The Whirlwind Sprint Shout was the Shout she hated the most. The amount of times she nearly fell off High Hrothgar while training with couldn't be counted.
The burst of speed was too sudden. Too fast. Even with her insanely enhanced senses and strength and speed, it was still far too much for her to perfectly handle.
And now here she was, facing a Sage who likely held mastery over that damnable Shout.
Odahviing was a literal whirlwind, the very skies collapsing down in his wake. Roaring tornadoes of sharp, merciless winds tore through the valley, rising dust and shattered earth that the nimble Dragon used as cover to pounce around her.
Aurelia's mind trails to a time before she came to Skyrim, when she happened upon a beast that fought just like this. Sneaking around and using ambushes.
It had left her with a nasty scar over her back, but it had taught her a lesson.
On how to deal with such opponents.
The hair on the back of her neck stand on end as her instincts scream, and her grip over Dawnbreaker tightens enough to make her knuckles pop.
Odahviing pounces once more, surging out of a nearby tornado with terrifying speed.
Only for a brilliant to suddenly blind the beast, causing him to release a startled roar and stumble in his rush, his enormous form smashing through the earth and hills painfully.
Aurelia spun around and surged forward, capitalizing on this chance. Dawnbreaker blazes brilliantly, and its heated blade punches through tough scales and flesh alike as Aurelia stabs it clear through Odahviin's tail.
A roar of pain comes from the Dragon, and his sharp claws end up working against it as Aurelia wraps her arms around the massive tail and pulls, dragging the mighty beast with laughable ease.
With a deep inhale through her nostrils, Aurelia spins around and yanks on the tail, then she keeps spinning as the mighty Dragon Sage is yanked down on his side, then through the earth.
Aurelia kept spinning, faster and faster, dragging the beast through ruined earth and hills before his form starts rising in the air from how fast she was spinning.
The world became a blur, but Aurelia ignored it all as she felt herself reach her maximum momentum.
With a twist and turn in her grip, Odahviing's form rose further in the air until the beast drew a perfect Crescent Moon in the air with his trajectory.
And with a grunt, Aurelia slams the enormous Dragon into the earth with enough force to collapse the entire valley, the destruction nearly reaching the distant farms as earth and debris surged skyward.
Until a second Sun came into existence, "Yol-Toor-Shul!" A tsunami of white-hot flames washed forth, scorching the earth clean and setting the tornadoes alight, burning the terrible winds out existence as the earth melted and pools of boiling magma spread.
Dawbreaker swung upward before the scream of her instinct could even be fully registered by her brain, the massive form of Odahviing surging out of the pool of magma with naught a scratch to his form, deadly claw crashing down with immense force.
Scales parted before Dawnbreaker's sharpness, but the blade was far too small to stand against the immense claw, and the force of the blow slammed Aurelia into the earth, making her choke from the burning and fierce pain.
"Fus-Ro-Dah!" Her surroundings were vaporized, and the pressure on her was lifted as Odahviing was launched into the skies from the catastrophic blast of air that punched a hole into the hurricane above. A hole that was swiftly patched, annoyingly enough.
Clicking her tongue and watching the Dragon Sage stabilize himself in the sky, Aurelia breathes in through her nostrils and jumps out of the crater she had created with the Unrelenting Force Shout.
This wasn't a battle where she could prevail using might alone. Odahviing was far too wise to let her use his pride to her advantage.
And despite herself… She did not wish to use the Dragon Rend Shout, at least not yet. This was an honorable battle, one that she was going to respect as much as possible.
"How truly magnificent, Dovahkiin." The flying Dragon praises, pride evident in his booming voice, "Truly, the Dovahkiin is a wondrous existence."
"The pure might of the Thu'um from us Dov, mixed with the controlled technique of the races of Men. It leaves me in awe." A lone flap of massive wings caused the hurricane above to howl and churn.
Aurelia licks her lips and breathes in, her instincts screaming at her as she felt Odahviing grow more and more dangerous. Their previous exchanges must've been nothing more than a warm-up for the Dragon Sage.
And he was dangerously smart too. He had been able to see the changes she had applied to the Unrelenting Force Shout pretty much instantly.
She had hoped the blast would have ripped his claw apart, as she had made it so the Shout came out in a concentrated beam of energy, but all it did was shred the scales apart and leave that arm still functional, but its flesh now lay mangled and torn.
Odahviing stares down at her, each flap of his enormous wings sending forth a blast of pressurized winds in all directions, making her eyes sting more and more with each blast.
