A/N: Here we are, Another speedy update! Less than a week! Wooo!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story...and others.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs with ever increasing hours 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.
Two jobs keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
Now for thine questions, comments, and concerns. Bit longer this time.
Q: Could you do this cronsovers, please, it kills my curiosity to know what would happen in this Naruto and Tomie Junji ito crons, I know that you can do an hour of art, please, Neozangetsu, please, I ask you from my heart, do that cronsover or answer me Please.
A: I think I understood that?
Sorry, but I can't. I've enough crossovers on my plate. Furthermore, as a rule I won't write stuff like Junji Ito or Uzumaki. It scares me. Looked into 'em and they gave me nightmares and the shakes.
Q: You still updating your other stuff? Are you taking comissions?
A: Yup~! Longer chapters need more time in the oven so to speak. Again, I can update Elden Ring faster because I've got someone helping me. Whereas RWBY, Arcane, Demon Slayer, Rise of the Shield Hero and the other genres are essentially me and me alone, writing by my lonesome. Doesn't help that I lost a lot of my notes in a fire at the end of last year, so I'm having to write drafts back up from scratch.
Comissions...I don't really do those. I've had folks offering me money to write certain things...its hard to resist.
Q: Made a minor mistake with the dragons there, lad. Greyroll isn't the Mother of all of them...just an awful lot.
A: I found that out later, and it shames me so! Still, we can roll with it. Have mercy! She does have a fair few kids/descendants, most of whom we stumble upon; Agheel and Greyll, both fire dragons, the Glintstone Dragon Smarag, Decaying Ekzykes, Borealis, the Freezing Fog, and finally, Glintstole Dragon Adula.
Q: Radahn! Radahn! RADAHN! You'd better not ignore him!
A: Oi, stop that. He'll get his due soon. Demigods aren't pushovers. One to one, most of them can give a hard fight, and that's when they're shells of their former selves. I shudder to think what monsters like Melania and Morgott must've been like in their prime, to say nothing of Rykard and Radahn.
Q: How long do you intend to laze about in Caelid?
A: To clarify, Naruto spammed a metric ton of clones in Caelid to try and combat the insanity going on there. Problem is, Caelid's a poisonous mess. He's losing them faster than he can make them, which in turn cause him to make more. Ergo, all their memories and experience come rushing back to him.
Result! Feedback loop! Our boy's tuckered out.
Q: Please don't rush this. Every character deserves their due.
A: I won't blaze through don't worry. There's a lot of ground to cover. Cambrian's given me some...ideas.
Basically, everyone will have their moment in the spotlight. You know its a good FromSoftware game when you come to care for just about every character you stumble into. Except the loathsome dung eater. Screw that guy. I opened his cell and killed him immediately. Nasty bastard. Still refuse to do his quest.
Alright then, this old man has kept you long enough! I'll let you enjoy this sappy little story.
As ever, I own no quotes references, themes or memes. Not a wit or a one!
Now then, I'll not keep you. Get ready to smile~!
Minor verbatim for ingame dialogue.
"You are a good man, Rotqueller. I do not deny this. But this land has been the ruin of many good men.
Godwyn the Golden. General Radahn. Miquella the Unalloyed. Know you these names? Demigods all they were, each fair of heart and kind of soul. Each of them thought to change the world. Each of them raged against what they saw as injustice. Now they all suffer a fate worse than destined death.
What will yours be, I wonder...?
~A Dragon.
Looking to the Future
"Dose she still slumber?"
"Looks like it. Lemme check...
At Greyroll's prodding Naruto crept over to Milicent where she lay against Torrent's saddlebags. She dozed on, blissfully unaware of his presence. He pressed a finger into the slumbering woman's pale cheek. The redhead made a tiny noise of protest and batted ineffectually at his hand to no avail. On a whim he jabbed her again, to which she wrinkled her nose, with a whine, but didn't wake. Adorable. The thought didn't feel odd to him in the least. She looked more at peace now than she'd ever been.
Good for her. She deserved some rest.
If Torrent at all minded the extra weight, he wasn't complaining. Quite the contrary. He seemed rather content to canter about at a leisurely peace behind them; well away from the monsters of Caelid. A few sweet raisins had done wonders to settle his nerves admits the giant beasts and he'd been sure to ply Melina's friend with them since. It was the least he could do. he didn't know the first thing about horseback riding, but that was no reason not to make use of Torrent, no?
