Andras immediately took his missing limbs back and exclaimed in joy as the souls he had been keeping in their place faded away. He looked grateful, but then suddenly perked up at something. “Apocalypso? I think you need to see this.”
I was immediately put on-edge. If something was so important that it overshadowed getting his limbs back, I needed to hear it. “Oh? Show me then.” Andras sat down in the chair next to me, opening a small portal in front of the outside of his cave. I could see what looked like a small army gathered outside it…
“Do you think…” Andras started. “Yeah. The prince must have told the king and sent an army to kill us.” Andras’ eyes narrowed and a small frown formed on his face. “I’m tired of these mortals acting like they know everything. I say its time we showed them exactly how powerless they really are.”
I nodded, and then looked to Sirrus. “Keep my family safe while we are gone, Sirrus.” He quickly bowed before disappearing into the floor once more.
I stood up from my seat before transforming into my dragon form. “Let’s go.”
Andras and I had begun flying to his cave. A dramatic entrance would instill more fear in any survivors than us simply appearing out of thin air through some portal. We spotted the army a good kilometer before we reached it as their armor shone brightly in the light. “Okay, let’s do this.”
I folded my wings in, falling straight down toward the ground like a bullet. I prepared a small ball of void mana in my fist and as soon as I reached the ground, I smashed my hand into the ground. The bubble expanded into a large dome, within which gravity was turned off entirely.
I took a moment to look at the various soldiers floating in the air around me. Some of them looked scared, others were giving me a look of bloodlust despite their hopeless situation. I thought for a moment about trying to resolve this diplomatically, but the king’s message was clear. He wouldn’t have sent an army if he was interested in peace.
I heard another thunderous smash coming from behind me, and I looked to see Andras having landed. He gave me a look, and I immediately knew what he meant by it. His question was simple: “Kill?”
I nodded.
The knights had recollected themselves at this point and were scrambling to get back into formation. I didn’t plan on giving them the opportunity to do so, and I swiped my claws toward a group of 4 humans. Their armor didn’t protect them very well, and my hands pierced straight through their torsos leaving only shredded metal and flesh in its wake.
I felt something tear into my shin and I let out a small whine of pain, kicking the aggressor away. I turned around to better face the fiend before biting down on his head, ripping it off. There were some archers giving supportive fire behind him so before they had a chance to fire off more arrows, I opened a tear in reality beneath the humans. They fell into the nothingness and as soon as they were through, I closed the portal above them.
I turned back to where the main fighting force had been- only to realize they were retreating. I wanted to give them one last send-off to prove our superiority, and I began building up my breath attack. I kept the void right in the back of my throat- before I bent forward and released a torrent of void mana toward the retreating humans. The void snaked forward like a dark, ravenous flood eating everything in its path. I swiped my maw in a 45° arc before cutting off the stream of death and closing my mouth. The darkness lingered on the battlefield for a few moments and as it dissipated, there were only shreds remaining of the humans. I could see a few of them running away as fast as their legs could carry them. Their fear would certainly send a message to the king that we are not to be trifled with.
I looked to Andras, and saw he was just standing there with his mouth agaze. He eventually spoke with a slightly scared voice: “That was terrifying. So that’s the power of the void…”
I realized that I had singlehandedly killed more than 300 people in less than 40 seconds. Andras didn’t even have time to do anything.
“I… I suppose it was…”
I looked down at the map I had in front of me. The army I had sent to the dragons had still yet to give me any reports, and I was starting to suspect they might never return at all. I pinched the bridge of my nose, throwing the piece of paper aside.
“Son, you told me these dragons would be no match for our forces. How come I have heard nothing at all!? It's been two days of total silence, not even as much as a letter.”
The prince rolled his eyes before he answered me, the gull. “You’re always so dramatic, father. The troops are probably just busy setting up camp.”
I was about to lecture my son on manners when the throne room doors suddenly burst open, and a terrified looking knight fell onto the ground in a bow.
The door guards apologized. “Apologies king, he just ran past us!”
