by SlyOkami
Erik closed his eyes, but it did nothing to change the darkness he saw. “I’ve lived, and died. I’ve existed for longer than I should have. I’ve made my choices, my mistakes. Now, I only wish for punishment for what I’ve done.”
“And is this darkness you lay in, your punishment? Is solitude how you wish to redeem yourself, child?” the voice asked.
“Then how else…How else should I repay those I’ve failed?” Erik asked, his voice cracking as he held back his tears. “My very name spells failure, my every action a mistake, my very existence…”
“Your own pride cuts you, you know this yet prideful is all you can be. Because prideful is what you are. Dragon, Drakon,” The voice spoke of Erik’s kind in thousands of languages, each one adding to the swelling warmth that suddenly filled him. “You took it upon yourself to do something. You took action, where others simply watched. But that strength, was in the end your weakness, your fall. You were tricked, used and then thrown aside. This broke you, I can see the scars and tears inside you.”
Erik then felt pain like no other, a sinking agony that filled not his body, but his soul.
“But out of everything you’ve done, out of all the destruction you’ve caused. Only you curse yourself now. Only you, hold yourself accountable.” The voice told him.
“Because I’m the only one still alive and capable to.” Erik argued.
“Stubborn serpent…No, it is because only you see it that way. It was not you who stifled a young drake from taking action, it was not you who stuck to selfish beliefs from ages past.” The voice chided, “Every action has an equally destructive reaction. Who you are, is what your elders made you be. What you’ve done, is what they and the Devils pushed you into doing. Your consciousness is filled with the guilt of others. Your pride is a blade. A blade that you, in your own despair, use to cut yourself.”
“But I did as told…I believed in their stubborn laws for so long.”
“So did every other Dragon alive.”
“But I fell for the Devil’s tricks…I raised kingdoms, murdered millions in my wake!”
“You fought for what you believed in, beliefs that clashed with the selfishness of others. Did you not allow those who agreed to live? Did you not create the Xilfir? Did you not allow the young and innocent to escape? Did you not end the suffering of the sick?”
“But I was weak…I couldn’t stop Hell from coming inside, I let it do as it wished with my body and mind…And so many more suffered because of my weakness! My own poeple suffered because of my weakness!”
“That fault is mine and only mine. Do you think all I do is watch? Endlessly I hold my barriers, forever I’ve withstood against others who hunger for my energy. Since the beginning, since my first mistake, I’ve fought to protect the lives that are you, that are I. Would you blame yourself for the failures of your creator? Is that what you wish? Because that weight is not something you are capable of withstanding. So release yourself from it, fool.”
Erik sighed, “You make it sound like I have done nothing wrong.”
“You have done plenty wrong, Dragon. But not all of that wrong, is solely for you to bear. And if the rest wish not to carry their own weight, then why should you do it alone? Why should you carry theirs too?” The voice continued to bore holes into his words, words that before gave him purpose, words that now held him captive.
“Who will…If not me? Was I not the core of all the wrong? Was I not the weapon they used and misused?” Erik then asked, unable to let go of his guilt.
“A wise Dwarf once said, do not blame the blade, but blame their creator. Who gave the blade its purpose.” The voice mused, “Erikathyr, what is your purpose? What is your goal? Do you even have any past what your elders have forced upon you? Past what Hell, has used you for.”
The voice suddenly turned harsh, resonating within his mind with every word.
As the darkness around him suddenly gained light, and colour.
He was shown different occurrences around the world.
Makaela clashing with Risera, her blades flying off at the slippery demon.
Pyra fighting the Dark Fae, Umbra. Ascal toying with his enemies. Zentha destroying hers.
And further away…
Alan facing the winter Dragon of Blue, Findri, the once Hero trying to find the right words.
Sol standing before his people, seemingly speaking to a dreading crowd.
“Each of these, have their purpose. Each of these, have a goal they wish for. A dream they yearn for.” The voice said.