"Good boy." he murmured, stroking the horned horse's head. "You're doing great. Lemme know if she wakes up, eh?"
His faithful steed nosed his hand and snorted once.
Naruto beamed. "I'll take that as a yes~!"
Greyroll made an irritated noise. She'd been sullen ever since he put her in the corner. "Do all humans sleep this long?"
"They do when they're exhausted." he glanced her way with a quelling look. "Be nice. She's been out for an entire day now, the poor thing. Probably gonna be starving when she wakes up...
That was putting it lightly. He'd managed to burn most of the "Rot" as Milicent called it, out her system. What traces remained wouldn't do her any lasting harm so long as he kept an eye on her. If her condition worsened again, he'd just have to repeat the process.
'Right,' a cheeky little voice muttered in the back of his head, 'The process. Lets call it that. Definitely didn't do anything lewd.'
Her flushed face as she writhed in his lap, back arching, tiny cries escaping her lips-gah! Don't go there!
Unbidden, his gaze sought Greyroll once more. You've been awfully quiet since yesterday...
She looked away, folding both arms before her bosom. "I have nothing to say."
"Not gonna call me a letch again?"
Her shoulders twitched. "No."
"Not even a knave?"
"Nay."
"You really that afraid of me?" He wriggled his fingers at her as Jiraiya had once done to him long ago. "Or maybe its my hands?"
She bared her fangs in turn. "Keep thy plams to thine self! I need no healing!"
Ohhh. That was it. He bit down on the laughter that threatened to bubbl eup. "It was a just a joke, oi...
An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two of them as they trudged deeper into the depths. No soldiers barred their path. No monsters emerged to devour them whole. It was almost enough to make a man hope, it was. But he knew better. He hadn't cleared out Caelid; he'd only beaten back the tide. The Rot would return and birth more abominations. He'd fight them all with his clones.
But how did one cure the land? For all his strength and skill, Naruto didn't know how.
Healing a person was one thing, but this was half a continent. Milicent's rot had fought him every step of the way. Doing the same with the land itself...
"Why did you do it?"
"Hmm?" he blinked, nonplussed at Greyroll's sudden inquiry. "Didn't quite catch that."
"You went to such lengths to help her, a perfect stranger." those cat-like eyes glared at him beneath her bangs. "You even risked infection with her Rot."
Naruto stood his ground and set his jaw, not liking her tone. "What of it?"
Her eyes flashed. "I would know why, Rotqueller."
That got a blink out of him. "Rot-what-now?"
"Rotqueller." the mother of dragons repeated plainly. "In my tongue it would mean, he who quells the Rot. Once I could have dismissed as a fluke, but twice?" She sniffed. "You have a gift. That girl didn't have much time left. Her organs were breaking down. If not for thee, she'd be a puddle of Scarlet Rot by now."
A shiver stole over him. Had he really cut it that close?. "I don't need a reason to help people."
Her slitted eyes narrowed. "You have no ulterior motives? None at all? You could leverage your aid over the female, make her your concubine. Your slave. She seems the sort to honor her debts, to the exclusion of all else. Most would use that against her-
"Why would I do that?"
Slim shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "It is the way of these lands. Always has been."
Naruto clicked his tongue and swallowed his gorge. "If you need a reason to help someone who's hurting, there's something wrong with ya."
"You're a noble sort. Like that General. Admirable...but misguided." her gazed flitted out to a castle in the distance, and the dunes of sand beyond. "This world will eat you alive if you let it. Best harden yourself while you can, before its too late."
He grinned right back, all steely determination. "It can try."
"It will not try. It will succeed." She yanked on Torrent's reins and the somberness of her tone stuck with him. "The Lands Between has seen the death of many men like you." as he looked on she began to count off the fingers of a pale hand. "Godwyn the Golden. General Radahn. Miquella the Unalloyed. Demigods all, greater than thee to be sure, and where did they end up?" she snapped her fingers. "Dead, ruined, vanished to parts unknown. But you...
Her eyes held his over the fire. Paused. Considered. "Who are you really?"
Naruto didn't like those eyes. They saw too much.
"Just a normal guy."
