Chapter 94
Ezma
The Betrayal
Blood. So much blood, and flames.
For a moment Ezma couldn’t believe her eyes. She had seen so much happen, most of it on instinct. She was covered in blood, or brain matter to be more accurate. Her hands trembled as she slowly dropped the no longer glowing rifle from her hands.
In an instant she tried to look around, to see what happened. In front of her a half-burnt dragon lay with the top right portion of its skull blown off and exposed. How had it gotten to this point? How did she get to this exact moment?
Her mind reeled, as she tried to make sense of what happened. Then before she could fully wrap her mind around the actions that just occurred several messages from the gods began to roll in.
Blessing bestowed: Oracular Dragon Slayer (Legendary)
Oracular Dragon Slayer (Legendary): You managed to slay a legendary male Oracular dragon. As a reward the gods have granted you +3 to all Attributes.
Blessing bestowed: Shepherding the Shepherds
Shepherding the Shepherds: You killed a shepherd that had tried to force control over a freed flock. As a reward you have been granted +1 to all Attributes.
Blessing bestowed: Bite the Hand that Feeds
Bite the Hand that Feeds: You struck back against one who oversaw feeding you. This is an attack that has permanently marked your soul. Others will see your soul as a warning that you are not able to be tamed again. Reward: You can no longer make a pact with yourself as the submissive, +1 to all Attributes.
Blessing bestowed: Primordial of Fire
Primordial of Fire: You managed to turn back a dragon’s own flames against them. This level of resolve has imprinted itself in your mind marking you as the true champion of the flame. Reward: +5 Power. Immunity to Flames. Control of Flames Mastery.
Blessing bestowed: Mercy
Mercy: You showed mercy to an enemy who would not have done the same for you. Reward: Good Aura.
Good Aura: Your aura will make you appear as kind and compassionate to others. The use of healing arts is now available to you.
So many messages rolled through her mind. Then she felt pain course through her body as the rewards for all the blessings she received rolled through her mind and body all at once. Every Attribute was increased by five, except for Power that went up by a total of ten, a whole echelon. So much in one go was a lot to take in.
Only after the waves of energy finished flowing through her body and mind did she have a chance to understand what happened. Only now that she had a moment to relax and process did the events of the last few minutes finally unravel themselves in her mind.
Up until this point she had been lost in a block of fear and panic. But seeing the blessings helped her to recall the moments that unfolded.
***
A few minutes ago, she had been freed. The bond of servitude that she had unwillingly signed at the age of eleven was finally severed. She was no longer forced to be something she wasn’t. She had been freed and was finally able to be a Primordial Elementalist, the class she had always been destined to be.
She had her freedom. She even had a moment to think about who she was and what she wanted from her future. She knew that she could never go back to the dragon, the one that had imprisoned her mind and future. One who made her stagnate and suffer for their entire existence. She was angry. Furious even.
Yet, when it came down to it, she couldn’t pull the trigger. Instead, she lowered her glowing weapon, not wanting to take the cowards way out. She had a free shot at freedom, and she took it. She would be the dog who left an abusive master after being held in captivity for so many years. She was the cat who decided it would be better to brave the wilds, than accept domestication. There were so many parables that she could relate to, but ultimately, she was nothing more than a stray animal. A feral animal at this point. An animal without a master.
It was a sad and degrading thought to be had. But she was suddenly able to come to terms with what had happened. She was a slave. Or a better example would be she was a bound pet from an especially rare breed of animals.
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She felt disgusted with herself and with the situation. But for the moment she was okay with letting bygones be bygones. She turned her back on Jhamet, content to leave and never return.
“So be it.” The words of Mr. Vita cut through. That was her only warning before there was an audible click in the air.
Ezma looked around for what the click was, only to belatedly realize that it was the sound of two fingers snapping. Ezma turned to the spot of the click, but once again Mr. Vita was invisible. From experience Ezma knew that he would likely be visible from the air, but currently she had no method of getting into the air.
Just as she was distracted by looking for Mr. Vita, a rustling sound came from behind her back.
“What have you done?” Jhamet demanded, his voice full of rage and fury. Fury that Ezma could normally forgive as that was part of his dragon nature, but now she no longer felt the need to cater to his every whim.
“Me, I have done nothing. Other than be set free.” Ezma said, she turned to face the great dragon. A dragon who had been her long time bonded and someone that she thought had been a partner. Truthfully if given enough time she thought she might go back, that she might want to be bonded with him again, though this time under different circumstances. That or maybe she would find a storm dragon that would help her access her primordial powers. Powers that seem to be so easy to manipulate at the moment.
This was often the case with people that had their powers sealed for so long, that first day of release was the day they were most in touch with the powers. It was considered a supernatural way of getting back to the average. One who had their powers sealed for so long, would feel an explosion of force as their body and mind tried to grasp the full capability of what was possible. If one could focus deep enough on a particular concept, they could theoretically master that concept. Many masters who were stuck at bottlenecks in developments for years would try similar processes, locking away their full powers for years so that they could then experience an epiphany. None would have done it for more than a month as a month was often considered to be more than enough time to identify a particular aspect that had been lost to them.
