A clattering noise came from Izaki’s knuckles as she waved them close to her cheek. A whip of her arm back, a forward step, then a swing in a fluid motion delivered the objects in her palm into a solid wall. There was no sound or smoke in the air that Glacia could discern. It was as if Izaki had thrown the air itself. Nothing but three minor holes remained, practically six inches apart. Her precision is remarkable. Was that exclusively her strength or did she require ether? Sparks stormed around Izaki’s fingertips and three pebbles rushed to her hand from the holes.

Izaki flicked the brim of her cap. “Did you see? Do you think you could do something like that? Or should I try something else?”

Glacia stared on, seated on a wooden fence with her elbows propped on her knees and hands carrying her head. “I saw… something.” I’m not even sure what I was supposed to see or catch. She has revealed nothing since walking me around the walls. “Was it the throw or the rocks I should’ve studied? Lightning anima users typically augment their bodies with it. Giving them abilities focused on quick reflexes or even instant transmission from one place to another. That of which I am not. So I obviously couldn’t mimic that.”

“No.” A flick of a pebble from her thumb and it pelted Glacia’s forehead, whacking her the fence. “I have experienced Lightning anima my whole life. You have nothing to lecture me about. A trait all anima users have is storing their ether within an object. Something you should be capable of.”

Glacia fell flat on her back, wiping the spot the rock hit. “What the hell!?” Crackling came some from the nearby pebble as sparks of lightning skipped around it. That’s what she means! Why would I do that though? Glacia stood up. “Every lesson I’ve studied from competent masters of anima instructs that storing ether in objects is a waste of energy. You give far more than what you’d receive once you spend it.”

“Lies.” Izaki said with a deadpan stare. She trotted about and thought audibly with her rumbling throat, then peered at another pebble. “Store your ether in an object. It becomes stronger, tenacious. It’s a technique that others have undervalued and proclaim is a waste of time. They’ve investigated methods to bypass learning the proper ability. Ethertech was their answer. That disgrace you wear on your wrist so proudly.”

“This thing? It’s far easier to funnel ether through it than any random object. That’s the design. To be a simple way to enhance our weapons with ether. Doing it your way is a temporary answer. Charging a weapon for a few swings at most before burning the user out unless they wield vast amounts of ether.” She saw Izaki nod, then sauntered over to the giant mace leaning against the fence near them.

“It’s not impossible for the ordinary person. You’re just conditioned to think so.” Izaki clutched the mace and sent bolts of lightning dancing around its body. “A portion of my ether sends sparks through anything I touch. ‘Masters’ teach what I call a delusion. When they’ve simply gone about it the wrong way in reality. Forcing ether into an object is wrong. It must flow like a current between yourself and it. From there, you amplify it according to the wavelength, occasionally quicker, frequently slower. Every object is unique, and you must discover the flow before you channel more ether into it.” The lightning ceased, Izaki lifting the mace and setting it by Glacia on the ground. “Uncover it.”

“Hundreds of years’ historical data has proven that doing such is a waste of time and effort, yet you expect me to believe you. Someone I just met this very day and who looks no older than I am. Nonsense.” Though the words Izaki said made little sense, Glacia couldn’t help but be curious. The potential ‘what if’ of the information Izaki spoke caused her to ponder. Nothing to lose. After brushing the dirt off of her outfit, Glacia grabbed ahold of the mace. Its misleading weight caught her off guard, as it was far heavier than Izaki made it sound. Her strength is definitely brutish. Nearly dropping it to the ground, she fastened onto it with both hands. “Geez…” She pulled it back, leaving the blunt end on the ground as she held the handle. “So, everything has a flow? The effectiveness of it is the question concerning my anima. Ice is unique to me alone. There is no template for me to follow.”

“That’s the best part. The template is yours to create. Making you unpredictable in any scenario. High skill floor with a high skill ceiling. Focus now, locate the flow.”

Unnatural chills ran through Glacia’s already frigid hands, surging her ether into the handle of the mace. Ice gathered at the hilt, spreading from her hands the harder she focused when suddenly a thump beat at the center of her forehead. Releasing the weapon, she fell backward. “What the hell!? Again?”

Izaki juggled a pebble in her hand, staring at it as it went up and down. “You’re doing it wrong. What was happening just then was you forcing your ether into the mace, not finding its flow.”

“But did you really need to hit me in the head again to tell me that!?”

