CHAPTER 57: DRAGONSLAYER 2/2
As her Thu'um raged across the burning city, Natsu stared at her distant figure, frightened, but utterly astonished.
Like thunder splitting the skies, the power reverberated through the atmosphere. It sent shivers down his spine, almost throwing him down to his knees. He had never felt a human harnessing the forces of magic with such affluence, never even imagined that a mortal could reach such terrifying strength. And as he looked at her now, he couldn't see a human. He saw a god. In her voice, all human emotions from fury to heartbreak merged into one, and ascended into divinity.
From this day forward, he knew that gods did exist, after all.
When Natsu had once asked her not to go where he couldn't follow, he had been wrong. Her place wouldn't be in Sovngarde with her Nord ancestors. It would be with the divines in the brightest planes Aetherius, far from mortal's reach. When she'd be gone, all he could do was watch to the distant skies and search for her light, for her existence on Nirn would be just a very brief instant, and Natsu felt so incredibly lucky to share that time with her here before it would all fade into darkness.
A blizzard enveloped Lucy in flowing currents of frost and sorcery. It had condensed into a great cross spear, hardened by draconic scales, and now she turned its tip towards the grey dragon perched atop Temple of Mara. Her shout – Unrelenting Force, as Natsu recognized – had staggered the dragon, temporarily disabled its sense of balance. With the final word she had somehow learnt, the Thu'um had become much more powerful. And as Milmurnir used the same shout, this battle would become a deathly match between two unrelenting wills – which one of them would relent, and which one of them persevere.
Far over the city walls, the low growls of the fallen dragon echoed on. A trail of Odahviing's blood painted destructed streets, leading to where it had collapsed. Nervous, Natsu listened to the fading sounds, but did not dare to move his eyes away from Lucy. The beast was dying, he swore, convincing himself that the bigger threat was already out of the game. A king of the skies it might've once been, one of the strongest dragons at Alduin's side, but would never fly again with crippled wings. Soon, it would bleed from its wounds, and die a humiliating slow death.
Now, only its underling was left, awaiting the same fate.
When Lucy lifted the spear above her head and aimed at Milmurnir, Natsu realised he'd be nothing but a pest, a distraction in this colossal battle. Even if it killed him to leave her without support, his magicka was completely depleted. There wasn't anything he could do, he admitted in bitterness. He had to stay out of her way, let her unleash her power to its full extent, and trust that she could slay the dragon.
And so he did.
The daze faded, and he was brought back to the real world in the blink of an eye. His fingers still rested on the dagger's handle, still frozen in the moment of despair, a proof that he had truly thought it was better to die than be taken captive for the dragon-worshipping cult for reasons he still couldn't grasp. Now, hope chased away the desperation, and he moved his hand away. He wrapped it around the infant girl in his arms, stood back up, and turned towards Mistveil Keep, the only building nearby that was still standing.
"Okay, girl, let's head out to the castle. It's gotta be safe there," Natsu said as he began running down the narrow alley, his legs still shaky and numb. "Hold on tight."
They wouldn't die today, no matter what.
Lyra grasped his robes, watching over his shoulder. She glanced at the watchtower once again, her eyes locked on Lucy, wide and astounded. Her tiny body no longer trembled in fear. She'd found solace, perhaps in a way that Natsu couldn't even understand. While he had lost all hope, Lyra never did. Somehow, she had known Lucy was there in the tower, but how? Had she glimpsed into the unknown future and seen the events before they'd unfold? Natsu had no time to ponder, but the thought frightened him. Maybe she knew more of the battle's outcome as well, but lacked the words to tell it.
Then, the sound of a spear splitting the air hissed through the night, followed by a loud blast. As Natsu ran closer to the Keep, the ruins of buildings blocked his view. He lost sight of Lucy and the dragon, but when the beast rose on its wings and soared above the roofs, he knew Lucy's shot had missed. She had lost the benefit of a surprise attack when Milmurnir had seen what the spear did to Odahviing. Those frozen spears sunk deep, deep into the dragon's flesh, tore through their scales, and pierced them from the middle. A deathstrike, for certain, something Milmurnir knew to avoid at all cost. Taking down Odahviing had been a lucky shot, one in a thousand – and such luck never occurred twice.
Shadows moved on the street as the dragon flew over, circled around the tower. The beast's full focus was on the Dragonborn now, its only target, and now it all made sense to Natsu. He ran through the alley with firelights guiding his way, ever closer to the Keep, finally realizing the dragon's strategy. Somehow, they found out that the Dragonborn was in Riften, and then they destroyed the city to smoke her out, not to kill her. At that, they had already succeeded. When the street made a turn, rising the hill, Natsu glanced above the roofs, seeing Milmurnir floating beside the tower.
Then, it shouted.
"IIZ – SLEN – NUS!"
