And I'm back a week later, as promised! Switching the notes to the start just for this chapter. It didn't feel fitting to write this after the end. I've got a bit more written so the next chapter should be out within a fortnight, I just have to figure out the pacing of it all. And as always, thank you very much for reading, following, commenting etc. Enjoy!

Arven's eyes were locked to the sky, scanning it. That roar shook him to his core, his hands trembling from a mixture of exhaustion and fear.

Valerica turned back to Serana. While before she seemed to be a woman fully in control of any situation, a woman who exhumed power, the opposite was now true. She seemed panicked.

"Serana, you need to leave. Take the scrolls and run right now!"

"There's no time," Arven said. "You can't outrun a dragon."

"You can't fight one either!" Valerica said. "Dragon slayer or not, in your condition you're useless."

"What, and two Vampire Lords aren't strong enough to at least fight it off? You're so confident in yourself, but a proper threat comes along, and you just want to turn and run?" Arven asked. He didn't look back, his eyes locked on where he could feel the dragon was coming from.

"Arven!" Serana shouted, as she was looking back to the entrance to the prison. A horde of undead had started running up, countless numbers of them trying to push into the hallway that lead to the courtyard they were standing in. It seemed as if all those creatures that were staring at them as they travelled back had been following them, dozens now funnelling into that hallway. "We're cut off!"

Arven looked back for a second, cursing to himself.

"Can you hold them off?" Arven asked.

"I can try!" Serana responded as she held her arms out, icy cold winds coming from her fingers to form a blockade of ice which completely sealed off the hallway.

As she did so, the dragon appeared off in the distance. It was closing in quickly and Valerica cursed to herself. She was surprised though when she realised that the dragon wasn't paying attention to her at all. Its eyes were locked purely on Arven.

Another roar came from the beast, one that muted all other sounds just before the beast shouted.

"Yol Toor Shul!" A horrific sound came from the throat of the beast as fire came raining down upon the courtyard, a strong enough shout to melt the stone they stood on and cover the entire area if it made contact.

Valerica held her arms out, preparing to form a shield of ice around herself, but it was pointless.

"Fus Ro Dah!"

Arven, standing defiantly in the centre of the courtyard had ripped his helmet off and tossed it to the side as he shouted in retaliation. A wave of pure force came from the man, colliding with the dragon's shout to bash it away, small embers raining down on the area as the flames were mostly negated.

Arven felt his blood boiling as he did so but he grimaced, pushing it down once more as he held his sword in both hands, ignoring the pain in his arm as he prepared himself.

Valerica's eyes went wide as she witnessed the magic. A type of magic she had never seen before, with destructive powers that rivalled a master mage. She had wondered how a man could fight a dragon, but now it made sense. He wielded the exact same power that they did. That frightened her. Considerably.

Instead of landing the dragon simply circled around the building, watching as Arven stared it down. Then, it shouted once more. A foreign shout that Arven hadn't heard before.

"Diil Qoth Zaam!"

While Serana's wall of ice had stopped the hordes outside from entering, that didn't stop more from being raised from the ground beneath them by the dragon. Without warning dozens of skeletons started to rise from the dirt while others appeared from the mists. They all charged towards Arven in a second.

Serana started blasting at them before they had even properly formed, bolts of lightning picking them off one at a time. Valerica did the same, although at a slower pace. The woman's eyes were narrowed, as if she was studying the situation.

Even with the two vampires assisting him Arven still had a number of undead reach him. He swung out with his blade as soon as they got within range, struggling for a moment to adjust to the new fighting stance he took as he no longer had a shield to protect him. He had to be more careful, dancing on the tips of his feet as he ducked beneath blades and dodged out of reach before slicing at a monster one at a time.

He could've shouted, but the second he did the dragon would've likely taken that as an opportunity to attack. Arven needed time to recover between shouts, or else he'd fatigue far too quickly. And he was already exhausted. As he fought he spun on his heel, turning just in time to face two skeletons both attacking him from either side.

