It was nearly dawn. And in the fading darkness, nothing made a sound, except the gentle splashing of ripples of water along the growing new riverbank. Images of the moon and rising suns reflected on its shimmering surface. But this surface was unusual. And what made it unique was that it didn't flow but undulated like a serpent cutting a path over the molten remains of a certain person's powerful railgun. Glimpses of an enormous translucent beast just under the surface, extended and snakelike, pulling the water along each coil.
The beast approached the ridge of the valley, her form revealed in a spectral glow, matching the waning moon's eerie light. A head vast as the river rose, and its dark eyes, like pools of the black abyss, reflected the desolation of the valley below. Its mouth opened, and tiny whisker-like tendrils hung like a catfish along the jawline. Its nostrils flared, smelling the burned-out stone and the still-whispered screams of the dead. Small pieces of damaged flesh, well healed, and a slight hint of vampire saliva. It knew. And was delighted in proxy of the great battle that had been fought and won by her. It whispered, "That's my girl.."
Large black eyes slowly followed the black abyss stretching far beyond in the distance, knowing it was nothing more than an old battle scar from long ago. A sense of satisfaction sparked in the darkness of her eyes. The water followed like marching soldiers as the beast rolled over the edge. And stopped at the fringe of the abyss, the water gliding by, fell in line along the perimeter. A small column of water swirled and gathered. And a diminutive human form stood.
Mizuchi stepped from the water like a nymph walking from a pool, shimmering in the morning foreglow, flickering like stars in the fading sky. Each step dripped with glistening, clean, pure water. And as she walked onto the stone bridge. Smelling the memories of scorching fire, burning, and melting, pooling of dying stone. She knew the stone trolls existed no longer. And she didn't care. But seemed to relish it.
The stone bridge, with its fragments and missing pieces, lay scattered over the ground. Bits of iron spread like breadcrumbs, leading a path to the other side. She took her time, delighting in the sounds and voices of an ancient battle echoing across time. That battle and those scars to be never heard again. And the stone bridge would become nothing more than an immense gravestone.
And in its waking shadow, the once thriving and beautiful marshy landscape became nothing but rocks and jagged reminders of what it once was. Now lay transformed into a twisted, blackened wasteland. Empty, raw, purged by flames. The smirk on her face said otherwise. To her, it was the perfect blank canvas on which to work. But first, she had to finish what was unfinished.
She turned around, walked over to the edge of the stone bridge, and looked down into the abyss. Her eyes flickered, her ears pricked, and she knew. "How satisfying." She thought. She stepped over the edge and dropped like a stone into the darkness. As if ordered, the water rolled over the edge and crashed down with her.
He heard the roar of the water crashing and assaulting his senses. Growing nearer with each passing moment. He jammed his fingers into the stone, pulling himself closer to the wall. The weight of water, an unstoppable tide, struggled to yank him away and drive him to the bottom. And then it hit him, Like the proverbial ton of bricks. Only greater. And he lost his grip and fell.
Grommok hit the turbulent waters and sank, staring into the blackness, rushing water, the rising bubble of turbulence, and the sudden slam of the bottom on his back. And he swore he could hear something anciently familiar in the laughter mixing the swirls of water and chaos. He raised his head and knew who it was.
The water crackled with dark energy as she drew near. Her form shifted, no longer translucent but morphing into a formidable eel-like water dragon, with obsidian eyes surging towards him, her form slicing through the water like a blade. She was boring down on him. Grommok knew this would not be a casual conversation.
"I won't let you harm her," she hissed, a whisper carrying the weight of a thousand tides.
He smirked, his mouth curling into a sinister grin. "Do you think you can hide her forever, dragon? "beginning to crouch. His amber eyes blazed with a ferocity born of a new hatred. The creases of his stone-like skin deepened, revealing the dark path his resolve had taken.
She slowed, her long body coiled, ready to strike. But the water swirled and bubbled around her, and she vanished. The disturbance faded, and in her place was a majestic being, part human, part water creature. Her upper torso was human-like, with large, intense eyes and hair swayed in long tendrils. Webbing connected her arms and torso, and her fingers tips bore sharp claws. And her lower body transformed into a sleek, scaly body with fins traced along her exquisite shape until they reached the tip of her majestic tail. In a graceful flourish, her fingers moved in a circular motion. The water reacted with awe-inspiring changes. The water now roiled with frigid power, responding to her command.
