Storm was stunned by Mimereus's state of mind.
"What are you talking about?
If anyone deserves a chance to start again, it is you?
If you feel this way, then why didn't you move on after I freed you?"
"Because I don't deserve Elysium either!! I should be damned for what I did!!" Shouted Mimereus.
Elysium was the place that dragons believed their souls went to after death.
It was a place where dragons were free from being hunted.
Surrounded by friends and family, free of conflict, pain and illness. "
Storm suddenly realized what Mimereus's motive was.
"You're trying to punish yourself!!
That's why you agreed to the Grans seperating us so quickly, wasn't it!!?" Accused Storm.
Mimereus gave no reply and avoided eye contact.
"Why!!? Why do you hate yourself so much that you are deliberately trying to torture yourself!!?
Is it about your attack on the Heart of the Dark Forest?!
You couldn't have known how that battle would end!!
You can't blame yourself for your family's death." Said Storm.
"It's not that." Stated Mimereus.
"Then what...?"
"Don't...!!
You have no right to pry in my family's personal affairs!!" Warned Mimereus.
"I have every right as we share blood!!" Said Storm.
That particular information caught Mimereus completely by suprise.
"That.... that can't be!!" Mimereus exclaimed.
"The Grans were pretty sure of their facts!!" Said Storm.
"T-They must be mistaken!!"
"Why is this so hard for you to believe that some of your family still survives?"
"BECAUSE I KILLED THEM ALL!!!" Shouted Mimereus.
The mindscape suddenly shifted around them.
Becoming bright red in color.
Large thunderclouds covered the sky above and lightning occasionally flashed in the distance.
"You said this once before, on the ship?
What did you mean by that?" Asked Storm.
"Please don't make me recount it!" Begged Mimereus.
"I'm sorry Mimereus, but I must.
You clearly need help and I can't do that if I don't know what is troubling you!
Mimereus was silent for a moment.
"I killed them."
"You said that before, what did you mean by that?
You said they died in your assault?" Asked Storm.
"I lied before.
Some of my family survived the battle.
When I was corrupted, the first task Hex gave me was to hunt down any of my family that survived.
I spent years hunting down each surviving member of my family.
Children, Grandchildren, Sisters, Brothers.
My last victim was my granddaughter.
She was 25 years old when I consumed her soul."
"Mimereus!! That wasn't you!!" Said Storm.
"Wasn't it? I felt every victim I extinguished.
I felt their fear as they were erased from existence!
I couldn't even comfort them in the end." Said Mimereus.
"Clearly you didn't wipe out all of your bloodline if I still exist!" Said Storm.
"Do you understand now why I can't go through with this!?
"How could I deserve a second chance, when I've got so much blood on my hands!?
"How could I move on to Elysium and meet my family again after I denied an afterlife to so many!?
If I could inflict the same erasure on my own soul! I would have done so long ago!" Exclaimed Mimereus.
Storm was at a loss for words.
"He wanted to comfort Mimereus, but he couldn't find the words to do so.
Because deep down he felt the same.
Many times did he resent himself for not being there when his clan was attacked.
His failure was less severe that Mimereus's one, but he knew how he felt.
"You're not the only one who made mistakes, Mimereus.
I wasn't there when my own clan was attacked!
I struggled with the guilt for years." Said Storm.
"Your failure can't be compared to my own, Storm.
I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this isn't something you can help me with.
This is something I need to work through on my own.
You should leave me to think." Said Mimereus.
Storm didn't want to leave Mimereus by himself.
Especially considering his mental state.
But he realized that pressing further would only cause more harm.
So he returned to his own body.
*******
Mimereus sat by himself well into the night.
He hasn't needed sleep ever since he died.
Leaving him with too much time to think.
In the middle of the night he felt a familiar presence enter his mindscape.
"Storm? I told you to leave me alone!!" Shouted Mimereus.
A bright light illuminated his mindscape as the presence came closer.
The light suddenly faded as a dragon manifested that Mimereus thought he'd never see again.
She was covered snow white scales and was peering right through him with emerald green eyes.
A mane of silver blue hair flowed down the back of her neck and four horns that almost seemed to have been carved from crystal grew from the back of her head.
She was glowing with an inner light that made her seem almost divine in nature.
Like Mimereus, she was ethereal and ghostly, indicating that she was a ghost like him.
"Tanwen?!!"
"Mimereus!" She replied.
"Are you real!? Or am I dreaming this somehow?" Asked Mimereus.
"I am here." She replied.
Mimereus closed the distance between them and placed a claw on her cheek.
She reached up and placed a claw on his limb in response.
He could feel the smooth scales covering her face, the touch of her claw, the warmth of her body.
She was as real as he was.
"How is this possible!?
You're standing here as if you didn't die centuries ago!?" Asked Mimereus.
"I sensed your dispair and have returned to give you comfort. " she explained.
"I-I-I thought you would never want to speak to me again. " Stammered Mimereus.
Tears flowed from his eyes.
"How could you think that! I would never leave your side!" She replied.
"You know what I did!" Said Mimereus.
"I do." She said flatly.
Mimereus averted his eyes.
" I know that you were there, doing your best to comfort your granddaughter in her final moments!"
"I killed her!"
"No! You didn't! That... thing.... killed her!" Replied Tanwen.
"How could I face the rest of my family again after what I did!
How could I face my son after..."
Mimereus broke down and was unable to finish his sentence.
Tanwen embraced and closed her wings around him.
"You carried a burden that is not your own for too long!!
None of us blame you for what happened.
Your son included. "
Mimereus was silent as she continued to comfort him.
"Is that why you've come? To convince me to return with you?" Asked Mimereus
"Nothing would please us more than to welcome you and spend eternity with you in Elysium.
But that is not why I am here." Replied Tanwen.
"Is it true?... Does my bloodline still survive?"
Tanwen nodded her head.
"It is and he needs your help!
He'd never admit it though!
He's as proud and stubborn as his ancestor!" Joked Tanwen.
"Should I do it then?
What about you?" Asked Mimereus.
"I waited centuries for you, I can wait a little longer!
Could you really rest for an eternity, knowing that a descendant needed you, but you turned your back on him?" Asked Tanwen.
Mimereus shook his head.
"Then you know what you must do. " Said Tanwen.
"Please, stay with me!! Until dawn!" Begged Mimereus.
"I will stay." She replied.
They snuggled close together and waited for dawn together.
They did not speak further and just enjoyed each other's presence after so long apart.
When dawn came, Mimereus turned to her and saw that she was beginning to fade away.
"Please don't go!!" Begged Mimereus.
"I must return to our children, my love.
But I will wait patiently for the day that we can embrace once again!!"
With that she dissappeared as if she was never there.
Mimereus felt Storm starting to awaken.
"Storm, I'm willing to go through the rebirth ritual!" Said Mimereus.