Shattered Destiny:

Chapter 20: Soul of Dragon

Satu-chan drops a book on my lap, the cover is made out of thick leather and it has the constellation of Summoning on it. "I-I found this down in the ruin and…" She trails off, fiddling with her scarf.

"Thanks!" I give her a warm smile before turning my attention to the book in question.

My hand touches the cover-

Jutsu tome of Bound Blade

-And a name appears over it. "Bound blade?"

Would you like to learn [Bound Blade]?

"Bound blade?" Fumimaro looks over the book. "Where're you getting that?"

Of course I'd love to learn this!

Warning: Learning a jutsu this way destroys the tome used, are you sure?

"S-should I learn it? It'll-"

"W-what is Bound Blade?" Satu-chan asks.

"I don't know, only one way to find out." I shrug. "But-"

"I want to know now, do it!" Fumimaro taps my shoulder with his good hand.

"O-okay." I give up, they don't want to hear it. "Okay, I'll learn Bound Blade." The book pops open and a seal on the first page lights up.

Just like with the Summon familiar scroll the Bound Blade Tome turns into a sphere of darkness in the palm of my hand.

You have learned [Bound Blade]

Just like that? "Whoa." Fumimaro says, passing a hand through the sphere of darkness, the energy distorts then reforms.

-32 chakra. Summoning is now level 2. +2 Character XP (91/175)

The sphere of darkness implodes and a chakra blade forms in my hand, materializing from midair. I drop it in surprise and the blade fizzles out of existence, I could feel the blade in my hand but not feel the weight. "Whoa." Fumimaro says for the three of us. "What happened to the book?"

"Gone." I answer simply as the sphere of blackness reappears in my hand.

Not enough chakra.

"C-can you do it again?" Satu asks.

I let the chakra sphere break apart. "In a bit yeah." If only I had both arms, then I could use a shield and my new jutsu… I could throw two firebolts at a time if I had both arms.

Would I be able to adapt to having my arm back? I've gotten used to having one. "That was cool!" Fumimaro says a bit loudly.

Zabuza's head perks up. "What was?"

"Your teammate learned something new by… well I don't know what he did." Fumimaro announces to the entire underground camp.

"Where's Sensei?" I ask Satu.

"Recovering, s-she got hurt."

Oh. Zabuza comes by. "What did Arm-clops here pick up?" Zabuza asks and I narrow my eyes at him.

Not enough Chakra.

It takes my current maximum of chakra to cast, but I can hold the black orb in the palm of my hand for scrutiny.

"What's this, Darkbolt?"

My eye twitches involuntarily. "Bound Blade."

-32 chakra.

The orb implodes like last time, a bright energy expands outward as the blade materializes from several points. It rests in my grip perfectly, completely weightless and if not for the tingle in the palm of my hand I'd think my eyes were playing tricks on me.

My teammate blinks. "C-can I see it?" He holds his hand out eagerly.

"If I let go it dissipates, and it takes all of my available chakra."

Zabuza pouts, but then touches the blade, it moves as he presses down on it. "So weird." He breathes. "How sharp is it?"

"I don't know, this is the firs-second time I'm casting it."

"Casting?" Fumimaro frowns thoughtfully. "Don't you mean 'using'?"

Dumbly I nod, why did I say that? "Here, cut this." Zabuza places a piece of wood upright on the ground in front of me.

I pull my arm back, Zabuza takes a step back, and I swing down. As the blade hits the wood I can feel slight resistance, but it's not enough to feel like I'm holding a physical object.

"Wow." Fumimaro says, watching the blade make a perfect cut, no splinters.

"This is cool." I breathe out.

Wait.

I breathe in, breathe out, repeating this a few times before my eyes widen. "S-something wrong?" Satu-chan worries.

"My lung's healed!" I drop the phantasm blade and put my hand on the bandage, as the blade leaves my hand it dissipates. I can feel my chest rise and fall where the hole used to be. The yellow taking up most of my stamina and chakra bars recedes until it's gone, the yellow on my health bar doesn't go away entirely… probably have to wait until my arm heals for that.

"No way." Fumimaro scoffs. "Nobody heals from something like that."

"Jinchuriki can." Satu-chan pipes up. "The Bijuu gives them a healing… factor… I-I'm sorry." All eyes fall on her, she looks down in embarrassment.

"Only one way to find out, right?" Zabuza-san shrugs. "What's the worse that can happen, you die?"

"I'm rather attached to life." I scowl.

"You could have fooled me." Zabuza lifts my shirt and uses a kunai to cut away at the bandage, everyone watches as the cloth falls away, not even a scar remains.

