The Shattered Blade
Chapter I: Ultimate Weapon, Ultimate Warrior
(BGM: Witch Hunter Robin – Assassinator)
Tell me why we're doing this again? Because it's the most stealthy way to get into the bloody room unseen. But you heard him; there are no guards on this floor! Tia, listen, just because there aren't any guards, does not mean there aren't security measures.
The shadowed figure looked through an iron grate. See? Look down there. Oh…huh…I guess you're right.
Below them was a hallway filled with security beams, cameras, and all sorts of hi-tech protections.
But if it's so important, why aren't there any security measures in the vents? Well…could be any number of reasons. One being rats, like those we just encountered, and the other being that it's so friggin obvious.
The figure continued to crawl, slowly through the ventilation shaft. After a few more minutes of slowly moving in a cramped space, it reached its destination.
Effing finally!
He pulled out a screwdriver and slowly unscrewed the grate covering the opening. It's a bit of a drop…Which is why I'm pulling the grate up, and not letting it fall like an idiot. Think you can handle it? Probably, just get ready for a crapload of cursing…I swear, this better be worth it…It will be…I can feel it…there's something in this room that's calling to me…Well, your senses haven't gotten me killed yet.
The shadowed figure dropped down into the room. He fell for a few seconds and then landed in a crouch. Ow, ow, FUCKING ow! Oh stop being such a baby. You can handle it. No shit I can handle it, but it doesn't mean I'm not allowed to complain dammit! Within the recesses of the shadowed figure's mind, the ethereal presence rolled its eyes.
The figure looked up and saw his goal. Wow…that's uhh…what the fuck is it? Damned if I know…but I can tell you this…it's made of- Jesus effing Christ! SIX Shards?! The voice grumbled. I was about to say that… The figure strafed around the shielded object. Complete with the "Jesus effing Christ?" No…that was going to be omitted. But of course…Ok…hurry up and grab that thing…it's making me edgy. Tiamat…you've ALWAYS been edgy. Hell, it's like you've built a summer cottage on the edge, in which you live, year 'round. Stop quoting comedians and get that thing! Alright, alright…touchy…
The shadowed figure pulled out one of the screws in its pocket and tossed it at the strange shimmering field around its target. The screw bounced back, causing the figure to duck, since it was repelled at the speeds of a bullet.
Oh come on! Oooh, a challenge. Good, I've been bored. You're ALWAYS bored. Even when you're training and sweating and panting and tired you're bored! My GODS man! What will it take for you to actually be interested in something!
The figure walked up to the field and began analyzing it with his eyes. Ehh, probably once we get this thing, find out exactly what it can do…and then find a way to remove these twat monkeys from their power. Wouldn't that just make you MORE bored? No…cause then I can begin the exiting activity known as "dating". Joy. If I didn't know any better I'd say you weren't interested in a relationship. Tia, you know how things are right now. Unless she was like…a friggin ninja or something…I wouldn't be able to get involved with someone. You've seen what happens to people I'm close to. They get killed. Brutally. Until I take these fuckers down, I can't be with anyone. Unless she's a ninja.
He moved over to one of the many lit consoles, searching for data on either the object, or the security.
Well, she doesn't HAVE to be a ninja…I meant…she has to be strong enough to truly take care of herself…since…I might not be able to…not yet at least. Well at least you aren't all emo like some other people would be. Ehh, I probably would have been if you didn't show up in my head. At least with you around I've got something to keep me in check…and give me some hope ne? I lost everything that day…but gained something powerful in return. Kinda strange…still…I miss Lynn…
She was cute…If she wasn't my sister; I'd probably have been attracted to her. I can't say I blame you. She seemed perfect for you. Probably why she ended up as my sister. Other halves tend to do that. Still I miss-Hello. What? Why'd you-whoa.
The data on the object was rather…disturbing.
Project Infinity.
Utilizes the power held within six of the shards of a weapon known as the Dark Dragon Blade. A wondrous fusion of the mystic powers of the Dark Dragon, and our advanced technology. Able to disrupt the molecular structure of whatever the user chooses. However, a side effect of drawing power from the Dark Dragon makes Project Infinity extremely fickle. Tests show it will only respond to a specific person, one that we have no control over choosing.
Potential for even more abilities has been shown in simulations. What these abilities are, and how they work, is currently beyond us. Research team has been allotted three weeks to find out more of potential advancements.
