A/N: EDIT: not a lot of feedback for this chapter, that's a real spirit breaker...T_T
Double update day is a go! This, and No Strings On Me!
Dark wrote this chapter, be sure to thank him. Looking forward to your feedback!
Short chapter this time. I'm not pushing myself this week, lest I have another anxiety attack.
The spree begins. It was torture waiting this long. Seems I was right to pause and wait for the DLC after all. Now we can continue.
Just wanted to say, I appreciate you all! More feedback means faster updates! It's especially important, in these, trying times, with the main site notifications down. Every word counts and i appreciate you all! All these reviews really keep me inspired! Looking forward to hearing from you~!
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me.
I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.
Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.
In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!
SPOILERS FOR SHADOWS OF THE ERDTREE AHEAD!
"I HEREBY VOOOOOOW!"
~Dragons.
Shall We Go?
SHING!
The sound was sharp, resonant, and final, like the slicing of fate itself.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The scream followed—a raw, guttural bellow of pain, primal and unrestrained. The man crumpled to the scorched earth, his weapons clattering down beside him. The greatbow, its obsidian limbs carved with sigils of forgotten gods, slipped from his trembling fingers. His legs—no, his stumps now—smoked where they had been severed, the acrid stench of burning flesh curling into the night air.
"Bayle! Vile Bayle!"
The cry was hoarse, choked with pain and defiance, as the man clawed at the ground with bloodied hands. Every muscle strained as he dragged his ruined body toward the bow, inch by agonizing inch. His face, streaked with dirt and tears, twisted in a grotesque mask of determination.
Bayle, the dragon, loomed above him—a titan of shadow and flame. Scales the color of charred iron rippled across its hulking form, each one jagged like shattered glass. Eyes like molten gold glowed in the gloom, bright with malevolent amusement.
"I'm not done with you!" the man howled, spitting blood onto the ground as he pulled himself forward. "With every bone and flesh you carve out, I will not stop fighting! Even if you tear my heart out!"
Hah.
The dragon's laughter rumbled deep in its throat, a sound like distant thunder. It wasn't loud—Bayle didn't need to roar to command terror—but it carried weight, as though the earth itself shivered in response.
The mortal was fascinating. Perfect, even. A man too angry to die, his defiance burning brighter than his blood loss. He had seen others like this, of course. They always thought themselves different, special—until they broke.
Because they always broke.
Bayle shifted its massive bulk, claws clicking against the blackened stones as it stalked forward. Each step was measured, deliberate.
The man, sensing the shadow closing over him, froze for the briefest moment. Then, with a ragged breath, he clawed harder, faster, the tips of his fingers cracking open against the jagged ground.
The bow was so close.
"Will you beg, mortal?" Bayle's voice was a low, gravelly growl, each syllable rolling out like the tolling of a bell. "Or are you too proud for that?"
"I'll see you dead before I beg," the man spat, blood flecking his lips. His eyes, pale as winter frost, locked onto Bayle's golden ones with a hatred that could burn through the heavens.
"Good," Bayle purred, its grin widening to reveal fangs as long as a man's forearm. "The proud taste sweeter when they finally break."
With one swift motion, Bayle's talon slammed down, pinning the man's remaining thigh to the ground. The wet crunch of bone and muscle reverberated in the stillness. The man screamed again, louder this time, but his hands still scrabbled forward. His fingers brushed the bow's grip.
The idea had been simmering for weeks, planted in his mind by one of his drakes that these mortals devour the dragons heart in order to gain more power, becoming a semi dragon as themselves.
Mortals. Devouring dragon hearts. Becoming semi-dragons.
He had scoffed at first. It was impossible, unnatural. Humans were vermin, soft and weak, driven by fleeting lives and meaningless passions. What right did they have to touch the sacred fire of dragonkind? And yet, the drake's words had burrowed into his mind, festering like a thorn in his flesh.
The proof was undeniable. The battlefield bore its scars—mortals twisted by dragon blood, their skin hardening to scales, their breath igniting into flame. These creatures, these half-breeds, had slaughtered dragons in return.
It was an insult.
And yet...
Bayle's golden eyes gleamed in the dark. If those dragons could make these mongrels into their kin, then why couldn't he?
The idea grew hotter, brighter, until it burned like the fire in his belly. Mortals had their uses—tools to wield, pawns to sacrifice. But the right mortal, molded and bound by his power... that could be something far more.
Not a pawn. Not a tool.
A weapon.
Bayle's grin widened, jagged and predatory.
With a deep growl, Bayle leaned closer and bit into his own forearm. Black blood, thick and smoking, oozed from the wound, pooling in the dirt. Its scent was intoxicating, rich with the promise of strength and destruction.
"Drink, little mortal," Bayle whispered, his voice thick with both mockery and something darker—expectation. "You swore you'd return from the abyss. Now's your chance."
With a flick of his talon, he tore open the man's chest, exposing the shriveled remnants of his heart. It was still faintly beating—a feeble, dying rhythm.
"GAAAAAHHHHH!"
Bayle grinned. "Good. You're not done yet."