He halted in his tracks, just to witness how a thick layer of ice covered the terrace of the tower. It crept on Lucy, spreading from her feet up to her legs, all the way to her upper body. The ice immobilized her movements. She had created another spear, as if her reserve of magicka had turned into a bottomless well, but now her arms froze solid. The dragon flapped its wings, gained air, and flew over Lucy. Natsu's chest tightened once again.
"Sosaal fah hin pahlok, Dovahkiin," Milmurnir growled as it landed on the terrace's edge. "Hi fen meyz Konahrik do fin dovah ko sul."
Almost as frozen as Lucy, Natsu watched as the dragon reached its talons, ready to seize her restrained form into its hold. The way Milmurnir pressured the word 'Konahrik' sent shivers down his spine, made him tremble from the frustration of not understanding what it meant.
But before its talons even touched her, the iced shell burst open. It shattered by a blast of sorcery, the shards clattering on the stone terrace as she was released from the frozen cage. She locked her eyes with the dragon in front of her, and answered the Thu'um.
"FO – KRAH – DIIN!"
Natsu flinched as the frigid wind hit his face, a wave of frost sweeping out the fires and cooling the heated air. She had used this shout earlier, in the deep underground tunnels of Ustengrav. The group of Draugr had fallen to her blizzard, and now, even the dragon was thrown back from the Thu'um strength. A raging storm of frost surrounded the dragon, froze its wings, and as Lucy turned her spear towards its chest, it was forced to take cover.
And now, Natsu understood why they said that the battle between two dragons was merely a heated, verbal argument. Word against word, Thu'um against Thu'um.
"SPAAN – SLEN – KOPRAAN!"
Upon those words, a layer of protective aura surrounded the dragon. Like a magical ward, but formed by a shout. The strategy of its attacks proved Natsu's doubts true. It could've shouted her off the tower to her death, or mauled her between its razor-sharp fangs, but it didn't, because for some gods-forsaken reason, they wanted the Dragonborn alive. Lucy's rage radiated from her being, gusts of ice-cold air swirling like cyclones – she was filled to the brim with the determination to kill the beast who could not kill her.
And that was her greatest advantage today.
"FUS – RO – DAH!"
Even across the distance, the power of that shout terrified Natsu once again when the aftershock hit him, far on the ground. As he had observed her training in High Hrothgar, it usually took some time before she could use another Thu'um, especially a different one. Her soul needed to rest between the shouts, but now she barely took a breath before shouting again, uttering words she had never spoken before. The power welled up seemingly from nowhere, but magicka couldn't be generated from nothing. It was always taken from something, or someone, and the unknown means she used to achieve this power tied his stomach into a twisted knot of worry.
She couldn't keep going on like this forever.
Her voice tore through the dragon's defences, a thundering protest for its attempts to capture her. The Thu'um, softened by the protective aura it had already broken, still hit the dragon with colossal strength. It spread its frozen wings, tried to restore its poise, and that's when its size became its own detriment.
While the great beast was gawky and ungainly, Lucy had draconic force sealed within a small, agile body. She thrust the spear forward into the beast's guts, but without the momentum gained by a throw, it failed to sink deep enough to inflict a mortal wound. The dragon roared in pain, struggled to pull back from the spear, but then everything disappeared into a blasting blizzard.
"WULD – NAH – KEST!"
Next, Natsu saw how Milmurnir rose above the cloud of frost, fast like a tempest. Blood rained down from the small cuts scattered across its chest, and then he understood what had happened. She had destroyed the spear, and the shards had cut it open, but still, it wasn't enough. The beast gained distance, a trail of falling blood following its flight. A direct attempt to take her had failed – she was a tougher opponent than the dragonkind even knew, and now, a different hunt began.
With no wings to fly with, Lucy stared after the dragon as it flew towards the northern gates. She was thinking, Natsu realised, trying to overcome this disadvantage of her wingless form. They both knew that the dragon wouldn't give up on its mission. Upon its prideful nature, it would not flee. Milmurnir would use her rage to exhaust her, drain her out of all magicka, and then steal her away. Natsu hoped she could see through this, but would her thirst for slaying the dragon cloud her judgement?
"FEIM – ZII – GRON!"
But then again, what would bravery be without a dash of recklessness?
She took over a ghostly form, and jumped down the tower to the walls surrounding Mistveil Keep, and disappeared from his sight. He heard the echo of her voice as she followed the dragon with whirlwind sprint, bolting forward like a predator chasing its prey. She wouldn't let it run away from her, she wouldn't stop fighting until the beast would lie dead at her feet – and no matter how Natsu's mind screamed from worry, he knew in his heart that she would win this battle.
