See, was that so hard? Yi Qiang remarked sarcastically to Shenyu as the guards led him through the city, to wherever the test was located - they hadn't deigned to mention it at all, and the two guards walking next to him, one on each side, seemed content just to continue on in silence.
Suddenly, something seemed to occur to the guard on his left, whose name Yi Qiang had yet to learn, and he turned and asked the archer, "Are you a Chosen?"
Yi Qiang blinked. Why does that matter?
"Yes, I am."
Worry overtook the guard's facial expression as he glanced around nervously. A slight hitch in his step was all that was needed to tell Yi Qiang what he wanted to know - this isn't exactly by the rules if I'm a Chosen, is it?
The guard came to a decision and sped up, quickly arriving at the guard captain's side - he was taking point and walking ahead of the group - and whispering into his ear. Thankfully, Yi Qiang's keen ears picked up what the guard was muttering to his captain.
"The Dragonblood suspect is a Chosen, sir. Do we have jurisdiction to subject him to the test without hard evidence?"
To Yi Qiang's dismay, Captain Saril's shoulders perked up when he heard this.
"Get back to your post, grunt, and don't question me."
The guard nodded hurriedly and rushed back, resuming his previous pace, though slightly off-kilter compared to before. Maybe this Saril will be punished for his pettiness after all. Yi Qiang thought.
'He should be. Hmph, he didn't like me. He said a not-nice word.' Shenyu thought back, evidently still miffed with the captain.
You mean 'drakhna'? Do you know what that means?
'No, but I know it's not nice!'
Of course.
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Thankfully, Yi Qiang was quickly arrived at the large building that the Dragonblood test was supposedy held in. It was a veritable fortress, actually, with smaller walls surrounding the building itself, along with many other visible defenses like the watch towers or subtly-glowing markings on the surface. Admittedly, Yi Qiang didn't know what that did either, but he could guess that it had something to do with defense. Just what was the hard part; it didn't mattter too much though, especially when just the walls themselves were likely enough to stop him, along with the people in them - if a simple guard captain was enough to give the archer trouble, Yi Qiang had no doubt there were people stronger than him here.
The proceedings were swift. Saril needed only flash a badge he had fished out from his uniform, and they were let in without questions. The group was led by Saril down long, winding hallways, and he quickly brought them to a remote room in the back of a hall.
The first few seconds after Yi Qiang entered were spent in a state of shock and blindness, as an ocean of light overwhelmed his view, the sensitive eyes of humanoids recoiling in pain.
Thankfully, the light dulled down, but Yi Qiang's anger did not ebb with it. Such a petty act of withholding information! And for what purpose! His anger only increased upon feeling Shenyu's dismay and pain - the two had not been together long, but Yi Qiang was fiercely protective of it already.
It reached its peak when, the moment Yi Qiang's vision cleared up, he saw Saril standing there compeltely unaffected by the light flash, having been protected by the fan he now held at his side.
Seeing his detainee's smoldering eyes, Saril smirked.
"I apologize, a warning seemed to have slipped my mind. Ah, no harm done, though, eh?"
This little...
Yi Qiang's figure flashed before Saril, the captain not even able to react as an icy grip enclosed his throat. Death.
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"I'm going to detail this once. I am stronger than you. I am Chosen. And above all, I am Dragonbound. That means that I am above you. And you will act as such. Now, if you understand, you will say absolutely nothing when I let you down, and continue on with everything, bearing in mind that I am superior."
Yi Qiang muttered into Saril's red face as he dangled helplessly before the marksman's grip, his words harsh and damaging. Even after his words, Yi Qiang stared the captain in the eyes until he determined the elf to be sufficiently red in the face, then dropped him to the ground gasping for breath.
Of course, the two guards following Yi Qiang likely would have interfered, but that was based on their basic capacity to do so - the aura of absolute indignation, fury, and above all, power, that the man exuded was something their instincts told them that was so far above them even approaching it would result in grievous wounds.
And so they crumpled to the ground, watching the burning sun that was Yi Qiang, crushed before his will.
You have learned a new class skill!