He used Dawnbreaker to parry one sword but without a shield he caught the other blade in his free hand, cursing as the blade cut into his palm. Ripping the blade free from the skeleton he then kicked it away before using Dawnbreaker to quickly dispatch both the undead in two swift strikes, still moving with speed unnatural for any human.

No matter how many he seemed to kill they just kept coming, and the dragon was more interested in watching Arven fight than fighting him itself, it seemed.

With so many undead now lying at his feet, when they rose up once more, their bones becoming whole as they stood with eerie, jolting movements Arven had a moment of panic. That left though as these creatures went to fight the others, and Arven realised that either Serana or Valerica had started raising them to fight on their side. As much as he hated necromancy, it was better than being overwhelmed.

"Serana!" Arven called. "Can you keep these off me long enough for me to kill the dragon?"

"Can you even kill it as you are right now?" Serana called back.

"I don't know, but I don't think we're getting out of here unless I try."

"Go for it then, I won't let any of these creatures hurt you." Dashing closer to Arven, Serana drew her blade and cut down a group of skeletons within a second as she moved – the bodies reanimating moments after. At a glance there were dozens of undead surrounding them, if not hundreds, and everyone she killed was replaced almost instantly. She didn't let that discourage her though, getting closer to Arven to protect him as the man stared down the dragon.

Valerica, on the other hand stayed where she was, picking off every undead that came close enough to her with a casual ease. They didn't seem to worry her, the only thing that did was the dragon which was still flying around, watching.

Looking up at the dragon Arven took in a deep, long breath, mentally preparing himself for another fight. Then, he shouted.

"Joor Zah Frul!"

A cry of shock came from the dragon as it was struck, flapping its wings as it struggled to fly away, yet Dragonrend forced it to the floor within moments. It landed heavily at the edge of the courtyard, a loud boom coming from it as stone and dirt was kicked up from the sudden landing. The dragon glared at Arven, and only then did he realise how twisted it was. It looked like half of its body had rotted away, its skin decayed with a grotesque substance dripping from its scales. It repulsed Arven, and only made him want to kill the thing even more.

Holding his sword in both hands, Arven paused where he was, feet planted firmly on the stone beneath him. He was tempted to summon a bound bow, but for the bow to be strong enough to pierce scales he likely would struggle to use it with his damaged arm. That only left one option. So, he charged, a defiant scream coming from the man. As he did so the two vampires each watched, yet for different reasons. Serana couldn't stomach the worry she felt, while Valerica couldn't help the intense curiosity she had.

As he charged, the dragon opened its mouth once more, preparing to shout. An incredible fire came from its throat as it did so, one just as strong, if not stronger than the flames Arven could produce when he shouted himself. The warrior was tempted to shout the flames away again, but he was exhausted, and fighting the dragon head on wouldn't work to his advantage. So, he tried something different.

As soon as the dragon opened its mouth to shout Arven did the same.

"Gaan Lah Haas!"

While he didn't enjoy this shout, as stealing more energy from a dragon wasn't a pleasant experience for him, it was a necessity considering how tired he was. As soon as he shouted he dived off to the side, holding out his battered arm to produce as strong of a ward as he could, fighting away the flames as he avoided them. While doing his best to avoid the fire he moved between various pillars erected throughout the area using them as temporary barriers before they burnt away.

The ward would've shattered in an instant, but the dragon's magicka flooded into Arven's body as he drained its vitality, restoring the ward instantly as it struggled to fight off the flames. As soon as the flames stopped Arven sprinted directly towards the dragon once again, cutting down several undead that got in his way while others were picked off by Serana.

As soon as he was in striking distance the dragon opened its maws, trying to bite him yet Arven dodged to the side, rolling on the ground before standing up and slicing at the neck of the beast. Scales chipped away as his blade penetrated them but the cut was too shallow to cause any damage, and a moment later Arven was struck by the dragon's tail as it whipped around, crashing against his side.

Arven was sent skidding across the floor away from the dragon, his breath robbed of him as he felt something snap from the impact. Yet he held onto his sword, digging his fingers into the dirt to stand back up and charge again as soon as he was able. He felt so sluggish, but he couldn't stop. He couldn't lose his momentum.