He had lost the sense of time as he had watched her fight, stood frozen there behind the collapsed stone walls, but now he stepped out of that still point and carried on his journey. The girl clasped her tiny hands onto his robes, a reminder for him to focus on his own mission – to keep himself and this child alive to the end, and salvage what was left to save.
He made it through the dark streets, through smoky air as some flames still raged on, licking up the wooden ruins once filled with life. At the edges of the city, some houses were still intact, yet the centre resembled an enormous sinkhole. The tunnels had caved in, the explosion had ripped streets open, like a deep trench with a watery grave awaiting at the bottom. Natsu could barely remember what the city had looked before this happened, and that would be forever gone. Even after decades of repair, Riften would never be the same.
Natsu jumped over fallen planks and burned bodies, he ran and ran and ran until he reached the Keep. The great gates were strung wide open as he walked through them, finally slowing his pace. The eerie emptiness in the courtyard made him feel like a sole survivor, as if everyone else in this city had truly died, and only a nightmare was left behind.
With his legs burning from exhaustion, he took in a ragged breath and tried to keep himself from collapsing. He stood still in front of the gatehouse, gazing into the desolation ahead of him. The bailey was vacant from guards and soldiers, as the wood-made terraces and stairways had been destroyed by the dragon's Thu'um. Corpses lay beneath the debris, young men still holding onto their bows and arrows. Even in the dark, Natsu could see the crimson streams among the cobblestone ground, slippery and wet from the rain. Slowly, he took a few steps forward, his boots splashing quietly on water and blood.
"We made it," Natsu whispered to the girl, keeping her head turned to his chest so she couldn't see the death around them. "It's safe now. It's going to be alright, I swear."
His voice trembled with lies and uncertainty as he walked over the dead soldiers, his guts wrenching in disgust. Nowhere was safe until the dragon was defeated, maybe not even then, but Lyra answered with a quiet sniffle. Her eyes slipped shut as she leaned against him, so Natsu stroked her hair, hoping she could fall asleep and dream of something better than this. Of summer strawberries, flowery fields blooming in spring, a river rippling merrily through the light-green forest. Natsu didn't know if he could ever sleep after this night, but thinking of the happy dreams of his childhood brought him the slightest solace.
Like thunderstrikes, the echoes of Lucy's Thu'um over the distance made him flinch time and time again. He glanced up above the walls, saw flashes of sorcery reflecting against the night sky. The dragon answered with a mighty voice, but Natsu could sense how the beast was losing strength as well. Gildarts, wherever he was now, had already released his unmatched skill of magic against the dragon. It couldn't take much more, could it? Swallowing his fears, Natsu lowered his gaze back to the courtyard, and tried to find a route to the castle. There were bound to be more survivors there, and within those strong walls, they'd have the biggest chance to see another day.
Natsu walked around the collapsed stairways, his legs getting shaky, steps misplaced and feeble. They passed by the tallest watchtower. Its entrance was blocked by crumbled stone. His gaze followed the tower up to its terrace, where Lucy had stood a moment ago. She must've come to the Keep when she left the orphanage, Natsu realised, and that's where she'd somehow ended up. Maybe she had tried to help these soldiers to fight the dragon. The Lucy he had known would've done that.
Then, somewhere far behind him, he heard a whisper. A woman spoke to someone, and a child answered to her. Natsu stopped mid-step. He remembered those voices, but couldn't trace back in his devastated mind to whom those belonged. Lyra began to stir in his arms. She cooed softly, lifted her head, peeking past his shoulder towards the gate. A painful wave of hope washed over Natsu's chest as steps closed in, yet he did not dare to look to have that seedling of optimism crushed.
The orphans just could not have…
"Hey, that's the mage!" a boy shouted, joyful. "And he's got our little Lyra!"
Slowly, he glanced at them, his vision growing blurry. The orphan named Samuel clung to a blue-haired woman's arm, dragging some other child behind him. Forming a chain by holding each other's hands, the orphans followed the lady to the courtyard, their faces black by smutch. The hem of the woman's dress was torn and stained in blood, but the wounds in her legs seemed to have been healed. She panted in exhaustion, sweat dripping down her face, but she didn't stop going until the children were safe behind the Keep's protective walls.
Natsu flinched as she recognized her as Juvia.
Samuel let go of the woman's hand and sprinter towards the mage, laughing as tears flowed down his face. Natsu collapsed to his knees in utter shock, unable to understand that the orphans had survived. That just couldn't be true. He knew he was supposed to feel happy, but the feeling failed to come. Only tears did. Numbness spreading in his soul, he loosened his hold around the little girl, and let her get back to her own people.
Like a protective older brother, Samuel picked Lyra up as he reached them, swinging the baby around before closing her into a tight embrace. He trembled, muttering blessings of the divines, and at that moment, Natsu knew that only a miracle had brought them back together. Another proof the gods did exist, after all, and watched over the mortals from their distant realms. He watched with a sad smile as the orphans hugged each other, sudden loneliness making his heart sink. He just hoped that the same mercy would bleed on him, too.
