TERRIBLE

How would someone go about creating a Cradle version of Tony Stark’s power armor from Infinity War?

WILL WIGHT

It might be a spoiler even to say this, but I'm going to do it anyway: this might be too spoiler-y to answer.

Lindon vs Sopharanototh

Hurry, thought Lindon. I have to hurry.

He had been dealing with some business on the ground when he had been notified by the intruder alert coming from his cloudship. He had ascended only to find the emergency alarms were ringing throughout his part of the Ninecloud cloudship as he ran across the field of volcanoes. The cloudship was beginning to tilt in the air, as if it would soon crash into the ground miles below.

The mind-spirit in his head, Dross, was oddly silent.

Lindon ran into the center control room. There was something wrong with the controls. It looked like it had melted off.

Or someone had burned it.

[Flowing Flame,] Dross told Lindon. He felt a sinking feeling as he stared at the ruined controls, smoke rising.

The glass shattered above, and Lindon brought his hands up to protect his face.

Sophara crashed through the cloud ship window, landing in front of Lindon with her knees bent. She looked up, her eyes shining under her hair.

Now that she was an Overlady, she had blonde human hair. It ran down in waves to her waist. Her golden scales were gone, and she wore a golden armor piece encasing her body like liquid metal. A helmet melded in a dragon’s face rested on her head, its jaws encircling her delicate face. Her thin golden tail raised above her.

Having been remade in Overlord soulfire, she was the image of beauty. Her cheek bones were high, her smile perfect and revealing sharp teeth. Her fingers were still dragon-like, claws glistening with Flowing Flame madra.

Above her head was her Archlord weapon. It was a circular shield taller than her, made of orange and golden metal. It floated behind her, where all around the ends golden flames flickered in spikes like sun rays. A metallic face was melded in the middle, wearing an evil grin with large metallic eyes that pierced Lindon. It had bright green irises painted on that moved with life, and every so often the eyes would blink. From its smile, a golden fiery tongue flickered out like a snake, thin as a whip.

Lindon had seen her wield the shield in her fights. It would block all Striker techniques and was sturdy enough to hold off Ziel’s hammer.

Lindon tried to calm his panicked thoughts.

[What! She’s wearing armor! Talk about overkill!]

Dross, battle plan.

[I can’t guarantee victory, but I’ll do my best.]

Lindon felt his heart pounding in his ears, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach, as Sophara stretched out her claws.

This was the Overlady that had won the Uncrowned King Tournament. She had won Penance and had been instructed by Seshethkunaaz to kill Akura Malice. That day, the sky had lit up with a dark blue explosion. Lindon was reminded of Mercy’s expression, tears streaming down and screaming as she rushed at Sophara, held back by Pride lest they provoke the King of Dragons.

Mercy had been forced to watch her mother be killed. Ever since that day, Lindon had not seen her smile once.

From then on, the Akura family no longer had a Monarch to protect them. The gold dragons had waged war on the Akura’s, slowly winning every day.

Sophara stood up from her crouch.

“No more running.”

“Wait…your sister was trying to kill me! I had no choice but to defend myself!”

Lindon knew it was no use, his words only causing Sophara’s rage to increase.

Dross, please do more than your best.

[……Lindon]. Dross sounded uncharacteristically serious. [I may not be good at understanding human emotions, but…..Oh what would Orthos say?]

Sophara activated her Enforcer technique. Her feet glowed orange with her Enforcer technique, and she held an orange sword in her right hand. Sophara dashed forward, her Enforcer technique causing her armor to glow, her hair giving off a golden luminesce like a lantern. She covered the distance quickly, her body flowing in a golden graceful blur as her hair streamed behind her like a cape.

Lindon activated the room, and blocks of tiles sprang up from the floor and ceiling, blocking her way. Sophara blasted through the walls in seconds, golden fire turning the wall to ashes. She hadn’t even slowed.

The room began to move as Lindon controlled the tiles, reassembling into a maze of walls which Sophara easily smashed through.

[So, what if she is an Overlady and you are an Underlord? So what if she is so strong she could rip you apart from where she stands if she wanted to? A black dragon needs that for the fight to be fair.]

Lindon calmed his breathing, grimacing as the final wall exploded, Sophara emerging with her left extended in a kick. Her eyes stayed on Lindon, and the shield behind her began to laugh in a high-pitched squeal.

[You can do this. Suriel is waiting for you Lindon.]

Lindon could feel Suriel’s marble in his pocket. She had shown him the strongest people in the world. It was his goal to reach even higher than them.

[This is just a minor inconvenience. Now go and take care of this barrier in front of you. There are many more enemies you need to take care of, right? You want to save your home, don’t you?]

Blackflame filled his eyes, his chest filling with pride.

Sophara was feet away from him.

[One more sister left….No, one of many left.]

Lindon agreed. He was the black dragon, from the line of the glorious Blackflame Empire. He was going to finish what he had begun with Ekeri. He wouldn’t rest until the gold dragons were erased from his home, never threatening them again. Wavedancer floated over his shoulder, the Archlord sword ready to be used.

He took out his void key, once belonging to a gold dragon. The sight of her sister’s void key caused Sophara’s face to snarl.

“No more running.” Lindon said.

He wasn’t talking about himself.

[The Dragon Advances.]

Lindon grasped the fire and destruction aura permeating his cloudship, preparing the Ruler technique, as he closed his eyes. Blackflame covered his entire body, the Burning Cloak raging hot.

Lindon opened his eyes, but they now glowed black and red.

The Dragon Advances.

Lindon made a fist, and the room ignited.

***

As the room exploded in crimson and black, Sophara slipped Lindon’s dragons breath, her shield positioning itself over her head to hold off the Void’s Dragon Dance technique. She Forged a golden disc in front of her to block another stream of dragon’s breath, the black bar of fire crashing against her discs like water before dispersing from her Overlord madra.

After a moment, she smirked and let her shield drop. The Void Dragon’s Dance smothered her, but her armor held it at bay, a golden light shining in the red and black inferno.