"Tiid Klo Ul!"

As soon as the last word of the shout escaped his lips Arven kept running as time seemed to stop all around him. He dashed towards the dragon, who's eye was still tracking him in an incredibly unnerving manner, but the beast was too slow to react as Arven ran up and rammed the blade of Dawnbreaker right into the chest of the beast, yanking it down to slice a large hole in that rotting flesh.

A scream from the dragon echoed out around them as time sped back up for everyone else, and Valerica's eyes widened as she tried to understand what she had just seen. In a mere second, the man had disappeared from where he was and was suddenly stabbing at the dragon. She wasn't sure if he could merely move faster than anything she had ever seen, or if it was some sort of strange magic.

Readying himself to stab the dragon once more, Arven was interrupted as the dragon turned its body, its long neck reaching towards Arven to snap at him. He ducked away but was unable to tear Dawnbreaker free from the dragon's torso as it got lodged between some scales. Arven went to curse himself for being so careless but he found himself distracted as he was struck once more by the dragon's tail, his body not responding quickly enough for him to dodge it as it hit him from behind and sent him flying once more. As soon as he came to a stop a group of undead were upon him, dull and rusted blades coming down on his body from the few that managed to reach him before they were destroyed by Serana or Valerica.

With his arms protecting his head Arven rolled to the side to try and escape the assault, his armour being cut in multiple places as he did so. Managing to find his feet, he dodged the swing from a skeleton near him and punched the thing in the head, sending its skull flying as he held his good hand out to summon a blade as he had done in the past. With the shadowy, ethereal weapon he started cutting down more of the creatures as they came to him, turning to see Serana running to his side.

"Arven! Are you hurt?" Serana asked, never stopping the attacks she was landing on the undead that were continually spawning.

"Been better," Arven responded through clenched teeth. The undead had managed to cut his body in a few places, with fresh blood dripping from his body. He felt like he could feel Valerica's eyes digging into his back. "If you feel like taking a few shots at that thing, be my guest."

Nodding to him, Serana turned to face the dragon. "Cover me for a second," she said as she held her arms out to her sides, crouching down as an immense amount of magicka started to form in her palms.

Arven did as she asked, destroying any creature that approached her while he felt the ground begin to shake. The dragon had clearly noticed as well, starting to stalk towards Serana while its mouth started to open, another shout forming in the back of its throat.

Before it could attack though Serana held out both her arms, a defiant yell coming from her which was entirely drowned out by a bolt of lightning that filled the entire courtyard with a blinding light and a deafening crack. The bolt shot out, hitting the dragon directly on its shoulder as the beast was sent skidding back in the dirt, scales flying off its body as a hole was blasted directly into its body. Serana was aiming for the mouth, but the more power she used the harder it was to control and direct the magic. The wing that was attached to that shoulder was now hanging off, completely mishappen and mangled, yet the dragon was still very much 'alive'.

Panting heavily Serana muttered something under her breath which Arven didn't hear. Hopefully though her attack would be enough to give him an advantage. Just as he readied himself for another charge through, a loud crash came from behind the pair as the ice wall Serana had formed to protect them from the hordes outside was demolished – one of the Keepers standing in its place with a large, two-handed dragonbone axe.

Arven felt a sense of dread overcome him. A dragon and undead was already too much for him to handle almost, but the Keepers as well?

No time to worry, no time to pause, Arven thought. Just fight!

"Serana! Keep those occupied, I'll try and kill this thing as quickly as I can!" Arven shouted as he charged forward once more, not waiting for a response. On his path undead threw themselves at him, each one being bashed away or cut in half. They had no sense of self-preservation, acting purely as obstacles to slow him down. One managed to jump onto him as he stumbled, his legs starting to give out, but Arven managed to grab at it and toss it to the side, slamming it into some other undead. Meanwhile the dragon started stalking over towards Arven, walking on two feet and one wing, the other wing dragging behind its torso as it seemed useless. Spotting his blade resting in the beast's belly, Arven knew he had to go straight for it.

