THE FINAL STAND

AMIDST THE CHAOS, ROSE LAY CRITICALLY WOUNDED, HER BREATH SHALLOW, HER PULSE FADING. RION SAT BESIDE HER, GRIPPING HER COLD HANDS IN A DESPERATE PLEA.

"I NEED YOU, ROSE… I LOVE YOU."

HE LEANED DOWN AND PRESSED A SOFT KISS TO HER LIPS. THE FAINTEST GLOW FLICKERED AROUND HER, AND FOR A MOMENT, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH SHE WOULD RETURN TO HIM. BUT THEN, JUST AS QUICKLY, HER BODY STIFFENED, AND SHE PASSED AWAY.

IN AGONY, RION FELT HIS HEART BREAK, HIS ENTIRE WORLD SHATTERING. BUT EVEN IN THE DARKEST MOMENT, HOPE FLICKERED—JUST NOT FOR LONG. LIORA, KNOWING THE SEVERITY OF THE SITUATION, SLIPPED A SMALL VIAL INTO RION’S HAND. "THE DRUG. IT’S THE ONLY CHANCE."

WITH NO TIME TO WASTE, RION PLACED THE VIAL TO ROSE'S LIPS, AND IN A FLASH, HER BODY BEGAN TO GLOW ONCE MORE. HER EYES FLUTTERED OPEN, BREATHING DEEPLY, AS THE DRUG REVIVED HER, PULLING HER FROM THE EDGE OF DEATH. BUT ROSE WASN’T THE SAME. SHE WAS NOW BOUND TO SOMETHING DARKER, HER CONNECTION TO THE DRUG TAKING HOLD.

ROSE, NOW REVIVED BUT DISTANT, WEAKLY OPENED HER EYES AND REACHED FOR RION, BUT SHE WAS NO LONGER ENTIRELY HERSELF. THE DRUG HAD DONE ITS JOB, BUT IT CAME WITH A HEAVY PRICE.

RION, IN HIS RAGE AND PAIN, FELT HIS HEART BREAK AGAIN—BUT NOW, HIS FURY KNEW NO BOUNDS.

THE 2ND AND 3RD MONARCHS, THE DRAGON BROTHERS, THE MOST POWERFUL BEINGS OF THE SHRINE, WERE NOT DEAD YET.

IN AN INSTANT, RION LAUNCHED HIMSELF INTO THE SKIES, HIS AURA BURNING WITH A MIX OF LIGHTNING BLUE, PURPLE, DEEP RED, AND FIERY ORANGE. HE WAS NOW THE SAGE OF FLAMES AND STORMS, HIS POWER AMPLIFIED BEYOND ANYTHING HE COULD HAVE IMAGINED.

THE BATTLE WITH THE 2ND AND 3RD MONARCHS TOOK PLACE IN THE COLD, DESOLATE VACUUM OF SPACE. RION'S BODY WAS DRAINED, FIGHTING ONLY IN HIS BASE FORM, WITH A SWORD IN HAND, HIS EVERY STRIKE INFUSED WITH INCITE AURA, A SYMBOL OF HIS PAIN AND FURY.

THE FIGHT WAS FIERCE—AN EARTH-SHAKING CLASH BETWEEN RION AND THE DRAGON BROTHERS. THE SKY RUMBLED AS THEIR POWERS COLLIDED, A BRUTAL DANCE OF FIRE, LIGHTNING, AND RAW STRENGTH. THE BROTHERS, RELENTLESS IN THEIR ATTACKS, MATCHED RION'S FURY STRIKE FOR STRIKE. THE BATTLE STRETCHED ON FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE ETERNITY, PUSHING BOTH RION AND THE DRAGONS TO THEIR LIMITS.

RION, EXHAUSTED AND NEAR COLLAPSE, MANAGED TO DEFEAT THE 2ND MONARCH. WITH ONE FINAL SLASH, HE CUT THROUGH THE DRAGON'S DEFENSES, SENDING ITS SHATTERED BODY FLOATING IN THE ABYSS OF SPACE. BUT THE VICTORY CAME AT A COST. HE WAS BARELY STANDING.

THE 3RD MONARCH, FILLED WITH RAGE AT HIS FALLEN BROTHER, ATTACKED WITH EVERYTHING HE HAD LEFT. THE BATTLE WAS CLOSE, BUT RION’S RESILIENCE AND FURY LED HIM TO VICTORY. WITH AN OVERWHELMING BLOW, RION FINALLY DEFEATED THE LAST OF THE BROTHERS, SENDING THEIR LIFELESS BODIES DRIFTING INTO THE VOID.

BUT RION WAS LEFT DRAINED, STANDING ON THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE SHRINE, THE REMAINING ALLIES—CELUSTIA, KEIM, LIORA, PRINCIPAL HENELNA, AND THE OTHERS—FOUGHT THE 4TH MONARCH. THEIR COMBINED STRENGTH HAD THE SHRINE ON ITS LAST LEGS, THE FINAL REMNANTS OF ITS POWER CRUMBLING. WITH EACH ATTACK, THE 4TH MONARCH BECAME WEAKER AND WEAKER, UNTIL FINALLY, THE LAST BLOW WAS STRUCK. VEROIS PERIL, IN A MOMENT OF QUIET RAGE, KILLED THE 4TH MONARCH, AVENGING THE LOSS OF THE SHRINE'S MEMBERS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PLACE THAT HAD BEEN THEIR HOME.

AS THE FINAL BATTLE ENDED, THE NEWS OF THE SHRINE’S FALL SPREAD QUICKLY. THE LAST REMNANTS OF THE MONARCHS AND THEIR SHRINE WERE GONE. THE MEETING OF LEADERS OF THE REMAINING SHRINES WAS CALLED IMMEDIATELY.

THEY KNEW THIS WASN’T OVER. AS THEY DISCUSSED THEIR NEXT STEPS, A DARK DECISION WAS MADE. THEY WOULD DESTROY ALL HUMANS IN THEIR PATH. A NEW BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY WAS BREWING, AND THIS TIME, THE DARK SHRINE, WHERE RION’S MOTHER RESIDED, WOULD BE THE EPICENTER. THE BATTLE WAS ONLY BEGINNING.

----------------------------------------

FINAL SCENE

BACK IN THE HOSPITAL, RION SAT AT ROSE’S SIDE ONCE MORE, HIS EXHAUSTION SHOWING. HIS BODY ACHED FROM THE BATTLES HE HAD JUST FOUGHT, BUT HIS MIND WAS FOCUSED ON THE NEXT PHASE OF THE WAR.

HIS MOTHER, ONCE A POWERFUL DRAGON, HAD BECOME PART OF THE DRAGON GOD’S TWISTED SCHEME. SHE HAD BEEN BRAINWASHED AND TURNED INTO ONE OF THE DRAGON MONARCHS. THE TIME FOR ACTION WAS NEARING, AND RION KNEW HE WOULD HAVE TO FACE THE WORST OF HIS ENEMIES—THE DRAGON GOD—AND END THE TORMENT ONCE AND FOR ALL.

AS RION HELD ROSE’S HAND, HIS RESOLVE SOLIDIFIED. HE WOULD NOT REST UNTIL HIS PARENTS WERE FREED, AND THE DARK SHRINE WAS DESTROYED.

WITH A FINAL KISS TO ROSE’S FOREHEAD, RION PREPARED FOR WHAT WOULD COME NEXT. BUT HE KNEW THAT THE BATTLES AHEAD WOULD NOT BE EASY. THIS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING

THE END

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