Able to fuck around with molecules? God DAMN! Uhh…care to explain? Ancient Dragon here, we didn't have this whole, Molecular Structure stuff going on. Yes you did, you just didn't know it. Alright, crash course. Scientists discovered that all things are made up of atoms and molecules. Tiny little specs of energy that are unseeable without special equipment. How they were originally created, why, and how they actually manage to form physical objects is still unknown. With me so far?
Actually…yes. Continue. If that…ring…can rupture and warp the molecular structure of things, it can literally destroy WORLDS. Uhh…how? EVERYTHING is made up of Atoms and Molecules. Every object that's ever existed in time, space, the universe, whatever, has been made up of these tiny things. If something exists that can actively manipulate them…well…whoever controls that is basically like God. Wouldn't that take a horrible amount of energy though? Yeah…which is probably why all they can do so far is cause it to rupture. But that alone…say you fired that thing at a building, a construct. Hundreds of people are in that building. You strike a key point in that building, erase some of the molecules in that object, and you cause its frame, its existence, to deteriorate. When that happens, it breaks, if not instantly shatters into pieces. Then, stress on the other supports increase. Strike a few more, this time random, and you've got an entire building collapsing because it's missing its supports. The thing is, nobody would be able to trace it.
That sounds…wrong. Ok, better example. A human. A living being. You rupture their molecular structure, and they'll implode, explode…or possibly fragment into their base molecules. If this thing operates the way I think it does…someone could use that thing on another person, and the other person would be reduced to particles.
Wow…you humans…are far more destructive than some of the demons I knew...That's the amazing thing about humans, we can be either way. Now…lets see…oh dammit! Authorization Codes Required. Fuck…and I'm no hacker, so I can't slice the system…dammit!
It was at that moment that the door opened. "Well, an intruder. I'm surprised that someone would be brazen enough to enter this place."
Aaaand we're boned.
In walked a smartly dressed blonde woman. Damn…nice rack. Once again, in his mind, Tiamat rolled her eyes.
"Now…why are you here…in this particular room?"
"To steal the superweapon." Tiamat smacked her head. You idiot…
The woman looked intrigued. "Really. Whatever for?"
"To crush your company."
"Why?"
"Revenge…for killing my family."
"I see. And after that?"
"I'll use it to fulfill a promise I made…to the one…who helped me get this far."
"And does that promise involve the destruction of innocents?"
"Hopefully not. I'll try to go around them, but if I can't, I will regretfully go through them."
The woman stared at him. "For a foreigner you have quite the amount of honor."
"It was instilled in me by the blood of the samurai running through my veins."
"Interesting…" She walked towards him. He tensed slightly, prepared for an attack…when she simply nudged him aside and accessed the console. After typing a few keys, there was a strange noise. He looked around, and noticed the protective field around the "ring" was gone. He turned back to the woman, barely hiding his shock.
She said nothing and walked away…stopping at the door.
"I too wish to see this place fall…but…due to my position, can do little for a great deal of time…time that I do not have…you…you will succeed. You must succeed. Do try not to get caught on your way out…it would be…troublesome…to lose such an asset."
She looked back as she said those words, her blue eyes shining in the light.
Strange…I sensed no deception from her. Neither did I.
He turned back to the now floating "ring." Getting a closer look, he saw a small glowing silver band in the center of it.
"I get it now…the shards are connected by their energies…and in turn, are bound to the silver ring…" There's a hole. "Huh?" There's a hole there. Right there, in between those two shards. Put yours in there.
"Uhh…can I even do that?" It's worth a shot. He shrugged. "If you say so."
From beneath his black shirt, he pulled out a chain with a purple shard on it. He detached the shard from the chain and slid it in place on the ring. The seven shards glowed softly.
Alright…now put it on. "Wait, the files said- The file said that it was fickle. It could only be wielded by it's chosen, I know. Put it on.
He shook his head. "Whatever you say…"
Grasping the outside of the ring, the purple shards forming a cone like shape around the silver ring, he slid his hand inside…and down the ring went, almost like a bracelet, to his wrist.
"Nothing happened."
Just after he said that, the seven purple shards flared with light, and a searing pain erupted in his entire body. Gritting his teeth to prevent himself from yelling, he attempted to endure the pain…but after a few moments, he felt something happen in his head…and collapsed…wispy purple energy flowing off his body…
Hey…wake up.
"Ugh…"
The young man rolled on the ground, shifting. He slowly pulled himself up onto his knees. His left hand rested on his forehead, grasping it.