Until, finally, she allowed herself a short moment to blink.
And that is when her instincts howled as the ground behind her caved in due to a massive form slamming into the earth with speed comparable to that horrifying Spell Leonidas hurls around.
She flips around, eyesight blurry due to her eyes still being partly irritated, and pain explodes all over her form.
Gashes cover her armor, arm and shoulders as Odahviing disappears once more, tearing at her with sharp blades of winds, turning the contest of might into one of speed.
Despite his size, the Dragon Sage showcased his mastery over the Whirlwind Shout by becoming a blur, too fast for Aurelia to follow, blood seeping from the gashes and wounds left upon her form from the initial attack.
A burst of Holy Magic flows out of her, instantly healing the wounds and soothing her pain as she straightens herself, Dawnbreaker twirling in her grasp before she sheathes it on her back.
Her eyes flicked left and right as she stood still, watching as the blur flying by all around her left gouges into the earth with his passing.
Licking her lips, a cheeky grin suddenly spreads across her face as she lifts one free hand. A blinding brilliance of golden light erupts out of her form, cloaking her from view as she whispers her Shouts, "Iiz-Slen-Nus."
The Dragon Ice Blade formed into her hands, bringing with it a chill greater and deadlier than the waters north of Skyrim.
Her grin grows when she feels Odahviing pounce once more, trusting her hard-trained instincts once more as she flips the Dragon Ice Blade in her grasp… And stabs it into the ground.
A glacier roars into existence as a wave of glacial might washes forth, freezing the entire valley and the charging Dragon Sage solid, his enormous sharp claw outstretched and inches away from her back.
Her left hand opens as Aurelia whirls around to stare at the frozen Dragon, "Fus-Ro-Dah." A bluish blade that twisted the space and air around it formed in her grasp, and Aurelia swiftly swung it at the momentarily frozen Dragon.
A simple, relaxed, upward slash that allowed the tip of the blade to hit the Dragon Sage straight in the jaw.
The ensuing blast was ear-splitting, pulverizing the land of jagged frozen spikes she had conjured and nearly demolishing Odahviing's lower jaw, sending the Dragon hurling and back-flipping through the air from the horrendous concentrated impact.
Eyes wide, pupils dilapidated and enormous battle-hungry grin on her face, Aurelia watched as the Dragon stabilized himself, and one of its eyes looked in a certain direction before vanishing.
Her grin grows near predatory, "Oh, I understand it now!" With a crazed giggle that could have made Leonidas both proud and afraid, Aurelia speaks yet another three Words, "Wuld-Nah-Kest!"
A sonic-boom cracks the air in her wake, and Odahviing's eyes widen as the massive beast reels back in shock when she appears right before him.
His gaze then flicks away and he vanishes, only to once more reel back in shock when the Dragonborn is right there a split-second after.
"So that's how the Whirlwind Sprint Shout works!" Aurelia laughs, feeling like an idiot for having never grasped its simple concept until now.
It was based on sight. It would hurl her a certain distance, in the very direction she was staring at, even if she wasn't fasting it.
Unwilling to admit his loss, the Dragon Sage becomes a blur once more, the Dragonborn in his wake, their forms traveling and circling the valley around Whiterun within moments.
Until, finally… Aurelia's words were faster than Odahviing's gaze.
His form appears in a blur of speed right before the downward swing of a space-rupturing blade that smashes into his skull, shattering several of his sharp teeth and hammering half of his body into the earth.
The Dragonborn twirls in place, Dragon Force Blade spinning in her grasp before being hurled like a javelin into Odahviing's exposed side, the impact punching a hole through scales and flesh, but not a severely fatal one.
Odahviing's form rises from the earth just as the Dragon Ice Blade swings through the air once more, releasing a surge of glacial winds that, while not even half as strong as the previous swing, still manages to lock the Dragon's mighty limbs in thick ice.
The final remnants of energy within the blade was released when Aurelia hurls it at Odahviing's open jaws, sealing them shut in a prison of dense ice.
Like all Dragons before him, Aurelia rarely struggled for long against them. Once she learned all of their tricks, then they were easy hunting.
Paarthurnax had described her as the perfect 'Dragon Hunter' for that very reason.
Her right hand stretches out, a Shout on her lips, ready to end the fight and claim another victory, but Odahviing clearly refused to go down without a final, true clash.
