(NATHANIEL) Laying on the incredibly soft and comfortable bed, I exhaled with relief and purred at the beautiful and majestic thing that a comfortable bed was.
‘Ahhhh, and to think that I’ll have to slay a God’s Avatar with the bloody blade that Shadow God uses…
well, used.’ Stopping my excited rolling around in the bed, I frowned and considered my situation.
‘So I’ll just have to use the Slaying Blade and somehow learn how to properly wield it… Granted the fact that I’ve never in my life held a sword, this should prove fun.’ I leaned to the side of the bed and was met with my new companion.
His or her name was Mr.
or Miss Slaying Blade.
The shadow seemed to sense my gaze, and its form shifted as if to look at me.
Then the large shadow quivered slightly as I felt the strange bond we shared activate.
There was a faint feeling of us being connected, and I could sense its dark anticipation.
Continuing to look at the shadow, I extended a hand and sent a message through our bond.
Instantly, the shadow froze before it squirmed.
Then it bubbled, and from its depths, the pitch-black hilt of a sword slowly emerged.
The process wasn’t violent or grotesque, it was actually the opposite.
It held a strange sort of elegance.
Like ink rising through water, the darkness gathered upon itself until a sword gradually took shape.
The crossguard resembled two jagged wings folded downward, while the grip was wrapped in black leather that looked unnervingly similar to living skin.
The pommel ended in a small obsidian sphere that seemed to swallow the light around it.
Then the blade itself slid free from the shadow.
It wasn’t metallic—well, at least, it didn’t look like any metal I’d ever seen.
The edge of the blade was a perfect, lightless black, so devoid of color that it almost hurt to look at.
Grasping it, I felt the strange leathery grip in my hand become slightly colder.
The entire sword was very light, and as I lifted it, it made a slight sound that resembled a snake’s hiss.
I hesitantly got up from the bed and got into a self-made sword stance.
Gripping it tighter, I brought it up and brought it down.
*HISS* The strange hiss sounded, and I frowned, “Can you not?” I waited for a bit, and the bond we shared allowed me to feel its slight annoyance.
I brought it up and swung again.
This time it made no sound, i then did the same motion again, and continued to do so for a few minutes.
‘Haaa, why is swinging a sword this exhausting?’ I loosened my grip on the sword and allowed it to melt into my shadow.
‘Alright then, so Eurys just left me here to wait for him.
Now come the most nerve-wracking hours of my life.’ Since Eurys had once again left to attend to the dragon, I was meant to wait for him, and also learn the basics of swordplay.
Those were his orders at least, but how exactly was a newbie supposed to learn swordplay so quickly?
“You got any idea as to how I can use you to your full potential?” My shadow stirred slightly, then paused for a moment.
The shadow bubbled again, and the handle of the blade manifested.
This time, however, it didn’t just manifest without a word, instead, it sent a slight signal for me to concentrate.
‘Here goes nothing.’ I grasped the hilt, and instantly my vision changed in an unprecedented manner.
The edges of my vision grew a shade darker, while the rest of it was obscured slightly by a shadowy mist.
‘What!’ The change instantly settled into my mind, and I looked around.
Everything around me was gray, almost as if I could no longer see any color.
However, there were a few bits of color here and there.
The colors didn’t belong to objects, however.
Instead, they were thin and incredibly fine pieces of string, some winding around each other and others flowing gently through the air.
All of the strings, however, held the same constant, and that was that every single one of them connected to one point.
Looking in the direction where all the strings gathered, I shuddered and held in a scream.
There, all the strings converged in one single place, a place high above me, and the point they were connected to was a massive and terrifying strand glowing with the insurmountable and impossibly vast Flames of Divinity.
‘This…’ Looking at the blade, I smiled slightly, “Sooo… you didn’t show this to Eurys, did you?” The weapon shuddered in my hand slightly, then a strange noise left it.
*KSK* *KSK* A smile found its way onto my face as I realized what was happening.
Clearly, the Slaying Blade hadn’t taken a liking to the Fated Prince and thus had not shown him this ability.
Those strings were clearly showing me the connection between all the people of the Empire and the Dragon.
‘So if one were to cut them…’ I turned to the weapon to see how it reacted, and it tilted its blade slightly upward before lowering it again.
‘Seeing a sword nod is rather weird, but alright…’ Then the weapon sent me a question of its own.
As I understood it, I smiled lightly and glanced at the entrance to make sure no one was there.
“Of course, so that’s why you chose me.
Geez, talk about spiteful.” (EURYS OF THE NINE) I hummed lightly as I walked through the halls of the wretched temple.
Looking around the place for one last time, I observed all the things that I would never miss.
