And the burning city rumbled, thunder sprang to life, as the sky cracked. Like glass shattering, lightning wiggled in the sky.
'More'
I slammed my claw down, breaking its head once more
It grew again, the empty head, twisting and morphing back into a complete head, even while beating it with its spine, it came back.
'Again'
My chest swelled, up, and my dragon heart stirred, flames drawn from the sky embedded in my chest.
I, who weaves thunder, had the sun in the palms of my hand.
Where was it written that I only had the authority of thunder?
So, I harnessed the power of the sun through faith, and the dwindling number would only be justified by the death of the abomination.
'More.' No matter how hard I turned its head into mush. It just kept coming back.
I could feel it; time was slipping.
The longer I stayed, the more I felt rejected by the laws of this world.
My form was slipping, the realm rejecting my glory. The divinity that created this vessel is dissipating faster than it had when I forced growth.
With a roar, I unleashed my breath upon its body, my claws digging into its shoulders, holding it in place, and the creature became ashes, its ashes becoming nothing.
My eyes lingered on it, but nothing stirred. It was too early to be happy, too easy to feel accomplished.
The machinations of a god couldn't be this simple.
That's when I felt it, a wave of dread, like nausea passed over, surrounding the city. Lothar's eyes glaring in the blue sky.
How dare he?
I launched myself into the air, my wings cutting through the wind.
My rage followed, and a storm formed.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Diana couldn't believe what she was seeing. The sky became a literal hell, a storm like one she had never witnessed.
And when the storm came, it all stopped. The warriors and the Hollows alike stared in horror into the sky.
This couldn't be Bahamut.
She clenched her fists, her eyes narrowed.
How could something made from fear feel fear?
It was a question she had no time to think about, because the giant storm loomed over. But if just that, she wouldn't have been as worried.
No.
She held her shaking hand and tried her best to breathe. Diana felt her head throb, a sensation of overwhelming dread, and a notion of sanity warning her not to look.
It was nothing like what she had ever experienced.
Not when the creature consumed the beach, not when the abomination formed.
Diana tried to move, biting her lip and drawing blood.
The pain didn't help; she was stuck
Frozen in fear.
Her eyes twitched as sweat endlessly dripped down her brow.
The world shook and trembled. Words descended from heaven.
[Vereor.]
Dread spoke, so the world became dread.
She shut her eyes rapidly, liquid flowing from her eyes, the metallic taste of iron in her mouth.
The sound of fighting ceased, and only the muffled sounds of screams echoed.
Darkness enveloped her vision.
Her heart started to beat rapidly; she could even faintly hear it. It felt as if it would burst out of her chest.
Diana's eyes slowly came open, the red staining her vision.
But that was all the color she could see, the suffocating silence only ruined by the sound of her own heart.
She was smaller, or younger, she didn't know. Her eyes tried to look around, but they fell upon nothing.
The floor melted with the walls, and what she saw could only be described as empty. No color, not even white or black, just emptiness.
"Diana." She muttered loudly, the sound was absorbed, and not even a whisper was heard. The only sound was the metronome of her heart.
It was deafening. How could silence be so loud? It was a question she never had to ponder until now.
That wasn't even the worst part. She had no clue why that name left her lips.
Diana? Diana... Diana?
She touched her red-stained lips, 'Who was Diana?'
'I'm who?' She drew a blank as she sat down and hugged her knees. Her eyes opened and closed, but nothing changed; the same emptiness was still there.
Her breath became short, and she started to breathe rapidly. There was no light, and there was no darkness; it was just nothing. No color, no light.
Alone.
Alone, she repeated the word in her head, her fingers digging into her soft flesh. Even that felt muffled.
She tried again and spoke.
"Hello?" That was a bad idea; it was a dissonance that struck at her core. Her voice didn't travel, nor did she hear it; the only proof that it was spoken was her memory. The words absorbed into the empty place, much like the light and colors.
She started to feel cold, or what she thought was cold, much like sound; she was even deprived of that feeling. Warm or cold, those concepts existed in her mind, but when she tried to feel, she couldn't.
A hand moved on its own, and she slapped herself.
The sensation was vivid, but then it rapidly faded, like it had never been.