However, then he moved his gaze to the rest of the children, and realised that not everyone was as lucky.
Natsu recalled distantly how Constance had counted the children at Honorhall's yard, and now he wasn't sure how many of them were here. Some of the faces he hadn't seen there at all, but some of who he remembered, he couldn't find. Juvia gathered the children together like a shepherd herding lambkin, muttering them softly-spoken affirmations. She raised her eyes from a child to Lyra and Samuel, then glanced at Natsu. The mage flinched at the darkness in her, deep as the Void itself, the haunted gaze of the one who had seen too much death. Juvia nodded to him and turned her head away, looking at someone who arrived at the courtyard as well.
Another group of children raced through the gatehouse. Behind them walked a young man, his dark ginger hair glued to his scalp like a molten helmet, his steps slow and pained. Loke, Natsu nearly gasped as he recognized the man, but kept his mouth shut. The Nord hung his head low, bit into his lower lip as tears washed the mud and blood from his face. Natsu stared at him in silence, and realised someone was missing from his side. The familiar clatter of clutches was gone. Loke wiped his eyes, swallowed a sob, and if Natsu had ever hated this man, the sympathy for a lost brother overcame that hatred.
Samuel began to carry Lyra closer to Juvia, so Natsu rose and followed after him. A dragon's distant roar started all of them, but it was soon silenced by Lucy's Thu'um. Natsu kept his eyes on the sky, his tired mind growing too cloudy to understand this bizarre scene. Maybe he had died or fallen asleep, and this miraculous survival was only a dream he'd soon wake up from. What if Juvia, Loke, and the orphans were just ghosts his grief-ridden mind had created to keep him some company? It could all come to an end at any moment, so he did not dare to revel in victory.
Then, someone called him by the name.
"Natsu?" an older voice said. "You've made it! Thank the gods you're alive!"
The mage turned his head, and saw Gildarts standing at the gates. His lips twitched into a faint smile, dazed with disbelief.
He had known the old man wouldn't die on him.
"How…" Natsu muttered as he reached the others. "How did you all…"
Juvia stared at him, but no words came out of her mouth. Her lips trembled, her hollow eyes piercing right through the mage. She looked away when Gildarts limped closer to them.
"Because of this lady here," Gildarts grunted in pain, and pointed at Juvia. "Thanks to her, we were able to escape the blast. She's a seer, you see. Before that happened, she had a vision. This group of orphans was heading to the Ratway, but she told them to turn away. She crossed paths with me and Loke as well, and we managed to get out of the explosion's reach. But not all…"
Natsu nodded as the older mage's voice died away. Constance wasn't there, so he felt a sharp strike in his heart. She had not made it, he could read that on Gildarts's face. He must've seen how she had died, but Natsu chose not to know. Just like with Haming's fate, only one thing was certain: they were both dead. Loke, now noticing the mage, stayed at a distance and turned away to hide his tears. There was no ire in his presence, only bottomless grief.
"She's a seer?" Natsu wondered, glancing at Juvia. He remembered she could summon rain, but not that she had prophetical abilities. Maybe those blessings walked hand in hand. "What exactly… did you see?"
A long silence fell, only the battle against the dragon raging on the other side of the city.
"Fire," Juvia answered quietly. "Juvia saw fire. When the dragon shouted away Juvia's rain. She saw fire. Fire, fire, fire…" She echoed the word as her eyes stared into nothing. "Fire… and blood. The loudest sound. Coming from down below. It cannot be… It cannot be put into words, but then Juvia knew. The gods warned her about the disaster. And told her to warn the others."
"Was there… anything else?"
Juvia shook her head. "No. No, no, wait… there was, maybe. It's cloudy. Juvia can't remember, but there was a tower. And on top of the tower… there was a dragon. Then there was only darkness."
Natsu gazed at her in silence, then turned his eyes at Lyra. Samuel had given the baby to the girl named Runa, the one who had adored the colour of his hair. Lyra waved to the mage, her wide green eyes sparkling in the darkness, and then the dots connected in Natsu's mind. The gods had given the same warning to her, she had seen Lucy atop that tower before she even appeared, but by Sheogorath's beard, why had she called her 'Mama?'
Then, Natsu sensed someone's gaze on him, like waves of the ocean washing over him. He did not turn his head, but suddenly knew it was Juvia's soul-seeing stare reading him, drowning him in the sea of fate. It was over swiftly. Juvia's eyes moved to the girl. She looked at Lyra for a long time, and the girl stared back as well. Whatever psychic messages they were exchanging, Natsu didn't know. Probably didn't even want to.
