Lucy POV
Rolotia tapped her chin with her finger, her gaze drifting toward the horizon as if she were peering through the veil of time itself. "Well, let's see... from where should I begin this tale?"
She fell into a deep, thoughtful silence for a moment before her eyes snapped back to mine. "Okay, how about this: Lucy, do you believe that humans and dragons can truly coexist?"
I blinked, caught off guard by the philosophical turn. "Well... I believe it's possible. But why are you asking me this now?"
"In the distant past," Rolotia began, her voice dropping an octave, "the faction of dragons that desired coexistence with humanity was incredibly small. To give you an idea of the scale, the ratio was roughly one to a hundred."
I felt a chill. I knew dragons were powerful, but to imagine a world where 99% of them viewed us as nothing more than prey...
"The vast majority of dragons despised humans," she continued. "They regarded your kind as nothing more than insects to be stepped upon."
"Okay... but what does this have to do with the story?" I asked, my brow furrowing.
"Because, Lucy, despite that overwhelming hatred, there was once a single village where dragons and humans lived in perfect harmony."
My breath hitched. "Huh? Such a place actually existed?"
"It did."
"But didn't you just say almost all dragons despised humans back then?"
"That is exactly why this village was so special," Rolotia said, a faint, melancholic smile touching her lips. "Its name was Montes Secreta. It was perched atop a mountain in the Hidden Land."
"The Hidden Land?" I racked my brain, searching through every map I had ever studied. "I've never heard of it."
"Because that land has been scrubbed from the pages of history. If I had to give you an approximate location, it sat far to the east of the continent of Ishgar."
I nodded slowly, trying to map it out in my mind. "Okay... but what does this village have to do with Acnologia—or Argon?"
Rolotia looked me dead in the eye. "You see, Lucy... Argon used to live there."
"Ehhh?!" The shock nearly knocked me off my feet. "That Argon? He lived in a village where dragons and humans were allies? How is that even possible?"
"Anything is possible, Lucy."
My mind was racing. If Acnologia had grown up in a place defined by peace between the two races, how did he become the legendary monster who wanted to wipe every dragon from the face of the earth? It was a complete contradiction. It didn't make sense.
As if reading my chaotic thoughts, Rolotia spoke again. "Lucy, I think you're operating under a massive misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
"Acnologia... or Argon... did not always hate dragons. In the beginning, he loved them. He looked up to them and regarded them as the sacred guardians of his village."
I stood there, frozen. The wind whistled through the trees of Fuji Hill, but I barely felt it.
"...What?" I whispered.
"Say that again?" I demanded, sure I had misheard.
Rolotia repeated it, her voice steady and clear: "He loved dragons, and he regarded them as the guardians of his home."
"WHAAAAATTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
My scream echoed across the hills. I clutched my head, feeling like my brain was about to short-circuit. Argon? The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse? The man who was synonymous with dragon extinction? He liked them?
"Wait, wait, wait... let me process this," I panted, holding up a hand. "Argon... used to like dragons? He thought of them as protectors?"
"Yes," Rolotia nodded simply.
"HOW!!??"
If anyone else had told me this, I would have laughed in their face and called them insane. But this was a Goddess talking. The same being who had sent me back in time. She had no reason to lie about something so fundamental.
"Okay, Rolotia," I said, taking a shaky breath to steady my racing heart. "I believe you. I don't think you're lying... but if anyone else heard this, they'd think you were out of your mind. Please... tell me the rest. Tell me the story of Argon's life."
Rolotia leaned back, her expression turning solemn as she prepared to open a door to a past that had stayed shut for centuries.
"Very well, Lucy. Please... listen carefully."