ARC III
CHAPTER 5:
A WOLF HAS BITTEN THE DRAGON
LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, THE CHURCH OF VOWS
"Argh... Damned rain..."
Upon Torrent's back, Lordan rode through Eastern Liurnia, where he was currently traveling back to the church of vows. His current intent was to give the Celestial Dew as a peace offering. It was his hope that it would be enough to forgive his transgressions at the academy. Creating tension between the Limgrave and Liurnia was definitely not on his mind at this point.
This better work... Don't wanna fight another war this early...
He reaches the church and dismounts Torrent. touching the grace nearby to recover from the travel. He sees Miriel in the church, tending to the nearby plants with a watering pot in his mouth. Lordan approaches and clears his throat to get Miriel's attention.
"Ah... Lordan. You have returned. I trust your errand has gone well?"
The question made Lordan sigh, a little embarrassed by the mess he caused. He rubs his head and imagined how Miriel would take the news of his actions, actions that may have angered the Princess of this region. "Not exactly... I might have uhhhh... Bring my entire region to the brink of another war... All because I was too stubborn to back down for a second."
Miriel observed Lordan for a moment, trying to read him by his expressions. He could see Lordan's sense of regret and guilt from his body language alone, A part of Miriel felt relieved that Lordan was not one of the Tarnished that had no morals. He places his pot down and faces Lordan fully, slowly turning his large body towards him.
"I understand the situation fully, Lordan. For I too received news of the region's events."
"Uh-huh. And what's your take on it?"
"Neutral. And pleased at the overall outcome." His response earns him a raised brown from Lordan. "Most would not bother with offering repentance after committing a sin. The fact that you are here proves you to be different, Lordan. You have a Celestial Dew, yes?"
Lordan retrieves the flask from his pouch, raising it up to show Miriel. "Here. I was told that the church accepts this as a token of forgiveness?"
"Yes. But the offering must be made of your own accord." He turns towards the middle of the church and gestures to the statue in a pool of crystal-clear water. "To experience the miracle, kneel in the basin over there, and cleanse yourself with celestial dew and absolution will be yours. Any bond, no matter how strained, or even severed, will be put to right."
Lordan looks to the basin of water and back to the dew, wondering how the function of a flask of sacred water was enough to forgive his crimes. "So... It will work, right? I don't have to do anything else? Just offer the dew and my head is safe from the block?"
"Perhaps I should share my knowledge with you, concerning the miracle of this Church of Vows." Miriel moves slowly to the statue as he recounts the events that made it significant.
"Radagon once cleansed himself with celestial dew, repented his territorial aggressions, and swore his love to Rennala. The Order of the Erdtree and the fate of the moon were conjoined, and all the wounds of the war were forgiven. This miracle blesses the church to this day. And so, you need only follow Radagon's example, to restore any bond, however strained or severed, to its rightful state of harmony."
But wasn't it for nothing in the end when Radagon left for Marika? He fights back the urge to speak his question. He wasn't about to try and offend or anger Miriel in his own church. Lordan steps forward towards the pool and stops in front of the statue.
"Good. Now kneel to the statue, and open the flask of Dew."
Following Miriel's instructions, Lordan kneels to the statue. He holds up the dew in his hand, twisting the lid to open it for use.
"Now look to the stars, and pour the dew upon your face. And you will emerge a new man, forgiven and atoned."
He looks to the dew again before turning his face upwards, the small raindrops falling upon his face. Lordan takes the flask and pours its contents on his face, its warm and soothing liquid flowing down to the basin as a symbolic means of cleansing one's soul.
"And the offer... is accepted. You may rise, Lordan."
That's... It? The process of atonement was simple, too simple in fact. But Lordan knew that it was not enough, he needed to perform a service to Princess Ranni to ensure that he was in the clear, and he owned Blaidd that much for sticking up for him. "Alright. Off I go then. Which is the best route to the Carian Manor?"
"Ah. You seek an audience with the princess, yes?" Miriel's assumption was correct as Lordan nods to it. "The Carian Manor is best traveled too via the lakes itself. Cut through it on horseback and he will reach the highlands in the west. Then proceed north to the Manor."
Lordan takes out his map and marks out the suitable route as Miriel mentioned. The thought of going through the shallow lakes again made him sigh, he and Torrent were not too fond of getting wet again and staying that way for days. Great... More water to deal with...
"Thanks, Miriel. And uhhh... Sorry for the trouble with the Queen."
"It is alright, Lordan. Take this event as an opportunity to learn to master your emotions in the future. I take no offense, but others are not always so forgiving. Some take to anger, others sorrow. Bonds are fragile things, easy to break under strain. And once they're broken, everything is lost, with naught to gain."
"Yeah... I just..." He sighs at the advice. It was sound but a part of Lordan gets so overwhelmed with frustration at times, it often threatened to overwhelm him. The Raging Wolf is not just a mere namesake, it was a title that Lordan could live up to if he gets too angry. "Hells... I need to relax sometimes..."
He bids Miriel farewell and exits the church. Summoning Torrent again, he gets on his steed and begins the long ride to the lakes, where the Carian Manor awaits in the northern part of the region.
Godwyn must be jumping in joy right now... We get to see his wife again. He strokes the mane of Torrent while he rides and speaks to his steed.
"Thanks, boy. You always know what I need." He noticed Torrent's speed was at a rate that he enjoys. The steed huffs in acknowledgment and rides forth to ease its master.
Melina looks on from a distance as Lordan rides off. Her face was filled with worry due to the recent events at the academy. Knowing full well that Lordan had kicked the hornet's nest unintentionally.
Blue mist fades into view beside her and Ranni reappears from it. Melina looks over silently as she stands beside her, trying to gauge the reaction of Ranni from her doll's facial expression.
"Melina."
"Princess..."
They stand in awkward silence as both were aware of the situation that was caused by Lordan, with Ranni being more quiet than usual in their conversations.
Melina takes the first step in breaking the tension by turning to face Ranni. She takes a knee down in front of Ranni and starts to plead on Lordan's behalf.
"Princess. Please forgive him. He does not mean it. The Great Runes... They call upon him like a moth to a light. He cannot help it to pursue them unrelentlessly, even without knowing why."
Ranni looks down at Melina as she kneels. She walks to Melina and brings her to stand, not wanting one of her very few friends to kneel at her. "Tis good now. Melina. He hast offered the dew as a showeth of his remorse. Therefore, I shalt forgive this transgression, just this once."
Melina nods at her response and breathes out a sigh of relief, happy that Lordan was forgiven. "Thank you... Again. Princess."
"But I has't a duty to fulfill, as the princess and a daughter. Therefore, he must perform me a service, as recompense." It was a fair trade by all means. Lordan would be pardoned from his transgression in exchange for a favor that Ranni required for her next step. And judging by Lordan's recent increase in abilities, he was suitable to carry out the task she had in mind.
A task that involves her brother. Making it more personal to her than normal.
Melina nods at her condition. While it was in line with Lordan's quest for the Great Runes, Melina cannot help but dread his coming battle against the Demi-god that Ranni intended him to face. While grace would keep him alive from countless deaths, it would not preserve his sanity. And his last breakdown was an indication of the toll the death loop inflicted on a person.
She cared about Lordan greatly but was also conflicted. She was getting too close for her own good and his. Knowing full well that she was instructed not to get close as what happens in the end, will be too much for him to handle.
Her internal struggle was noticed by Ranni, who clears her throat to regain Melina's attention. "May I offer thee some counsel?" Melina's silent nod was the approval Ranni needed to continue her speech. "Bethink not of the future that is inevitable, but of the current timeth."
Her words sink in, letting Melina have new perspective. Her fate was already determined since her birth and rebirth, one that she could not escape from despite there existing an alternative means to do so.
But Lordan's fate? That was still unclear. He could very well be dead tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after the next. The time between them was getting shorter and regrets will follow if he is lost to her.
So Melina makes a decision, at last, she smiles at the thought without noticing Ranni looking at her with a sly smirk. She blushes greatly and turns away to hide the embarrassment that was displayed.
