It was afternoon, and the twin suns warmed the air. The dense trees surrounding the road kept the air cool, their foliage creating thick shade.

Drake held his whip in his grip, cautiously looking at his surroundings. He peered into the trees with his magical vision, not seeing anything. There were no energy signatures of life hiding in the forest. They appeared completely alone.

"I don't like this. I can feel danger, but I can't find it," Mike muttered. The grasp on his sword tightened with the eerie pressure of danger.

Chad was doing the same. He scanned the forest with his magical eyes, his bow raised, ready to defend himself.

Drake stayed quiet. Renn was in the front, with Ruby at their flank, as they walked, protecting the small group. The call of birds echoed through the trees, then another from the opposite side of the road.

It felt like a warning.

Drake uncoiled his whip, letting the length of its graceful blade fall to the ground. "I can feel something watching us. I can't see it, though," Drake complained. "It doesn't feel safe in these trees."

"This dimension isn't safe," Mike shot back. "It hasn't been ever since the moment we arrived for our first quest."

"Yeah, this place isn't safe. I can't even think of one safe area."

Mike and Drake nodded at Chad's words. He was right: every area they'd been in so far wasn't safe. During their quests, something or someone always attacked them, or something bad would happen.

A gust of wind whipped through the trees, causing a whistling sound, before it went silent, back to a gentle breeze. Leaves fell to the forest floor, falling gently from the sudden gust.

Drake looked frantically around. He could feel that someone had arrived. His eyes glowed brightly, searching for the life signature. He still found nothing. It was completely quiet, with only the eerie pressure he felt.

As one, Drake, Mike, and Chad gripped their weapons, preparing to see what was hiding, stalking them as they walked down the long dirt road.

Another gust of wind passed through the forest, forming a whirlwind in front of them. When the small tornado evaporated, a man stood in its place.

He was tall, with long black hair and emerald-green eyes. There were gray streaks thickly through its length. His robes were identical to Drake's.

The man smiled. "Hello, grandson. If you haven't already figured it out, my name is also Drake. It's a family thing. All those destined to be a dimension master have the name Drake." His gaze went to Chad and Mike. "You are Chad and Mike," he smiled widely. "The cohort has the same name passed down, too."

Drake looked around, then at his grandfather. "Where is your cohort?" he asked. "It feels wrong not to have them with you."

His grandfather shrugged. The smile didn't waver on his lips.

"You're trying to stop us. Why?" Drake knew that his own grandfather was trying to stop them from completing the quest. He wanted to know why.

"You're the last dimension master, and you're the beast master. Did you know there's a prophecy about you? You will either save this dimension or destroy it." His grandfather stood with his arms folded across his chest; his smile stayed on his lips. Chad and Mike scanned the area.

The trees beside them shook, before their own grandfathers stepped out of the trees.

"System, what do I do?" he asked the system, tensing up. He knew his grandfather was about to attack.

{Survive}

'Great!' he thought to himself. Then spoke to his grandfather. "Are you here to kill us?"

His grandfather's smile widened. "No, I'm here to take your power so you can't complete the quest." He looked toward his own cohort. "My cohort is here to take your cohort's power. If we do, we become the last dimension master."

Drake shook his head. "My father is the current dimension master, not you. You already did your duty; my father is doing his. And my friends and I are trying to learn to do ours. Taking our power will do nothing for any of you."

His grandfather laughed. "It will do plenty. It will prevent you and your cohort from finishing the ascension quest, in fact. I wouldn't recommend trying to complete the quests. Having none of the dimension master's powers, it will get you all killed."

Drake gritted his teeth. He felt a connection to the dimension. Drake knew he needed to do what he could to protect the dimension, his familiars, and allies, regardless of powers or not. With or without powers, it was his duty to protect the dimension. He had to think of something to say to stall them. He knew there were laws in the dimension, and he needed his grandfather to break them so the dimension would get involved.

"And what will you do once you have our powers?" Drake asked. "From what I see. You are no family of mine if you're willing to break the rules of the dimension."

His grandfather laughed louder. "We're not breaking any rules. We're not here to kill you, only to take your powers so you can't finish. As for what we're going to do with them, we will destroy this place so we never have to come here again. If there's no dimension, there's no need to protect it. The best part is… we keep our power when we return to Earth."

"Our duty is to protect this place, not destroy it. If you want my power, then you will have to kill me, because I won't let you take my power to use against this place," Drake shot back.

Mike looked at his own grandfather. "I'm disappointed in who you are."

Chad only nodded, his bow pointed at his father.

Drake gave Ruby and Renn a silent command before exhaling. He wanted them to stay safe, no matter what was about to happen to himself or his friends. He knew that if one of their grandfathers killed his familiars, it would mean that they had broken the rules, but he didn't want to take the chance of losing either of them.

Drake filled his whip with power; his own grandfather did the same. If he was going to lose his power, he was going to make it count. If what his grandfather said was true, then he had to do everything he could to survive and not let his grandfather steal his power. The dimension and all its inhabitants' lives depended on it.

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