The ruins were as visible as a stem on an orange. Knowing the size of the column fragment it was expected they would be massive, though no one expected what they would find. The structure—twenty times taller than wide—towered above the wasteland like a massive gray spire. Time had left its mark, taking out entire chunks of an otherwise impressive cluster of interconnected buildings and temples. The complete lack of cracks suggested that the dragon had kept the realm in perfect condition. That wasn’t the most terrifying thing, though. Dallion could see what any domain ruler could sense—the dragon’s sphere of influence, stretching tens of miles from the ruins, like a venomous bubble.
While everyone avoided the topic, no one could understand how something this strong could have remained undetected all this time. Noble echoes were frantically discussing with people in the capital, going as far as the emperor himself.
“I got nothing,” Pierce said, his usually cheerful nature completely gone. “You?” he looked at Abla.
“The emperor is still in the garden,” the duke sighed. “And has removed all the doors. No one can reach him until he’s done changing the place again.”
“So, what’s the play?” the mage asked. “You’re the highest ranking. You make the decision.”
It was a difficult question to answer. There were two dozen inner sanctum members in total. Of them, less than half had the level to take on a beast of this nature. The desire to defeat such a powerful opponent was emanating from them like beacons in the night. At the same time, they were smart enough to exert some caution.
“Just go for it,” the Count said. “Two mages and heavy support. You’ll never get a better chance.”
“Always eager to go out in a blaze of glory,” Pierce sighed. “He’s right, though. If we don’t deal with the problem during the pause in the war, the problem will grow.”
“Is there a chance it belongs to the Azures?” Tors whispered.
Everyone turned his direction. For someone who thought himself such a bigshot in the capital, the messes he was making during this hunt went from bad to worse.
“They appeared at the same time. Both the Academy and the Order have been exploring the wilderness for centuries and nothing. Now, suddenly we find a dragon nest just as the nymphs return to the world. It can’t be a coincidence.”
Dallion could see the faint threads of music that his relative was using while speaking. There was no need for that, though. Everyone was aware of the unusual coincidence, but above all, it didn’t matter. They couldn’t leave the dragon as it was.
“We can’t use prison items,” Dallion said. “The larger dragons are protected. I don’t think blocker items will work, either. Something that old must have seen everything.”
“Not exactly.”
Pierce reached into the air. Two aether circles formed, one within the other. The mage’s hand went in, then out again, holding a small box. The aether glow coming from it made Dallion look away. It was brighter than he was used to. In fact, the only things he could compare it to—other than the emperor—were Moonstones.
“We've got something newer,” Pierce opened the box.
Forty rings of light were inside, carefully arranged on dark blue velvet.
“The second greatest treasure of our order. It was given as a gift to the emperor’s grandfather by the Order of the Seven Moons.”
The man took one out and placed it on his index finger. To Dallion’s astonishment, the glow suddenly vanished; not only that, but the man’s presence had also been erased. Looking at him felt like looking at a fake image: there were no emotions emanating from within, no magic threads, even all his item guardians had gone numb.
Dallion whistled a tune, merging his music skills with spark in an attempt to find a weak spot. The threads passed through Pierce, as if he were made of air.
“Useful, aren’t they?” Astra stepped forward, taking one of them.
Indeed, they are, dear boy, Adzorg said from within his realm. Sorry I couldn’t talk about it sooner. Moon vows, you understand. Although, I was under the impression they belonged to the emperor. As young Pierce said, they were a gift to the emperor’s grandfather.
Absolute blocker items. Dallion had heard speculation about their existence back when he was at the Academy. Of course, the place was full of highly theoretical discussions. Before the betrayal, mages loved to speculate and tinker with powers that didn’t belong to them.
What do you know about them? he asked.
Just that they work, the old mage said. My old teacher tried to replicate the effect, but couldn’t. Whatever the Order of the Seven Moons had done, it’s as close to Moon powers as one might get.
One by one, all members of the inner sanctum took a ring and put it on. What remained was kept in the wooden box, which was unsummoned back to where Pierce had taken it from . Dallion made an attempt to memorize the spell used, but the amount of false symbols and magic countermeasures quickly made it clear that only one person had access to the treasure.
“Ready?” Abla asked.
Everyone nodded.
“Pierce, fly us there,” he ordered. “And don’t touch the moss.”
Casting a three-sphere spell, Pierce blinked the entire group out of existence, then back in. The second time, they were a foot away from the base of the ruin. Many of the designs had an uncanny resemblance to those Dallion had seen within the aura sword’s world domain. Maybe the cluster of giant buildings was somehow related to them? Or maybe it was linked to the Eighth Moon?
AREA AWAKENING
Reality shifted. The sensation of abandonment smothered Dallion. There was nothing but darkness all around him—no Moons, no stars, not even a single magic thread. Only thanks to his domain ruler abilities was he able to make out the shape of the surrounding environment.
You are in the land of [SPIRE]
The land’s destiny cannot be fulfilled.
Spire again? Dallion wondered.
Clearly, it wasn’t just the column base that had been torn off; the entire was part of a bigger whole. Just looking at the bleak insides gave Dallion the impression he was inside an item, or rather a paradox cube. Tunnels, roads, and structures all merged into one, forming a honeycomb of openings and buildings. The size of everything was enormous—large enough for colossi to inhabit.
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“No guardian?” Tors whispered, starting at the blue rectangle.