Lindon dashed to the side to avoid a stream of Flowing Flame and dropping his Burning Cloak as he switched to his pure core, sucking in air with his mouth as he sensed the oxygen in the room being used up.

Wind aura burst from Sophara, causing Lindon’s movements to slow. The Void Dragon’s Dance was washed away by the wind, put out at once in a wave of smoke and ash.

Lindon pushed against her wind aura with his own soulfire, the resistance causing wind to visibly stream past his hands as he brought his glowing palms up. He Forged two Empty Palms, the large blue-white handprints that overlay Lindon’s hands bigger than Sophara. They hung in the air like walls when Lindon pushed on them. They rushed towards Sophara, two madra hands gliding through the wind.

Sophara’s laughing shield smashed through both techniques with its edge, bisecting them in half as it dispersed them, but Lindon had Forged another Empty palm above her head. The giant hand of pure madra slapped down on her and disrupting her madra for a second. Sophara emerged unscathed, the pure madra washing away from her skin as she continued running. But the wind aura faltered, and Lindon could breathe again.

Lindon took out a silver elixir from his void key and drained it, throwing the glass bottle away.

He then grabbed his black turtle shield from his void key and activated the script to create a barrier around him just as Sophara reached him.

Sophara’s claws broke through the barrier, but Wavedancer flicked at her throat, which she blocked with her tail. Her claws trailed Flowing Flame like water as she clawed at his shield in a flurry attack, and Lindon’s feet slid backwards from her assault. Her tail easily countered Wavedancer, smashing the flying sword aside.

Every time her claws moved, they left behind lines of golden fire, and his shield began to crack from the stress. One of her claws pierced through, and it stabbed into Lindon’s shoulder. Flowing Flame burst through the wound, and Lindon’s shoulder exploded outwards in singed flesh and blood. Her tail pierced through as well, stabbing into Lindon’s Remnant arm.

Lindon shouted and stepped backwards, his shield Forging another barrier. Sopahra’s floating shield came swinging down into Lindon’s shield with a cackle.

It shattered the barrier and snapped his shield in half, exposing Lindon who was reaching into his void key.

He activated the construct, and a rush of metal objects flew outwards, swirling above Lindon like birds. They were pieces of armor with tiny rockets attached to them. It was the Seishen armor Lindon had taken from Kiro and Daji.

One of the pieces shot towards Lindon, attaching to cover his entire back in one metal piece. Before the other armor pieces could attach, Sophara attacked.

Lindon blasted pure madra all over his body like a suit of madra, using Eithan’s technique, as Sophara’s orange sword slashed at his throat. The blade blew apart at his pure madra coating, but her tail came at his throat next.

Lindon layered the Soul Cloak on top of Eithan’s technique, dodging under the tail as he bent backwards. He bent back until he rested his remnant hand on the floor as his right foot smashed into Sophara’s chest. Lindon created an Empty Palm at his foot, which Forged into a paw-foot handprint. Dross controlled Wavedancer to swing at Sophara’s neck.

Sophara smashed his foot down with her elbow, her tail reversing direction to swoop around and knock Wavedancer off course before stabbing down into Lindon’s thigh, piercing through with a spray of blood.

In one smooth motion her tail slid up his leg like a sword, slicing through his legs muscles as it traveled to his stomach.

Lindon screamed as Wavedancer slashed down, cutting that leg off before Sophara reached his abdomen.

Lindon jumped back, and his leg began to regrow in seconds thanks to Northstrider’s elixir, boosted by his improved BloodForged body.

A piece of armor shot down and attached to his neck, and two more pieces attached around his waist.

Lindon activated a script at his feet and the tiles behind him began to rise like stairs, each one getting higher and higher. Lindon ran up the tiles as more of the armor began to attach to him.

The face on Sophara shield opened its mouth wide, and its tongue slashed out like a whip. Instead of reaching for Lindon, it struck at Lindon’s armor pieces, trying to swat them out of the sky. But every time, the whip ended up hitting empty air, the armor pieces vanishing into dream and light aura when she hit them.

“Wait Sophara!”

Sophara froze as Ekeri suddenly appeared in front of her, her sister standing in perfect health.

Sophara hesitated. This couldn’t be real. Ekeri was dead. She had seen her die in her hands, sustaining injuries Lindon had given her in Northstrider’s pocket world.

With a rush of ghostwater, Sophara’s eyes glowed a pale light, and her senses improved.

This was an illusion. A Forger technique called the Fox Mirror technique from the Path of the White Fox.

Sophara’s tail slashed through the White Fox illusion, enraged so much she was shaking.

“Dross!” Cried out Lindon.

[I’m sorry! Looks like she can see through my Path of the White Fox. Kelsa should have taught me better you know. We can complain after we survive this!]

Now that she could see through illusions, she was able to focus on the flying armor pieces. Sophara Forged a golden dragon of fire. A replica of her sister.

Ekeri’s wings burst out as she jumped upwards, breathing a wave of Flowing Flame that washed over the flying armor. Sophara expected to see melting metal, but the armor survived her Overlord power.

Lindon turned one hand and fired a bar of black and red, but Ekeri roared as she dodged the jet of dragon’s breath. She zoomed underneath Lindon, turning her jaws upwards to breathe fire.

The Flowing Flame Striker technique hit the platform Lindon was on, walls of golden fire flowing up all-around Lindon. Her dragon breath decimated the platforms, and they began to crack.

Lindon was able to keep his footing under the Soul Cloak’s guidance, dashing on the right pieces of platform before they crumbled away.

He ran up the debris, his remaining armor flying in a whirlpool above him. Lindon jumped up as the final piece of platform crumbled beneath him, reaching up with his hand outstretched in a dive.

The metal glove attached to his left hand, reaching up to his elbow.

Lindon turned in midair with the grace of the Soul Cloak and pointed his palm at Sophara as she shot a tide of Flowing Flame. The armored glove was made of black metal and looked to be made of scales. In the center of the palm was a red center that began to shine white in defiance against the rushing wall of molten fire.