"What the fuck happened?"
Looks like the energy overloaded you. Be glad you've had experience channeling my power or else it would have probably killed you. "Well that's pleasant."
Sorry…but it's to be expected. You went from controlling the power of One shard, to holding seven at once…but on the upside, I've been restored to a stronger awareness.
"That's nice…why is everything flashing red?" There's been an attack on the tower. Someone is systematically blowing up parts of the towers. "And…how long have I been out?"
Around two hours, give or take. I've been keeping an…eye…of sorts, on the situation. I think it'd be best to make our escape now.
"That sounds like a good idea."
The youth slowly opened the door, noting that the security systems were offline. He quickly jogged down the hallway when a sudden crashing noise rang through. He whirled around and his eyes widened. What in the hell?
(BGM: DOA4 – Alpha-152)
Two figures, one clad in blue, with streaming red locks of hair, and one clad in purple, with a much lighter shade of it cut short...were fighting against a glowing…feminine shape. Damn, what is it with today and big chested women?!
The glowing woman vanished from sight…and suddenly the red haired woman was slammed into a wall.
"Jesus! Is that even possible?!" It would seem that way…and from the way they're moving…it looks like we found your ninjas.
The purple one activated some sort of weapon that made two glowing purple blades appear.
"Fuck that she's a Jedi." No…she's a ninja. Look at her! "Yeah, speed, supernatural power, only she's got a fucking LIGHTSABER! She's a Jedi!" Ninja! "Jedi!" NINJA! "Fine, she's a Ninjai." You…are an idiot. "Oh you know you love me."
While the two were "arguing" the purple clad woman was beaten soundly, and her weapon disengaged and clattered to the floor near the youth's feet. The red haired woman rose and began striking at the glowing being. Each strike was evaded, blocked, countered or redirected. Eventually the purple clad woman joined into the fight, covering the red haired woman's openings. The energy being seemed to take a few hits before growing irritated and sending out a wave of force that knocked the two backward.
"God DAMMIT! I could be leaving this place with Hayate-sama and the others but nooo, I have to be stuck here fighting your FUCKING clone!"
"I-I am sorry Ayane…if I was stronger…"
"Oh shut UP! If you keep calling yourself weak then you're saying I'm weaker than you!"
"Wh-what?"
"You idiot! If you're weak, and you've beaten me before, then that means that I'm weaker than you! And if that's the case then that would make me weaker than weak! And I am NOT weak!"
No. Oh come on. I have to. No. You're going to get yourself killed. You haven't recovered from the overload…and even if you had, they're ninjas and they're losing to that thing. You're a normal human. No, I've been trained by, and infused with the energy of, the Dark Dragon. I can do this. Zero we got what we came for! We have to get out! I can't leave them Tia. Ninjas or not, they are the ones you sensed before…they're the ones who are destroying this place…they are allies to our cause.
The dark voice sighed. You really intend on helping them? If I die, I wasn't strong enough to succeed in the first place. If I live, that means I can proceed…right? Ugh…you just had to use the old rules…
Suddenly, his vision shifted. Things became clearer, the area became darker, the three women in front of him started giving off a faint glow…as strange crooked lines appeared on them. What the shit?
Well…the eyes of the Death God…it seems you are special… Tiamat, what aren't you telling me? You've awakened a power that only those with the highest potential as my hosts could access…the Eyes of the Death God. It allows you to see the spiritual presence of life forms, their strength, and their weak points.
Weak points? You see those jagged lines? Those are the areas that their physical structure is weakest. If you were to say…cut, one of those lines, even with a blunt object, it would be as if you were slicing through a stream of water. You would sweep through with ease, and the object would fall apart.
Sweet…but why'd it get dark? This is just the first stage. You can only see the existence and deaths of living things right now. As your power, and understanding of "death" grows, you will begin to see the potential destruction of Non-living things as well…and in it's final stage, you will see the Shatterpoints, as I call them. Shatterpoints? The key areas that will completely destroy the target. Everyone has them, even you. At its highest form, your new eyes will be able to see these, for both living, and non-living things.
Kinda…DBZish don't you think? In a sense…yes and no. You most likely received this power in response to the way my power has been used to create this weapon. Since the weapon has bonded with you, it has warped my power within you, and allowed for this ability to be born.
