As the dead cleric had wished, Tayin met with his other two comrades. As he had feared, they would not abandon him.

Tayin followed slowly behind the two men as they charged forward into the hellscape beyond. Molten earth and blackened plants stood across the mountainside between them and the dragon. Blood fell heavily from the dragon’s mouth as the swordsman cleric was gone.

With a heavy heart, Tayin set to charging a wind-empowered arrow. A whirlwind surrounded her as she reached deep into the skies for aid. The chaos of the winds conformed and showered her with their power. From a distance of a half mile, she aimed her bow towards the dragon on the higher slopes. Beyond her, a healing-based cleric, and a hammer and shield-wielding cleric charged.

The tornado coalesced around her as she readied her attack. The healer blessed the heavy fighter who summoned chains of mist to bind the dragon. Tayin released her attack, it collided with a wing of the dragon. It had attempted to take flight but was staggered as the great winds tore at its wing. Small cuts and rips through the wing's membrane sprouted, as sharp wind blades swirled around the wing.

Tayin breathed heavily, the attack had taken a great toll. To harm a dragon, even in its weakest spot, was no easy feat.

The heavy armor-clad warrior charged into battle with the dragon. It was staggered by the winds, and so his summoned chains managed to pull the head of the monster down. The heavy hammer in the cleric’s hand glowed with a majestic light as it collided with the dragon's skull.

A great ripple of silver light shone forth, as the dragon's skull cracked. A horn visibly cracked at the base.

A great roar spouted out of the beast as it reared back its serpent neck. Glowing embers came alight in the gaps between the scales on its chest. The heavily armored cleric tried to flee. The healer behind him summoned mists to cover the warrior.

A great gasping breath of flame roared forth. The fighter fell to the earth as the silver mist of the healer evaporated. A silver light tried to fight back against the draconic blaze. However, it was helpless. Potentially the three together may have succeeded, but now they had no chance.

The warrior was turned to ash and disintegrated in the winds. The healer tried to resurrect the dead man, but the draconic essence allowed none of that. Far worse than the damage of plain fire, the draconic affinity within dragon’s fire ruined all chances of life returning to where the blaze had burned.

The remaining healer and Tayin witnessed their own deaths staring back within the bright fiery orbs of the dragon’s eyes. She had tried her best with a technique far beyond her, it had drained her and weakened her. But she was far from dead yet.

Again she called to the skies as a torrent of winds came down to her. She felt the chaos of the endless horizons swirling down onto her. With every ounce of will within her being, she calmed them to her purpose. A whirlwind quickly became a tornado, it devoured her energies to sustain, and so she quickly channeled the power into another shot.

The draw of her bow took everything within her to pull back, her strength was weakened beyond any normal exhaustion. Her body ached terribly as the power around her condensed.

The dragon charged toward the healer, he summoned walls of mist to try to stop the strikes of the dragon. He failed time after time as vicious claws tore him. Punctured by sword-like claws, he bled onto the molten stone.

Tayin’s charged shot fired forth as the dragon devoured the final cleric. As the half-dead man entered the dragon’s mouth, its wings came over its body. The attack from Tayin collided with it as its wings were shredded. Torn apart, the wings should have been useless for flight. Yet, the dragon stood, its body unharmed, only a small seeping of blood from a single claw, and its mouth showed no damage.

She fell to her knees, trembling. The attack had taken all of her stamina and mana from her. Her head ached, and her muscles fought to obey her.

She stared into the silently smirking face of the dragon.

Vok’Ret felt only joy as his hunt came to its conclusion, it was only inevitable that he slay any mortal who dared challenge him.

–

Ren followed the dragon, Cella had called him a fool and protested, yet he went anyway. He watched as it killed three clerics, and stared into the eyes of Tayin.

A quest appeared in front of him, a mechanic that had been missing since his first day in this world.

Quest Acquired:

Strike The Final Blow: 0/1

(Optional) Create Your Flame: 0/1

Knowing he would be rewarded for interfering meant nothing to him, for this was about far more than just some prize from his patron.

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He knew she would die, she had no chance at fighting such a monstrosity. She had betrayed him, and so had Hollwin. He should be happy she was going to die. And yet, he was not. He feared for her death, even dreading it. He had liked her, sure she kept secrets, and sure she was odd. Ren had liked her regardless, thought her a friend. He wished for her to live a long and happy life, regardless of what she had done to him.

Ren left Cella as she remained hiding in a crevice. He summoned forth the great black tendrils of the abyss underneath the dragon and channeled his eldritch energy.

The black tentacles of the Watcher grasped the dragon. Sure, it had nothing compared to the full strength of the Watcher, but the strength the tendrils had was beyond anything Ren could replicate.

The dragon fell to the earth as its legs were ripped from underneath it. With an idea stolen from the dragon, and hinted at by the quest, he empowered the affinity of his eldritch energy into flame. Fire in his hand swirled black, a small purple spark occasionally appearing across it. With four rapid strikes of eldritch flames, the dragon was burning.

The fire ate away at the scales of the dragon, the impenetrable nature of them did nothing as the eldritch energy devoured the power within the scales. Like great plates of steel, they melted, falling to the molten earth below it.