A pure madra blast shot from his blaster, punching through Sopahra’s Striker technique, the kickback sending Lindon flying backwards as his arm jerked back.

Lindon shot out of the window, glass shattering around him as he felt his shoulder burning from the pain. The bright blue sky momentarily blinded him. He had a view of the black sand and volcanoes in the distant, an ocean of clouds surrounding the cloudship.

Ekeri dived through the window after Lindon. As the force of the blaster spun Lindon around in the air, he had a view of Ekeri’s jaws biting down onto his face. Lindon’s raised a hand and fired an Empty Palm like a Striker technique. The Forged golden dragon blew away.

His BloodForged body and Northstrider’s elixir continued to instantly heal his injuries, which was a good thing as Sophara shot after him, riding on her floating shield.

Lindon tried to reach for his remaining armor, but she sent out a sprawling wall of Flowing Flame that blocked off Lindon’s access, preventing him from reaching out with his other hand to attach the second glove.

Lindon switched to the Burning Cloak and fired two handfuls of dragon’s breath, but Sophara diverted them away with two Forged discs of madra as she reached him.

The dragon-girl’s tail smashed into his chest, breaking his ribcage.

Lindon grunted as she was blasted down to the ground, but Sophara was not finished yet, jumping off her shield and twisting in the air. Her shield rotated with her, spinning around her with increasing force as it shot down into Lindon’s chest edge-first.

“Dross, chest!”

[Just in time.]

Lindon caught the flying chest piece armor as Dross called it, snatching it with both hands and slamming it onto his chest. It connected with his neck armor with a sharp click.

Then the shield smashed into him.

It hit his chest plate in sparks, its sharp fiery edge instantly creating a stream of molten metal that dribbled off his chest plate and burned his skin.

Lindon felt a rush of heat and pain as his healing ribcage splintered into shards. His spine protested as Sophara caught him with her tail before he hit the ground, throwing him back up.

Thanks to Dross numbing the pain, Lindon was able to act.

Even as his BloodForged body and the elixir healed his bones in seconds, Lindon stuck his blaster in her face and fired. Her claws sprang around his wrist rapid as a cannonball, pulling his hand upwards as the blast fired into the blue sky.

Lindon switched to pure madra and with his other hand Forged an Empty palm. Before it connected with her, Sopahra’s shield smacked his wrist away, breaking his hand. Sophara grabbed ahold of him, her hands glowing orange, and bathed him in Flowing Flame. Lindon managed to bring up Eithan’s pure madra armor in time, allowing the flames to harmlessly disperse on his skin. His Soul Cloak had sprung up again as well, but it was beginning to flicker away, the strain of layering both techniques too much even with Dross helping.

Lindon raised his armored forearm to block Sopahra’s slashing claws. They screeched down his armored forearm towards his face.

Crack!

Wavedancer blocked her claws, sending them flying back with sparks. She moved with the recoil, spinning around and slashing Lindon’s side, raking through his unprotected side and opening his stomach. If it were not for Dross numbing the pain, Lindon would have lost consciousness.

[Hold on! Armor is almost finished charging at 98%.]

Lindon barely had time to breathe. She continued to pummel him into the air, his body rising higher and higher in the air from the force of her fists, her tail always wrapping around him to snap him back into her reach. Blood poured from his mouth, one eye was half closed, and his bones were constantly shattering and healing. With every punch, his blood would pepper the air, sprinkling the sand below them.

The armor pieces were almost fully assembled on his body. Only his second glove piece and his helmet were missing.

[Enough power to start using the jet engines.]

Behind Lindon the small jet engines on his armored back spun rapidly, causing him to rip out of Sopahra’s grip. The jet engine behind Lindon’s armored boot shot out of his heel, and his kick carried its force as it rushed at Sopahra’s face. She blocked it with her shield, its mouth biting down onto Lindon’s foot.

The force behind the kick pushed her back but she used soulfire to control the wind aura around her, keeping her in place. Lindon placed his other armored boot into her shield and switched to Blackflame.

He thrust one hand under her shield and blasted dragon’s breath.

Sophara growled draconically as her dragon tail smashed his hand aside and stabbed into his waist as it glowed with Flowing Flame madra, infused with Overlord soulfire.

Her tail found a crack in the armor and punched through.

[Lindon, it’s at 99%.]

Now that Lindon had both of his feet on her shield, his jet engine thrusters on his feet shot down.

It overpowered Sophara and she blasted into the ground, landing on her feet with the elegance of ghostwater as her hair settled behind her like wings, her ears sticking out of her hair.

Even before she landed, she cupped her hands, gathering Flowing Flame madra. It looked like a fiery orange dragon head, but it grew bigger, rising above her. Flowing Flame began to expand, and it created a giant dragon that was bigger than Lindon’s cloudship, blocking out the sun. Sophara’s body glowed orange as she kicked up from the ground, jumping out of the danger zone as the giant dragon opened its massive jaws at Lindon. A ball of Flowing Flame formed in its massive jaws, looking like a miniature sun.

An explosion of soulfire-infused Flowing Flame thundered out, detonating in the sky like a nuke as the entire sky was drenched in an early sunset.

It lasted ten seconds, and when the dragon closed its mouth, it dispersed. Sophara slid down its vanishing tail and landed lightly on the sand, preparing the same attack again.

When the carnage ended, Lindon was falling to the ground with smoking metal pieces melting on his body, his face burned so bad you could see bone underneath. Even if his armor could withstand her Overlord madra, it couldn’t do so forever.

The pressure of holding onto the Soul Cloak and Eithan’s technique had been too much, and towards the end Lindon had been forced to drop it. He had Forged a barrier of Blackflame to protect himself afterwards, but it had offered little protection.

Even so, Lindon was already healing, barely conscious as he fell through the air like a smoking meteor.

[Lindon! Listen to what I say! Stay with me!]

Lindon’s eyes shot open as Sophara Forged a second massive dragon.

Dross controlled the jet engines for him as it shot him sideways towards his remaining armor.

