chsdbacks Bone Dragon (1)
Bone Dragon (1)
In the river sand of flawless time, the sun crested the horizon, marking Esdeath and Maruti's first day in this strange place. They had only entered the previous night, the cold and unlucky night still a fresh memory.Unlike the nighttime, where the temperature was quite low with icy storms and bone-freezing cool winds flowing across the dunes, the day turned out to be completely opposite. The temperature started increasing the moment the sun showed itself, reaching blistering highs in a matter of minutes. The air shimmered with heat, distorting the horizon and making the very sand seem to glow with an intense energy.
Currently, Esdeath and Maruti had traveled to a safe area that was very close to the bone dragon's lair. They had made a normal shelter structure from the desert sand using Esdeath's affinity with the earth element to save themselves from the intense heat. The small shelter was cool inside.
Of course, being brown-skinned and not a normal one at that, Maruti was way more immune to harsh light than Esdeath.
Meanwhile, Esdeath's ghostly pale skin felt slightly itchy whenever she took her hand out of their small sand house for more than a minute. The sun's rays seemed to penetrate her skin, leaving a faint tingling sensation that was quite uncomfortable.
Right now, Esdeath was wide awake , She had already slept enough, She was missing Lortell and Selene every single day, Barely sleeping at all, The red circles below her eyes has almost returned as well.
Meanwhile, Maruti was still laying quietly, her chest rising and falling at a steady pace.
But she wasn't sleeping this late for no reason.
She was doing divination! Dream divination to be exact.
The next moment, her eyes opened on their own, and she sat up without any change in expression on her face. Her transition from the dream world to reality was seamless, her body moving with an unnatural stillness.
"What did you see?" Esdeath asks, her voice calm but filled with anticipation.
"One good news and one bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?" Maruti questions, her tone flat and matter-of-fact.
Esdeath couldn't help but sigh on hearing her, a small sound of exasperation escaping her lips. "Let's go with good news first," she answers.
"We found that time path essence stone," Maruti answers and paused for a second before continuing, letting the information sink in.
"But it isn't the one you are looking for, and I have no idea if we took it by killing that bone dragon or just stole it and ran away," she adds with a flat tone, her expression unchanged by the implications of her words.
"Not that one, then which one?" Esdeath asks, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"It's a rank A time wave essence stone," Maruti answers.
The time wave essence stone was quite similar to both the time cutting edge and Esdeath's sparkling butterflies essence stone. It could shoot out time waves that could damage and exhaust an enemy's soul, could rust weapons and cause disturbance in the flow of time for nearby surroundings, and had many more applications that made it a valuable asset for any time path awakend.
Hearing that it was a time wave essence stone and not some other time path that might not be suitable for her, a small smile appeared on her face. The disappointment faded, replaced by a renewed sense of purpose.
"I guess our luck wasn't bad. I got the body of the Year Beast as refining material and many other time path essence stones. I'll just use them and the time wave essence stone to refine a rank A time cutting edge instead," Esdeath says with a satisfactory smile on her lips.
"Let's go then," she adds, standing up fiercely and taking her first step outside of their small shelter. The heat hit her like a physical blow, but she paid it no mind, her focus entirely on the task ahead.
The dragon's lair was already in her sight. She had purposely chosen to spend the night close to the dragon's lair, just in case the bone dragon chose to go somewhere else to be more safe. But now that it didn't, she was sure that the bone dragon found its lair as the safest and most comfortable place, even in its wounded state.
"Let's slay a dragon," Maruti shouts in a pure energetic tone, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
****
After reaching the entrance of the bone dragon's lair, neither of them dared to rush inside.
They had two options. One was to launch a surprise attack and kill it in a single, decisive blow. The other was to engage it in a fight for a few minutes, making it believe it could win, only to kill it when it inevitably let its guard down.
Of course, killing it in one go sounded far more appealing, but it was equally difficult. Still, they decided to take the risk.
"Here, take this," Esdeath said, throwing her ZK-20 to Maruti.
Maruti caught it effortlessly, but a look of confusion immediately clouded her features.
"Use your stealth and hide here. I'll lure him out. Remember that large crack running down its neck to its chest? Hit there with all your force and kill it in one go," Esdeath explained in a hushed whisper, her voice barely audible as she leaned close to Maruti.
"Why don't you do it? You're more familiar with your own weapon anyway," Maruti questioned, her logic sound. It made far more sense for Esdeath to wield her own weapon for such a critical strike.
"I don't want another heart attack. Now, be ready," Esdeath replied, taking a deep, steadying breath before entering the darkness.
Stealth was simply not an option for her at that moment. To enter a stealth state, one had to draw all their body's mana back into their heart, preventing even the slightest bit from leaking out. Every time she performed this, she risked a catastrophic heart attack, as if her heart might simply explode in her chest like an overfilled balloon.
