The Godless Age

by Ededdyeded

Unknown years passed as a new tarnished rose from the mud and blood among the bodies of his fellow warriors to enter the lands between. He embarks on a journey of pain, death, impossible odds, love, friendship, truth, and heartbreak in this cruel and beautiful world. For how is a God to be born without great struggle?

11. ARC III: CHAPTER 3

ARC III

CHAPTER 3: THE REVENANT

DRANGLEIC, THE OLD IRON RUINS

1996 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING

"TAKE HIM DOWN! TAKE HIM DOW-"

A soldier of the Dragon Order shouts out commands before he was cut down by Rags, his shoulder split open as the Godslayer cuts down into his torso.

Rags kicks him off the blade and refocused to the group ahead, charging towards him at great numbers. He swiftly responds to each opponent with attacks that take them down instantly, his strength and the Godslayer's ability to cut through almost anything made the fight effortless.

He rushes on as Rags was trying to get to the front of the keep. He had used the talisman Renna gave him to teleport himself to Drangleic, after he had gained the Dread Wolf's power, ending his journey in the Hollow Earth.

His newfound abilities allowed him to fight without any restraint, charging through the fights without care for incoming attacks. Rags had suffered many injuries that never seem to stay long before it heals themselves rapidly. No longer was he threatened nor bothered by the rules of death, every blow landed on him hurt as usual but had no fatal effects.

For Fenrisulfr had been right, pain had become his greatest enemy and ally, considering that he was simply working through it during his fights now.

Rags parries one of the soldiers before beheading him with one swift slash. Another soldier comes in and delivers a stab that goes through his right chest. Rags grab onto the sword impaled in his chest and punched the soldier hard with his false arm, a move that crushes his face.

Rags grunts in annoyance and breaks the sword by its hilt before pulling the separated blade out from his back. He tosses the blade aside and looks ahead, seeing that he was near the entrance with only a few enemies left in his way.

"Get the fuck out of my way..." He warns the rest with a low tone as he had laid waste to the entire keep behind him. The Dragon Order had set up multiple bases within Drangleic to put down the ongoing rebellion that they were facing by the region's Dragon Riders. This old keep was one of the many Rags had gone through, each base was effectively wiped out in his wake.

And this keep would be no different, for Rags had already killed off the majority of its temporary occupants. They were simply in his way and attacked him on sight as he traveled further within Drangleic, searching for the location of Seriph.

Arrows came flying towards him and landed on a few parts of his body. Rags response was to simply fire at the archers with his Boomstick, creating a deafening sound as smaller projectiles rip through their bodies.

He looks forward to see the last remains of the keep's defenders, hesitating to attack as Rags had seemed unstoppable in his destructive wake. One of the last soldiers gathers courage and rushes Rags, only to be close lined by Rags's metal arm that stabs him in the head with its build-in swordwhip in its sword form.

The last soldiers look in horror and Rags uses his swordwhip's alternate form to swipe a strike at their throats, leaving only one left as Rags intended.

He rushes the last soldier and pins him against a wall. Rags points his Boomstick near the knee of the soldier and begin to question him for information.

"Where is he? Where's Seriph?"

"I will never betray our great prophet to the like of-"

A loud bang is heard as Rags fired off his gun at point blank to his knee, blowing the soldier's leg clean off. He gasps in shock from the sudden injury, his mind unable to process the pain that courses his body.

"Where?" Rags aims his gun further to his hip. He sighs in annoyance and fires off another blast, causing more pain to the soldier as he bleeds out.

"WHERE?" The soldier struggles to stay alive as Rags was losing his Patience. "WHERE?!"

"We-West... To the... Dragon Aerie..."

Rags gets his answer and releases the soldier for him to slide down the wall. He loads his weapon with another round and points it straight at the soldier's face.

"Please... Have merc-"

Rags fires off his weapon and the soldier's head was exploded into pieces, bits of his head blown off to stick to the walls.

WELL DONE. YOU HAVE NOT DISAPPOINTED ME SO FAR.

"Don't get used to it." Rags keeps his weapons in their holsters and move off to the direction of the keep's exit. He removes the arrows that were stuck to his body while moving, grunting during each extraction.

"Fucking... Hells..." The pain from his wounds was re-experienced as they healed completely. A catch of his undying condition meant that he was able to heal fully with the cost of relieving the pain that caused the wounds in the first place.

Rags adjusts himself from his fully healed state and carried on to exit the keep. He looks ahead to the barren landscape that was once a volcanic-filled area, now fully dried up from the changes in the regions.

He looks back at the keep one more time to check for enemies and moved off ahead, making his way west to the Dragon Aerie.

"You better be there, you white-haired fuck..."

---

LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, THE CHURCH OF VOWS

PRESENT DAY

"Lordan. Wake up, it's past the morning. Come on, wake up." Godwyn stands over Lordan as he sleeps on his bedroll, his weapons, and helmet placed near him as a precaution. He slumbers deeply due to his buildup fatigue over the past few weeks on travel.

"Ngggarhhhh... Go away now..." He ignored the phantom form of Godwyn and turns around to his side, trying his best to be rid of the nagging from Godwyn. "The key... And academy... Isn't gonna fly away from their... Spot... So we can wait... A few more hours..."

Godwyn rolls his eyes at Lordan's laziness, too much time had been used by Lordan to do his own errands. He wasn't so sure of Lordan's ability to finish this quest from the beginning and incidents like this tend to reinforce his doubts. "You may take a rest later once we have the key. For now, it is important we retrieve it to ensure our access to the academy. We should-"

He stops his words as Lordan emitted a snore from his sleep. His annoyance with Lordan grew even more. "Lordan, did you hear a single word I just said?" He steps closer to see his companion out cold, he didn't hear a single word for the past few minutes. " Lordan? Lordan? LORDAN! GET UP! "

"Noooo... I gonna... Restttt..." Lordan manages to speak out a few words before going back to his slumber, which left Godwyn shaking his head as he thinks of a way to get Lordan out of his docile state. He manages to think of a solution and starts to execute it.

Lordan frowns with his eyes closed as he heard the sounds of whistling, clapping, and other random noises that Godwyn was making beside him. They became more frequent and Godwyn also resorted to singing a tune in his native language. And the worst part of these sounds?

Only Lordan could hear them.

The noises go on for more time and he reaches his boiling point. Lordan gets up immediately and shouts out a frustrated groan.

"OH! PISS OFF WOULD YOU?!"

" Finally... Now we can get back to work. " Lordan thinks of giving Godwyn a lecture of his own but decides to leave it for now. He gets to his feet and keeps all his items in his enchanted bag for travel.

Lordan looks around the church to see Miriel asleep, he leaves the building quietly and settles at the site of grace outside. Godwyn who followed along seats to the other side of the grace, his face was still unsatisfied as Lordan wasn't moving along.

" Now what? We should be moving along, Lordan. You have already wasted almost half a day on your need to procrastinate. And now you are sitting around grace again? "

"Yep. My body, my rules. Besides, I got runes to use. So sit tight and shut up." His words cause Godwyn to sigh as he prepares to call forth Melina. "Melina? You there? I need your help."

His words were answered as Melina appears in a blue mist, still in her traveling attire as she usually wears. "Lordan. It's been some time. Are you well?" She asks with a cheerful tone, a new side that she barely show to anyone but Lordan. He smiles at her arrival while Godwyn looks at Melina with curiosity.

"I'm good, Melina. I just got some runes to-"

" The kindling Maiden is your maiden? You travel with her? " He guessed the identity of Melina which catches Lordan's attention and he turns to where Godwyn was sitting.

"Lordan? Is something wrong?" Melina asks as she observed Lordan staring an empty spot. He snaps back to attention as he remembers Melina would not be able to see Godwyn.

"Ah... Errrr... Nothing. I was just... Looking at the grass." He mentally slaps himself for the weird excuse as Melina raises a brow in confusion. She shakes her head with a smile as she found it cute, ignoring his attempt to hide something.

"It must be a very interesting patch of grass then."

"Yep. The most interesting grass in the known world. Only in Liurnia." Lordan follows along with her teasing and they both laugh at the inside joke. Lordan gets himself to stop laughing as he sees Godwyn becoming more annoyed at his time-wasting.

"Very well, take my hand, Lordan. And let me help you ease your journey."

Lordan nods at her request and removes his gauntlet to hold Melina's hand. He thinks of the aspects he wanted to improve and felt the rush of runes increasing his overall strength. He chose vigor and endurance this time around to make up for the new challenges he was facing in this region.

"Hmmmmmmm... Hmmmmmm?" Melina's hold on his hand becomes a little harder as she felt something amiss like they were not alone. It was like she was interacting with two persons at once.

Lordan noticed her frowning with confusion during the process, he was worried that Vyke could be showing up again. "Melina? What's wrong?"

