Blood Nemesis

"Okay, before that, let me ask you some questions," Oliver suggested.

The dragon nodded again.

"What do you want to ask?"

"I need to verify that everything you have said is the truth. So, explain to me what kind of restriction is affecting you."

The dragon expected such a question from Oliver. After all, it had seen how prudent Oliver was when he did something. It knew it would be unable to fool him—at least not while living with the restrictions.

So, the dragon gave an awkward smile and began to speak,

"There are three main restrictions placed on me. The first one stops me from harming you. The second one prevents me from leaving this space, and the third one…the third one…"

When it came to the third one, the dragon raised its head and pondered, but it couldn't remember what it was. Somehow, whenever it tried to recall what the third restriction was, it couldn't gather its thoughts and form a sentence. It was as if it had forgotten all about it.

"...third, I can't remember." It said slowly.

Oliver was amused.

"You forgot?"

His voice spiked a little, showing his amusement.

"I seem to have."

The dragon was clearly confused.

"You know there is a third restriction, but can't talk about it."

"It is amusing indeed."

Oliver looked closely at the dragon.

"Is the restriction preventing you from speaking about the restriction itself?" Oliver asked.

When you think about it, certain confidential agreements prevented the person who signed it from speaking about the contract itself. Perhaps the restriction the dragon spoke of was something similar, he deduced.

In that scenario, it would make a lot of sense.

'Should I call this damned dragon the forgetful slave. Who else would sign a contract like that?'

'Maybe I am overthinking it. The restriction might be something unlike any contracts I know of.'

'Anyways, I don't believe this damned dragon was a god. How can a god be tricked?'

Oliver was unwilling to believe anything that the dragon said. As usual, he adhered to his policy of verifying every piece of information from an untrusted source.

The dragon was something that didn't have any goodwill towards himself, so it was even less trustworthy.

While Oliver was thinking, the dragon prayed in heart that Oliver would believe it and permit it to speak outside the dark dimension.

After all, Oliver rarely comes into this space, so if he leaves without giving permission, he would have to wait for eternity before Oliver returns again.

So, to quickly clear Oliver's doubt, the dragon began to speak.

"Although I don't know what the third restriction is exactly, I know that you can help me bypass it."

"So, if I get your permission, I can leave this space and talk with you."

The dragon was desperately trying to convince Oliver.

Oliver, on the other hand, didn't even take anything it said seriously. He was anything but convinced.

He had seen many people. Different kinds with different personalities and traits. Most were normal, but occasionally, he meets psychopaths, pathological liars, murderers and even delusional creeps who think they are gods.

From his perspective, the dragon was something similar.

When dealing with people like that, it is best not to trust anything they say.

"Dragon, what is this space?" So, Oliver changed the topic to something he wanted to know, which he could verify if it were true.

The dark dimension, as he calls it, is the space they were in. This is the space he comes to after each death.

Even though he was familiar with the space, Oliver knew nothing about it. Its origin and purpose were still a mystery. If the dragon can give him some information about it, it would certainly help him.

"Do you know what this dark dimension is?" He asked.

The dragon was thrilled when it saw that Oliver was interested in what it had to say.

As a former god, it certainly knew a lot about everything. It wanted to display all its knowledge proudly.

But, suddenly, it felt its mind slow down.

Though it could dig deep into memory and gain fragments of insights, it was not as clear as it had imagined.

Something was blocking it.

'The third restriction!'

The dragon realised the problem.

'The third restriction doesn't allow me to access all my memory.'

If Oliver hadn't asked the question, he might have never realised the problem at all.

A fear...an unknown fear that cannot be described by words shrouded the dragon's mind.

'How did I end up in this situation?'

The last thing the dragon remembered was its death. But even that was unclear and fragmented.

'My consciousness gained the ability to think just now. In the past, I was just observing this vile creature called Oliver.'

The dragon began to piece together its situation.

And from the looks of it, it was anything but good.

'The memory after meeting Oliver is clear. Before that, I can't remember exactly what happened.'

'Initially, my consciousness was in a weakened state, surviving inside the coin.'

'The miracle that sent us back in time awakened my consciousness.'

'Then, through the law of justice, my consciousness grew stronger as my divinity returned.'

'Ah! I see…'

'So, that's what happened.'

The dragon glanced over to the red and gold sun before turning back to face Oliver.

'That's how it is…'

Although it couldn't access all its memory, it could still think and process the information it had.

So, it knew what the dark dimension that Oliver spoke of was.

"This is not a dark dimension." The dragon chuckled with an air of superiority and began to speak. "This is your mindscape."

Oliver raised his non-existent eyebrow.

"Continue." He said that when the dragon stayed silent.

"Will you give me permission to speak with you?" The dragon asked, thinking it had gained the upper hand.

"I can think about it."

"You should. I will give you a piece of information for free. This dimension represents your mind and the world around you. Most people have their own unique mindscape. Yours also looks unique. Anyway, there is no doubt about it, this is your mindscape.

'Mindscape. What does it mean exactly?'

Oliver glanced at the dragon, trying to see if it was lying.

But other than a smug expression, he couldn't see anything else.

'If this is my mindscape, what is everything inside it?' Oliver pondered and decided to ask the dragon the same question.

"Can you tell me what the Red Sun is?"

The Red Sun was the most mysterious entity within the mindscape. He wanted to know what that was.