"I... Thank you. For the words of wisdom, Princess. I... Will consider them."
"Of course. I am joyous to assist a friend in needeth." Ranni looks to the sky and sees the sun coming down, she needed to leave as her duties needed her elsewhere. "Tis time I taketh mine own leaveth, Melina. I wish you luck in thy endeavors"
"And you Princess." Both women bow to each other and Ranni soon fades into a blue mist. Melina was left alone to her own thought and she turns to look at the Erdtree, observing its golden brilliance that lit up the lands.
She pull out a necklace she wore around her neck and holds it close to her chest, a necklace that resembles the visage Marika blessing those with the Erdtrees essence. Her eyes closed as she asks for forgiveness for intending to stray from her path once again, even when she was told not to for this specifically.
"Forgive me... My Queen."
DRANGLEIC, DRAGON SHINE
1995 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING
"You?"
Seriph looks down upon Rags, his surprise genuine as he was not expecting anyone to even find him here at the time.
"Yeah... Me." Rags prepares his hands, both real and fake arms were ready to do combat, his fingers flexing to practice the feel of a sword.
"You are alive... And you have a new arm." Seriph points out the obvious addition to Rags's body, remembering that it was supposed to be gone in the first place. His eyes dart to the sword that Rags held behind his back, recognizing the blade from appearance alone. "And the Godslayer. The Gloam Eye Queen's sword."
Rags looks back at the blade given by Renna, once again reminded of its supposedly legendary name. "I might stick it up your arse. All twenty inches of it."
Seriph tilts his head at him, slowly walking back to the stairway with Rags at the bottom. "So you remade yourself from your broken state, one that left you on the verge of death. Acquire new weapons, even one of legend. And you came all the way here, through this war-torn land..."
"Just to try and kill... Me?"
Seriph bursts out into laughter, one that comes from a man that was truly amused by the appearance of Rags in Drangleic. His laugh invoked no response from Rags, who simply stared on as Seriph calms down from laughter.
"How touching... You must truly love me."
"Don't flatter yourself." Rags walks up the stairs slowly, his hand ready to grip his weapon in the event of an attack. "Where is she?"
"Who?"
"Marika. Where is she?" His tone changes to a more aggressive one. He had traveled for months to find her and now the only person who knows of her whereabouts is standing in front of him once again. "Where is she, you fuck."
"Ah. The numen, that is what you seek." Seriph places his hand on the pommel of his weapon. He moves ever closer to the stairway, his weapon at the ready. "She's not here, not even close. She is far beyond your reach, unreachable at this point in time."
"Take me to her, NOW."
Seriph scoffs at the demand for he had no interest to even hear it, his focus was only on the ongoing rebellion that the region was hosting under the banner of his Elden Lord's rival. "And why would I do that? The numen has served her purpose and will continue to serve. As far as I'm concerned."
"I. Don't. Fucking. Care." Rags draws his weapon and stabs it to the ground. He prepares his additional weapons and hand parts, knowing that they will be used extensively for his incoming fight. "Bring me to her. Or I will gut you like the lizard you are."
Seriph laughs once again as Rags's display of anger was a hilarious sight to him. "But why are you so insisted about it? What drives you to travel the ends of the earth for a single woman."
"That's none of your fucking business."
"It is now, considering you are here." Seriph's tone changes to a more serious one. He takes a few steps down to approach Rags below him. "What is it? Really? What makes you act the way you are? Why is this one woman worth all the trouble for you to come before again? Even after I killed you in our last duel?"
"She needs me. I owe her, dammit." His reason was genuine. For Marika had shown Rags that better side of himself, giving him purpose when he lacked any direction. And she gave herself up to save him, all because he was too weak to end her when she needed him to in the most critical of times.
She saved him. First from despair and second from death.
"Is it love? Please tell me it's not something as simplistic as that." Seriph walks down a few more steps, both of them griping their weapons harder as their clash was inevitable. "Or perhaps it's lust? Is the taste of her tits and firmness of her arse too much for you to miss out?"
"Shut. Your. damned. Mouth."
"Struck a nerve, did I?" Seriph stops at a point where he and Rags were close enough to begin an engagement. He readies his sword, its blade shines to the sun above them. "You have the Godslayer, and weapons far beyond our time. And also a new arm. But this... Is not enough."
Rags takes up his greatsword and prepares it for battle as Seriph continues his speech. He peeks down into his enchanted bag and sees his next weapon ready, it will be useful in the fight as Seriph's speed was of concern.
"For you are still just a mere fucking man. Every bit of you as weak and feeble when I took your arm from you. No weapon, no power, no one will change that. You are worth lesser than the shit that I step upon, not deserving of attention. Born to die as a waste of air."
HOW HILARIOUSLY WRONG HE IS.
The beast speaks in Rags's mind, he knows that Seriph has a healing ability similar to his, meaning that he and Seriph might actually be close to equals now. "So what? I'm still here."
That taunt was enough to set Seriph off, never has an opponent lived through a fight with him until Rags came along. "Yes, you are... And that is a problem. I cannot let you leave. No one escapes death from me, a descendant of Seath himself. And I have not lived thousands of years to let that be changed."
Rags decides to approach and starts walking up the steps. His movements were slow but firm, and his senses were ready for battle. He was going to make Seriph take him to Marika, even if he has to beat it out of him. His greatsword drags along the stairs, scratching the surface of the path as he ascents.
"So you are walking towards me to your death... Again. You must be truly fucked in the head." Seriph begins descending the stairway and they were getting closer. His giant Katana is once again ready to take Rags's life.
"Can't kick your arse without getting closer, can I?"
"Then come as close as you like..."
Their speed picks up and their start their charge toward each other. Wolf against Dragon.
And their dance to the death begins anew.
Dragon Prophet Seriph, The Half Blooded
The clashed blades in the middle at full strength, creating a small shockwave due to the legendary weapons they wielded. Both men push each other off, changing sides of the stairway.
Rags descends down to Seriph with a series of attacks that were all strong but calculated. His attacks were easily deflected and blocked by Seriph who was a faster opponent in terms of fighting. They fight on the stairway with ever-changing positions, both pushing back and forth down or up the path.
Rags then delivers a rotating slash towards Seriph, who blocks it with ease before sliding the blade off to avoid a hold. He responded with a series of rapid stabs, with some hitting Rags on the chest but his healing factor allows him to take them without trouble.
Rags manage to grab Seriph's blade during one of his stabs using his false arm. He pulls Seriph close and forces him against a wall. He pins Seriph down and starts a combination and punches, with his false arm as the main hand to deal more damage. His punches were mainly on the helmet of Seriph, creating dents on its frame.
His attacks were interrupted as Seriph catches his fist, holding it on as he struggles. Seriph's looks upon the hand that he held that was part of Rags's false arm, inspecting its design. "A very nice arm. I will have to take it, and the other once I'm done."
"You talk too much." Rags gets his hand out of the grip and resumes his punches. He eventually redraws his greatsword for a downwards slash but it fails as Seriph dodges to the side at the very last second. He gets assaulted by Seriphs katana with a flurry of slashes, managing to deflect some while getting hit a few times.
Seriph then charges up his blade, it cracks with lighting as he prepares a strike. Rags's then takes a nearby body to throw at Seriph when he performs the attack, the lighting strike from his blade instantly slices the thrown body in two.
With an opening displayed, Rags charges down the stairway to meet Seriph in a renewed clash. Their swords of western and eastern origin create sparks at their point of contact and generated loud banging sounds from each impact.
Seriph's attacks were met with equal force by Rags, even their speed was almost equivalent which causes him to gain some interest. The idea of a real challenge from Rags was starting to excite him. "Well... This is different from the last we meet. How did you do it?"
Rags pushes Seriph off during one of their sword clashes. He quickly reaches for his back and retrieves his holstered gun. He fires off three shots at Seriph, and they manage to land due to Seriph's lack of knowledge about it. The shots stagger him enough for Rags to tackle him down, which causes them to tumble down the stairway at a large distance.