The dragon followed his trajectory and opened its mouth, another spinning fire ball forming in its jaws.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Lindon closed his eyes, knowing he would not survive this one. He would never see Yerin again, losing the first true friend he had ever had. He would never see Mercy again, never getting to see her smile ever again. A smile Sophara had stolen away. He would never see Eithan, never again advancing together as one group. One team.

One family.

He would never save his home from the Dreadgods, Sacred Valley reduced to rubble. He would never see Suriel again, ascending to the heavens to greater heights.

He had failed.

I’m sorry.

A dark shape swooped down.

[Okay two things. One, aren’t you going to miss me too? Second, look who’s here!]

The black dragon caught Lindon with its claws, wrapping his wings around Lindon and Forging a wall of Blackflame.

Together, they weathered the second volley. With the Blackflame and the dragon scales protecting him, Lindon was saved from death as the black dragon took the worst of it.

They both dropped to the sky, the black dragon bleeding from his scales as they landed on the edge of a volcano.

Lindon rolled down the volcano edge and landed in a crater in the sand. He opened his eyes, the orange glow in the sky fading away and replaced by blue. Then he saw the black dragon’s face looking down at him, its red eyes inches from his own.

“Lindon, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?”

Lindon smiled. “Orthos, you have become a magnificent dragon.”

Through their contract, Lindon felt Orthos’s spirt swell. He was now an Underlord.

“I see you have finally gotten a shell.”

“Eh, well I was getting there.”

[Aww! Sorry to break this up guys but WATCH OUT!]

Sophara rushed in with her Enforcer technique, landing with a spray of black sand as she stabbed into the side of Orthos with an orange sword. Blood splattered her armor as Orthos sprang with the Burning Cloak, snarling as he brought his claw up. Sophara caught his claw and hurled him over her head into the sand. Orthos’s tail wrapped around her, but with a burst of her madra Orthos was sent flying backwards and driven deep into the sand.

Lindon raised his blaster and fired behind her back but Sopahra’s tail wrapped around his wrist and brought him to his feet. She whipped her sword behind her without looking, the blade about to stab into Lindon’s forehead. Lindon’s jet engines shot down and his body slammed back into the ground as the sword stabbed where his head had been.

Wavedancer slashed at Sophara’s spine. She spun around and kicked it back. Lindon had been raising his blaster hand only for Wavedancer to stab into his hand, pinning his hand to the sand as it crunched through his bone.

Sophara leaped on him, her shield coming down to slam onto his face.

Blackflame shot behind her and she was forced to spin around and bring her shield up to block Orthos, who slammed into her and sent her flying back.

Dross pulled Wavedancer out of his hand, and Lindon jumped up.

[Run.]

Lindon sprinted, raising his hand for the second metal glove as Sophara grabbed Orthos and threw him at Lindon. He was forced to jump over Orthos only to find Sophara waiting for him in the air, slamming her shield on him.

Dross activated the jet engines on Lindon’s chest, and he shot backwards out of range of the shield.

Right into the path of his remaining armor.

As Lindon fell, he dove aside with an outstretched hand, trusting Dross, and the second metal glove attached to his hand. As he fell to ground on his side and skidded in the black sand, he turned to Sophara.

Sophara Forged a lake of Flowing Flame overhead, and it rushed at Lindon like a golden waterfall. As the wave of Flowing Flame hit Lindon, she got one last look of his red and black burning eyes, before a helmet fitted onto his face.

[100% charged. Go wild.]

Lindon pointed both his blasters at her as the fire wall reached him. His armor flickered with soulfire and Blackflame and pure madra ran through his armor, Forging a shield of Blackflame around him and layering it with pure madra on top.

“Take this.”

In one blaster, pure madra shot out like a beam and pierced her wall. The other roared with Blackflame and followed the pure madra blast.

Sophara brought her shield up, and the face on the shield opened its gaping mouth, swallowing the attacks whole.

When the firestorm ended, Sophara landed on the sand, peered over her smoking shield.

The entire cloudship in front of her was gone, burned away to reveal the blue sky and white clouds. The thick clouds below were fading away from her attack, parting to reveal the valley below.

The cloudship commenced to groan and tip sideways, beginning to rush to the ground miles below, sinking below the clouds.

Sophara whipped her shield behind her as she felt two beams of pure madra and Blackflame rush at her again. There was no way Lindon had survived that, even with his armor.

[Behind you!]

Sophara whipped her head around at the voice, distracted.

In that hesitation the aura around her exploded in the Void Dragon’s Dance as Lindon and Orthos combined their Ruler technique.

She weathered the firestorm with her armor easily, even though Lindon had infused it with soulfire….and something else.

Sophara frowned as she struggled to place this feeling.

It felt…. greedy.

Sopahra’s eyes turned from silver back to orange, her ghostwater running out.

What! She thought. I still have minutes before that happens!

As the Ruler technique faded away, Sophara heard Lindon running and she turned with her shield. She smashed it into him, and the face opened its mouth wide and bit down onto Lindon, as if to chomp him in half. With her other hand she caught Orthos’s jaws as he rushed into her.

She felt Lindon catch both edges of the mouth, stopping the bite. Her shield screamed as Lindon began to pry it open slowly. It flicked its tongue at Lindon, wrapping him in molten fire, but it soon began to fade away as it lost power.

Sophara bared her teeth. This was impossible. She could feel the strength leaving her shield!

Something was targeting its Archlord madra, taking its power.

The flames around its edges died out, Lindon continuing to pry the mouth open. Its scream began to fade away, dying out. In seconds, the shield was powerless, a normal hunk of metal.

Lindon tore the shield apart with the sound of screeching metal and flying sparks, revealing himself to Sopahra’s eyes.

He was covered in black bulky armor with red flame patterns running across his legs and spiraling around his toros and neck. The gauntlets and legs were sculpted into black scales. The tips of his gloves were edged in claws, and glowing white-red blasters at his palms were letting out smoke. His armor glowed with a gray flickering flame. Soulfire infused his armor, outlining him in a cloak of gray and steaming from the cracks in his armor.

His helmet was shaped into a dragon’s face, its red painted eyes glaring holes at Sophara. One horn grew out of its nose, the tip burning with Blackflame.