As Erik’s widening eyes paused on the last image.
An image of Thea, with Nerick and Shizuka by her side. The three of them facing a Black Dragon, entangled in its magic, they lay hopeless before it.
“What is your purpose, Erikathyr? What goal have you set for yourself? What dream, do you yearn for?” it asked.
“Is it truly punishment?”
“Is it redemption?”
“Or, is it something else, that you seek?”
“I don’t know…” Erik said, shaking his head as he continued to float in the black abyss, the images fading from sight.
All but one.
The one he was still gazing at.
Erik recognised the Black Dragon, since all Dragons of his time knew each other.
But the one chained green, he did not recognise at all. A young green drake that lay unconscious in the image’s background, bound by black chains as runic magic covered its body.
“You’ve lived this long life, yet you’ve made nothing of it. You’ve lived for the purpose of others. You’ve existed solely for your elders, and later for your puppetmasters. It is time you live for yourself, it is time you make yourself known not as a Drake, not as the Destroyer or the Guardian. But as Erikathyr, The White Dragon.”
Erik’s heart sank deeper at those words, as he looked away from the image. “I’m a drake, disowned and never to be forgiven by my kind. I do not deserve to be called a Dragon.”
“Delirio is called a Dragon, Delirio has his wings. Yet he serves Hell. The truth is? Nobody cares, child. Nobody cares what you’ve done or will do. You’re a Dragon, and the only thing holding you from becoming one is your own pride and guilt.” The voice continued to reprimand him. “Do you not hear her voice? Or have you been deafened by it?” it then asked.
Erik’s eyes narrowed, as he returned to the sight. As the image closed in on Thea, while her lips moved.
Yet he could not hear her.
“Listen child, not with your ears, but with your heart.” The voice said.
Erik did not understand what that meant…
He did not…Until, he saw her eyes.
Thea’s eyes were filled with despair, tears of sorrow pouring over her cheeks as her lips wordlessly moved.
Erik realised he did not need to hear her words, he only needed to see the pain in her eyes to know that she needed him. And that knowledge lit a fire within him. A flame that he did not recognise, a flame that he could not control or even tame.
“Accepting your guilt, is the first step towards self-redemption. The second? Relying on the truth that there is hope.” The voice said, “Go, child. Find your purpose. Find hope.”
As suddenly a very annoyed Kyllix appeared before him.
“So, this is where you’ve been huh?” The Spirit Beast asked, disdain clear in his voice as he glanced about the darkness. He sighed as he hovered closer to Erik, before suddenly slapping his right hand across Erik’s left cheek. The harsh sound echoing off into the abyss.
He said nothing, but as Erik met his cold gaze, his eyes told him everything he needed to know. “I apologise, I kept you all waiting.” he said, his tone truly apologetic.
“You bet you did, little bastard. Now get going, it won’t let me interfere any longer. So it’s all up to you now, and you better not die on me, on them.” Kyllix said snidely as a smirk grew on his face.
Erik’s hands clenched into fists, as his eyes glowed gold, flushing t
he colour into the darkness that surrounded them. “I won’t, for I seek atonement. And until I am redeemed, even as my bones break, even as my blood colours my skin. I will stand, I will run, I will fight. That, I promise.” He spoke in draconic, meeting the Spirit Beast’s cold eyes.
Kyllix’s smirk grew into an amused grin, as he forwarded his right hand to the drake. “Then wake from your slumber, and accept the burdens you’ve left behind. They are heavy, but not as the chains that you bind yourself with. Free yourself of them, and reshape your metal, maybe make a weapon and a shield out of it. Strike down those who stand in your way, and protect those who you hold dear. Heed the Avatar’s words too. This old coot can be frustrating to deal with, but the bastard’s rarely wrong.”
Erik took the God’s hand, clenching it before his vision suddenly swirled and blurred.
