AN: Random question. Has anyone ever had any of those sugar free gummi bears the internet has been talking about? If you have, great; then you know my problems. If not, then know that the horror stories are VERY real, as I found out last night.
Not much is going on in this one, except for a brief overlay of some of the world's politicking. I dislike it, and so does the MC, so don't expect much of it. Also, after this comes several chapters of his journey back to New Wair, then a chapter or two centred around him being in the city, and finally the epilogue of the arc.
I noticed an increase in followers, so welcome everyone to our little Black Parade. Will come up with something if and when we reach 100 followers, especially if it reaches there by the Epilogue.
As always, folks, thank you for reading thus far. If there are any questions, comments, or concerns you may or may not have, please do not hesitate to write down below, or in my PM box.
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The third, and final issue I need to address was of her need to be chatty. From her own maw, she had told my person of how lonely she was, and grateful to have my person in her company. 'What else did you talk about?' Some may ask, but I shall tell you this, I did not speak, except when she desired to hear my thoughts on a subject. Of course, there were many topics I cannot speak to you all; even if I were to do so, you would not know what they were about.
No, but the dragon-woman did explain to my person how she was able to gain the title of "Demon Lord". "I killed the last one," her voice was dismissive, as one of her clawed hands waved away at the subject. She sighed with disappointment, as my own body slid from her grasp, and became a large skeleton once more.
"Quite anti-climactic," my voice reverberated throughout the room with a deep rumble, "You have spoken in great detail on a variety of subjects, and yet you chose to avoid this one. Why?"
My own eyes watched as her body became that of a crimson dragon once more, which caused the entirety of the room to shift and grow to accommodate her size. Truly it was a great skill to have, and one I desired greatly to own. Unfortunately for myself, this kind of magicks requires one to be born with, and cannot be learned. A pity, to be sure, but one I hope to be able to overcome through our supposed union and child.
One of her great eyes of orange fire and crimson looked upon my person, discerning whether or not to explain her reasoning's. Of course, in the end, did she relent to my inquiry, "I had to kill my own family to reach this position." Her own voice was of the deadpanned sort, as she watched for my reaction. However, she was sorely disappointed in the lack of shock in my body language, to which she wondered why.
"I am Undead," a sigh drifted throughout my mind, as one of my primary clawed hands rubbed the top of my skull slowly, "We who are, stand between life and death forevermore. We do not feel great emotions, nor do we need sleep and sustenance to fuel our undying bodies."
"But you were excited once you learned you could have a child," she added, pointing out a small flaw in my explanation, to which I simply nodded in agreement.
"Yes, but as with my race, whenever I feel a surge of strong emotions, something within me removes it entirely. Thus, only allowing me a taste of what it was, before snatching it away from my grasp."
"That sounds like torture," her own voice was a loud whisper, as she stared upon my skeletal form with an emotion I did not recognise.
"Perhaps," my own voice was slow, as it rumbled gently throughout the room, "but those who are similar as myself, "a minor clawed hand lightly placed itself upon my solar plexus as I spoke, "do not much care about such things as emotions. Most are simply mindless dolls controlled by others, whereas we who are intelligent tend to seek to further our own goals."
"Oh? And what goals do you have, pray tell?" Her body had crouched down at this point, as though she were preparing to pounce onto my person. A simple thought of, 'How odd,' passed through my mind, as my eyes followed her movements.
"You have already given my person an end result to a goal I desired to see through fruition."
"Oh?"
"Yes," my head bobbed once in acknowledgment, "My desire is to have a child of my very own."
Her left eye narrowed once she heard my objective, "But don't you-," she began, but stopped when I held up a clawed hand.
"Yes, I do have multiple children already, but none of them are truly my own. Therefore, I still desire to have one, and you have given me a sliver of hope." My eyes flared greatly, illuminating her entire being for a brief moment, "Do not make me regret this, All Mother, as I am a force to be reckon with when disappointed."