His wings flapped, and roaring gales sent her form flying away while they ripped apart his frozen prison, allowing him to take flight and rise high into the skies.
The hurricane howled and shuddered, lightning flashing and rumbling across the pitch black clouds, and at the very eye of the storm now lay the Dragon Sage, each flap of his wings causing the hurricane to shudder.
Her hands clenched into tight fists at the sight, "The people within Whiterun just achieved a thorough, valiant victory against near impossible odds." Her eyes narrowed, "That hurricane is an eyesore. They deserve to bask in the sunlight after such a battle."
Paarthurnax had told her not to use it, as it was too dangerous. She did it once, even used all the words but put barely any power in it.
Now, she'll do it again and unleash all of its strength without care.
"Nin-" To strike- "Vey-" To cut- "Luv!" To tear.
Her hands stretch out as Reality itself wails, the Dragon Blade that comes into existence being a simple mottled color.
Yet its very existence instantly became a threat to her and her surroundings.
Her hands wrapped around its handle, and her gauntlets were instantly torn to shred, her skin being torn apart by hundreds of cuts trying to erase her from existence itself.
Her forearms suffered the same fate, her blood raining down on the land being cut and torn and shredded into dust below.
Her Holy Magic flowed forth, countering the damage being done to her body so she could grip the blade freely, her gaze flicking up to the skies above.
Odahviing breathes in, and the hurricane stills. The howling winds that battered the valley and city suddenly going quiet.
Then he breathes them out. A gargantuan cyclone that could shred Whiterun apart is spewed forth- Only to disperse before it could fully form and reach its true size, and reveal its true might.
Aurelia breathes out and flicks her bare hands to her sides, sending a mental apology to Hircine for having ruined his armor so thoroughly that she doubted she could use it again now.
With a blink, she smiles when sunlight streams down from above.
The hurricane itself was cleaved in half and was swiftly dispersing into nothing, allowing the brilliant Sun to rain down upon the valley.
Together with a severely wounded Dragon Sage, his fall leaving a massive crater behind.
Aurelia approaches it with a relaxed pace despite the Cutting Shout having taken a lot out of her. It was taboo for a reason. All that power always comes at a cost.
A deep, weak and wheezing chuckle reaches her ears the moment she stops at the edge of the crater where the wounded Odahviing lays, a massive bleeding gash cleaved across his whole belly, nearly having cleaved the beast in half, but also close to having disemboweled him.
"How truly terrifying you are, Dovahkiin…" The Dragon Sage praises, weakly lifting his head to stare at her, "As the victor of this duel, it is your right to do with me as you see fit."
Aurelia's fists clench tightly once more, "Why were you stalling for time?" She demands, and the Dragon chuckles weakly once more.
"It is too late." The Dragon states, making her teeth grit, "The World-Eater has already engaged his target."
Dawnbreaker is drawn and held an inch away from Odahviing's pupil, "Who is it?" Aurelia demands as she flares her nostrils, a pit of fear and worry forming into her belly, "Who is his target?!"
"The Anomaly." Odahviing chuckles once more, confusing Aurelia, "He who sunders Fate with his mere existence. He who has ruined the proper flow of time."
Her hand trembles, yet the Dragon keeps speaking, "His existence is Wrong. It has made the World-Eater nervous… Afraid."
"So he took it upon himself to deal with the issue."
Aurelia couldn't wrap her head around it. He had to be talking about Leonidas, but… Was he truly this Anomaly?
Each time he spoke of home, it sounded like a land of fantasies, from mere stories. But yet she trusted him, for the fondness in his voice could not be faked.
Paarthurnax had shown interest in him, and spoke of Leonidas like he was a wonder.
'He who sunders Fate with his mere existence.'
Those words ring within her mind over and over… Until she kicks them out and glares at the downed Dragon before her.
"If something happens to him…" She starts, her voice a low growl, her grip over Dawnbreaker creaking until her knuckles popped loudly, "If I lose him…"
"I will personally make sure your kind will disappear off the face of Nirn once and for all."
There was no way she could reach Winterhold from here, even if she gave her all. But she was tired beyond belief and close to crashing.
She'd be more of a liability than assistance. So all she could do was pray to Arkay for Hildr and Leonidas' well-being.
Nothing was going to take Leonidas from her.
~~XXX~~
"Why yo' voice sound like you smoked five packs of cigars and then deep-throated a fat dick for a couple hours straight?"
Deinmaar's armor creaks as he slowly turns his head to stare down at the Undead Mage beside him.