She wanted to scream, and she did, but nothing echoed in the void. Her beating heart didn't stop, her trembling never ceased. The bone-chilling fear embedded in her heart never left. But she stood, and she started to run, and she kept on running.
What felt like hours passed, and then days, and then weeks passed.
She didn't grow tired; she didn't hunger or thirst. Even that was taken away from her. The only thing she felt was dread.
Who was she?
Who was Diana?
Was she Diana?
She held her throbbing head as she ran, the sensation of touch absent. Replaced by a growing madness.
'Diana' hated being alone.
She stopped running, her legs buckling on their own.
It wasn't fatigue; she didn't get tired.
She curled into a ball and silently sobbed, even the whispers were absorbed.
[Diana.]
A voice echoed in the void.
Yes echoed.
She looked up, her face filled with tears, flowing down like a river. Her bright red eyes lit up the darkness.
And light seeped in, the world around her shattering, and in the distance, she saw the sun.
It was so bright and radiant, she couldn't help but marvel in worship.
A single name slipped from her mouth.
"Bahamut."
The fear and the dread dissipating, and instead, endless warmth filled her. Like it was her mother's own hands wrapping around her waist, her soft hand brushing her hair past her ear, and whispering in her ear.
"It's going to be alright".
Her soft lips pressed against her forehead.
Tears continued to flow, but this time not from dread.
Yet she couldn't afford to feel this way. Diana clenched her fist, her nails digging into her skin, the red blood dripping onto the ground, and staining her pale skin red.
She clenched her teeth, and flexed her shoulders, her arm outstretched as she pulled her axe from the void.
'What a nasty prick.' She cursed the god of dread.
But just because the dread stopped flowing, it didn't mean it was over.
No, if anything, everything just got a whole lot worse.
Diana could feel it; her connection with Bahamut was becoming fainter, and the presence in the sky was getting stronger.
The world shook, and the floor beneath her moved.
With Bahamut in the sky, acting as a deterrent for Lothar, the warriors felt renewed, and their bodies glowed golden.
They fought against the new marching army with renewed zeal. But it wasn't enough.
From the ashes of the dead, more rose, and from them came more. Former allies killed friends, and families tore each other apart.
Dread had become reality.
The city that once burned became engulfed once more in a horrid flame of dread, and the streets became dyed green in blood.
Her eyes moved to Ria, who was killing so many. Even her blue eyes started to lack luster, even her wyrm sang from above, burning hollows into cinder.
Diana's eyes turned to Leah.
Her halo was dimmed considerably as she continued to pray for the warriors fighting.
This was bad.
She jumped into the fray, her axe in hand, as she moved past enemies, slaughtering all those in her path, Ignis joining her from above.
<><><><><><><><><><><><
Lothar, whose eyes were glaring right at mine, spoke.
[Oh great Thunderer, Great architect, Father of the World Tree, have you gone blind?] He repeated in mock zeal.
[Foolish god, a single spark of dread is all I need.]
[And you, lord of Currents, handed me the reins.]
Laughter that sounded like death incarnate rattled, as the sky shook.
I could feel it, he was tearing at the laws of the world, bending causality, he was descending, whether in his true form, or a fake one, I did not know.
The burning city, the dead coming back, the abomination, it was all part of a greater ritual, and we all walked into the palms of his hands.
I did not know him, but it was clear now that his intention was not to rule but to destroy.
Regardless of whether it was his real form or not, I was ill-equipped to fight a true god.
The sky began to twist, and the sky churned as if to greet his arrival.
What else could I do but prevent his descent? I inhaled, the air around me moving into my nostrils, as if they were jets of air.
I pushed with all my force and held the tear close; at a certain point, I started to hold up the sky. My muscles began to bulge and ache, and pain shot through like it had never done before.
The faith that I stole, which was running on fumes, began to deplete even more rapidly.
"Save us" Prayers began to arrive in earnest, like a damn which had been broken, the faith poured in.
It wasn't enough, only barely enough to hold him back.
It laughed at me, knowing I wouldn't be able to win this fight.
My muscles, which screamed and threatened to pop, tensed further, and determination filled my gaze.
I was too tired of being angry.
I hated it, I hated to fail, I hated to lose.
I hated being angry.
Damn it, I gritted my teeth and roared, my form becoming transparent as I pushed back. Flickering between reality and my home. I could feel it, a call to go back.