Lindon pointed both his blasters at her, and Sophara felt the buildup of Flowing Flame. Lindon had absorbed enough of her attack to survive, and it was now ready to be released. Sophara threw her hands up as the wave of Flowing Flame rushed at her, as well as the Archlord madra Lindon had stolen from the shield.

The attack was weaker than before, but it still caused Sophara to throw Orthos away as she Forged a barrier of Flowing Flame to block the attack.

What was going on? How had he used her own attack? And what had happened to her ghostwater?

A black hulking figure walked through her golden wall.

Lindon had made his Dragon Armor using the Seishen armor he had taken from Kiro and Daji. He had made it with Northstrider’s greatest Soulsmith, integrating hunger bindings into it.

But Lindon’s armor had taken damage in the rush to assemble it. It was torn in pieces, metal melting off and exposing skin. The joints trembled, sparks of soulfire sputtering out. Lindon breathed heavily, his face underneath his helmet grimacing in pain from the strain of using his Dragon Armor, its hunger bindings draining him to power the suit.

Lindon and Sophara clashed, grabbing each other’s hands. He pushed back against Sopahra’s claws, Lindon’s eyes glowing with a pale light behind his helmet.

Sophara began to Enforce herself, but she noticed the barrier of Flowing Flame around them was fading.

Her eyes widened, realizing Lindon’s Dragon Armor was absorbing her madra. Her barrier of Flowing Flame madra whisked away into sparks.

To Sophara’s surprise, Lindon’s helmet moved as if alive. The dragon mouth opened, and Sophara’s Flowing Flame madra gathered in its jaws.

The wave of madra hit her in the face, her wide eyes closing as she took the attack.

It was significantly weaker than if she had released it, but unable to Enforce herself, she was vulnerable.

Her helmet flew off as her hair flowed upwards. She hadn’t stepped back, but the strength had been enough to knock her head back. She looked at Lindon, her eyes wide in rage.

Still holding onto her claws, he began to Forge.

In one hand he Forged an Empty Palm, a blue-white paw forming. In his other hand, he Forged a Blackflame dragon claw: The Dragon Descends.

His Dragon Armor had its own storage of Blackflame madra and pure madra which it took from Lindon’s cores with its hunger bindings, allowing him to use both the Path of Twin Stars and the Path of Blackflame at the same time. If he didn’t finish off Sophara quick, he would run out of madra and be trapped in a hot suit of metal. Sophara would be free to tear him out limb by limb.

Sophara ripped her hands out with her strength, but Lindon moved as if he knew where she would be. His Blackflame claw descended for her throat as his Empty Palm aimed for her core.

Behind her Orthos joined in.

Sophara kicked Lindon in the chest, shooting him backwards. Lindon expected that, catching her leg. Sophara wrapped his arm in her tail and pulled it off her leg, twisting his arm all the way around until it broke. She raised a fist, Flowing Flame forming around it in the shape of a dragon head. Orthos tried to bite her hand, but she uppercutted him, Orthos’s head snapping back. Sophara was free to punch Lindon in the face, slamming him into the sand.

As Lindon fell, he caught himself with one hand, black sand blasting away from his hand like smoke. Lindon pushed himself back up to punch her tail away with his Empty Palm. He grasped her throat and unleashed the Flowing Flame he had absorbed from her punch.

Sophara’s hair blew back as she lit up with fire. She overpowered his hold, punching him in his armored stomach with her dragon strength, executing a series of attacks that mixed with her tail. They moved in a dance, Sophara meeting his punch with her own punch, her strength causing his fist to fly back. Her tail dueled with Wavedancer, every so often sneaking in to swipe at Lindon. Her strikes sent cracks appearing on Lindon’s armor. It ended with Sophara grabbing Lindon’s face and throwing him back into the sand as she turned to deal with Orthos.

Lindon made a furrow in the black sand, but the jet engines under his back shot him back at her.

As they exchanged blows, Lindon would absorb her techniques and strength. Orthos and he moved like one, complementing each other with their attacks. Lindon moved with grace as if he himself had ghostwater…..Sophara frowned.

This was ghostwater.

Lindon had taken it in from her with his Void Dragon’s Dance earlier. That greedy madra mixed in must have been hunger madra.

Lindon’s eyes continued to glow with a pale light underneath his helmet, ghostwater giving him the edge he needed. His hunger bindings allowed him to integrate hunger madra into his techniques, but not for long. He could only do it limitingly or it would overtax his armor.

Sophara bristled. This Blackflame boy thought with his armor and ghostwater he could beat her. No, he had no idea who he was messing with.

She ducked his Dragon Descends claw, flicked a wave of Flowing flame from her tail to blast Orthos’s dragon breath away, and caught Lindon’s Empty Palm, breaking his wrist under his armor. She slashed upwards with her claws.

Her claws dug gullies into his armor as she lifted Lindon off his feet, grasping the dragon’s jaws on his helmet with one hand as her tail wrapped around his dragon horn, ripping it off. Lindon raised both his blasters, but she grabbed his hands together, her tail stabbing the dragon horn through both his hands and then pulling the horn out. Sophara flipped the horn in the air as they fought, snatching it and stabbing underneath Lindon’s chin. The tip of the horn broke off.

Lindon’s Dragon Armor may help him survive for now, but it could not stand up to an Overlord for long. His hunger bindings had a limit to how much they could absorb, and Sophara was prepared to test that out.

As Sophara tore into Lindon’s armor, black armor pieces and blood began to fly off Lindon’s body.

Her tail wrapped around Lindon’s neck as she lifted him above the ground. Her grip was so tight the armor cracked and began to crush Lindon’s throat.

Orthos roared as he collided into her. Before he did, she grabbed her golden armor, and it liquified, washing away from body to reveal her golden robes. The armor continued to flow backwards, molding into golden metal wings attached to her back. Her metal wings pushed against the air, shooting bursts of winds that stopped Orthos in midair. One of her wings smashed down into Ortho’s neck, pinning him to the sand.