Who, as if sensing his gaze, turned his skeletal frozen head to stare right back at him, "What? Tell me I'm wrong."
Deinmaar really couldn't. And he hated that… Just a tiny bit.
The World-Eater, for all of his non-existent composure, merely snarled and moved to pounce forward-
"I mean, it also sounds like he is making his voice deeper on purpose." Leonidas continues, raising a lone left arm and hand in Alduin's general direction, "Tryin' to sound cool and shit. You get what I mean?"
With a flex of his Magicka, he let it flow forth and releases a gargantuan beam of glacial, howling winds that swallowed Alduin whole, the sheer size of the beam making the gargantuan Dragon appear like an ant in comparison.
Deinmaar glanced at the beam of Frost and barely held back a wince. He wouldn't like being on the receiving end of that. Mainly because he was starting to hate the cold.
Specifically, the horrifying cold conjured by Leonidas.
"...I now can't get it out of my head." Still, he also barely holds back a snort at Leonidas' words.
His mood was all over the place after their recent battle, and Alduin's appearance just fueled Deinmaar's growing wrath and anger.
But Leonidas' presence just… It kept him centered. Focused. The Undead had a strange but captivating charisma to him.
"Oh, I am the World-Eater, beware of my might!" Said Undead mocks as his beam of Frost Magic comes to an end, his voice sounding way too deep and rumbling like the growl of a Sabertooth Tiger.
This time Deinmaar fails to hold back the snort that makes his whole massive form shake and tremble minutely.
Oh, and the World-Eater comes back into view, frozen solid. Not that it really did anything to the giant beast.
"Why are you like this?"
"You know, I get asked that question a lot." Leonidas points out as the ice prison around Alduin starts cracking, "Still, I got a laugh outta you!"
Reaching over, Leonidas pats Deinmaar's back with as much strength he could muster, "Don't hold back on my account, buddy. Go as wild as you need."
Deinmaar breathes in, then breathes out. The inferno of his wrath at having the reason behind all of his torment and greatest failure and mistake before him was… quelled by those words.
It turned into fuel. Fuel that warmed his body and brought back that unyielding might and spirit from times long gone.
"Thank you for this…" Deinmaar stopped himself before saying 'Leonidas', for it felt wrong to call the Undead by name. He was someone who risked death so that he could offer Deinmaar a hand and drag him out of the dark abyss he had been wallowing in for countless centuries.
So, the titan of a man straightens his shoulders and looks down at the Undead Mage, his mind set, "Thank you for this, brother." That was the proper way to call a man such as him.
Leonidas is faintly startled at Deinmaar's words, but a chuckle soon leaves his robed form. "No need to thank me, buddy." And that is when Alduin broke free from his prison with a roar of fury, his gargantuan form pouncing forward without wasting a second.
Immense claws dug through the earth like it was butter as the beast launched himself at Leonidas, his one and only target.
Yet, a wall of pure muscles and might slammed into the side of Alduin's skull before his jaws could even fully reach the relaxed robed Undead.
The sheer force behind the shoulder charge sent Alduin's skull flying to the side, and a wheeze sun left the beast when Leonidas flicks a lone finger skyward and conjures a rising spiky pillar of ice and had it slam straight into Alduin's guts with enough force to lift the Dragon off the ground.
Deinmaar did not stop, each of his steps shaking the earth as he charged at Alduin without fear, an unstoppable Juggernaut overflowing with violence and with a blade eager for blood.
Alduin slams onto the earth with a loud crash, and Deinmaar pounces with a roar flowing out of his lips, his whole body turning as he swings his greatsword with both hands and every ounce of might he had at his disposal.
Alduin's scales do not give in from the blow, but the beast roars in anger thorough the deafening shock-wave that ripples forth, all that power being concentrated into a destructive wave of pure force and death that carved a ravine into the ocean floor.
The ocean waters, once having been kept at bay by Alduin's mere existence and aura alone, now surged back to fill the cavity left behind.
A frozen chain wraps around Deinmaar's waists, dragging him onto a rising pillar of ice that brings them high above the surging and crashing waters.
The Dragon Priest closes his eyes, unable to watch the graveyard of Dragon Priest be destroyed further and buried beneath the ocean forever.
Deep within, he prays for the forgiveness of his comrades. Of his allies and friends. But he knows that now he must push forth, as duty calls him once more.
"You gonna be alright?" Leonidas asks, having clearly caught his gaze and faint distress.