Ren felt shivers wrapping through his body. The combination of flame and his eldritch energy was too advanced for him. His body rejected the concepts as he felt the energy twisting inside him.

While the power remained his own, he launched a ball of black flame. The fireball engulfed the dragon. The crimson scales across its body burned and melted away as they were devoured by the eldritch corruption.

Ren felt his mind going fuzzy, his consciousness fading as the energy within him fought back against him. His energies were being devoured far more aggressively than when he used eldritch touch. He vomited bile onto the ground as he pulled black flames to his hand a final time.

Twin bolts of black flame slammed home into the neck of the dragon. It roared and rolled its body across the earth. Ren fell to the ground, holding himself up with his hands. Cella ran to him as the dragon fled down the mountainside. She had abandoned her hiding spot, disbelief flooded her as she watched his black flames.

Green light arose in her hands as she healed Ren. The life affinity was powerful, yet it barely managed to keep up with the corruption eating away at him. The corruption spreading across him left ethereal tracks across his skin. Like veins across his body, they pulsed. They tracked vile eldritch energies across him, rather than vital blood.

Tayin sat on her knees down the mountainside from them. She stared at Ren as he recovered on the ground. She had seen the black flames, she had watched as they replicated the evil power of dragon’s fire. She had seen how the dragon fled, and how it laid motionless far down the mountain.

A mental prompt entered Ren’s mind.

Congratulations, Quest Complete!

Rewards: Eldritch Rogue Itemization

(Optional) Reward: Gem of The Black Flame

Congratulations Eldritch Rouge Lv 17

+10 Dexterity +4 Willpower +4 Vitality +4 Intelligence +14 Free points

Ren felt his body grow stronger as a portion of his patron's power imbued him. He allowed the free points to increase his strength and endurance.

The increase in power gave him the energy to stand. He allowed the itemization to activate as his clothing began tougher and more powerful. It changed some but remained the same odd unreal fabric. A black cloak came over his shoulders and went down to the back of his calves. A black hood was attached to the cloak, while a gray scarf appeared to cover his neck and lower face. A thick gray shirt of strong unreal fabric covered his chest, where it met black jean-like pants made of a more real feeling material. It appeared similar to denim but still possessed the odd quality the rest of his clothing had. His boots began larger, and thicker, covering his entire shin with a strong and protective material.

Both Cella and Tayin watched as his clothing seemed to warp and upgrade before their very eyes. They watched as Ren lifted his gauntleted arm with the strange ruby. An onyx black gem gleamed there now, a lightless flame burning within it.

He mentally looted the corpse of the dragon. The ability gave him three objects.

Loot:

* Infernal Core

* Corrupted Crimson Dragon Hide

* Dragon’s Fang Upgrade Talisman

Ren allowed his dagger to absorb the upgrade talisman as it grew far sharper and far tougher. Now, he had no excuse to avoid using the blade. The infernal core was the blazing heart of the dragon, its source for its internal fire. The hide was far too large to have carried by hand, making him grateful for the magical storage.

He looked at the two women who stared at him. Now that he though of it, he had been acting really weird there. Doing a bunch of stuff they didn’t understand and all.

He quickly moved towards Tayin, and as he did, she tried to flee from him. She wasn't able to make it more than ten feet while crawling before he made it to her. Cella followed at a distance.

“I will not hurt you. I promise.” Ren spoke in a soft voice.

“What have you become? What did you do?”

“I am me, nothing more, nothing less. I’ve come to realize it recently. I wanted to live a new life, so I damned myself for it. It's selfish, you know? To want to die, want to start again. Some may get dealt shit hands and can’t get anything better. Some of us die as children, and some of us live long happy lives. It ain't fair, but it is what it is.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Confusion played over Tayin’s face.

“It has to do with me. It has to do with it all. I didn’t realize it until now, but my life has been way better than some others. Cella over there, she was born in the Underdark where she lived a fucked up life. Me, I’m lucky compared to her. I’m going to live this life, either I die a monster or live to kill one. I won’t know until I make it. If you and the others want to follow me, go ahead. See that dragon over there? I killed it, and I won’t go down without a fight. So, for your sake, and mine, go live your life, I’ll do my best to live mine.”

“They’ll hunt you to the ends of the world. It doesn’t matter if you have an attack that can break the defenses of a dragon. The paladin you met back at the monastery? He could slay that dragon in his sleep, he’s weak compared to who they’ll send after you. Ren, surrender and you may be able to live. You might bring about the end of this world.” Tayin sighed as Cella placed healing hands on her.

“Or, I could get stronger, find a way to kill the bastard myself.”

“To kill… A God?”

“Yup, I have a couple of friends now that’ll be helping me! They won’t turn against me in either.”

“You cannot hold that against me, Ren.”

“I don’t actually, I can’t. But I won’t turn myself in, and I won’t let myself die. I’ll find a way to get through this, I will. Or… well… I’ll die trying at least - hopefully not though…” The last part was a half whisper meant to himself.

Ren and Cella turned towards the mountain top, they left Tayin half healed. She sat on the earth and watched them flee into the wilds beyond.