While Arven was charging the dragon Serana had her own issues. All three Keepers had now entered the courtyard behind them, fully reformed and all with their gazes on Arven. Two of them started moving towards him, while the one with the bow started to draw, a long, deadly arrow knocked.

"Wait, are you ignoring me?" Serana muttered under her breath. "Not smart." Raising her hands she first blasted lightning at the archer, the bolt hitting the bow which knocked the arrow free from its place. Then she crouched down, her hands on the floor as ice cascaded across stone and dirt to stop the Keepers as they walked. It worked, but just for a moment as they started hacking at the ice that trapped them, trying to free themselves. As they were distracted Serana stood, ready to dash towards the archer Keeper to distract him further, but she stopped as she felt Valerica's hand on her shoulder.

"Mother? What-" Serana started before being cut off.

"We need to go, Serana. Right now," Valerica said.

"That's what we're trying to do, but-"

"No, we need to go. Take the scrolls and flee. These creatures aren't interested in either of us right now. We both need to take advantage of that and run," Valerica said. She was right. As they spoke none of the undead seemed to care for them. If allowed, they just ran straight past the pair towards Arven.

Serana's eyes widened, then turned into an expression of anger. "No! How can you even suggest that?" She asked before turning back to the Keepers, preparing to attack once more.

Valerica took hold of her shoulders and spun Serana, forcing her daughter to look at her.

"This might be our best chance to get out of here unscathed, while getting rid of a very powerful enemy at the same time," she said.

"He's not an enemy! He came here to help us, why are you even saying this?" Serana asked.

"That man is likely the biggest threat to vampires in Skyrim! Not only does he have a sword designed to kill us, he has the strength of dozens of beasts, each a challenge to us in their own right. If, when he turns on you, he will kill you with no difficulty," Valerica said.

Serana scowled, shoving Valerica back. She was furious. She couldn't even comprehend the words coming out of Valerica's mouth right now.

"He would never attack me! And I'll never abandon him! I don't care what you say or think, you're wrong!" Serana yelled back.

During their argument Arven found himself ducking and diving between undead, fighting off a never-ending horde while trying to find an opening in the dragon stalking him across the courtyard. His limbs felt so heavy, so tired. Raising his arm felt like he was a fatigued, regular man once more. He'd lost count of the amount of undead he'd killed with his bound sword, but they just kept on coming.

Eventually, he spotted a chance. The dragon, tired of walking after him had decided to shout at him once more. As soon as the dragon reared up, mouth open, Arven beat the beast to it.

"Wuld nah kest!"

Dashing forward with blinding speed Arven moved underneath the dragon's head, right to its side where he grabbed Dawnbreaker by the hilt. He then carried the blade forward with his momentum, tearing a large, gaping hole in the belly of the monster before he ended up running well past the dragon, stumbling to try and maintain his balance with his sword back in his hands.

The dragon let out a painful cry, falling as its stomach started to spill a disgusting slime from its body, instead of blood. It tried to stand a few times but failed, continually falling back to the ground. In a vain attempt it swung its tail once more at Arven but the Dragonborn was prepared this time, dropping to the floor to dodge it before pushing himself back to his feet.

Serana and Valerica were both watching the battle, while Serana had her attention divided between that and keeping the Keepers where they were. She had blasted the bow out of one of their hands and locked the other two up in ice – however it was a constant effort and drain of magicka to keep them there.

Valerica scowled. "I don't know what your relationship with this man is daughter, but it's clearly clouding your judgement," she said as she turned towards Arven, lightning crackling between her fingers.

Serana felt lost for words, completely shocked as she realised what Valerica was about to do.

"If you touch him, you are dead to me," Serana said in a low tone of voice. "I will never forgive you, and once I escape this place with him I'll destroy any chance you have of escaping back to the real world," she continued. She was shocked at the words coming out of her mouth, but she just felt so incredibly angry at the mere idea of Valerica harming Arven that she couldn't help herself.