Beneath his armor, Deinmaar smiles as he nods lightly, "I will be."
Leonidas nods, the ice chain he had used to yank Deinmaar crumbling to powder as he turns his gaze towards the churning ocean that had swallowed the World-Eater whole.
Then the waters parted, and Leonidas swiftly reacted, conjuring a gargantuan Ward just in time to stop the concentrated beam of flames aimed at them.
The waters boiled around them, the Ward cracking more and more as the beam of it remained locked in a single spot, spilling white-hot flames in all directions together with powerful raging winds.
"Brother!" Deinmaar calls out as the World Eater rises above the boiling and steaming waters, but the Dragon wasn't the source of the Dragon Priest's distress, "The after-shocks-!"
Turning his head, Leonidas looks towards Winterhold, where the blasts of wind and the surging waves of the ocean kept slamming at the cliff below Winterhold, tearing into it over and over.
One nasty hit, and a good portion of the city would collapse into the waters below.
Leonidas's gaze wanders towards the College, where he knew someone precious to him was taking shelter.
The Wards of the College could keep it safe from the waves. It should. It has to.
The mere thought of something happening to Hildr because of his carelessness made something within Leonidas just… snap.
The green flames within his eye-sockets, for but a moment that went unseen by anyone other than a certain Mad Star, flickered into a malevolent, twisted dark purple color.
Alduin's roar choked short as the mighty beast felt as if a meteorite the size of a mountain slammed into his body, cracking scales and rupturing flesh.
His form, once flying in the air above the water, was now but a dot in the distance, the sheer force and speed and pure power behind the Spell that slammed into Alduin having split the ocean all the way to the horizon.
Deinmaar flinches back, having been unable to see what Leonidas had done. He had caught sight of an Original Rune coming into existence… One the size of a mountain, before Alduin just… disappeared.
"Now…" The Undead sighed and rolled his neck, the usual cheer in his voice completely gone, "Ready to body-slam that bitch?"
Now, Deinmaar wasn't a man that would fall to the lure of something that sounded downright lovely… But this time he made an exception. Just this time.
"Do you even have to ask?"
"Right, stupid question." Then, Leonidas turns to fully face me, "Throw me at the fucker."
Deinmaar didn't even need to think twice and merely acted instantly as Leonidas offered him an arm encased in frozen armor. His own massive hand clasped around Leonidas' wrist before the titan of a man whirled around.
Then hurled Leonidas towards the direction where Alduin disappeared, a distant 'Wheeee~!' being heard through the sonic-boom unleashed by Leonidas' take off.
Then, the ice platform beneath Deinmaar's feet was pulverized as he jumped, disappearing into the distance himself.
Far over the horizon, Alduin's titanic form was bouncing on water like a pebble thrown with the right amount of speed and at the right angle, each impact causing huge waves to surge from the surface of the water.
The impacts disoriented the beast more and more, stopping the World-Eater from effectively regaining any form of balance, the sheer pain from what had initially sent him flying having left his mind blank.
Never before did the World-Eater experience such pain. He always stood at the peak in pure might. None could contend or stand against him, even those accursed twins.
So now this weakness of his vexed him. It vexed him greatly. And it also made him afraid.
His wings fold, then his tail lashes out, displacing the air with the sheer force of the whip-like strike, destroying the surface of the water and allowing him to just smash into the frigid ocean and not bounce upon yet again.
A growls flows past his jaws as he rises out of the surface, the waters boiling and steaming against his scales as his gargantuan wings spread, ready to drag him back into the skies, his domain-
Only for him to falter when a brilliant light filled the skies, and Alduin's red eyes widened at the sight of the colossal dark blue Original Rune burning itself into the very Heavens above.
Then, that hateful voice of the Anomaly roared forth, a lone Shout that caused the air to tremble, "QO!"
The world flashes black and white, and Alduin has no time to react as pillar the size of an island smashes down upon him.
The skies and the ocean evaporated as the pillar of lightning stabs into the very bowels of the planet, its thunderous howls covering the loud roars of pain from the World-Eater.
Lightning, the bane of all Magicka. The more Magicka one has inside their bodies, the more it will hurt when they are struck by Lightning Magic.
They'll feel as if their very essence is being gouged out of their bodies in the most brutal and painful way possible. Due to this, it was considered the most painful and horrendous way to torture someone, especially during wars.
And now the World-Eater himself, he who never experienced pain before for he had no equal, was experiencing such pain as the lightning from Vasavi Shakti flowed into him.