“I hate talking and I’m only here because my sister asked me to be. Hitting that valley you call a forehead is more fun than saying ‘Hey. No. Stop.’. Now try it again-.” The crunching of gathering ice came to her ears, responding with a sudden whip of her arm to send the pebble flying into Glacia’s blade. The blade shattered into pieces, but Glacia rapidly reconstructed another. “Enough.” Izaki shook her head. “I see the problem. You’ve hardly mastered your own anima. It’s not your anima, and that is why you cannot see the flow.”

“What does that even mean?” Glacia had become fed up. Cheeks puffing up with discontent, shifting redder with each second. “You’ve been speaking in cryptic riddles the entire time! How about you tell me what a flow is and how am I supposed to open it?” Glacia swung wildly, Izaki evading each attack calmly.

“It’s not just learned. Life is a flow. Death is a flow. Flow is a sense, twisting and turning, all over the body.” A glance at Glacia and she could see the confusion on her face. Izaki pulled her cap back down over her eyes, then swept Glacia’s legs to strip her footing. “You’ll understand once you open them. Maybe you’ll have to learn the way me and sis did… Which seems to be more your style.” For the first time, Izaki had a smile on her face. “This is a lot more fun.”

The scent of scorched grass stormed into Glacia’s nostrils. Immediately she rolled to her feet, floating bolts of lightning gathering around where she fell. The bolts circled around Glacia, spinning to the point a curtain of light was all she could see. Glacia created a shield over her left hand, scanning left and right as the bolts reverberated around her.

“You’ll defend yourself. Survival is the only way I can teach you how it feels.” Izaki exchanged eye contact with Glacia, nodding when Glacia smiled back. She accepted. Izaki blinked with a grin. Slowly raising her hand into the air, she gave Glacia a moment to prepare. “Ready… set.” Glacia’s eyes ricocheted around before pivoting in place to keep track of the besieging lightning. “Go.”

Blue light gleamed before Glacia’s eyes, prompting her to lift her shield in front and stop the blast. The bolt struck her with more force than she expected, and she lost her footing. Got it! Easy! All I have to do is wait for the sound! She twirled again, anticipating the next bolt. A crackling and she stopped another that knocked her off her feet. This can’t be it! From what she could observe, a flare was the signal she’d need to search for. The flare would flash, supported by a crackle, next a strike. Part of the curtain lit brighter than the others. The sequence had begun. Glacia prepared herself to oppose the attack, foreseeing it would strike at her open back. That was when she realized she could no longer move her legs and the more she tried, a paralyzing sting convulsed through her body. Words could not escape her lips as her body went abruptly numb. The last thought before the world went black around her. Damn.

***

Obscured visions spun in Glacia’s mind. Two energies, once whole, ripped apart before her. Light and Dark splitting down the middle to cover different sides of what appeared to be a room. In the center of it all, she saw a white-haired girl. From what she could make of it, it looked like an image of herself. A hand extended towards the Dark from the safety of the Light. The image’s head turned towards her, a path of blazing crimson flame trailing between them. It crept over both sides of the room, destroying all it touched until the two of them remained. Her eyes widened and the image lunged, blinding her in its embrace.

Glacia’s eyes flickered open, peering at the night sky. “How long has it been?” Two voices came to her ears from behind. One sounded monotone and quick to finish their sentences. It could only be Izaki. While the other, intense with a dash of arrogance. Tsunashi.

“Not even ten seconds, huh?” Tsunashi said, resting on the fence. “I suppose practice makes perfect. Was it necessary to go all out? You’re on a completely different level than her y’know?”

Izuki didn’t say a word at first, but nodded in response after thinking. “She attacked me.” Her reaction prompted laughter from Tsunashi, who patted her on her hat.

“What was that pause? It’s like you have had a loading bar over your head. Running low on batteries?” A deadpan stare was her response. “Disarm her next time or something. I’d rather not have her hurt under the people I want to watch her.”

Briefly thinking, Izaki nodded her head. “Next time.” She saw the satisfaction in Tsunashi’s face.

“Wow! You’re a lot easier to talk to than Izuki! A lot more agreeable, too. Maybe we’d get along better, especially because you’ve yet to try to kill me!” Izaki’s mace suddenly lifted into the air above Tsunashi, causing him to panic and cover his head. “That wasn’t a bad thing! You’re both easy to talk to! You’re just easier!” A peek and he could see the mace lower back to the ground. Tsunashi sighed. “I’ll keep my mouth shut next time too.”