‘Ahh, I’m just giddy at the thought!’ While I walked, I no longer had to feel that damn thing sticking to my shadow.
Looking down at it, I waved to it lightly, and it waved back to me.
‘I really do despise these shadows.’ While I walked, I focused my senses on the boy behind me.
The young slave walked behind me, and I could just sense his nervousness.
‘Hmm, for someone so excited to see the world burn, he is quite nervous.
Did I maybe give him too much credit?’ Thinking back on it, his speech was rather eccentric.
‘Oh well, all he has to do is kill that blasted dragon.
I’m sure he’ll manage.
Then again, even if he fails, he’ll just die, and I’ll have to postpone my plans.’ But I’d rather he succeeded.
He was, after all, like me, just another victim of circumstance who was taken away from his homeland.
Still, he chose this path for himself, whether he succeeded or not was completely up to him.
As we walked, I still felt the gazes of the other slaves and worshipers looking at me with disdain and contempt.
‘Maybe I’ll kill a couple of them on my way out?
Bah, too much of a bother.
Pointless people require no effort.’ Behind me, the slave kept looking at his shadow.
As I glanced at him, I felt my senses stretch into his soul.
There, within it, I still felt that ominous and terrifying gaze looking back.
‘…’ Shrugging my shoulders, we continued to walk, and I merely smiled.
‘Whatever Weaver has done to you…
it is certainly entertaining.’ The corridors gradually became quieter.
Our footsteps echoed through the polished stone passage as silver braziers burned with smokeless flames on either side.
Their pale light danced across countless carvings etched into the walls.
Every carving depicted the same creature.
Like all the other self-indulgent mosaics in the entire city, they depicted the honorable and mighty Dragon!
‘How narcissistic.’ One would think the creature had run out of artists centuries ago.
Finally, we arrived before an enormous circular gate fashioned entirely from silver.
Its surface lacked a single hinge or handle.
Instead, thousands of tiny scales had been painstakingly engraved across it until the entire door resembled the eye of a colossal dragon.
I got close to the door and spoke the True Name of Life, then the True Name of Progression.
In response, the massive door slowly parted with a resonant groan…
Warm air washed over us, and immediately the scent that persisted throughout the entire temple—the scent of incense—changed.
Now the air smelled of rain and fresh earth, abundant with the fragrance of a myriad of flowers and other natural scents that seemed to embody life itself.
Stepping inside, I watched the slave freeze, and it was only natural, of course.
Even I froze the first time I came here and was met with the same sight all those years ago.
A vast cavern stretched beyond sight, its ceiling hidden behind drifting clouds illuminated by gentle silver light.
Massive crystalline pillars rose from the earth like mountains, disappearing into the heavens above.
A forest flourished throughout the chamber, and ancient white trees towered hundreds of feet into the air, their branches adorned with shimmering silver leaves that chimed softly whenever an unseen breeze stirred them.
At the center of this impossible paradise stood a colossal tree.
Its trunk alone rivaled a fortress, and its roots stretched throughout the chamber like great serpents.
Resting peacefully beneath those roots…
was the Dragon.
Even while sleeping, its body dwarfed any other creature I had ever seen.
Silver scales reflected the ambient light like polished mirrors, each one larger than a carriage.
Its folded wings blanketed entire sections of the forest, while every slow breath caused the surrounding trees to sway gently.
I folded my hands behind my back and looked back at the slave.
He seemed more terrified of the tree for some reason.
Raising a brow, I shook my head and beckoned with a finger.
He was taken out of his reverie and got closer.
Then I pointed a finger at the Dragon, at this time of day, it was resting in order to regain its expended strength.
After all, carrying an entire Realm on its shoulders was exhausting, and then it had to look after countless mongrels who were constantly itching to enter the Shadow Realm.
“There.” As I pointed at the Dragon, the slave shuddered slightly.
Noticing this, a faint smile tugged at my lips.
“The object of our mutual resentment.” The Dragon continued sleeping, it was aware of our presence, however, it had gotten used to my presence, and the presence of one mere slave who wasn’t even Awakened was far beneath its notice…
It was unaware, however, of the fact that death had already entered its sanctuary.
I lowered my finger and began to approach the Dragon.
I was here to soothe its pain, that was the only reason I was even allowed to cultivate my soul.
My Aspect was entirely focused on support, thus it was perfect for the Dragon.
I could easily soothe its pain and make it lower its guard.
And that was what I was about to do.
As I approached it, my hand rested on its snout.
Then the Dragon’s snout rose slightly, and in that moment I shuddered as its eye opened.
Its eye was completely crimson, with a silver slit for a pupil.
That massive eye focused on me for a moment, and the tyrannical will of the Dragon came down upon me.
