Kenuran felt the aspect of the Rippingblade crash into him as he stumbled backwards, the force of the attack blowing him clean off his position, crashing him into the rack of weapons behind him. Coughing out blood and saliva, the runes on his armor burned bright white as he struggled to his feet, groaning as he moved, Yona leisurely swinging her blade towards him,

“The arrogant bastard, I’ve always wondered, whatever happened to you after the titan blade disgraced you” she said,

"What happened to you when he casted you low, tore your path apart and showed just how useless you were on the inside?” she taunted,

Kenuran gave no response, his enchanted breath mending his bones,

* Enchanted Breath(R): Instead of unleashing destructive flames, the dragon's breath now carries a soothing and purifying enchantment. It can heal wounds, cure ailments, or provide a temporary boost to the abilities of allies.

dragons’ resilience held him together against the power of the Rippingblade that sought to tear him asunder,

* Draconic Resilience(R): The dragon's body has become highly resistant to damage. Its scales have taken on a metallic sheen, providing enhanced defense against physical and magical assaults.

Groaning again, he flicked his wrist, a shield made of white flames manifested, the snarling skull of a golden dragon burning on its surface,

* Shield of Redemption(R): The dragon can create an ethereal shield of pure energy to protect itself and others from harm. The shield is imbued with the dragon's remorse and acts as a barrier against physical and magical attacks.

The face of the dragon roared as Kenuran went on the attack again, eyes flicking around as he buffed himself up with enchanted breath, wincing slightly from the drain on his core, his hammer rang through the halls of the forges as flames sprouted out of the air in a serpentine shape, coiling around him, his eyes blazing white.

With a roar he clashed with Yona, flames of bright white flames billowing from his head as he exploded in a fury of attacks, his power burning bright, Yona backpedalled with a frown marring her face, her aspect tearing into the very air, battering Kenuran with all the force she could gather.

Kenuran spat another round of blood, still his enchanted breath kept him going, kept him battling with Yona who grew steadily irritated with his passive aggressive form of fighting,

“that’s it?” she spat out,

“The great Kenuran, no underhanded tactics, no secret plan of house Dracon?” she asked,

Kenuran laughed a little,

“I understand why you’d think that, but I assure you, if I am to win, if I am to crush you, then I would do it with my strength and the force of my hammer” he said with blood-stained teeth,

Yona paused, as if words eluded her, and then she took a deep breath, the air around her rippling with intent as the very walls of the hidden vault shook trying to withstand the force of her ability,

“Enough of this farce, a diamond against a master, insulting, even for you spawn of serpents” she said softly,

Kenuran nodded as his hammer lit on fire, Kenuran acting as a beacon of light and power,

“Indeed, I will join my ancestors in the stars with courage” he replied,

Yona swung her blade and the entire vault exploded from the master ranked attack; the entire district exploded along with it, tearing a literal crater in the location of the vault. Yona breathed hard a little, her aspect fluctuating around her, the scream of an anguished mother dragon roaring through the air, Yona smiling.

The smile was quickly wiped from her face with the presence of a being, a being who shielded Kenuran from the blast, the heir of the red jaw on his knees, his body smoking from the attack as his mithril armor clanged to the ground a wreak even as his skin burned hot along with gashes that were rapidly closing.

She felt the power of Anala in the distance lock in on her, cursing as she turned to the old man with a staff of pure mithril in his hand, a tattoo on his muscled body that glowed white, a coiled serpent reaching for the stars, Yona’s eyes widened,

A coiled serpent reaching for the stars,

“impossible” she breathed,

Kenuran looked a bit less surprised,

“Lord Eldrakor?” he asked,

Eldrakor, the lord general of the Forgeworld, the man she was after, and he was a member of that cult. Yona had no time to hesitate, the pressure of the area skyrocketed with the coming of an enraged red jaw, the man stared at her calmly through old eyes that glowed with barely unleashed power,

“Did you think she’d sit by and watch you wipe everything she built?” Eldrakor asked,

Yona growled and tapped into the aspect of the omega blade, the aspect that tore hers and made it hard for her to sense her own path, her eyes going inky black as Eldrakor frowned,