"Nay, I think not, because you are not." She tilted her head to regard him further. Sniffed once. Frowned. "You aren't from these lands." Another quick inhalation, tasting the air, or perhaps his scent. Naruto wasn't sure he liked either notion. "There. I thought as much." her lips pursed into a thin line. "Thou art a demigod, then. I should have known. The arrogance of thy kind knows no bounds."
Those words stung from some reason, like the buzzing of a dozen flies.
Him? A god? Just the thought of it made him feel sour. He wasn't a god. Not by a long shot, no, anything but that. He had scraped and spat and snarled for everything he had. His strength was the product of hard work an' little else. Besides, what kind of god let people like Neji and Obito die? If he were truly a god, he could have saved everyone in the Fourth Shinobi War. But hadn't, had he?
"No." he shook his head slowly, bangs swaying. "I'm no god."
"You are a demigod." Greyroll's level gaze met his own across the flames. No hint of that flustered dragon here; her calm was ice cold, colder than one of Haku's jutsu. "Not one of Marika's or Radagon's whelps, but a demigod nonetheless. I can see it now. Thou art descended from one, thy blood diluted perhaps, but no less potent. You hold the spark of divinity within you. Thy kind comes from greatness.
...is she talking about Asura? Or old man sage?"
"Could be." Kurama creaked on eye open within his mind. "We know you're a distant descendant of them. Technically speaking, given your feats...
"No, no, no! Don't you dare!"
...you could be considered a Demigod, too. Sorry, kid. Truth's the truth."
Truth, he said. Naruto scoffed; truth was in the eye of the beholder. He was no Demigod. In his mind, he never would be.
"Yet for all your strength," Greyroll went on in spite of his sulking, "You cannot save everyone. Let alone this rotten land. The rot you see before you hails from a Goddess, not unlike Marika. She will not be so easily bested."
"Doesn't mean I won't try. Somebody's gotta stop it.
"Queen Marika, perhaps." another shrug was his reward. "She hasn't been seen for an age. She's likely dead." her mouth curled in a bit of draconic derision. "Or perhaps she fled these lands once they fell to ruin. Those of the Numen line have ever been cowards and cravens. She and her children -with few exceptions!- had proven themselves the same.
The ring on Naruto's finger pricked him most painfully. Ow! Blasted thing...
"You say that like you know, ya know."
"Come, let us speak of the past awhile." Folding both legs beneath her, Greyroll did just that, forcing him to do the same or leave her behind. "What do you know of this land's history?"
His brow furrowed. "...less than I should."
"Understandable." A pale hand pushed a ringlet of pair hair from her eyes. "You are not from this realm." she turned head toward the ruined remnants of a tree and spat, setting it ablaze to provide them some meager warmth. "Allow me to summarize for your sake, then." those bewitching orbs swung back to him, held him, as her voice dipped lower. "In the time before the Elden Ring and the Erdtree, t'was a different age. An age of Giants. Of Beasts. Of Dragons...
"..."
He listened, rapt with attention as Greyroll wove her tale.
"Then came Marika and and her precious Golden Order." Venom crept into the story, tainting it. "They usurped Lord Placidusax, drove the dragons away, and slew the giants. And for what?" she turned her head and spat. "Look what has become of them now? Such is the folly of mankind."
Right, because she wasn't biased about this at aaall. "You feel strongly about this, huh?"
"Placidusax was -is!- akin to my ancestor." she pulled a face. "In your terms, he would be my great-great-great grandfather. Under his reign, the Age of Dragons was a blessed one. I remember it well. A time where strength ruled, where Death was not fettered by small-minded souls." a rare bite of longing gnawed at her words, her gaze gone wistful as she turned an eye to the sky. "Might made right in those days. None of this endless dickering about that thy kind seem to favor so. You would have fared well in such an Age."
"Maybe." Naruto found he disagreed. "You're saying the strong ruled, but what happened to the weak?"
The silence proved telling. Almost damnably so.
...doesn't sound like an era I'd enjoy."
"Fair." Concern flashed across her face as she mistook his tone for something else. "You are tired. I did not intent to keep you." she stood sharply, stiffly, stretching her limbs. Enough of my strength has returned," and he knew the lie at once, "We shall go our separate ways tomorrow."
"So soon?"
"Indeed." was that a flicker of hesitation he felt just now? Surely it was his imagination. "I have responsibilities to which I must attend...
