City streets paved with clobber stone lived and breathed in daily noise. While horses pulled carriages and shops shouted over one another, Skyfire Paradise slowly grew. Its edges had already reached almost ten miles off the Tower, and its population slowly grew as more and more people moved here. A warm and beautiful sunrise foretold yet another beautiful and serene day of peace, so when the gentle breeze turned into wind, people grew cautious.
In the far distance, high up in the sky, a gigantic shadow suddenly breached the clouds and loomed over the world. It moved closer and closer toward the city, causing panic to erupt immediately as people began running away. Screams and shouts replaced gallops and chatter, and serene day quickly turned into a nightmare as everyone began anticipating another attack.
Guards arose to settle the panic, while others moved south to activate defensive formations and engage the upcoming battle. However, to everyone’s surprise, no one from the leading figures stepped forth – neither to warn nor to battle, causing complex emotions to arise in their hearts.
At that moment, Thalia, Y’se, Parsia and others were standing atop the Tower, staring into the approaching shadow which appeared massive enough to bloat out the sun. They all knew what it was, and couldn’t help but sigh. Sigh of relief, dejection, awe and envy, all rolled up into one.
Then and there, the gigantic shadow broke free of darkness and came into view. First its maw, front legs, then long neck, then wings, body, hind legs and then tail. Large enough to put Skyfire Paradise to shame, its speed slowly decreased as it approached, ignoring magic missiles coming from below as though they were toothpicks.
It stopped just before reaching the Tower itself, which is when Thalia and others were finally able to see the figure standing atop the Dragon’s head. He was standing upright, his arms crossed, coat fluttering backward. Visage heroic, air about him ethereal, yet familiar still. As everyone stared at him, Lynne grinned from ear to ear as his eyes beamed with joy.
“Cool as shit, right?!!” he exclaimed, pointing down. “Ha ha, this is definitely top five coolest moments of my life!!”
“… he had to go and ruin it, huh?” Y’se mumbled, shaking her head.
“That’s youth for you.” the Principal chuckled.
“He looks so small.” Thalia said.
“Yet so big at the same time.” Parsia added.
“Oi, what are you all staring at me like I’m shit-showered sheep?! It’s time to go to war, go to war!!” Lynne shouted, laughing. “Well, I’d offer you a ride, but you guys weren’t included in the deal. Ha ha ha, sorry about that – not really – anyway, find your own means of transport!!” Lynne then turned down and took a deep breath before speaking. “Citizens of my Paradise!!” he shouted. “Fret not!! This Dragon here means no harm… for I am its Rider!! With it, I shall take our Kingdom to heights never seen before!! The Dragon and its Flames are now our Guardian!!”
“…”
“Let me have it.” Lynne mumbled as he felt his footing weaken.
“…”
“Thanks.” he then turned toward Thalia and others and grinned once more as they glared daggers at him. “Well, I’ll head off first. Make sure to catch up… if you can! Ha ha ha ha!! I’m a fucking Dragon Rider, suck on that! Ha ha ha!!”
And so, as his laughter echoed into the sky, with cheers of people beneath pushing him forth, Dragon once again swung its wings fully, causing winds strong enough to push all people onto the ground to rise. Flying up high, she pushed forward as Lynne kept standing still, laughing like a maniac. Shortly after, he disappeared from their sights as the Dragon began turning back into a giant, looming shadow.
“… gotta say, he looked pretty cool.” Y’se said, chuckling.
“Yup.” Thalia nodded. “Somehow, I still hate it though…”
“That’s youth for you.” the Principal said, laughing lightly as he stroked his beard.
“He didn’t bother asking anything,” Parsia grunted, frowning. “Just wanted to show off.”
“Well, I’m off.” Y’se suddenly said as she prepared to depart.
“You’ll participate?” Thalia asked her, arching her brow.
“Of course!” Y’se smiled. “Gotta spread the glory of my Clan. What better way than to loudly and boldly comment about a boy riding a Dragon, who’s also a member of my Clan!”
“… aah, you two really are almost the same.” Thalia mumbled.
“What about you?” Y’se asked.
“Of course I’m coming. That idiot will probably kill himself trying to be too cool otherwise.”
“Parsia?” Y’se asked.
“I’ll come after you guys,” he said. “Need to settle the roused crowd first.”
“Before you leave,” Y’se said. “Activate all defensive formations.”
“All?” Parsia arched his brow as he asked.
“All. There’s a reason why Lynne hurried forward, despite the fact that he can arrive there the fastest.”
“… it’s already begun?!” Thalia asked.
“Most-likely. And, from what I’ve heard, this won’t be just a small conflict. Let’s go.”