Seriph pushes Rags away and they both get to their feet with their weapons drawn. Rags then performs a charge and jumps with his blade raised for a downward strike. His attack lands on the floor and breaks the ground as Seriph flips to the side to avoid the attack.
Rags then gets hit by punches from Seriph who charges him swiftly, many of them landing on his chest and he feels some of his ribs being broken. He gets knocked down as Seriph delivers a side kick to his stomach, causing him to tumble down the stairs for a bit.
Seriph walks down the stairs slowly as he approaches a downed Rags, who was on his knees with some blood coming from his mouth. His confidence grew bolder as he believes himself superior to Rags. "Had enough? Or must I draw out your death? Are you a sadist that enjoys pain?"
Rags takes a moment to adjust and his ribs starts healing internally from the Beast's power. He gets to his feet and regains his fighting stance with the Godslayer. His display of recovery catches Seriph's attention, noting that Rags had not once drank his flask to heal.
"Impressive. What have done to gain such endurance?"
"Simple. I just got more pissed."
"What a joke." Seriph jumps and slashes down towards Rags who blocks it easily. Their fight begins again as swords clashed at incredible speed, with Rags keeping up with all of Seriph's attacks.
They push each other off and created distance once again. Rags held his Boomstick on his left as he and Seriph circled around each other on the stairway, both waiting for the other to attack first.
Seriph makes the first step and dashes towards Rags for the first attack. He drags his katana against the ground as he prepares to perform an upwards slash at Rags. Rags sees this coming and was prepared for it, aiming his gun at Seriph.
Gotcha.
Rags fires the gun at the last moment before Seriph strikes. The bullets from the shot leaves him stunned as Rags successfully parries him. He raises the Godslayer and brings it down with all his might.
The sword strikes Seriph square on the shoulder, which was protected by his armor. Seriph grunts out in pain as it created a large dent on that part of his armor, it was the first time someone managed to strike him this hard in a long time.
Seriph grabs the Godslayer and quickly bushes it aside from his shoulder, prompting him to quickly perform flips that get him out of Rags's way. He looks down at the damage Rags created and was surprised, Rags was doing far better than their last fight.
"How did you do it? How did you get stronger? Truly?"
Rags does not reply and simply charges Seriph for another assault. He swings his sword around Seriph's direction and way not able to land a hit due to Seriph increasing his speed to focus on dodging.
"Hold fucking still! Damn you!" He grunts in frustration as not a single strike lands. He slashes down again and was kneed in the face by Seriph, breaking his nose in the process. Rags then fires off his Boomstick again, which Seriph was able to dodge this time as he backflips down to another portion of the stairs.
Rags keeps his gun to his back and sticks his false hand into his enchanted bag, changing the main hand into another weapon that he knows Seriph cannot dodge. Seriph approaches Rags slowly, twirling his sword as he watches Rags trying to retrieve another weapon.
"Your tricks are good, swordsman. But I have gone through worse. If you think that simple pieces of metal are enough to stop me, then you had better be prepared for-"
His words stop as he see Rags removing his arm from the bag, revealing what he was retrieving from storage. The sounds of a steam machine can be heard from the weapon that Rags had placed on his arm.
The Gating Gun from Gehrman.
"Dodge THIS."
Rags pulls the trigger with his other hand and the Gating Gun comes to life, spewing bolts of fire from its three rotating barrels. The sustained gunfire causes Rags to shake constantly from the recoil, forcing him to a knee.
The bullets from the gun hit Seriph at a rapid pace. Hundreds of bullets at each minute hit him at all sides, refusing to let him move. The projectiles bounce off parts of his armor and penetrated several weak spots.
Seriph struggles as the sustained fire pins him to a single spot, slowly forcing him to take steps back as the impact from the attack overwhelmingly staggered him.
The gun soon stops as it overheats after two minutes of unstoppable fire, smoke hisses from the barrel hole and it emits red glow on the three beams.
Rags keeps the Gating Gun into his enchanted bag and changes it to his hand cannon, preparing another surprise that he wanted to use when Seriph was close enough.
Seriph knees to the ground in the aftermath of the attack. He was damaged to a degree that actually hurt him. Wounds in the size of small holes hiss with smoke from its heat. His healing factor kicks in soon as the bullets in his body were pushed out from the process, making him groan softly in pain as each bullet drops to the ground.
Slowly but surely, Seriph was fully healed. He breathes loudly and let's out a soft laugh with his head down. "Is that... All you can do...? That is impressive... But ultimately usel-"
He does not finish his words as Rags delivers a kick to his face, sending him down the stairs. He charges Seriph while he was tumbling down, something that doesn't last long as Seriph recovers from the attack. They stop at another section of the stairway and re-engaged their fight.
Rags performs a variety of heavy attacks with his sword that were countered swiftly by Seriph, using the curved design of his Katana to redirect the blows. Their clash sees them moving downwards the stairway, with Rags slowly working his way to force Seriph down.
Their get into another hold as both men pushed their blades against each other. Rags tries to overwhelm Seriph with all his might, to no avail as the prophet's strength narrowly surpassed his own. He continued the assault and plans out his next surprise attack, his hand cannon was ready and loaded for the right moment.
Seriph pushes off the last attack from Rags and performs rotating slashes in rapid succession. His swift attacks manages to hit Rags a few times before he avoids another attack from Rags by performing a backflip into the air, landing at a distance.
Rags charges Seriph again, his greatsword mimicking a thrusting motion that Seriph easily dodges. Rags then decides to give Seriph the upper hand by choice, avoiding some of Seriph's attacks by weaving to the sides when they came. He allows the attacks to go no for some time and finally sees the opening he was waiting for.
He catches Seriph into another hold with their blades, slowly angling them to create a free space towards Seriph's head for that was his main target. He takes his shot and releases the hold, quickly aiming his fake fist at Seriph's face.
He flips a small switch at the fake arm's wrist, making the fist of the arm flip down from the mechanisms of the arm to expose the hand cannon's barrel. Seriph's face under his helmet turns into a panic from realization as he suspected that Rags was about to fire off another attack.
Rags pulls on the string of the cannon to fire it off while Seriph grabs it's barrel, tilting it at the last second before it fires off to his face. The hand cannon fires off, creating a hole in the helmet of Seriph to expose half his face.
Rags pushes Seriph off the hold and punches him with his fake arm, the metal arm strikes harder than his regular one. Seriph staggers for a second from the punch and responds with his own punch towards Rags's chest. The attack sends Rags flying to a wall behind and slams him hard to create a cracks, some of his ribs breaking upon the impact.
Both men breathed hard from their long battle, both of their bodies passively healing from the injuries they caused to each other due to their unique abilities. Seriph then takes off his helmet to inspect the damage. His sighs at its now unusable and tosses it aside, focusing his attention now on Rags as he sees him recovering as well with an ability similar to his.
"How? How are you still standing? What have you wrought to gain this power?" Seriph witnesses Rags surface wounds healing
"Wouldn't you like to know..." Rags groans as his ribs heal from the last punch, the pain from healing due to the beast's abilities still wasn't something that he was getting used to each other. "If it's enough to kick your arse... Then I'm good."
Seriph burst into a laugh to mock Rags. He was humored by the idea of Rags gaining such an ability just to kill him, wondering about the high price Rags had to pay to earn it. His wounds fully healed and he twirls his katana a few times while pacing around. "Do you know what this means? It means I don't have to hold back anymore... It means you are fair game now. And what plans I have for such a result..."
Seriph then retrieves a whistle from his neck, an item Rags recognize as Seriph had used it before to fly away last time. His reaction catches the attention of Seriph who was thrilled at the prospect of the next part of their battle, making him smirk with evil intent.
"If you survive this. Then, I have finally found my equal, Rags."
He blows on the whistle and his spectral steed appears from a lightning strike, a Farum Azula Dragon that was directly under Seriph's command. It roars to the sky in fury while Seriph mounts it by jumping to its back. "Deimos! Thaar zey! Kuz wah lok!"