"Thank you, Juvia," Natsu whispered then, pushing aside the questions in his mind. Juvia flinched as she heard her name, then lowered her gaze to the ground. "These orphans would've died without your gift. I… I sent them down to –"
The children overheard their discussion. "It's not your fault, mage," Samuel answered sternly. "If you hadn't sent us away, we would've died anyway. Right after we left the courtyard, the dragon swept over, and roaaargh! And so, the terrible Honorhall was in ruins. I thought you were left trapped there with Lyra when you went to save her."
Natsu glanced at them. Runa smiled back at him, sadly. "I… I'm sure Constance is also thankful to you. She… I hope she didn't suffer long… I won't miss Grelod or the orphanage, but… I will miss her…"
"At least we're all alive. That's all that matters," Samuel said, patting Runa's shoulder. The long years in the orphanage had made them seem much older than they were – pain forced one's childhood out of them prematurely. "Hey, Runa, what do you think, should we join the Dark Brotherhood? Now's our chance. I always wanted to become an assassin –"
"Silence, boy. Watch your mouth for the honour of the dead," Gildarts warned, and the kid went quiet. "You won't be joining any Brotherhood until you come of age. Even if the orphanage is destroyed, a new one is going to be built. This disaster just created another bunch of orphans, you see. Now, to the Keep with you. It's the safest out there."
"But I want to see the dragon fight –"
"No, you won't," Gildarts silenced him again. He gestured at Natsu. "Son, come help me get these little bastards into the castle with us. Let's see if there's anyone alive."
Natsu nodded. His gaze focused on Gildarts again, and this time, he saw something was missing from the old mage. The man leant his weight to a piece of broken fence, for his other leg was gone below the knee as well. His two ghostly limbs flickered, soon fading, as his magicka was also nearly depleted. He had given his all to fighting Milmurnir and keeping others safe, almost at the cost of his own life. How he had stopped the bleeding, or how he could withstand the pain, was a mystery, but Natsu gave him a mental salute.
Natsu had always thought Alteration meant summoning lights, shielding one's body in magical armour, or transmuting iron into gold, but he had only scratched the surface. Maybe, when one mastered Alteration, one mastered mortality. Gildarts had bent the limits of death again and again, altered the concept of life itself, and taken full control over his body. He knew which veins to close when a dragon bit off your leg, he knew how to dull the sense of pain, and he knew how to conjure a ghostly replacement for a lost limb. These arts were lined with Restoration, but perhaps, Alteration was the base on which all magic was built. It meant to change matter into something else. Everything was energy, and magic happened when it changed form.
If Natsu had learnt that earlier, maybe this battle could've gone differently, but no, he never listened.
Then, when everyone had caught their breath, the orphans began following Loke and Juvia to the Keep. Gildarts kept the back end of the line with Natsu, who still, from time to time, glanced over his shoulder to the skies, worry gnawing pieces from his heart with every passing moment. What if Lucy wouldn't make it? He tried to chase it away, but he knew that then a dark curtain would fall over his life, and there would be nothing left after it.
They found the castle's tall doors barred when they reached them. Natsu grimaced in disgust – that's where the city's cream had evacuated when the dragon attacked, and they had locked the doors tight to keep the riffraff out. Loke banged at the wood, then banged again, but no one came to open. He turned and glanced at Gildarts, who sighed, then climbed up the stairs to the door.
Gildarts shoved Loke and the children back, placed his last remaining arm on the doorknob, and cast a blast of sorcery that shattered the ornamented wood. The children flinched at the sound, but then rejoiced as the pieces of wood crumbled down to the threshold. A pair of guards stood in the entryway, pointing their spears at the intruder, but Gildarts stared at them long enough to make them lower their weapons.
"All clear," Gildarts sighed and stepped out of the way. Loke and Juvia guided the children in, and he pressed his back against the doorframe, sliding down with his eyes closed. As he dropped to the ground, his ghostly limbs disappeared. His magicka had finally reached its limit.
Natsu halted in front of the old mage. He stared at him for a while. Even after all the orphans were safe inside the castle, Gildarts hadn't taken in a single breath. He sat there with his eyes closed, perfectly still, and Natsu's chin began to tremble. He waited for another moment, but Gildarts still did not breathe. Natsu squeezed his fists into tight balls as tears welled up in his eyes.
"Stop wailing, son. I'm not dead," Gildarts suddenly grunted, startling the younger mage. "Just… Just let the old man have some rest, would ya?"
Natsu chuckled, then swallowed a sob. He wiped his eyes and turned away from Gildarts. With three limbs missing, the big brute of a man looked so small and fragile. He'd get an earful if he'd tell that to him, though. Gildarts had taught him to be strong, and sometimes, it meant being fragile. Now the old mage fell into a deep sleep, but Natsu couldn't leave him there. He stood at the doorway, gazing into the distant skies, when suddenly, a gleaming ball of frost descended from the darkness.