“Another of the tainted” he said disapprovingly,

Then he shrugged off his robes and even Kenuran’s eyebrows raised up, lord Eldrakor was ripped, too ripped for a humanoid dragon of his age. Toned muscles all over his body, his wizened white hair burning at its tips, he pointed one finger at her,

“Cease tapping into primordial destruction and I might just let you go” he offered,

Before Yona could answer, Anala was in her front, her blade blazing with all the powers of the aspect of the red jaw and tinges of scorching fire tore through the space towards Yona who deflected, both of them tearing the already destroyed city to rubbles as the very earth quaked with every tectonic attack they delivered. Kenuran held the ground to steady himself as he felt the gaze of his forge master on him, the old man smiling,

“How?’ he whispered,

“How?” the man replied chuckling,

“Her mercies are ever benevolent, it’s more than enough considering what you and the rotten house Dracon has become ever warranted” he replied, sounding as much disappointed as he was kind,

Kenuran had no idea whom Eldrakor spoke about, but he felt the shame of what the elder said permeate his body, nodding before speaking,

“And this path bestowed upon me, was this her doing?, whoever she is?’ he asked,

“I was asked to see if you were worthy of redemption, to see if you were among those to be saved in the coming days, the cleansing has arrived Kenuran” he said as he casually swiped an attack from Yona that came barrelling for him,

Kenuran turned in alarm as his mother crashed into a structure, roaring in pain as she transformed into her original dragon form, blotting out the sun with her size, Yona cackling as her blade, now coated in darkness exploded into motion the same moment Anala did, claws of burning intent and dragon flames clashing with whatever malevolent power the Rippingblade tapped into. Eldrakor turned to him, eyes boring into his,

“so what say you, Kenuran of the redeemed ember” he asked,

“What are you willing to sacrifice to protect your burning empire?, what are you willing to sacrifice to protect those citizens who die by the very second?” he finished,

Kenuran stared at the bleached white sands around him, scooping a little as he rubbed it through his hair, Eldrakor staring on impassively,

“My life, I was given a second chance” he whispered to himself,

“And if I have to spend every moment of it in penance of the crimes that I have committed, the crimes I have done in the name of others, and for Vasanz, the brother I could had loved, then I would” he completed,

Eldrakor stared for a few more seconds before nodding, grabbing Kenuran by the shoulder,

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“Then rise Kenuran, you have been absolved of your crimes to her, and your trial has just begun, but for now, rest, let me deal with this child that wields powers she knows little of” Eldrakor said,

Kenuran swallowed, hesitating before asking the question he really wanted to,

“This benevolent woman, is she?” he asked leaving it open,

“The lady of the cosmic fury, lady Eses” Eldrakor said distractedly,

Kenuran could only nod mutely as the lord general of the Forgeworld shot away from him, Kenuran realizing that the previous master ranked elder she knew had hummed with a greater power,

Lord Eldrakor was a ruler,

************************

Lord general forge master of Wyrmforge, lord Eldrakor, tore of the veiled path he had been abiding with for close to four centuries, sighing with pleasure as the path of the Mechanomancer gave way for his true path, the path of the rune-forged brawler, his runes burning to life in a haze of celestial aura.

Not that he didn’t find pleasure in said path, it had allowed him tinkle with the greatest creations and constructs that had come out of the Dracon empire afterall, it was simply the fact that he hadn’t found anything to beat on in those three centuries while he played the role of a humble forge master to the royals of house Dracon when he could had simply beaten them into shape.

Orders were orders afterall, and Eldrakor had stayed his hands despite watching the gradual decline of his mistress’s house, much to his dismay and chagrin. The order to test the broken hatchling, to see if he would be worthy of reshaping in the fires of predicaments had come as a much-needed respite to Eldrakor.