Naruto blew out a sigh. He'd thought he would've been happy to be rid of this grumpy dragon girl. Not long ago, he might have. But he'd seen a different side of her. It was starting to grow on him. She might be wild and flighty, but there was wisdom beneath the anger and arrogance, a tired soul that he couldn't help but empathize with. Now if only she'd stop being so damn grumpy.
His sixth sense shrilled a warning as something approached their campfire.
"Hey, ah, boss?" a familiar voice -one of his clones?- called out to him as the figure stepped into view. "We miiiiight have a problem."
"Skreeeee!"
A piercing screech split the air from the main road.
Naruto craned his neck back. ...do I want to know what that was?"
Greyroll's head whipped around, eyes wide as dinner plates. "That can't be!"
Milicent whimpered wordlessly in her deep sleep. It almost sounded like an apology.
(.0.0.0.)
Rot.
His wings ached.
His scales screamed.
Even his very breath was fouled.
He had only one recourse for his torment. And so he screamed.
(.0.0.0.)
"My baby!"
"How is that a child?!"
It was another dragon, of course.
Naruto nearly did a double take as he beheld the braying beast in the distance. Even from here he could see the dragon wasn't well. Patches of ghastly white limned its already pale body, further blighting what he could only assume was scarlet rot. Far smaller than Greyroll's to be sure, but no less dangerous. As he looked on it shrieked at a twisted dog that had come too close to its hideaway. The hound vanished in a cloud of Rot and succumbed instantly. What remained was snapped up by the dragon's jaws and devoured posthaste.
Kurama made a squelching noise. "Well, that's unsanitary...
Naruto's clone scratched the back of its head. "We kinda stumbled onto him and woke him up. He's been rampaging ever since...
Rampage was a tame word. The dragon was biting rocks, now.
Greyroll had a far less pleasant reaction.
"That is...Ekyzkes." she explained hastily as they gazed upon the rotten creature. "One of mine children. The youngest." a naked longing lurked n her voice. "I did not know he suffered so...!" Her eyes all but snapped to his. "You," she swallowed on her pride, nearly choked on it, then mastered herself. "You will help him, won't you, Rotqueller? That's what you do. Help people."
Naruto's brow rocketed into his hair.
My, my. How quickly the tables had turned.
Was it wrong that he felt just a little smug, now? Just a bit?
"Thought you didn't want me doing that." he planted his feet. "You just said so."
"I...!" Greyroll whined and took a moment to comport herself. "He is my kin. He suffers. Surely you won't leave him like this!"
A golden eyebrow climbed higher. She squirmed like a naughty child under his gaze.
...you sure that's a he?" leave it to the clone to speak his mind. "Don't think the boss can handle many more dragon girls, not if they're anything like you...
Greyroll smacked the clone in the stomach and dispelled it.
"He cannot change his shape!" she slashed clawed fingers through the smoke as the haz faded. "Such is a skill gained over a great many years, years he doesn't have; will not have, if you don't do something!"
...Kurama?'
"Don't look at me. If you want to wrestle with a dragon, that's your business."
"Help my son. I beg of thee." Before he cold think to stop her, Greyroll prostrated herself before him, physically kneeling and all but pressing her face into the rot-ruined earth. "I'll give you whatever you want! Mine mind! My body! Please! I'll bear your children! Whatever you desire!"
"Oi! You're taking this way too far! Get up! C'mon, up! Stand up damnit! You're embarrassing me!"
Greyroll didn't budge. Not an inch. She only made a pitiful noise. It sounded like a sob.
How could he ignore emotions like that?! She was just too damn honest!
"I was already gonna help, jeez! Don't beg...
Naruto stalked down the rise.
(.0.0.0.)
Ekyzkes whirled as a shadow fell over his bulk.
Rotted though he was, the dragon's instincts remained.
Intruder! Trespasser! Rip and Tear! Bit and scream! Kill and kill and...!
.
..
...
Maddened eyes looked up. Gazed into the peerless golden slits of a furious fox.
"Be a good boy and hold still...or else."
The dragon whimpered.
(.0.0.0.)
Melina found them the next morning.