Empyrean Will(Dual Skill, Level NA)
You are not only bonded with the Empyrean Dragon. Now, your very mind has been shaped to that of the Empyrean Dragon. Your will commands its might.
In Passive form,
+10% to Vigor(constant)
- Mental suppression that may be toggled on and off
- 1% to stats of everyone in vicinity
In Active form,
+50% to Vigor
- The will of the Empyrean Dragon descends, utter submission follows
- 5% to stats of everyone in vicinity
Cost: 10% of current Vigor/minute
And in a flash, it was over, more blinding than the white light that scorched his eyes. Ah right, the test. Well, I can't say I'm in much the mood for it anymore, but I suppose it would be wisest for me not to upset the rulers or higher-ups of the city anymore, so I can hold on.
The room in question was... something Yi Qiang didn't even know how to react to. Inscribed all over the walls, finely scripted, magnificent runes cast a gentle white light upon the interior. Every inch of the walls was covered in the impossibly intricate magic script, every small bit likewise impossibly detailed, but all seeming to make up a perfect whole.
An ordinary wooden table near the back of the room held on it a small, mystical device. It was similar to a stylus in shape, but the point was sharper and the body was slightly wider. Unlike the packed, intricate runes that the walls were covered in, this device instead bore profound, flowing lines, smooth, carefully calculated, each angle engineered by divine hands. The object, somehow, was even more openly magic than the bulk of runes. Its dull crimson light clashed with the widespread white light, the bloody shine repelling even the gentle grace of the pale glow.
Suddenly, it struck Yi Qiang. This is where I'll be living. Forever.
His mind, shuddering, broke free of its invisible shackles, and Yi Qiang truly joined Ascend.
Two tears rolled down his face, carrying with them the marksman's final reservations about his new land.
Suddenly, an icy rasp sounded out behind Yi Qiang. Still immersed in his reverie, Yi Qiang turned around slowly, his gaze intense. What is it?
Behind him, Captain Saril had recovered, and now steadily stood before Yi Qiang. His greatsword was held evenly in front of him, the engraved steel bisecting his face, each eye walled off by its cold edge.
"You... took... me... off... guard...
"You... will... regret..." Yi Qiang squinted, for a moment unable to decipher the scene in front of him. Then it hit him, and Yi Qiang's lightness multiplied and morphed, becoming the color of a bloody moon.
No longer did his Empyrean Will rage, like last time, instead, this activation heralded Yi Qiang's true rage; a cold moon, shrouded in blood.
"I thought you humans had changed, grown out of it. But no. This is the dragons all over again. The humanoids were crushed. Dwarfed by the power of the beasts in the land you migrated to. And we could have had peace. But you dared..."
Scenes, unbidden, began surfacing in Yi Qiang's mind. Perhaps they had come through Yi Qiang's connection with Shenyu, or Yi Qiang's own draconic qualities. But he saw it; the insignificance of the humanoids compared to the dragons, flying high above the sky. He saw their arrogance overcome them as they annoyed the great beasts; again and again, the petty humans drove the dragons to a swift and fierce retalitation. The humans were crushed. But spared, intact. There were no deaths. The dragons were willing to forget.
But the humans weren't. They felt humiliated. And they broke the balance.
And worse than that, they hadn't changed.
The first arrow flew through the air, penetrating the captain's shoulder. With it, it carried the dragon's retaliation.
The second arrow followed the first, penetrating the captain's thigh. With it, it carried the dragon's forgiveness.
The third arrow followed the second, penetrating the captain's wrist. With it, it carried the dragon's rage.
The fourth arrow followed the third. It was the last. With it, it carried the dragon's will.
Captain Saril fell to the ground, dead. Blood pooled on the floor of the hall as he bled profusely even in death from his shoulder, thigh, wrist, and forehead. Yi Qiang dismissed his Qi-conjured bow.
He spared the guards. They were guiltless, save for their weakness. But Yi Qiang did not prey on the weak, only the unfair.
The marksman conjured a chair with Empyrean Armaments and waited. Chaos would come barreling down that hallway anytime now.