Vyndakian walked down the tunnel with his companion, who called herself Celeste. The Death Knight was uncomfortable with her presence, and how close she always seemed to stand next to him. As the tunnel descended deep into the earth, Celeste looped her arm through Vyndakian's, resting her head against his shoulder.
"Gee," she whispered, "You're ice cold." Vyndakian nodded. If he had been uncomfortable before, he seriously needed his distance now.
The two had been walking down this side path for a few hours, leaving Jarn'dor at the entrance to Shadowforge City. While he was reluctant to leave the Troll, his companion couldn't wait, literally dragging the other Elf down the tunnel.
As the pair progressed deeper into the Molten Core, the air around them began to heat up, and Celeste pressed herself closer to the Death Knight, letting out an occasional purr of content. Vyndakian allowed her this much; at least she was quiet.
The Death Knight thought of the scorch-mark that adorned his face, the wound he had received from saving Jarn'dor at the Caverns. The blackened skin had begun to heal once he had started feeding again. His ravishing beauty was almost restored, but Vyndakian knew there would always be a scar there, that was unavoidable.
The Elf was so wrapped up in his thoughts, that he was caught by surprise when Celeste nearly slammed him to the wall, kissing him passionately. Her tongue rolled around in his mouth, as she hungrily sought to take what she wanted.
"Vyndakian," she whispered, as the Death Knight leaned against the wall, stunned, "Take me… I want it…" Celeste continued to kiss and manhandle Vyndakian, slowly undoing her leather jerkin, her cleavage just about ready to burst out.
The Death Knight had mixed emotions; here was a woman who seemed so faithful to him, so needing to fulfill a hunger he too felt. But the scars Kisha'rowyn left him had run deep, and his heart ceased to beat for this Elf's love. One hand pulled Celeste off of him, the other grabbing the edges of her jerkin and closing them.
"No," replied the Elf, as Celeste whimpered, "Not now. Perhaps when this is all over, we will. But not a moment before then." His companion slowly nodded, a blush coming to her cheeks.
After she had gathered herself, the two continued to trudge down the path. Celeste now stood a fair distance away from Vyndakian, obviously ashamed by her earlier behaviour. But the Death Knight was impassive. What the other Elf had done had reopened the wound his last love had left him.
Never again, would his heart beat for the love of a woman.
The tunnel opened out into the Molten Core, and a wave of heat hit the two like a punch in the face. The caverns were filled with molten magma, the air practically steaming from the heat. Surprisingly, there were hard, rocky platforms, naturally hewn by the lava. There were egg shells everywhere, because all of the Dragon eggs had hatched.
There was not a hatchling in sight.
Celeste looked around. "All the eggs," she murmured. Vyndakian nodded slowly, walking into the Core. The two explored for a time, and all they found were egg shells.
The Death Knight soon became fearful, if all the eggs hatched, were where the Dragons?
The Elf cozied up to Vyndakian again, earning her a cold stare from him. She nuzzled his neck and the Darksworn gave up. If nothing else, she'd be a good meat-shield.
A roar made the two jump, coming from deep within the Core. Celeste looked up to Vyndakian, her eyes big. She leaned up and managed to kiss his cheek.
"This could be it," she whispered seductively, "We could both die here." Vyndakian knew exactly where she was going.
"Then we'll die on our feet," he responded, pulling away from her. She frowned as he led the two deeper into the Core, to face this new evil.
In the center of the Molten Core, was chained a mighty Giant, hewn of the very rock. Its skin was made of blackened rock, the behemoth's eyes closed tight. Veins of liquid fire coursed through the giant's body, the lava occasionally poking through it's skin.
Mighty chains of Pyrium restrained the giant, two tethering its massive arms to massive stone pillars. It looked as if the great man was imprisoned, but Vyndakian knew better than to assume.
"Who dares disturb my slumber," spoke the Giant, his voice reverberating loud enough to rattle the floor underneath the Elves' feet. The Death Knight drew his Runeblade, and the Giant let out a mighty laugh.
"Turn back," rumbled the molten monolith, "Only death awaits you here." Vyndakian knew that his eyes had turned an icy blue, as Celeste drew two swords out from under her jerkin.
"We are here to end the Lord of Blackrock's plans," answered the Death Knight. The giant laughed the booming sound shaking the walls.
"If he can enslave the last of the Molten Giants," retorted the gigantic being, "What makes you think you can defeat him?" Vyndakian tightened the grip on his Runeblade, as Celeste's attitude began to bubble over.
"Vyndakian is fantastic," she yelled back, "He'll do it!" The mighty creature laughed, as the spiderwebs of magma across its skin burst into flame, chunks of the giants rock-flesh fell to the cavern floor, shattering or melting from the fire leaping from it's skin.