[Behind you! Hey! Look you golden piece of dung!] The strange distracting voice sang at Sophara, who ignored it. She wouldn’t fall for that again.

She ignored the illusions occurring behind her, including a decaying Ekeri that reached for her. She may not have ghostwater anymore, but now that she knew to expect illusions, she wouldn’t let it surprise her.

She could feel Lindon taking her madra, but she allowed his hunger bindings to fill, aiming to attack him before he had a chance to release them. Instead, Lindon realized what she was waiting for and stopped. The Burning Cloak sprang over his armor as his dragon helmet bit into her tail.

Sophara snarled in pain, her wings loosening and allowing Orthos to get his head up. He opened his mouth and shot a bar of dragon’s breath from his mouth. Lindon fired one at the same time, two soulfire-infused bars of flames about to hit Sophara. She wrapped herself in her wings, shielding herself in gold.

Lindon’s dragon helmet prepared another blast of Flowing Flame, but it lasted only a moment as Sophara unfurled, spinning around and the edge of her wing uppercutting Lindon underneath his chin and causing his shower of Flowing Flame to gush into the sky in a geyser. Lindon turned his head back to Sophara, Flowing Flame rushing out in a fountain spray, but it was already disappearing, aerosolizing before it reached Sophara.

Sophara continued her movement, her wing still outstretched from uppercutting Lindon. Her tail stabbed into the sand and pushed her towards Lindon, her wings knifing forward and about to pierce the weak spots of his armor.

Lindon brought his palms up and fired a blast of pure madra and Blackflame. Sophara was forced to evade.

Propulsions burst from Lindon’s feet as he jumped over Sophara’s tail whip, leaking blood and metal, and catching her tail in his right hand, pulling to take her off balance.

She wrenched her tail away as Lindon shot a laser of pure madra in her face. Her tail curled around his wrist, causing his ray of pure madra to shoot into the sand at their feet. She Forged an orange sword and slashed across his chest. It left a line of orange and sizzling metal, revealing hot metal and blistered skin underneath.

Lindon Forged a Dragon Descends Claw and slashed upwards, trailing black fire behind it. At the same time, Wavedancer stabbed at her neck. Sophara punched his claw away, cracking his bone underneath his armor, as she turned and bit Wavedancer, catching it in her teeth. She bit it in half.

[No! My sword!] Cried Dross as the two pieces fell to the sand.

Lindon activated the wind construct in his armor, but Sophara blasted the wind right back at him with her metal wings. It sent Lindon flying into the air as Sophara flew after him, dodging Orthos’s line of dragon breath that lagged behind her.

Flying, Lindon dodged her attacks with his jet engines, shooting streams of pure madra and dragon’s breath in a complex net of madra, making sure to not cancel out his own techniques. He tried to hit her first with pure madra, and then smother her with Blackflame. Every so often he would fire Flowing Flame, mixing it in with his own Striker techniques.

Orthos flew with them in an intricate dance, adding in his Blackflame.

Sophara eluded them all, at one point her wings wrapping around her as she squeezed through an opening in the attack. She unfurled her wings, sending out a blast of Flowing Flame that collided with the wall of Flowing Flame Lindon had fired.

Sophara added soulfire to the wind aura, and Lindon and Orthos constantly had to battle against the wind.

Whenever Sophara would catch up to Lindon, he would coat himself in Eithan’s technique layered with the Soul Cloak, his Dragon Armor allowing him to shoot dragon’s breath at the same time along with Flowing Flame. His ghostwater along with Dross allowed Lindon to avoid Sopahra’s worst attacks.

The jet engines under Lindon’s boots flared up as he flew over Sophara as she dove at him. His jet engines spun him around, so he was facing her back as he fired his two blasters. Her wings deflected them right back at him, which he slashed apart with an Empty Palm.

Sophara flew like a golden light, her teeth bared and her eyes and hair glowing orange. As she tanked through Orthos’s Void Dragon Dance with her wings covering her, she started to trigger her Ruler technique. Her anger was boiling her inside, Flowing Flame sputtering out of her skin as she struggled to control herself.

She would not hold back. She would show them everything she had.

She was a Sopharanatoth, an Overlady from the line of the Dragon King. She would not be underestimated.

Sophara unveiled her full spirit and unleashed everything she had.

Flowing Flame consumed Lindon and Orthos in an ocean of molten lava. Lindon’s hunger bindings were straining from absorbing the attack, but before he could fire it off to relieve the tension, Sophara was already upon him.

Her body flickered with Flowing Flame, covering her entirely in flames, as she swiped at him. Claws of Forged golden claws dispersed against his pure madra, but Sophara continued her assault. The air exploded with Flowing Flame, detonating the air constantly, never letting up. It was like the sky for miles around was now enveloped in a sea of gold.

Orthos was forced to land on the cloudship, too much even for him to bear.

Lindon groaned as he was forced to drop the Soul Cloak, strengthening his pure madra armor. Any crack he made would result in Flowing Flame burning him up. Dross helped him maintain concentration, knowing that if he messed this up, Lindon would die. Even now, his ghostwater had already run out. Northstrider’s elixir only had seconds left, and then Lindon would only have his BloodForged Iron body to rely on.

Amongst the explosions of Flowing Flame, Sophara snarled as she grabbed his helmet and squeezed. The metal cracked and fragments poked Lindon in the head. He screamed, grabbing Sophara’s wrist and absorbing her madra.

Her wings stabbed down, piercing into his melting armor, and wrenching him away. Lindon raised his blasters, but Sophara grasped his wrists before he could fire them. With a squeeze, his gloves exploded into shards, destroying his blasters. They revealed his smoking burnt fingers.

[Lindon, the hunger bindings are overflowing. Release them now!]

Lindon let Dross keep a hold of his pure madra armor as focused on the hunger bindings.

Orthos sent a dragon flame from the cloudship to help.

Sophara roared as she hit Orthos’s dragon breath away with a wing, reversing course and shooting down to the ground in a sonic boom, leaving Lindon floating in the sea of Flowing Flame.