Melina lets go of his hand as she thinks of a suitable way to explain her troubled feeling. She eventually comes up with a suitable question.

"Lordan. Is there... Another person inside of you?"

Shit.

"Shit."

Both Lordan and Godwyn had the same reaction to Melina's question. She had somehow managed to guess Godwyn's presence within Lordan. They had not been prepared to tell anyone yet. "Well... Uhhhhh... Yeah. It's kind of complicated."

"Don't tell her too much, Lordan. Especially my identity."

"Did you... Want that to happen?" Melina's voice was filled with concern. She didn't want Lordan to be in danger of this unknown presence.

Lordan rubs his head and thinks of an answer to ease her worries while keeping to Godwyn's suggestion. He wasn't comfortable keeping Melina in the dark so he decides to trust some details with her. "Well... Not really. But... He has been helpful to a degree."

"You're welcome."

"But he's also a bit of a prick at times..." His insult earns him an eye roll from Godwyn. "As to how it happened? Well... The Great Rune I absorbed had someone inside of it or at least a version of that someone. So... Yeah. I have Demi-god inside my head."

He waits for a response as Melina processes her thoughts on the matter. She senses that the presence had no evil to him and decides to trust Lordan. "I sense no malice from him... Do as you think best, Lordan."

"Of course. Thanks for trusting me, Melina." Lordan looks over to Godwyn as he nods to approve of his reveals. "Well, he's here right now. You wanna say something?" He gestured to the spot where Godwyn's unseen form sits.

"She won't be able to hear me, Lordan." Lordan throws an annoyed look his way and Godwyn relents. "But I will humor her, for now."

Melina looks to the spot and bow to it as a greeting. "Hello, other person. I am Melina, and I am traveling with Lordan. We might be together for some time." Her interaction with an unseen Godwyn makes Lordan smile at its adorable look. "Pleased to meet you."

"He's to pleased to you as well, isn't he?"

"I'm not childish, Lordan. I actually enjoy meeting new people."

"Of course you do..." His words makes Melina stare at him as she could not see Godwyn sitting with them. "Sorry. He's a little annoying at times."

"I see. At least you have company for your travels then." Melina stands and prepares to leave for Lordan to continue. "Do try to get along, Lordan. Making an enemy of someone inside your mind is not ideal."

"Yes. Especially when he can offer you knowledge that may help you finish your quest..." Godwyn drips with sarcasm while agreeing with Melina. Lordan lets it go as it was a good point, Godwyn had been useful in the travel, revealing information that eased the difficulty of his quest.

"Yeah... I will keep that in mind." They stand awkwardly as both were considering what to do before another goodbye. Lordan's journey had seen him and Melina apart for long time periods. It was agreed between them that they do not travel together physically as Vyke was a lingering danger that could appear at any time.

"So..."

"So..."

They both speak at the same time and laugh at their folly. Both of them settle to give each other a hug, giving themselves comfort for a moment.

Melina lets go first as her sense of hesitation kicks in once again, reluctantly keeping Lordan at bay to not hurt him. "I will be in the Roundtable Hold. Call upon me if you require assistance, Lordan. Please, take care."

"You too, Melina." She fades into a blue mist as Lordan was left alone at the site of grace with only Godwyn as company. He was constantly confused about Melina's mixed signals. She would often show affection before closing off at the end, making him a little let down that their relationship wasn't progressing.

"If you are done performing the worst courtship session I have ever seen. Might I suggest we move on?"

Lordan sighs and somewhat agree with Godwyn, much to his unwillingness to do so due to him interrupting his rest. "Fine. We are traveling west. Let's hope Miriel is right. Don't wanna run in circles again."

"He will be right. It's up to us to ensure the rest goes well."

"Don't you mean up to me?"

"Come now, Lordan. Remember what your maiden said. Conflicts between us are not ideal."

Lordan looks to Godwyn and was annoyed to no end for using Melina's words against him.

"Eat shit and die again, Godwyn."

"Yes. Fuck you, Lordan."

---

LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, SOUTHERN CRYSTALLINE WOODS

Three days of riding were required for Lordan to reach the area around the location of the glintstone key. He rode Torrent to the nearby site of grace that the golden trail leads to, just outside the nearby woods.

He settles near the site of grace to look through the map once again. He crosses out several spots that he already searched and narrows it down to one spot where the key would be. A collection of large rocks was in one of the lake's middle.

"Not sure why a key would be there... But whatever." Lordan keeps his maps and mounts Torrent once again. He rides towards the lake and proceeds to reach the hidden spot.

He looks to the scenery while riding, observing its beauty and looking out for threats that may come his way.

"Ah? Wait! You there! Stop!" His thoughts were interrupted due to a voice calling out to him. The sudden callout makes Torrent stop to a halt, as though it knew that Lordan was wanting to get off.

Lordan looks to the source of the voice and sees a walking quickly towards him. He wore robes that were the same design as Sellen and had no hair as patches did, but he did spot a beard. Lordan gets off Torrent and the man stops in front of him, hunching over to catch his breath.

"Thank the stars... I was... afraid... You might not stop..." He speaks in between his breaths as Lordan looks at him with his brown raised, not sure what a mage like him would be doing out in the lakes. "Give me... A moment..."

"Sure..." Lordan waits for a few more seconds before the man finally breathes normally. "Can I help you?"

The man takes a moment and prepares to speak. "Yes... Good evening, young man. You're Tarnished, aren't you? And if I am correct, you are looking for a Glintstone Key to enter the academy, Yes?"

Lordan thinks about revealing his intent and decided to as he assesses that the man was here for the same reason. "I am, why?"

The man sighs in relive as he was glad someone else was here to do the same thing. "Ah... Thank the stars again. My name is Thops. Presuming you're interested, would you like some information in exchange for helping me get one of the Glintstone keys? I was told there would be two at where we are searching."

He looks to Thops and considers the offer. He could any help that comes his way. "Sure, I'm Lordan. You good in a fight?" He asks as Thops displayed no signs of combat readiness.

Thops looks down in shame and shakes his head. "No, I'm a bluntstone. I don't even have a pebble's worth of power, Nary a hint of talent for sorcery. And so I'm stuck here. A fledgling sorcerer, with little chance of acquiring a key of my own. When the knights cast the seals, I'd just popped out, and now I'm uprooted from my place of learning." He looks down sadly as his learning of sorcery was incomplete at best.

"Well, we all got our shortfalls. But what this info you have?"

"Ah, yes. You see, the Glintstone keys once belonged to a group of students that were granted access to the academy after the Carian Knights invasion to rescue their Queen. They had helped the Knights stage an invasion. And the location where you are heading was their hiding place, guarded by a... Protector of shorts..."

Thops wording of the protector makes Lordan a little curious about why he was avoiding the word. "Ok? What kind of protector?"

"Ah... It's a... Dragon. That is infused with Glintstone due to consuming sorcerers..." He was almost hesitant to tell Lordan as he was afraid Lordan might be scared off.

A Dragon... It had to be a Dragon...

"A Dragon? Infused with Glintstones? Fascinating..." Godwyn appears as an unseen phantom as his interest was peaked by the mention of a Dragon. "I would very much like to see this Dragon, Lordan. They are magnificent creatures."

"Yeah... That's when they are not trying to eat you of course."

"Excuse me?" Thops was confused as Lordan was seen speaking to himself, unaware of Godwyn's presence.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself." Lordan looks at Godwyn while he thinks of his own blunder again. I really need to stop doing that...

"Well... It's not the first time I got shit dumped on my plate." Lordan searches his enchanted bag and plans out the weapons he would use for the encounter. He settles for his Bloodhound's curved sword for its dashing ability, two longswords for faster attacks, a seal for casting incantations, and the hand ballista for ranged attacks that can piece a Dragon's hide. "Alright, which way is the best one to take?"

Thops nods in a relieved smile and points to the direction that Lordan should take. "I suggest we go on foot to attach lesser attention. I may be able to assist you in some way, if you want to."

Lordan thinks of the ways Thops could help and settles on him being a lookout. "Sure. You can come. But stay back, Thops. I don't know if the Dragon will try to hunt you if he sees you."

They agreed on their roles and Lordan send Torrent away while moving to the location of the Glintstone key together.

---

They trekked for a while avoiding detection and eventually reaches a lookout spot near the rocks.

Lordan peeks his head out slightly to observe the scene. The Dragon Thops had spoken of slumbered directly in front of the location where the key was, breathing loudly to vibrate the surrounding waters around it.

Compared to the first Dragon Lordan had fought, this one was roughly the same size. The Dragon was of a greyish color with glintstones forming around its body, serving as both armor and conduit for magic.

Godwyn reappears beside Lordan and looks to the Dragon, part of him becoming interested at the sight of his favorite creatures. "Amazing... The Dragon seems to have adapted itself to become a magic-based one. It seems that the phrase 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger' applied greatly to their species."