With a mighty heave, the Molten Giant lurched forward, snapping one of his bonds. The pillar crumbled from the force, his fire-skin melting the stone pebbles. His other arm snapped forward, taking a portion of the pillar with him. With this mighty flail, he clubbed Celeste, sending her flying into a wall.
"Then you face me," roared the Giant, as Celeste went limp. "Pyragus, the Brood-Watcher!" Vyndakian leaped into action, even as the Giant swung his flail, slamming it into the ground where the Death Knight had stood nearly a moment before. The Elf scooped up the unconscious woman, leaping aside as Pyragus slammed a fist into the floor, causing portions of it to erupt in a fount of magma.
Vyndakian examined the Elf. She was out light a candle. The Giant roared, swinging his make-shift flail around wildly. Unable to react quickly enough, Vyndakian took the blow, feeling his pauldrons crumple from the force of the blow.
The Death Knight tumbled and rolled, grunting as he narrowly avoided a jet of flame. He set Celeste down in a dark corner of the room, throwing aside his crumpled armor. With the removal of the heavier weight, Vyndakian moved faster, easily dodging the giant's attacks.
"You cannot run forever," warned Pyragus, even as Vyndakian tried to get close to the giant. He was instantly rebuked; the heat was unbearable! Any closer and he might burn up!
The Elf began to let loose bolts of ice, the bolts paling in comparison to the Giant's flame. Underneath the swirling flames, Vyndakian thought he could see some sort of orb, metallic and smooth. With every rush of flame, the thing seemed to pulse.
He didn't have much time to ponder this, as the Giant nearly dropped the flail on the Death Knight's head. Vyndakian turned to the nearest wall and took off at full speed, moving fast enough to actually run up the wall.
"You'll be crushed like the spider you are," roared the Giant, as he let loose gouts of liquid fire. Vyndakian moved too quickly to be hit, slicing off hanging stalagmites from the cavern's ceiling. Every hanging rock connected with the Flame Behemoth, but they all melted and bubbled, passing through and hitting the floor.
Vyndakian dropped to the floor, letting loose a powerful burst of Ice magic, freezing the giant solid. The Death Knight grinned in triumph, until his ice-prison began to crack, shattering. The shards of ice flew in every direction, the Elf managing to parry all of the ones that came his way.
Pyragus laughed, and the flames covering his body flickered again, revealing the orb. Vyndakian shot a bolt of shadow at the surface, and the Giant reeled back in agony, the cavern shaking from his roar. The Death Knight grinned, pressing his advantage.
With deadly speed and accuracy, Vyndakian let loose with bolts of ice and shadow, each one connecting with the heart-like orb. The gap in the Giant's flaming body widened, revealing the metal ball. It seemed to pump fire throughout the body, the waves of heat rippling with every pulse.
Pyragus fell to his knees as Vyndakian let out an inhuman roar, rushing towards the Molten Giant. With a mighty leap, the Death Knight pushed off the ground, flying at least five yards through the air before landing on the Giant's metallic heart. With a mighty heave, he drove his Runeblade down into the orb.
The Elf covered his ears as Pyragus let out an inhuman roar, the flames quickly extinguishing. The Molten Giant pitched forward, the orb-heart all that remained of the giant.
Vyndakian fell to the ground; narrowly avoiding the mighty sphere as it came crashing down. The orb broke through the earth, as gouts of molten fire burst through the floor, the ground flaring up into flames. The Darksworn leapt across the quickly liquefying floor, grabbing the nearly forgotten Celeste.
The cavern quickly filled with liquid fire, and the two barely escaped. Celeste quietly whimpered into Vyndakian's chest. He stroked her hair calmly, setting her down. He ripped open her jerkin, revealing the pale skin underneath. It was clear to him that she was dying, her ribcage caved in from the giant's flail.
The Elf was clearly paling, her lungs crushed by the shattered bones. She reached out blindly for him, her eyes already rolling back in her head.
"Vyn…" she rasped, "My last wish… Kiss me…" She reached up with her lips, and Vyndakian reached down with his, but they didn't meet hers. His lips peeled back, and dug deep into her neck. Celeste gasped as the Darksworn drank deep, removing his fangs and driving them in between her breasts. There, he drank from the blood that had pooled from her heart and lungs, turning the Elf into a husk.
The thing that was once Celeste slumped back into Vyndakian's arms as he ripped off his cloak. He wrapped the body in it, throwing it into a nearby pool of lava. The Death Knight watched as the corpse was devoured in the liquid fire, joining the molten rock.
With a cold heart, Vyndakian turned to leave the Molten Core, the blue-tinge never leaving his eyes.