Naruto sensed the Maiden before he saw her; felt her coming as he picked at the dying embers of their campsite. In truth, he was amazed it had taken her this long at all. He'd half-expected Melina to hunt him down like a stag, drag his sorry hide back to the Roundtable, and give him a telling off besides. But no-this time her arrival proved a silent one, wholly absent of the previous pomp and circumstance she'd used to get his attention that fateful day.
"Hey." he pushed himself up off his haunches, dusted off his tattered trousers, and turned to face her. "Long time no see."
A suit of armor smacked into his chest.
Naruto caught it with both hands, then frowned once he realized exactly what he was holding. He, recognizing the draconic scales at once; they were the same color as the carcass he'd hauled to the Roundtable only a few days ago. Light armor, drake scale, a bright burgundy shade fitted with amber pauldrons and greaves tapering off into intricate metalwork he had no hope of describing.
And so he didn't bother. Never in his life had he worn armor, but this...he didn't have words.
"Master Hewg finished it just this morning." he knew at once by her words that Melina was terribly cross with him; or maybe that was her index finger currently digging into his ribcage. "I'll not have you wandering about the Lands Between looking like some wastrel."
Kurama offered a low whistle. "If this is what he can do with subpar materials...well. I wonder what else he's capable of.
Naruto cradled his prize close to his chest. "That your way of saying you missed me?"
Melina's face closed down at once. "No."
Her emotions said otherwise.
"Aww, you did miss me!-owowow!" his laughter piqued into a yelp when she kicked his shin. "Alright, alright! Thanks for the armor. I'll give Hewg my regards when I get back."
Naruto let it be, but paused just short of donning it. A quick glance confirmed no one save Melina was looking his way. Not yet. That could soon change. Greyroll might not appreciate him wearing armor like this. Could be one of her kids. She might even take offense. It wouldn't stop him of course, but still...
"'Tis all one and the same to me." he heard her voice rise near the fire. "That armor is yours by right of conquest. Besides, that's not one of mine~!"
The blond released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Great! I'll put in on right away! Looks easy enough."
Melina made a garbled noise and looked away as he doffed his ruined clothing. Naruto kept an eye on her all the while. Her gaze traveled to Milicent's prone form, sprawled sleepily atop a crude bed fashioned from Torrent's saddlebags. Her eyes traveled yet further and alighted upon the restored Ekyzkes, slumbering peacefully not a yard away from the spectral steed itself. Her right eye began to twitch. By the time it settled upon Greyroll, gnawing happily on a haunch of meat, Melina looked like she was about to have a stroke.
"No shortage of companions, as ever." she clicked her tongue. "I don't know why I'm surprised. You truly are an odd sort."
"To be fair, I kinda stumbled into them...
"Truly?" she almost looked back, flushed, then thought better of it. "You have the devil's own luck, Tarnished."
"Nah." he stumbled, then stomped his way into a boot. The fit was perfect. Hewg knew his stuff. "I'm just a simple man, making my way in the world."
"That, or a fool."
Greyroll had held her tongue for the last minute or so, staring overlong at Melina. No longer.
"You overreach yourself, kindling maiden." Now she granted her a small, subtle smile. "Whatever would your mother say?"
Melina's face drained of all color. "How do you...?"
"My eyes see much." the mother of dragons made a show of digging a bit of dirt out her nails. "It is allowed to me by Lord Placidusax."
Naruto quirked a brow. There was something about that word. "Kindling?"
Melina pivoted so quickly she damn near blurred. "N-Nothing to concern yourself with!"
Why was she panicking? Something had her spooked, but what? "Dunno, sounds pretty important to me...
"Forget whatst thou heard!" her good eye flashed. "Forget!"
Had he heard those words somewhere before? She spoke just a bit took quickly for his liking; her voice breaking on the last word. He could have pressed her for details; pushed the envelope further. He was well within his rights; easily within his power, too. Melina could hardly stop him if he tried to wring answers out of her. And yet something in her pleading expression held him back. Pressing her now might lead to something he wouldn't be able to take back.
"Fine." with a weary sigh relented. "Look, if I worried, ya, I'm sorry." he laid a hand on his shoulder. "But I've got work to do here."
"I am aware. 'Tis why I have come." she pounced on his words, setting another alarm wailing in the back of his head. "There is a Great Rune nearby; a powerful one at that." stepping back but a little, she tugged herself from his grasp, but her eye never left his. Not once. "I thought you might wish to seek it."