Deimos, The Pale Drake
With Seriph's command, the Dragon advances to Rags with full aggression. Rags readies his greatsword and attempts to attack the charging Dragon's limps. His attempt fails as the Dragon grabs him fully with one of its arms.
Rags struggles in its grip as the Dragon brings him closer to its jaws. Seriph looks at the captured Rags and smirks at the sight. For he knows exactly what to do to make their fight more fun, in his favor of course.
"You have had your fun Rags. But now..." He looks up to the skies where the battle between two Dragon forces lies. "We fight on my terms."
Seriph's Dragon goes for a running start and rushes to the edge of the area, performing a dive down with Rags in its hand. The Dragon spreads it's wings and takes to the air, with Rags as the unwilling passager.
Rags stops his struggles and holds on tight as he ascends to the sky fight. He grips his greatsword hard against the rushing winds, leaving him helpless in the Dragon's.
"Ah! FUCK!"
DRANGLEIC, THE SKIES OF THE DRAKES
Seriph's steed rush to the air and aimed for the clouds. It reaches above the skyline and hovers in the air, facing a direction to observe the battle of Dragon from a safe distance. He commanded his dragon to hoist Rags higher to converse with him. "Ahhhhh... Look upon those heretics. How they struggle to accept our ways... Flocking to the false Shepard. A traitor to our order, our Elden Lord's first heir of all beings." He looks over to Rags who was staring at him with killing intent. "Misguided sheep. Just like you."
The Dragon brings its hand closer to Seriph as he taunts Rags in its grip. "Now. What lesson can we learn today, Rags? The pointlessness of struggle or the foolishness of rebellion? Which is your pick, swordsman?"
"I will teach you a fucking lesson with my sword! YOU CUNT!" Rags tries to free himself from the grip, trying to reach Seriph as he was closer than before. "Let me go and we can continue this!"
"Let you go?" Seriph looks down at the fall below that was thousands of leagues above the sky and clouds, sighing at Rags's words. "Tsk tsk tsk tsk tsk. A poor choice of words. Deimos, Vosmah mok."
The Dragon follows the command and releases Rags immediately. And he starts falling from the sky, flipping in circles as he falls and let's go of his sword in the process.
Rags tries all means to slow his descent. He eventually slows down by a little and focused on the falling Godslayer as it was the main weapon he was using against Seriph. Rags leans a little forward and his fall soon moves to the Godslayer.
Come on! Come on!
He reaches closer as his fall was nearing the clouds. Knowing that he would lose visual of the sword when they enter the clouds, Rags leans a lot more to speed up his controlled descent. He reaches out with his hand as the sword grew ever closer to him.
COME ON!
By some miracle, Rags grabs the grip of the Godslayer just in time for him to fall into the clouds. Rags line of sight was covered by the thick clouds to see anything when he falls. He holds on to the sword while he beards the sounds of Dragons roaring in fury and pain below him.
Rags soon crashes to a surface that felt hard and scaly. He looks to the ground he fell on to see that it was the back of an Ancient Dragon, one that was flying towards the battle in the skies alongside its other kin. Rags stands to his feet and holds on to anything that he could, knowing that he would soon be caught in the crossfire of a battle between two factions of Dragons.
The Dragon he rode soon engages its enemy, biting into the neck of its first victim. It rips out a chunk of the neck and flies on to its next opponent, still unaware of the fact that Rags was on its back.
While holding on to the Ancient Dragon's back, Rags observed the chaos of the Dragons' war around him in the sky of Drangleic. It was a brutal sight of Dragons killing one another with whatever means necessary. Using their jaws to rip each other apart, using flames and lightning as weapons, and Dragon riders for both sides engaging on the backs of their Dragons. Each Dragon that fell descended to the ground beneath them, leaving the fields of Drangleic soaked with blood and polluted with the corpses of Dragons and their riders.
The fight between a thousand immortal creatures of the earth and the stars was occurring in the skies of Drangleic.
A Dance Of Dragons, for the mantle of the known world.
What the fuck is going on?! Rags thinks of the sight around him and was snap back to reality as a lightning bolt strikes the Dragon that he was on, causing it to scream out in pain. He looks up in the direction where the bolt came from to see Seriph's Dragon responsible for the attack. It flies towards Rags and breathes lightning from its mouth.
The second attack was avoided as the Dragon Rags was on turns to the side, looping around to fly towards Seriph's Dragon to attack. With the Dragon indirectly helping, Rags prepares his Gating Gun to engage from range.
The dragons crash against one another in the sky, amidst their other kin who were fighting as well. Rags aims to the best of his ability and fires his weapon at Seriph. The Dragon of Seriph soon gets into a chase with the Rags's Dragon pursuing it.
Their chase sees them fly into the chaos of the sky battle, speeding through the fights of fire and lightning. Rags fires his gun at controlled rates, conservating his ammo and recoil from firing. His projectiles miss most of their marks as Seriph had personally controlled his Dragon to avoid them. With his attacks useless, Rags grunts in frustration and keeps his gun.
He looks around for an opening to aim with his hand cannon but was soon interrupted as his Dragon decides to peer off from the pursuit. "No! Fuck! Get back there, oversize lizard! Chase him!" His words were met with no response as the Dragon simply flies with its own accord and Seriph was slowly moving out of view.
"Fuck!" Rags looks around to find a means to return to Seriph. The Dragon he rides soon turns back to the direction where Seriph was as it was ready to engage again. This created a perfect opportunity for Rags as the Dragon was indirectly assisting to fight Seriph.
They passed through several dragons and soon Seriph and his Dragon came into view, they were on their right side. The Dragon speeds up it's flight and opens its jaws in fury, it was aiming for the neck.
Rags gets to his feet on the Dragon's back and prepares his greatsword. He knows that he won't be able to fight Seriph properly unless they were on equal fields. So the only way to effectively attack him would be to face him directly on the back of his dragon.
It's now or nothing then!
The Dragon charges ever closer to Seriph's steed and its jaw was now fully opened. Seriph finally noticed the incoming attack and quickly screams commands to his steed to peer off.
But it was too late, the Dragon bites into the neck of Seriph's steed. With an opportunity close to him, Rags acts on his intent.
He raises a sword and takes a leap. Screaming a way cry as he descends towards Seriph.
Their blades clashed once as Rags lands, tumbling down the back. He quickly recovers and charges Seriph again, both of them were once again in lock hold with their blades.
"You persistent- Fuck!" Seriph pushes off Rags and performs a combination of attacks. He fails to finish them as the struggle between the two Dragons was causing both fighters to lose their balance. They quickly stay down on the Dragon's back and hold on to anything they could to stay in place, using any opportunity to swipe their weapons at each other for a successful attack.
"Deimos! Morah! Ahrk ofaal wah-" Seriph's command was interrupted as Rags gets him pinned to his Dragon's back and begins punching his face furiously. Seriph tries to buck Rags of him but could not, making him issue a desperate command. "Fuskah! FUSKAH!"
Seriph's Dragon obeys the command and starts to perform a roll, getting the attacking Dragon to back off. Rags and Seriph hold on to the Dragon's body while it rolls in the air to avoid falling off, with Seriph being more comfortable with the movements.
Rags looks to Seriph who was now approaching him slowly while the Dragon rotated endlessly. He tries to think of any means to stop the Dragon but nothing came to his mind. Seriph came closer and Rags decides to take a risk.
Rags take a window of opportunity and grabs Seriph tight and he makes a foolish move.
He lets go of the Dragon. With Seriph in his grip. And both combatants started freefalling.
Seriph kicks Rags off and start trying to control his fall. Rags tilts himself forward and attempt to continue their fight midair. Both of them clashed blades at any moment when they came close. Eventually, Rags gets the upper hand and grabs Seriph into a chokehold with his arms and legs, forcing the both of them into a free fall that could not be controlled.