*
Within another full turn of the sun, was I able to leave the canyon home of the dragon-men and women. This was because there were some minour details I shall be glossing over shortly. 'Why are you doing this?' A few may question, but the answer is as simple as a single word. Politics.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I dislike the politics of each and every world I had grace my presence with; avoiding each as much as possible. The why is simple, as many will tell you after being subjected to it for so long. To put it mildly, on the other hand, imagine yourself alone and bereft of everything, including weapons and armour. You are then shoved into a pit full of venomous vipers that want nothing more, than to bite your body, injecting their toxins within. However, they do not, and instead, simply watch you even if you are within their reach, waiting for their chance to strike. This is how it is throughout all worlds, including our own, and yes, I avoid the ones here, too.
So I shall be brief in my explanations as to what had occurred. Which was simply, who would lead our two armies to take the fight to the rest of the humans. For myself, I cared little for this venture, as I desired to return back to the city of New Wair, and the children within.
Most of those within the race desired peace with all races, but these were the elders of the race, and had not set foot outside their canyon home for centuries. These voices were swiftly quashed, as those who had stepped out of their home to war with those who dared threaten their lives with fire and iron. They were the younger generations and though their numbers were small, they were the loudest.
"The humans will return," one of them roared above the voices of its elders, "and they will bring more 'heroes' to kill us with. We should be grateful for this opportunity, as we have a great army of creatures never before seen upon this world. Thus, the humans, and their allies, will not be able to plan against their attacks."
"Why should we war against a race we have loved since the beginning of their infancy?" Called out a grey scaled dragon-man, one who was older than the oldest present, but still younger than their All Mother. "We should teach the humans that their ways are wrong, and help them grow down the path of peace."
"No," my own interjected into the conversation, silencing all as they stared upon my skeletal body. The All Mother had become her dragon-woman self, and had sat upon a gilded throne of gold, silver, and jewels. She, herself, was dressed with a mist linen robe that revealed far too much, even if her body was covered in scales.
She sat in the centre of a circular hall, as rows upon rows of stone balconies were seen high above and around us. These had been etched and formed by many countless clawed hands, which only seemed to make others believe it was endless to the eyes. However, someone with a discerning eyes would be able to see there was only about fifty layers of balconies stretching high above us.
To the right of the dragon-woman was the Second Son and Silvanna, who was dressed in a similar mist linen outfit, and was curiously staring at everything about her person. To the left, however, was my own skeletal body, which was now glaring at the old dragon-man in front of us. For you see, those who desire to speak for a group, or for all, must stand in front of the All Mother, as all others must be upon the balconies.
The old dragon-man wore a simple, but somewhat faded forest green robe. He also leaned heavily against a thick oak staff with worn floral patterns etched into its surface. Near him, however, was a small child-dragon. This one also wore the same sort of robe, but it was less faded. No, I do not remember the colour of the child's scales, only that it seemed to shine quite brilliantly under the torchlight.
The other, who desired to wipe out the humans' race as a whole, was an odd coloured dragon-thing. It is called a "thing", because it had very few discernible features to tell others it is a male or female. This individual wore only a pair of leather trousers, whilst showing off a variety of brightly coloured scales. What was truly astonishing was the fact that each and every single one of its scales was a different colour, and that no two colours were ever alike.
This was because, as I later found out, this being was of the third gender called "Neutral", and were the only ones who did not have any organs for male or female. Which begged the question as to how this gender would defecate, if they did not have any of the primary genders' organs. To which someone replied saying that they absorbed the ambient energies within the world itself for sustenance, and released excess energies from their bodies as a way of defecation.
Truly, the world was such a strange place, but I digress once more.
"No," my voice reverberated throughout the hall, calling all attention to my person once more, "The humans will return, once they have gathered their armies and allies' armies. If these humans are of the same mind as those from my first world, then they will not stop until they either succeed in destroying you all, or are all dead.
"The most common quality of a standard human is war, and you should do well to remember this, little dragons. They will continue until something causes them to stop, just as I had stopped the city of New Wair from continuing their warrings against you. In other words, little dragons," my eyes glowed a fierce crimson, bathing the pair in front of my being with a blood-like light, "destroy them now, whilst you still have a chance. Else you will all disappear from this world called Terra."