Shadow Slave

His armor was battered and painted dull by dried blood, and the quiver attached to his belt was long empty. The man had been an officer of the Sun Legion once, but now, he returned to kill its commander.

His eyes were full of resolve.

Months had passed since the terrible day when Kai and his most brave soldiers were chained to the white cliff on the Sacrifice Island and left there to be devoured by the Ivory Dragon. Who could have thought that he would be back to this cursed place so soon?

Leaving the heat of the burning city behind, Kai had hidden himself under the island where his comrades were turned to ash by the dragon\'s flame, waited for Sunny to get the full attention of the prince of Valor, and then dashed forward without looking back.

He did not wish to see the white cliff and the soot-covered chains hanging from its surface ever again.

Flying under the last bridge connecting the rest of the city to the Ivory Island, he avoided being noticed too soon, and then ascended into the sunlight. Behind him, a dome of shadows suddenly appeared at the entrance to the bridge, hiding his friend from sight.

With his heart growing heavy, Kai soared above the emerald grass of the Ivory City and finally saw his goal.

A magnificent dragon was laying on the ground, blood streaming from his mangled neck. His white scales were painted crimson, and one of his wings was broken. But the great beast was still alive. He was still breathing.

He was immortal, after all…

But not for long.

In his hand, Kai held a knife made of ghostly glass. Inside the knife, the dragon\'s fate was sealed, placed there by a ruthless god.

Was Kai breaking the will of the gods by delivering it back to its owner? Or completing their design?

He did not know, and he did not care.

All he cared about was killing the dragon.

Kai had never been very strong, or very brave, or very smart. It took him a long time to grow a little. He was not a person of great conviction, either. But if there was one thing he believed, it was that Sevirax had to die, and that his ghastly reign had to end.

The beautiful city he ruled was just too vile.

Gritting his teeth, Kai ignored the pain that had tormented him for months and lunged at the gargantuan form of the dragon.

The Glass Knife glistened in his hand…

But even terribly wounded, the immortal Transcendent was still immensely powerful and deadly. How could a mere Awakened ever hope to wound him?

Before Kai could thrust the ghostly blade into the exposed flesh on the great beast\'s neck, Sevirax suddenly stirred. His eyelids flew up, revealing inhuman amber eyes. His maw opened slightly, wisps of smoke escaping it…

The dragon moved his healthy wing, and a torrent of wind crashed into Kai, sending him spinning. The glass knife scratched uselessly against impenetrable scales, and he was thrown away.

A moment later, a giant claw brushed across his chest. The young man dashed away in time to avoid being killed, but just this light touch was enough to rip his breastplate open and shatter a few of his ribs.

With a groan, Kai fell on the soft grass. His speed was so great that his body slid for a few dozen meters, and by the time he rose shakily to his knees, the dragon was already looking at him, ready to attack.

A hint of confusion surfaced from the ocean of madness hidden in his eyes.

Sevirax lingered for a moment, and then, a low, tired, sonorous voice resounded from all around them:

"You… I know you…"

Kai gritted his teeth.

His surprise attack had failed… he failed.

Now that the Transcendent was aware of him, there was little chance of delivering the fateful strike. No matter how wounded and exhausted the Ivory Lord was, he would still be immeasurably faster, stronger, and more powerful than an Awakened with a weak Aspect. He would crush Kai in an instant.

The immortal was not going to die. Hope was not going to escape. The Nightmare was not going to end…

His friends would not be saved.

Kai might have been able to fly through the sky and see far and wide…

But he was no dragon.

The man with a disfigured face looked at the immortal beast towering in front of him. He shook slightly, and then lowered his head.

...And then, he lunged forward, sending bits of torn grass into the air.

He was fast, incredibly fast… but Sevirax was faster. The great beast twisted his neck, protecting the wound left on it by the fangs of the Beast of Twilight, and then opened his maw to crush the small human between his jaws.

Perhaps Kai could have dodged…

But he didn\'t.

Instead, he accelerated even more and flew straight into the dragon\'s maw, which instantly closed, giant fangs striking against each over with a deafening sound.

Just like that, the crippled man was gone.

The dragon froze for a moment, stunned by the little human\'s unflinching bravery.

…Then, he suddenly shuddered and let out a tortured cry.

Kai, who had plunged the Glass Knife into the soft flesh of the great beast\'s tongue, was thrown back and crashed heavily onto the ground. His bark-like skin was smoldering, scorched once again by the heat of the dragon\'s flame. His armor was disintegrating.

And the Ivory Lord, meanwhile, was becoming mortal again.

Now that his fate had been returned to him, the terrible wound on his neck was sapping him of life. A few seconds more, and it was going to kill him.

But no... not yet!

As a long, sorrowful cry of the great beast echoed across the burning city, Sevras stubbornly refused to die. Straining his battered body, he slowly crawled forward, desperately trying to reach the Ivory Tower.

Which he had sworn to protect.

Leaving a trail of blood behind, the beautiful white dragon torturously wrapped his body around the great pagoda and tiredly lowered his head to the ground in front of its gates. His eyes slowly closed.

It was his… his duty.

To protect it.

He was going to it, even in death.

He promised…

Laying on the soft grass in the middle of a burning inferno, the dragon let out a soft breath.

He imagined a different picture…

A picture of a beautiful white city, its streets bathing in gentle sunlight... full of happy and kind people... thriving, peaceful, and safe.

A few moments later, Sevras, the Blessed of the Sun, was dead.