"Let go! Let go, you fool!" Seriph struggles in his grip and could not use his strength due to the lack of leverage. This allows Rags to grip onto Seriph with ease, hoping that the fall was enough to force his hand. "We will both die if you hold on to me! LET GO!"
"I'm counting on it." Rags refuse to let go as he knows that it was not possible for him, not anymore. Seriph might survive the fall with him but his panic was telling a different story altogether, allowing Rags to carry out his bluff. "Call you dragon to get us safe or we are both fucked!"
Seriph tries once again to no avail and becomes more desperate as the ground came closer. He finally relents and calls his steed. "DEIMOS! WAH ZEY! NU! NUUUUUUU!"
The dragon hears the call of its master and rushes towards the falling pair. It dives below them to catch them with its back. Both Rags and Seriph land safely and starting fighting with their blades again.
Each attack was met with force from one another. Seriph then whistles with his mouth to issue a silent command to his dragon. The creature responds and begins flying to sync with each of his whistles.
The movements of the Dragon started making Rags lose his balance and that allows Seriph to deliver strikes in between his blunders. Rags tries to defend himself and struggles to keep up with the attacks and the constant loss of balance.
He eventually gets knocked down by Seriph and was pinned to the Dragon's back. Seriph starts a beat down on Rags with his fists, each precise and strong, creating dents in his armor with each blow.
Seriph's beat down soon ends and he tosses Rags to the forward part of the Dragon's back. He moves over quickly and steps on Rags chest, pinning him down with a combination of strength and his body as leverage.
Rags tries to push Seriph off to no avail as the Prophet looms above him. "Well. You had your fun, and so have I. But now we must part. Feel free to die in one of the ditches below Drangleic for all I care."
Rags stops his struggle and looks straight into Seriph's eyes. He had an idea and needed to make sure that Seriph would not throw him off the Dragon just yet. "Yeah? You think this is over?"
"Of course it is. Even with all your efforts and strength, you cannot beat me. Especially here, for the skies are our domain."
"You're right. I can't beat you." Rags readies himself and executes the plan, a suicidal one if anything. "Yeah... I can't beat you. Not here. Which is why... We are going down!"
Rags pushes Seriph off of his body and punches him hard with his prostatic arm. He rushes to the front of the dragon and prepares his hand cannon, aiming it down at the Dragon's head. "Ah fuck! This better work!"
Seriph recovers from his initial shove and witnesses what Rags was about to do. He rushes to his position and raised his sword, intending to deliver a downwards thrust before Rags could execute his plan.
"NO! STOP!"
Seriph leaps into the air to perform his strike. But it was too late. Rags fires off his hand cannon at point blank into the Dragon's head. The projectile pieces through its skull and hurts its mind. It roars in pain and starts moving erratically in the air.
Rags and Seriph both hold on to the Dragon's back to their best ability with Seriph issuing commands to calm his Dragon down. The Dragon soon loses control of its flight and starts crashing in between other Dragons in the skies.
"Shit!" Rags loses his grip and starts violently tumbling down to the Dragon's tail. He quickly uses his climbing pick to stab the thick scales of the Dragon to hold on.
They flew for some down and started descending fast, going down the clouds as the Dragon hurled toward the Dragon Shrine in an uncontrolled free fall.
Rags looks on as he sees a collision with the shrine incoming. He fails to notice his pick coming loose and was forcefully thrown back into a free fall of his own.
"Dammit! Gimme a break!"
His fall was uncontrolled and hectic as he could not move well from the violent fall. Slowly, he sees blue mist forming below him, and Torrent forms for him to ride in midair
Rags grips on the staddle of Torrent as it controlled its fall. It leans towards a clearing on the Dragon Shrine and braces its legs to land hard.
"Shit! Shit! Shi-"
Torrent crashes to the surface and performs a few jumps to ease its landing. It manages to land safely and was still standing straight when it stop, it had survived harder falls before.
Rags's breathing was hard and fast as he processes what had just occurred. He dismounts Torrent and immediately falls to his knees, the fatigue from the sky fight was still weighing him down. Torrent moves over and nudges him lightly with its head, earning it a pet from Rags as it had just saved him.
"Thanks... Goat... What the fuck was that...?" He lays on his back and slowly recovers from his initial high. His healing abilities kick in to fully restore him.
Rags then hears Seriph's Dragon roaring as it falls to another part of the Shrine. He then hears the sound of a large crash as the Dragon lands on the other side.
GREAT ENEMY FELLED
Rags returns to his feet and dusted off the dirt from his body. He checks his equipment again and gives his greatsword a twirl. With his equipment ready for a re-engagement, Rags send Torrent away to fade into a blue mist.
He treks forward to the Shrine, back to the stairway where their first encounter occurred. Rags climbed the stairs quickly and reached the top, where the pathway to the Dragon Shrine's highest point was.
He walks forward with his weapon drawn. This was to be his final battle.
DRANGLEIC, ALTAR OF COMMUNION
Rag enters the main altar of the Dragon Shrine, it was a large empty platform made from ancient material that was once used to house the oldest of all Dragons, whereas today it was empty of its presence.
Upon the platform lies Seriph near the head of his Dragon, who was stroking its head with affection. It was completely still with a gaping hole on its head caused by the hand cannon of Rags, blood leaked out from it endlessly from the Dragon had died from its wound.
Seriph stands to his feet slowly while his back was turned to Rags. Shivering can be observed from his body as he was griping his katana hard.
"You... Killed... My dragon..."
Seriph finally turns around and his face was filled with fury. This was the first time in years that he was angry.
"You. KILLED. MY. DRAGON."
Rags continue his approach without caring, he was too focused to be concerned about Seriph's anger. "Like I give a damn."
"HE! Was an immortal being of divine descent! You do not have the right to strike him down! YOU FUCKING MORTAL DOG!"
Rags holds his weapon up and were ready to receive Seriph's attacks. He kickstarts the fight with a series of taunts.
"Fuck your Dragon."
"Fuck your order."
"Fuck your Lord."
Rags then speaks a final taunt that sets off Seriph.
"And fuck. Your. Gods."
Seriph takes his weapon and prepares to charge Rags with all his might. He was not going to hold back anymore and Rags was about to face the Wrath of the Dragon Order's Prophet.
"You... Are the personification of everything wrong in this fucking blight of a world! I WILL CUT YOU DOWN!"
"FUCKING TRY!"
Seriph dashes and follows through with a sideways slash. Rags blocks it time and retaliates with a heavy strike, which misses as Seriph dodges to the side.
They meet once again and clashed blades with more fury and lesser restraint. Each attacking with furious speed and blocking with precise skill, both deflecting the attacks of one another.
Seriph then performs a backflip into the air, landing at a distance from Rags. He grips the sword by its blade as lightning starts generating from it. He performs a furry of slashes that create waves of lightning towards Rags
Rags charges towards the incoming waves with the Godslayer raised. He swings his sword towards each incoming wave as the Godslayer's passive ability negates the magic attacks upon touching the blade. He reaches close to Seriph and swings upwards while dragging his sword on the ground, throwing chunks of debris at Seriph.
The debris interrupted Seriph's focus and Rags was able to stagger him. He dodges more attacks from Rags with a series of dodges, rolls, and dashes in between each strike.
Rags stops his attacks as he realizes that they were ineffective. He adopted a guarding stance as Seriph dashes towards him for his next attack. Rags sees the attack coming and prepared his sword.
Seriph attacks and was caught off guard as Rags parries him before the attack lands. He follows up with a shot from his Boomstick that stuns Seriph. Rags then swings his sword down heavily to Seriph's shoulder again, striking the created weak spot once more to break Seriph's armor a little more.
Seriph grips the blade and pushes it off. He swings his sword at Rags and they both get into a hold with their blades once again.
"Look at you! Struggling against the pointless outcome! Such an unworthy and putrid sight!" Seriph pushes away and swings his weapon at Rags, forcing him to block the flurry of blows. "The only way this ends, is with you dead!"