Even in this weakened state of his, he still had enormous Magicka reserves, even if they go unused.
The humiliation, the weakness forced upon him, the pain… The roar of pain became one of pure fury, and a powerful blast erupts from his jaws, making the Heavens wail as the skies are twisted.
A hurricane dozens of times worse than the one that stood above Helgen the day it was wiped off the maps came into existence, lightning scattered across the black clouds like ants escaping their destroyed nest, and meteors the size of buildings were spewed forth.
It was a scene straight out of the Apocalypse itself, and the sheer power released by the activation of Alduin's favorite and mastered shout eradicated the lightning pillar, freeing him from that horrifying pain that still left his limbs aching.
In response to him taking charge of the skies, a wave of glacial winds spread forth in all directions, freezing the ocean down to the very bottom.
"Super Hero Landing-!" Leonidas then smashed nearly a dozen feet deep into the frozen ocean, bringing the World-Eater to a pause.
A short lived pause, unfortunately, as the very next second a massive wall of muscles bodily slammed into Alduin's head, smashing him into the frozen landscape below.
"Deinmaar!" Alduin roars, stabilizing himself and slamming his claws into the dense ice below, a snarl upon his jaws, "You traitorous filth!"
Deinmaar slams into the ice soon after the impact against Alduin's skull, his massive form stabilizing near-instantly as he twirls his enormous blade with ease. "You ruined my dream." The Atmoran spits out, "So it was only right that I ruined your pathetic purpose."
Alduin growls and claws at the ice below, "Do you truly believe you accomplished anything?" A cruel, deep chuckle rumbles out of Alduin's steaming jaws, "You simply delayed the inevitable. I will lay waste upon these lands, regain my might, and feast upon this very planet!"
Deinmaar just shakes his head mockingly, "The only thing you will feast upon is my blade."
The World-Eater pounces, giant claw stabbing towards the titan of a man who merely spins out of the way and reaches over to rest his hand on Alduin's arm.
Clawed gauntlet fingers bend, then stab through scales and flesh alike as Deinmaar squeezes, then pulls, yanking and slamming Alduin into the ice below with laughable ease. "This weakness of yours irks me. It feels like I am bullying a child." Deinmaar sneers, then grunts and spins around.
Alduin is lifted like he weights nothing, then is hurled across the frozen landscape, smashing painfully into the jagged pillar of ice that used to be waves.
With a snarl of fury, Alduin jumps and takes momentary flight before pouncing upon Deinmaar, steaming jaws open to bite down on the giant of a man.
Who, instead of dodging, merely stabs his greatsword into the ice beside him before spreading his arms to welcome the challenge.
Breathing in, Deinmaar leans forward and reaches out with his hands as Alduin crashes into him, left hand stopped his upper jaw and right hand stopping the lower one.
Then, he yanks them both down, lowering Alduin's head and freeing his hands, which rise far above him and cup together before smashing down upon the World-Eater's skull like a meteorite, the horrifying blow smashing the Dragon's head into the ice below.
Not done yet, Deinmaar stomps forward and hugs Alduin's bent neck, and his arms then squeeze as he grabs a good hold of the stunned beast before lifting.
With a roar of fury and exertion, Deinmaar bends his back and lifts the gargantuan Dragon into the air… Before suplexing him into the frozen landscape with enough force the shatter it for miles.
With a pant and spin, Deinmaar stumbles and rises back to his feet upon the uneven surface at the very edge of the crater left behind by Alduin's body, his blade flying back into his grasp.
Then something smashes into the ground beside him with an 'Oof!', and turning his head, Deinmaar relaxes when he notices that it was just Leonidas, now sprawled on the ground starfish style.
A moment of quiet falls between the two as Leonidas seems to process what he had just witnessed.
"Did you just suplex the absolute shit out of the World-Eater?"
Deinmaar shrugs despite his desire to laugh. It was indeed very, very satisfying.
"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed…" Leonidas sighs out, then grabs the offered hand as Deinmaar helps him back on his feet.
And that is when the World-Eater resurfaces, roaring in fury and releasing immense waves of heat-
"Ay man, we hear you." Leonidas sniffs, and Alduin's jaws click shut, baleful red eyes glowering down at the Undead Mage, "Roaring doesn't make you cool, ya know?"
Alduin growls, and steam billows out of his tightly clenched jaws.
