Volume 3, Chapter 7: Verath and the Eldest

“You,” I said softly. “What are you doing here.”

“Do you like the two gifts that I bestowed upon you?”

“Gifts?” I asked, unsure of what she was referring to.

Her fingers went together to form a crude sphere and the four-horned female mimicked an explosion as her fingers went apart. She gave a cruel grin then as she saw the flicker of surprise that had pass through my guarded expression.

“Can you guess the other one?” She paused for a brief moment, waiting for my answer. She continued, not the slightest bit bothered by my silence. “Of course you can't. My other gift was killing that baroness.” The four-horned woman laughed for a short while. “It was fun to see the consequences of that result.”

“Anyway, enough talk. You shall die now, Deathwalker to the Goddess Linara. I have confirmed the danger of you living. Thus, return to her cold embrace.” A red sphere of fire formed in front of her in less than a second. “Sweet dre—”

Before she could finish her words, a column of blue fire sprouted from where she stood. Nothing remained after the blue fire disappeared. Not even ashes. The magic had been precise and perfectly controlled. It had only affected its intended target.

“Up above, Verath,” a male voice spoke down.

Hearing the voice, I looked above and saw a tall, white-haired man hovering in the air. Also, floating beside him in a horizontal manner, were Eden and Kiara. They were both unconscious, but seemed undamaged.

Navra Bloodseeker slowly descended and touched the slab of earth I stood upon with a light tap, while the unconscious Eden and Kiara kept floating beside him. “To think I would see a Midling Ethera of the Court of Domination here in the human lands.”

With impassive and calculating eyes, Navra observed his surroundings. A small smile came over him. “Looks like there are still some humans here. No matter though, let us go back.”

“Wait! Why are you here?”

“Why, you ask?” the eldest said with a small smile. “I came here to pick up my son.”

The shock of that revelation felt as if I had been smashed into tiny pieces. “What do you mean!” I inadvertently shouted.

“It means I am your father and your mother is...well...let's just say it is not the emerald dragon you were with. Oh, and no need to worry so much, I already know that you were once a human soul. Otherwise, why would I have allowed you to come to these human lands.”

“What about the other two beings inside me then?”

“Oh, them? Those two are just the souls of the Deathwalker and a Demon Lord I captured and put inside your body when you were a mere egg. You need not mind them. I have sealed the memories of the Demon Lord so he cannot easily escape,” Navra—my father—casually said.

“I am confused. Who was the original owner of this body then? Should it not be a dragon soul?”

“You ask too many questions, son. That said, I suppose I shall explain it to you bluntly. I am cursed to have soulless descendants so I resorted to grabbing the nearest and most suitable soul that had lost its body at the same time my son was born. Thus, you reincarnated into a black wyrm. Simple, is it not? I did not, however, expected such a black color when little Malia, your first brood-keeper, brought you into my chambers. It took a lot of effort to rein in my excitement at that time.”

The eldest chuckled a small bit. “Did you not find some of the actions of your first brood-keeper strange and our first meeting even stranger? Did you not realize when we first met, I had the same white hair as you do now?

“Ah right, the blood mark I put on you also serves to somewhat curb the influence the two souls have on you. Due to the strength of its restricting nature, your true dragon-form is also somewhat affected. Transforming only parts of your body, however, is a method to get around this.”

The eldest continued speaking, unhindered by the look of surprise on my face and the silent state I was in.

“I had been observing what happened after your near-death experience with the lich, and I was right. When you were near death, the Demon Lord took control of your body for a few brief seconds and the seal became weakened. Thus, I strengthened the seal after you touched the orb and further strengthened it when you came back from your second tribulation. In conclusion, you will feel an agonizing amount of pain if you transform into your true dragon form.”

“Then why did you even put the two souls in this body in the first place if they were going to cause so much trouble?” I asked with disbelief in my voice.

“For the sake of my boredom, my son,” Navra merely replied with an amused look. “You will be a First Monster, one of a kind.”

“...”

“Anyway, let us go back..”

“Wait,” I said, walking toward Efari's corpse. Her straw-colored hair and her darker-than-ever eyes were in a disarray.

“Ah, a Matriarch Devourer, eh? I remember they were the servants and mates to the Deathwalker of Goddess Linara. It is a shame almost all the gods and goddesses, however, have abandoned this world millenniums ago.”

“She was the last matriarch,” I softly said toward Navra, while still continuing to look at the last Matriarch Devourer.

“Rest well, Efari.”

