Part 4
Demeter had never actually been in Xilro's well... lair he supposed, before. Nobody had that he knew of, come to think of it. So while he wasn't entirely prepared for the inside to be bigger than the outside, he wasn't completely surprised. The wily old dragon had tricks up his sleeve, it seemed. The fact he was inside a cave though, that intrigued him. Just where was this?
"Demeter, welcome to my home." Xilro said, approaching him and bowing. "You have questions, but save them for the end, yes?"
"You can talk normally!" Demeter shouted. Xilro flashed a smile.
"Saffron's soul brings calm to my thoughts."
"There's that name again. Who is Saffron?" Demeter asked.
"Questions at the end, friend. Come with me." Xilro replied, shaking his head.
As they walked deeper into the cave, Demeter noticed treasures and artifacts spanning all of history. Orcish pottery, dwarven bows, elven coinage, to name a few. He also noticed skeletons, of which he pretended not to notice. It's a dragon hoard after all, right? What's a few skeletons? Eventually, they arrived at what appeared to be a sitting room at the back of the cave. A woman who looked vaguely similar to Rebecca was sitting on one of the chairs, but she was wearing a flowing green dress and had flowers in her hair.
"Ah, Demeter Varlance. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Saffron Frostfall. The Witch of the North. Xilro's Bride. The Dragon That Never Was. The Lady of the Woods. You get the picture." She said, introducing herself and waving around her hand.
"Since you already know my name, I see no need to introduce myself." Demeter replied with a bow. "But still, protocol demands I must. I am Headmaster Demeter Varlance of The University."
"So, it's time for a story, Demeter." Saffron said, motioning for him to sit. "I'll first warn you my existence is unstable."
"Unstable?" Demeter asked as he sat.
"I died many thousands of years ago. I have been Rebecca for over a century, but I've also been many other people over the years. Rebecca refuses to be 'chained by the past', as she puts it, so she fights with me constantly. She is furious that she had to come to Xilro for help, but we came to a compromise."
"You managed to compromise with Rebecca Montague of all people?" Demeter asked. "The Phantom Thief herself?"
"Yes, but the details aren't important. Now, let's begin with my most important title. The Dragon that never was. What do you suppose the single unique difference is between dragons and the mortal races?" Saffron asked, taking a drink from her wine glass.
"I would say their immortality, but one simply needs to look at Sirene Ignitis, or a vampire to be proven wrong." Demeter responded after a moment to think, taking a seat on another chair while doing so. "It's not their shapeshifting either, as any mage can accomplish that. So what is it, Miss Frostfall?"
"It's quite simple, Mister Varlance." Saffron replied, finishing her glass of wine, and picking up another one. She snapped the fingers of her free hand and Demeter could swear for a moment he was looking directly at a silver dragon. "The size of the soul. A dragon's soul cannot be fully contained in such small human bodies."
"So what happens?" Demeter asked, accepting the glass of wine offered by Xilro.
"A most peculiar thing that I almost want to wager is an apology from the Gods themselves. The portion of the soul that cannot be stuffed into this confining body becomes excess magical potential. Simply put, I'm the most powerful mage who's ever lived who isn't named Sirene Ignitis."
"She's still more powerful than you?"
"Sirene is a natural disaster in terms of her raw power. She's a hurricane, an earthquake, a divine storm. To put it simply, she's off the scales. Not even King Zarfangal is willing to risk angering her."
"Wait. If you're an extremely powerful mage then isn't Rebecca-" Demeter began, but was interrupted.
"Yes, she is. The most powerful Divine Creation mage to ever live, like all of my reincarnations. Now, back to the reason Rebecca came here."
Saffron suddenly stopped speaking. Her eye twitched and she glanced over at Xilro, before starting to claw at her face, screaming while doing so.
"No! You're dead! You're in the past! It's my life!" She screamed, her fingers raking her face like talons, drawing blood. "This is my problem!"
"Saffron!" Xilro yelled, he started to move toward her, but she turned to him with a wild look.
"Not an inch closer, Xilro! My greatest regret and my greatest foe! Saffron will never claim me like she claimed the rest!"
"Rebecca Montague. I have a proposal for you." Xilro replied, raising her eyebrows. "But you need to calm down first."
That got her attention. Xilro never called her Rebecca, either out of habit or malice. "I'm listening."
"I'll arrange for the construction of the Sunless Carriage. In return, I want you to find Vordea and ask her something." Xilro said, bowing. "Ask her about Saffron's past. Ask her about 'The Dragon That Never Was'."
"What are you up to, Xilro?" Rebecca asked, narrowing her eyes.
"It's a theory I developed with your last incarnation, Natsuko. We theorized the Goddess of Chaos might be able to do something about Saffron's soul before it was burned out from the strain of reincarnation, but Natsuko died before we could."
"I'm listening." Rebecca said, leaning forward.