“Eurys…
You dare bring one of Weaver’s Children into my Sanctuary?” My body ached under the immense will of the Dragon.
Its eyes then focused on the slave, and in that moment of distraction, I activated my Aspect Ability.
My Dormant Ability allowed me to soothe the soul, mind, spirit, and body of anyone I touched.
This ability evolved once I became a Transcendent.
When I became one, this ability allowed me to place marks on anyone I wanted, and I could then soothe them from a distance.
However, I couldn’t just soothe…
I could also do the opposite.
I could bring untold harm upon them, and I had placed those marks only on the ones that the Dragon had the strongest connection to.
So, in that moment, I unleashed all the dire and odious power of my Aspect upon them.
Since this Avatar was so deeply connected to all of them, and was also the embodiment of Life, it suffered the terrible agony tenfold.
Instantly, it retracted from my touch and stood in all its insidious splendor, letting out an earth-shaking scream.
Before it could reach the slave, I activated the mark I had placed on him and soothed him.
The slave collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath as the pressure washed over him, while the Dragon’s roar echoed throughout the sanctuary.
The Dragon’s roar did not fade so much as linger, it pressed itself into the bones of reality.
The entire paradise-like chamber trembled in response, white leaves tearing free from their branches as the air itself distorted under the weight of its voice.
The colossal beast rose fully now.
Each movement carried the unbearable sensation that the world itself was being repositioned to accommodate it.
Its wings unfurled just enough to cast an eclipse over the forest below, and the once-gentle silver light of the chamber dimmed into something cold and oppressive.
Its gaze remained fixed on me.
“You…” The word came out like judgment, and the pressure intensified.
The crystalline pillars groaned, and the great tree at the center of the chamber shivered as if it recognized its master’s anger and feared it.
I remained still and chuckled slightly.
“Calm yourself,” I said mildly, as though speaking to an irritated noble rather than a divine calamity.
“You’re going to damage your own sanctuary if you continue like this.” The Dragon tried to roar again, but then the terrible agony washed over it once more.
Its exhaustion and pain were evident as it crashed to the ground, making the entirety of the temple and castle shake.
It groaned terribly as its gaze focused on me with anger.
“Why…” Just as I was about to respond, I cocked my head toward the slave.
In his hands was the dark blade of Shadow God.
I had seen the blade before, of course.
However, what shocked me were the boy’s eyes.
They seemed obscured by a shadowy mist, and i could feel myself being observed on a deeper level.
‘What—’ I flinched to the side and just barely avoided a small beam of concentrated light from piercing my heart.
Falling to the floor and sliding to the side, I dodged another beam of light and looked at the Dragon spitefully.
‘Talk about honorable.’ I gritted my teeth and looked toward the boy.
He raised the sword into the air, and the Dragon’s gaze instantly flickered to the slave.
However, it seemed to be too late… because in the next instant, the sword came downward.
Then the body of the Dragon grew still for a moment before the light in its eyes dimmed and disappeared completely.
(NARRATION) Nathaniel’s body thundered from the impact of the Dragon’s will, and he just barely managed to remain standing.
Still, he persevered through the terrible pain and brought his hand down slightly.
Then the Slaying Blade danced in anticipation and manifested itself.
It emerged from his shadow, and he grasped it tightly.
Once more, the world grew gray, and now the titanic string connected to the Dragon stood before him in all its terrible glory.
However, it seemed much weaker than before.
‘My chance!’ He gripped the blade tightly and poured all his emotions into a single strike.
As he brought the blade upward, the Slaying Blade trembled in excitement.
The strings that connected the Dragon to War God were clearly visible before the young aspirant.
And the Slaying Blade showed him where to strike.
All he needed was to swing, so Nathaniel took a deep breath and watched as Eurys barely dodged a fatal blow.
The string connected to him grew slightly weaker but still remained intact.
Then the will of the Slaying Blade coursed through Nathaniel’s body, and his thoughts were filled with nothing but the desire to kill.
And that is what he decided to do.
He took a deep breath, and the Will of the Slaying Blade overcame the Will of the Dragon.
The Dragon looked forward toward him with worry in its eyes, and in another moment he brought the blade down, though he moved it slightly to the side.
Now the strings that connected the Dragon to War God would be sliced… but so would all the strings that connected the people of the Empire to the Dragon.
In that moment, he brought the Slaying Blade down, and even though he was far from the Dragon, the blade still connected with the strings, and so, in one clean swipe, the strings came undone.
The body of the Dragon shuddered, then slowly grew still.
After a moment, the light in its eyes dimmed and disappeared completely.
And with the falling body of the Dragon, the string connecting it to War God vanished entirely, while the strings of the people of the Empire recoiled from the severed point.