Leonidas, of course, latches onto that show of anger, "Aw, is the big scawy dwagon mad? Gonna cwy to daddy?" Deinmaar snorts, then barely holds back the loud bark of laughter that threatens to spill out of his lips, "Don't worry, you're catching this fade first, then yo' bitch-ass daddy is next."
And then the giant Atmoran pauses. Why does Leonidas want to fight Akatosh-?
A giant claw smashes down on Leonidas, and a pillar of frost smashes into Alduin's guts once more.
Deinmaar hacks his blade down on Alduin's claw, shattering scales and barely drawing as he frees the now the huge armored form of Leonidas, who had shrugged off the blow with ease.
"Think we are far enough away to cut loose?" Leonidas questions Deinmaar, who bares his teeth beneath his helmet in a savage and twisted grin.
"More than enough." With a flex of his will, plasma washes forth in tidal waves, cloaking his form in its brilliant heated form.
And despite the heat rising to horrifying levels, a dense frozen mist covers the frozen landscape, causing the World-Eater to shudder from the cold, much to his horror.
"I have a plan." Leonidas states, and Deinmaar nods.
"I'll follow."
No more words were needed, and pillars of ice sprouted from below and curved through the air, smashing into Alduin's left side faster than he could blink.
His form is tossed to the rapidly melting ground, and frozen chains soon bound his form down, barely flinching or cracking from the Dragon's constant struggles.
With a bellow of might, Deinmaar's flaming form crashes down towards Alduin's defenseless neck, his blade hacking down with every ounce of hate and anger within his body.
Scales and flesh part, but despite the force of the impact that shakes the land, the blade barely cuts a few inches deep into the Dragon's tough flesh.
But that was enough for Leonidas, who then nodded towards Deinmaar. It showed that Alduin could be wounded and could bleed.
But they didn't know if he could be slain by anyone other than the Dragonborn.
So, Deinmaar jumps back, right beside Leonidas, as Alduin trashes free from his bindings and snarls towards them- The Dragon pauses when his targets are not where they were a moment prior.
Instead, his sight is filled with an enormous shaking pillar of ice.
"Bet you can't catch us, bitch!" Alduin looks up at that holler, and growls as he watches the Anomaly wave mockingly down at him as the pillar he was standing on kept rising towards the skies.
Instead of doing the smart thing and smashing the pillar apart, Alduin instead snarls and pounces upon it, then starts climbing it like an agile cat, climbing dozens of meters with each leap.
Leaning back, Leonidas starts at seeing his plan working, "We have one chance at this." He states softly, turning his head towards Deinmaar, "His idiocy has given us a chance to either stop this now, or buy us a lot of time."
"Think we can kill him?" Deinmaar questions, glancing down over the edge of the still rising pillar to look at the approaching, snarling Dragon.
Leonidas sighs and shakes his head, "I don't know, honestly." He crosses his arms encased in ice armor with a low hum, "But I know we can hurt him, and make him afraid."
Deinmaar considers those words for a short few seconds before nodding, "Let us hurt him. If we see a chance to kill him, then we pounce upon it." They share a nod of agreement on that.
"One blow, with all we got." Leonidas offers, "You warmed up enough for that?"
Deinmaar chuckles, "I will need some time. It has been far too long since I gave my all in a battle, after all."
"I'll buy us the time we need, then." With that, Leonidas walks to the edge of the pillar and stares down, the immense structure of ice having long since pierced through the cloud layer.
In fact, the sky was starting to grow dark, showing that they had reached the lower troposphere.
Behind Leonidas, Deinmaar brandished his blade and focused all of his flames and roaring plasma upon its edge. Ancient runes lit up along the sword and armor, but Leonidas did not focus on that and simply flicked his wrist.
Jagged spikes form and stab out from the gargantuan pillar rising towards the Heavens, the sudden attack smashing Alduin off the pillar, forcing him to flap his wings to remain in flight and not loose too much ground-
Baleful red eyes widen when stars shine in the skies above. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands-
And then they all rain down with ear-deafening cracks of air exploding, each blow staggering the titan of a Dragon but not hurting that much.
But when hundreds smash into his far each second, the pain builds up, and Alduin's roars in annoyance as he is pushed back, stopped from approaching his damnable target.
Leonidas kept his left hand aimed towards Alduin while the other one rose towards the darkening skies above.
Inwardly, he reminds himself to do something nice for Kara for having taught him the Original Runes. They were an immense boon, one that he really needed right now.