"And why would you…even care?" Grommok's voice echoed with bitterness. He moved towards the unyielding stone wall and jammed his hand into the rough surface. His ascent was slow, but the determination in his angry eyes, unwavering. He sneered, his mind consumed by one thought. One thought only, the dark desire for vengeance.
"she is not like us!" he said, grunting with each pull, his voice becoming consumed with anger. "The daughter of the blood goddess." He spat, the water violently shimmering with his emotions. "we…have the same mother, you and I.." he raised his chin defiantly. "we are elementals. Earth and water." He chuckled with a touch of irony. "We can do no harm to one another, much like the rivers flowing over the earth."
"in time," she repeated, her voice as cold as the water swirling around them, "water eats away at the earth," her eyes narrowed further, telling of the underlying threats in her words.
He slowed, still looking over his shoulder, challenging her with a defiant expression "Until it hits pure stone…and then nothing," he retorted with a smirk. "even this abyss..do you remember it?" he taunted. "you sought refuge in the underground and slammed into it. Pure stone.." his voice rough like gravel. "how many miles did you run?" he snickered, his amusement tinged with malice. "how many? 'little scared dragon."
Their exchange crackled with tension, both elemental beings locked in a fierce verbal duel, their animosity towards each other visible like a storm brewing beneath the calm surface above. They had a dark history, Grommok and her. One filled with betrayal, resentment, and the undeniable truth of a shared heritage. And with the looks in their eyes, neither one feared the other.
Mizuchi's heart tightened upon hearing those words. The truth of a shared heritage clashing with the cruel path Grommok had chosen. "we may share a mother," she replied, her voice firm, "but we follow different paths," she retorted, "Your betrayal has only led you to this point on your path. What will you do now.. oh mighty slayer of your father?"
He slowed, closing his eyes, his face contorted in anger and pain. "what do you know of my father's death?" he asked. "he was weak and a coward. He chose his end, and he lost."
"he lost to me…" she said as if to remind him. "this place was once a beautiful marsh, gleaming with life, with its massive lake and trees towering high. But….."
"he joined Bahamuth in the great battle…" Grommok continued, pulling himself higher, fueled by his growing anger. "He sided with the winner…as he should have. Little loser dragon."
Mizuchi's eyes flashed with fury, her composure beginning to fray. "He sided with him because he had stolen his daughter. Who was under your protection? But you failed. Or should I say, you were a coward who willingly dropped to his knees and begged!" she shouted. The word reverberates through the water.
"shut up, bitch!" he growled. His patience coming to an end. "I will…" he paused, his thoughts caught between his seething rage and memories he couldn't erase.
"what will you do?" Mizuchi taunted, flicked her tail, and she moved forward. Closing the distance between them. Both were now nose to nose, eyes blazing, and a hard grin spread across her face. "Do you..know the song to move stone…or change rocks into fertile ground?" She relished the moment. "I know you don't know the ways of rock and stone…the ability to see…to sense what is happening…but your sister does."
Water swirled, and visible currents now rose around them, her eyes flickering and deadly. "Grendrok, the Shattered One…" she whispered, seeing the fear in his eyes and hearing his father's name for the first time in a very long time. "Imagine his fear of not knowing where his daughter was." She shook her head slowly, reminiscing about the past. "But I knew…yes, we fought, but it was honorable and fierce. He would give no ground. It wasn't until I was able to find her…the magic used to hide her was nothing more than child play." Her malicious grin grew wider. But it wasn't just her grin. She was getting bigger. "Your father never taught you how to sing to the rocks…but he taught your sister.." she said with a voice filled with arrogance, "How do you think I was able to break through pure earth and go deep into it and keep her safe."
Grommoks' eyes widened. Surprise and anger flickered across his face as Mizuchi exposed his family secrets. He faltered for a moment, struggling and searching his memories. Looking for any trace of memory of his father teaching his sister the songs of rock and stones. Knowing now, his father had taught her in secret. He clenched his jaw to regain his composure, refusing to show weakness.
"I don't need to know the ways of rock and stone," he sneered. "I am the lord of the stone trolls, and my power surpasses my dead father and feeble sister." He lied to himself.
