Dragon-Kin arc

Trigger Warning

Mentions of suicide

While the battle with Jayden and Ziera against Ryoka and Julia went on, flying in the air surveying the area with his arms crossed was none other than Tenjin Nakamura. The group went and started this competition without his approval. But unbeknownst to them Tenjin knew the second the individual battles began.

"Those punks. When this is over I'll be sure to put them all through the ringer later." Tenjin said.

Then flinched. He sensed something big. Something so powerful it made him sweat bullets.

"This mana! No! Not now! Why now!?" Tenjin shouted. Tenjin flew down towards Henro and Emilia.

From below Emilia and Henro felt Ziera's mana from five miles away. They were sweating and shaking from the intensity.

"No way. This mana belongs to..?" Henro asked.

"Ziera?" Emilia asked while shuddering.

It's like before but even more intense. Just how much power is Ziera holding inside of her? Emilia thought.

"EMILIA! HENRO!" The two looked up and saw Tenjin descending towards them.

"Tenjin!" Emilia shouted.

"What the hell is going on!?" Henro questioned.

"I'll explain everything later but for now-!" Tenjin was talking but Henro interrupted him.

"No fuck that! Enough of your "need to know bullshit" old man! What is happening to Ziera!? Did you know about this!?" Henro asked with frustration. Emilia placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Henro! Calm down! We can ask Tenjin all of this later. But what's our main priority right now!? Emilia asked. Henro looked her in the eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ziera. We have to make sure she's okay." Henro said. Emilia nodded.

"Tenjin! I'll follow you! Henro, you stay and get Julia to call off her fight with Jayden. If this is serious, Ziera needs us more than ever." Emilia said.

"Got it. We'll catch up with you two in a few." Henro complied.

"Thank you." Tenjin said to Henro.

"I'm not doing it for you. Make no mistake. We're not done. Not by a long shot." Henro said bitterly before he flew away.

Tenjin sighed. "Let's go, Emilia."

"Right!" Emilia complied. They both flew up into the air towards Ziera and Ryoka.

***

Ziera vs Ryoka

Ziera and Ryoka continue their battle as Ziera crashes Ryoka through another rock pillar. Ziera roared as she punched Ryoka hard across the face with spiked gauntlets.

They fell to the ground with Ziera straddling her stomach. Ziera unleashes a flurry of punches on Ryoka's face but Ryoka catches both her hands. Ryoka smiles at Ziera and headbutts her. Then Ryoka grabs her by the throat, picks her up and throws her into the air.

Ryoka then pulls out her sheathed sword and stands in a swinging position.

"Sun Dragon's: Inferno Slash!"

Ryoka swings her sword and unleashes a large inferno slash attack at Ziera. Ziera gets cut but it was just a hologram. Ryoka gasps.

She switched places? How? That was...

Ryoka then smelled Ziera's scent right behind her. Ziera was already behind Ryoka charging up her Omni-Cannon. Ryoka turned to swing but was too slow to react as Ziera already hit her stomach with her cannon.

TOO FAST! Ryoka thought.

Ziera roared as she blasted Ryoka point blank in her stomach and sent her flying. Ryoka threw up some blood.

Ryoka crashed into a mountain. She spat some blood from her mouth and wiped off the blood from her lips. She gave a wide crazed smile towards Ziera.

"AHAHAHAHA! I'm impressed! That attack somehow hurt a lot more than the last one! So you are finally getting serious!? HUH ZIERA!?" Ryoka shouted.

Ziera was still feral and only screamed as she reconfigured her arms into a different cannon.

"Omni-Thunder Canon!"

"Ohh scary! Maybe you are worthy of my blade after all!" Ryoka said.

"FIRE!" Ziera roared.

Ziera unleashed a massive lighting and energy beam from her cannon. Ryoka flew up and dodged but saw the beam hit the mountain causing a massive explosion. The mountain was completely destroyed.

"HOLY SHIT! That was badass! I knew it! I knew I wasn't wrong about you! You are a worthy opponent! This power! This thrill! I haven't felt like this since I've fought Julia! Let's keep going! Let's keep dancing in this battlefield of fire!" Ryoka shouted.