Of course, what Valerica said made sense from her viewpoint. Arven was a threat. He was the most dangerous thing to exist for vampires, and if he was any other man Serana would struggle to disagree with her mother. But Arven wasn't just anyone. He was the man she loved, and he meant more to her than anything else in the world did. Neither her family, nor her blood could come in the way of her relationship with him.

Valerica looked back at Serana, glaring at her, trying to study the meaning behind those words.

"You truly believe he is our best chance at stopping Harkon?" Valerica asked.

"I do," Serana said. "But that's not why I'm defending him."

"You're a fool of a daughter," Valerica responded. But, as she said so the woman turned, a single arm outstretched before she blasted the bow-wielding Keeper with enough magicka to send its arm flying off, torn from the shoulder as it crashed against the far wall.

Serana was momentarily confused by the sudden change in her mother's actions but she didn't want to waste time thinking about it. Turning to try and find Arven she felt relief as he was standing behind the dragon, who currently seemed unable to walk. Yet that relief turned to dread within an instant.

After Arven dodged the tail-swipe, a throng of undead came upon him at the same time. Some appearing from the mist, others coming from the bones scattered along the floor as the dying dragon behind him shouted once more. Those foreign words that brought the dead to fight for him. The undead weren't trying to attack Arven, but they jumped on him, holding him in place. The warrior threw them off as fast as he could, swiping at some, killing many, but he didn't kill them fast enough. He went to shout but the energy needed for it was lost to him. His blood started to boil in response to that need but he pushed it down once more, subconsciously refusing it.

As he was overcome, a pile of undead pinning him in place, the dragon's tail swiped at him once again. It stuck him directly, knocking countless skeletons to the side before hitting Arven right in the chest and flinging him against a nearby stone wall. The wall cracked from the impact as Arven left a dent where he collided with it, slumping to the ground as blood started to flow from his head.

His vision was blurred, and he couldn't see properly. Yet, looking up, raising his heavy head and peering out through the blood that now stained his vision Arven saw more walking right up to him – swords raised. He knew he should react. He knew he should raise his sword, hold out an arm, roll out of the way. He was just dazed, and he was so tired.

Would it really be that bad if I just laid here for a moment longer?

With blades raised high, each skeleton drove them down, stabbing Arven through the chest.

Serana screamed. Before she knew it she was sprinting towards him, drawing her blade once more as she ran. She needed to grab him and get out of there. There was nothing else that mattered right now, she just had to protect him.

There was something she had to fight to be able to do that though. Even as it struggled to stand, the dragon Arven had almost slain looked over, seeing Serana running straight for him. Making eye contact with her, the beast the opened its maw, a deafening shout that she didn't understand coming from its mouth as a torrent of flames attacked her. Holding her hands out in front Serana sent a blizzard from her fingertips, stopping the flames mere meters away from her as the heat threatened to burn at her clothes even as she stopped them from engulfing her.

The flames seemed to last forever, until finally they gave way and she could resume sprinting at the beast. She felt drained, but that wasn't going to stop her. As soon as she got close enough she jumped, her blade held in both hands as she arced through the air, trying to land directly on the dragon's back to slice at its scales.

Despite the damage it had taken through the dragon was not dead. As Serana leapt the dragon reared up, raising its good wing to batter the vampire away, making Serana crash into the ground with a booming thud. As she was stunned the dragon advanced on her immediately, hooks from its good wing slamming down on her chest to pin her in place. Serana cried out in pain, hands moving to the wing to try and pry it free but it was no use. The beast was far too strong.

Looking down at Serana with a cruel grin, the dragon then opened its mouth, preparing to shout once more. It was only interrupted as Valerica yelled out in defiance, her anger clear on her face from seeing her daughter attacked as two large shards of ice slammed into the dragon – one on its body and the other on its head. This directed the dragon's attention elsewhere, spitting fire at Valerica instead of Serana, the older vampire now defending herself in the same way Serana had done before.