Kenuran had been nothing but useless at the very beginning, but Kenuran had slowly begun to develop a bond with the child, watching as the once proud and ruthless heir of Azar had slowly broken out of the illusion he had been brought up with, his situation sinking into his very being, and then Eldrakor had proceeded to beat the living aether out of him during their first meeting, the dragon sighed,

“Fond memories” he thought to himself,

And then he was in front of the chaos wielding master, his rune covered arm bursting with the very aspect of Eses as he slapped away the blade covered in the malevolent power, smashing the girl straight to the ground before turning to Anala who struggled to stay afloat in the air, aspects almost spent and needing time to replenish,

“You were warned to desist from relying on the aspect of Azar, little red jaw” he said, eyes alight as he folded his hands behind him,

Anala transformed back to her humanoid form in a burst of fire, her skin lacerated with bite marks of the Rippingblades’ weapon, struggling to heal herself, her eyes though, wide as it were, came to terms with who the Eldrakor, the elder she had taken as an adoptive father was,

“you” she whispered, her words coming out in short breaths,

“Take Kenuran and leave, my disciple would lead you to safety” he ordered,

“Disciple?” she asked, her voice faint,

A figure appeared close to her, white hooded robe that shielded their identity, but from sheer physique of this being, Anala surmised it was female in nature. Body also covered in runes, the female stretched her hands out, runic circles blazing to life around the air as a ship appeared, a magnificent thing of mithril and burnished gold, glinting in the sunlight of Wyrmforge itself,

“Gather what few survivors are left, I doubt there’d be anything left of Wyrmforge by the end of this fight” Eldrakor said,

Before Anala could even protest, Kenuran was held in the grasp of the woman, the dragon confused as he was again teleported into the ship in a beam of white light, Anala struggled again to speak,

“Simply take solace in the fact that Eses has turned her benevolent eyes on you and your child, now depart to the ship” Eldrakor ordered with as much authority he could use without breaking her,

Anala nodded, casting grateful eyes at the dragon,

“Kenuran’ she whispered her meaning passing across to the elder dragon,

“Healed, he will pay for it over many lifetimes, but he is healed” Eldrakor said before turning to watch a beam of chaos energy slam into the vessel, its runes however, repelling the attack without so much as a scratch,

Snapping his fingers, the female cult member moved, grabbing Anala as she too disappeared in a beam of white light, and then Eldrakor went on the attack. The female hooded figure left with her orders that rang in her head,

“Search and destroy”

“affirmative” she replied in a soft robotic voice,

And then she was moving, as fast as a wraith, she flickered through the entirety of the now destroyed Drakonspire, picking out survivors as her connection to the ship allowed her to tag them, beams of white light transporting them to the ship itself.

Pockets of resistance that struggled on were suddenly snatched away as well, leaving the confused cult members that remained to wonder what had just happened, their mostly silver and gold ranked sights unable to keep up with her movements. When those were done, her main objective came into play,

Destroy,

She clapped her hands together, the runes she had placed all over Drakonspire came to life, runes she had placed on the cultists, and with another rune she drew in the air, she spoke,

“Blessed inferno of absolution, pyre burn” she whispered,

The ship opened up its sides and hundreds of cannons appeared, then they unleashed precise hell down on those exact spots below them. Attacks meant for decimating masters and putting them out of fights were unleashed on silver rankers and golds a well, entire districts were wiped out in an instant with no respite, no chance for mercy and without a single loud explosion.

Her work done, she floated back to the ship, its metal sides simply opening up in a circle as she passed through, appearing within the inner chambers of the ship where Anala, Kenuran and what few remained of the resistance were gathered.

Kenuran had opened up his spatial vault, a mechanized one from what the woman could see as it was somehow linked to an actual physical vault somewhere on the planet, a place where the lord forge masters had been safely hidden away. With another snap of her fingers, these same forge masters were transported to another part of the ship, which was really an extension of her body,

Seeing as she was the ship herself,

“Greetings, I am known as Lyra astral starborn, one of the stellar sentients and disciple to lord Eldrakor, second in favor to lady Eses, the cosmic dragon” she stated,

Immediately the few resistance fighters, ascenders all, fell to their knees bowing, Kenuran and Anala followed suit,

“a stellar sentient” Anala wheezed, Kenuran turning to his mother in alarm,

“Forgive my negligence” the stellar sentient known as lyra said, her voice coming from all around them as an aura of healing property settle on them all,

Anala sucked in a deep breath as her body was healed, her physical form returned to its peakness in the blink of an eye. Bowing again, Kenuran whispered to his mother,

