by Aaron Oster
“Let’s go,” he said in a low voice, taking off and floating down the massive tunnel, toward the World Beast.
50
Though initially cold and dark, the tunnel soon began to warm up, golden light — soft at first, but growing brighter with each passing second — shining down its massive expanse. Morgan couldn’t help but notice the massive gouge marks, scratching burrows in the floor, walls, and ceiling. The deeper he flew, the more apprehension he felt, and by the time they reached the end of the tunnel, he could feel perspiration beading his brow.
It was all perfectly understandable, as he’d never felt power like this before. At least, not from someone he knew was an enemy. From the size of the tunnel, Morgan figured the beast would be large, but when the tunnel opened up, his idea of what a large beast was was once again redefined. Lumia let out a quiet hiss as she beheld the behemoth curled up in the center of the enormous cavern. Whether it was in surprise, fear, or something else, Morgan didn’t know.
A massive pile of gold, silver, platinum, precious stones, and all manner of treasure stretched from the entrance. By Morgan’s estimate, it all had to weigh billions of tons and towered some thirty feet tall. Despite the literal mountain of wealth standing before them, it was what lay atop of it that had their attention.
The beast was absolutely enormous. Though it was curled up, Morgan estimated it to be no less than a hundred feet long, and that was without including its massive, sinuous tail. Gigantic wings lay folded across its golden-scaled hide, and a row of rose-gold spines ran along its back. The creature’s head was facing them. It looked similar to Lumia’s in a way, but it was somehow fiercer and more terrifying than she could be, even in her full-sized form.
Glittering golden scales covered the creature’s face and snout, and though smaller than the rest, they looked equally as tough. Muscles rippled across its titanic form as it shifted slightly, sending a veritable cascade of gold and jewels raining down on them. Morgan froze, wondering if the clattering and banging was going to wake the sleeping beast. But after a few minutes of breath-holding, it was clear that the creature wasn’t going to rise.
Morgan peered at the beast with his Aura sense, finally getting a good feel for its core. The aura spread out some thirty feet from its body, seeming to fill the whole chamber with its menace. This was undoubtedly a Pinnacle beast of the highest order, but Morgan had to see its status for himself.
Name: Breaker, Elder Dragon of Greed
Classification: World Beast
Rank - 100
Ability Type - Supermage
“What in the hell is he?” Morgan muttered, now having confirmed that this was indeed the World Beast he was looking for.
The Classification tab was new, though he figured that had more to do with the monster he was looking at than any increase to his skill’s potency. He was glad that it was as potent as it was, as he doubted that he would have been able to glean even this much information a year ago.
“A dragon,” Lumia replied, still watching the creature warily. “They’re part of the same family as I am, only they’re much stronger. I honestly thought they were a myth. As far as I know, drakes are the very strongest of the flying lizards in the Five Kingdoms.”
“Looks like the myths were true,” Morgan muttered. “This thing is called an elder dragon. Do you know what type that is?”
Lumia let out another low hiss, her body going rigid and her tail twitching nervously.
“Again, all I know is from what I’ve heard over the years. Dragons can be divided into five categories. They are classified as Youth, Juvenile, Adult, Senior and Elder. As you can guess, the older the dragon is, the more powerful it becomes. So, we’re not just staring at any old dragon, but one that could flatten both of us with a single thought.”
“I already knew that much just by looking at its rank,” Morgan replied. “Let’s grab a scale and get out of here. The last thing we need right now is for this thing to wake up.”
“Agreed,” Lumia replied. “The faster we leave, the better.”
Morgan drifted up off the ground and began carefully approaching the massive World Beast. The gold and jewels beneath him glittered and twinkled invitingly, and oddly enough, Morgan began to find himself distracted by them.
“What’s with all the treasure?” Morgan wondered as he subconsciously drifted lower.
“I’m sure you know how much I enjoy shiny things,” Lumia said, her eyes fixed on the glittering mound as well. “As much as I like them, dragons are pretty much obsessed. It’s all they think about all the time. It’s also probably why this beast hasn’t moved in as long as he had. There’s no way he’d be willing to leave this much treasure.”
“Yeah,” Morgan said, his voice sounding oddly distant, even to his own ears. “I can see why…”
He trailed off, reaching for a massive sapphire poking from the glittering pile. A sharp pain flashed through his mind, and Morgan felt a moment of pure, unadulterated bestial rage. His mind immediately recoiled, and he nearly fell out of the air, managing to catch himself just in time. It was a presence he hadn’t felt for two whole years, not since his battle with Octagon the Bitter. Yet now, in the presence of this World Beast, he’d returned.
Morgan could feel the animalistic rage burning within him, demanding to be released so that it might destroy this beast. Something like the monster trapped within him couldn’t stand the thought of something as powerful as this existing in the same world as it, and it wanted out. Had this been two years ago, Morgan may very well have lost this fight, but he was far stronger now than he was then.
No, he thought. You are not welcome here.
The beast railed against his control, trying to turn him to its way of thinking and desperately clawing at the barriers around his mind to be set free. With an effort of will, Morgan silenced the beast, smothering it with his iron will and subduing it, forcing it back into its cage and locking the door.