As they both struggled, trying to overcome their opponent, Arven was barely kept conscious from the pain that he felt. The skeletons each took turns, driving swords deep into his chest. He felt the blood dripping down his body, he felt the stabs growing more and more numb each time, the pain lessening. But damn it still hurt.

That pain kept him lucid long enough to look out, gazing at the battlefield with hundreds of undead corpses strewn across the place. He looked over to the dragon that he had almost killed, despite being so weak. So damn tired. He knew at least, that dealing that much damage to it should let Serana finish it off. She was strong, after all. Far stronger than he was, right?

Then he saw her, pinned to the floor, unable to move. His vision was so blurred that he couldn't tell, but it seemed like she had been hurt. It seemed like she had blood on her, and she was unable to move. Then, he saw the dragon who was spitting fire at another target look down at her, its maw opening.

Serana formed shards of ice in her hands and threw them at the dragon, causing the beast to scream as it reared up. In its anger, it raised its one good wing while its foot now came crashing down on Serana, pinning her to the floor with more force as she coughed up blood from the impact.

Arven felt his blood boil. It raged inside him. He felt the anger overcoming every other sense he had within a second. The mental block he had built up from fear stood against it for the briefest of moments, but the dozens of souls residing inside of him all pushed forward. Arven had been angry before, incredibly so – but this was different. He felt the emotion seep through every single fibre of his being, and he was powerless to resist. After all, how could he? Serana was hurt. She was in trouble, and if he didn't do anything she could die. The mere thought of something hurting her made him see red.

Even though Arven didn't like it, he felt the personalities of each soul reflected in his own for the briefest of moments as he fully absorbed them. And they amplified his feelings, his emotions, his strength.

His rage.

Reaching out, Arven grasped one of the blades stuck in his chest. He snapped it by closing his fist, standing up as he took hold of two skeleton by the head – crushing skulls beneath his fingers. He felt so much hate and repressed emotions within his body all building up to a dangerous level, and there was only one way he knew how to purge himself of them.

He shouted. It wasn't a shout like he had done before. No longer did he shout as an imitation, a man pretending to be a dragon. The words that came from his mouth weren't words shaped to sound like the dragon's tongue. No, he shouted as a dragon would. With more force than any one dragon could ever dream of, each and every soul he had rightfully taken lending their strength.

"FUS ROH DAH!"

The cascading wave of force shot out from him, tearing up dirt and stones in its path. The ground at Arven's feet caved in, cracking, splintering from the sheer magnitude of the shout, with bones around him being turned to dust. The shout moved at a blinding speed before it struck the body of the dragon. The beast was sent flying, lifted off the ground as it shot at an alarming speed into the wall on the far side of the courtyard. The entire building shook, threatening to crumble as the dragon sunk to the floor.

It tried to stand but one of its legs had been shattered, and it seemed dazed. Unable to move. Bending down Arven took hold of Dawnbreaker as it rested in the dirt at his feet, raising it high as he broke out in a sprint. Even as blood dripped down his body, even as he should've been on the verge of death, he had just seen something try to kill Serana. And he needed revenge.

Advancing on the dragon, the monster turned to him, disbelief in its eyes as it went to snap at him. Arven simply stepped to the side, avoiding the attack before grabbing hold of the dragon's snout with his fingers clamping onto one of the various ridges lining the animal's body. With superhuman strength Arven pulled down, slamming the beast's head into the stone before he raised Dawnbreaker high, the tip pointing down towards the dragon's eye. Then, with one thrust, he buried the sword all the way to the hilt, slaying the dragon before he took a few stumbling steps back and sheathed his weapon, feeling all of that energy and rage start to leave him, pouring out through the countless slices and cuts in his body.

He fell to his knees, letting out a long, deep breath. Then, he collapsed.

As soon as the dragon died it started to dematerialise, much in the same way any other dragon would. Scales, muscle and bone all faded away into a brilliant light, yet instead of being absorbed into Arven this light, tinted purple was sucked into the sky. While the energy dissipated the undead around them all seemed to collapse, as if their source of life vanished along with it.