The mage focused his eyes on the sight. From the castle's stairway, he could see high over the courtyard, and above the walls, the light came down. It was falling from the height of the watchtower, searing through the air like a falling star. Frozen wings spread to slow the fall, but the effort was in vain. Natsu furrowed his brow, his vision blurry, but as he heard the pained growls, he realised it was a dragon.
"Ahrk nu Zu'u drun hi tum, Milmurnir! Grind hin oblaan, lir! Mindok daar Dovahkiin gahrot hin sil! FEIM – ZII – GRON!"
The otherworldly scream was Lucy's voice, coming from the back of the beast.
She was there, behind the tall spikes on the dragon's spine, with a great spear struck through the back of the dragon's skull. She kept the weapon still, grasping it tightly as the dragon fell, fell, and fell, aiming at the empty courtyard below. A swirl of frost surrounded the descent, leaving a trail of snowfall after them.
Without a moment's hesitation, Natsu bolted down the stairs.
"Lucy!"
The dragon spiralled down, the roars of its death struggle echoing across the courtyard. Natsu felt eyes on his back, orphans gathered on the castle's doorstep to watch what was happening. A foolhardy idiot running under a falling dragon he might be to them, but that was not his intention. Quickly, he calculated the route of the beast's descent and halted before he reached the zone of impact. With terror-struck eyes he watched, and half a heartbeat later, a cloud of dust blinded his vision.
Staggered in the pressure wave, he struggled to maintain his balance. Frigid air got stuck in his throat, he swore his heart froze at that moment, and he knew not if it would ever melt again. For a time that felt like an eternity, he waited for the dust to dissolve, unable to move a single step forward. An eerie silence fell to the scene, every sound from his world fading.
And then, amidst the snow and dust, Lucy emerged.
She stood strong and tall atop the lifeless dragon, her hand still holding the spear that had sunk deep into the beast's skull. Her ethereal form flickered in the darkness – with her Thu'um, she had turned into a ghost so she could survive the fall. Overwhelming relief took over the fire mage, yet still, he could not breathe. He just gazed at her in perfect disbelief. She jumped down from the dragon's back, and when she hit the ground, the Thu'um expired, returning her to flesh and blood.
She lifted her gaze to him.
Lucy's bright blue eyes froze in surprise, staring right through the fire mage. Her face remained vacant of all emotion, and for a brief moment, Natsu feared she did not know him, did not remember him, for this was the state when the dragons took over her. This was when she had tried to kill him, drown him in a blizzard, but this time, it was more. Frozen scales covered her skin, and he swore he could see the aura of her magic forming into draconic horns at her crown, a distant reminisce of ghostly wings at her back, but whether that was just an illusion, he never found out.
"Lucy, it's me," he whispered to her, barely hiding the terror from his soft tone. Through his fears, he hoped his words could reach her from the dark realm she was lost in, and pull her back to this world. "It's me, Natsu. It's… It's over now. It's over."
Something in her gaze changed. Natsu held back his tears as warmth sparked amongst the coldness of her blank stare, a hint of the Lucy he knew. He found the courage to take a step forward, then another, and even if all his strength was leaving him, he just had to get back to her, and never let her go again.
"Natsu…" she echoed. "It's… you…"
Her whisper was quiet like a mere breath in the wind, but it meant everything to him. She had not forgotten him, no. His name was the only thing she could say. With a fatigued sigh, her eyes slipped closed. She spread her arms and stepped closer to him, but the exhaustion crumbled her like a ten-ton stone statue tied to her back. She lost her balance, but before she fell to the ground, Natsu sprinted forward and caught her in his arms.
At that moment, his world was complete once more.
He wrapped his hands tightly around her, pressed her against his chest, and swayed her like a gentle wind. Her body was cold, but he felt her breathe – that was all that mattered. She had slain the dragon, alone, and suddenly, Natsu felt so obsolete. After all this time, she had found the true power of a Dragonborn, becoming the ultimate dragonslayer, so what need was there for him anymore? But as Lucy clutched her fingers into his robes, those worries faded. He'd always be there for her. No matter what.
"I'm here, Lucy," he whispered to her. Carefully, as if she was made from fragile ice that would break from the softest touch, Natsu wiped the blood from her face. Wounds adorned her fair skin like stains, and if he could take them all to himself, he would. "I'm right here."
His thumbs caressed the frozen scales on her cheeks, his lips twitched into a brief smile, and then Lucy brought her hands on his wrists. Her frigid fingertips made him shiver, she blinked in disbelief as she looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but her chin began to quiver, and not for a second did she turn her eyes away from him. She clutched his wrist tighter, a sob escaped her lips, then she broke into weeping. He let her cry against his chest, he snuggled his face into her hair and inhaled her scent, starting to feel like the ground was being swept below his feet. But he kept his balance, for now, he had to be her rock.