“Let’s.” Thalia nodded. Shortly after, her and Y’se disappeared into a spacial vortex, leaving behind only the Principal and Parsia.
“When’d you come back?” the Principal asked.
“Two days ago.” Parsia said. “Let’s go down first.”
“Hm. Did you rest?”
“Rest? Ugh, don’t ask…”
“Ho ho. Now I have to.”
“… you really are more wicked than your calm appearance would suggest, huh?” Parsia said.
“… no comment.”
“…”
* * *
At the border of Baselr and Yasern Kingdoms stood a massive ravine, stretching out for miles on end. Surrounded by nothing but barren land, it harbored no life. The only thing besides the gaping hole in the earth that lived there was darkness in the form of shadows. Every so often, they’d erupt upward like geysers, flooding the air with foul stench.
At the moment, far above in the air, flashes of blinding light clashed against one another, as swarm of figures fought another swarm of figures. Almost as though there was no reason or logic, it all appeared random, as if no one who who was fighting whom. From time to time, battered, broken and mutilated corpses would fall from the sky onto the barren land; merely upon touching it, they would be consumed by darkness until nothing – not even their bones – would remain.
As the battle in the sky continued, while flames intersected with winds, earth shielded against barrage of visages and wind blew left and right, barren land beneath suddenly quaked. And then once more. And once more. It beat in rhythm, as though its long dead heart had suddenly awakened and began beating again. With each quake, shadows as black as night and as wry as death itself would cascade upward, slowly flooding outside the ravine like underground river overflowing.
An ancient voice hummed from the bellowed deeps, causing all battles in the sky to come to a halt as all eyes focused downward – both those present in the sky and far beyond it. As though root of all evil was being reborn, it became almost impossible to breathe as all life for miles on end was being sucked dry at that moment. Whether it was few ordinary Mortals that were there, or cattle, or even the smallest of insects and plants, life was sucked completely out of them, turning them into nothing but ash which was then blown away by the wind.
Another hum followed, this one louder than the last. The ravine widened, causing even more black, thicker shadows to emerge like hands from one’s belly. Hearts above grew horrified; even the bravest felt like faltering at that moment. There wasn’t a soul present whose mind wasn’t shook, while some even passed out on the spot, falling from the sky like droplets of rain and splattering into mincemeat at the ground before being completely devoured by shadows.
Another hum appeared as ravine grew wider and winder. Then, inside that darkness, two lights blossomed like flowers. Round, large, they almost appeared like suns defying the darkness which was trying to devour them; the last of light fought to save life, and it endured. Two suns grew clearer and larger as they suddenly moved, as though seeking something or someone.
With yet another hum, earth began crumbling and ravine was being torn apart inside out. As though a man’s stomach was split open, shadows broke through from the earth into sprays and splatters, completely shapeless and black. Bystanders felt as though they were witnessing the birth of evil itself, of something so abysmal it shouldn’t be allow to exist… yet it was right there, right in front of their rigid eyes.
Another hum… one which echoed like a drum throughout the sky, causing the space itself to shake and ripple like a still lake bombarded by a gigantic boulder. For the length of nearly fifteen miles in all directions, earth was ripped open as shadows surfaced from the depths into limelight. Bit by bit, their shapelessness contorted into forms; first it was a claw, wrapped in whole black, then a leg, then a gigantic maw which seemed large enough to swallow the world itself… bit by bit, endless sea of pitch-black shadows began taking form, and the form was a True Dragon of Darkness.
There was not a soul willing to make a sound for fear of alerting the dreaded presence beneath. Ryuuk clawed his way out slowly, tearing apart everything around him, finally standing in a gigantic crater in the earth, his form hindered by endless dust storms caused by withering of earth and stones.
“STOP PISSING YOUR PANTS!!!” a voice struck through the sky like lightning, jolting awake all those hindered in terror. Their muddled eyes cleared somewhat as they looked for the source of it, but the source never appeared as the voice continued. “ACTIVATE THE FORMATIONS!!! HE EMERGED EARLIER THAN EXPECTED, BUT REINFORCEMENT IS ON THE WAY!!! FIGHT!!! DO YOUR FUCKING JOB!!!”
As the boom-loud voice slowly faded into a distant echo, screams and shouts of those present replaced it as people began moving in swarms, creating odd shapes with their own bodies while invisible chains linked them into formations. At that very moment, Ryuuk’s eyes shifted sideways towards East where, high up in the sky, a massive shadow loomed and approached.
“… ha ha,” his soft laughter sounded like chant of curse to others. “He won her over. This… will be fun…”