"Yeah... And they hurt like a bitch too when fighting. Especially when they fly in the air..." He talks to Godwyn quietly as Thops was a distance from them. "They are basically flying tanks, expect this one can eat you."

"What's a tank?"

Lordan raises his brow at Godwyn's confusion and remembered that he may have come from a different time period that was further from the time here. "A tank is this... Large Wooden siege weapon that moves with men inside of it. It has miniature cannons attached to its sides to attack, and its large size allowed them to safely carry men through fields, and It's almost unbeatable due to the thick wood that serves as armor."

"I see... Then what's a cannon?"

"I will explain later..." He moves over to Thops as he comes up with a plan to get the key, for Lordan had also planned to avoid fighting the Dragon as he was unsure of the Dragon's abilities. He wasn't even sure if the Dragon breathed fire or something else entirely. "Thops, I got an idea. How fast can you run?"

"Not fast enough to outrun that creature, if that's what are asking." He responded to Lordan with no confidence as he was truly scared of fighting the Dragon. Unlike Lordan, Thops wasn't a fighter.

"No need. I just need you to run in and take the key, while I get its attention. Then, we make a run for it on Torrent."

"I see... But can your horse truly outrun that thing?"

Lordan smirks at his question as he already knew the answer. "Trust me. Torrent can outrun the end of the world if I asked him to." He takes out his hand ballista and loads it with a heavy bolt, one thick enough to piece the Dragon's hide. He moves to a position that will allow him to start running once the fight starts by his efforts. "Ready?"

"I hope so..." Thops lack of confidence made Lordan a little worried. He wasn't sure if he was up to the task and didn't want Thops to be killed by accident.

"Just stay put till I signal you."

"And what kind of signal will it be?"

"You will see." Lordan starts moving to another point while crouching down to avoid detection. Godwyn followed along without sneaking as the Dragon would not be able to see him as well. They stop at another collection of rocks for Lordan to prepare for the incoming fight.

"So you are going to risk yourself to fend off a dragon while that man stays in safety? What if he runs off with both keys?" Doubt was in Godwyn's mind on Thopes as he was sure the man would run off once he had both keys.

"Then we chase him or let the Dragon eat him for all I care. Right now, he going to help us get the key." Lordan aims his Hand Ballista toward the dragon in his laying position. He looks to Godwyn and wonders if he has knowledge about Dragons based on his enthusiasm for them. "Anything I should know to make this easier?"

"Stay below its body, move away from its legs from time to time, run towards its bottom when it breathes fire, and don't die."

"Right..." He rolls his eyes at Godwyn as that was information that he already knew. "Figure you have more to say. Considering that you seem like a fan of Dragons."

"Well, turns out you don't learn much from sleeping with a Dragon after all."

Lordan looks to Godwyn while he processes what he just said. "You fucked a... Dragon? How does that... Work?" His mind went blank at the idea of Godwyn having sexual activities with a Dragon due to the impractical way of doing such a thing.

Godwyn sighs while thinking of his previous relationship, one that ended badly due to his engagement with the Princess. " The Dragon I was with... could take on human form after she and her brother were granted a Knife Of Drakanthropy, they did so by cutting themselves on the magical blade. When it was clear that I was to be married to Ranni... She broke her relationship with me to ensure I would commit to it." He shifted uncomfortably at the fact, wondering how things may have been had they stayed in a relationship.

"But why did she leave you?"

"Aside from the fact that this match would have stopped a second war? She made it clear to me that... She had no interest in being a mistress to the prince and being in second place when I was Elden Lord. So she returned to her brother's side. Although we did remain friends, it was... Hard to see her by her brother's side..."

"What so hard about that?" He noticed Godwyn becoming a little upset at the mention of the Dragon siblings as if he knew them very well. He was the befriender of the Dragons after all.

" That's because they loved each other, despite Lansseax intention to be with me before my betrothal to Ranni. I was even planning to marry her as my wife... Until my mother arranged the match with Ranni for me."

"Of course, they loved each other, they were siblings."

"No, Lordan. They. Loved. Each other. Since birth as twins. And did everything together, and I mean, everything." He puts focus on the relationship of Lansseax and Fortissax, knowing the true depth of the relationship that when far beyond brother and sister.

"They loved each oth-" Lordan pauses as he realizes what Godwyn was implying, disgust and disbelief were once again surfacing as their last conversation. "Seriously? What the hell is wrong with this place? Why is every single brother and sister fucking each other?"

"Focus on the Dragon, Lordan. We can talk about that later." Godwyn disappears and Lordan's focus shifts back to the slumbering Dragon. He aims his weapon in a prone position, cocking it to fire when ready.

"Alright. Here goes..." He breathes slowly and starts to squeeze the trigger. He could feel the weapon starting to activate from the tension that was going to fire off the bolt.

Lordan pulls the trigger and the Hand Ballista fires off the bolt. It fires straight to the Dragon at full speed that would tear through any flesh.

The bolt hits the Dragon but bounces off as it could not penetrate the Glintstones that the Dragon had grown on its back. The Dragon opened its eyes and saw Lordan immediately from the direction of the fired bolt. It growls angrily as it begins to rise from its lying position, eying Lordan with anger as he had just disturbed its peaceful slumber.

"Oh... Fuck me..." Lordan quickly keeps his Hand Balista and switches to his curved greatsword as the fight was about to begin. The Dragon roared to the sky and spread out its wings, preparing a charge toward Lordan.

Glintstone Dragon Smarag

The Dragon rushes forward with a roar, dragging it's wings along the ground that kicks up debris as a way to extend its reach.

Lordan gets to his feet and runs towards the Dragon. He takes a bet and jumps on the Dragon's wing to cross on the other side successfully. Both turn around to face each other, with the Dragon looming over Lordan.

He looks back at the spot where the Glintstone keys would be to see the dead bodies of the key holders. Turning back to the Dragon as his focus, he begins attacking its legs and dashes with the bloodhound's abilities to avoid its stomps, timing his dodges in between each stomp.

The Dragon growls from the constant attacks and launches itself into the air, violently knocking Lordan away from the impact. It lands at a different spot and begins beating it's wings to create a tempest of wind towards Lordan.

Lordan struggles from the rogue wind blowing at him, he constantly gets pushed back by the wind and could not stay in place. He gets overwhelmed and the winds knock him down, blowing him violently as he is forced back.

The Dragon stops its wings and advances towards the last spot it slumbered on. It was aware of the items that Lordan was seeking and was not intending to allow him access.

Lordan gets to his feet and regains himself, shaking his head from the attack that stunned him. He looks to the Dragon and then back to Thops, who was still staying hidden from the Dragon as Lordan instructed. "Thops! Stay back! Don't let it see you!"

"Lordan! I believe I can help! I have this spell that can-"

"Just stay back! And get ready to run!" He shouts out his request to Thops and returns to engage the Dragon. He charges and avoids getting bitten by the Dragon's jaws, dashing in between its legs to slash it with his Curved greatsword.

The Dragon responds with more stomps, shaking the ground beneath itself where Lordan was located. The stomps eventually force Lordan to lose balance, making him stop his dashes as the ground was unstable from the shakes.

The Dragon swiftly moves forward and swipes its tail to hit Lordan down to the ground. He gets knocked down hard to the wet ground and the Dragon returns to the air with its wings.

Lordan quickly gets to his feet and sips on his red and blue flask multiple times to recover himself. He looks up to the Dragon in the air as it prepares to dive down with a breath of fire. He summoned Torrent and rides off away from the area to give Thops an opening.

The Dragon performs it's dive and hovers over the ground and follows Lordan while he rides Torrent. It breathed its fire breath which was blue in color as it was infused with magic.

Torrent speeds off at its best speed, avoiding the fire breath while it dashes through obstacles with Lordan on its back. It makes a break to the side to get out of the Dragon's way, forcing the creature to fly off further to make another pass.

Lordan looks over to Thops and sees him still cowering at his last spot. "Thops! It has to be now! I will keep it busy!"

"Alright! I will try my best!" Thops runs to the rock formation at a decent speed while Lordan rides off with himself as bait. The Dragon follows him as close as can while breathing its fire breathes in between each pass, trying to make a pass at Lordan with its fire.

Torrent danced around its flames in its mad run, avoiding the trails of blue fire that spews from the Dragon's maw. It worked in sync with Lordan as he directs Torrent to move away from Thops as he searches for the Glintstone among the bodies.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Lordan's full focus was on the attacks of the flying Dragon. It had not landed a single time for the whole duration of its breath attacks. Due to this Lordan was not able to get a hit in. Even his incantations of lightning spears and bolts for his hand ballista missed entirely as the Dragon was actively avoiding his ranged attacks.

Stop flying damn you!

He eventually hears a shout of joy as Thops was able to find the keys. He raises up the pair and waves it to Lordan for him to at a distance.