"Like hells!" Rags breaks off the hold and punches Seriph square in the face with his false arm. He continued the assault with a stream of punches, using only his false arm due to its harder composition. Seriph then grabs his fist mid-punch and punches Rags straight in the chest to send him flying away.
Rags gets to his feet and takes on his battle stance again, with Seriph at the ready as well. Both men circle each other as they look for openings to attack. Both trying to get a read on the other as their battle seems evenly matched.
Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a roar from above the clouds that grew dark, the roar of a Dragon that seemed to span throughout the shrine. Both men look up to the sky as it beckons red lightning, flashing the dark cloud to reveal the shadow of a large Dragon that looms behind the clouds.
Seriph looks at the sky to try and make out the Dragon behind it. His eye shows recognition as he eventually figures out who it was, the very Dragon that he came to hunt in the first place.
"Gransax?"
His suspicions were confirmed as a gigantic dragon rises above the dark cloud. It dives down above them and flies forward to the region over them. Its shadow covers the entire platform they were on as it passes by above them.
Rags see the Dragon holding on to a giant spear that was creating lightning as it files. The Dragon holds up its spear and charges it with more power, the red lightning glows throughout its length to lit up the sky.
Rags and Seriph watches as the Dragon flies further away. They see it flying higher and soon above the clouds, with only the red glow of the giant spear visible through it.
And through the distance, the giant spear was thrown by the Dragon, striking the ground of the Region.
And instantly, a red flash ignites the region. Causing both of them to cover their eyes.
An explosion that was the largest ever recorded in history strikes the Region of Drangleic. It creates a shockwave that erupted the land, crushing all in its path in the lower parts of the land.
Rags and Seriph tried to remain standing as the shockwave reached them. They were then knocked down hard as the force from it was too much to bear.
The wave eventually ends and the shockwave fades, leaving Rags and Seriph laying on the ground from the impact of that event.
Rags clenched his teeth hard as his ears rang to no end, making him temporarily deaf. He touches his face to see blood leaking out from his ear due to his eardrum bursting. He gets up slowly to see that Seriph was already on his feet, looking at the explosion site out in the distance as well as the sky.
The entire sky was red as dragons on both sides fall from the sky with their riders, all crashing to their deaths below. The strike from Gransax also cause massive damage to the land, effectively destroying all that was in Drangleic.
For this had been the Ancient Dragons final solution that was delivered by Gransax. If it could not win its war with the Dragon Order, then they would not allow the Dragon Order to win Drangleic.
It was a solution that forces a stalemate due to the total annihilation of both sides, a stalemate that was defeat in the Dragon Order's eyes.
Mutually assured destruction, on their terms.
Seriph falls to his knees as he processes what had just occurred. His failure to capture Gransax in time had come back to bite him. For the campaign to crush a rebellion in Drangleic had just ended in failure within moments. He had lost a large portion of the Dragon Order's army and Dragons from a single Strike.
"No... No. No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!"
He screams out in frustration from the event with his head down. He takes a few moments as he grips his weapon, now more enraged than ever. His focus returns to Rags, who was now going to be the main outlet for his anger.
"You... YOU. YOU HAVE JUST COST ME YEARS OF EFFORT AND WORK!"
Seriph leaps into the air and strikes down at Rags. His attack was blocked and they once again clash their blades. Their attacks were swift and strong, each creating a loud bang and visible shockwave upon impact.
"Look at you! Such ignorance of your status! To think that you stand a chance in the face of impossibilities!"
Seriph leaps once again, charging his blade with lightning and slamming it to the ground to create an area of effect attack. Rags responded by stabbing his sword to the ground, creating a safe area from the Godslayer's magic negation effects.
"Who do you think you are? To try and claim that which is above you! A Numen of all things! Do you really think yourself worthy of her?! A living goddess in the flesh?!"
Rags charges once again towards Seriph, who attacks with waves of lightning magics from his sword. He dodges the majority of the attacks and couches to firs off his hand cannon. An attack that fails as Seriph slices the projectile in half with incredible speed, creating a cloud of smoke from the explosion.
"Who are you?! To stand among us! To think yourself worthy to stand beside the immortals?! To try and defy us with your simple-minded motivations?!"
Seriph dashes through the smoke and performs a series of rotating strikes that Rags deflects. Their swords clash to create sparks as they dragged their blades against each other.
"Who are you?! To spit in the face of fate?! To think that you have control of destiny that has already been written?!"
The hit their swords together with such force and speed, their fight was almost invisible to the naked eye, appearing to be afterimages.
"Who are you?! To crawl above the mud?! You born as a waste of air?!"
They pushed each other off their strikes. Both men charged again, screaming a warcry and their weapons strike one another. A clash so strong, it cracks the floor beneath the blades and creates a shockwave upon impact.
" WHO ARE YOU TO TRY AND PLAY A GOD?! "
Rags then pushes forward with all his might and moves Seriph back. He bucks off Seriph and issues another punch with his false arm, a harder one this time as Seriph was stunned by the hit. Seriph then dodges out of the way and jumps back to a distance.
"ARGHHHH! ENOUGH OF YOUR TRICKS!" Seriph charges up his blade once more, this time more lightning surrounded it as Seriph prepares a final attack. He dashes to Rags at lightning speed and starts a flurry of slashes that seemed endless.
Rags defends himself to the best he could, with some attacks getting past his blocks. He gets staggered greatly as his defense fails. This allows Seriph to deliver a series of punches and kicks at him.
The attacks then forces Rags to a knee as the pain was overwhelming him. Seriph then holds his katana straight and was in the position to deliver his final attack.
"One Strike."
He stabs forward, driving his sword straight into Rags's chest, at the position where the heart was. He twists his sword while it was implanted in Rags to finish off his opponent.
"One. Death."
Seriph allows a few moments for Rags to process the damage and soon his body goes indicating that his death was imminent. Rags was once again defeated by Seriph.
DEATH
DEATH?
REALLY?
NO.
YOU WILL NOT DIE.
YOU WILL NEVER DIE.
FOR THAT IS YOUR CURSE.
NOW GET UP AND GUT HIM.
CURSED
ᛏᚺᛖ ᛞᚱᛖᚨᛞ ᚹᛟᛚᚠ ᛈᚱᛖᚢᛖᚾᛏᛊ ᛞᛖᚨᛏᚺ
ᚨᛏ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚲᛟᛊᛏ ᛟᚠ ᛟᚾᛖ×ᛊ ᛊᛟᚢᛚ
Rags's hand grips the implated katana of Seriph and he slowly rose to his feet. The sight caused shock and confusion to Seriph as Rags was able to survive a decisive killing blow.
"What?!" Seriph looks on with panic as Rags grips the blade with anger, refusing to let Seriph withdraw it from his chest. "How?! HOW?! WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!"
Rags smirks at the question as blood flows out from his wounds and mouth, woundS\s that were in the midst of healing.
"I couldn't beat you... I can never beat you... Not in a fair fight."
"So I got help. A LOT of help."
"From the good. From the Bad."
"And the worst."
AND THE WORST.
Seriph's face changed into horror as he recognizes the presence that resides in Rags. For the greatest threat to the Dragon Order and the world was standing right in front of him.
"The... Dread... Wolf? You... You- YOU... YOU SET IT FREE?!" He processes the information of the beast's freedom. For Rags had embraced a entity that many considered to be the destroyer of all things. "YOU- YOU FOOL! YOU SELFISH FOOL! YOU WILL KILL US ALL!"
"That..." Rags grabs the blade harder and pulls Seriph close to him. "WAS THE FUCKING PLAN!"
He headbutts Seriph hard straight in the nose and caused it to be broken instantly. A staggered Seriph lets go of his sword and takes steps back from the attack and Rags pulls the sword out swiftly.
He then throws the katana towards Seriph who manages to catch the sword as it spins. Rags then charges forth with his greatsword in hand, gripping it with both hands as he was ready to deliver his strongest attack yet.
"GAHHHHHHHH!" He screams out a war cry and swings down the Godslayer with all his might. Seriph raises his sword and was prepared to block it.
