Dragon Emperor 2: Human to Dragon to God

by Eric Vall

  “Yes.” Valerra’s lips twitched upward into a smile, but it faded from her face quickly. “But my watch is over. I can no longer protect this child.”

  “No, it isn’t,” I promised as I set the dragon egg back down beside her. “We’ll break this curse on you, just you wait. You’ll be able to watch her hatch and grow into a powerful dragon.”

  “You speak such bold words for such a young dragon,” Valerra laughed as she tapped my cheek with a clawed hand. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have attacked you the day you came into the canyon. Perhaps things would have been different, and the two of us would have been able to lay waste to the demonic horde. I regret we will no longer be able to talk atop the waterfall.”

  “Just focus on saving your strength.” I placed my hand over hers and hoped she would focus on living. “We’ll have all the time in the world to talk when we get your curse broken.”

  “There is no when, Evan,” Valerra sighed as she pulled her hand away. “There is not even an if. I have lived all that wretched fate has decreed I live.”

  “You’re fine with dying?” Anger crept into my voice, and I stood to pace in front of the bed. “Just giving up and not even trying?”

  “Nay,” Valerra sighed as she closed her amber eyes, “but even I know what shall come to pass is inevitable. Like the waxing and waning of the three moons of this world, I too shall come to an end.”

  With those words, Valerra closed her eyes and slipped into a restless sleep.

  There was nothing more I could say or do.

  Hours later, I sat in my bedroom with a plate of goat stew and bread laying untouched on the table in front of me. Truth be told, I had lost all appetite since Valerra lay awaiting death in one of the rooms above me.

  There had to be a way to break the curse. Alyona was searching in the archives and through her own literature, but she didn’t have the advantage of having a former enemy sleeping in her spiritual sea.

  Quite conveniently, I just so happened to have one.

  “Asher, do you know anything about breaking demonic curses?” I asked out loud as I stretched back onto my bed. “Did you ever come across something like that during your time with the Green Glass Sect?”

  Nothing. Asher’s voice was sardonic as he replied, like he had assumed I knew better than to ask him something like that. As if we would be allowed to know such a thing.

  “Are you sure?” I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair. “Not even a hint or a clue? What about how they’re cast or something? Anything you can give me will help. Come on, dig into your memory, there has to be something there that can help us.”

  I can tell you it was a Demon Lord who cast the curse on the Crimson Dragon and that the Princess is right. The dragon will die by the night the three moons of Inati are no longer full. Even now, her heart is beginning to wither away and turn to ash. A pity, she’s existed for even longer than I can remember.

  This wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know. Alyona had already told me she believed it was a Demon Lord who’d cast the curse, or at least provided the power for it, since there was no one among the attacking demons who had such power.

  “Why would a Demon Lord curse a dragon?” I frowned as I thought over the different reasons. “Wouldn’t they want a dragon on their side if they wanted to destroy all of Inati? Strategically speaking, it doesn’t make sense. Valerra was already killing anyone who even entered her canyon, why didn’t they tell her killing the rest of the world would keep her egg safe? I mean, that’s what I would do if I wanted to get her on my side. Outright attacking Valerra would be too risky, there’s no way of knowing how she’ll react. And if they were threatening her egg, well, they were just creating their own worst enemy.”

  Who is to say they didn’t make her that offer? But, perhaps, she was content to remain in her canyon.

  I frowned. “So, she was cursed because she wouldn’t join forces with them?”

  Perhaps. I do not pretend to know the inner workings of a Demon Lord’s mind.

  “Why would any Demon Lord waste so much of their forces to bring her down?” I asked. “I feel like it would have been better to have her as a neutral player in the game. Is Valerra that big of a threat to them or is the dragon egg that valuable?”

  The former is quite important. Valerra has existed for over three thousand years. There is no knowing how much power she’s amassed in her body, those who have died at her claws are countless. Many heroes entered her canyon, but none have ever returned.

  “Has the White Jade Sect ever gone against her?” I sat up in my bed at the thought and tilted my head as I considered the possibility.

  No, there is no knowledge of that within my memory. It’s been a rumor for centuries that the king is actually fond of the Crimson Dragon. Otherwise, why would he allow such a massive threat to continue existing in Rahma?

  “Huh, maybe there’s an agreement between them.” I stood from the bed and walked over to the food on the table. “How big of a threat is Valerra to the world?”

  Even if I didn’t have an appetite, I had to eat in order to maintain my body, and talking to Asher would serve as a pretty good distraction. Also, I didn’t have to worry about being rude with him.

  Excluding the king from the ranking of threats?

  “Yeah.” I tore off a chunk of bread and dipped it into the stew. “Just how powerful is the king, by the way? I think you’re the only one I’ve heard call him king. Everyone else says lord or His Eminence or the Seat.”

  Valerra is ranked at Catastrophic. With her power, she could possibly level an entire city in one night, maybe even in less time than that.

  I let out a low whistle at that. Valerra was really quite impressive, and I was definitely lucky to have escaped her wrath that night in the canyon.