I removed my winged helmet which had not gotten lost in the chaos. My enchanted black armor was tattered beyond recognition and my longsword was missing, most likely destroyed or buried under tons of rock.

I put the winged helmet, whose wings had been shattered and burnt off, beside Efari. It was no longer a winged helmet, though I kept calling it that. Both helmet and body was broken and dead.

Finally, I summoned the Flames of Interitum, drawing upon the black pool of magic that belonged to the Deathwalker and perhaps the Demon Lord that was inside me. The flames quickly covered the entirety of Efari's body.

And soon, not one sign of her remained.

Death had claimed her.

“A familiar sight...The flames of oblivion, or Interitum, to be precise,” Navra said from behind me. “They are flames that belong distinctly to the higher nobility of the demon race. Even I had a somewhat hard time facing them.”

I turned around to see the eldest looking at me with impassive eyes. It did not match the smile he formed on his face. There was just something incongruous about it.

But I dare not reveal these thoughts to the eldest.

I could somehow sense that he was withholding some information from me. Or perhaps I was just being led toward some greater destination, an end which I knew nothing of. An end which I could do nothing about...for now.

“We can leave now...father.” I said the last word hesitantly. “Nothing but memories remain here for me.”

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~ 3 Months Later

I stood hovering in the air above countless islands. The view below was expansive since I was more than two thousand feet above. The countless islands of various sizes were surrounded by water as far as my eyes could see.

I descended using the black feathery wings that sprouted from my back and using some Air magic to stabilize myself.

When I landed on one of the larger islands, the sea-dwellers who called themselves the Drenai, quickly greeted me. Drenai women and men went down on both of their knees. Even their children stopped playing among themselves and bent their knees.

The island leader quickly separated himself from the mass of Drenai and bent as low as possible. “Demon Lord Codrixas, we are honored by your magnificent presence,” the island leader smoothly said in a flattering voice.

Age, it seemed, had brought wisdom to the old Drenai.

“I have come for a sacrifice,” I stated plainly, not one ounce of emotion in my voice.

Shock passed through the islander leader's face. It was quickly hidden. The old Drenai had been this island's leader for a long time, and he had the sense to not go against me.

This time, however, the old Drenai differed.

“Isn't it too early for a sacrifice, Great Lord?” the old Drenai asked in a placating tone.

His question, though masked by the placating tone, was still too forward and disrespectful toward me.

It was the last question he would ever ask.

The old Drenai island leader did not even have a chance to scream out before he was entirely devoured by the Flames of Interitum. He had been obliterated. Not one shred of his existence remained.

Some of the Drenai children screamed out, but their mothers quickly put a stop to it. I allowed no screaming or unneeded noises in my presence. I was feeling merciful today, so I let the few screams pass by without doing anything in retaliation. Next time...there would be no next time.

The weak had no need to complain. The strong dispensed mercy, and the weak dispensed obedience. It was a natural law among demons and all other creatures.

“Who is the next chain in command,” I asked unhurriedly.

A middle-aged Drenai—they lived only a little bit longer than humans, though granted some powerful mages lived longer—spoke up. He came hurrying forth from the crowd of Drenai and bent even lower than the old Drenai had.

“It is I, Great Lord.”

“Very well. Bring me my sacrifice.”

“Of course, Great Lord,” the new Drenai island leader said with obedience. He gave a look toward some of the Drenai warriors, tall muscular males that trained intensively with their natural-born aquatic forms.

The warriors soon surrounded a small girl and ripped her apart from her crying mother, who was helpless against the crowd of Drenai that did nothing to stop the warriors. They only watched with sadness, some of them even turning away from the scene.

All of them knew not to interfered. Thousands of Drenai people had died before they had learned their mistake in raising their hands against me. Rebellion was not accepted.

“Mommy!” the girl Drenai cried out in fear as two warriors dragged her toward me. She had most likely heard of these sacrifices, but never knew what they truly were. None of the Drenai knew.

The other Drenai warriors looked impassively at the girl while they held back her mother. “Do not cause anymore unnecessary strife,” a Drenai warrior spoke up sadly with a mix of resignation.

The mother could only burst into tears at that.

“Please, stop! I don't want to leave my mother alone! Father already passed away!” the Drenai girl sobbed with the voice of a twelve year old. Or at least that was what I guessed to be her age.

I only looked at her indifferently. Then I carried her forcefully with one arm, locking her in my chest with one smooth motion. The flapping of my wings caused a small storm of fierce winds and in a few seconds, the Drenai girl and I were high above the sky, moving among the few clouds.