But it fails, the Godslayer breaks through the defense, allowing the attack to follow through. The sword finds its mark on the right shoulder of Seriph once again. The armor of Seriph fails, and the Godslayer carves into his shoulder.
And for the first time in centuries, Seriph was beaten.
LEGEND FELLED
Rags pulls the sword out in a swift motion. The Godslayer resonates silently with power as it tasted immortal blood for the first time since its long storage. Seriph falls to his knees with a face of despair, dropping his sword in pain as the Godslayer had temporarily affected his healing abilities.
"I... I... Lost? How... How...?"
Seriph falls on his back and blood starts pooling out from his shoulder wound. Rags stands over him and keeps his sword on his back, knowing that the Seriph would survive and was in no fighting condition anymore. "Yeah... It happens. Cry me a fucking river."
"How... Could I... How...? Why...?"
"Enough of this piss." Rags kneels down beside Seriph and grabs him by the neck to interrogate him. "Take me to her. NOW."
"Her... Who...? You... Want her...?"
"You KNOW who. Marika, damn you! The woman you took from me!" His grip on Seriph's neck becomes tighter, partially choking him to inflict more harm. "Take me to her or I start cutting things off! Starting with your cock!"
Seriph struggles to stay awake and aware as his injury was making him weaker. He roughly understands what Rags is saying and smiles weakly from what he knows. "The numen... The woman... You... Want to know... About your precious... Maiden...?"
"Tell you, you fuck! Tell me or take me there!" Rags shakes Seriph violently as he demanded an answer. His demands were met with nothing as Seriph starts a soft laugh at his question.
"Kintsukuroi... It was so... Beautiful... Like the... Rest..."
"What?! What does that mean?!" Rags lose his patience and gives Seriph a light punch, forcing him to attention. "Answer me! Damn you! What the fuck are you on about?!"
"Elden Ring... Ohhh... Elden ring... How beautiful it was... How beautiful... It must remain with blinding..."
"ENOUGH OF YOUR BULLSHIT!" Rags deliver more punches at Seriph, mainly to his face. His blows were uncontrolled and without restraint, all his bulit-up anger and frustration from his loss of Marika were let loose on Seriph today.
"TAKE ME TO HER! TAKE ME TO MARIKA! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
His demand gets no response from Seriph initially. Slowly a weak laugh came from Seriph as he finally answers.
"Take you...? For... What? She's already dead..."
"What?" Rags hear his answer and tried to process it. Denial kicks in and he grabs Seriph closer to him. "What the fuck do you mean?!"
"She... is... Blinding... like the rest... Our Elden Ring... Breaking... under the weight... Of its own power..."
"The Numens... Served as... Materials to keep it... Whole... Intact..."
"And... She... Was the... Final piece... For now..."
He could not understand the meaning of Seriph's words but knew that he had done something to Marika, something that had put her life in danger. "What have you done to her? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER?!"
Seriph become weaker as his response became softer and more muffled. "We... Sacrificed... Her... For... Our... Home..."
"HOW DO I SAVE HER?! WHERE DO I FIND HER?!"
"TELL ME!"
Rags punches Seriph hard with his false arm, following up with more punches without a care. Red was all he could see at this point.
"TELL ME!"
"TELL ME!"
"TELL ME!"
"TELL ME!"
"TELL ME!"
"TELL ME!"
"TELL ME!"
"TELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
His punches finally stopped after minutes of endless blows and his fists were blooded fully. With Seriph beaten to an inch of his life, only his weakened healing factor kept him alive at this point.
"You... Can't... The... Blinding... is... Permanent... She... Will... Die... Eventually..."
Rags shakes from the answer as a part of him believes it. There was no reason for Seriph to lie, not at this time. His denial was losing its ground, cracking open to the terrible truth presented to him.
"You liar... You. FUCKING. LIAR."
"Am I...? Lying...?" Seriph gains some strength this time to open his eyes, staring at Rags to enjoy the small victory of breaking him.
"Her fate... Was Decided... The moment I presented her... To the Elden Lord... And I... Was there... When..."
"They placed her on that stake... A week... After we fought... Two years ago..."
Rags was now fully broken down from the reveal. The truth of Marika's fate was now clear to him, a fate that decided was two years ago without his knowledge.
"No... NO. NO! YOU! YOU FUCKING- NO! YOU GODS DAMNED FUCKKKKK-"
His thoughts stopped immediately as a group of Farum Azula Dragons converged on his position. They landed at a distance and started beating their wings to create a strong gust of wind that started to stagger Rags.
Rags holds on to his position to his best effort but could not stay in place. The gusts of winds blew him away from Seriph, sending him to a distance away.
One of the Dragons came close to Seriph and picks him up with it's hand, prompting the injured Prophet to speak out weakly in protest. "No... I... MUST... KILL HIM... I... Must..."
Rags gets to his feet quickly as the Dragons being to leave with Seriph in their possession. His one chance to potentially save Marika was on the verge of being lost forever. "NO! NO! GET BACK HERE! DON'T FUCKING RUN!"
The Dragons take to the skies before he could reach them. Rags quickly take out his Gating Gun and aims towards the Dragon that holds Seriph, only to find out that he was out of ammunition to use. He helplessly watch as the Dragons took Seriph away, slowly fading out of the distance.
Rags watches the sight until they completely faded away. He falls to his knees, using the Godslayer for support as he slowly breaks down from his failure.
He finally takes the time to process the information. The sacrifice of Marika, by the hands of the Dragon Order, and when it occurred was the true terror to him.
He recounts his journey since his defeat. His time in the Hollow Earth, his embracing of the Beast, his travel through Dranglic, and his second fight with Seriph. All his struggle and effort to get to this point.
All for nothing. For Marika was lost to him the moment Seriph cut him down for the first time, two years ago while he worked to gain strength to fight.
He won this battle, but lost the war before he even started.
Rags grips his sword harder, shaking it from the tight grip as he starts to shatter from the reality of his situation. Tears burned from his eyes as Rags sinks into the pit that consumed him long ago, a feeling that he had forgotten after so long came back in full force to break him once again.
Despair.
LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, CARIA MANOR
PRESENT DAY
The Journey to the north of Liurnia was vastly uneventful, several days of riding upon Torrent's back was needed to reach this prefecture.
"Are we there yet?" Lordan looks back at Godwyn's phantom who was seated behind him on Torrent's back.
" Patience, Lordan. I did not say that the journey would be quick now did I? "
"You better be right about this... I don't wanna waste time in a cell, or a cage... Or the chopping block..."
" You offered the dew as a sign of peace, no? Then by all means and purposes, your sins are absolved. Ranni will hear you out. "
"Sure..." Doubt can be heard in Lordan's voice as he was still unsure of the effectiveness of the Celestial Dew. Was a single flask of dew really enough to apologize for the assault of someone's Mother? Especially the mother of a Demi-god Princess? He didn't truly know.
But here he was, travelling the region straight to the people that might want him dead. This was by all means a terrible idea. One that he was going through with to avoid a possible war between two regions.
Lordan eventually reaches the outskirts of the Caria Manor, looking at the Castle that resided in within a mountain as a natural defense. He reaches the site of grace nearby and touches it to recover some of his well-being.
"Finally..." He breathed out in relief as he had reached his destination. Lordan looks around the outskirts for threats, thinking that the Carians may be setting up an ambush to trap him. His suspicions soon fade as nothing was spotted to be of danger to him, signaling his safety to move on to the Manor itself.
He urges Torrent forward and starts throttling forward. His movement was stopped however as Godwyn appears right in front of his view to signal a stop. " Lordan, halt. Wait just a moment. "
"Why?" LOrdan looks around as he tried to spot what Godwyn may have seen. His observations turned up nothing and he becomes a little annoyed by Godwyn's interference. "What's the holdup?"
" This is me trying to save your life and time. "
"Save me from-"
His attention was forced forward as a barrage of magical arrows rained from the sky that came from the Manor. The appearance of the barrage catches Lordan off guard but misses him completely as the barrage stopped just before it reached him and Torrent due to its range.