The knight on the ground immediately raised his head, yelling out in defiance as he was grabbed by the two other guards. “No! King! I need to tell you something. It’s about the dragons-” I immediately brought a hand up toward the door guards who were restraining the soldier, signaling them to let the man go. “Speak, knight.”
The knight fell back toward the ground, panting. “We... Everyone died. Only me and one other mage made it back alive. I don’t think any army in the entire kingdom could fight against those beasts and win.”
I narrowed my eyes before pointing at one of the chairs in the throne room. “Sit. You will tell all you saw.”
The knight had told me exactly what happened. The purple dragon, cutting through the troops like a sickle in a field, then the grasping maw of void that followed.
“It was dark. I remember it looked almost like a creature, some sort of horror beyond my comprehension. It lashed out against my fellow soldiers, grinding them between terrible teeth before spitting out the remains. I was lucky I survived...”
I sighed. “Then I guess we need to attempt diplomacy once more. We cannot accept the fiend’s terms of a thousand souls per week, but perhaps there is something else the beasts want from us.”
I put my hands defiantly onto the table and pointed toward my two most trusted bodyguards. “Halsin, Yme. You two will accompany me. I wish to speak with the creatures. Personally.
The two royal guards didn’t as much as flinch at my command, immediately departing for the armory to get geared up. “And you, my stupid, stupid son. Just keep to your magic studies, will you? Don’t rule this kingdom in my stead.”
I got up from my seat and pointed to the surviving knight. “And you, Knight. Consider yourself promoted.”
The knight’s eyes lit up with gratitude, and he immediately lowered his head in respect once again. As I was walking out of the throne room I heard only one sentence from the man: “Thank you, my king.”
“Good morning, my love. I made us some food.”
I yawned, looking at Andras who was standing in the kitchen with an apron on him. I chuckled slightly before getting up from my resting place. “You- *yawn* -You actually made it yourself for once?”
Andras smiled at me before returning his attention to the stove, mixing up the eggs. “Yes, even though I can manifest anything I still like to cook every once in a while. It gets boring to eat the same, perfect food every time, and my flaws are a part of distinguishing it from the pristine I'm so used to. You may not know this, but Demons don’t really need to eat anything. I just cook and eat for the experience, and to feed those I care about.”
I let out a little chuckle, realizing the eggs he had made were burnt. “I’m very glad you took the time to make me something, darling.”
Andras kept his attention fixated on the stove but smiled. “This might be a new dish for you, but I’m making what’s called eggs and bacon.” I licked my lips and made a “mmm” sound. “Sounds great.”
Andras removed the frying pan from the oven and turned it on its side, dumping what looked like red-brown sticks onto a plate. “This is the bacon. Just sit down at the dinner table, everything is already ready.” I yawned one more time before getting onto my feet. “I don’t feel like transforming right now... Can I eat in dragon form?”
Andras chuckled slightly before moving the bacon over to the table. “You’ll eat the same amount of food either way, so I don’t see the harm.” I was about to sit down at the table when a peculiar sound came from the outside of the cave. It sounded like a lightning strike, but the skies were completely clear.
I immediately perked up. “Magic?”
Andras nodded, putting the food back onto the counter. “We should investigate.” He removed his apron and walked alongside me to the outside of the cave. Immediately, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We couldn’t find the magician who had cast the lightning spell.
Then something caught my eye. A small chunk of the forest was on fire, and my heart sunk. I had to extinguish it. The forests are very dry these days, it hasn’t rained in forever. If I didn’t do anything the whole forest might burn down. “You better stay here, Andras. Your fire might just make things worse.” He nodded at me. “I know. Be safe, babe.”
I took off from the ground to get a better look at the scene. I spotted a robed figure next to the flaming trees, but they retreated into the woods before I could get a good look at them. I scoffed slightly, producing a small orb of void energy before throwing it at the fire. The ball expanded quickly, annihilating all the oxygen in the air to suffocate the flames.
It worked, and the flames were extinguished. I landed at the burnt-down tree, transforming mid-fall into human shape to better follow after the magician. I thought we had sent the humans a clear message, why are they still so stubborn about attacking us?