Interesting…lets test them. I'll tell you now. Your reaction times will be increased, especially against that…thing…but don't rely too much on your new eyes. I'll help as much as I can, but there's no telling what that thing will whip out.
The glowing female slowly sauntered up to the red haired woman. It raised its hand, and a glowing light appeared.
"HEY! LITE-BRITE!"
The figure raised its head, as the red haired woman and the purple clad female turned and saw a blur of black racing their way. Within seconds it slammed its fist into the glowing woman's face, sending her back a few feet.
The two looked up to see a black clad figure. Brown skin covered his young looking face, black hair down to his shoulders, and glowing silver eyes stared back at them. They look…young… Skill isn't always determined by age Tia. I guess you're right.
"You two stay put and recover a bit. I'll see if I can slow that thing down. You see an opening, take it. Don't worry about me, I'll know when you're attacking."
Before the glowing woman could fully recover, Zero activated the weapon and rushed her.
"What the fuck? Who does he think he is charging in like that?!"
"He saved our lives Ayane…we should be thankful."
"Tch, got in the way is more like it."
"Look carefully…does it really look like he's in the way? He's holding his own with her better than we were."
It was true. The young "thief" was easily dispatching the attacks of the glowing woman. Because of his weapon, her range was reduced, and she had not the time to charge any ranged attacks. He was little more than a whirling blur of black and purple, spinning the double sided weapon like a baton around him, easily thwarting her attacks.
Damn, I feel so light! That would probably be due to you accessing more of my power…I've recovered more, thus you can draw forth more. Damn…no wonder people would go nuts over this stuff…
Aiming for the barely seeable lines on her body, he continued to swing his temporary weapon like an expert. He quickly twirled the double sided blade into his left hand, the glowing female barely evading the triple slash to her stomach, and pulled back his right fist. Ok, charge…
His fist glowed a faint purple. He swung forward, burying it into the glowing woman's stomach. And release!
"Reppashou!"
The energy detonated, and with a bang, the glowing woman was flung down the hallway. Very nice! I see you've mastered that one. Still hurts a bit to do it…but I'm getting better. Just remember, you can do that with an open palm as well. I know, it's just harder to keep the energy contained like that.
Just then, two blurs rushed past him. The two girls slipped underneath the glowing clone's guard and both tripped her up at the same time. Working in exact harmony, the two followed up with a snap kick to its face, followed by a series of punches to its chest and back, and finally a spinning jump kick to its head. By then, the extra effect of Zero's eyes had faded, but he still saw…something shatter around the woman.
Zero, use the weapon! What? That was the signal for the time to use the weapon! But…the ring is gone! All that's left is the silver band! Trust me, raise your right arm.
Zero complied. As if sensing his will, the purple shards returned, appearing in their cone shaped formation around the silver band. Whoa! But, how did- The shards become internalized when it's not active. While you were unconscious I was able to get some more intel on our new toy. How? Oh come on, it IS made from my power. It was like recovering a blocked memory. I'll give you the tutorial later, right now, focus on disrupting that bitch's existence!
You're the boss… Zero closed his eyes momentarily…they snapped open. As if responding to his unspoken command, the ring of shards shifted. Three of them pulled back slightly, as if making room. The remaining four seemed to grow into almost finger like objects. It looks like…a claw…
The "claw" arced forward, as if reaching for the glowing woman. Four glowing silver lights appeared just below the tips of the claw…after a few moments the lights burst, turning into arrow tipped streams of multi-colored energy. The streams arced their way to the glowing woman, streaking past the two ninjas, and slammed into her chest. A halo of light appeared around the woman upon impact, and tiny particles of light began streaming off of her. An inhuman scream of pain tore through the area, forcing the two ninjas to cover their ears. The streams, which now resembled lances connecting the claw to the woman, faded from view. The screaming stopped.
The two ninjas looked at the now splintering form of the glowing woman…when it exploded sending both flying. The purple haired ninja slammed into a wall with a loud crunch. She let out a gasp of pain. The red haired one simply flew down the hallway and tumbled for a bit. With the purple haired ninja focusing her mind on blocking out the pain, and Zero watching the claw retract back into the ring of shards, and the ring vanishing, nobody noticed the faint green glow that surrounded the red haired ninja. The glow faded, and she climbed to her feet. A rumbling shook the hallway as alarms flared to life.
(BGM: Metroid Prime 2 – Escape Theme)
Zero! We have to get out of here!
"Agh!"
The purple clad ninja could no longer hold back her irritation and pain.