If I just let go, if I just stopped. I would be back, this wasn't my life, I wouldn't die.
I promised her
Since when did I run?
With something that was barely considered a laugh. I pushed forward.
I used the clouds as steps, and pushed, my core burned, and my spark screamed. Every fiber of my being, yelling at me to give up.
It's okay, you did enough.
You barely know her, and you don't even know these humans.
Rock bottom was a dangerous thing. It clouded my mind, yet here I was declaring I'd win.
Of course, my notion of a win was vastly different than what the normal one would be.
I refused to lose anymore.
She would live, and I would save as many as I could.
[You can't win this filthy Dragon] It jeered as it pushed down its finger
Even knowing his words were true, I roared and pushed forward, the sky flashing. It was funny, I was losing against a finger.
I didn't care. Blood seeped into my mouth, the golden ichor a weirdly delicious flavor.
Turning to look at Diana, I sent a revelation, I knew I couldn't hold it back for longer.
[Take the girls, and as many as you can, and run.] Did the words contain the dignity of a dragon or a god? I didn't care.
Not affording another moment of distraction, I focused my might on preventing Lothar's Descent.
[You will never win] I sneered, as I pushed forward. The words felt empty leaving my lips, but I said it with the passion of a thousand suns.
It felt like pushing against a brick wall that wouldn't move. Instead of moving it an inch, I was slowly being pushed back.
A Variable, as I felt like all hope was lost, I felt something in the sky. As all dread was his, the sky was mine, and I could feel something rapidly approaching.
Sparing a moment of distraction, I took the gamble and glanced. An airship that resembled a blimp was flying in the sky, and at the front of the bowsprit (pointy front of the ship) stood Diana's teacher. On her head was a Mage's hat, and in her hands was a staff. She was wearing an indigo robe.
Mana gathered around her, as if they were cuddling their favorite child.
As much as I wanted to be relieved, what could a human mage do that I, a dragon, couldn't?
Still, a spark of hope was ignited.
"Never a dull day with you, princess." The Teacher spoke as a magic circle engulfed the battlefield, and ice shards fell, while branches wrapped around the hollows, pulling them downward.
It wasn't enough, as more just came and filled their ranks; it was like a swarming army of rats.
Mocking laughter that only I could hear rang in the air.
An old, distinguished gentleman stepped forward off the edge. He had tight-fitting knight Armour that covered him from toe to neck.
"Allow me, Miss Kaede." He stepped forward and drew his sword, the arc curved beautifully towards the sky, and surprisingly enough, it tore through the void and hit Lothar.
Lothar recoiled backwards, and his hand, which almost pushed me back, retreated. The hit didn't do damage and merely delayed the inevitable.
But it was still impressive that a mortal touched a god.
[YOU DARE MORTAL!] His voice trembled.
The Old-Man smiled and traced the edge of his sword with his finger; the sword glowed brilliantly light blue. He pulled back and swung again; it was like watching art. The swing cleaved the army of dread in half.
"I will help the noble dragon, focus on getting the people to safety." He spoke as he leaped off into the sky.
I gathered a cloud to help him fly. And he stepped onto it beside me.
"Bahamut." He greeted as he drew his sword once more, Lothar's hand started pushing with more desperation.
"You look different." He continued as he swung his sword once more.
Unfortunately for him, I had no clue who the hell he was, but I nodded at him and continued to push with all my might.
"Damn it." Miss Kaede bit her lips. "I better get a raise for this," She whispered so softly that only I could hear.
A giant circle encircled the city and the outskirts.
It was written in ancient draconic language, a mass spatial teleportation spell, that was modified to save the living. I almost marveled at how talented a mage she was, but knowing the spell that required an adult dragon to cast, I surmised she didn't have enough mana to save everyone.
So, I did, the only reasonable thing a fake god could do.
Focusing on her, I blessed her and funneled all my remaining divinity into unlocking her shackles.
The one placed by the god of Mages
Every bit of faith was invested into her and the spell she was crafting. Her eyes lit up, and she feverishly focused her mana like a beam.
[Congratulations!]
[You have appointed an apostle!]
"Go. I will hold him off."
The old man waved with a smirk and jumped off into the circle. The glowing mana circle grew brighter.
[NO!]
It was the last thing I heard before I was pulled away.