"Lordan! I found it! I have them both! We can-"

His words were interrupted as the Dragon dives down and captures him with its jaws to rejoin the air. Thops screams wails of pain as the Dragon bites down on his body before swallowing him whole, leaving Lordan to watch helplessly from below as the man was eaten alive in an instant.

"THOPS! Ah, fuck! Are you kidding me!" He vents grunts of frustration as the Dragon had effectively swallowed the two glintstone keys along with Thops. Lordan had planned to make a run for it once the keys were recovered, but now he was to fight and kill the Dragon to recover the two Glintstone keys. "Get down here you oversized lizard!"

He gives chase to the flying Dragon and stays behind its flying directions on the ground below. He draws both his Hand Ballista and seal at the same time, firing off any projectiles that may hit the Dragon from below.

His attacks land on the Dragon's lower body which was lightly armored with lesser scales compared to its top body. It growls in some pain and changes its directions swiftly to make Lordan's aim more difficult.

Lordan continues the chase on Torrent's back, impatience filling him up as the Dragon showed no signs of coming down. He was effectively in a wild goose chase with a Dragon that was waiting for the right moment to simply swoop down and swallow him whole like Thops was. His focus was becoming blurred as the chase was mentally exhausting, even if Torrent had indefinite energy to move and ride.

"Get the fuck down here!" He shouts out while chasing the Dragon, annoyed by its decision to stay in the air. At least he was able to take out the first Dragon he encountered due to the fact that it stayed on the ground more often. "GET DOWN NO-"

An impact lands beside Lordan as he rides, causing him to fall off Torrent and roll violently on the ground, with his steed disappearing to safety. He gets to his senses slowly as the fall was painful due to Torrent's speed that increased the impact.

He looks up to the point of impact to see another giant enemy, this one in the form of a bird that seems to be undead. its body was a giant bird's skeleton with holes and cracks to expose its black aura that also created its ghostly wings. The creature also held a hook-like weapon.

It eyes Lordan with the same killing intent as the Dragon, raising its head to the sky to emit its monstrous roar that sounded like a crow with pained human cries.

Death Rite Bird

"Two of you?! Really?! NOW?!" Lordan grunts out angrily at the appearance of a new enemy, one that resembles the Dragon in its ability of flight. He gets to his feet quickly and switches to the longsword and seal combination for the fight against the bird.

The Deathbird circles him as he follows its movement. He waited for an attack from the Deathbird as it growled with a disturbing noise that sounded like people screaming in distress. It was like the souls of its victim were being tortured by the Deathbird's ghostflames.

Their attention toward each other was interrupted as a larger impact lands behind Lordan. He turns around to see that the Dragon had landed on the ground and was eying the undead as well. Both creatures look at each other and it was clear that they were not friendlies.

This fact was further unforced as both winged creatures roared at each other. Both wanted Lordan killed, but both wanted the other to back off. It was to be a conflict of blood rights for the Tarnished they seek to kill.

"Ok... I think I'm in the middle of something here..." He looks back and forth between the creatures and soon was caught in the middle below them as both the Dragon and the Deathbird charge to clash in a grabble. Both winged creatures push against the other while inflicting damage with their jaws, claws, and any natural weapon they had.

Lordan rolls out of the way as the fight between them rages on. He runs to a nearby rock formation for cover as he reassesses the situation for the fight.

"Gods... What the fuck is this mess?!" Lordan observes the two monsters fight off at a safe distance, both firing their own version of flames against each other. He looks to his enchanted bag for items that may be useful for taking out both of them, as Lordan was prepared to fight off both the Dragon and Undead Bird if necessary.

He retrieves his greatsword and empowers it with lighting using his seal. Lordan looks back at the two creatures as they continued their fight. He devises a plan to use them against each other by forcing them to attack, part of him aiming to kill off the Dragon first with the Deathbird's indirect help.

He lays on his back for a moment as he breathes out a few breaths to gather his thoughts. Lordan breaths a few more times and shouts out a suicidal warcry and runs towards the clashing creatures with his greatsword raised.

He gets in between the legs of both enemies and begins his wild strikes on all sides, slashing and stabbing any limb of each creature that was reachable while dodging in perfect succession as their attacks to hit him often end with them hitting the other due to Lordan's smaller human size. The majority of the attacks that were meant for Lordan were constantly inflicted on themselves.

This process went on for a while until the Deathbird manages to knock Lordan down with its hook. It then took the chance to grab Lordan with one of its hands and took off to the sky, leaving the Dragon to follow in its wake.

"HOLY FUCKKKKK!" Lordan screams out in terror as the ground below grew further when the Deathbird ascends to the sky. It flies in an unorderly fashion while the Dragon follows behind, Breathing its fire to attack the Undead bird.

The Deathbird rolls with its phantom wings to avoid the attacks. It then decided to change course and begins flying up to the skies while the Dragon follows in its wake. Its ascend created more distress within Lordan, who was trying not to fall off to his death from the large height to the ground.

The Dragon Manages to catch up to the Deathbird and both of them engage in a grapple in the skies, tearing at each other while Lordan was in the Deathbird's hands. He tries to free himself from the hand carefully to not fall to his death.

Lordan manages to free himself and grabs onto the Deathbird's body a split second before he falls. He hangs on to look for an opening to attack, his aim was the Dragon as its larger and more solid body would be easier to grab onto.

Ah fuck... It's now or never! Lordan takes a short moment and performs a jump to the Dragon's back. He slips for a moment before managing to hold on to one of its scales. He then takes out a dagger in stabs into the Dragon's back to gain more stability, it was ignored by the Dragon as it was focused on attacking the Deathbird in its midst.

The Dragon then manages to land a fatal attack on the Deathbird by biting into its neck. It wails to the crushing bite as the Dragon works to rip off its neck. The two creature start descending from the skies as none of them were maintaining flight, and so they and Lordan went into a freefall.

Lordan grips onto the Dragon as he felt the wind pushing against him during the descent, it threatens to throw him off to a deathly fall. He quickly thinks of a way to take out the Dragon and the Deathbird at the same time as he observes the ground below with large Glintstone crystals that point to the sky that are very sharp on their tips.

This is fucking mad... He turns to the side and looks at the Dragon's wing, noting its unprotected skin that forms the wings. Lordan retrieves his greatsword kept earlier and prepares to jump.

He shouts out and jumps to the wing with his greatsword, stabbing through its thinner flesh. The Dragon felt the pain as Lordan's sword begins ripping its wing downwards due to the sharp edge and soon fully cuts open the wing as Lordan was pushed away.

The Dragon and the Deathbird as well as Lordan go into freefall, with the two creatures falling helplessly to the Glintstone crystals and Lordan falling to the swallow lakes.

"AGGGGGGGRHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHH! HAAAAAAA! NGGGRHHHHHH!" He screams in terror as he was currently falling to his death, echoing the Dragon and Deathbird in their death screams. He desperately searches his bag for an item that will save him from the fall, even if he has to experience it.

"WHERE IS IT?! COME ON! WHERE IS IT?!"

His frantic search bears fruit as he manages to grab the item, the yellow flask that was given by Blaidd. Lordan sips on it quickly and braces for impact as the ground grew closer with each passing second.

"SHIT-"

He hits the ground and bounces up once as the flask's protective ward manages to absorb most of the deathly impact. He lands hard and felt pain in his body, not life-threatening but enough to gravely incapacitate him.

"FUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKK..." The pain courses his body and he lays on the ground, his body starting to go into shock from the sudden influx of pain. He reaches to take out his red flask and sips on the whole of its contents. A large sound of two impacts can be heard in the distance as the red flask worked to heal all wounds in his body.

The flask works successfully to heal his wounds which allowed him to stand. Lordan gets to his feet slowly, the pain starting to disappear as he was doing so.

He looks in the direction of the crash noises and sees its source. Both the Dragon and the Deathbird fully impaled on the Glintstone Crystals as he planned. With the Deathbird completely dead and the Dragon struggling in its impalement.

Lordan gets to his feet and approaches the Dragon carefully. He draws his Greatsword once again and moves near its neck where a wound was exposed, unprotected by its natural armor. He prepares a thrust into the neck to put down the Dragon from its miserly.

"Sorry, Dragon... Nothing personal..."

Lordan thrusts the greatsword into the Dragon's neck and blood comes bursting out of its wound. The Dragon roars out weakly as its life fades away. It loses the last of its blood and dies slowly from the massive blood loss. Leaving Lordan victorious against two great enemies.

ENEMIES FELLED

Rune emerged from the bodies of both flying creatures to be absorbed by Lordan's body. He feels the great power surge due to the fact that he had taken down two great enemies at once, yielding him a great number of Runes.

"What... The fuck... Was that...?" His breaths were hard from the fall and the overall fight. Falling from the sky was not an activity one can very easily shake off. He takes some time to calm himself down, doing a series of combat breathing exercises that allows him to relax from his initial high.