"Ayane!"
The red haired ninja ran to her accomplice. Both were approached by a concerned looking Zero.
"What happened?"
"Fuck…broke something…I think my ankle's been broken…"
Ouch. "Ayane, can you stand?"
"What the fuck do you think idiot?! Of course I can't stand! I can barely feel my fucking foot!"
Bitchy…Zero! You have to go! NOW! Why? What's wrong? This building's become unstable, someone blew something up in one of the lower floors. We've only got a few minutes to find a way out of here!
"Time bomb set, get out fast?"
Both ninjas looked at him in confusion. "What?"
Dammit stop quoting Metroid and get the hell out of there!
"We have to go."
"No shit, but I can't get anywhere with this fucking foot."
Zero thought for a moment. "You can't walk?"
"What are you deaf? No, I can't!"
He nodded to himself. "Right then."
He nudged the red haired ninja out of the way and kneeled down in front of Ayane, back to her. The red haired girl quickly caught on, and while Ayane was confused, grabbed her cohort and propped her up.
"H-hey what the hell are you doing?!"
The red haired girl grabbed Ayane's arms and swung them around Zero's neck, while Zero hefted up the purple clad ninja's legs, carrying her on his back.
"What the fuck?! Put me down!"
"You can't walk. So unless you wish to die here, I'm going to carry you. This way, if need be, at least one of my hands can be free to do something."
"That way's blocked, we have to go down this way. The elevators wont work, so we'll need to take the stairs."
"Red, you take point. Purple, get comfortable, it might be a bumpy ride."
"Purple?! Dammit I have a name you know!"
The red haired ninja dashed off, the black clad youth trailing behind her. The three traveled down a few flights of stairs before they reached a point where the stairs had collapsed.
"Damn…if I wasn't carrying Purple here, I could probably jump that…"
"There's a door…but…oh no, It's locked!"
Zero turned and saw a keypad. "Oh bleeding hell I don't know the fracking code…"
Star, three, five, seven, two, three, two, eight, zero, enter.
Blinking a few times, Zero obeyed what his "inner voice" said and punched in the code. "Well I'll be damned, you got it right Tia." It…just came to me…wait…that doesn't happen…Zero don't open that-
Too late. Zero pulled open the door, ready to run down the hall…when he saw a large group of armored people.
"Fuck."
"Intruders? FREEZE!"
They all leveled their guns at the three.
"FUCK!"
Zero yanked the door closed, just in time before a hail of bullets slammed into it.
"Upstairs!"
The two walkers leapt up the stairs three at a time, racing higher up. The sound of metallic clanking below let them know that their persuers were right behind them.
"Door!"
The red haired ninja kicked the door open and they raced into another hallway. Just as they nearly made it to the end, the other door slammed open and a group of the armored people streamed in. The two turned and ran the other way, only to encounter the other group.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Kasumi this is all your fault!"
"My fault?! How is it my fault?!"
"If you weren't so damn weak we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"Me? You're the one who managed to get her ankle broken!"
Damn…the red head's got some bite to her. There's no time, Zero, we have to do something! Duh, but what can we do?! The ring, use the ring! How the hell is that gonna help?! When you put in the seventh shard, it upgraded. The two hours I spent figuring things out taught me its three phases. Disrupt, Drain, and Distort. The first, we've seen, the second some how drains the target's power into you, and the third acts like a warp! Yeah, now I'm glad we took this from these bastards. You have to use the third power! I don't know how!
Once again, as if reacting to his plight, the ring of shards appeared around the silver band. Ayane and Zero looked down at his arm, as Kasumi spared a glance behind her to see what the glow was.
A warp you say?
"Red! Tell me you have somewhere safe we can go!"
"Ha-hai! But…how are we going to get there?"
"Does it have a name?"
"N-not really…"
Tell her to just think about it, really REALLY hard.
"I want you to think of that place as hard as you can ok?"
"Ha-Hai!"
Against her better judgment, Kasumi squeezed her eyes shut and focused on the apartment she shared with Hitomi.
The ring pulsed with light. I hope that means its working…here goes!