“What happened?” Lumia whispered, his internal battle having snapped her from her stupor as well.
She was extremely sensitive to these things, Morgan knew, and was the only one who truly knew what was locked away inside of him.
“The Beast King wanted out,” Morgan replied simply. “I didn’t let him.”
Lumia nodded, turning her attention back to the gold.
“Don’t look at it,” Morgan was quick to say, holding a hand up to shield her eyes, while keeping his own eyes locked on Breaker. “This beast is called the Elder Dragon of Greed. I have a feeling there’s a reason for that. I can now also understand why these beasts are so dangerous, even while asleep.”
Lumia gave him a nod, then proceeded to close her eyes. Morgan had no such option and was forced to keep his eyes open as he approached the massive creature. The power radiating off its body grew and grew, and the closer he came, the more he wanted to look down. He fought down the urge, as doing so would spell certain doom. This beast’s power messed with the mind, something most people didn’t train against.
Luckily for him, he had plenty of past experience in the form of suppressing the monster that had rattled the bars of its cage just moments ago. As he drew up to the massive beast’s side, he knew he was going to have to look down if he wanted to find a loose scale. There was no way he could pry one from the dragon’s body without it waking up, so he would once again need to face the glittering pile of gold.
There was only one solution here that he could see, and though he didn’t like doing it, Morgan used his Suppression. In the span of a heartbeat, all of his emotion was pushed down to just a trickle, and he felt his heart calm. In this state, thinking clearly, even in the presence of this much power, was hardly a challenge at all. With no emotions, he couldn’t feel things like fear or greed.
He didn’t completely shut them off, because he knew that if he ever did, he’d become a completely different person. Someone without feeling was someone who had no empathy, no morals, and no compassion. If he lost that, he
’d become a monster, and then he’d be no better than the beast lying here. The massive decrease in feeling helped immensely. All trepidation now gone, Morgan looked down. There, on the mountain, was Sarah.
A shock ran through his body as soon as he saw her, the world around him seeming to freeze. It didn’t matter how far down he’d pushed his emotions. The shock of seeing her again had shattered his self-control and mental fortitude.
She was standing there, just ten feet below him, right atop a massive emerald spanning some four feet in diameter. She looked beautiful, dressed in a flowing gown, her red hair tumbling loosely down her back and fluttering about her face as though in a light breeze. The girl herself was looking right at him, her lips pulled back to reveal a perfect smile.
Her eyes danced with a mixture of mischief, love, and affection, the emerald beneath her bringing out the green in her eyes like never before. Her lips parted and she whispered something, but Morgan was too far away to hear. She pouted when he didn’t reply, but then flashed him another smile, holding her arms out wide to him and motioning him closer.
Morgan continued to drift down, feeling all of the pain and anxiety over the past few years melt away. Sarah wasn’t dead! She’d been here all along. Her smile widened as he drew closer, her plump lips shining softly and invitingly in the reflected green light of the emerald.
He was just a couple of feet away now, staring into her fathomless eyes. So beautiful, so perfect, so green. Just a perfect set of vibrant, green eyes without a speck of any other color…
Morgan froze as soon as he realized what was wrong with this picture, his mind rejecting the illusion that had ensnared him and shattering it to a million tiny pieces. His entire body was shaking as Sarah vanished, revealing only the enormous emerald in her place.
“Morgan, what happened?” Lumia’s voice was low but urgent, and Morgan turned to look at her from the corner of his eye.
The drake appeared to be oddly blurry, and after a couple of seconds, Morgan realized that it was because he was crying.
“Just a cruel illusion,” Morgan replied, swiping away at the tears and trying to purge the image of Sarah from his mind.
He could feel anger and sadness warring within him, each trying to break free. It was much harder to subdue them this time, and for just a moment, he thought he might actually lose control. Sarah’s sudden appearance had been so much of a shock that the beast in his mind was once again banging on the bars of its cage.
“Morgan,” Lumia said urgently. “You need to calm down!”
“I’m…trying!” Morgan said through gritted teeth.
The beast’s presence was growing wilder as Sarah’s smiling face flashed in his mind. Her beautiful, serene face, so full of life and happiness. Then, the image was gone, replaced by the one of her body, suspended in the air on the claws of the Pinnacle King as the life bled out of her. He could feel himself losing control and feel himself slipping.
Had his emotions been completely suppressed, this never would have happened. But he’d left the tiniest of chinks in his armor, and now, the Beast King was slamming bodily against its prison.
“Morgan, you can’t lose control here,” Lumia said. “We’ll both die, and then you’ll never get to bring her back.”
Morgan’s teeth ground together as he hunched over, fighting to wrestle control over his body and mind. All he needed to do was remove the anger, and the Beast King would have nothing to latch onto, but his control was precarious at best. The monster within him wasn’t stupid. It knew that the angrier he became, the easier it would be to break out and assume control. So, it continued to rage and scream, forcing images of Sarah’s dead body into his mind.
“Morgan!” Lumia said, sounding panicked now. “Think of all the people depending on you! If you lose control, they’re all going to die! Your friend Katherine, the Queen of the East, Le’vine, not to mention everyone in the Five Kingdoms!”
