Danny eventually lost track of time as he traveled along his vertical path. He was far ahead of the dragon; although it still followed him at a steady pace, he was safely out of range of any of its attacks. As he sped past cloud after cloud, things started to become monotonous, and eventually his mind began to wander...
What is this thing, where did it come from, and why was it so easy to get it to chase me? I know I'm an easy target, but still... If it came straight toward me right from the start... Then it obviously has something against me... But what? I've never seen this thing before in my life! What could it possibly want with me?
He deliberated on the monster's intentions for a good long while. As time passed on, he gradually began to lose his concentration; he then realized that he was starting to feel woozy. He shook his head, looked behind him and saw the black spider-dragon still maintaining pursuit, yet also starting to show signs of weakness. Its tongues hung from its open mouths, green saliva streaming from its twin sets of jaws. It was also starting to slow down, although it was hard for Danny to notice as his flight speed was decreasing as well. He turned back to face his direction of travel, and forced himself to keep going.
He finally emerged from one last cloudbank and met the face of heaven. All around him was a flat plain of crystal blue, illuminated solely by the stars above, the lights of which shone with nearly complete clarity through the thin atmosphere. The thin rim of a crescent moon appeared large before him, the remainder of the great satellite blocking out starlight like a giant hole in the sky.
He realized that he was losing strength rapidly; he slowed down to a hover, allowing his hind legs and tail to resolve from the trail of matter. He tried to catch his breath, but found it nearly impossible, as the air was so thin at this altitude. He didn't worry himself over it; this was part of his plan. He looked down at the ebbing whiteness, waiting.
Soon enough, the twin heads burst from the cloud, disturbing the serene surface. The black stalks stood out against the flowing white, the red mouths glowing. Danny could see that it was aiming its mouths at him, yet nothing else was happening; apparently its power didn't hold up in the thin air, as its energy beams were unable to materialize. After several attempts, it finally realized its disability, and it resorted to roaring in anger, which it also found difficulty with seeing as how it was barely able to draw breath. It swung its long necks around, beating its huge wings furiously, fighting to keep itself airborne in the low pressure.
Danny looked down upon the thrashing monster. It was as though the layer of clouds was holding it back, smothering it. As far as he was concerned, though, his plan was working; the dragon's larger lung capacity was making it harder for it to breathe at this altitude. Of course, Danny wasn't immune to the effects of the thin atmosphere either, but at least he wasn't faring as badly as the creature that was so bent on destroying him.
The black monster continued to thrash, its infuriated roars coming out as shrill squeaks. Watching it struggle, Danny recalled what Spectra had said, about how anger was a beast, a feral demon whose sole intention was to lay waste to everything around it... but only as long as it wasn't kept under check. Whatever this creature was, it was certain that whatever created it had to have nothing to inspire it but pure fury.
He hovered high above it, watching it thrash about, waiting for it to tire out; he had no idea how to attack it without putting himself in danger of being attacked, so he figured that if he could get it to where it would wear itself off trying to attack him, it would become easier to confront.
He was caught off guard when the two necks began twisting around each other, wrapping around like a pair of ropes turning into a braid. They swung harder and faster as they bound themselves closer and closer, the two heads finally slamming into each other at the end, with enough force that they seemed to melt into each other--they actually were merging into each other, Danny realized, it's not my imagination... That thing can change its form, just like Bertrand was able to do...
The two necks also began to melt into each other, forming a single neck, although the braid-like shape still showed on the outside. The creature arched its neck, bringing back its single head, the eyes opening... Four eyes... Four glowing red eyes. Four long black spikes stood out on the back of the head. The mouth had two whole sets of teeth, one behind the other, like a demonic shark. It spread its massive jaws, turned its head to face Danny, and let out a thunderous roar.
He noticed the bright red glow shining from the back of the monster's throat, yet he was too slow to react in time.
What is this thing, where did it come from, and why was it so easy to get it to chase me? I know I'm an easy target, but still... If it came straight toward me right from the start... Then it obviously has something against me... But what? I've never seen this thing before in my life! What could it possibly want with me?
He deliberated on the monster's intentions for a good long while. As time passed on, he gradually began to lose his concentration; he then realized that he was starting to feel woozy. He shook his head, looked behind him and saw the black spider-dragon still maintaining pursuit, yet also starting to show signs of weakness. Its tongues hung from its open mouths, green saliva streaming from its twin sets of jaws. It was also starting to slow down, although it was hard for Danny to notice as his flight speed was decreasing as well. He turned back to face his direction of travel, and forced himself to keep going.
He finally emerged from one last cloudbank and met the face of heaven. All around him was a flat plain of crystal blue, illuminated solely by the stars above, the lights of which shone with nearly complete clarity through the thin atmosphere. The thin rim of a crescent moon appeared large before him, the remainder of the great satellite blocking out starlight like a giant hole in the sky.
He realized that he was losing strength rapidly; he slowed down to a hover, allowing his hind legs and tail to resolve from the trail of matter. He tried to catch his breath, but found it nearly impossible, as the air was so thin at this altitude. He didn't worry himself over it; this was part of his plan. He looked down at the ebbing whiteness, waiting.
Soon enough, the twin heads burst from the cloud, disturbing the serene surface. The black stalks stood out against the flowing white, the red mouths glowing. Danny could see that it was aiming its mouths at him, yet nothing else was happening; apparently its power didn't hold up in the thin air, as its energy beams were unable to materialize. After several attempts, it finally realized its disability, and it resorted to roaring in anger, which it also found difficulty with seeing as how it was barely able to draw breath. It swung its long necks around, beating its huge wings furiously, fighting to keep itself airborne in the low pressure.
Danny looked down upon the thrashing monster. It was as though the layer of clouds was holding it back, smothering it. As far as he was concerned, though, his plan was working; the dragon's larger lung capacity was making it harder for it to breathe at this altitude. Of course, Danny wasn't immune to the effects of the thin atmosphere either, but at least he wasn't faring as badly as the creature that was so bent on destroying him.
The black monster continued to thrash, its infuriated roars coming out as shrill squeaks. Watching it struggle, Danny recalled what Spectra had said, about how anger was a beast, a feral demon whose sole intention was to lay waste to everything around it... but only as long as it wasn't kept under check. Whatever this creature was, it was certain that whatever created it had to have nothing to inspire it but pure fury.
He hovered high above it, watching it thrash about, waiting for it to tire out; he had no idea how to attack it without putting himself in danger of being attacked, so he figured that if he could get it to where it would wear itself off trying to attack him, it would become easier to confront.
He was caught off guard when the two necks began twisting around each other, wrapping around like a pair of ropes turning into a braid. They swung harder and faster as they bound themselves closer and closer, the two heads finally slamming into each other at the end, with enough force that they seemed to melt into each other--they actually were merging into each other, Danny realized, it's not my imagination... That thing can change its form, just like Bertrand was able to do...
The two necks also began to melt into each other, forming a single neck, although the braid-like shape still showed on the outside. The creature arched its neck, bringing back its single head, the eyes opening... Four eyes... Four glowing red eyes. Four long black spikes stood out on the back of the head. The mouth had two whole sets of teeth, one behind the other, like a demonic shark. It spread its massive jaws, turned its head to face Danny, and let out a thunderous roar.
He noticed the bright red glow shining from the back of the monster's throat, yet he was too slow to react in time.