"WOW! The fuck was that?!"
" You are welcome. " Their conversion ended as both of them hear the sound of horses coming from the Manor's gates. The gates were raised and a host of Carian Knights on horseback ride out in a group of at least two dozen. " Do not start any more conflicts, Lordan. Ranni is not an enemy we should make. " Godwyn gives his advice and disappears back into Lordan's mind as the knights ride in Lordan's direction.
The leader of the knight lead the group forward and advanced to Lordan's position. The knight wore a different set of armor compared to the rest with a silver helm that had a protuding plate that depicted a tree. The group stopped their horses around Lordan and he grips his sword to prepare for a fight.
The leader of the group approaches Lordan first, using a hand to command the rest to hold. "You approach the Manor that house the Queen and Princess of Caria. State your business, Tarnished." The leader speaks to reveal herself as a woman underneath the helmet.
"I... uhhhh..." Lordan clears his throat, trying to refine his words as the knights around stared. He could feel their anger towards him even if he could not see their faces. "I came to see the Princess, as instructed by Blaidd."
"Blaidd? The Shadow sent you?" Her thoughts were confirmed as Lordan nods to her assumption. "Than you must be Lordan, the Lord of Limgrave and contender to the mantle, yes?"
"Yeah... That's me." Lordan admits to the question, seeing no reason to conceal his identity from someone who already knew him by information.
"I see..." The leader sheaths her weapon and moves forward to stop in front of Lordan's steed. "I am Loretta, Royal Knight to the Carian family. And I have orders to take you to the Princess for an audience. You are to surrender your weapons to us and present yourself before her without resistance."
Lordan grips his weapon harder as the demand was made. His suspicion of the Carians grew as they made their request of his surrender known. "And if I refuse?"
His answer triggered a response among the knights as all of them drew their swords together, and all point their weapons straight at Lordan lest Loretta. All waiting for the permission to cut him down for his crime.
"Then you face the might of these knights sworn to the Queen. For they demand justice for the distress you caused upon her. It is only because of your offering with the Celestial Dew that you still currently stand. For the Princess forbid us to harm you unless you resist of course."
Lordan looks around at the knights that surrounded him. He tries to gauge his changes to take them on and remembers the difficulty of fighting Moongrum. If the Knights here were even half in skill to Moongrum, then he stood no change in his current strength.
And so Lordan decides to take the high road. Raising his hands to indicate his compliance.
"Fine. I surrender."
LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, RANNI'S RISE
His way around the Manor was escorted fully. With a detachment of eight Carian knights and Loretta leading through the manor. A necessary caution as the rest of the Carian Knights was not too keen on his presence in the manor, many of them staring daggers at him with muderous intend as he passed by the interiors of the Manor.
Lordan gets led through the massive garden of the Manor and was taken to one of three lone towers in the garden. He follows along until they reached the middle of the tower. With the Knights waiting at the bottom floor with only Loretta escorting him up.
"The Princess lies at the top of the tower, within her study. Do not try anything foolish, Tarnished. She is not as indefesive as she looks, despite her current appearance."
Lordan nods and acends the stair. He was joined by Godwyn who appears beside him and walks alongside him, a small smile forming on his face as they climbed the stairs.
"You look a bit too happy about this."
" Why would I not be? I get to see my wife again. A rare chance that one does not have when they die. "
"Heh... You are sooooo lucky..." He reaches the top of the tower and was met with a closed down. Lordan knocks on it to ensure that he was given permission.
"Thee may ent'r. Lordan. "
Wait... Is that? Lordan thinks of the voice that speaks through the door, a female voice that he has heard before. He pushes the doors open and enters the room.
Lordan looks forwards and instantly recognises the woman sitting on the throne of the room, a woman that is unique due to her dual faces, blue skin, and four arms.
"Renna?"
" Ahhh... Ranni. Beautiful even as a doll. "
Ranni nods at his answer and places her hands together. Smiling at Lordan's reappearance despite the circumstances that forced it.
"A pleasure to seeth thee again, wolf."
"Or shouldst I calleth thee lord?"
THE GODLESS AGE
ARC IV
HE WHO COMMANDS THE STARS
THE REALM BETWEEN THE REALMS
1995 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING
The Godslayer strikes true and once again cuts into the tree fully and it begins its collapse. It joins the several dozen trees which were all cut down by the same blade, by the same user.
Rags clutches his weapon hard and breathes heavily from exhaustion. He stubbornly raises the sword again and moves on to another tree, this one bigger than the last. For he was in the midst of taking out his anger, using the realm's endless supply of trees to do so.
He carelessly aims at its body, swinging wildly at the tree while grunting and screaming out in frustration. He attacks the stem carving out its bark into sloppy pieces.
Rags then prepares a final blow to cut down the tree in one swing. He screams to the top of his lungs and brings the sword back, throwing his entire body weight into the attack.
It fails as the Godslayer forced itself out of his hands and flies backward. He looks behind him to see Renna who had recalled the sword into her hands, for she was its true master.
"Rags. Stop." She requested to him calmly but had a firm tone behind it.
Rags ignores her and decides to harm the tree further with just his bare hands. He punches on it with furious speed and strength, screaming endlessly in anger while doing so. His left hand bled from the attacks while his false hand was mildly dented from the force behind his punches.
This was anger from the outcome. Anger against the Dragon Order. And anger for himself.
His punches slowed as his fatigue kicked in hard. It forces him to his knees and Rags eventually ceased his maddening rampage in the wood of Renna's realm. He stays on his knees and looks down at the ground in defeat.
With his outburst at an end, Renna approaches him carefully, placing the Godslayer into the ground to hold it in place. She walks to his side and kneels down to his level, gently reaching out to touch him as a way to comfort his state of despair. "Rags... Talk to me. Please."
She gets no response as Rags simply shivers endlessly from his enraged state. His teeth were clenched to its limits and his eyes forcefully shed tears out of anger and grief. He was in the worst mental state of his life.
"I... I... I lost her... I fucked up... I... I..."
He finally speaks in staggered sentences, each word being a struggle to speak out as his breakdown was in full swing. Renna could only watch helplessly as Rags sinks further into an unending despair, one caused by his belief that this was his fault and would have been prevented if he was brave enough to fulfill Marika's wishes.
She slowly pulls him into a hug, letting him cry into her shoulder while easing his back.
"What should I do...? What should I do...? Please... Tell me what to do..."
Renna allows him a moment to relax as she waits for him to calm down. His violent grief was soon fading and Renna was prepared to speak, to give him the advice that she would do in his position.
"You do... what you need to do. Find Marika. As you intended. Be it dead or alive, you own her that much."
Renna pulls herself back and places both hands on Rags's face, forcing him to look up to her.
"And the Dragon Order... Deserves all that comes to them for this act of pain towards you."
Renna's eyes were now full of dark and malicious intent, for she too felt anger towards the Dragon Order for reducing Rags to his current state. Her resolve was clear, and Rags was to be guided once again by a maiden to his new goal.
"They have hurt you and the world. And they cannot get away with this."
"You will make them pay. And I will help you deliver what is theirs."
Rags looks straight into her eyes, and a sense of understanding between was formed. Renna would be there for him in this next journey, a journey to return all the suffering inflicted on him and Marika.
"Destined. Death."
YES.
SHE SPEAKS TRUTHFULLY.
THE DRAGONS MUST FALL.
AND THEIR GREAT RUNE.
SHALL BE OURS TO TAKE.
FIND THEIR GOD, RAGS.
AND SLAUGHTER IT.
Rags slowly gets to his feet and eases himself from the grief.
His face soon twitched from the forming anger he felt towards the Dragons, the order that took all from him in their cowardly attempt to survive their downfall.
His grief was soon replaced with anger, unending and unbridled rage. And only one thing would sate this feeling that was uncontrollable. Only one thing was left in his mind.
Revenge.
FIN.