A faint sizzling sound filled the air as the dragon behind them began to evaporate. Dark grey scales and bleeding flesh dissipated into the night, the energy of the dragon's soul veiling the two mages like a curtain. She tried to mutter something, but failed to express the emotion that overwhelmed her. Lucy grasped his robes and lifted her face, gazing right into his eyes, her tears melting away the frost on her cheeks. In silence, Natsu looked back at her – too many times he had just gazed at her like this, his whole soul screaming for him to kiss her, but he never dared. And then, Natsu knew he'd reached the frontier, as far as words alone could pass.
Without hesitation, he cupped her face between his hands and pressed his lips onto hers.
There had once been so much fear that now felt so obsolete, so distant, that he forgot what he had even been afraid of. Losing her? Of course, he still was, but now he knew that a kiss would never tear them apart. It already hadn't. Had it been the fear of not being loved back that had kept him from fully surrendering to the feeling? Maybe. He had thought that the frost dragon had corrupted her mind, twisted her emotions into some wicked forms that only sought to use him for conceiving a replacement for its lost child. Now he knew that this, too, had been a lie. His own mind had created these obstacles in the fear of loving, and then losing.
Now, there was nothing else than her, and the fact that he loved her.
Aeons of the dragon's life surrounded them as the soul absorbed into Lucy, dancing like mist on the early winter morning, lights piercing through the veil. Lightheaded, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clutched tight onto his back, pulling him closer to her – and he was so close he could glimpse into the eras of the past worlds, witness the memories inscribed into the dragon's soul. But in the centre of that all, was her. She anchored him in the chaos with the hope that one day this all would be over, the dragons would be gone, and living wouldn't be just one constant battle. He realised that now. With her, there was a promise that maybe, one day, there could be life.
She was the proof that even in the darkest place, hope could be found.
An ethereal silence fell to the courtyard. Her body went limp in his arms when the soul dissolved into her. She broke away from the kiss and pulled her head back, blankly staring into his eyes, the blues finally dimmed back to deep brown. Her consciousness began to slip, her gaze grew cloudy, but a faint smile flashed on her face before she blacked out. Natsu smiled back as he caressed her cheek, and when strength left her completely, he lifted her into his arms. Warm blood seeped through her robes and stuck to his hands, and the momentary bliss of finding her alive twisted into worry.
Natsu glanced around. The fires in the distance were dying as the rain started again, steam and smoke veiling the ruined, silent city. Heavy drops of water landed on his face as if the skies were wept for this victory as well. Slowly, the unreal feeling began to swell in his chest. The battle was truly won, and they were both alive. It felt like an eternity ago since the sun had set, as if the night had truly lasted forever, and the dawn was still so far away.
With Lucy safely secured in his arms, he took a few careful steps on the slippery ground, walked over the debris of ruined wood and turned-down stone. The world seemed to spin around him as his head became lighter and lighter, but he couldn't give up now. Lucy's wounds needed to be examined and treated as soon as possible. So, when he felt like he couldn't take another step, he pushed through the pain, and moved forward. He turned his eyes to the castle. He was so close to getting her to safety.
Atop the stairs that led to the castle, Juvia tried to get the children back indoors. They had gathered there to see the fall of the dragon. Now they cheered and clapped their hands, but Natsu was too tired to hear. Each sound had become a mere drop in the ocean of deafening noise, and he just wanted to get somewhere quiet and calm. Juvia glimpsed him walking in the courtyard, and beckoned him to come.
Suddenly, their faces went pale.
Natsu knit his brows as Juvia seemed to shout something, the beckon turning into a frantic wave. Then, she pointed directly to the sky behind him. Instinctively, Natsu wrapped his arms tighter around Lucy, shaking his head, for Kynareth's sake, the battle was over. It just had to be.
Then, a roar pierced through the air.
A shadow washed over him, swallowing him deep into despair. He halted in his tracks, slowly turned his gaze up, and could not believe his eyes. A red-scaled dragon soared above and glided downwards until it landed on top of the watchtower, its fierce gaze locked with him. The spear had torn through its shoulder, strings of veins and bits of meat hanging from the wound, but magic swirled around the bleeding hole, sewing its edges back together. Its right leg was badly twisted from the fall, the ground had torn deep scratches to its chest, but as if drawing the energy directly from Aetherius, it healed.
This was the true power of Odahviing, one of the First Eight.
"Zu'u lost daal, pahlok joorre!" the dragon said. "For I am Od – Ah – Viing, a creation of Alduin himself, and I cannot be defeated by you! Hin kah fen kos bonaar, Dovahkiin. Now… swallow your pride."
The dragon opened its mouth, and a shout resonated from its throat, hitting them both with deathly precession.
"KRII – LUN – AUS!"