Skeletons and mistmen all turned to nothingness, while even the Keepers – who had been rooted in place and severely damaged by Valerica – seemed to wither away inside their shells of dragonbone armor. While Valerica was stunned by the display Serana ignored it, sprinting over to Arven as she knelt beside him, picking him up in her arms while trying to find signs of life.

He was breathing. Barely. His wounds had slowed their bleeding, but not because they healed. He had bled so much, his entire body was covered in blood. He wasn't conscious, and Serana could barely hear his pulse even sitting right next to him. Looking over her shoulder, Serana shouted.

"Mother!" She yelled, prompting Valerica to walk over at an infuriatingly slow pace. "What do I- How-," she stumbled. "Do you know any healing magic?"

Valerica just looked at her daughter, her silence providing the answer. Serana turned back to Arven, a hand on his cheek as she shook him.

"No, no no come on, wake up Arven. Wake up!" She said, her words a garbled mess.

"Get him out of here," Valerica said. "He's still soul trapped. Get him out of the Soul Cairn then restore his soul. That's your only chance."

Even before Valerica finished her sentence Serana had stood, picking up Arven in both arms as she sprinted out to the hallway leading from the prison. She hadn't even spared a word to say goodbye to her mother. That would take too much time. As she ran she thought of any way she could speed things up, even contemplating turning into that demonic form she never used. She cursed herself now, thinking that maybe if she used it earlier she would've been more helpful, that she could've saved Arven from being hurt so badly.

Her train of thought stopped as she excited the prison, only to see the dragon waiting for her. Somehow, it had returned. Not only that but its body had healed, the cuts on its torso sealed up while its wing was attached once more.

"Daughter of Coldharbour," the dragon spoke. "I would speak with the man you are carrying."

Serana didn't respond, her feet planted, unsure of what to do.

"Ah," the dragon continued as he looked to Arven's limp figure. "Is he alive?"

"What do you care?" Serana spat. "What is this? He killed you."

"It seems he is, if barely," the dragon responded before turning its gaze back to Serana. "And I am cursed, not dead. Trapped in this form for eternity. I fought as I was bound to an oath by the ones who imprisoned me here. The hostilities were necessary, unfortunately."

"What do you want," Serana muttered as her entire body was tense, adrenaline coursing through her. She heard Valerica running up behind her, only for her mother's steps to fall short as she undoubtedly saw the dragon.

"I believe in civility among seasoned warriors, and I wish to speak to the Qahnaarin," the dragon said. "My claws have rended the flesh of innumerable foes, but I have never once been felled on the field of battle. I wish to converse with the first warrior able to best me, yet it seems he is unable to do so at this point in time."

"Get out of my way," Serana said. "I won't ask you again."

"This place is draining him of life, isn't it?" The dragon asked. "You plan to free him from this tomb, to try and save him?"

Serana nodded, hesitantly.

"What is the meaning of this?" Valerica barked as she moved up besides Serana. "I just saw you die, warden."

"I will not explain myself twice," the dragon remarked before looking at Serana. "If you wish to save the Dragonborn, I will assist you. I wish to speak to him, and to hear tales of how he managed the defeat of the World Eater."

"You think I'd trust you?" Serana barked in response.

"If you want him to live, you have no choice. Or do you genuinely think you can move faster than a Dovah?"

Serana stayed put for a moment longer. Yet, she knew the dragon was right. And she knew that the dragon, if at full strength again, could kill them right now if it wanted. So she agreed, stepping up to the beast.

"Serana!" Valerica said. "You can't be serious!"

"I don't think I have much of a choice, mother," Serana responded. "I'll be back. Eventually."

"Climb onto my neck, and we shall depart," the dragon said. Serana did so, gently placing Arven over the dragon's neck, just above its shoulders as she climbed on behind him to hold him in place. Then, her eyes widening with shock, the dragon took to the air.

The flight was far faster than she could've ever travelled, and within minutes she saw the portal she had used to enter the Soul Cairn appearing off in the distance.

"Down there!" She called out, scooping up Arven and jumping as soon as she was close enough to the ground. She started to sprint up the stairs, carrying Arven in her arms as she ran to the portal, desperate to get him to safety.