"Son of a-" Fumimaro breathes. "There was a hole going through you, stuff like that doesn't just… go away." He grips his cast.

"I'm sorry." I say simply, pulling my shirt back down. I turn my attention to Zabuza-san, time to change the subject. "Did you find something down there?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, why?"

"No azure claws?" I ask.

Zabuza-san grabs me by the shoulder and hauls me away from the rest. "We found a Vault door with movable rings and a lock with a claw imprinted on it, what did you learn?" He says in a hushed voice.

"I got a quest called 'the Azure Claw', telling me to find… well an Azure claw." I return quietly.

"And it'll open the vault door?"

"The lock has a claw engraved on it, right?" I ask and Zabuza-san nods slightly. "I wouldn't get a quest about it if it weren't related." I bet that if we got our hands on the Azure claw it would tell us to go down there.

Zabuza-san nods in agreement. "Do you know where the claw is?"

"Nope."

"What are you two plotting now?" Sensei asks, startling the two of us.

We turn around, quiet for a time. "Look at this!" Zabuza pulls my shirt up.

"Hey!"

Sensei looks up and throws her hands up. "Why not." She sighs. "If you go off on your own again, I'll personally cut off your other arm."

"I get it!" I shout. "I don't want to be useless again." I turn my gaze down to my feet.

"Keiki-san says that he got a quest." Zabuza whispers.

"Of?" Sensei raises an eyebrow.

"To find an Azure claw."

"Do you know-"

"No, only that it's an azure claw."

"I wonder if that ghost knows anything." Sensei rubs her chin.

"You mean like one of those things that attacked me?" This is some supernatural stuff.

"We only saw it once down there, remember?"

"The 'You don't belong here-"

"Yes." Sensei nods, what are they talking about?

"Down in the ruin?" I glance over my shoulder at the staircase.

"How's your… bars?" Sensei asks me, still getting used to the concept.

"My stamina and chakra are back where they once were, my health isn't quite, but I won't die from a stray attack." I answer honestly.

"Tomorrow we'll go back down there and get some answers." Sensei answers, then raises a hand to cut me off.

"But-" That doesn't mean you'll bring me.

"Your teammates aren't like you, they need rest." Then almost to herself. "And they're human."

A shot of pain hits me in the heart, this pain isn't physical. I can't manage to get words out and instead just look down at the ground as I slink off.

"Sensei…" Satu-chan says horrified a few feet back.

"He's as human as you and I!" Zabuza argues with a strained voice.

"Did I say that out loud?"

Sneak has leveled to 10. +10 Character XP (101/175)

I climbed into one of the enormous urns down in the ruins, Ichiyo wouldn't let me leave the entrance, and asking Ai is like asking to lose an arm. And I get the feeling that she'd do it too.

But I can't be at the camp, I need air… metaphorically.

I'm human, aren't I? I eat, sleep, drink and bleed like everyone else… I just… happen to heal everything off.

Sneak has leveled to 11. +11 Character XP (112/175)

I hold my legs to my chest, there're some bones in here with me, but at least they aren't moving or trying to kill me… yet.

The air is so stale, but it's better than being up there with my teammates. I look at my stump, it's almost impossible to see it in the darkness but I know it's there.

Am I really human? No one sees floating text telling them what they need to do, or how they're improving. Nobody can just sleep off a hole through the chest-

Sneak has leveled to 12. +12 Character XP (124/175)

-Even I know how wrong that is, and I grew up with… with…. Tutorial! I let out another sigh, careful not to inhale any dust.

My lung just healed, it might be a bit tender… I don't know! I don't know anything! Why can't anyone see that!?

I thought that the adults were supposed to have all the answers, not me.

Sneak has leveled to 13. +13 Character XP (137/175)

What am i hiding from!? There's nothing out there! I shift until I'm on my knees and push the lid up enough so that I'm able to see out, but not enough to make it obvious that I'm here.

Searched.

Something noticed, I lower the lid and count to ten before trying again.

Sneak has leveled to 14. +14 Character XP (151/175)

` "I can feel your presence." I've never heard that voice before, it sounds human but it's like a…a... an echo.

I glance around the room quickly, I'd rather not have a repeat of last week.

Sneak has leveled to 15. +15 Character XP (166/175)

"It feels… familiar, come out so I can see you."

That sounds like a trap, so I stay in my urn. I'm ready to shout at a moment's notice, just in case if I'm discovered.

A ghost comes around the corner, the ghost of a man in robes. "I will not harm you, I only wish to speak."