“Remember…You’re not the villain of this story Erik, close, but you’re not.” Kyllix said with finality, those being the last words he heard before Erik found himself standing before a barrier of water.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRLdhFVzqt4
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A terrible headache plagued him, as nausea drained him too.
But he remained hovering over the ocean as the pain travelled down to his spine, feeling his bones trembling as he arched back. Feeling his flesh and muscles warp and contort. Agony running down his back as his skin stretched, slowly morphing to scales.
He could feel the change, he knew what was happening to him. Although, he did not feel like he deserved it, pride still swelled up within Erik’s heart.
He resisted the pain, both within his flesh and bones, and within his mind.
(“Was I a fool…to believe in you?”) A pained voice suddenly asked, a voice he recognised.
A voice, he rushed to. Be it water, earth, or magic. Erik broke through, flames and lightning surging about him as he rushed towards them.
(“Erik…”) Thea said softly.
(“Theaviss!”) He bellowed through their bond, feeling the earth crack beneath his landing as he had felt everything else break and shatter on his way down. “Have I ever disappointed you?” He asked, rising to meet Delirio’s surprised gaze with his own, rage and fury swirling within both his eyes and heart.
He then felt the scales on his back shudder as his bones ripped through them, after ripping aside his flesh, growing out into his longest limbs as flesh and muscle moved to gather around them.
“You dare, damage a hair on my Chosen, and her companions. You, of the Black Clan, dare side with demons!?” Erik bellowed, lightning striking out with his every word as he roared in fury. “You dare, side yourself against your own kind. You dare, insult the very Nature that gave you life, with this abomination!?” He asked, glancing over at the unconscious Ivyieth in disgust.
The limbs on his back grew further, forming two beautiful wings of white and gold netting.
And with their appearance, he felt his senses suddenly expand.
He felt new strength rush through his body.
He felt his mana expand with new capacity.
As what was once locked away behind his body’s human limitations, was released in full force.
And what was…
His heightened feelings of anger, his fury.
His coldest feelings of hate, his guilt.
And his deepest feelings of attachment, his bonds.
Before they were his weakness, but now they empowered him, giving him new resolve.
Erik spread his wings, arching them back as golden light glistened behind each movement they made, trailing behind them like sparks of light.
He grinded his fangs, as he returned to facing Delirio.
“What happened to you, Delirio, mate to Zyndreth?” Erik asked, as he beat his wings, suddenly rushing forward at Delirio.
“Once upon a time…I looked up to the both of you!” He bellowed, charging the Black Dragon with all his might.
Delirio’s eyes narrowed at the mention of her name, raising both forelegs forward and meeting Erik’s charge with his claws. Their collision sending waves of draconic energy rampant along the air they stood in, darkness and light clashing within every centimetre of space that surrounding them.
Erik saw sadness within Delirio’s eyes, before being taken over by rage.
“I’ve changed, as have you I see, young Erikathyr.”
Ch 46 / Part 1 - Who am I?
“I’ve changed, as have you I see, young Erikathyr.” Delirio said, as a burst of darkness suddenly exploded between them, sending Erik flying back. He plummeted, crashing back down onto the ground, tumbling over several times before spreading his wings wide and regaining balance.
Erik slid to a stop as he kneeled, glancing back at Thea and the rest, as the chains around them came apart. “Nerick! Grab everyone and run! The Liar’s magic is disabled while I’m here, I can keep him busy while you do!” He told them, immediately turning back to face Delirio before flapping his wings
* * *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZxMY7FZf8
* * *
Erik soared, lightning and flame swirling around his body as he flew up towards the Black Dragon.
(“How are they?”) He asked himself, as his magic clashed with the darkness ahead.
(“What eyes, is she looking at me with?”) Erik thought, too ashamed to look back and meet Thea’s gaze.
A gaze that he felt on himself, as he filled the sky with the light that kept the darkness at bay…
Erik flew all around Delirio, like a firefly encircling a bat. His lightning clashing with the encroaching dark, his flames ripping it aside, revealing the Dragon within.
