Chapter Text
Five days came and went in a flash, snow letting up just enough for Phil to make his way up the mountain with an almost clear path. The wind grew stronger the closer he moved towards the top, almost warning him to turn back and never return; he couldn't do that anymore. Travelling for nearly a week straight finally began to take its toll, his strength weakening as he hopped off the horse. A well-lit cave entrance caught his eye, so he quickly pulled the horse along with him inside of it, moving far enough in to ignore the burning wind. Shivers wracked through his body the more he moved around, but he travelled further into the cave, following the torch trail.
The horse let out noises of distress, clearly affected by the severe weather change, and Phil stopped walking for a moment to calm it down before continuing. His mind was on edge, wondering how the torches had yet to burn out with the weather. Looking closer at them, he could see that they were fairly new, possibly only a few hours old. It seemed odd that any human would live up in a mountain, but he couldn't ignore any possibility. No one would willingly want to live someplace isolated from everyone else, or at least that's what he tried to convince himself.
Hushed footsteps came from behind, a tired voice making him jump. "Are you another traveller here for the dragon?" Phil turned to look at the voice, tilting his head up to look at the surprisingly tall older man. "Ah, of course, you are. I see you have a sword with you. The room is down the hallway, at the very end." The man pointed down a well-carved tunnel and disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving small floating purple dots behind.
Confused by the interaction, the blonde walked down the hallway, stopping every couple of minutes in order to admire the architecture. It was a lovely place, despite being freezing cold and holding the gateway to a potentially dangerous dragon. Seeing the entrance to the room the older man talked of, Phil took a moment to tie the horse against some iron bars. His luck had got him this far, so he wished the horse farewell before stepping into the room, taking the sword with him. Once he stepped inside, everything finally settled in.
Mysterious whispers and murmurs sounded from every corner, but the loudest ones came from the center of the room. They crawled their way to Phil's ears out of a strange circular shape, which looked to be the portal his father always dreamed of seeing. Walking up the steps in front of it, he paused, staring into a void of nothing. A new sense of nerves rushed over him, pulling him away from the portal and down the steps, ignoring its call. He shook his head, moving to sit on the worn-out carpet, letting the sword in his hand fall a few inches to meet the floor.
"It's a much more daunting task once you're here in person, isn't it?" Phil raised his head to look at the taller man, nodding. "You know, most adventurers die trying to get up the mountain, so getting here is an achievement on its own. There's always someone else to follow through with it."
Phil thought for a moment. "So, are you here as a guardian or as someone to deter anyone from ever entering?"
Warbled sounds left the man's mouth, sounding similar to broken laughter. "You could say I'm something along those lines."
"Does it ever work out for you?"
"Well, sometimes." The man sat down on the edge of the portal, almost teleporting away from Phil. "The thing is, travellers are so determined to slay this so-called mighty dragon that they lack the clarity in their mind to understand their situation." He dipped his hand into the portal, pulling it back up to reveal his once clear hand had changed. "They assume there's no other way except for slaying the dragon. I get a small thank you for opening the portal for them, and they get on their merry way."
"Very few ever stop to wonder about what it's like in there, right?" Phil stood up to walk closer to the other. "And the ones that do turn around and never come back."
Holding out his hand to let Phil examine it, the man sighed. "Never thought I'd meet someone smart enough to piece that together."
They remained silent, the blonde observing the now partially black hand, confused on how it had changed from the previous pale white. Phil studied the new spots, noticing how they felt the same as the pale ones. The older man's fingers had grown slightly longer, sharp nails new and pristine. Every part of his mind screamed that it was abnormal, that he should ignore the man and enter the portal. His body tried to drag him towards the tempting voices leaking from the void, but he refused the call; Phil's heart told him to stay a few more minutes.
He breathed out in awe. "You're an ender hybrid, aren't you?"
"Perhaps I am, but you're not a hybrid at all. You confuse me."
"How does me not being a hybrid confuse you?" Phil let go of the man's hand, walking to pick up his sword. "Do hybrids normally attempt to enter the portal?"
"It's not that they don't, but they're the only ones that are affected by it. Tell me, can you hear the cries and whispers of my friends through the portal." The blonde nodded and let the other continue. "That's why you confuse me. The only people to ever hesitate were hybrids; every single human walked straight in and didn't hear a thing."
"Maybe I just have good hearing?" Walking up the steps again, Phil glanced into the portal, listening as the voices grew in volume. "If anything, they sound mournful with some calm voices."
The older man appeared in front of him, stopping him from walking in. "Can I put my trust in you- the one human that can hear my friends- please don't hurt them. Please don't hurt her ."
Hearing the grief laced in the taller's voice, Phil faltered. Every moment in his life led up to this moment, but something about the ender hybrid set him off. Maybe it was the almost unnoticeable tremble of the other's hands gripping his shoulders or the cold stare he received from the dark purple eyes; Phil couldn't place why it upset him so much. Letting his mind win over his heart, he moved the hybrid to the side, giving a soft smile before falling back first into the portal. It was a thought for another time. It was a thought for after he completed his dream.
...
Phil felt like he was suffocating. Breathing never felt more difficult than those few seconds it took him to get through the portal. It felt like a thick sludge clawing into his lungs, trying to prevent him from intaking any air. He landed on a rocky platform, spiraling into a violent coughing fit and nearly falling off it. The sinking feeling in his chest lifted, allowing him to take a look at his surroundings.