As she went down, she Forged a whip of Flowing Flame behind her that unfolded behind her like a snake, grabbing onto Lindon’s leg and pulling him down.

[….I’m sorry. You just ran out of pure madra.]

Flowing Flame scoured Lindon’s body, trapping him in a metal can as he screamed, pulled down by Sophara.

Sophara slammed into the cloudship, hauling Lindon with her as she pulled her whip down. She slammed Lindon’s body onto Orthos just as his hunger bindings exploded.

The Cloudship tore apart, cracking in half.

Sophara never stopped moving, crashing through the cloudship, and hauling Lindon and Ortho’s body behind her with whips of Flowing Flame. Behind them, the cloudship exploded in the air, raining down debris all around them.

His armor melting off him in red-hot streams, Lindon’s burned body was healing slowly. Dross continued to numb the pain for him.

[WAKE UP! DRAGONS INCOMING!]

Lindon turned his ruined head, and almost cried. A swarm of gold dragons flew after them, more of Sophara’s backup. They were all Underlords.

Orthos turned his head, glaring.

“Orthos, if they reach us, we’re dead!”

He extended his wings, looking over at him.

“Advance.”

He flapped up. Blackflame burst from his body, ripping away Sopahra’s whip as he flew at the gold dragons.

Lindon felt his pure madra core gone, but he still had Blackflame left. The Burning Cloak sprang over his body, the pain unbearable. The pain of Sophara’s whip squeezing his leg began to feel uncomfortable, continuing to drag him through the air at sonic speed. It would have been too much if it weren’t for Dross helping clear his mind.

Focusing on the fire and destruction aura raining all around, Lindon unleashed the Void Dragon’s Dance, Orthos did the same as he crashed into the army of dragons.

At the same time, Lindon’s pulled out his Void Key. He opened it and pulled out the dummy.

***

Sophara combated the Void Dragon Dance with a burst of Flowing Flame, her strength overpowering Lindon’s quivering spirit. She tore down the air in a nosedive. Her hair shot behind her in the air like a dancing candleflame, her fiery body whistling in the wind. They were nearing the surface.

Below them, Sacred Valley was spread out, a white and purple village teeming below surrounded by orus trees which held purple leaves. From the ground snowfoxes looked up, their black eyes eerily following Lindon.

Sophara looked forward to burning down Lindon’s home. As they neared the village, the people below began to point and shout. A needle white tower rose above the purple-roofed houses, and a mysterious five-tailed white fox peered out of an open floor-to-ceiling archway. Sophara sensed its power, surprising her. There was such a powerful being in this weak valley?

Growling as she met its jet-black stare, she prepared a Striker technique.

Clunk.

She winced as something hit her head. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw metal objects falling near her face. She turned and saw the flickering script on them.

Sophara threw her wings up.

BOOM!

As the smoke cleared underneath, Lindon emptied another bag of explosives that detonated behind her back. The force sent Sophara spiraling through the air, and they crashed through the roof of the Clan Hall.

Lindon rolled away from Sophara, standing up groggily as he recognized the place where he had been tested as a child. When he had first gotten the title as Unsouled.

A stone fox stood in the hall, a golden statue of the first Wei Patriarch in the back.

Outside, the Wei Clan began to run away, screaming. As Lindon looked around, he felt his body trembling. The hunger bindings had taken so much madra. He only had scraps of madra left.

[Lindon, the plan!]

Sophara stood up from the floor, brushing dust off her robes. Lindon stared back at her, his armor was completely melted off now, except for his helmet. Only half of his snarling dragon helmet remained on his face. The top of his robes was falling off, revealing his muscular chest and arms.

Lindon ignited the Burning Cloak and shot out of the room, jumping out of the ceiling. Sophara chased after him across the ceiling, catching up to Lindon. Now that his armor was gone, he no longer had enough hunger bindings that could absorb her madra effectively.

He turned around and punched her. She caught his remnant fist in one clawed grip, snarling at him.

Lindon snarled back, glaring. One eye was a painted dragon’s eye of his mask, the other shone with Blackflame.

Those same eyes that Ekeri had seen, right before she had died.

Lindon activated the hunger binding in his remnant arm, but Sophara gripped his remnant fist so hard it began to crumble in her hand. She followed it up with a punch to his face that sent a rush of soulfire-infused Flowing Flame enveloping Lindon.

Lindon screamed as the rest of his helmet was burned off his face, molten metal sliding down his body. Sophara landed on top of him even as the golden waterfall continued to envelop him, parting it slightly to avoid hitting her. She punched Lindon’s jaw, snapping it. Her claws made gouged in his skin, spewing blood. Lindon tried to raise his Remnant hand, but she broke it cleanly off, his white arm clattering on the ground.

She tore into him faster than his elixir could take. The pain began too much even for Dross to numb as she threw him up in the air, jabbing into his stomach and drawing blood in rivulets. Her claws poked out his back. Lindon tried to get away, but she stuck to him like glue, her tail always snapping him back to her.

Placing one palm on his chest, a torrent of Flowing Flame burst out his back.

Lindon’s body flew backwards, but Sophara grabbed him around the neck with a claw and smashed him in the purple tiled roof, her tail piercing through his neck.

She wrenched the remaining half of molten metal off his face, revealing his burned skin. She grabbed his head in both claws, her hands heating up.

Lindon screamed as his head was engulfed in orange flames.

In that moment, Northstrider’s elixir ran out.

Sophara breathed heavily as Lindon lay there, slowly healing. It was slower now and did not heal completely. Lindon only had his BloodForged Iron body to rely on now.

She picked up Lindon by the throat, who shoved his remaining arm at her. She tore his arm off in a spray of blood.

Lindon cried out with tears in his eyes, “Please, don’t. Don’t do this, please! I’m sorry!”

Sophara smiled evilly

“For my sister.”

She ripped her claws into his eyes, jerking the skin off his face.

Lindon slumped to the ground. She roared at him, burning him with more Flowing Flame. Finally, revenge was hers. She watched Lindon’s corpse burn, spitting on it. Still not satisfied, she smashed his body into dust with her tail. She clawed at the spot, tears in her eyes.