“What do you plan to do with me?” the girl finally asked after all of her tears had dried out. She had sobbed her heart out.

“Sacrifice you,” I said without the slightest bit of hesitation. I felt nothing for the girl. Nothing but indifference, for most of us demons, especially a Demon Lord such as I, were born selfish, cruel, and indifferent.

And I was one such, connected with death, which was symbolized by the black flames I could use.

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I snapped out of my reminiscence, helped by the coldness of the waterfall I stood underneath. These days, the memories of the soul of Demon Lord Codrixas were forcing me into sudden relapses. We were becoming more integrated.

The Deathwalker, champion to Goddess Linara, and my second soul, however, was still sealed. For now, I had nothing to do with him.

I shook my wet hair free of some water and stepped out from beneath the waterfall. The lake was beautiful and untouched by most. It reflected my face with an almost crystal-clear image.

My eyes had turned dichromatic. My right eye, as usual as ever, remained a light green color, whereas my left eye had turned entirely red. My white hair had grown longer again, so I had cut it short. Now it only reached toward my shoulders.

I was half-naked, wearing only some light, black breeches. On my stomach was a reinforced blood mark seal which also served as a tracking device for my father. It was of an intricate scarlet design, patterns of flames that started out from the center going toward around each other, until it formed an even intricate circle. On the edges of the circle were small, black triangular marks, a dozen of them that surrounded the whirlpool of flame patterns.

Furthermore, on my back was three connected spirals with various jagged spikes and small flames devouring a tree. It was a tattoo that marked me as the Deathwalker.

“Verath!” a small high-pitched voice came from behind me.

I was not surprised by that, because I had already noticed it. My sense for magic and my surroundings had become better in these last 3 months.

“Aqua,” I turned around and said toward the two feet tall fairy. She was an Asrai, a race of small aquatic fairies that lived in the central isolated lake in the furthest of the northern parts of Valian continent, where the Arkanan clan territory was located at.

The fairy with the appearance of a slenderly proportionate young maiden came flying toward my chest, her tiny and delicate wings beating against the air furiously. She collided with my chest, making a soft moan of pain, and dropped the small fruit she was holding.

“Ouchie!” Aqua said loudly to herself before righting herself in a normal flying position. She was now face to face with me and only about two feet away.

“Verath, I brought you a fruit,” she said shyly.

“I can see that,” I said, holding up the small fruit she had dropped. It made Aqua blush even more. She was an extremely clumsy Asrai fairy.

The fruit was pear-shaped and I could have enclosed the entirety of the fruit with an easy grasp in my fist if I chose to.

I quickly ate the small fruit she had brought for me with just one whole bite. “Thanks, it was a sweet taste.”

“Hehehe. You don't need to praise me that much,” Aqua said, batting her long eyelashes demurely.

She was a strange fairy that had grown attached to me after I had saved her from some troublesome monsters in a forest lake. She was also known as The Clumsy One among her other friends.

“Right. My one week break is over now, so this shall be a farewell, Aqua.”

“No!” she said with a firm voice. “Let me come with you. I still need to repay you for saving my life. I shall serve as your temporary caretaker for a while,” Aqua declared.

“I would rather you not,” I said with indifference, yet mixed with some firmness.

“You don't want me?” Aqua asked, tears quickly forming from her aquamarine eyes, which matched the color of her long hair.

I didn't bother to reply and it made Aqua cry out even more. Her tears were now like a stream of water.

“Alright, fine. Just don't be noisy,” I said.

“Yes! I am to be your wife now!” Aqua said with a loud cheer. “Ummm...I mean your temporary caretaker.”

“Yes, yes. I know what you mean,” I said without even thinking.

My thoughts were more occupied with the Dragon's Duel of Dominance I would soon have with Eden.

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“You are flying too fast for me,” Aqua complained. “My wings are delicate, you know. A slight phish and a zwoosh there and I will break.”

Hearing her complaints, I slowed down a little until I matched her pace. Despite her being only two feet tall, Aqua was a pretty fast flier, so we still made good progress toward our destination—the Conclaves of the Arkanan Clan.

The place was a series of relatively flat, enormous mountains. And on these mountains were small lakes, upstream rivers, and dense forests filled with many creatures and animals. It was considered the capital ground and general meeting area for the dragons of our clan, and was located in a vast, hallowed out area between the two central mountains of the series of mountains.

