out there than just our species, which is what the Dark Dimension holds back: creatures that can kill us all if they would spill over into our world."

"What kind of creatures? What could possibly be stronger than us?" Azulia questioned.

"I could go on about that all day. As I said, the Dark Dimension is not fully explored. Hell, neither is our world. I’m sure plenty of things out there could be more powerful than us. We won’t know until everything is explored and written down." Adrien answered with a frown.

"But why did my dragon destroy everything in her path when she came into contact with it?"

Kaida blurted out the question without much thought. The girls seemed to be more involved with the bigger picture of the Dark Dimension than the fact that it was now on the island. If it could take over her dragon and leave a destructive path in her wake by just breathing it in, what would it do to everyone else who comes into contact with it? Is there someone it affects less so they could put up a spell to block it from reaching others?

"It’s just what it does. No rhyme or reason. It just brings out the worst in people from this realm. I think my mate wanted to take over every kingdom by unleashing the dimension onto ours and then ruling what was left because he supposedly had a spell that could control it."

"That doesn’t sound like it’s possible. A spell to control an entire dimension? Magic isn’t that powerful, is it?" Remy looked around the table to find someone that would agree with her.

Kaida noticed no one did. That meant there was a possible spell to control the Dark Dimension. To know that such a thing exists... that was power itself.

"You mean to tell me that there is a spell out there that would give someone access to an entire dimension’s power? Wouldn’t that make them a-"

"God," Adrien, Azulia, and Sundrei said simultaneously.

"Your ex-mate wants to become a God?" Remy deadpanned.

"Now you see why I accepted the rejection. My coven SERVED the Gods. There was no way in hell that I would agree to be a part of a plan that would make me become one. That would be complete disrespect to the ones I serve."

"What a douche. Who the hell would want to become a God? Do they not understand why we aren’t ones to begin with? There has to be a reason for that."

"There is. An average Supe can’t handle the responsibility of a God. Or the power."

"It’s like when Humans think that they could be better than their God. Can you imagine a Human taking on all of that? With no magic or abilities? That would be humorous to watch, though," Remy rambled.

To answer your question, I was trying to destroy the opening so that more from that dimension would not seep in.

What? You were trying to stop it? Why didn’t you tell me that before?

I didn’t remember until now. My memory from that adventure is still a little fuzzy, too.

Adventure?

It was thrilling, was it not? We battled the Dark Dimension! I think we won, too.

"Uh, my dragon said she was trying to destroy the opening so more of the dimension wouldn’t come through."

Adrien blinked several times at Kaida. No one said anything as Adrien processed what Kaida said, but all eyes seemed to be staring at her. Remy’s stare was the one that worried Kaida the most. Remy seemed to be the most ruthless of her friends.

Uhm, I hope Remy isn’t plotting my death right now. She’d be the one that would actually go through with it.

She’d lose.

"Your dragon was trying to close the opening gap on the island? Why in heaven would she take on that by herself? Where were you?"

Adrien’s questions came out in rapid fire. Kaida tried to figure out what question to answer first but was unsure of which one Adrien wanted her to answer.

"Beckett asked me to go flying with him, remember? I think I said that earlier. Anyway, this peninsula was on the other side of the island."

"And your dragon just rushed in and started blasting at it, hoping it would close it?"

Yes. And I did.

"It was the only thing she could think of doing. She knew it was evil and wanted to get rid of it. She was trying to save the island."

"How did she even manage that? How is that possible? She closed the opening?"

Yet again, Adrien’s questions were too fast for Kaida to understand which she wanted answered. Kaida waited for Adrien to simmer down this time before she asked if there was something specific that she wanted answered.

"Your dragon closed the opening?"

From what I saw, yes.

"She says she thinks she did, but from what she noticed, yes."

"Do we need to go investigate?" Azulia asked the group.

"Maybe we should."

Kaida sat up straighter. "I’m sorry, but why would you go near that place? If my dragon didn’t close the opening, it could still affect anyone who goes near it. Don’t you think that is a reason to stay away from it? Especially since we don’t have the sword thing that could close it?"

Remy made a face and then looked at Adrien. "Kai has a point. Why would we go near it if we can’t close it?"

Adrien scoffed. "To make sure that it is closed?"

"I don’t think we should get involved just yet. Kaida seems to be the only one who has come across it. She may have even closed it by herself," Remy interjected.

"But she lost control of her dragon because of it. It is something that needs to be dealt with if it isn’t closed," Adrien pleaded.

It wasn’t like Adrien to plead. Adrien seemed to always be in charge and lead people into doing the right thing. Kaida noticed that no one was behind her on this; this was not something she was used to.

"I think we need to help Kaida get in control of her magic and dragon first. She is still very new to all of this. I know when I first got my wolf, I needed a lot of training because of how powerful she is. A Meta Wolf is harder to control than an average Lycan. Not only do I need to fight off urges to shift when I am anything other than happy because emotions can trigger a shift, but I also have to fight off her wanting to just transform parts of my body at random. Like turning just my hands into paws or elongating my claws. I can be a full wolf, a full Lycan, an in-between... It’s a lot. Now, look at Kaida. She has the magic of her dragon at her disposal, and her dragon form. I think they can just let loose their wings, too. Her body and mind are a rollercoaster right now."

Remy standing up for Kaida made Kaida feel warm inside. Her own friends back home would never challenge anyone for her, yet this Lycan had no issue doing so.

"So, we just ignore the Dark Dimension being on the island?" Adrien continued to try to get everyone to join her against the dimension.

"We should focus on something we can help right now. None of us are strong enough to go over there and fight off the effects if it is still there. Maybe we could all use a training session. If this is what we will be facing, we need to be ready," Azulia explained her position to the group, agreeing with Remy.

Adrien nodded while bowing her head. Kaida could feel her sadness from the other side of the table. After seeing how much they all cared for Kaida, it did not sit well with her that Adrien was upset.

"Adrien, we aren’t saying this isn’t something we should actually ignore. We are saying we should prepare ourselves if what I faced wasn’t the end. There are a lot of people on this island. It will all affect them so that we can see your side. But we cannot go up against it if we aren’t ready. If it’s on the other side of the island, it won’t reach us any time soon. It seemed to be contained in that area. I can ask Beckett to fly near it to see, but I don’t think we should get any closer than that."

Kaida surprised even herself with her words. For the first time in her life, she felt like a leader with how she framed her siding with Remy and Azulia. She looked over to Sundrei, and even she nodded to Kaida’s suggestion.

Adrien sighed and then nodded herself, "You’re right. I don’t think we can close it all without the sword. If it is still present, we must all be at our best, especially you, Kaida. If your dragon’s magic can fight off the dimension, we need you in charge of the magic and your dragon so you don’t turn into our enemy if it takes over."

Kaida didn’t like how Adrien said her piece but was happy to see that she was starting to understand and agree with their side. When Adrien stood up, Kaida looked at her with a smile on her face to show that nothing had changed between them. They were still friends, and she hoped that Adrien felt the same way.

Looks like I have some training to do.