Glacia overheard the conversation. Teeth biting hard into her bottom lip. He thinks I need protection? The idea returned to her memories of the Tarragon. Of the stone cold floors and the scent of urine of each establishment they hauled her to. An isolation similar to one of an animal in a cage. How reaching a hand out would lead to a slap, while scraps of flood slid in her direction. Under the claim that it was her for her ‘Protection’ when they detained her in a tower. A bitter taste scraped her tongue, tensing the muscles in her chest. Another factor that fueled her anger. The bastard considers me useless! That’s probably why he wants me to do something as stupid as finding where this Eye of Embers is! Nothing but a waste of my time! Glacia pressed herself off the ground and stepped in the other direction.

Izaki tipped her head in Glacia’s path. “She’s awake. After about an hour.” A glance at Tsunashi’s face and it read as if his tail would wag if he had one.

Tsunashi hopped off the fence and raced toward her. “Glacia, wait up!” Tsunashi watched her rotate around, spying the anger swelled in her face. Something he was not forecasting.

“So you aimed on making me squat here on my ass, right? Get people to ‘protect me’ when I never asked or suggested I desired protection? I never wanted your fucking help. I just saw it as a quicker way to get my job done, but I see you’re just another jackass working to waste my time!” She spun around and went on walking. “I’m going to kill the Ash. I suggest you do whatever the hell it is you have to before I kill it.” Tsunashi swiftly appeared in front of her, taking her by surprise. His finger poked the center of her forehead, the unforeseen strike freezing Glacia as pain spread around the spot. She was expecting to be transported to his domain again, yet everything remained normal.

“That’s a big bruise right there. Hard to miss when your forehead is all out like that.” Tsunashi smiled with a chuckle. “Does it still hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, you idiot! Especially after you just hit it again!” The dumb look on his face only made her furious. “And what the hell are you laughing about? Stand aside or I’ll cut you down like the rest! Stay the hell away from me!” She reached for her bracelet but didn’t take hold of it yet.

Tsunashi lifted his open palms before her. “Glacia, I…” She brushed past him, with no regard for anything he had to say. And he could do nothing but watch her go. The pit of his stomach weighed densely, yet he felt empty. “I did it again… just like back then.” He turned back to Izaki, whose attention was elsewhere. She stared into the darkness below an adjacent building. “Izaki, are you alright?” At that moment, he could feel what she felt reaching from the shadow. Curiosity, uncertainty, and bloodlust. “This feeling is familiar. I’ll take care of it.”

Izaki nodded, sustaining her glare. Minutes passed as they stared straight into the darkness. Then her shoulders relaxed. Raising the mace onto her shoulder.

“You’re patient as hell.” Tsunashi said. “But you’re not as good at hiding as you think you are.”

Before their eyes, a towering man strode from the darkness as if it drifted from his body. His garbs draped loose on his powerful body and they could see fire ether emanating from his limbs. However, what seized their attention most was the black scales covering his face.

“My Lord?” He said, caressing his hand against the scales. “It couldn’t be. You truly have returned from the dead as well. A relief, I’d think, but that individual you spoke to just now.” He pointed in the direction Glacia left. “That ether, the hair, clearly one of those treacherous White dragons… You’re not protecting her, are you?”

The tensing of Tsunashi’s fist accompanied the question, along with a raise of his chin. “And what if I am?” As Tsunashi stepped before Izaki, the man lifted a hand.

“There is no need to worry, My Lord. I would not burden you with the displeasure of being on the other end of my claws. I merely seek to carry out my sole duty.” Silence drifted between them, along with a questioning shrug. “You recall my duty, correct? In fact, you were the one who bound it to me.” Though the scales kept his face concealed, he could see that his words did not ease Tsunashi, prompting him to stand upright as if he were at attention.

Tsunashi looked back at Izaki, lightning pulsing through her mace. He shifted his arm before her and peered back at the stranger. “State your name and duty. If it was truly I who bound it to you, then I order you. State it.” From within, he could tell that Infernus recognized the person before them. Their identity, however, was a mystery. With how calmly he approached them, perhaps getting an answer would prove just as easy.

A protracted sigh and the man sank his shoulders. “My Lord, Eademark of the Charred Scale regiment, Sindorelix, reporting. Purpose: To eradicate treason from within our kingdom… or what’s left of it. And, if I may please implore you, My Lord, call me Sin. My complete name is needless in these trying times, and I’d think as an erstwhile member of your royal guard, you’d be above formalities. We were closer than most.”