Likewise, for the six other clans, there were also similar capitals.

It was there that I would hold the Dragon's Duel of Dominance with Eden, who had been off training with her broodkeeper for the last three months.

After a few more hours of flying with some short resting periods for Aqua, we soon arrived at the Arkanan's Conclaves.

Our location was the Amphitheater of Dominance, an arena that could easily fit more than a hundred dragons, and still have space leftover for them to roam around. The outer walls and the seats (made for dragon spectators) of the building were built out of a material that looked similar to obsidian. It was a building made for dragons, not humans, so you could only imagine the scale of it. The battlefield inside this building, however, was just solid, earthen ground.

I entered the arena from the sky above, not choosing to use the large entrance in the outer walls of the amphitheater. There was a also second entrance that was located in the inner walls of the amphitheater, which enclosed the battlefield.

The Amphitheater of Dominance was already busy despite the day being only early afternoon. There were many spectators, some in their human forms, but most in their dragon forms. The few ones that were in there human forms were entirely naked; only a few of them were dressed in a full attire, clothing which they had most likely bought from the neighboring races that lived around the territory our clan controlled.

The territory our clan controlled was the size of more than five human kingdoms. It would take months for me to fully explore it, and that was taking into account my flying.

My eyes wandered for a few moment before resting upon a small white-haired girl watching the arena with a bored look.

“Father,” I said, dipping my head down respectfully. I did not bother addressing him as our Astlan Dragon King. Navra, my father, had not liked the title. He much preferred being called Navra or father, if I may be deluded into trusting my judgments.

“It took you long enough, dear Verath,” the white-haired girl replied.

I was unfazed. For others, it may have felt as if a small twelve or so year old girl had suddenly become your father, but to me, I was already used to such things.

“This is such a boring fight, though. They are lacking. It almost makes me doubt that they are already fifteen year old dragons.”

With my dragon eyes, I could clearly see the fight that was taking place down below inside the Amphitheater of Dominance. The battle was between two dragons, one red, and one blue. They were about the same size.

At least, they were the same size, until the red dragon used one of his ability. The used ability almost doubled his size and increased his muscle mass. His eyes also turned a deep red, the pupils shrinking a little.

The red dragon was using Berserk Rage and various other abilities that were granted to him as a red dragon. The blue dragon retaliated by using Acceleration, an ability which enhanced your speed and slightly decreased your weight, though it is not shown outwardly.

It was now an outright battle between speed and strength.

The two dragons, however, did not use magic. They had most likely been born with very little magic capacity. Of course, they would eventually be able to use transformation magic and go into human forms, but that would take centuries. It would take quite a while for their low magic capacities to fully develop.

There were, of course, other ways to transform if one truly wanted to do so.

This was through the magic of the Ancients, magic which was solely unique to our draconic race. Some of the Ancient abilities or magic, you would not even need to have a magic capacity to use them. But those were few in numbers and extremely hard to cultivate.

So in the end? It was better to be born with a magic capacity.

For example, Virdus Incentia and Virdus Glacia.

These were two restrictive Ancient magic. It depended upon the dragon having the required elemental affinity and enough magic reserves.

A few more minutes passed by quickly as I spectated the match. We stood side by side, Navra Bloodseeker and I.

We were a strange pair.

A human soul in the body of a black dragon with two tag-along souls for the mix, and the mysterious king of the dragons, who did not look at all intimidating in the form of a twelve or so year old girl.

The battle ended with the red dragon as the victor.

It had ended when the blue dragon had been finally caught by the Berserk Rage induced red dragon. There were multiple gashes and torn scales on the red dragon, but it was nothing time could not heal. As for the blue dragon, his whole right limb had torn off and blood was pouring out of it steadily. It was enough blood to fill three humans.

The Dragon's Duel of Dominance had established the red dragon's dominance over the blue dragon.

The duel was not so serious as to warrant dealing out killing blows dragons could not heal from. No, the Dragon's Duel of Dominance was only to establish a hierarchy between the dragons. It would categorize you into a rank, the strongest being the Eldest of a clan and second strongest being the Elders of a clan.

Only dragons who have passed their third tribulation could participate in the Amphitheater of Dominance.

Eden and I, however, were the exceptions. No one would go against Navra once a decision was made. He was Astlan dragon king.

And of course, he was peerless in regards to ranking.

He was the strongest and most likely the oldest dragon in the world.

Peerless.

Volume 3 (Chapter 8)

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