They clashed, two monsters in their own right. Claw for claw, tail for tail. As wings supported them in the sky, as their elements fought to give the other the edge. But even as Erik matched Delirio’s darkness with his own lightning and flames, his claws and tail were not.
To the Dragon, Erik seemed like nothing more than an insect.
As he flew around it, evading their massive claws as they swiped at him.
Evading the looming tail as it swatted at him.
Keeping his distance from the beast’s maw, as it searched for him, keen on devouring him whole.
Not a moment was left in between their clashes, not a single pause for him to chant or think. Their bodies moved through pure instinct, evading, defending, attacking…It was all just natural instinct to the two Dragons.
There was no rhyme or reason to their attacks either, this was no calculated duel between two knights.
No, far from it.
This was a battle between two beasts. Both the ultimate predator, and as the beasts that they were, no matter how captivating they could be. As they clashed, as the two Dragons battled, chaos reigned supreme all around them.
The chaos of their movements, the chaos of their clashing elements. The chaos, that was the sound they made. Dragons they were, but none of their noble charm was notable as they fought.
A battle that shook the very air they breathed, each clash making it shudder and in turn making everything else quake. Immense power surging through the air in waves of mana, taking the shape of either darkness, flames or lightning.
Sometimes even raw mana itself, blasting out from their colliding attacks and dispersing into the terrain. Shattering it, collapsing the many islands that floated about the undersea lair.
And as they clashed and clashed.
Each suddenly found a pause in between, pushing one another away.
Giving either a moment to meet the other’s gaze.
As Delirio opened his maw wide.
And Erik raised his arms forth.
“Terror of the night, defying the moon’s light.”
“The roar that defies thunder, the breath that mocks lightning.”
Each Dragon chanted in their kind’s tongue, every sentence taking no more than two words to speak.
“Darkness that I breathe, Darkness that I
am!”
“Flames that I breathe, Lightning that I am!”
As a black mass of energy formed out of Delirio’s maw, shaping a sphere of darkness in between his jaws.
As lightning and flame formed at Erik’s fingertips, the electricity merging with the fire and creating a golden blaze.
“I bellow, I order, I roar. And with my roar, darkness I breathe!”
“I demand, I command and I roar. And with my roar, lightning I breathe and flame I speak!”
Delirio’s jaws enclosed around the darkness, shutting his mouth around the energy.
Erik did the same, squashing the golden blaze in between his palms.
“Draconic School; Drako; Delirio!”
“Draconic School; Drako; Erikathyr!”
Both bellowed, both roared in chant.
As Delirio opened his maw wide, sending forth a ray of the darkest black, followed by a low pitch humming sound that reverberated through the sky.
But Erik waited, he waited as the darkness rushed towards him. He batted his wings, moving aside and evading the Draconic breath. Then he opened his hands, releasing the golden flame and sending it forth…
Towards nothing.
The golden flame surged ahead, and further off. Missing the target that was no longer there.
“You forget, who taught you how to fight.” Delirio said, suddenly appearing over Erik, his massive tail rushing down upon the small humanoid all too fast to evade.
Erik was swatted aside like an insect, sent plummeting down like before, but this time into a different island. Not that it mattered, each of the spheres had lost the barriers which kept them up. Each island was shattering, each one undistinguishable from the rest. Falling apart and slowly plummeting lower, towards an unavoidable crash alongside those below.
“I have not, I remember, I remember it all.” Erik said, as he stood back up among clouds of dust. “I remember Elder Tenia teaching me about mana. I remember Elder Zeekiathron teaching me about our history. I remember Elder Kalrunyth teaching me about nature…I remember…Elder Zyndreth, teaching me how to fight.” He said, as blood trickling down his face. “Then I remember you…I remember you teaching me not just how to fight like a proud Dragon but how to fight like a strong one.”