The brilliant Original Rune of his go-to Spell flares into existence within his palm, then Leonidas lets all of his Magicka flow into it.
It swells, growing bigger at an immense rate while weaker Draconian Howls keep raining down upon Alduin form below, stalling the beast for the much needed time.
A dozen more Original Runes take shape around the enormous still growing one, then ten more form around each of the new ones, then ten more around each of them.
Leonidas breathes in, feeling his reserves just sink even with how immense they are. But he knew that he needed more.
So he didn't bother holding back. Even if he dried up his reserves, they'd refill in no time.
"I am ready, brother." Leonidas turns his head to regard Deinmaar, with his hands now gripping the glowing white-hot greatsword. "On your go."
Leonidas nods and turns his gaze skyward, where the gargantuan Original Rune and its smaller connected ones spread across the skies for what must've been miles, surprising him greatly.
He didn't know he had that much Magicka.
Then, with a flicker of his will, it shrank down and appeared at the tip of his index finger. "Alright, let's fuck him up."
Down below, Alduin growls and narrows his eyes when the rain of Spells hindering his flight suddenly came at an end, but he did not dare waste more time and surged skyward as fast as he could, drawing closer and closer to the top until, finally, his target and the traitor peeked over the edge of the frozen pillar.
He bares his jaw at the sight, the constant humiliation forced upon him having ground away the pride of his that demanded a fair challenge against the Anomaly, so that he could do away with that stain properly.
But now, Alduin did not care anymore. So much so that the moment his gaze landed upon the Anomaly, his mind was made.
He was going to use that Forbidden Shout. The Soul Tear Shout.
It was hated and greatly feared for the mere fact that it erased a Soul. It could permanently kill a Dragon, and Dragons hated the existence of such a Shout that could easily be turned against them.
And now, with his hated target before him, Alduin did not hold back. He was the World-Eater, rules were never meant to bind him.
So his jaws part open, pure hateful glee shines within his eyes from his assured victory as he speaks, "Rii-Vaaz-Zol-!"
A series of loud, blaring sounds make Alduin pause and blink.
Where was he…? Where did the Anomaly go?
All around him were towering structures of stone, with some having strange signs and words upon them.
Far up in the clear sky, he could see strange metallic birds streaking past.
Down below, strange creatures of metals on wheels released those blaring sounds that grated upon his ears as they moved along. Each a different color or shape and marked with strange words and numbers.
What is this place?
Then, right below him was a literal sea of people, all walking and wearing strange clothes, some talking to small rocks within their hands.
The World-Eater was greatly confused, but just as he was about to lash out, he feels his gaze be dragged back towards the moving sea of people.
His baleful red eyes land upon the only person not moving within the crowd, a dark blue hood covering their head.
Slowly, the figure of the woman turns, head head rising and turning so to stare straight at Alduin, whose eyes widen in recognition.
The dark haired woman holding a bag of groceries glares his way.
"His Soul is not something the likes of you can touch."
Her voice carried forth with an authority only a Divine holds, and his scales cracked beneath that unquestionable might.
And Alduin suddenly understood the Anomaly.
He understood why Time was thrown in disarray due to his mere presence.
He understood why Fate itself now was uncertain due to him.
He understood how the Anomaly came to be.
"Begone from this Realm, filth."
He was the Champion of Fate.
The realization numbs the Dragon… Before his whole form started shaking.
And the World-Eater raged.
"ITHELIAAAAAAAAA-!"
For even Fate itself now stands against him in the form of her Champion.
For even Time itself, the Domain of his Father, was thrown into disarray due to the Anomaly.
For even his brethren now doubted him for his lacking strength.
Everything stood against the World-Eater, and he hated it.
So he raged.
Until his consciousness was wrenched back into the Dream with a gasp.
A blade falls-
The World-Eater's eyes widen-
A giant, severed limb spins through the air-
And a massive hole is punched straight through his chest.
A.N. Apologies on the wait for this chapter!
Writing action back to back is quite tiring.
Especially writing fights against giant beasts. Those are very tiring to do, as I have discovered.
Anyway, hope y'all haven't missed this fic too much!
But in case ya did, I left quite a few secrets in this chapter for y'all to find and point out in the reviews!
Some are easy to find, some are next to impossible!
Hope y'all enjoy and have enjoyed it so far!
If you want to read FIVE CHAPTERS ahead, then hop on over to my ! Or not, ya ain't being forced!
p at re on SamuraiCheem
Glad to be back!
Toodles!