Sneak has leveled to 16. +16 Character XP (182/175)

You have leveled to 5 (7/200)

He doesn't seem to be armed, unless he has something in those robes of his. I should be able to survive long enough to kill him if need to. I don't want to get yelled at again, but if he really wants to talk, what could I learn about this place? What could I learn about me?

Sneak has leveled to 17. +17 Character XP (24/200)

The ghost is almost out of the room.

"Wait!" I shout, climbing out of the urn

Discovered.

The notification fades as I leave stealth. The ghost comes back, staring down at me with hollowed eyes. "Who are you?" He asks.

"Keiki Sekine." I answer with a gulp, hiding my stump behind my back.

"I haven't seen one of your like in many years, Keiki."

T-there are others like me?! "W-what am I?" I ask, voice trembling.

"You are a Dovahkiin." I can feel the power of the word ripple through me. "Dragonborn… But different." He kneels to speak to me at eye level.

"What's a Dragonborn?" I'm crying tears of joy, finally someone knows why I'm different.

"Do not cry, young one." He tries to wipe away my tears, but his fingers phase through my skin, sending shivers through me. "You are as much a stranger to this world as I am, maybe less."

"What do you mean?"

"Many years ago this ancient morgue was torn from its resting place, moved across worlds, and placed here." He explains, his voice becoming increasingly sorrowful. "I could feel the magic at work, but powerless to stop it."

"Magic isn't real." I scoff.

He holds a hand out and it ignites, much like when I'm preparing to throw a firebolt. My eyes bug out. "That's not magic, it's jutsu!"

"Magic, Jutsu." He says nonchalantly. "Different name, same power." He stands. "Within this ruin is an Azure claw, key to a puzzle door leading to the inner sanctum of this ancient morgue, find it and open the door." He vanishes without another word, leaving smoke on the ground.

The smoke spreads out along the ground in a line, is he guiding me? I hurry after the trail with a firebolt in my hand, can't be too careful. I roll my shoulders, the shield is getting uncomfortable.

Wow, there were a lot of draugr down here… Did anyone notice me coming down here? Part of me wishes so that if anything happens they know what happened to me, the other part doesn't want to be followed.

If I'm only part of this world, then what world does the other part belong to? The chakra in the air is thick, I can feel it but it's passing me by.

I enter the last chamber, opened graves and corpses everywhere. It looks like the aftermath of a battlefield, but I'm not here to look at draugr. The walls are covered in murals and depictions.

Depictions of dragons and of soldiers battling them. The smoke trail leads straight into one of the murals of a dragon clawing down at a lone warrior.

I rub at the claw engraving and my hand is stained with soot, dirt and grime. I wipe my hand off on my shirt, the spot I cleared is shining in the lantern light.

An Azure claw hidden as part of the mural, I'd be searching this ruin for years and never get close to thinking of that.

I fumble with my kunai pack to get one out, then dig at the mortar and pestle locking the claw in place. I spend a good half hour chipping away at the rock before feeling any give.

I step back from the mural, kunai lodged under the claw. "FUS!" I shout at it.

The force shoves the kunai downward, there is a grind before the claw snaps free from the mural, leaving a gaping hole where it once was… No one will care that I horribly defaced a morgue, right?

I glance at the kunai on the ground, it broke in half getting the claw out.

Quest updated: The Azure Claw

Find the Azure Claw: Complete

Open the Vault:

I bounce the claw in my hand, it's completely covered in rock… It's going to be a pain to chip it all off.

Better get started while I'm walking. I ram the claw into the wall repeatedly as I continue deeper into the ruin.

At the end of the hall is the Vault door I've heard about. There's still rock covering the important part, the claws, but I should be able to get it all off in a few minutes… I hope.

Right in the center is the claw indent with three holes where the claws go, above that is three rings with animals on them. What do they mean?

What's this? A chunk of rock breaks off of the claw, revealing the inscription of one of the animals on the door.

Five minutes later I manage to get enough rock off to see two other animal inscriptions. It's a combination lock with a key, with the combination on the key.

What's the point of that, shouldn't the combination be somewhere else? I shake my head clear, the ghost told me to open the door and that's what I'm going to do. With a shaking hand I press the claw into the imprint, the claws sink perfectly into the holes.

Nothing happens so I push in, the lock sinks into the door, there is a loud click as the vault slinks into the ground. I take a deep breath, inside of this inner sanctum is the answers I'm looking for.

"Keiki!" I spin around and watch as my teammates come out of the aether at the other end of the hall. "Stop!" Sensei calls out.

"Sen-"

"Fus." A voice carried on a chakra wind hits me, knocking me into the inner sanctum as the door starts closing.