Lordan manages to return to normal and approaches the Dragon, observing the body for a part that he could cut into. He draws a dagger and starts eying the part he could start cutting, disgust building up in his mind from images of the inner guts of the dragon that disgusted him. Ugh... Fucking hell...

"Well done. That was amazingly fought." Godwyn appears again at his side, completely unfazed by the events that just occurred. He observes the corpses of both the Dragon and the Deathbird, his interest more inclined to the Dragon. "Interesting. This Dragon seems to be of a new breed or an evolution. Dragons used to have four limbs, this one has only two back legs. It's more akin to a Wyvern, a larger one in fact."

"How... Interesting..." Lordan grunts beside Godwyn while preparing to cut the Dragon's stomach open. He aims his knife at the soft spot of its body and stabs it with a strong thrust, slowly dragging it down to open up its stomach.

He fully cuts a large hole and the piles of the Dragon's guts spill out violently, covering Lordan with blood, muck, and anything else that the Dragon has eaten for the past few days.

"Oh fuck..." Lordan's mind numbs from the smell and feeling of being covered in repulsive fluids. He was trying his all to hold back from puking out the contents of his stomach. "Shit... Ah... Shit..."

He reluctantly searches through the spilled guts of the Dragon and eventually finds the keys, both still held by what remains of Thops's hand. He also recovered a scroll that teaches a spell to conjure a magical barrier, a spell that Thops was developing.

He starts walking away while avoiding the sight of the disemboweled Dragon. He stops midway as he feels himself losing his guts. He needed to vomit. Now.

"Oh... fuck..."

Lordan coughs out a vomit while trying to hold it down. It stains his inner clothing due to his inability to remove his helmet in time, it leaks out of the chainmail mask. It wasn't long before Lordan starts spilling his guts out, vomiting all his stomach's contents. "Fuuuuuuucccccc..."

Godwyn looks on at the disturbing sight with discomfort, as Lordan was puking through his helmet's mask. " Ugh... You might want to remove you-" His thoughts were interrupted as Lordan falls to his knees, retching out more loudly. " Uh... Nevermind. Just clean up later... " Godwyn disappears to avoid the sight any longer, leaving Lordan to himself.

"Fucking... Helllllllllssss-" His helmet was filled with the smells of his own vomit. He would have to clean himself before proceeding to the academy and the lakes contains all the water he needed.

---

LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, EAST RAYA LUCARIA GATE

Three days passed as Lordan spent the time cleaning up himself and his armor, which soaked in the smells of his vomit after his breakdown from the fall and the dissection of the Dragon for the Glintstone keys.

Once he was done, Lordan made his way to the gate to the academy that was nearest to Miriel's Church Of Vows. The gate was located in the upper north of the region, the eastern entrance was blocked off with the magic seal in place, and the bridge was partially destroyed.

Lordan rides to the site of grace nearby and touches it to feel its warmth, activating its healing and resurrection properties. His attention turns to the gate and its blue-colored seal that hinders all who attempted to enter.

"You! please, I can read them." A voice calls to him on his left and he turns over to see a crone similar to Enia in the Roundtable Hold. She gestures to Lordan eagerly, desperately asking him to come forward. "Your fingers, please, your fingers..."

"My fingers?" He approaches the crone slowly, noting that there was no danger nearby. "Uhhh... Ok?" He follows the crone's request and offers his hand to her.

The crone studies his hand and slowly comes out with her reading of his journey ahead. "What a pity it is, to be without the right. All you can do is stand, at a loss. Without even the half crescents that wish to be whole. Before the unmoving, unfeeling Grand Lift ahead... Or, are you planning to throw yourself into the waters? To find the coward's passage, through the dim cavern?"

Her words were vague to him, something about a half crescent was familiar to his as he thinks of the medallion that Patches gave him earlier as payment for letting him go. He did mention the part of using both halves together that will activate the Grand Life of Dectus, but perhaps there was an alternative way based on what the crone had mentioned.

"Wait..." The crone's tone changes drastically when she noticed something while reading Lordan's fingers. She focuses on his hand greatly and grabs it for closer inspection. "It cannot be... No... It cannot... Be..." Her tone changes to that of fear and realization.

"YOU! YOU! DESTROYER! DESTROYER!" The crone wails as Lordan backsteps into a defensive stance, startled by her sudden outburst of despair and madness. "THE HELLSPAWN! THE HELLSPAWN RETURNED! GREATER WILL HAVE MERCY! HIS RETRIBUTION IS AT HAND!"

Enough of this shit. Lordan turns away from the crone to walk to the gate, leaving her in her state of despair while screaming in terror at what she had read in Lordan's fingers. He stands in front of the sealed gate and touches the blue surface of the seal, feeling it's a weird solid structure that was not explainable.

Lordan retrieves the Glintstone key and looks around the seal, wondering how to actually use the key to open the gate. His search prompted Godwyn to appear, rolling his eyes at Lordan's time spend to find a usage of the key.

"Lordan... What exactly are you doing?"

"Trying to find a use of this key?" He ignores Godwyn's presence and refocused on the seal, attempting to find a possible keyhole that the key could fit in.

" You are not trying to find a keyhole... Are you? " The lack of response from Lordan confirmed Godwyn's suspicions and he sighs loudly from Lordan's ignorance. " This seal is not a door... It won't have the keyhole you seek. "

"How do you know that? Have you seen many magical blue doors in your time?"

" Oh, I don't know? Maybe it's because I have lived in these lands for most of my life before my death? Or maybe because I'm almost a thousand years old and have studied in those years? Or perhaps it's because my betrothal is one of the users of this kind of magic? Or perhaps it's because- "

"Alright... Alright... I get it. You don't have to suck yourself off that hard." Lordan was forced to admit to Godwyn's point as the man was endlessly responding with sarcastic remarks to his assumption about a keyhole. "So. How do I use it?"

" Simple. Hold on to the key and touch the seal. It will recognize you as its user and you will be able to simply walk forward. "

That's it? Really? His mind thinks of the simple usage of the key, given its complicated retrieval. Following Godwyn's instruction, Lordan touches the seal with the key in hand and the seal slowly begins to stir in magical sounds.

He feels the solid construction of the seal that was once a wall becoming passable as he pushes forward slowly walking into the seal.

---

Lordan entered the seal and a white flash of light blinded him for a time.

He reopens his eyes to see himself at the entrance to the academy already, crossing the bridge in its entire length in an instant. He looks around and back to see that was on the island itself. The Glintstone was successful in bringing him to the academy.

" See? I told you so. Its that simple. You shoul- Wait. Who is that? "

His attention turns to the view in front where Godwyn was looking. Seeing a familiar man who wears an iron straw hat standing over the dead body of another man.

"Yura?" He had not seen Yura for a few months now. Therefore, the appearance of the ronin was a pleasant surprise. He observes Yura to be injured and bloodly but doubt that the blood belonged to him as Yura's opponent was more mangled than he was.

"Yura? You good?" He moves towards the older mercenary, wondering if the man would remember him from their last Dragon fight together. He sees Yura shaking from his feet, muttering to himself with unhinged tones of madness.

"Wretched worms, leave me be..." His tone was filled with disdain and rage. As if he was talking to someone he hated. "I do not have the time... For your madness yet..." He muttered the words completely unaware of Lordan's presence.

Lordan approached carefully and places a hand on Yura's shoulder to give him a light shake. The action triggers a response as Yura draws his blade swiftly and swings up with a unsheathe slash, one that barely misses Lordan. "WOW! YURA! ITS ME! LORDAN!"

Yura stayed still in his stance after the attack for a brief time, processing the action that he has just taken toward a friend. His breath was hard before he calmed down once he recognises Lordan. "Ah... oh, it's you. I... Apologize. I did not notice you there."

Lordan observes the man for signs of more aggression and lets his guard down as he assesses that Yura was now calm like usual. "Yeah. It's been awhile. Who is he? Another bloody finger?"

Yura nods at his assumption but does not want to reveal much of his current endeavor. "This Bloody Finger was a thorn in my side. And now I'm finally rid of him..." His hands shake a little from the thought of his next target. "I may not have much time. I'm dying to see you, Eleonora... Violet Bloody Finger..."

"You're dying?" The admission of his current health catches Lordan's attention. "How? Why? And who is-"

Yura raises a hand to stop Lordan's questions, he had already revealed too much and needed to ensure that Lordan would not be in danger from his target and himself. "'ve been tracking Eleonora for quite some time. She is the deadliest of all the Bloody Fingers. So if she comes for you, do not think twice. You must flee. There is no shame in self-preservation."

"Ok? So where is this Eleonora? We can take her down together." He offers a hand to Yura but was rejected instantly as Yura simply starts walking away to the seal with his own key. Not wanting Lordan part of his suicide mission.