Ezma herself had this aspect of herself shielded from her for four years, after she had an early awakening at fifteen. During that time her powers were sealed by her bonded dragon Jhamet who forced her to follow the path of the oracle. As a master of their relationship that was his prerogative. Now that he was no longer the master of the contract the choice fell onto Ezma. Who for her part was finally able to fully experience the world the way her mind had intended?
She could feel air currents, moisture levels in the air, in the ground. She could feel the different densities of matter within the earth beneath her feet. The world was coming to life with different sensations. It was like she had been blind for her entire life and was now able to not only see but understand what she was seeing. Her mind lit up with the possibilities of her class as her mind tried to compensate for four years of being sealed away in a moment.
“You cannot go!” Jhamet demanded. “I did not let you go. Come back here!”
“I can and will.” Ezma demanded, then out of defense more than anything positioned the barrel of her rifle between her and Jhamet. It was not up, not even able to strike at Jhamet if it fired, but the threat was there and the threat set a blaze of anger into Jhamet who himself was lost and a bit groggy from the whirlwind of events that were happening to him.
“You dare threaten me?” Jhamet bellowed with a roar that was backed up by a mental strike. Then he breathed in a breath of air and sent out a stream of fire to strike down the impudent whelp before him. The being that would dare to question his authority. A being of no consequence, other than what he bestowed upon her. One that had already been thrown out of its family home.
“RWWARRRR!” Jhamet bellowed as a stream of the hottest flame he could produce jetted out of his mouth and towards the unsuspecting Ezma.
Though again, there was the learning curve of one who had their powers locked away for so long only to have them returned all at once. Ezma, while not being prepared for the flames was able to see and feel the energy the flames represented. She was able to feel a deep connection to the element of fire on a primal level. Her mind found the flames and rather than cowering in fear as Jhamet had planned. To be burnt to cinders in a cowering husk, Ezma called out to the flames and controlled them.
First the flames parted around her, the excess began to turn back and curl away like a flower blooming in the wrong direction. Rather than running out and extinguishing once the flames reached their apex, they continued being fueled by Ezma’s own reserves. Ezma for her part had not been dormant, every day she worked with the alien energies of prophecy, trying to force the alien power to work within her body. While her mind and temperament were not compatible with the art of prophecy, she did manage to increase her reserves of Power to an astounding level. Trying by brute force more than anything to get her mind to process the power that was just alien to her own way of thinking. This of course had the effect of increasing her well and making it so that now when her mind called out to take control of the flames, she was able to fuel them easily with her more than substantial reserves.
She pulled the flames into one dense ball of super-heated magma. Then when Jhamet tried to stop, Ezma pulled even more of the flames from the beast’s lungs.
“GHHHUH!” Jhamet wheezed as the last vestiges of his flames were ripped from his lungs. Then could only watch as a now enraged Ezma sent the now primordially empowered flames back at her would be attacker.
BOOM!
Flames erupted across the once majestic beast. Flames burning through blue scales that were not meant to withstand such levels of heat. The scales burned away, revealing layers of dense flesh and muscle that instantly burnt and charred under the intense heat.
Finally, the flames that Ezma had gathered were gone.
Ezma was panting, so much rage, frustration, and years of anger were released in that one cathartic blast. She was free. Each breath was freedom. The burnt skin of dragon who collapsed into a charred and pain filled husk, that was the smell of freedom. The look of pathetic pain that filled Jhamet’s once glorious snout, the look of peace of mind.
Had the same moment happened a day ago, Ezma would have likely felt immense sadness at the sight. But at this moment, she could only feel relief. She thought about leaving him right then and there. Letting his burnt and dying body call to the wolves who would gladly tear his flesh apart.
It was clear that he was dead, or at least injured beyond repair. His wings were burnt down to the nubs. His face, neck, and most of his chest were burnt away. Parts of his back were still smoldering as the last of the super charged flames slowly died out, as they were met with his blood.
He was sad and pathetic to look at.
Then, rather than letting him suffer from his grievous wounds, she raised her rifle once more. Then with a flow of primordial heat, she let her bullets take on some of her rampant energy. Then once she had a good sight, she fired.
BOOM!
In an instant the top left side of Jhamet’s skull burst like an overripe melon would when hit by the same blast. That was when she felt her mind truly go blank for a moment before she received her numerous blessings from the gods.
After so many deep emotions she felt lost. She knew she was happy, or at least should be happy. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if there was something different. Something else she could have done.
In the end, all she could do was accept what had happened. Accept and move on. It had been self-defense. The gods even agreed. She had a healthy aura to humans, and one that seemed to be set as a warning to other dragons.
In the end she decided to move. Leaving her once friend, but ultimately her possessive master to the wilds. The charred flesh of the dragon would be enough to call back the wolves and other predators that had been so rampant moments ago.
She took off wandering aimlessly. No country to call home. No friends to speak of. Nothing of note, other than her prized rifle a few hundred rounds of ammo and her basic supplies. Well, the supplies and a deeper understanding of the elements around her, and her new relationship with said elements.