Mizuchi's grin widened as she grew more imposing, confidence soaring with the surge of energy around her. The water rippled and surged, increasing her strength. A low humming vibrated around them. Hinting at an inevitable coming storm.
"your arrogance blinds you, Grommok," she taunted, voice edged with dangerous intent. "your feeble sister was smart enough to teach me the ancient arts of earth magic... With that knowledge, I was able to protect her and keep her hidden from your petty wrath, little pebble."
Grommok's stone face twisted in rage and disbelief. " Liar!" he spat. He could not accept that his sister had outmaneuvered him in a dance of survival.
In his ever-growing fury, He yanked his hands from the stone and balled them into a fist. Defiance burned in his eyes, his form rigid like the stone he was made of. And in that moment of turmoil, He dropped, hurtling toward the bottom of the abyss. The ground shook, and a cloud of muck and mud erupted and settled quickly around him.
"do I?!" Mizuchi's eyes glinted with mischief and malevolence. "ask yourself why you have never found her.. oh brave slayer of your father? She is safe. She saw you… your father wounded on the battlefield, but…he was singing, and the small stones rolled and became one with him…" her tone grew louder and darker, "but there you were.. the great betrayer…. and your loyal stone trolls? You slammed your stone ax into his head, killing him." She smirked, words like venomous daggers., "From behind..you didn't even challenge him. Then the others turned on his supporters."
The water currents swirled around as he stood at the bottom of the abyss and glared up at her. He held his right arm out from his side and summoned a large stone ax from the wall. He had it and tapped it menacingly on his palm. "I will find your Mikoto Misaka and destroy her and all her kind." He declared. "I will find my sister and force her to teach me, to build my armies, and I will…mark my words…I will destroy everything you hold dear, water dragon."
Mizuchi's eyes hardened, the water responding to her calm anger, surging in intensity. "Little pebble.." she said like a mother about to punish a rude child. " do you know what happens when a very cold piece of stone collides with a very hot river of lava?"
Her question hung in the water, the atmosphere changing with tension. The deep cold waters around them seemed to hold their breaths if possible. As if waiting for the answer to an enigmatic riddle.
Grommok furrowed his brow, his stone features contorting with uncertainty. As he faces Mizuchi's piercing gaze. The weight of her question wrestled within his mind. The water dragon's eyes bore into his, filled with calm anger that seemed to mirror the force of nature itself.
"I…I," Grommok stammered, his bravado collapsing under her formidable presence.
Mizuchi's voice was steady, carrying with it eons of wisdom and power…and basic science. "when a very cold piece of stone collides with a very hot river of lava," she said, her words deliberate and measured, "the stone is no match for the overwhelming heat. It cracks, shatters, and is consumed by the molten fury."
The water around the giant water dragon surged, swirling like a tempest. Mirroring the turbulence of her emotions. She loomed over Grommok. With her form larger and more imposing than ever. "you are a pebble in a raging river of icy water…. ice cold, barely above freezing." Mizuchi continued, her voice carrying a sense of finality. "And I have been singing this whole time…" her words lingered in the rippling of the waves as if an ancient melody resonated in the very depths of the abyss. "Something your sister has taught me." A tone of revelation filled her words.
In a swift and decisive motion, Mizuchi brought her massive tail down with a crushing force, shattering the ground at Grommok's feet. The once sturdy surface crumbled beneath him. The abyss's darkness quickly gave way to horrific reds, oranges of the lava flowing in the cavern below. The cold water dropped, and he plummeted.
As he dropped, the violent hiss of water striking the surface and quickly evaporating and rising surged around him. The chaotic rush of water drowned the sound of his enraged howl. He twisted and turned, unable to call out to the heated stone cavern to grant him safety. The heat grew with each moment. His body cracked and shattered into dust before falling onto the hot surface of the lava flowing below.
His head was last, his eyes and mouth wide in terror. A silent scream, lost in the chaos of destruction, and then he slammed into the liquid heat and disappeared, becoming one again with the stone.
She watched her half-brother, without a shred of remorse, as the last of the lord of the stone trolls slipped underneath the surface of the burning lava. As if a mother tidying up a messy room. Mizuchi tapped the ground with her tail, and the bottom slowly closed, sealing the fissure.