27. Dagran
The group stepped into the next chamber, and Zael wasn't sure where Zangurak's arm was.
However, he did notice two things.
One of them was the large, glowing half of the Outsider that was part of the Gurak Continent.
The other was a familiar dark-haired man with golden eyes. One that Zael remembered too well by now.
"Dagran," Zael heard Syrenne snarl, and Zael looked ahead to see Dagran standing there. "How long have you been waiting!?"
"Waiting long enough." Dagran simply stated. His golden eyes shone in the dark glow of the entire chamber, and Zael shuddered. He remembered a few times when Dagran's eyes were so fearsome alone; when Zael rejected the knighthood, whenever Asthar was brought up in conversation. "A hundred years is a long time, Zael. I wasn't expecting to wait so long."
"I didn't expect to be alive after a hundred years," Zael stated, looking him in the eye, "But I'm here. I know you betrayed us."
"Do you remember how?"
No, Zael realized, he didn't. Not fully.
"You killed me." Asthar spoke up, and Zael noticed Dagran's gaze dart towards him. "And you were working with the Gurak, weren't you? That's how you framed Jirall. Therius and the Count were kind to catch me up on things."
"Wasn't expecting your ghosts to remain. Especially yours, Asthar." Dagran gritted his teeth, taking out his sword. "It wasn't part of the plan."
"Plan?" Zael repeated, and his guts twisted in his stomach again. "What kind of plan did you have!?"
"To live a decent life!" Dagran spat the words out, his gaze locking with Zael's own. "Didn't we always talk about it? Do you realize the sacrifices I made to get us here? Once I remake this world, there won't be any pain. Or war. Or anything horrible. I was hoping to execute my plans earlier, but…Calista got in the way at the last second."
"What?" Zael vaguely heard Yurick mutter, but Dagran ignored him, continuing to speak.
"She was the last one I tried killing. But then she went and fused herself with…" Dagran hesitated, before he looked back towards the Gurak half of the Outsider itself, glaring at it.
"She fused herself with half of the Outsider!?" It was Arganan shrieking, gasping. "How…?"
"Arganan blood is vital to completely controlling the Outsider. And of course, I had neither its power nor its blood." Dagran's nose wrinkled at that as he looked towards Arganan. "That's how she kept me at bay this whole time. So I figured all I could do was wait."
"How are you not a decript old man is my question." Syrenne growled.
"Easy. Zangurak's power sustained me all these years. As long as I stayed by his side, I knew I'd survive for now. The Outsider makes one surprisingly immortal if they put enough focus into it. But…"
That was when Zael noticed Zangurak's hand crawling across the floor, trying to reach the Outsider rock. Dagran noticed it, and before anyone could stop him, he'd already stabbed the arm with his own sword.
"No!" Mirania was heard screaming. "Dagran, you don't want to do this!'
"Shut up!" The stabbed arm glowed orange, before the light started travelling up Dagran's sword, up towards his right arm. "I will have what I've been waiting for. And then…"
Zael. The Outsider's half glowed, and Zael heard Calista's voice. It was unmistakably hers, even if panicked. You have to stop him!
Dagran's gaze snapped towards the Outsider itself, and then towards the others. The arm that Dagran stabbed earlier went slack, all light vanishing from it.
On Dagran's right arm was none other than the mark of the Outsider itself, glowing orange and red like it did with Zangurak.
"I really hate to do this. But.." Dagran looked down at his hand, and then up at the others, pulling his sword out of Zangurak's dead arm, "It would've been so much easier, Zael, if I got the Outsider's power in your place, the first time around."
Dagran struck hard and fast.
Zael remembered sparring against him before, without the Outsider. They'd fought side by side from the very beginning, ever since Dagran met him as kids after they lost everything.
But this was different. Dagran was always a great fighter, and the addition of the Outsider's power wasn't helping anyone win against him. Zael thought it was hard enough going against Zangurak, but Dagran?
Dagran was on a different level. He easily parried Asthar and Therius' attacks, defended against Zael's own, and even dodged one of the various spells Yurick threw at him. Syrenne and Lowell weren't doing much better, staying on the defensive. Mirania chose not to attack Dagran, focusing her energy on healing Zael instead.
Zael wasn't sure if he'd seen Arganan so angry until now. Sure, he'd seen him in fits of anger when things didn't go his way, especially with how he previously treated Calista in the past, but now that anger was directed at Dagran.
And it wasn't going to stop until Dagran was down.
"I trusted you!" Zael heard Arganan screaming. "After all I did for you - !"
"Do you honestly believe I would stay loyal?" Dagran asked, looking Arganan in the eye. The former Count tried to stab him with his own sword, but Dagran too-easily blocked it, before knocking him aside with another swing. "I think you put your trust in me too much…even if it did work to my advantage."
"There's still time to send the Outsider away." Mirania breathed as healing magic washed over Zael's own body, sore from earlier injuries. "Dagran, we don't have to fight! We can find peace with the Gurak afterwards and…"
"I've come too far, Mirania."
"Yeah you will, if you keep being so blockheaded about it!" Syrenne snapped, trying her hand at parrying blades with Dagran. She fared significantly better than Arganan, managing to even nick Dagran briefly, but Dagran suddenly vanished. He reappeared behind her, and before Zael could yell out a warning, Syrenne was knocked aside. Dagran raced towards Zael, slashing at him. Zael held up his sword to defend –
Only for Asthar to block it. The general strained against the blow, and even though he blocked it with his own sword, Dagran put in enough force to make him stagger a bit.
"I pity you." That was what Asthar spoke, looking Dagran in the eyes. Zael moved around Asthar to stab at Dagran, but Dagran blocked it before parrying blows with Asthar again. "You might be immortal and powerful, but you are alone. And you will be alone if you go through with what you have planned."
Dagran gritted his teeth, and the Outsider's mark on his hand glowed. The light turned to complete darkness, spreading across his entire body, and Zael and Asthar both stepped back immediately.
"What the hell's going on!?" It was Yurick calling, but as the darkness faded, Dagran wasn't there.
Replaced by Dagran was a seething, clawed monster. Its tail was spiked, as well as its legs. It stood taller than anyone else in the chamber; at least a few good feet taller than Zael himself. Horns jutted out of his head, and Dagran's face resembled a skull more than an actual human face.
"Dagran…?" Zael breathed, but that was when he noticed that the sword Dagran held was longer, darker, glowing red lines etched into the blade as he swung at him.