No story could have prepared him for this; nothing but black skies could be seen, except for a floating island in the distance. The blonde gripped the edge of the platform he was on and leaned over the side, staring down into the same starless sky. Shakily rising to his feet, Phil turned his attention back to the floating island, noting a narrow bridge leading to it. The bridge seemed ready to fall apart, but there was no other way over to the island. Pushing the trembling fear to the back of his mind, he crossed over to the island.
It was said in the stories and tales that the dragon would patrol an island, so it had to be the one he was on. Tall pillars formed a circle around the island's center, but Phil couldn't figure out their purpose. He cautiously made his way towards the center, noticing a fountain now that he was closer. All the endermen he passed on his way paid no mind to him, actively avoiding the blonde man. The fountain was empty, nothing except a broken egg and bones inside it, confusing him.
"I thought there was supposed to be a dragon here?"
A high-pitched roar sounded from above, but it didn't shake the ground or scare Phil. He glanced up to see the outline of an animal flying towards him, deep purple eyes glaring. Quickly moving out of the way, he watched as the dragon landed in front of the fountain, growling at him. It barely seemed any bigger than his horse, not much of a threat when he thought about it. After a few minutes of observing how the dragon acted, Phil pieced a few things together.
"A broken egg, bones, and a baby dragon." He let go of his sword and sat on the ground, staring at the creature as he continued. "You're not the dragon I'm here to kill, are you?"
Phil got a low hiss as a response, the dragon moving to perch on the fountain, defending it.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, mate. I don't think I have it in me to kill a defenceless dragon." Standing, he carefully approached the fountain. "I think I understand what the guardian meant now; you're the only dragon here anymore."
As he moved towards the fountain, a threatening hiss sounded in the air, the dragon launching towards Phil. He was tackled to the ground, smacking his head on the hard stone in an instant. Focusing his eyes to look above him, he froze at the now bright purple eyes staring back at his. Once more, pushing away his fear, the blonde kept his gaze locked with the dragon's, searching for something. Sharp teeth came into view, and he nearly thought it would be the last thing he would see.
Then he saw it, something that most would never think to look for in the so-called mighty beast. Lifting his arms to wrap around the dragon, Phil dragged it into a hug. It might have been foolish on his part, but it was the only thing at the moment that he felt was right. He could think of no other reason for the dragon to be so young other than the original already being killed. The egg in the fountain, as well as the different bones, made sense to him.
A soft growl sounded close to his ears, and the dragon pushed off of him, swaying its tail as it walked back to the fountain.
Relieved breaths left Phil. "I thought for a moment that you were going to kill me there. Thank you." Bringing himself to his feet, he watched the dragon perch. "I don't think it's right for me to harm you. My dream was to slay a mighty dragon to protect my world from it, but now, I think I need to protect the mighty dragon from my world."
Minutes turned into hours, the two of them sitting in silence. Now and then, Phil would speak about a story from his life; he even told the dragon how he met Kristin. It seemed like there would be no way to get home any time soon, but Phil seemed to be okay with that. He needed some time to think over what he wanted to do once he finally got back. The dream that he lived his life for came to a rather quick end, so he decided to alter it.
Grabbing the sword he set down earlier, he made his way back to the island's center. Looking at the baby dragon, he knelt on one knee, holding the sword out. It seemed confused at his actions, Phil letting out a chuckle in response. He planned to gain the dragon's trust, find a way to leave, and build a home around the portal to protect it. No one else would have to suffer from an unjust death anymore, not even the dragon.
Lifting his head, Phil jumped when the dragon appeared in front of him. He steadied himself for a moment before kneeling again, trying to show respect towards the dragon. A few minutes passed as the winged creature moved back to the fountain, arranging bones inside it. Phil eventually stood, looking at the pattern of the bones in the fountain; they were the bones that made up the structure of the dragon's wings. He turned around, confused.
"I don't get it. Is this supposed to be a message?"
Loud voices flooded his ear again, and he immediately turned around to see the fountain filled with the same thick substance of the portal. Floating on top of the new portal was the set of wings bones, mending together. Phil ignored the tempting call to exit the realm he was in; instead, he looked back at the dragon. It peered at him for a few seconds before charging forwards, pushing the blonde into the portal. The warbled voices grew louder as he sank into the liquid, his vision going black.
...
When his vision came back, he was in the familiar stone room as before, tumbling down the stairs. He landed on the carpet floor, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The old ender hybrid from before came into view, helping the blonde to his feet; Phil felt off-balance, his back feeling heavier than before. He reached to rub at it but gasped when he felt scales similar to the dragon. Doing his best to look behind him, he was astounded by what he saw.
"Are these real?" Phil touched the dark leathery wings, feeling small scales on them. "These can't be real."
"You tell me." The ender hybrid spoke up, snorting. "They look pretty real from here. Besides, I would take it as an honour receiving those, so don't disregard them."
Turning back to face the older hybrid, Phil gave a soft smile. "She's okay, by the way, the dragon. I didn't have the heart to harm a young one."
All the newly winged hybrid received was a relieved smile from the other. The ender hybrid walked up the stairs and fell into the portal, slowly sinking. Phil watched as the man's features changed, resembling more of an enderman. He waited for the older man to disappear, along with the liquid inside the portal. The calling voices calmed down, leaving him alone and fascinated with his new wings.
"Now it's time to go find Kristin."