"The Darkest Hour"

Less than a week after Lileina's death, the Fire Dragon Lord's sanctuary was attacked by Hellmaster's demons. Although the Gold Dragons were able to keep the casualties to a minimum, the elders were afraid that more attacks would follow and had decided to launch an attack on the City of Ancients to take the weapon by force.

Anticipating such an eventuality, the elders' council of the Ancient Dragons had erected a series of magical barriers around the weapon as well as the Sacred Dome. When the Gold Dragons arrived at the City of Ancients and discovered this, they were outraged. Unable to get to the weapon and feeling as if they had been betrayed, the Gold Dragons dealt the first actual blow in the centuries-old rivalry, which within hours led to a full scale massacre of the Ancient Dragon race as both sides continued to battle and refused to give up.

Badly wounded, Valtier managed to escape the City of Ancients after seeing both Artemis and Aleris killed as the elder of the two did his best to protect his younger brother. But despite their best efforts, both died under the sword of a Dragon whose eyes Valtier recognized at the ones he had looked into the day Lileina died. Though a part of him wanted desperately to remain and do what he could to kill the creature who had murdered his mate and his best friend, Valtier knew he was too hurt to do much more than crawl out of the city.

Deep gashes covered his arms and torso, and by the time he made it out into the Ruined desert, he had cast aside his armor in the hopes it would allow him to move faster. His clothes had been ruined in the struggle, leaving him with only a pair of somewhat ragged white pants to shield him from the sun as he dragged himself from the town and into the desert. Everything in his body told him that death was coming soon, and he wanted to make it to the Silent ocean so at least he could rest beside Lileina once more. Behind him, he could hear the roars and footsteps of the Gold Dragon guards that were trying to decide whether or not to follow him. Although it was painful, Valtier pulled himself faster across the sand. He couldn't die...not yet.

The minutes dragged on, knitting themselves into hours as he continued further into the desert, and he wondered how much longer he had to go before he was at the ocean. Then, out of nowhere, an enormous figure with long red hair and a gigantic sword appeared before him. At once, Valtier recognized him as the Chaos Dragon Garv, one of the Demon Lords.

A strange ringing sound filled Valtier's ears as he looked up at Garv, and he could barely hear what he was saying, but from what he could hear, it sounded as if he was being asked to join the demons.

"Never," Valtier managed, pulling himself to his feet with a great deal of effort and pain. He would rather die as a Dragon than live forever as a Demon. Using all his strength, he tried to transform into his dragon self. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough strength to do more than extend his midnight colored wings, and as they melted back into his skin, Valtier fell to the ground gasping for air and weaker than he had been before.

"Just look at you," Garv said mockingly, shaking his head. "You've lost everything. Your friends, your countrymen, even your mate...there's nothing left for you here, Valtier, and the Gold Dragons are the ones who took it all from you. Join me, and I'll see to it that you get your revenge on all of them."

"Huh," Valtier coughed, struggling to his feet one final time, swaying a bit as he fixed his eyes on Garv's face. "I would rather die."

"Then so be it." Lunging forward, Garv drove his enormous sword through Valtier's midsection, nearly cutting him in half as a result. The sword exited his back, impaling him on it in almost the same manner as Drassi had killed Lileina. The pain was unbearable, and Valtier's eyes widened in shock as he felt his own blood running down his chest. A sudden thought came into his head, and he looked upward into the heavens.

Lileina...is this what it was like when you died? Feeling the sword slide deeper into his body, much to Garv's surprise, he smiled. Wait for me... Lileina... Falling forward onto Garv's chest, Valtier released his last breath as his spirit flew to join that of his mate.

Shaking his head once more, Garv smiled. So this one did have some strength after all. It seemed such a waste to have had to kill him. Looking at the motionless body that still lay over his sword, Garv's smile deepened. Maybe this Valtier would be of use to him after all.

Somewhere far from the sands of the desert, Valtier opened his eyes. A bright light was pulsating gently before him, as if someone was breathing softly. The light was much too bright, and he had to shield his eyes with one hand as he stood up. On the other side of the light he could see Lileina coming towards him, her white-robed arms outstretched, welcoming him. Reaching out to her, Valtier rushed into the light, feeling a new warmth spreading through his body.

Lileina...I'm home...