Morgan let out a low groan, images of Katherine and the other friends he’d made over the years flashing through his mind.
How many of them are dead, though? the insidious voice whispered into his mind. Who do you even have left?
Morgan’s fingers twitched and his body began to tremble. Blackness began creeping in at the corners of his vision as the beast began to assert its control over him, and Morgan could feel himself drifting away.
“Morgan! Think of Grace! That girl is somewhere up there, and she will most certainly die if you lose control now!”
Lumia’s voice came to him as though from far away. However, her words finally managed to penetrate his emotional turmoil. Images of Grace flashed across his mind. Their meeting, her brash and sometimes shy demeanor. The way her face lit up each time she learned something new. How he’d felt when he’d seen her defeat the beast that had nearly ended her.
He relived the pride he’d felt at seeing her stand against insurmountable odds and not backing down. He remembered their long hours spent flying here, and most of all, the way she made him feel. The wholeness and sense of purpose she gave him. The way she looked to him for assurance and guidance. He recalled how he felt when she succeeded at a particularly difficult task.
She’d given him something he’d lacked for a very long time — someone to truly care for and protect. Someone who would bring him happiness and fulfillment. Grace was the reason he’d opened up so much the last few weeks, and it was because of her that Morgan found himself fighting back. Anger burned, hot in his chest. The anger wasn’t directed at the world or because of all the cruelty and misfortune that had plagued his life. It was directed at himself for being too weak to do anything about it.
Yes! You are weak, but I am not!
The beast railed against his thoughts, trying to turn him back, to allow him to take over. But Morgan wasn’t having it. He’d lost control too many times, and it had cost countless people their lives. He’d been too weak to save Sarah, but if he lost control now, Grace’s death would be all his fault, and he would not let that happen.
Slowly, painfully, Morgan reasserted control, forcing the raging beast back into its cage. It thrashed and fought against its bonds, but when Morgan locked it away this time, he practically smothered it in mental weight. There was no way for him to permanently kill the Beast King. It was a part of him, no matter what he did. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t banish the beast to the darkest corners of his mind, and that was exactly what he did.
When Morgan next opened his eyes, he was in control once again. The room around him hadn’t changed. The dragon still lay there, just a couple of feet away. Riches still glittered all about, and Lumia hovered jerkily before his eyes, looking at him worriedly.
“I’m sorry for almost losing control,” Morgan said, giving her a weak half-smile.
“I’m just glad that you had the strength to fight back.”
“Thanks to you, I did,” Morgan replied as the drake drifted over to land on his shoulder once again.
He turned his head from side to side, until his eyes alighted on a massive golden disk, lying a few inches from the dragon’s body.
“Looks like we’ve found what we came for,” he said, drifting down. “Let’s get out of here before something else happens.”
Lumia gave a small grunt of affirmation, even as she felt a small sense of both pain and satisfaction. Pain, at the fact that her presence wasn’t enough to bring him back from the brink, and satisfaction that she’d been right about Grace.
She couldn’t really blame Morgan for how he felt, even if it did hurt. She knew he loved her just as much, but it would never be the same as what he could feel for humans. Though he was part beast, he was still part human, and that was the trait that was most dominant the majority of the time. When Morgan thought of her, he thought of a powerful beast who could protect herself. When he thought of Grace, he saw only a small girl who needed to be protected.
Sarah would undoubtedly keep him going in the long run, fighting all the harder to make sure she w
as revived. But when it came to calming and soothing him, thoughts of her death wouldn’t do much to help. If anything, as she’d witnessed, Sarah’s death would only further enrage him and drive him closer to the edge.
What he needed was someone like Grace. A little girl who looked up to him, gave him a purpose and an immediate, tangible goal. She helped distract him from his pain and loss, and kept him focused and grounded when he’d need it most. Still, Lumia felt pain. She dearly wished her hybrid form looked more human, so Morgan could see her in the same way. Maybe not in a romantic light, like how he saw Sarah, but more like a human and less like the beast she was.
She kept these thoughts to herself, not daring to voice them aloud. Morgan had enough on his mind as it was and didn’t need any more emotional turmoil messing up his life. She would keep silent and stay with him. He’d saved her from an eternity of pain and suffering, and she would make sure to do the same for him. No matter what it would cost her in return.
51
“You’re back!” Grace yelled, barreling up to him and throwing her arms around his chest as soon as he arrived back at the smith’s house.
“Yes, I’m back,” Morgan said, hiding a smile and carefully patting the top of the girl’s head.
She had no idea how much he owed her. She’d saved him down there, and she didn’t even know it. Maybe he’d tell her one day, but for now, they needed to stay focused.
“Well?” Ivaldi asked, unapologetically butting in and ruining the moment.
Grace shot him a glare, but Morgan just extricated himself from the smaller girl’s arms and moved to place the items on Ivaldi’s table.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said, stacking the green and purple jars of the hydra venom and blood in a neat row. “But we managed.”
The single, dinner-plate-sized, golden scale was dropped to the table next, making a light musical chime that sounded nothing like a regular scale should.