“Stellar ancient?” he asked,

Lyra replied, no doubt, her master ranked hearing playing out,

“I am a sentient vessel given form by the benevolence of the cosmic dragon and the supreme of constructs herself, Liakya, I am the first of my kind, with others coming soon after, and most recently, one under the titan blade you must be familiar with” she said cocking her head,

Mother and son froze at the mention of the name of the titan blade, lyra paid them no mind as she continued,

“As of this moment, Wyrmforge has ceased to exist, it will be purged to contain the taint of…...” lyra said, pausing as she turned to the resistance fighters who stared at her in awe,

“Information is restricted to royalty only, now, SLEEP” she commanded, her authority encapsulating the resistance fighters alone as they summarily slumped into a deep slumber, unmoving,

Kenuran almost thought that the master had unknowingly killed them, only the slow breathing emanating for their bodies gave him any indication of their continued existence. He turned back to the stellar sentient,

“The phenomenon that is known simply as chaos is another reality destroying power, one simply worse than the abyss as it seeks not to dominate or transform but to return everything, archailect and abyssal into oblivion, it is the foe we face and a foe the Runebearers have been silently working to keep its tendrils at bay” she explained,

“Then Ajax wields this force?’ Anala asked, eyes wide,

“Precisely, but luckily enough for you, she has decided to move” lyra said, her voice echoing with the same monotonous form of a recording,

Anala stared with wide eyes,

“You mean?” she asked,

“Yes, the cosmic dragon is moving” lyra replied,

***********************************

Eldrakor watched as the girl opened herself up to the powers of chaos, watching as she attempted to cover the entire planet of Wyrmforge in its aspect as reality and planet alike began to break down around them.

He spoke, his words a whisper, but carried with it the tongue of dragons, a language the archailect was restricted from translating, for the power it carried surpassed the might of the archailect. A loud gong echoed and the powers of chaos began to chaff as golden large runic circles appeared over the skies of the planet, its blistering power tearing apart the hold of chaos in on the planet.

He floated to the ground, aspect of cosmic fury burning all around him as the girl stared impassively at him,

“who are you?, you’re not the Eldrakor that I heard of” she whispered, her voice sounding like it came from six different sources at the same time,

She was slowly losing herself to the aspect, her sense of self slowly breaking away, Eldrakor felt a shred of pity for her.

The aspect of chaos, as powerful as it was, was like a slow destroying addiction, first its began with the breaking of the users path, overtime, pushing out more power from its source into the user till eventually, they are left nothing but a thrall to the aspect of chaos itself, such as she was now. All that would be left, was a husk for the power that must no be to use for its machinations,

And Eldrakor would die ten times over before giving that power a foothold in the archailect,

“You are right, I am not the Eldrakor you knew, that filth is dead and replaced” Eldrakor replied,

“No two elders bear that name” Yona said,

“Again true, whoever said my true name was Eldrakor?” he replied,

Yona nodded,

“Then you would die for bearing the name of the filth” she answered as she raised her blade,

Eldrakor watched impassively as the aspect of chaos coalesced on her blade, veins of deep black lines passing through her features as she struggled under the power she gathered.

Eldrakor drew his fists back as he felt lyra take-off, shooting clear of the planet with speed worthy of a master despite her heavy bulk. Free to move, he summoned the aspect of the cosmic dragon as he spoke,

“I apologize child, perhaps in another life, you’d have a better fate” he said,

Yona screamed, black tears pouring from her inky black eyes as she swung the blade, the shattering screams of a thousand existences coming apart. Eldrakor moved as he gathered his entire strength and his path, his spiritual form taking shape,

“Path of the rune brawler, encapsulating might” he said,

His spiritual form crushed the power of chaos, confining it as a glowing bright white light came from the rune brawler, his eyes a beacon of cosmic power as he towered above the clouds, till eventually, the planet began to crack and splinter and then summarily exploded.

Wiping out Wyrmforge in a cataclysmic explosion. Among the debris of space floated the man known as Eldrakor, and in his hands, a crystal sealed with the aspect of chaos and the frozen form of the being that was once known as Yona ripping blade within it.