Tsunashi’s face went white, hearing nothing but the whirring of his heart in his ears. Infernus’ suspicions were correct. Royal guard? They’re still alive? How many more of them are there? He must be the preliminary variation. When I went into developing my kingdom. A first of many tests gone wrong. “Eademark… You’ve survived this long? Have you been hunting this entire time? The lack of dragons would make it seem so.”

Sin shook his head. “Hardly any dragon was safe at the end of the war. Most perished then. Death collects us all eventually, but I had the misfortune of being rekindled by a lowly wyvern.” The scales on the bottom half of his face fused into the top half, allowing him to spit a red ball of saliva from his tongue. “Still, though he may have been a wyvern, he certainly was no liar. A White, laid before you like stuck prey, and you let them walk. A White, the dragons that abandoned us all in our hour of need. Their misdeeds doomed the kingdom and left it decorated with our own blood. Are you unwilling to keep them accountable? Afraid they’d do to you what they did to Talion? Freeze you and send you tumbling from their sanctum? Or were you consorting with them? Was that your plan all along?”

“It wasn’t their fault, Sin.” Tsunashi said. “The indignity to man was my fault. We advanced too far, too fast. Split ourselves down the line to be divided and executed one at a time. We lost because of my madness. I led to the fall of our kingdom.”

“To where the duty fell to us!” Sin’s scaled mask crept over his face. “We pledged ourselves to you. Abandonment is treason in every sense of the word. If the king drew danger to our gates, we stand as proud dragons and cut down every enemy who dares step foot in our soil or take to our skies! Until we all perish, our kingdom lives on and I will hunt any who would pursue to consume us. Death to traitors old and new. That White dragon will die. An inconsequential price to pay for what they’ve done and a slight step to restoring the kingdom.” Sin took several steps until Tsunashi swiftly appeared before him.

“Were you ever so unwilling to listen to reason? Stand down and let’s explain recent incidents, like your resurrection. It was Nomu, wasn’t it? How is he recovering dragons from the dead, and what’s his plan?”

Sin’s head nonchalantly shook, and he laughed loudly. Refusing Tsunashi’s proposal with a wave of his finger. “The wyvern was right. He knew you’d stand in my way.” Raising his claws, he scraped them across the scales on his face. Their screech ringing Tsunashi and Izaki’s ears. “I pledged my life, body, and soul! Killed in your name, for your glory. Now look at what you’ve become. Hiding as Talion usurps your kingdom from you.” He read the surprise on Tsunashi’s face, pacing left and right. “Yes. We all know. Dragons have felt your disappearance all over. For the last year, you’ve done nothing but stray. Evading conflict unless it’s brought to you. Just like our war against the Sylph. They’ve deemed you a coward. One deserving of death. I’ve even questioned if I should be the one to deliver it. Though that should be the new king’s right.”

Dragged into his thoughts, Tsunashi couldn’t help but fixate on his remarks. Coward… Mind running blank, he thought about what he considers accomplished since his death. I… I… Have I been just hiding? Pieces of the boy’s past came to him. He saw himself fighting several other boys at a younger age with a bat in hand. As he got older, he avoided such conflict. Submissively shackling himself to those he considered stronger. An image of the woman he took to be his mother stared at him with dissatisfaction. Was this a change in maturity? Or cowardice?

Infernus' thoughts overtook his mind. He settled upon his mountain, reflecting about his kingdom, his people, his love. Seriara arrived, turning her back to him in an instant. A bloody visage dressed her back as she fell to the ground before him. The sight enraged him, fracturing his mind into pieces the longer he looked at her corpse. Until a wild conflagration devoured his body. Yes. I’ve become a coward. And loss is what I fear most. I talk… and do nothing. Let my world crumble around me to individuals undeserving.

“Hello?” Sin asked, examining a flickering light in Tsunashi’s pupils. “Anything more to say? If not, then stand aside. The silence all but supports that you’re no longer my lord and you’ve betrayed all of us.”

Tsunashi didn’t want to fight Sin. Especially at the edge of one of the last sanctuaries from the miasma. However, he couldn’t allow him to follow Glacia. “Sindorelix. You’ve helped me see. Every transgression I’ve created up to this point and my perception in the eyes of other dragons. I’ve really evolved to a degree that’s unrecognizable to everyone, myself included. Thank you, sincerely. I want to offer you a reward should you be inclined to take it.” The tilting of Sin’s head proved that Tsunashi had his attention. Though he knew little about the dragon, there was enough information given in their interactions to lure him away. Tsunashi started thinking, digging through Infernus’ memories. What would gratify him the most?