Her sister was gone forever. She was never coming back.

She would not stop until the Akura were dead and the Ashwind continent was the domain of the gold dragons. The King of Dragons, the Monarch Seshethkunaaz, would bring proper order to the continent. Sophara would start his will by burning down the Blackflame empire. They would root out the infection that was the black dragons. After gaining power, they would destroy the greatest enemies to dragonkind, including the Heralds Akura Fury and the Beast King, as well as the Monarch Northstrider.

She closed her eyes as she imagined the bloodshed that was about to rain.

Then Lindon’s body faded away, replaced with a wooden dummy.

Sophara stopped purring, her tail freezing, frowning as she looked at the demolished construct.

All around her, the illusion faded away. She was not standing on the purple roof of a building. She was standing the First Elder’s home.

The hallway was lined with mirrors, reflecting her image in an endless chain. The lamps burned with purple and white foxfire, casting images on one mirror but not on the other mirror. It felt like swimming in an ocean of dreams. It disoriented Sophara, causing her sense of balance to turn upside-down.

This was the perfect place to cultivate White Fox madra.

She recognized Fox Dream, the Ruler technique of the Path of the White Fox. Ever since landing on Sacred Valley, she had been fighting a remote-controlled construct.

[Say hello, to my little friend.]

Sophara turned around, as her eyes wide.

Lindon smiled, his body covered in ash and his robes ripped.

Holding his canon, he unleashed.

A wave of hunger madra collided against Sophara’s wings and madra.

Sophara roared as she surged her power against his, her body sliding back against the floor. She poured more soulfire, but the canon blast slowly overpowered her madra, stealing its strength as it came closer and closer. Her wings were struck by the beam, and they began to lose their power. They bled molten gold, dripping like candlewax into a puddle on the ground.

When it reached her body, her madra gushed out of her body, draining her in seconds. She fought against the pull, her Overlord spirit screaming in protest.

As the canon broke apart in his hands, Lindon threw it away as his void key closed.

Lindon continued to drain White Fox madra into his hunger binding in his remnant arm, cycling it to Dross.

A second Lindon stepped out from the first. Then another. And another. A group of walking echo Lindon’s surrounded Sophara. She sent a ring of golden fire, but in the illusions her Flowing Flame seemed to turn into a serpent that shot at her.

Sophara closed her eyes, igniting the room with Flowing Flame. Or so she intended as only a flicker escaped. Her core was completely dry, and no madra flowed through her anymore. The hunger madra had taken everything from her.

Sophara opened her eyes, watching the snarling faces of the multiple Lindon’s. In the illusions, they seemed to change their appearance, growing black scales, and smiling snouts, tails flickering above them. They were a group of young black dragons that raised their palms, dragon breath forming.

Sophara moved with Overlord reflexes, her claws reaching one of the echoes. Lindon’s echoes flickered with Dross’s Enforcer technique: Foxtail. It made his punches look longer, steps shorter, and motions faster or slower.

Her tail missed him as Lindon threw himself under her arm, placing a dragon’s breath under her ribcage. It exited out her left shoulder, and she screamed.

Her tail stabbed down into his body. Lindon flickered away with the Foxtail, his Burning Cloak suddenly layered with a purple and white flames: Foxfire.

Lindon and his echoes flowed in a black and purple blur, their strikes causing Sophara to feel like she was burning to death.

Sophara lashed out with her fist, striking at what she thought was Lindon, only to hit the mirrors, shattering glass. The glass pieces transformed to birds that flew at her.

She screamed as she flicked her tail around, smashing into Lindon’s hip and ignoring the pain of foxfire hitting her scales.

The black dragon tried to dodge away, but Sophara grabbed his shoulder and bit into his face, only to find herself getting a face-full of dragon’s breath as Lindon slipped under, punching her in the stomach with his remnant fist.

Sophara smashed into the mirror, and suddenly she was falling through a dark void. Dross floated over her, a giant planet-size purple ball.

[Hello! I am hungry!]

He opened his mouth, a large blackhole that sucked Sophara in. Inside the blackhole, a giant head began to poke out, tentacles attached to its head. Body parts that were not supposed to be anywhere near its head flailed in the air. Tentacles reached for her, its Intent soaking into her. It made Sopahra’s eyes roll up in madness, sinking into the abyss.

In her head, she felt a woman’s voice laughing.

Sophara screamed as she blinked the illusion away, finding herself back with Lindon.

Lindon had turned into Naian Blackflame, his Blackflame claw plunging for her neck. Sophara kicked it away, only to end up kicking a white fox statue. It began to laugh at her.

Sophara fell and curled on the ground, the pain of Foxfire becoming too much.

She looked up in defiance as Lindon stood over her, turning into Ekeri. Her eyes looked down coldly, her sister’s face snarling as he prepared a dragon’s breath in one hand.

“You should have never come looking for me.”

Wei Shi Lindon smashed his palm into her chest, and the black bar of fire blasted through.

Sophara felt her heart burst, blood overflowing from her mouth.

Lindon breathed heavily, preparing another dragon’s breath aimed at her head.

Sophara glanced at him with fear as she began to crawl away, but she knew an Overlady could not be killed so easily. She felt her madra start to return. Lindon wouldn’t have time.

[Okay Lindon finish this before she recovers……....no Lindon! Kill her! NO!]

The dragon breath died as Lindon fell to the floor, his eyes rolling upwards. His core was fully drained from the toll the hunger bindings had given him, and he could no longer move.

Sophara dragged herself on the ground.

She needed only five seconds. Five seconds and her madra would return. Then Lindon would be dead.

The glass shattered and a heavy figure dropped behind Sophara. A growl sounded above her.

Sophara looked up to see an Underlord black dragon, its red eyes gleaming. It raised its head magnificently, its black wings spread outwards. Its body smoked and bled, but it proudly glared down at her.

The gold dragon glared at him, once again kneeling in front of the black dragons.

Sophara screamed in rage as Orthos bit her head off.