"She's my to kill... My to finish... Please, Lordan. Do not find her... Just leave me be... For your own safety..." Yura gives some parting words that were void of emotion and disappears when walking into the seal. His departure left Lordan disturbed as Yura was clearly hiding something.

Hm... Weird. His thoughts were interrupted as Godwyn stands beside him, his face more serious than usual. "What?"

"That man... You know him?"

"Yeah... We had a small tag team a while back. Why?" He observed Godwyn stroking his chin as he considers something serious in his mind. "Anything I should know?"

" I sense something within him... A maddening presence. If you encounter him in the future. I recommend you stay clear from him as he advised... He might be dangerous. "

"He is dangerous. That's the point." His opinion of Yura was rather high. He knows that the ronin was a very skilled swordsman of the east. Twice the swordsman Lordan will ever be.

"I can tell. The eastern people are often legendary fighters. " Godwyn turns his attention to the elevator that will lead to the academy's main building. " But our goal is still the great rune from Queen Rennala. Let us retrieve it now, peacefully if possible. "

Lordan shrugs as he doubted such an outcome would be possible. "Sure... Let's go ask a Demi-god to surrender a great rune... Worked out pretty well last time."

"I'm sorry, Lordan. Forgive me for being kind enough to consider the welfare of my mother-in-law. Clearly, I should be cold and ruthless like you at times. "

Lordan rolls his eyes as Godwyn once again used sarcasm to annoy him. He ignores his blonde companion completely and moves off to the elevator, stepping upon the floor switch to activate the platform. Magic powers the lift to hoist him up to the academy, where the entrance of the main building awaits.

---

LIURNIA OF THE LAKES, ACADEMY OF RAYA LUCARIA

Lordan enters the academy only to find it not as populated as he expected. The majority of its previous inhabitants either dead on the floors or hung up on the cellings as a sign of warning. These bodies wore the design of the academy's uniform, each one of them had their hands taken and their throats slit open.

In their place were sorcerers loyal to the Carians that wielded staffs to cast Glintstone spells against him. Strong at range but weak in a close-quarter fight.

They gave Lordan some trouble for a time, casting their spells together in succession to overwhelm him at the range, causing him to experience death a total of five times while making his way through the interiors.

There were also other creatures that roamed the inner floors that were within the island. Living corpses that prowl the graveyard, puppet soldiers with multiple limbs, and an Alabaster Lord that was difficult to take down.

Nonetheless, Lordan carved a path through the buildings, learning the optimal route to travel through several deaths. He flicks his katana after using it on several enemies that crossed his path. He looks back on the trail of sorcerers that he cut down earlier as he manages to reach the third floor of the academy.

Lordan sighs at his progress as it had taken him several death loops to reach this point. What started out as a slow and steady trek became a rush as he forced himself to make progress. Ahead of him lies a corridor that leads straight into an isolated hall. He sips on both flasks to recover himself before entering the hall with his guard up, wielding a seal and katana combination to counter the magic users of the academy.

He enters the large room and observes it to be a lecture hall with long benches that seated spectators on the side. The middle of the hall was an open space with patterns on the floor that indicates it was used as a form of a miniature arena, possibly for sorcerers to duel with magics.

" Ah. This place brings back memories. I once attended a show for the spellswords to duel here as part of their tests. " Godwyn reappears after a brief disappearance while Lordan had traversed the academy. " It was a brilliant display, I had often wondered how spells compared to incantations before it. "

"And what was your verdict? Let me guess... You would probably blow those sorcerers out of the water."

"Yes. Which is why I was not allowed to participate. My lack of knowledge and usage of spells guaranteed that, even if I was to become the consort of their Princess. " Godwyn muses about the arena as he remembers one of its participants. "And their Princess did not disappoint during her sessions as one of the duelists. "

"Princess Ranni was that strong?" Lordan asks, genuinely interested in the power of Ranni from Godwyn's perspective. He sees a small smile forming on Godwyn's face as he recalls the display of Ranni's abilities, it was the face of a man proud of his future wife.

"She was second only to her mother. You would think sorcerers would be evenly matched, but she had a counter to every single spell. She won every match without fail, top of her class. The fastest win she ever had was seven seconds. " A number so small that it was impressive by Godwyn and Lordan's standards.

"I see... So, did the two of you fight?" His question earned an annoyed look from Godwyn. "I mean... Did the two of you... Spar. A friendly one?"

"Yes, we did here in private with no one around. She put up a valiant effort but could not overpower me, nor I with her. Our abilities landed us a stalemate, and we left it at that. "

"Stalemate? She allowed that?"

"Yes. Our match ended with us exhausted with no return. Her Carian sword was at my neck and my hand on her throat. It ended rather beautifully in my opinion. "

"Beautifully as in she got up and finish kicking your arse?"

A smirk developed on Godwyn's mouth as he intends to disturb Lordan further. "Beautifully as we made love for the first time after that. Right here on this floor. " He looks to the ground to point to where Lordan was standing. " I believe you are steeping on a dried up white stain that came from me. Below your right foot. "

His words make Lordan alert with a disgusted groan, stepping back for him to observe the floor. He sees a faint white stain that Godwyn mentioned, making his story true. The Demi-god bursts out a laugh from the sight.

"You sick fuck! Really?! On the floor?!"

"Oh by the outer gods, you should have seen your-"

Their conversation was interrupted as noises of cutter being thrown around were heard from the floor above. Both of them look up and slowly observed the shadow of a creature looking down at Lordan with its beastly eyes.

"What the fuck is that?" Lordan asks as the creature's form slowly revealed itself to be a giant wolf. it moves closer to the light to reveal its red fur that matches that of blazing flames. Slowly it shows itself to Lordan with its teeth bared and low growling.

" Ah. That... Is Radagon's dog. "

"Dog?" Lordan notes the difference and a wolf. And this thing was the largest wolf he had seen out far.

" Yes... And it stayed behind to defend Rennala... By his command. "

The red wolf leaps gracefully and lands in front of the hall's entrance, barring Lordan's way to the inner academy. The red wolf savagely barks at Lordan with great anger, aware of Lordan's intention to reach Rennala.

Lordan takes his battle stance and circles around the hall in conjunction with the red wolf. Both wolves, one of man and one of beast eye each other for a fight.

"Where the hells did you come from?!"

Red Wolf Of Radagon

The red wolf charges and bites towards his location, missing as Lordan dodges in quick succession. It leaps tongue walls of the hand and runs along it to avoid Lordan's attack with his katana and incantations in the form of lighting spears.

Godwyn stands beside Lordan in his unseen form, eager to give advice. " Be careful, Lordan. That is no ordinary wolf. It can- "

The red wolf howls and blue magic forms above its head in the form of floating swords. The swords launches toward Lordan and hit him straight to his chest.

"What the fuck?!" Lordan feels the pain from the hit as he dodges another tackle from the red wolf. "It can use magic?!"

" Of course, it can use magic! Radagon learned sorcery when he married Rennala! " They watch the red wolf conjure a sword within its mouth, it glows red in its mouth and charges towards Lordan.

"Shit!" He ducks and manages to avoid the blade. The red wolf's response was to slam Lordan with its body by performing a spin, sending him flying to the side and hitting the benches.

Lordan feels the impact of his landing on the benches, the pain spread through his body as the red wolf prepares another charge. It conjured its sword once more and slashes around near Lordan, who quickly runs out of the way to avoid the attacks.

Lordan attempts to return the attacks with his katana. He manages to hit the red wolf a few times before it dodges out of the way itself, creating distance by leaping around the hall. It's movements break the majority of the clutter in the hall, destroying the furnishings of the hall.

The hall became a hard arena to move in as the debris created from the red wolf's movements hindered Lordan's own movement. The red wolf larger size allowed it to simply move through the debris while Lordan was constantly forced to move around or leap over them.

Their fight continues with the red wolf running circles around Lordan and avoiding him by moving at great speeds. Lordan's breaths were hard and laborious as his constant movement and dodges were making him lose stamina and focus rapidly, it was difficult to rest and recover as the red wolf was refusing to let up its assault.

The red wolf gets the better of him and ramps Lordan with its head. He falls to the ground and holds back the red wolf's jaws by bracing his katana on its teeth, pushing up to avoid getting his throat torn open.

"Get the fuck... OFF!" Lordan pushes away the wolf with all his strength and uses his seal to summon a lightning bolt from above that strikes the red wolf on its back. It retreats as Lordan hurls lighting spears in its direction, forcing the red wolf to leap to the second floor for a brief respite.

Lordan gets to one knee as the fight was lasting too long for him to keep up. His stamina was getting drained from the constant movements he needed to make. Godwyn's unseen form moves to his side and knees beside him. " Lordan. You need to get up! That wolf will be coming back soon, so you need to listen to me! "

He sighs in between his breaths and was open to the idea of assistance at this point. "Ok... What do I do...?"