Even sleeping soundly was equally dangerous.
*****
As Esdeath entered inside, Maruti melted her presence completely.
While she only had a basic understanding of the ZK-20, she focused her mind, picturing a sturdy, broadsword. She channeled her mana, and the weapon responded, materializing in her desired shape.
"Phew... what a weird sensation," Maruti whisperz to herself.
Meanwhile, a heavy darkness greeted Esdeath as she ventured deeper, but her keen eyes pierced the gloom with ease. The dim light was no obstacle; she could see the cavern's details as clearly as if it were day.
After only a few dozen steps, she saw it: the colossal skeleton of the dragon, sprawled across the cavern floor. It occupied most of the available space, its bleached white bones unmoving, as if it were completely dead.
She knew she wouldn't have to do much to wake it.
It was clear that the dragon couldn't be at its highest state of alert.
It had likely already sensed her presence but had chosen to remain still, perhaps mistaking her for some lesser beast or monster that would flee the moment it realized a dragon lay within. The arrogance of legendary creatures was often their greatest weakness.
With no weapon in her hand, Esdeath simply clenched her fist, her knuckles turning white as she prepared to strike.
SWISH!...
The moment she unleashed her aura, the bone dragon's empty eye sockets erupted in brilliant purple flames. The fire was intense, burning with an intense malice and a ravenous hunger for vengeance.
Esdeath was immediately struck by a crushing pressure, a heavy weight bearing down on her, trying to force her to her knees in helpless submission. The ground and the entire lair trembled violently, as if an earthquake had suddenly torn through the rock.
The cave was large, but not nearly large enough for the bone dragon to move with full freedom.
Its massive form was still stooped low as it lunged, slashing the air with its sharp claws at an incredible speed that seemed to tear the very fabric of reality.
Esdeath's eyes widened in alarm. She instantly tapped into her affinity with the space element, dodging by vanishing and reappearing several feet away in the blink of an eye.
KACHA!...
The entire ceiling of the lair split into several large chunks. Debris rained down from above as the ground shook even more violently, turning the cavern into a chaotic storm of falling rock and dust. Several pieces of the ceiling broke away, allowing harsh beams of sunlight to pierce the gloom inside.
Even from her hiding spot outside, Maruti was baffled. "What happened? You were supposed to lure him out! Don't tell me you're fighting alone in there?" she muttered to herself, her voice a mix of frustration and worry.
If the plan had changed to a direct confrontation, she was more than ready to jump in and join the fight. Her blood was already thrumming with the desire for battle.
Meanwhile, Esdeath didn't waste a single second. She immediately activated her sparkling butterflies essence stone, sending a swarm of transparent, destructive butterflies fluttering towards the bone dragon.
Without hesitation, she spun around and ran as fast as she could, even teleporting short distances to increase her speed. Her movements were swift and deliberate, all part of the plan to lead the enraged dragon out into the open.
HOWLLL...
A deafening howl of pain and fury echoed from the dragon as its massive head scraped against the ceiling of the lair while it gave chase.
Running with every ounce of her strength, Esdeath reached the entrance and launched herself into the air.
The harsh, yet brilliantly shining sunlight bathed her ghostly pale skin, a stark contrast to the suffocating darkness of the cave.
And then, the bone dragon's massive head emerged from the darkness, its jaws wide open, ready to snap her up in a single, bone-crushing bite. Its maw was immense, lined with teeth as sharp as daggers, poised to tear her apart.
"PREDICTOR, NOWWW!" Esdeath screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice carrying across the desert as she called out to her hidden ally.
Before the bone dragon could even process the situation, another presence finally revealed itself, rushing directly at the beast's exposed neck.
Maruti launched herself into the air, gripping the ZK-20 and infusing it with both fire and light elements. The blade erupted in a radiant glow, transforming it into what looked like a divine weapon of pure light and fire.
"Take your... JUDGEMENT!" she roared, slashing the glowing sword directly across the large crack between the bone dragon's neck and chest. The strike was precise and true, aimed perfectly at the legendary creature's most vulnerable point.
CRACK!...
A web of new cracks splintered outwards from the point of impact, and the original fissure widened dramatically.
A triumphant smile began to form on Esdeath's face. For a single, heart-pounding moment, it seemed their plan had worked.
But her elation vanished in an instant.
The power of the blow, while immense, was not enough to sever the dragon's head. It had only succeeded in making the area around its neck and chest more fragile.
The strike was fatal but not deadly enough to kill it.
Their surprise attack had failed.
And now, what awaited them was the full, unbridled wrath of a legendary creature.