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
I spotted the robed man almost instantly. He raised his hands up in defense, pleading. “I was just following orders, please spare me!” I held up a hand and produced a small ball of void mana. “The king? Is he here?” The wizard immediately feared for his life, sitting down on his knees. “P-Please don’t kill me… I have a family.”
I snarled. “Shut up and answer my question. My patience is rather thin after your little lightning stunt.”
The wizard stuttered on his words. “T-The king is with his royal guard, I w-was just sent forward to get your attention… Please let me go.”
I lowered my hand in anger. “Get out of here.” I kicked off the ground once more. I needed to get a birds-eye view to spot the king and his knights. I saw a slight golden glint on the outskirts of the forest, immediately knowing it was one of them.
I landed a couple meters from the small group of humans and I heard an unsheathing sound as the royal guards drew their blades. I had already prepared some void in my palm, keeping my hands closed for now.
The king turned around to face me, holding what looked like a spell book in his hands. “So, the dragon finally reveals herself. You’ve already proved your aptitude in combat, so you’ve forced my hand. Let’s talk.”
I debated whether I should just eradicate the king right here and now. It would put the last nail in the coffin of humanity, for sure…
I lowered my guard but kept ahold of the void i had accumulated in my palm. “Sure, we can talk.”
The king looked at me with a hint of doubt, then closed the spell book in his hands.
Now is my chance.
I threw the void forward, but as it was mid-air the king spoke some words and opened the book once more. “Dif ingin!”
A ray of red light shot out from the king’s hand, colliding with the sphere of void before entirely covering it. The ball of mana was completely stopped in its tracks, and it hovered in the air harmlessly.
“Cheap tricks like that won’t work, dragon. This counterspell was made by the most powerful mage in the world, nullifying such a basic attack is but a trifling matter.”
I took one more look at the void orb mid-air. I noticed the mana was unstable- as is its nature. A subtle push from me, and it would break free toward collision course once more.
I returned my attention to the king, pretending to soften my stance a little. “Speak then.”
The king closed the spell book. His face looked satisfied; I guessed it was due to my more passive stance.
“Great. I’d like to address the offer you presented to my son, the prince. We can’t promise-“
I cut the king off. “We don’t need those souls anymore. Frankly, I’m doing you a favor even talking to you at all right now. We need nothing from you. The only “deal” I see us doing, right now, is you leave my forest and never return. If I ever see another human wander into my or my family’s territory ever again, It’s war. You got that?”
The king looked speechless. After a few seconds he cleared his throat before speaking again. “I understand I’m in no position to demand anything from you, but we have a problem. A problem I believe that unless handled properly, it will spell doom for not just my kingdom, but the entire world.”
I raised an eyebrow in intrigue. “Really now? I consider myself rather informed, something like that is unlikely to slip under my radar. But, fine, I'll bite. What is the problem?”
So, apparently, there’s some sort of black hole forming underneath the king’s castle. The king believed that due to my powers, I could stop it from expanding.
I didn’t really know what to make of this so after picking up Andras in his cave, we headed back to my family’s. I felt like if anyone knew what to do, it would be Sirrus.
I explained what the king had told me to Sirrus. He gave me an intrigued, but vaguely disinterested look and listened.
“It seems it has finally begun, then. As you may remember, your previous form was that of a destroyer, and it seems your past has finally caught up with you.” Sirrus shuffled on his feet slightly, looking more agitated than usual. “This means that this reality is doomed. There is nothing we can do, I’m afraid.”
Sirrus stopped for a moment, putting a hand on his chin. “However, there is one thing we can try… Well, rather you can try. Long, long ago there was a scroll that had the power to not only rip through reality but open up rifts to the other side as well. The scroll could effectively transport the caster to… Other realities.” Sirrus crossed his hands in doubt. “I do know where you can find the scroll. There is only one issue, though. It’s inside the black hole destroying this reality.”
I cringed in doubt. “How is it intact if its inside that black hole?”