  “And the king?” I rested my chin in my hand as I imagined some sort of godly warrior. “He has to be impressive since he managed to unite Rahma into one nation, and he’s been holding the demons back from entering this world for thousands of years.”

  No one knows his true strength. It’s said that even an army of five hundred thousand cultivators, mages, and warriors is no match for him. He is a Cataclysmic existence. He alone has been sealing the Breach for thousands of years by himself. It’s said he is at the pinnacle of existence, a god come down from the high heavens to bless the world of Inati.

  “That sounds like a lonely existence to me,” I replied quietly as I imagined the Breach. Then a thought occurred to me. “Wait, if he’s alone sealing the Breach, how does he rule Rahma?”

  Through a council and stewards.

  “But he never leaves the Breach, right?” I frowned as I wondered how useless or corrupt the council was. “There have to be things happening he won’t know about. Like Alyona escaping from the Mihireti Mountains in the first place. She just slipped out of there and travelled so far south to Hatra. Does the council keep information like that from the king? ”

  There might even be a traitor in the council, how else would the Princess have managed to escape from the Cave of a Thousand Sages? Wheels have been moving since before you arrived in this world, and you’ve only moved the cogs of war faster.

  “What do you mean a traitor?” I sat straight up at Asher’s implication.

  I only have fragmented memories, my knowledge of such a thing is incomplete. All I know for sure is that corruption has taken root in this world, and not even the White Jade Sect is exempt from it.

  So, whoever the representative that came from the White Jade Sect was, I wasn’t going to trust them. I needed to be prepared for any eventuality from them, including the idea that they would try to turn on Hatra and make it seem we’d somehow kidnapped Alyona.

  “Hey, by the way,” I slumped in my chair as another thought struck me, “that lightning power of yours, thanks for helping. I know how difficult that must have been for you.”

  Would you like to learn how to use it? You’re a dragon, after all.

 
“What, you mean I can learn it?” I straightened in my chair at the offer. “But I thought Predation only worked when I killed? How can I use your lightning again?”

  I don’t see why you won’t be able to use it. It is my power, and I am inside of your spiritual sea. Therefore, it is your power as well.

  I couldn’t help the smirk that crossed my face at that. I’d wanted a deadly and precise ability so I would be able to fight in tighter spaces.

  Now, Asher had so generously just provided me with one on a silver platter.

  Chapter 12

  A crystal lamp glowed faintly in front of me as I sat cross legged on the floor before my bed. A gentle breeze drifted in from an open window, and it brought the smell of morning dew into my room.

  Just breathe.

  Asher’s voice echoed in my mind as I worked on falling into a state of absolute calm. He was teaching me how to call upon his lightning and make it my own, but so far it wasn’t the easiest of things to do.

  “I am breathing,” I gritted out as I kept my eyes squeezed shut. “Do you think I’m not breathing? I don’t know about you, but I still need to breathe.”

  A stray thought crossed my mind, and I had to swallow a nervous chuckle. Why was I trying to summon lightning while indoors? Why hadn’t I gone outside and far away from the city?

  Right, because there was a dragon cursed to die, and I couldn’t just leave for no reason. Even if it was for practicing a new power.

  Less stressful. You’re thinking too hard about electrocuting yourself.

  Somehow, I heard more than a bit of exasperated amusement in Asher’s voice.

  “It’s a very valid concern, okay?” I scrunched up my face in a frown as I let myself fall on my back. “I’ve never done this before.”

  There were a million things I hadn’t done in Inati, and there was so much for me to catch up on and learn how to do. I’d had a running start for most of it thanks to my dragon and fighting instincts backing me up in dangerous moments, and my gaming knowledge would help, but only for so much. I’d been blessed with talents and gifts that others didn’t have, but that didn’t mean I could slack off.

  I had to be a genius and work my ass off in order to reach my goals.

  Just trust me.

  That was easier said than done.

  “How do I know you’re not going to try and roast me?” I asked. “You aren’t the one in danger of becoming an overdone lizard. I, for one, am not looking forward to that and would greatly appreciate it if that could be avoided. Also, what if this entire time you’ve just been trying to build up my trust so you can kill me and take over my body? Then you’ll deliver it to your dark master, and you’ll take over the world using my body and my power.”

  You’ve got quite the imagination there, don’t you?

  I could almost see Asher’s forehead scrunch up as he spoke.

  “I do, thank you,” I sighed as I opened my eyes and stared up at the unpainted ceiling. “You didn’t answer the question, though, don’t think I didn’t notice. This is a very valid concern.”

  That’s because it was a foolish question I didn’t think needed answering. I’m trapped inside of your spiritual sea and unable to move due to the miasma poisoning my body. Even if I would want to be a dishonorable louse and betray you, I am incapable of it.

  Asher sounded so sure he wouldn’t be able to betray me no matter what happened, and maybe he was right. After all, when it came down to it, he’d begged for me to set him free of the darkness controlling him.

  In the back of my mind, I could feel how my power worked to free him of the dark threads of miasma that had encroached onto his heart. Even now, days after it all happened, my power had not found a cure or possible relief for him. The only option was to continue slowly unraveling the threads of miasma and cutting back any new growth.