Then the voice of the Spell sounded in Nathaniel’s mind, speaking with a strangely triumphant tone: [You have slain a Divine Tyrant, Avatar of Life.] Once the Dragon’s will disappeared, Nathaniel finally managed to breathe properly.
‘I… I did it!’ The triumph in his thoughts was evident.
However, after a moment, the Spell continued.
He thought for a moment that it might grant him a Memory, but what followed shocked him far more.
[You have slain an Awakened Human.] [You have slain an Awakened Human.] [You have slain an Awakened Human.] [You have slain a Dormant Hum…] [You have slain a…] [You have slain a…] [You have sl…] [You have …] [You hav…] The voice of the Spell rang in his ears like a chorus of chirping birds.
He collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes in pain, gripping the hilt of the Slaying Blade with an iron grip.
“Gahh…” The Spell continued to whisper in his head, indifferent to the pain it caused.
As the noise continued, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and his mind was soothed.
The voice of the Spell grew fainter.
“Boy… what have you done?” Eurys looked at the slave with subdued horror as he sensed countless lives being lost.
‘How did he…?’ The questions in his mind grew louder, but he forced himself not to focus on them, because at the edges of his perception he felt a terrible premonition.
He let go of the boy’s shoulder and released the marks he had placed on the Saints and Masters of the Empire.
He focused instead on soothing the slave, since clearly he was undergoing some sort of terrible pain.
Eurys steadied himself as well, and the wound on his body stopped bleeding.
He looked at the slave and saw him calm down slightly.
‘Now… I should make my way out of here… but… what will he do?’ As Eurys thought those words, he turned to the body of the Dragon and smiled viciously.
Before he could approach it, he felt something cool brush against his back, and then a sharp blade pierced his heart.
The cold edge exited through the front, and he looked down at it with a shocked expression.
Turning toward the slave with a grave look, Eurys opened his mouth and forced out a question.
“W… why…?” His blood spilled onto the ground and pooled at his feet.
Nathaniel grunted in pain and twisted the blade slightly.
“My life… does not belong to me alone.
There is a duty I must fulfill—a duty to my closest friends.
So I cannot allow myself to die.” Eurys tried to resist, but the poisonous, deathly will from the Slaying Blade began to corrode his body.
Instead of fighting, he looked toward the dead Dragon.
“So… you’ve been planning to kill me… and you have a good reason… how… convenient…” He gasped the words with exhaustion, feeling his body slowly succumb.
He would have died instantly, but the Slaying Blade wanted him to suffer, as if punishing him for daring to take it from its rightful master.
“Gahh… Mother… forgive me… I…” His breath hitched, and he collapsed to the floor.
Nathaniel pulled the blade from his chest and watched as Eurys lay there with a distant, unfocused gaze.
Then Eurys’s eyes widened slightly.
He gritted his teeth with a strange, broken amusement.
“Oi… bastard… I’ll be dying first…” He laughed with murderous glee as the temple wall collapsed, revealing the breathtaking expanse of forests and mountains beyond.
Eurys turned to Nathaniel with a bone-chilling smile slowly.
“Do your best now…” His expression shifted subtly, then the light in his eyes vanished completely.
And the Spell spoke again, this time with indifferent finality: [You have slain a Transcendent Human, Eurys of the Nine…] [You have received a Memory…] “What was he saying…?” Nathaniel trembled as he walked forward.
He moved around the Dragon’s massive, bleeding body and looked through the broken wall at the vast land beyond.
As he did, the Slaying Blade trembled once more in his hand—this time in absolute joy.
Nathaniel looked at the blade with his mouth slightly open, then slowly turned back toward the mountains.
He dismissed the vision that allowed him to perceive the strings and looked upon the world with his own eyes.
Then he froze.
The mountains in the distance seemed to darken, as though swallowed by shadow.
The clouds, once vast and white, began to fade as darkness crept through them.
The world itself seemed to quake in anticipation.
More and more shadows spread across the land before his eyes, and even the shadows within the chamber began to shift as though alive.
Nathaniel understood immediately what was happening.
After all, he knew what became of Eurys after killing the Dragon—he was cursed by Shadow God and had his shadow taken, so it was obvious.
Shadow God was descending upon the realm in all his tenebrous majesty.
_________________ Author’s Note: This chapter was maybe a bit rushed, but i didn’t want to just focus on Nathaniel.
So there you have it, the reason that The Dragon didn’t seem powerful was due to the fact that as i stated it was extremely exhausted, and the reason it’s will wasn’t as devestating as it should’ve been was because it had to use it to keep the people of the Empire alive.
And to surpress the others.
So that’s the explanation, anyway the next chap should be out in like 10 mins.
It’ll be mostly the appraisal.
Also leave your thoughts in the comments :).