Prologue: The lovers' betrayal
Arriving at Agate Mountain, Darkstalker spots Clearsight in the distance, simply waiting there. At first, the nightwing is curious despite his anger to see his mate being fine, and she doesn't run at his approach. Which is something, considering how the whole crowd of nightwings flew off as fast as they could and his sister cried now that he thinks about it.
Landing in front of her, the dragoness doesn't flinch and just stares at the ground. After an odd moment of silence, Darkstalker speaks in a neutral tone, knowing she has hidden his powerful animus scroll, and using what little reason he has left at the moment. Things can turn for the worst pretty quickly.
- "Clearsight, it's good to see you're alright after all that… chaos."
Darkstalker doesn't believe any of the words he says, and neither does Clearsight. The dragoness turns her head not to look at him, but at the horizon.
- "You're not losing any time aren't you? No matter…"
Doubt spreads in the nightwing's mind, but anger takes over him at the thought of her really betraying him and everything he built. Could she really give up on me when I'm on the verge of wining?
- "I won't play your game, Clearsight. I know you have hidden my scroll, and for now, nothing proves me you are trustworthy. Do you realize that Clearsight?"
The dragoness takes a little step back, one his mate doesn't see.
- "Then you already know what to do."
Darkstalker freezes as his mate just stares at him, his mind still partially denying she has turned against him. When he comes back to his sense, he sees her ready for a fight.
- "My love, what are you doing?"
- "Preparing myself for what needs to be done."
The black dragon takes a step back, stunned by such words from the dragoness that was destined to remain with him and strive for their happy ending.
- "What are you even saying? It's like I'm a completely different dragon to you. Why Clearsight? Don't you see the light at the end of the tunnel, that after this nightmare we will be happy?"
The seer chuckles at his reaction, having made her mind long ago.
- "Darkstalker, you poor fool. Always in the present, not knowing what you do and the consequences. No matter how hard I try, you won't ever see that."
His pride and purpose being wounded by her at the worst time, the black dragon doesn't hold back anymore and replies furiously.
- "Speak for yourself! You always warn me and stop me from doing anything in fear of something worse happening if I act. But in the end, I have not done enough and for that, the terrible futures arrive right in our face!"
- "You mean like your plan to kill the queen, or wiping out all the icewing. You don't have a plan that doesn't involve you becoming one of the greatest threat to Pyrrhia."
- "And you let tyrants like Vigilance and Diamond run free, despite their wish to eradicate anyone who stand in their way."
Darkstalker takes a step forward, his muscle tensing because of his anger building up, but Clearsight doesn't flinch.
- "And you will kill more than them if you ascend to the throne. You should have seen it, but it doesn't matter now, I'll stop you if you continue."
- "Is that it? You only care about the evil I can do, not the evil that others do. Why? Because the blood won't be on your talons? Because you don't feel as guilty when the culprit is too distant?"
The dragoness looks away, trying to counter his accusation, but Darkstalker continues.
"You accuse me of being the worst, but you always worry about me. It's like no matter what I do, there is always a bad future. And you look at that dark future, and then speak to me as if I was that darker version of myself."
- "But you are! I was worried, Fathom was worried, and now look, our fears have become reality."
Despite her best efforts to stay calm, Clearsight's mind begins to crack, her emotions trying to burst out more and more the longer her ex lover resists.
- "You never trusted me, you never smiled at me without fearing me at the back of your mind. It's like a self fulfilling prophecy, you never wanted to take the risk, to make compromise, to make me feel loved." To heal my soul adds Darkstalker in his mind.
Despite the nightwing's overwhelming anger, a tear runs across his face, but it is useless as Clearsight has already made up her mind. Her expression is cold and completely stoic with a hint of anger, his sorrow won't touch her.
- "It was for the good of everyone that I didn't give in to your demand. I don't regret it."
These words make her mate roars furiously as he now drown in his own anger and a hatred for her is being born.
- "You think you're good and strong?! You just refuse to understand me, you don't know what I feel at all! I love my mother and my sister more than what you could ever imagine, I was hated by my father since the day I hatched, my childhood was shattered as my mother and father screamed at each other!"
Overtaken by his rage, the black dragon is beyond any reason, capable of cruelly hurting her if she dares to approach.
"Then the queen tries assassinate me, and finally, my mother dies in the war! So go on, tell me how you're sorry for me, but that I must not be tempted and must restrain myself. Tell me, how I, with the power of a god at my claws, shouldn't use any of it even if I or anyone else are on the verge of dying, for the greater good."
Darkstalker expected an answer, but he gets none after his furious speech. Just an agonizing silence, where both do not moves, just the calm sound of breathing and each staring at the other, hiding the storm that could came out instantly.
Clearsight takes a step closer to the one she will end, and Darkstalker lets her do it, too confused and tired by his last burst of rage.
The dragoness takes a second step… and a third, but the black dragon doesn't react, not believing she is able to harm him and focusing on the vision that just appeared in his head.
As she does a fourth step, Darkstalker realizes by his vision that she can finish him with something. Looking over her body, his eyes stop at the moon bracelet, the one enchanted object on her, the one that dominates his vision.
Seeing him taking a step back, Clearsight takes one forward and then jumps directly at him, ready to end everything once and for all. But by union of his instincts and foresight, Darkstalker stops the finishing move, grabbing and holding tight the talon that wears the bracelet.
At this instant, he understand that all Clearsight has to do is to touch him on the belly with the paw of the talon he grabbed. Then, the bracelet's magic will do its work and will banish him from the world. Understanding his lover's absolute betrayal, he strengthen his grip on her limb and speaks in a cold and hateful tone.
- "You trai-"
Darkstalker has no time to say the word as she bites his talon mercilessly, making him hiss and lose his hold on her own. His scales can't be pierced nor broken, but his insides can and the pain is unavoidable.
A second later, the seer tries to punch her paw on his belly again, only to be stopped by his second talon. This time, the black dragon doesn't retain his cruelty to win, and bends her talon to make her regret her action.
The heartbroken one watches his betrayer hissing and screaming like he was a beast, and uses his now free bitten talon to scratch her neck, staining her beautiful skin with blood and damaging it. Tears are as big as they can be on Darkstalker's face, but he can't stop, he can't hesitate, he must survive, that's all that matter now…
Extending her back talons, Clearsight pushes away both of them. Stunned by the pain, the nightwing can't stop her as she slams into him with everything she have, using the magic and initiating his banishment with a violent flash of light.
Darkstalker screams as much as he can while the powerful and otherworldly essences act like the hottest fire all over his body, removing him from the world in a raw and brutish manner, butchering his insides for the three last seconds he has to live in Pyrrhia.
A moment later, a cloud of dust dissipates, and now anyone can see that where the dragon once stood, there is nothing but a crater tainted by a bit of dry blood...