Upon those words, Natsu's world began to fade.
There was no increase in pain, but the shout seemed to drain his lifeforce out of him. He struggled to comprehend it as he collapsed to his knees, his hold around Lucy loosening. Strenght left his arms like an army of cowards abandoning its post, yet he curled his fingers around Lucy's, for he wouldn't let go, not ever, not after he had just gotten her back. Whatever would happen now, they couldn't face it apart.
Odahviing jumped down from the tower. The dragon's wingstrikes pushed hot air to his face. It descended closer until it could crush them both simply by folding its wings and landing upon them, but it didn't. Faintly, he could see how the talons of its healthier foot wrapped around Lucy's body, like closing her into a cage. He gripped tighter into her hand, swearing with his life that he'd hold on forever. But when the dragon lifted on its wings, her hand was violently ripped from his, and he was left alone on the ground when she soared to the blood-red skies.
"Vah su'um ven, yol zii," Odahviing said as it flew away. "Erei mu grind. We'll meet again, deinmaar, but now, you have lost."
The words reverberated in Natsu's head as he stared after them with tears running down his cheeks, too powerless to answer, or even stand. The last thing he felt before everything faded away was bitterness – just like when Igneel was taken from him, all he could do was to watch, as if fate would forever and always tear away everything he loved, right in front of his very own eyes.
Then there was only darkness.
A/N: Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Geez, finally this arc comes to an end. Feels crazy how I've been writing Riften events since December, and now it's finally time to move forward in the story to the long-awaited dragon cult sequence. I've been building the foundation for the upcoming events for a long time. Also, thanks to my friends waywardago, who originally helped me to brainstorm the whole dragon cult plot, and to Kurasame, who helped me power-scale Odahviing far better than I originally meant to. Odahviing was meant to be killed in this chapter instead of Milmurnir, but well, that would have been too easy :D
This chapter was interesting to write in many ways. Mostly because this was Lucy's grand battle, but I chose to write in Natsu's perspective, especially when he was unable to participate in the battle himself. In Fairy Tail, he would not have given a fuck and charged into the battle anyway, gotten a power-up thanks to Power Of Friendship, and killed the dragon to keep Lucy safe. But in this story, Power of Friendship doesn't quite work like that, and he knew he would just die if he charged into the battle with 0% magicka. Besides, this gave Lucy her moment to shine. Writing her battle as Natsu being the observer was very interesting, but also challenging at times. Lot of the battle was left to the reader's imagination, but maybe we'll see flashes of that later from Lucy's POVs.
After writing chapter 55, I had left the fate of the orphans as an open question for me. I chatted with a few of my readers, and decided to save them to give glimpse of hope into the darkness. Constance went down with the secret of Grelod's fate, we also lost Haming, but at least Lyra's orphan family survived so she wouldn't have to be alone. This chapter had a lot of hope and despair combined in it, so I think it's a fitting ending for Riften arc.
About Lucy's powers: in the game, it's called "Dragon Aspect." It's described as "Once a day, take on the mighty aspect of a dragon, delivering colossal blows, with an armored hide, and more powerful shouts." I altered its properties a lot here, but it's still based on the same thing. It also isn't a Shout here, it's only a power. I also created some original dragon shouts here, including the one Milrmulnir used as a protective aura.
In the ending, Odahviing used an alteration of "Marked For Death"-shout. In game, it's described as "Speak, and let your Voice herald doom, as an opponent's armor and lifeforce are weakened." But here, I thought that this shout would be only used by higher-level dragons as a very powerful stagger shout. Odahviing spared it for incapacitating and capturing the Dragonborn, while Milmurnir couldn't use this shout at all. Basically, Milmurnir bought time for Odahviing to recover, and sacrificed himself for the sake of their goal. The First Eight belong to the same cast as Alduin, which means they cannot be killed without the special means that our heroes still don't know about.
Oh my, I feel like I have so much to say about this chapter, but maybe I'm gonna leave my notes here. I found out that my writing pace slows down during springtime. I don't know why, but the same thing happened to me last year. From January to June I only updated once a month, and on the end of the year I updated once or twice a week. Guess my inspiration is related to the seasons or something. My school semester is almost over and summertime awaits, so I'm hoping to write a lot more, and update more often :)
Next up: Rescue!Lucy!Arc! No chapter title yet, lol. I'm just gonna drop some Starset lyrics that feel very fitting to this arc:
"Even a well lit place, can hide salvation
A map to a one man maze that never sees the sun
Where the lost are the heroes
And the thieves are left to drown
But everyone knows by now
Fairy tales are not found
They're written in the walls
As we walk in a straight line
Down in the dirt with a landslide approaching
But nothing could ever stop us
From stealing our own place in the sun
We will face the odds against us
And run into the fear we run from
It has begun."
STARSET - It has begun