He dipped a claw into his own blood, coating it in the smoldering ichor, and pressed it against the man's heart. The reaction was immediate. The corpse convulsed, its limbs spasming as though possessed. Smoke poured from its mouth and eyes, and a sound—a low, guttural growl—rose from its throat.
"O TERROR INCARNATE!" the man roared, his voice a fractured symphony of pain and rage. It carried an unnatural resonance, layered with something that wasn't entirely his own. "THERE IS LIFE IN ME YET! I WILL SOON FEAST UPON YOUR HEART! MARK MY WORDS—YOU TOO SHALL KNOW FEAR! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Such a noisy little mortal.
Would he ever shut up?
(.0.0.0.)
"Have you gone mad, Fortissax?!"
Lanessax hollered her fury at the black dragon, wings flared furiously as she stared her kin down.
"The boy has potential." Fortissax spoke to the other dragons as they lay down on the grounds of Farum Azula. "He has not only gained one Great Rune but two as well. Perhaps even three with what Naruto has told us in his encounter with Malenia. He has proven enough."
"And for what? To send him to die? The Volcano Manor is no place for a fledgling, Fortissax. I am not sending my son to Rykard! That foul place is not only filled with monsters beyond our comparison but also the primordial serpent! Even you know that thing can devour dragons! It has devoured both of our ilk, twice!" When her brother made to speak, she shifted into her human form and snarled him into silence. "Godwyn sealed that thing for a reason and you want to send Naruto to where Rykard is? He might encounter that thing!"
The other dragons murmured, their voices low and uncertain. They knew the truth of her words; the Primordial Serpent was no ordinary foe. It was a creature born of the deepest pits, a being that defied the natural order, devouring all who dared to challenge it. Even Placidusax, the Lord of the Dragons, had been careful to avoid confrontation with the beast.
Placidusax, silent until now, shifted his great bulk at last; his presence alone was enough to silence the murmurs of the gathered dragons.
"Lanessax," his tone proved measured but firm, "your fears are not without merit. The Primordial Serpent is a danger to us all, and the Volcano Manor a place of chaos and corruption. Yet Fortissax speaks truth as well. The boy has achieved what many thought impossible. He wields the power of the Great Runes, a strength that could rival even the demigods themselves."
Lanessax's tail lashed the ground, sending shards of stone flying. "Strength? Strength means nothing if he is devoured before he can even use it! You speak of him as if he were one of us, but he is not. He is mortal, fragile. His victories mean nothing to a creature like the Primordial Serpent. It will only take a single mistake for him to perish...!
Fortissax took a step forward, his massive claws scraping against the stone. "You underestimate him, Lanessax. He is not just mortal; he is more. He is of our blood, of your blood. His victories are not mere chance. He has fought, bled, and endured more than any mortal should. And he has come through stronger for it."
Lanessax snarled, her breath hot and acrid. "Stronger? Is that what you call it? You would gamble on my boy's life on the hope that he is 'strong enough'? You would send him into the jaws of death and call it a test?"
"It is not a test," Fortissax said, his voice sharp now, like the crack of a whip. "It is a necessity. Rykard grows stronger with each passing day. His madness spreads, and the corruption of the manor threatens to consume the lands beyond. If we do nothing, we risk losing everything. The boy may be our only hope."
Placidusax laid a clawed hand on her shoulder. "Have faith, Tomoe and Florissax will be with him, and if the worse comes to pass, I will personally get involve myself. You have my word."
She very nearly shook him off, but thought better of it. At length she sniffed, indignant. "And what of that meddling maiden?"
"Melina? Rest assured the girl is being watched. She will remain here while our ward attends to Rykard.
She nodded, mollified by his words. "Very well, but I will be watching her as well!"
There really was nothing else for it, was there?
In the end, they could only watch and wait.
Have faith.
(.0.0.0.)
Naruto wasn't accustomed to all this attention.
Tomoe, yes, she'd been with him for awhile; he'd learned to predict her methods, if not her mannerisms.
Melina he could understand; if only because he knew what the meddling maiden wanted; the aid of the Dragons -and by definition him- so that she might better approach the Erdtree. Why, he didn't know, but she didn't appear to be an enemy at the moment. All to the good, that. He could at least extrapolate what she would do, more or less. She wasn't best pleased at being confined to the Farum Azula, but the none of the dragons held even the smallest smidgen of trust in her as of yet.
That girl...was frankly more difficult to read; she wanted them to seek out the Great Runes, but with the Dragons watching her like a hawk, she could hardly commence her plans.
Again, he couldn't blame them, but he could understand.
Florissax?
Nope. Nuh-uh.
Completely, wholly unpredictable!
His new attendant was very...he didn't want to say clingy, because she wasn't. She just liked to touch. Yes, that was the word. Always touch, touch, touching; and if she wasn't touching, she was talking, downright fawning over him.
She wasn't even being malicious about it, nor was she trying to anger Tomoe; she genuinely seemed to enjoyed being around him; much to his chagrin. He simply wasn't used to all
Case in point, he felt her hand brush his even now while they walked and sure enough, her bright golden eyes were gazing upon him. "Lost in your head again, young master?"