***

A witch in white accompanied by an amalgamation of a light and dark essence collapsing onto the fires of the Eye of Embers. One of the earliest creations, Sindorelix, the King’s royal guard and executor.

A prudent leader would want those in his circle to share his ideals. The words of the witch. Why convince others when he can create them as part of his own image?

A lone scale is all it took. Incorporated with a fraction of his ether, and he recreated life. Born as an extension of himself. A red scaled dragon baby lay in his hands. Along its head, three black scales linked. He was to be a hunter of justice. His sole satisfaction, seeing the kingdom in unification. Any who stood against that are deemed traitors. Thus earning him the title, Eademark. A dragon who slays dragons. However, to earn a name, he must prove himself.

His prowess was remarkable. Sindorelix savored in the hunt, when fighting as a dragon and even more so as a man. He copied Infernus’ styles and nature, aggressively cornering his foes with swift strikes before crushing them with a ferocious attack. When his claws wouldn’t do, he’d create man made weapons out of his scales. Replicating swords, spears, axes, whatever he needed to ensure unification and forcing the sin of traitors down upon them.

Tales spread of Infernus’ enforcer, but he had yet earned a name. He took part in no wars, as it was not his duty. Far as he was concerned, the world was at peace, nevertheless battle raged on the outside. Dispute between the natural elements of fire and water formed tension within the kingdom. In a bold ploy, Sedna, Deity of Water, split the dragon forces, spewing a cataclysmic wave of water through the continent. The wall raised higher than any dragon could fly. Then she solidified it in ice. The waves forever rushing from within. Naturally, the dragons sought to burn down the wall with their fire. They’d burn block by block. Piece by piece. Whatever melted would instantly reconstruct itself, forever cutting the dragons from the south. The walls name: Salvatus.

With such a play, Infernus considered the war at its conclusion. With no hope of breaching the barrier Sedna had established, the dragons captured on the other side were forever lost. Until a dragon with a heightened potency of fire ether could no longer stand aside. The legendary Tiamat.

A general amongst the dragons, Tiamat refused to allow her brothers and sisters to be trapped in a land unknown. Though she feared the repercussions, she ventured toward the wall with several of her brood. Intent on breaking through the wall. Striking in synergy, they would fail time and time again. A dragon gave up whenever they became exhausted until Tiamat was the only one left. Something overwhelmed her that day, a trigger that they’d only seen in their lord. Her eyes burst in a crimson color as she summoned all ether into one powerful breath of flame. The single beam slashed through the ice, collapsing a path through the wall with no sign of it recreating itself. Though her mission boosted her legend status, it was an attack on her deity. Dissent promptly spread through the kingdom. Dragons losing faith in their king and turning their backs to join under one who would fight for them. This set of events would be her downfall and the rise of an unnamed dragon slayer.

***

Tsunashi crossed his arms as he leaned forward to hold an authoritative stance. “There was a time where the hunt was all you wanted. I’ve known that about you since birth.” Tsunashi said under his breath. “A similar piece from me I’ve lately rejected. When I would calmly wait for the moment to conquer. Preservation of our kind should have been more important than my selfish ambition. An ambition I see burning within you right now. It’s because of that fierce fire, that I know one thing that pleases you more than the hunt for traitors.”

Prowling left to right, Sin glared up and down at Tsunashi. Palms somewhat closed, as if he were carrying a weapon in his hands. “And just what would that be?”

“The need to prove yourself.” For the first time, Sin’s scales dissipated from his face fully. One eye gleaming red while the other was a pale white color. Tsunashi stared him in the face as he could finally make direct eye contact with his brethren. Seconds passed that felt like minutes. Tension raised as their ether intertwined with the others. Removal of the scales meant something. Either Tsunashi was correct in his statement or to read deeper into where he was going to lead him.

Sindorelix stood as still as a pillar, his lips being the only part of him that moved. “You seek to reward me with a challenge?”

“Just so.” Tsunashi nodded. “A challenge against the greatest foe you’ll ever encounter today. One who has earned a notoriety greater than yours as a dragon slayer.” Tsunashi had expected to anger Sin with the comment, however he only saw conviction in his eyes. Sin grinned, a steady exhale leaving his nostrils. His next question, he asked in a raspy tone.

“Who?”

Tsunashi grabbed the arm of his jacket and spun around, pointing a thumb at the strange insignia on its back. “Have you ever heard of a human named Zio?”