Sirrus simply smiled. “It’s in a pocket-dimension, of course. Nothing can harm the scroll.”
I put a hand on my chin, thinking. “But… If I enter the black hole, there will be no going back, will there?” Sirrus shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Yours will be a one-way trip, and due to the black hole being- well, a black hole, only you can escape. Everyone else will be swallowed up, and join me in the void, forever.”
A glint of hope appeared in my eyes as Sirrus spoke. “Wait, can’t we just take refuge in here? This is the void after all, it can’t destroy itself… can it?”
Sirrus gave me a sympathetic smile and shook his head. “As soon as the sigil on the cave wall connecting this dimension to the living realm is swallowed up, this dimension will expand infinitely in size and join the rest of the voids non-linearity. The cave you’ve come to enjoy will be no more, as will any inhabitants at the time.”
I dropped my head in defeat. “So there really is no other way then.”
Andras put a hand on my shoulder, comforting me. “It’s okay Apo. Its not your fault you’re the only one blessed with the power to wade through the void at your leisure. I’ll tell your family you’re safe and sound.”
I gave Andras a smile, before looking back at Sirrus. “So, how exactly am I supposed to enter the black hole? Do I just walk in there or…”
Sirrus didn’t as much as flinch before he replied. “Yes.”
I sighed. “Then I suppose I have no other options than to speak to the king once more. We need to find the hole, then we can take it from there.”
Sirrus shook his head. “There is no need if her majesty does not desire for it. I can show you exactly where the hole is located.”
Since Sirrus had told me only I could escape, I wanted to make the journey to the black hole alone. The rest of my family, however, told me they wanted to be there when it happened. I didn’t mind, of course, so I let them follow me. Sirrus could of course not come along, but I figured he was here in spirit.
The singularity was inside a cave, not too far from the capitol castle. The cave was not big enough to fit all of us in dragon form, so we all changed into humanoid shapes and walked inside.
“Sirrus said the black hole would be to the first right at the junction, so I suppose we should just walk until we find a junction.”
Mom lit an orb of light, basking the previously white cave in bright illumination.
I spotted the crosspath up ahead as soon as the light was turned on. “There it is. Let’s go.”
We started walking toward the hole and as we did, I felt the unrelenting, sheer gravitational pull of the singularity. It was calling out to me, beckoning me to come… To join it.
I shrugged the feeling off, and we stepped out into a rather large stone dome inside the caves. The room looked almost man-made, with wooden struts keeping the dome shape intact. In the very centre of the room was the singulatity, hanging in the middle of the air like some sort of tear through existence itself.
“So… this is it. No going back now.”
I looked back to face my family. “I’m sorry it had to be this way. Sirrus said only I could survive…”
A small tear formed in my eye as I looked at those I loved. “It’s not fair. Why should only I live, why must you die? Could I have prevented this? What if I was stronger…” I collapsed to the floor, sobbing. “It’s not fair.”
Andras came over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Apocalypso. Listen to me. You’re the most wonderful woman I’ve met and I know its hard to accept it right now, but I think I’m speaking for everyone here we’re not blaming you. You just happen to be the lucky one of us. Don’t blame yourself for being handed the lucky deck of cards, love.”
He put his hand on my chin, lifting my face up to face his. “I love you. I love you too much to see you dying here with us, knowing there was a way for you to survive. Go through the singularity, and survive.”
I wiped a stray tear from my eye, smiling. “T-Thank you.”
Andras stroked right under my other eye, wiping away a tear. “We’ll always be a part of you, Apocalypso.”
I held his hand against my cheek, feeling his warm, warm hellfire on my scaly skin. “I love you.”
Andras helped get me off the floor, and smiled. “I love you too. Now, go show that black hole who’s boss.”
I chuckled slightly, and wiped away the last of my tears. “Okay.”
I took a deep breath, turning around to face the black orb of nothingness once more. Its pull was unfathomable, standing this close to it.
“I promise not to forget you…”
I put a hand on the blackness, half-expecting to just be pulled inside immediately. To my great shock, however, the orb seemed almost reluctant to give way, somehow.