Clever girl. Naruto perked up regardless. "Is that so?"
"Indeed." the maiden managed a smile. "T'would be better to have it in your possession, would it not?"
Alright, even he could see through Melina's machinations here. She was clearly trying to push him after this Radahn fellow; urging him onto another Great Rune. But why? What interest did she have in collecting them? It didn't make a lick of she intend to use them? No, there wasn't event the slightest hint of greed or avarice about her. She didn't seem to have any desire for such. So why...?
"Does it matter? Our goals align...for now."
Greyroll clicked her tongue, drawing him back to the present. "Do not try to manipulate him, kindling woman. It won't end well for you."
"I have no desire to manipulate him." Melina drew herself upright with a huff. "We have an accord. Nothing more."
"Enough. Speak plainly, or I will plainly separate thine head from thy shoulders."
Naruto coughed into a fist. "Well, that's one way to motivate her...
Melina ducked her head, swallowed once, then nodded.
When next she spoke her voice was terribly soft.
"The rune is held by General Radahn...
A/N: Here comes Radahn~! Or should I say the Radahn Battle Royale?
One of the best damn boss battles of my life. Wish I could relive it for the first time again.
Time, and the next chapter will tell his fate. A massive chunk of its gonna be dedicated to him; after all, he's by far my favorite demigod.
Well? Did you like this story? Yes? No? Maybe? Speak out! Make yourselves heard! Your voice matters~!
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story.
If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs during the holidays 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.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas....Review, Wouldst Thou Kindly?
And have some previews. Some are quite off, but still...
(Previews)
Milicent climbed to her feet. "I will aid you."
"You sure? You just woke up an' all-
"I. Will. Aid you."
Don't discard me, her expression seemed to say. Don't cast me aside. Let me be of use to you. Please. I can't bear it.
Pushy redheads.
"Fine, fine! But stay close. I mean it!"
Milicent ducked her head a litte and nodded. "As my Lord wills...
"Eh? Lord?" he poked himself in the chest. "Me?"
"Champions welcome! The stars have aligned! The festival is nigh! General Radahn, mightiest demigod of the shattering, awaits you! Champions prepare for battle! Defeat the General! Claim glory and grab that great rune! A celebration of war! The Radahn festival!"
Naruto blinked. "...that is a big dog.
"Half-Wolf, actually."
"He talks?!"
A familiar grunt was his only warning. Then she was upon him. "Trish! Don't even think about...
The tree sentinel picked him up again, checking him for wounds.
...hey! Not in front of my friends!"
"Stop spamming those arrows!"
"You cannot heal him." Melina appeared at his side in a shower of blue light as he dusted himself off. "He's rotted, inside and out. It won't work."
Wouldn't know until he tried. Time to put on an act to end all acts, something he hadn't done since he was a boy.
She saw the look in his eye. "Tarnished, no. Don't you dare. I will be terribly cross with you if-
"Too late."
"RADAHN!" Naruto stepped forward spread his arms wide, voice echoing across the wailing dunes. "I CAME HERE TO FACE A CHAMPION! I AM STILL WAITING!" Still grinning, he turned around, bent over, and slapped his flank. "Come and get me! Unless you're afraid~!"
A moment of awful silence followed. And then. The world shook with an answering roar.
Someone whistled behind him. "Big brass balls on this one...
Trish ducked behind her shield, ready to weather the storm. Radahn rounded on her with a roar...only for his blade to smack into an open palm. The mad demigod made a noise of confusion.
Greyroll grinned, exposing rows of razor sharp teeth in a wild leer.
"Come." Scales sprouted from her flesh. "Face a dragon."
Naruto swore softly as Radahn shuddered to a stop atop his tiny, aging mount. "What's he doing...?"
A low growl seemed to rattle the dunes, no, the very air itself.
Radahn was still snarling when he leaped into the air.
"Wait, where did he-IS THAT A METEOR?!"
...right, that settles it. I need a break from Caelid. Too much rot! I've got no idea how to deal with it! We'll have to come back here later."
A hand rose. "I believe Limgrave's nice this time of year."
"Works for me! Still got some business there...
Melina flung up her arms. Foolish tarnished. Still he was her tarnished. Where he went, she would follow...for now.
R&R~!