"RAAAAAAH!" Ziera roared as reconfigured her arms into another Omni-Cannon and fired at Ryoka. Ryoka dodged and flew through the air.

Fighting her at long range has proven to be not ideal for me. I have to get in close. But that being said, with the amount of mana she's pumping out it's no doubt the same power I sensed back then. Except now I know exactly what this power is.

"Ascension." Ryoka said.

"RAAAAAAH!" Ziera roared as she kept firing.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Still. That begs the question. Why is hers incomplete? Ryoka thought.

"Get....away!"

"What?" Ryoka asked as she kept flying.

"Get...away...from me. Please." Ziera began to cry.

***

Jayden vs Julia

Back to where Julia and Jayden fought, Julia looked at the direction of the battle between Ryoka and Ziera.

"So that mana I and Ryoka sensed earlier, was Ziera is ascending." Julia said.

Julia then sensed something and gasped.

This mana. Is it coming from Jayden? No. Julia thought.

Julia looked at Jayden's dismembered left arm which held ragnarok. The mana crystal on the center of the gauntlet began to glow blue.

What is going on? Is Jayden doing this? Or is it actually? She wondered.

While Julia was stuck in thought, in Jayden's mind he heard screaming.

"What.....what's going on? Who is screaming?" Jayden asked.

The screaming got louder and more clearer for Jayden to recognize.

"Ziera!? ZIERA!? Ziera where are you!? What's going on!?" Jayden shouted.

"You're wrong! This isn't...this isn't who I am!" Ziera cried out.

"ZIERA! It's me! Jayden! Can you hear me!" Jayden asked.

"I'm not....I'm not like him! I'm not a monster! I'm not!" Ziera cried out.

"Who is she talking to? She can't hear me? Dammit! I can't even see her. All I see is pitch black!" Jayden said in frustration.

"AAAAH!" Ziera cried.

"ZIERA! I'M COMING! JUST HOLD ON!" Jayden shouted. He tried to run but he couldn't move. It felt like his body was frozen solid. "DAMMIT! Ziera needs me! I have to help her! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! GODAMMIT!!!" Jayden cried out.

"Cease your wailing already!"

"What!? Who said that!? What's going on!?"

"Honestly. What a pitiful display. To think I choose you as my master."

"Your master!? What are you talking about!?" Jayden questioned.

"Have you forgotten me already boy? And after I granted you my power to save that girl once before."

"Wait a second! Are you?" Jayden asked.

"Ahahahahah! Yes! Now you understand!"

Jayden began to see a bright blue light shining in front of him. Through the light came out a person floating in front of him. But it wasn't just any person, it was his Omni-Suit but painted in silver instead of blue and white.

"I am the relic of destruction. Ragnarok!" Ragnarok declared.

Jayden was in shock. "Ragnarok!? What the hell!? You haven't spoken to me since the first time I used your power! But now you're here!? Why!? And what's going on with Ziera!? And-! Jayden's mouth was covered by Ragnarok's.

"My gods, do you humans love hearing yourself talk? Besides, what matters right now is you getting to that girl and stopping her before she ascends even further." Ragnarok said.

"Before she ascends!? What the hell does that mean!?" Jayden protested.

"Sigh. To put it simply, what Ziera is going through right now is called Ascension. An ancient and powerful technique. It is a power that connects to the soul." Ragnarok explained.

"The soul?" Jayden asked.

"Yes. As Ziera already told you, mana is the essence of life. Humans, machines, and even nature itself. And within every living being are souls. The mana in our bodies connects to our souls like blood connects to our hearts. The soul represents who we truly are. Only through facing our true selves can we ascend to a higher level and reach great power." Ragnarok stated.

"And that's what Ziera is going through? She's facing her true self?" Jayden asked.

"Precisely. But she's fighting against it. Refusing to face the inner darkness of her soul. And the longer she resists...". Ragnarok stopped.

"What!? Just what will happen to her!?" Jayden questioned.

"Her soul will be torn apart. She will neither crossover into heaven nor hell. Ziera will cease to exist." Ragnarok said plainly.

Jayden was completely horrified. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"So all those bursts of energy was Ziera really just fighting herself. But not just that. She was...was...killing herself!?" Jayden said with a shaky voice.