"Wait!" Zabuza calls as the door grinds shut. In my hand is the Azure Claw. I'm trapped in here.

Quest Updated: The Azure Claw

Open the Vault: Complete

Speak with Wulfgar:

I set the claw on the ground and punch the door, why didn't I tell my teammates?

Because they're human, and you're not. A jolt of pain goes through my heart. I back away from the door, I can't see any locking mechanism, it must all be internal.

A loud thwump can be heard from the other side, they must be trying to break through. Should I wait here, or look for a way out?

Or should I look for Wulfgar? My desire to know far outweighs every other option. "Wulfgar?" I call out, walking farther into the room.

The sealed coffins everywhere makes me gulp, there's no way I can take the draugr in them all at once. In the center of the room is a dragon skull, easily dwarfing me.

Opposite the skull of me is a raised dais, it's walls are covered in the same engravings as the wall that gave me Unrelenting Force.

With a gulp I approach the skull and touch it, nothing. I let out a relieved breath, I was afraid that it would come alive and attack me.

Zombies are one thing, but zombie dragons in an underground crypt? Just kill me now. "Welcome to the resting place of the greybeards." The ghost from before appears at the base of the stairs.

This must be Wulfgar. "Greybeards?" I leave the skull and start walking towards the dais.

He nods "An ancient order dedicated to mastering the Thu'um, more commonly known as Shouting." He gestures for me to walk up the stairs with him.

I comply. "What about my team?" I glance over my shoulder at the entrance, the door's still standing.

"The people who came after you?" Wulfgar questions, I nod in response. "This tomb is a sacred place, protected by the draugr who stand guard."

At the top of the dais is a grave, my eyes widen. I don't need to see inside of it to know that there's a draugr overlord in it. "A draugr cut my arm off." I show him the stump.

"My condolences." He lowers his head reverently. "Not all tombs welcome the Dragonborn."

"You said I was Dragonborn, but different." I point out, sitting on the coffin nervously.

"Dragonborn have ancestral ties to dragons, and as such have access to their powers." He touches my chest, his finger phasing into my chest. "You don't."

"How can you tell?" I shiver as he pulls his finger out hastily.

"We have our ways."

I pout at him, why do the adults have to keep things from me?

"Your connection is direct."

"What?" I'm taken aback by the statement.

There is a shine behind me, I look back. In the center of the coffin is a gem. "That, in my-our world, is called a Soul Gem." Wulfgar starts, pulling my attention back to him. "The souls of the living can be trapped within and their powers used as needed."

"What does that have to do-"

"Only a Dragonborn can hold the souls of dragons within them."

My eyes bulge. "I-I have a-"

"The soul of a dragon within you, yes." Wulfgar nods solemnly. "Never have I witnessed a dragonborn without draconic ancestry." He talks like I'm still an anomaly, and it hurts.

"I thought you had all of the answers…" I say as tears start dropping.

"No one has all of the answers, Keiki." Wulfgar puts a hand on my shoulder. "But if anyone can find them, I know that you can."

"Why?"

"Because you are part of both worlds, of Tamriel and... wherever we are now."

I wipe away the tears with my stump. "How can I use the dragon's power?" I hold a hand over my chest.

"Thu'ums are words in the draconic language that hold power." Wulfgar steps back. "Call out the name of the dragon."

"How would I know the name of the dragon within me?"

"You'll know."

Greater Power obtained:

Quest updated: The Azure Claw

Speak with Wulfgar: Complete

Return to your team:

Optional: Use your new Power:

Tip: Greater Powers can only be used once per day.

Was this what he meant? I can see my dragon's name clearly thanks to Tutorial, is this what every Dragonborn goes through? "Was there another Dragonborn?" I practically beg.

"In the past few hundred years, he battled the World Eater with the aid of past Dragonborn." He closes his eyes in pain at the memory.

I've pressed hard enough, it must have been a rough time for him. "Okay." I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Alduin!"

[Might of Alduin] has been added to active effects.

A dragon's eye appears in my mind's vision and I'm pulled from this place and time. I can feel the rage, the hunger, the envy and pain that Alduin once felt. Of how he rampaged across the kingdom of Skyrim devouring anyone he came across. And how he fell at the hands of four Dragonborn, his soul consumed by the only living dragonborn and rendered an empty husk.

Author's Notes: And done! I think this is going to be the last world building chapter for a while, and while I enjoyed planning and executing this chapter, I don't want to have everyone sitting down and doing nothing forever, next chapter we'll be returning to the 3rd shinobi ninja war… what, thought I forgot about that? I hope you enjoyed this and the previous bits and I hope you'll stick around!