Chapter Seventy-Five: The Song of Rest

“You wretch, stop right there!”

“Do you take me for a fool? Why would I ever stop?”

The two red dragon brothers chased Linley through the palace in a frenzy, throwing the entire royal residence into chaos. As Linley sparred with the dragons, he racked his brain for a way out. The Great Cosmic Shift was undoubtedly his best option, but every royal palace had defensive arrays designed to restrict teleportation spells, and the night elves were certainly no exception.

Linley didn't know the specifics of the palace’s defenses; using the Great Cosmic Shift recklessly could land him in even greater trouble.

“No choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures—I'll just have to try that move!”

Linley retrieved a stack of paper from his earring, then, with a sweep of his hand, produced a pen.

Twenty minutes later, Linley and the two red dragons were sitting together in the garden.

“Kid, can you draw me a big one? I want to hang it in my lair!”

“Sure, no problem.”

Linley deftly sketched a portrait of the little bear. The younger red dragon immediately clutched it as if it were a treasure.

The elder red dragon’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Kid, do you have any pictures of the goddess bathing? I want a large one too!”

“Brother, don’t go too far!” The younger dragon roared in fury. “What do you want such a picture for? I won’t allow it!”

“Then…” The elder dragon looked at Linley with hopeful eyes. “At least give me a picture of the goddess spreading her legs!”

“No way!” Linley regarded the dragon with utter disdain. “Have you no shame, asking for something so brazen? Even if I wanted to give you one—what would I draw? The little bear’s furred belly? What’s so special about that?”

These two red dragons were truly hopeless. Linley had initially thought they were entranced by the Queen’s illusions, so he’d tried drawing a few female dragons to lure them away, but they’d shown no interest at all. Only the picture of the bear had halted their attacks.

“What exactly do you see when you look at Teddy?” Linley asked.

“It’s not Teddy, it’s Telly. The goddess is called Telly,” the dragons corrected him. “Telly is the name the goddess chose for herself. She doesn’t like the way you call her.”

Linley’s face fell. How dare that little bear object to the name he’d given her!

“Fine, let’s call her Telly. But what does she look like to you?” Linley pressed.

“Just like this.” The dragons pointed at the portrait.

Linley was stunned. “Then why do you call her a female dragon?”

“There’s no way she could deceive us!” The elder dragon snorted. “We dragons have a special sense—we can see her soul. And let me tell you, she is a noble and beautiful female dragon.”

The younger dragon added indignantly, “She must be under some curse, which is why she’s taken on that appearance.”

They seemed so convinced that Linley almost believed them. If he hadn’t raised Teddy himself, and if he wasn’t certain of the bear’s pure bloodline, he might have been swayed by these two dragons.

The Queen truly was formidable—she’d cast her illusion on the very soul of the bear, leaving the red dragons utterly convinced.

“In that case, why don’t you want me to draw her original form?” Linley found it odd. If they knew Teddy was only a bear on the outside, why insist on a bear portrait?

“What are you implying, kid?”

“Do you think we only care about the goddess’s appearance?”

The dragons grew unexpectedly angry—the elder even breathed fire. “Don’t think so little of us!”

“I didn’t mean that,” Linley said hastily, surprised by their sudden outrage.

“Listen, kid—we love the goddess for her soul!”

“Looks mean nothing. This portrait proves we love her for who she is, not her beauty!”

“That’s right. We accept all of her!”

“Even if she stays like this for the rest of her life, it’s fine by us!”

“Exactly!”

The red dragons blushed, panting with emotion.

“You’re obviously obsessed with the bear’s looks,” Linley thought, but kept the words to himself. He recalled the kind of picture the elder dragon had asked for earlier—how terrifying. What on earth had the Queen done to change even the aesthetic tastes of these two blockhead dragons? He really needed to learn a few tricks from her.

“I’ll draw another one for you, just like your brother’s.” Linley handed a bear portrait to the elder dragon, then rose to his feet. “Well, that’s settled. I’ll be going now.”

The red dragons safely tucked away their portraits and nodded. “This time, we’ll let it go. We never saw you.”

“But you’ve offended the goddess—next time we see you, we’ll have to kill you!”

“Fine, fine,” Linley replied, waving as he left. He could always draw them a few more pictures next time.

He made his way toward the Hall of Fate, stopping for breakfast along the way. When he reached Crescent Lake, however, the scene before him took him by surprise.

“What happened here?”

The lakeshore was strewn with wounded night elves. Their bodies appeared unscathed, yet each and every one lay on the ground with eyes closed, as if dead.

“Your Highness, you’re finally back.”

Iray, who was overseeing the transport of the wounded, spotted Linley and approached. “They’ve been hypnotized.”

“Hypnotized?” Linley looked around and spotted a familiar figure lying on the ground. “Eve.”

He hurried over. “What happened to her?”

“She’s been hypnotized as well,” Hela, who was tending to Eve, replied. She explained that the prince had ordered a boat crossing, with Hela and Eve leading the way. As they reached the center of the lake, a song drifted over the water, hypnotizing everyone. Only Hela, the prince, and a few others managed to rescue the wounded and bring them back.

“Look, the boats are still out there!” Hela pointed out.

Iray gazed at Crescent Lake and saw dozens of empty boats eerily floating on its surface.

“It really was hypnosis?” Linley was uneasy.

“Of course. If you don’t believe me, listen closely,” Hela said. “She’s dreaming.”

Linley leaned closer to Eve’s ear, and sure enough, he heard her murmuring softly—“Mother.” She was talking in her sleep, face serene.

Linley was reassured. “Where’s Little White?”

“It went looking for you. It’ll be back soon,” Hela replied.

Linley nodded and went to check on the other night elves. Many of them were murmuring in their sleep.

“Father,” “Sister,” “Little brother-in-law”...

All of them spoke of family. It seemed everyone was dreaming of home.

Linley even saw the general lying on the ground. “He’s so strong—how could he be hypnotized?”

He drew closer and heard the general muttering a name...the prince’s.

“Prince, are you related to him? Why is he saying your name?” Linley asked, puzzled.

Iray’s face turned cold. “Don’t ask me. I have nothing to do with him!”

“It’s the Requiem of the Twin Moons,” a familiar voice whispered in Linley’s ear—the light orb. “The demons created many undead on the ancient battlefield. The Requiem is a song meant to guide those undead to rest. When they hear it, they see visions of their most beloved and find peace in happiness.”

“The one they love most?” Linley turned to look at the prince.

The prince’s face was ashen. What was wrong with that general, muttering his name for no reason? Was he trying to cause a scandal?