"In a way, yes. It would seem she'd rather die than face her true self." Ragnarok said.

Jayden began struggling, eyeing to free himself from the ice.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" Jayden roared at the top of his lungs.

He shouted as loud as his voice could go but no matter how much he struggled he couldn't break free.

"Ziera. Ziera! GOD DAMMIT ZIERA WHY!?" Jayden roared.

"Why do you keep doing this!? Why do you keep hurting yourself! You're always trying to push people away! Push me away! How can you say you'll be there for us when! When....".

Jayden slowly began to cease his struggle. He finally came to a stop and looked down. He cried his tears out and

"When you won't let us be there for you." Jayden said sadly.

Ragnarok crossed his arms and sighed.

"I thought I told you to cease that wailing boy. How will that solve anything?" Ragnarok.

"Shut up! I just need to save her. That's all that matters to me right now." Jayden said.

"Really? Even if it costs you your dream? Your life?" Ragnarok said.

"I don't plan on dying. But to answer your question, yeah. I promised I'd always be there for Ziera. I'm not breaking my promise now." Jayden said.

"Even if she's the one who might kill you?" Ragnarok asked.

Jayden didn't answer. He just gave Ragnarok a hardened stare. Ragnarok looked into his eyes. He saw nothing but fire behind those eyes. Not a hint of fear behind them.

"Hmph. Now that's more like it. I have no use for a weak master. Very well then! If you are serious about saving her, then take my hand boy." Ragnarok said.

Jayden grunted trying to free his arm. He thought of Ziera. The first time they met. All the time they spent together up till now. When she was stoic, when she was angry, when she was embarrassed, when she was smug, when she was sad and when she was happy. Her smile. Her pretty smile changed everything for him.

Jayden roared as he broke his left arm free of the ice and reached out to Ragnarok grabbing his hand.

"By the way, stop calling me boy. It's Jayden." Jayden said.

"Heh. Very well then, Jayden." Ragnarok said cheekily.

As they gripped each other's hands, Ragnarok's body began to glow blue. His metallic body formed onto Jayden's and thus he wore the suit again. His body began to glow blue.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jayden and Ragnarok both roared they broke free from the ice and the blue light shined so brightly in Jayden's mindscape.

***

Back in the real world, both Jayden's right and left arms flew towards Jayden and reattached themselves to Jayden's body.

He reattached his arms! And not only that, but his suit is repairing itself! How is he doing this? He lacked discipline and fought like a novice. Is this Ragnarok's doing or...? Julia was in thought when she realized Jayden was gone.

Wait. Where did he...? Julia asked herself in thought.

"Yo Julia."

Julia turned around and swung her sword. It reached right near Jayden's neck but Jayden didn't waver once. Julia stood there, aiming her sword at his neck and waited for his response.

He's gotten faster. Julia thought.

"You were right about me. I'm not fit to be the next wielder. I knew that from the beginning. I'm not perfect. I've made tons of mistakes. Mistakes I'll regret for the rest of my life. But even so, whether I'm worthy or not doesn't matter to me right now. What does matter to me is helping my friend." Jayden said.

"You know what's happening to her?" Julia asked.

"Yeah. She's fighting against her ascension. All the more reason why I'm calling it quits on our little sparring match. I'm going to save her." Jayden said.

"And do you really think you can save her alone?" Julia asked. Jayden smirked.

"Nah. That's why I got my friends with me. Including Ryoka and you." Jayden said.

Julia smiled and sheathed her sword. "Well, it wouldn't be ideal of me to let one of my new party members die. Very well. We shall postpone this match." Julia said.

"And here I was worried over nothing."

Jayden and Julia looked up to see Henro fly down towards them.

"And what took you so long asshole? I was dying back there?" Jayden asked jokingly.

"Oh I was just enjoying the show. No biggie. But it seems like our princess is throwing one of her famous tantrums again. So I thought I'd just help you out." Henro quipped.

"Thanks. Now let's go!" Jayden said as he, Henro and Julia flew up into the air. They flew towards where Ziera and Ryoka were.

Hang on Ziera. You were always there for me. I'll always be there for you. Jayden thought.