Tomoe pouted. "That's my line! And keep your hussy hands off him!"
An innocent blink was his reward. "What on earth is a hussy?"
"WHY YOU...?!"
He let the two of them quarrel in hushed voices - already his thoughts turned inward as they traipsed through the ruined landscape. The dragons had teleported them as close to the manor as they dared without drawing undue attention; but it fell to them to navigate their way to the main manor.
In short? Walking. Much walking. Very much the walking.
Stealth probably wasn't possible with Tomoe raising her voice like that, so he didn't even bother to conceal his here;
He hoped Malenia was doing well out there, wherever she was. She'd seemed content enough to let bygones be bygones with Radahn when they'd left; as though he'd lifted a spell of some sort from her and besides she HAD promised to give her Great Rune away to him when next they met.
If they met, provided her survived this.
He had an inkling of what was to come with Rykard, but he wasn't wholly looking forward to it. Granted, he'd forced Radahn and Malenia to the table, made them behave and talk out their differences-all to the good, that- but something told him there would be no such parlaying here. From what little he'd learned of him, he didn't think he'd be able to convince Rykard to offer up his Great Rune without a fight. Least of all his recusants to stand down in defense of their master.
Should that sadden him? It did, a little. He didn't enjoy killing; didn't take any real pleasure in, even with the rage was upon him.
Nothing for it, he supposed. Praetor Rykard had clearly lost his mind; if he wouldn't hand over his Great Rune, then-
Tomoe hissed suddenly, recapturing his attention. "We're not alone."
Naruto raised his head, so too rising from the muddy mire of his thoughts.
Florissax tugged at his sleeve and silently indicated a nearby rocky outrcropping.
She was right; someone awaited them on the cliff-side, crouched low overlooking the main manse, back to them, yet nevertheless half hidden behind a broken boulder as they peered down at the creatures guarding the gate. He spied a flash of long red hair and bristled, first in confusion, then realization.
Was that...?
As though sensing the weight of his regard, they pivoted to face him.
"Ah, there you are." the newcomer rose in a single fluid motion. "I've been waiting for some time."
"Malenia...?"
For it was indeed the scarlet valkyrie herself, devoid of her signature armor.
Clad in a battered crimson tunic over which she'd thrown a white shawl, the latter of which flowed down and around a long skirt, granting a glimpse of her false legs, she was almost unrecognizable, as was the strange sack of rough cloth slung over her shoulder. She'd also cast aside her helmet since he'd seen her last, revealing piercing golden eyes and a most inquisitive expression focused solely upon him.
Huh. She looked...younger without her armor.
Still terribly tall, but not quite the towering terror he remembered, more at peace than she'd been since he had seen her last, and all the healthier for it.
She saw him looking and smiled, a small subtle thing that made his heart race.
"Here." she held out her hand to him, revealing a glittering item within. "My Great Rune, as promised. I no longer have need of it."
He accepted it numbly, and nodded, humbled by her behavior. "Thanks...
"There's no need. I gave my word." Abruptly, she stepped in and linked her metal arm in his, hand to hand, nearly bringing them cheek to cheek. "Shall we go?"
"Go?" he sputtered in confusion, mind fizzling out spectacularly in the face of her advances. "Where are we going, again?"
Her cheeks dimpled, her smile more genuine now. "To the Manor, of course. I've been meaning to pay Rykard a visit."
Naruto looked left, Naruto looked right, Naruto found no aid in sight; Florissax preened happily beside him, oblivious to the byplay. He'd find no help there. Tomoe was absolutely seething but even she didn't dare attack in the face of the Empyrean's amiable smile.
Didn't stop her from glaring, though. "You've shrunk since we saw you last, redhead."
Florissax tilted her head. "You used to be taller?"
"Ohohoho, yes she was...
If she was at all bothered by the bait, Malenia didn't show it. "I cast aside something I no longer had any use for."
The green dragoness crossed both arms before her bosom. "And what, pray tell, might that be?"
"I'll gladly explain on the way. Let us be off, then."
"Now wait just a second-hey!"
In short order, Naruto found himself dragged away by demigoddess.
Behind him, Tomoe whined and stomped after them.
"Not another one...!"
A/N: Malenia returns~!
Hope this brought a smile to your face~!
Well? Should this remain a story? Yay or nay? Your feedback matters! That's no joke. Reviews keep me writing.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular story, and others. If folks don't like this, it will remain, but won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular...well, I'll not be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs -taking on a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews, which are mostly the same.
We're keeping it light this time to avoid spoilers.
But just in case! SPOILERS AHOY!
(Previews)
"LET ME OUT!"
"No." Naruto palmed his face. "Not yet."
"You're mad! I won't allow it!"
...wasn't askin', Tomoe...
She grabbed him by the face and kissed him.
"TOGETHA!"
"Hey, is it blasphemy if I let the fox eat the snake...? He's getting hungry.
Rykard whimpered.
Lansseax tittered. "She is smitten. How amusing."
"How can you tell?"
She preened. "A mother always knows!
EDIT: Hey, you made it!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself ain't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs -taking on a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work!
Hope you all have a great day~!
R ~!