I wouldn’t have any of it, however. I forced a spear of void into the frail membrane surrounding the singularity, paving way for me to step through. A rift formed on the void surface, and as soon as my fingers brushed against the contents inside, everything went dark.
There were no sounds at all. Nothing. All I could see was black in every direction, and the only special awareness I had was the fact I was standing on something. I could undeniably feel something push against the soles of my shoes. I debated calling out into the black void, but I shook my head in dumbfound. Why would there be anyone else here?
I suddenly felt a small, subtle poke inside my mind. I focused on the sensation, magnifying it. As I focused my attention on the notion, I eventually found out what it was. The energy was a key, only visible inside of my mind.
So… my mission will be to get this key out and into this black void. How hard can it be?
I closed my eyes, trying to remember roughly the placement of my hands and manifested a sort-of ghostly afterimage of my arm inside my mind. The aberration moved almost on its own, as if it knew my intent.
The glowing, white key was laying on a pillow, square in the middle of my head. My imaginatory hand moved ever closer to the pillow, eventually reaching it.
I reached my fingers down, grasping ahold of the key. The pillow it had sat upon flashed away in a snap, shocking me into opening my eyes again. As I looked down at my hand again, the unmistakable shape of a key was right there in my palm.
Intriguing.
Now… what exactly does this unlock?
I took a closer look at the key, trying to decipher anything unusual about its shape. The teeth were two-pronged, so the physical lock it unlocked was probably nothing special. I figured the locksmith was more proficient with magic and made a much tougher spell to break.
The key’s back was made of a donut shape, almost as if it was supposed to be a magnifying glass.
Was it…?
My curiosity got the better of me, and I looked through the key-keyhole. I was immediately shocked, as in the middle of the void appeared a field of wheat.
I lowered the key again, being faced with the black nothing once more.
An illusion?
I brought the keyhole up again, closing my other eye so I could only see the wheat field. As I turned around, observing the field, I eventually felt as if something had changed without my knowledge. I lowered the key once more, and to my shock I was now in the middle of the wheat field.
Did- did I just move into a different reality?
I looked down at my hands, and something became apparent almost immediately. My hands were not the same as before. My scales were now black, with gold details running up my arms like streaks of lightning.
Cool… I guess.
But what happened with that scroll I was supposed to find? I looked down at the key once more, and to my shock it was now pointing its tip to the right. I distinctly remembered I did not leave it laying like that in my palm before.
I turned to the right, aligning me to the same direction the key was pointing. It turned around in my palm, pointing straight forward now.
Neat.
I looked up again, spotting something peculiar through the wheat. It looked almost like a podium, but I could spot something lying on the top.
I waded through the wheat, eventually reaching it. The item lying on the top was now clear, it was a scroll. It had a lock on it, looking like it was made out of the exact same material as the key. These were obviously linked.
I brought the key closer to the lock, and to my surprise the lock just snapped open on its own. I didn’t even need to put the key into the lock.
The scroll was indecipherable. I didn’t even attempt to read it.
I did, however, feel the same subtle feeling coming from the book as I had felt from the key earlier. I attuned my mind to the feeling, and I could faintly make some words out.
“You may bring one of your followers to this realm alongside you. Simply speak the name of the one you seek to save, and it shall be done. This message will not repeat, and the scroll will disappear as soon as you speak their name.”
I… I can save someone…
The scroll quieted down and now it seemed almost non-magical.
I laid it to rest on the podium, thinking about who I should pick. Andras was my first thought, but I think he’d just be angry with me for not picking anyone else. My siblings, maybe, but I feel like my parent’s experience might be more use to me here.
Ember, Celestia… I’m sorry. I have to prioritize. But should I choose mom or dad?
I felt as if I was at a crossroad. Whether choice I picked would probably lead to different outcomes entirely…
I thought about it. Mom is generally wiser than father, but on the other hand, dad is very powerful. I couldn’t make up my mind…
I took a deep breath, finally deciding on my decision.
“Save Phyrra.”