"My Great Rune within you. Use it. "

"How?" He remembers the last time he used the Great Rune during his fight with Vyke, an accidental usage that he has yet been able to recreate.

"Focus! Feel the Rune within you! Ask for its power! "

He shakes his head at Godwyn's vague answer and observes the red wolf looming on the upper floor. He decides to try Godwyn's advice and focused on the Great Rune within him.

His eyes closed and his browns frow as he attempts to reach for the power of the Great Rune. Lordan feels a power within himself as his mind was tapping into the Great Rune's potential.

He feels its power and feels time slowing down to a halt. As he was successful in tapping into the Great Rune's power.

ᚷᛟᛞᚹᛁᚾ ᚷᛟᛚᛞᛖᚾ ᚺᚨᛚᚢᛖᛞ ᚱᚢᚾᛖ

Lordan cries out a shout as Godwyn's Rune surges its power, imbuing him with the power and abilities that came along with it. The pain in his body was gone and he feels himself becoming more energized like he was in the best shape of his life.

"Well... This is interesting..."

"Well... This is interesting..."

Dual voices came from his mouth in the form of his own and Godwyn's, leaving him stunned from hearing them. His attention turns to the red wolf above him that barked aggressively as it was ready to resume its attacks.

The red wolf leap and Lordan out of an unknown instinct leaps as well. He delivers a strong knee to the red wolf in midair, making it crash to the ground while he lands safely in a smooth landing motion.

What the hells? I did that? He was confused by his attack on the red wolf, it almost seemed like it was someone else's move that he used. The red wolf returns to its feet from the fall and resumes its attention on Lordan, making both of them circle each other once more.

They charged forth toward each other and begin their clash anew. Lordan's movements and responses were now faster and more precise, getting in more hits with his katana and incantations. All while avoiding the red wolf's attacks with spells and bites.

The red wolf knows it's losing and start creating distance. Only for Lordan to catch up it at amazing speed. He assaults the red wolf with a combination of attacks from his katana and his limps, delivering kicks and punches to the wolf in between the attacks.

Lordan does not know why he was fighting this way but lets it pass as his focus was on the red wolf's defeat. His attacks get the better of the red wolf and it retreats to cast more spells,

The spells hurl towards Lordan who dodges it with ease to pursue the red wolf. He chases the red wolf along the hall and eventually leaps to slam it against the wall with his own bodyweight, a slam that seemed to be stronger than his usual ones.

The red wolf falls down from the slam and Lordan charges to tackle it. He keeps his katana and begins punching the red wolf with his own fists, forcing the red wolf down with each punch.

He delivers a few more punches and proceeds to deliver a strong kick that sends the red wolf flying. It flies to the hall's front and slams the wall once again, falling down to its defeated position as it had sustained too much damage from Lordan's assault.

GREAT ENEMY FELLED

Lordan breathed hard as his initial adrenaline was coming down. He feels his helmet soaked with sweat and removed it to clean himself. He runs his hand through his head and some strands of hair were present on it. He observes the hair and sees them be golden blonde instead of his usual dark bronde.

"What?"

"What? "

He looks at the ground and finds a reflective surface to view his face. He observed himself sporting golden blonde hair and golden eyes. Features that belonged to Godwyn were now present on him.

Lordan feels the power of the Great Rune fading and soon his hair and eyes revert to their original color. He feels the fatigue from battle as the effects of the Great Rune wears off. He sights moves to his side to see Godwyn reappearing, in the same fatigue state as him for some reason.

"What the hells was that? Where did you go?" He asks Godwyn who appeared to be in the same state of confusion as he was.

" I... Do not know. " Godwyn eventually regains himself and stands firm once again. " I felt us... fighting. Together. It was like we were one being for that short moment. Each of us making a decision that the other seems to execute. I... cannot explain it well. "

"So you were controlling my body?"

" No. We were controlling your body. Each of us taking half control. "

The explanation did not make sense to Lordan, two beings with control of the same body seemed impossible. His attention snaps back to the red wolf as it was still alive, heavily injured but still breathing.

"It's still alive. " The both of them walk to the red wolf's laying form and observed it resting from its injured state. " We should put to rest it to rest. Don't let it suffer. "

Lordan nods at his suggestion and draws his katana to begin the mercy kill. He looks at the red wolf in the eyes as a form of silent understanding comes between them.

The red wolf meant only to protect Rennala, as its last command from its master.

He lowers his weapon and approaches the red wolf with his hand, a move that alerts Godwyn greatly. " Lordan?! what are you doing?! "

"Shush. Don't scare him." He ignored Godwyn's concern and reaches out to the red wolf. His hand strokes the brilliant red fur of the wolf as it calms down from the earlier encounter.

The red wolf stands slowly from its laying position and looks at Lordan with caution as he moves back to give it space.

"I'm only here for the Great rune, nothing more." He speaks to the red wolf in an effort to calm it. The attempt works as Lordan observes the red wolf somehow understanding his intent. He was only here to retrieve the great rune, Rennala's death was not his end goal and he would avoid it if possible.

The red wolf moves off slowly while looking at Lordan. It gestures a small nod and leaps off to the hall's second floor. Sounds of its departure can be heard as the red wolf leaves peacefully.

"Impressive. I did not think that dog would listen to anyone but Radagon. "

Lordan shrugs at Godwyn's compliment as they were both left alone in the hall. "He's not a dog. And he won't be a problem anymore, as long as I keep my end of the bargain."

"Your end of the bargain? "

"Yeah. I gonna make sure Rennala remains unharmed. All we need is the Great rune, so we can spare her."

" And how exactly did you know the wolf's intentions? " He asked as he observed no words exchange for the bargain.

Lordan shakes his head as he himself was unsure of how he talked to the red wolf. "He... Told me. I'm not sure how, he just... Talked to me in my mind."

" Talked to you? Interesting... It seems your obsession with wolves is granting you abilities to communicate with them. "

"I'm not obsessed with wolves. If you are looking for obsessed, Vargram's probably the one of that." He looks around the hall once more, seeing a site of grace forming in its middle. He walks toward it and reaches out to feel its healing effects, regaining his health and focus from after the fight. "We gonna move, we have wasted enough time with me dying before."

" Agreed. " Lordan prepares to move on to the next area that will lead him to the grand library of the academy where Rennala resides. " We should discuss the usage of my Great Rune later. There are some things we need to understand about how it works. "

He nods at Godwyn's request and the Demi-god disappears back into his mind. Lordan made his way out of the hall and reaches the upper courtyard of the academy.

The courtyard was fully exposed to the elements and rain poured heavily on the area. He looks around to see the signs of a battle that had taken place, with bodies of sorcerers that have long rotted. Most of them worn the academy's robes like those of the previous hanged bodies outside. He sees the bridge that leads to the highest room in the academy broken apart with no way of crossing without jumping across.

What in the hells happen he-

Lordan gets knocked back to the ground as a magical projectile hits him square in the chest. He gets up quickly and hides behind solid debris for cover, observing that his front chest plate was now filled with a hole from the attack. "The fuck?!"

Lordan peeks out in the direction of the projectile and spots a lone knight on the other side of the broken bridge. The knight wore an elegant armor design with the colors of the Carians. He watches as the knight forms a magical bow and arrow with his staff.

Shit! Lordan runs to the next cover as the knight loses his arrow and it shattered the debris he once hide behind. He moves to an even more stable cover as more magical arrows hit the area in an arrow barrage.

"NI FYDDWCH YN NIWEIDIO'R FRENHINES!" The knight shouts out as he continues his attacks, raining down arrows of magic from his staff to deter Lordan's progress. "GADAEL! NAWR!"

The arrows hit the courtyard on random spots, making progress to Rennala an impossibility. Lordan looks out from his cover to try and find an opening to move. He sees the fountain ahead as another spot for cover and plans out a route to reach the knight.

"Ah, Fuck me! Here goes nothing!"

He runs out of cover and begins his route to reach the knight's location. Where Lordan will be coming to face the Carians most decorated knight in service to the region.

Knight Captain Moongrum.

---

DRANGLEIC, MAJULA

1996 YEARS BEFORE THE SHATTERING

Rags rode Torrent hard through the region as he made his way West to the location known as the Dragon Aerie. His journey in Drangleic so far was a long one due to the number of Dragon Order armies that roamed the contested region. Most of them attacked him on sight and he was forced to retaliate almost all the time.

It had been two months since he set off from the iron keep's ruins. Two months of restless travel atop Torrent's back. No proper rest came as he was too anxious to sleep well, so he settles to stay awake all the way.

An unhealthy option for a normal man. But a sustainable one for one with the beast living within him.

The beast's abilities had allowed him to continue on without being hindered by fatigue. Even if he was feeling its full effects.

"So fucking tired..." He mutters. Underneath his breath in annoyance. The lack of sleep was bothering him to no end.