"Should he wake," the dragon called from behind Serana. "Tell him to speak my name. I would join him in his own world, if only for a brief period of time to fight alongside him, should he find me worthy."

Serana didn't register the words as she ran, that shimmering portal inching closer and closer until she finally broke through it, returning to her mother's laboratory high up in Castle Volkihar. As soon as she did, climbing up those stairs to the landing where she had prepared the concoction that opened the portal she placed Arven down gently on the stone floor, wiping the blood and sweat from his face as she reached into her pocket to pull out his soul gem.

"Please work, please work," she muttered to herself as she clasped the stone tightly, casting the spell she had been taught centuries ago to release the binding that trapped the soul she had locked away. She felt it break free, and a second later she heard a weak gasp come from Arven's lips as his heart beat just a tiny bit louder.

"Arven!" She exclaimed as she held his cheek in her palm, the man resting on her knees as she looked to him. Arven's eyes were cloudy, barely able to open through the dried blood. Serana tried her best to clean them, but there was only so much she could do.

"Arven, hey, it's okay. Just relax, you're going to be fine now," Serana said as she looked to him, offering a strong, sweet smile to try and calm him.

Arven could barely see. He couldn't feel a thing, except for being utterly and completely exhausted. His soul returning brought a small spark of life back into his body but he had been hurt so badly. He was so fatigued. He simply couldn't hold on. Despite that momentary increase in his pulse it was fading fast, and Serana started to panic.

"Hey, Arven, listen to me. Listen to me, okay? You have to hold on. You need to hold on," she said, desperate as she looked around the room for something to help him. Every ingredient she set her eyes on was for the purpose of necromancy or causing harm. None of it would help him now. As she tried to figure out what to do Arven raised a single hand, placing it on her own with the weakest grip imaginable.

"Serana," he breathed out. "It's okay."

Serana looked to him, eyes wide as they became wet. Tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"No, no it's not!" Serana said desperately. "Please! Please, just hold on."

Arven's hand started to slip away, the man lacking the strength to hold it there. Serana grabbed it as soon as it slipped, refusing to let go.

"You don't… need me. You'll be okay. It's fine," he breathed out again, his eyes starting to close over.

"No, no! Arven!" Serana was shouting by this point, hysterical. Tears were flowing from her eyes now, dripping down onto Arven's face as she wept.

"Please, you can't leave me. I need you, okay? I can't do this without you!" She said. There was no response. Arven just maintained his gaze on her for as long as he could, a gentle smile coming across his face before his eyes finally shut and his body went limp. Serana heard his heartbeat grow slower and slower, until finally she couldn't hear it any longer.

"No!" She screamed. Her voice echoed around the room, filling the void as she wrapped her arms around Arven's body and held him close. She squeezed him, his dried blood staining her clothes. "Please, please just stay with me. I can't do this without you. I love you, I love you so much!"

Her words didn't reach his ears. She felt him in her arms, his body entirely limp. She knew what had happened. But she couldn't accept it. She clung to him, openly weeping as she felt like her heart had been crushed, torn from her chest. She couldn't even be angry, she was just so overcome with grief that she couldn't feel anything, except for the immense sense of loss.

She couldn't handle it. It was going to break her.

So, desperate, she did the one thing she knew of that might be able to fix it. Looking down at Arven's lifeless body, she held his head in her hands. Then, opening her mouth, she sunk her fangs deep into his neck.

The room was silent, where Serana's wails had occupied it seconds earlier. She sucked his blood out, yet instead of feeding from him, she tried her best to fill him with the energy and magic that ran through her veins. She had no idea if it would work, but she had to try.

Pulling away from his neck she wiped at her mouth, blood and tears staining her sleeve as she looked at the body she still held. She waited and waited. Disbelief started to set in, as the reality finally began to hit her.

"No," she whispered to herself, breaking down into a woman who could feel nothing but grief and despair as she held the body of the only man she'd ever loved.

Then, Arven's eyes opened wide. And he screamed.