“That’s not what it says,” Dallion replied. “The land’s destiny can’t be fulfilled. It doesn’t mean that—”
COMBAT INITIATED
Waves of instances formed as everyone combat split, ready for battle. Dallion himself summoned all four of his main weapons, keeping two of them in the air with a quick spell.
Pierce also cast his unique blend of magic, creating twelve large balls of white flame that indiscriminately flew in all directions, fading all instances along the way.
Awakened markers appeared as people concentrated their skills. Even Tors was gripping his harpsisword, playing a series of chords. The only thing missing was the enemy.
“Where is it?” someone asked.
The balls of fire had done a good job lighting up the immediate area, yet there didn’t seem to be any creatures. The ceiling—that passed for the sky in this realm—held no surprises, either.
FATAL WOUND
Your health has been reduced by 75%
A red rectangle emerged above one of Dallion’s instances. It wasn’t the only one—a whole sea of rectangles formed, thinning the overall mass of instances by a quarter.
“Illusion magic!” Dallion shouted, slashing the air with his aura sword. “It might be anything!”
Dozens of magic circles formed, each pouring aether shards straight ahead. Several members of the group swiftly changed location to avoid getting hit. The remaining concentrated on the areas that were not covered by Dallion’s magic attacks.
Not worrying about the consequences, Abla did a spark infused three-sixty line slash.
Spark and magic were the only things that could pierce through an illusion that perfect. All that was needed was one hit for the entire creature to be revealed, or so the standard logic went.
“Can you see him, Gleam?” Dallion asked.
The whip blade floating beside him extended, slashing part of a nearby building. Unfortunately, nothing was revealed in the process. Even she didn’t have the skill to see through their enemy.
FATAL WOUND
Your health has been reduced by 75%
More red rectangles emerged.
In his mind, Dallion compared the areas of attack. To achieve what it had, the dragon had to be moving and at considerable speed. There was no way someone wouldn’t have noticed such an action, even if it had taken on the illusion of a structure. That left only one possibility.
“Air!” Dallion shouted. “It’s taken the form of an air current!”
“That’s why I hate fighting illusion creatures,” the Count grumbled, sending out line attacks of his own. “They always make it messy.”
Threads and points of destruction flew in all directions, shattering every aspect of the realm.
Realm section damaged!
Overall completion 93%
Blue rectangles emerged. Ignoring them, everyone continued, targeting every inch of the visible realm. Chunks of walls and ceiling fell on the battle-scarred floor. At this rate, it was just as possible that the realm would shatter, spitting everyone out, before the creature emerged. Then, it happened.
No one was able to say which strike led to the transformation. The only thing that mattered was that, among the ever-shifting sea of red rectangles, a purple one emerged.
MODERATE STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 150%
The rectangle quickly served as a beacon, directing all subsequent attacks towards it. Purple rectangles filled the space, spanning a distance of fifty feet. A moment later, the illusion broke.
An amber dragon, larger than any they had seen so far, gained form, flying above the main group. Scale-covered wings flapped together, blasting everyone back with a wave of air.
Gripping both swords, Dallion slashed back.
ATTACK NEGATED
You have sliced LUSTRA’s attack in two.
Attack has no effect.
A rip formed, letting the air pass by Dallion without dealing any damage. Not everyone else was so lucky. Even with all their instances, three people had received moderate wounds.
Where’s your weak spot? Dallion tried to use his aura vision to glimpse at the dragon’s information rectangle.
A faint outline formed, but quickly faded away. Even in its current state, the dragon maintained a level of illusion, keeping its skills secret.
“Go for the eyes!” the Count shouted, throwing his sword right at the monster’s head.
While impressive for a normal person, the attack was far too slow for an enemy of this caliber. Flapping its wings again, the creature twisted its neck to avoid the flying weapon. For a moment, it seemed as if it had succeeded, when the sword suddenly changed trajectory, flying right into the dragon’s giant eye. A loud clink followed, at which point the sword bounced off.
“Damn it!” The Count cursed. “They’ll need softening.”
“Easy for you to say,” Dallion whispered beneath his breath.
Sending a point attack at the beast’s chin with his harpsisword, he twisted in the air, combining magic and athletic skills. Magic threads rushed through his aura sword as he followed up with a second attack, this time combining magic and music.
While weaker, the strands made their way to the dragon’s head, yet the moment they came into contact with the glistening scales, they snapped.
“So much for subtlety,” Dallion let go of his harpsisword and grabbed the hammer floating nearby. “Your turn, Onda.” He was just about to hurl it at the dragon’s head when Nox leaped out of him, fangs bared, flying straight at the dragon’s chest.
Eyes and fangs covered the crackling’s entire body, as it tripled in size, gaining the volume of a house.
Unprepared for such an opponent, the dragon attempted to smack Nox down with his wing. That proved to be a costly mistake. Feline claws sliced through the protective aether layer, then sunk into the scales.
MINOR STRIKE
Dealt damage is increased by 10%
Scales flew off, and along with them, the second illusion of the dragon shattered.
ADULT DRAGON
Species: REFLEX DRAGON
Class: MAGIC
Health: 78%
Traits:
- BODY 95
- MIND 80
- REACTION 105
- PERCEPTION 70
- MAGIC 35
Skills:
- ATTACK
- GUARD
- ATHLETICS
- SPELLCRAFT
- Flight (Species Unique)
- Scale shield (Species Unique)
- Aether shield (Species Unique)
Weakness: EYES