AND YET YOU CARRY ON.

YOUR STRUGGLE IS YOUR STRENGTH.

USE IT.

It speaks to Rags within his mind, an occurrence he had become used to. For the beast was always there in his private moments. In the back of his mind.

Rags ignored the voice and carried on, looking ahead to see a settlement that was in flames. He could see the banners of the Dragon Order planted around the area, indicating that this place had just been raided by a detachment of the Dragon Order's army.

Rags consider the options he could take. He could easily march in and kill them all without much thought due to his undeath state. At the same time, such a task would take too much time, and he has wasted enough at this point.

Ah. Fuck... He decides to simply carry on and continue with his journey to conserve his time. A part of him feels guilty and the other part justifies the decision as he could not stop and save every village in distress.

Rags ride to a midpoint on the path and spot an abandoned caravan ahead. Around it was remains of Dragon Order soldiers, brutally murdered and torn apart with several men in pieces.

On the side sits a large hooded man with a greataxe, using a smithing stone to sharpen the edges of his dual-sided axe with great care. He notices Rags on the road and gets to his feet. His outfit was of Northmen Origins with a bear pelt as his hood.

The man stood tall as a tree, possibly the largest man Rags had ever seen. His frame was that of a great bear, strong and unbreakable. Beneath his hood a dark braided beard could be seen, indicating his hair color as black with small strands of greying hair.

Rags dismounts Torrent and prepares his greatsword for an attack. He approached slowly and the large man follows suit with his greataxe in hand. Both men stop at a distance to size each other up.

They stood for a time, each waiting for the other to respond with force. Rags looks down at the bodies of Dragon Order troops and link their deaths to the man standing before him. It was clear that he was an enemy of the Dragon Order as well.

"Sverðamaður. Talar þú norðlensku tungurnar?" The man speaks out first, lowering his guard a little as he suspected that Rags was an indirect ally.

"What?"

"Ah. The western tongue then." He switches to speaking the same common language the known world uses. "Are you with or against the Dragon Order?"

Rags lowers his weapon and sheaths it back. It was clear that someone who asks such a question was not part of the Dragon Order. "Against."

The large man nods in acknowledgment and holds his greataxe to the side in a passive state, no longer in conflict with Rags. "Good. It is... Reliving, to meet one that stands against the Order. Few in these lands that can fight do."

"Mostly because they are all dead." Rags added on as he had discovered that the Dragon Order had effectively crushed the region's armies and government. Meaning that no one was raising arms against them as they tear through Drangleic to put down the growing Dragon rebellion that was rising in the west.

The large man considers Rags's words. "True." He acknowledge the fact that what Rags's logic was correct. "But let us exchange names, swordsman. Who are you?"

"I'm Rags."

"Rags of?"

"Just Rags." Rags had no last name to speak of. He had his father's once, but forgotten it long ago.

The large man nods at the reveal of his name and gives him as well. "And I am Hoarah, Warrior." The man gives his name as well and seeks to understand Rags's purpose in Drangleic. "May I ask what is your business here?"

Rags consider the reveal of his plans but wanted to know more first before he gave his intention away. "You first."

"Very well. I seek a general of the Dragon Order. He led a force to invade my home. The men defending it were killed, the children were taken as slaves, and the women were raped and then murdered." His tone was stern and had hints of anger to them. "I have come looking for his head, so that I may place it upon a spike for my kinsmen and kinswomen."

Rags accepted the explanation and decides to reveal his. "I'm looking for the Dragon Prophet. He took something from me, I want it back."

"The Dragon blooded Seriph himself?" Hoarah was surprised by Rags's motive as Rags nods to his assumption. "I see... Is this something a someone instead?"

Hoarah correctly guesses Rags's true intent and he sighs, admitting it eventually. "Yes... She was taken from me."

"Ah. a woman. Your lover or wife, perhaps?"

Rags didn't know what relationship he and Marika truly had. But he cared for nonetheless. "She... We..." He sighs as he fails to come up with a correct answer as he wasn't sure what correctly described them.

"She was under my watch. My care... So I'm responsible for her... And why she was taken."

Hoarah nods silently as he chooses not to ask further. "A noble quest. She must be a remarkable woman for you to pursue Seriph." Hoarah eyes Rags to assess him as a capable warrior. An idea comes to his mind that would benefit them both. "May I make a suggestion for both of us?"

Rags shrugs and allows Hoarah to continue. "The region is filled with followers of the Dragon Order that seeks to crush all resistance. I would us travel together as companions to confront any in our way."

Rags consider the offer. He wasn't doing well on his own despite his newfound undying state. Having someone to watch his back could do him some good, maybe even allow him some sleep at night for a change.

"I'm heading west, you?"

"The same. Our paths are matching for now."

"Then let's go."

Hoarah raises his hand to slow Rags down for a moment. "Another suggestion is that we cut down any member of the Dragon Order along our way. Starting with the ones in Majula." He points to the settlement that Rags had seen from a distance earlier. "The people of this lands are innocent in their conflicts. I would have us try to save as many as we can along the way. That is my condition for a united journey."

Rags considered the offer once again as a new condition was given by Hoarah. He had initially decided to leave Majula be, to hasten his travels. He changes his mind as Hoarah's aid was a price he needed to pay, even if it cost him some time.

"Ok." Hoarah nods at his agreement and both men walk to an overlook to observe the settlement in a distance. They note the placement of the guards and their numbers. A small army of at least a hundred men holds Majula. It was to be an easy fight for them.

"So... How are we doing this?" Rags draws the Godslayer and give it a twirl, arming himself with the greatsword, the sword whip for his fake hand, and his Boomstick for ranged attacks. While Hoarah settles for only his greataxe and prepares some throwing axes on his belt.

"Simple. We walk in and kill them all. You?"

"Same." His response to Hoarah was the same intend.

Both men settle for the direct attack strategy and start strolling to the entrance of the settlement. Their walk attract the attention of the entrance guards, who came on alert and calls out to them.

"Hey! Who the fuck do the both you think you are to come in her an-"

The guard stops mid-sentence as Hoarah throws an axe to his head, killing him instantly as he falls limp. The two other guards start to panic and attempt to shout out for an alarm.

"RAISE THE-"

He did not manage to finish as well, for Rags had swiftly charged forward to stab him through his mouth. The other guard was handled by Hoarah who simply grabs him by the neck to crush it in seconds.

"Here we go..." The last shout of the dead guard manages to alert the whole force in the settlement. Soon an army started approaching them from within the area, making them both charge with their oversized weapons.

Hoarah runs alongside Rags and matches his speed despite his larger size. He roars out his battle cry as Rags remains silent in their charge.

"FOLLOWERS OF THE DRAGONS! WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR HEADS! "

---

The inhabitants of Majula hears the sounds of battle cry and orders which turned into screams of pain and fear after a while. They remain hidden in their holding area as their captors faced their enemy outside. The sound soon turned silent as the last enemy was killed.

The door of their holding area soon opens to reveal Hoarah in a bloodied state, the majority of the blood that stained his body not belonging to him.

"Come. All of you. It is safe now" Hoarah gestures for them to exit the room. They slowly get to their feet to go outside. Not prepared for the sight of their captors torn into pieces.

They see Rags standing around the piles of bodies, bloody like Hoarah was. He was checking the dead for survivors, putting them down with his greatsword by stabbing down into their backs.

They watch in horror as Rags currently had two swords impaled in his torso. Hoarah notices this and gestures to him, making him realize that the swords were still stuck in his torso.

Rags grips them and begins pulling them out without a care, grunting with annoyance and pain while doing so. The settlers watch as Rags appeared unfazed by the act as if he wasn't even hurt by the swords.

"What in the gods name are you?" The elder of Majula who was present in the sight asks out loud which earns him Rags's attention. Rags simply turns away as he realised that his undeath ability was exposed.

"I'm no one... And this was nothing..."

Hoarah scoffs at his dismissal as he had strong opinions about Rags. "You are more than no one, swordsman." He turns to the crowd to express his thoughs on the matter.

"The man that you see before you is a vengeful being, returned from the dead itself to slaughter the Dragons."

"For where I come from, such a man would be called a Revenant. An undying one who seeks revenge at all costs."

Rags shakes his head at Hoarahs speech and starts walking away, uninterested in staying Majula. "I will wait for you out there."

The settlers stand around, unsure of what to do. "What... What should we do now?"

"If you intend to stay, you must learn to defend yourselves. If you cannot, you must flee." Hoarah offers some advise and prepare to leave as well. For his intention here was done. "I wish you all good fortune in the coming days. now go, save yourselves."

He walks away and rejoins Rags in transit out of Majula. And the settlers were left alone in their destroyed homes. witnessing the monsters who tormented them killed off by two other monsters.

For a Lion and a Wolf prowl the region in search of their marks.

FIN