Time seemed to slow. Flashes of light erupted all around them as the armored men fired their weapons. The bullets streaked towards the three…only to hit an invisible wall. Zero raised his fist into the air, and the ring flared with light. The light repelled the bullets. He slammed his fist into the ground, and the seven shards separated. Each shard took point at a different position, creating a circle. A ring of purple light connected the shards as a faint, transparent swirling dome of light purple mist surrounded the three. A fierce wind blew in the hallway as the dome seemed to suck in the surrounding air. A black void spilled out from where Zero's fist met the ground, reaching to just inside the edge of the swirling dome. The void engulfed the three as sparks of blue electricity raged along the outer portions of the dome. Wipe out these assholes…Take us to where Red is thinking…Wipe out these assholes…Take us to where Red is thinking…
The combined wishes of Tiamat and Zero activated. Tiamat wished for the destruction of the building, while Zero wished for the salvation of him and his allies.
The dome pulsed with energy, and then in the blink of an eye, shrunk to a single point of light. The point of light gave a small flash…and a huge explosion blew off the entire top half of the north tower…
Zero, Kasumi, and the Injured Ayane had all vanished.
From the safety of Zack's helicopter...Helena watched as the tower exploded violently. A small smile appeared on her stoic face.
It looks like I was correct about you…
Here is the official first chapter of this story. Updates will be random, since it's a little pet project. I have a general plotline set up for this, and I'll be focusing mainly on Kasumi, Ayane, Zero and Tiamat. Others, like Hitomi, Lei Fang, Helena, Ryu and Hayate will make their appearances and have their parts, but their influence will be rather minimal.
Kasumi seems to be portrayed as a quiet, solemn and kind hearted girl. Pure as fresh water from a melted icecap. Of course, with such light comes great hidden darkness. She'll get pissed, irritated, and generally annoyed and embarrassed many times in this fic. Plus…a little something special.
Ayane seems to be filled with scorn, rage, a tad bit of envy, and just generally annoyed with everything, and vulgar. She will curse. A lot. This will be matched only by Zero. This will be shown, exploited, and generally redirected many times as she gets into arguments with Kasumi and Zero. I'm hoping I can fluidly evolve her character into a tough, but generally lighter existence.
Zero, like his name states, is the ultimate nothing. He's everything, but he isn't anything at the same time. Having nothing but the clothes on his back, money from underhanded and dark dealings, and now the Ultimate Weapon created by DOATEC, his goals are simple, deal enough lasting damage to DOATEC so they can no longer function, and restore the Dark Dragon Blade to fulfill his willing promise to Tiamat. After that…maybe find a capable girl and settle down for a bit. Relationships aren't what he's looking for right now, unless the girl is strong enough to protect herself, considering that eventually it WILL get out that he took the "ring" from DOATEC, and they're gonna send stuff after him. But…he's about to land in the presence of four beautiful and strong women…maybe he'll find someone there…
Tiamat is the Dark Dragon. Goddess of Destruction. Sealed by the Dragon Lineage into the Dark Dragon Blade, and then shattered to pieces by Ryu Hayabusa, she seeks to regain her past strength…but the time she spent scattered has drained her of her truly dark impulses. Now she wishes simply to regain her old self, and maybe sleep for a while. And I mean REALLY sleep, not that sealed away bullshit fake sleep. Her time spent segmented, along with her time with Zero has made her more human, able to understand the strengths and weaknesses of those she once looked down upon. She regrets few of her past actions, her pride simply wont let her feel remorse for what she's done…but she is working towards at least helping Zero set his life right.
Now, as stated by Zero in this chapter, the "ring" is quite powerful, and on top of that he can see the "Death" of things. That power is temporary and limited until he works it. It's like a muscle. The "ring" on the other hand, due to its sheer power, will be saved as a "Finishing Blow" or "Last Resort". But because he has such ties to a being wish such massive dark power, you'll see that he becomes overwhelmed by it occasionally, leading to a transformation of sorts…but afterwards, because of the amount of power he wielded in that state, he will be exhausted, and vulnerable. Not to mention since his body must adapt to the energies of the Dark Dragon, forcing such amounts of power WILL shorten his lifespan.
NaughtyAssassin: The narrator in the prologue was Tiamat herself. It was meant to be a bit ambiguous and confusing actually. I do that often with my prologs to make people want to know more. And it works. It's also fun. I'm glad you think I set things up well, and I hope I can live up to your expectations.
Epiphany: Yeah no. If they hurt your eyes, put on more lights around you to counter-balance. Or, don't sit so close to the screen, or get glasses. There's gonna be a LOT of bold in this story, but I'll ease your mind in one respect, I highly doubt there will be another ENTIRE page of bold lettering. To be honest, it fucks with my eyes a bit as well.