  “You can’t betray me at all because of that?” I asked with a snort. “And here I thought we were becoming friends or something.”

  Friends? You really think that?

  “Well, yeah?” I responded as I sat up and ran my hand through my hair. “I mean, you’ve been helping me out, and you’re just as snarky, if not more so, than me, and I thought we’ve been getting along now that you’re not trying to kill me.”

  I could almost feel the way shock went through Asher. He definitely wasn’t expecting that answer from me even though he was inside of my mind.

  I suppose I can be gracious enough and allow your delusion to continue.

  “Sure, buddy,” I snickered into my hand as I tried not to fall on my back again. “Don’t hurt yourself there.”

  Ha.

  For hours, I continued practicing inside of my room as Asher watched over me. Under his guidance, I managed to create a small orb of lightning in my hands. It was small, about the size of a teapot, but it was pure energy that crackled between my palms.

  Asher wanted me to keep the orb of lightning in my hands for as long as I could, but it was easier said than done. I kept managing to burn the tips of my fingers because, right as I gained control of the lightning, it would fall apart.

  Through some miracle, I managed not to singe or burn anything else in my room. That would have been difficult to explain away to the Elders, but since no one had come into my room, no one seemed to realize I was playing around with lightning.

  I frowned at the blackened tips of my fingers and watched as the burnt flesh healed. This would have been rather difficult if I didn’t have any healing abilities. I wouldn’t have been able to rush through my training otherwise.

  The amount of times I’d damaged the nerves in my hands were countless, and the damage was beyond anything that could be fixed back on Earth. But with my healing ability? My nerves were repaired in seconds.

  There was something odd, though. Every time I burned my fingers, it was like it took more and more lightning to cause the same amount of damage. Like my hands were becoming tougher or something.

  Your problem doesn’t stem from a lack of power. You have more than enough of it that we can continue on practicing without worrying about your wellbeing. Rather, it’s your control. You aren’t used to channeling any sort of magic. Even with your healing, I’ve noticed you just throw power at the problem and hope everything is solved like that.

  I winced at Asher’s observation even though I knew it was true. In my defense, I hadn’t grown up with all of this power and trained in how to use it like almost everyone else in the world of Inati. I was pretty much playing the most intense game of catch up ever with the cards stacked against me.

  I was never one to back down from a challenge, though, and living in this world was the most adrenaline inducing challenge I’d ever met.

  “So, what do you suggest?” I asked as I stood and stretched my arms. “How do I minimize the amount of power I use?”

  You’re a waterfall at the moment, completely raging and out of control. You’ve done what you can to stem the flow, and I doubt building a dam would be of any help. Your power would end up stagnating and building up until it would explode out of control. You may even die from it.

  “That doesn’t exactly inspire any confidence in me.” I rolled my eyes as I walked to the end of my suite. “You suck at pep talks.”

  I walked toward the balcony and realized it was morning again. I’d spent all of yesterday afternoon and the entire night practicing my control over lightning.

  Hn. I simply require time to come up with a solution.

  “Yeah, you do that.” I rubbed my hand along the aching muscles of my neck and turned to head out of my room.

  Right as I passed my bed, I stopped and walked over to the dresser. The two orichalum daggers I’d meant to give to Ilya and Ilyushina were still there, and I decided I would give the blades to them today. The sudden appearance of the demon gate had proved I could take no chances in regards to the dangers in this world. While there were no definite enemies of Hatra, aside from the Green Glass Sect and whoever destroyed Hatra a thousand
years ago, I couldn’t let my guard down.

  I closed my eyes as I grabbed the two daggers and slipped them into my inner robe for safekeeping. My senses spread out through the building, and while I could sense Valerra and the dragon egg, the only other person I found was Julia. There wasn’t anyone else in the building, and I found it odd the two children weren’t in bed still.

  Maybe it was later than I thought it was?

  With a sigh, I left my room and made my way down to the common area to check in with Julia. She would probably know where everyone was and give me an update on everything that had happened while I’d been practicing.

  The wafting scent of food hit me before I even reached the common area, and I wondered what kind of spread had been laid out.

  There was a large wheel of goat cheese as well as various cured meats spread out on the table when I entered the room. Both pickled and fresh vegetables were displayed on low dishes while there were baskets of bread in between the cured meats. I noticed there were also ceramic jars filled with what looked like jams and honey.

  I didn’t realize there were bees in Hatra, unless the honey was brought in by the Blue Tree Guild. Either way, even with the increase in population, it didn’t look like we would have to ration our food if there was this much left after everyone had eaten.

  I found Julia at the far end of the table, surrounded by a pile of books and scrolls. Sunlight came in from the window behind her and made her light brown hair glow as if it were molten gold. She looked up from the book her nose was buried in and smiled at me.

  “Evan, good morning.” Julia closed the book she’d been reading and took a sip from her tea cup. “I thought you would spend the rest of the day practicing your lightning.”

  “You felt that?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Julia laughed lightly as she set down her tea cup. “We’d have to be blind to miss that amount of power. In the future, I’d ask you to practice outside.”