The old, abandoned military base, degraded by time and overgrown with vegetation, was silent.
The militia formed by the union of various gangs had chosen it as a refuge to launch their attacks against the local populations, but now, there was no one there.
The horror had begun in the dark depths where an intruder had disappeared, locking himself behind three large doors sealed by walls of ice.
Now only the shattered bodies of the pursuers remained, who, after clearing the passage, encountered something terrifying.
The bullet holes and casings scattered on the ground proved that there had been combat, but the victor was not who they expected.
If anyone visited the place, they would see the metal barriers crushed from the inside out, as if a battering ram had opened a path.
Claw-like cuts and other sharp tool marks covered the walls, floor, and the sparkling corpses that occasionally suffered spasms of residual energy and damaged parts.
The trail of death continued to a long staircase leading upwards; two dents separated by a short distance on the lower handrail indicated that something heavy had landed there, and the same dents on the handrails above revealed a path followed.
Whatever made them leaped several floors with little effort, grabbing the bars above before moving on to the next.
Again, dead androids were left in its wake, sprawled on the floor with their stomachs ripped open, hanging precariously from the metalwork, staining it red, or thrown against the walls with such force that the material cracked around them.
At the top, there was a corridor made for humans and androids to pass through, now with the entrance doorway destroyed outwards, cracks spreading in various directions.
Inside, two deep, persistent gashes decorated the ceiling, with occasional cuts in the walls near bodies or destroyed doors, revealing several ransacked rooms on the other side.
The pattern of destruction repeated itself throughout the rest of the base, its perpetrator exploring every corner of the facility before heading towards the forest.
Outside, the fauna had fallen silent, a frigid silence broken only by the wind blowing through the vegetation and the rivers following their courses.
Deep footprints in the mud, left by a foot with five toes too large for a human or android, led towards the nearest settlement, surrounded by high walls covered in marks from previous conflicts.
The streets were dead, without a single soul present, the lights of the houses and buildings extinguished, their windows and doors barricaded with planks and barricades.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Gunshots echoed through the night, breaking the silence like thunder before a storm. The flash gleamed inside a nearby house, creating dancing shadows before fading, its door now broken down against a wall of darkness.
Suddenly, two bright red objects appeared, resembling rubies, until they briefly disappeared thanks to the movement of eyelids, revealing themselves to be a pair of eyes.
The owner of these eyes soon revealed himself, having to crouch to cross the threshold, as his monstrous body could be inconvenient on certain occasions.
He was a creature taller than any human, but not to the point of being a giant, with a lean but athletic and definite body, snow-white skin, a long tail sharp as a blade, and thin, pointed horns extending upwards.
His face, if it could be called such, was an oval mask of unknown metal, representing two faces touching his cheeks, forming a third in its center.
Stepping outside, his feet sinking into the mud created by the recent rain, sounds like an animal sniffing escaped from his nonexistent nose.
His heightened senses picked up the subtle noises coming from the other houses: the creaking of floorboards, the cocking of weapons, anxious breaths, but nothing would happen to the other residents, for now; after all, he had achieved what he wanted.
In each hand he held a thick disc that emanated a soft blue light, pulsing with power. Android reactors, their hearts ripped from their chests, a marvel of technology created by humans using the MASO that came to this world, and it was this same technology that would bring about its end.
Then the monster set off, beginning with a casual run, his light wounds expelling the bullets lodged in his body in a gush of dark blood.
As the run quickened, he was fully healed, his steps echoing in a steady rhythm, his breath quickening, releasing animalistic grunts.
As he approached the walls, the monster crouched slightly, flexing the muscles of his powerful legs, leaping an impossible height over the village wall.
He landed on the other side with a thud, accompanied by a crash and a groan.
On the barren land, now a sea of mud threatening to engulf him, he advanced with heavy steps, each one making a wet thud, throwing soft earth upwards.
Sometimes he stepped on something cold and hard to give him an extra boost, the bodies of the militiamen left here long ago, their reactors taken.
A distant flapping of wings made him quicken his pace. Was he afraid? Angry? Hard to say, but as he finally crossed the line of trees, he tossed the tractors into the air, enveloping them with his tail before dropping to the ground, crawling on all fours like an animal.
His body moved like a snake, slow and smooth movements to avoid drawing attention. For a second, something large passed overhead, blocking the little moonlight that filtered through the dense foliage.
The flapping of wings grew louder, and turning his head and glancing, he saw a winged being hovering high in the sky, a red, scaly creature searching for something.
He knew what that something was, and he wouldn't fail this time. His slow journey continued as the creature searched, and unfortunately, it wasn't the only one that had arrived.
There was a smiling being floating through the forest; he saw it crossing a river like a ghost from legends, it too was searching for something.
People in strange uniforms had also arrived in recent days, wearing advanced armor made of an unknown material, but which camouflaged themselves almost perfectly with their surroundings.
These strangers visited the villages; some welcomed them as saviors, but others hated their presence.
There were one or two that were now empty, their residents hunted like animals, their reactors removed, which agitated the foreigners, accelerating their efforts.
Few fought back, mostly those who joined the militia, voluntarily or not.
Those few soon fell; those who fought were killed, and "order" was restored to the survivors, for although numerous, the militiamen were outmatched in firepower; the foreigners' weapons melted metal as if it were ice.
The white monster didn't count how much time had passed, but after so much delay, he returned to the abandoned base he called home.
Squeezing through the corridors was now normal, almost routine, and following his familiar path, he returned to the place of his "birth," a white chamber, the purest and most immaculate white possible—that is, if it weren't for the rubble and weaponry scattered around, with countless android reactors surrounding the object at its center.
The being placed the reactors on the floor alongside the others, passing through the well-dressed man with a grim expression, and after retreating, that same man stopped beside him.
They didn't exchange words; the man simply stared at the monster, and the creature remained rigid as a statue before moving mechanically, using its claws and tail to mar the purity of the environment, carving strange symbols into the walls and ceiling.
Then he returned to his master's side, extending both hands toward the giant egg surrounded by the reactors.
Dark marks identical to the carvings on the wall flowed across his skin, and strange sounds escaped his mask—an unknown language? Magic words? Or just meaningless noises?
In any case, they served their purpose, for pure magical power, or MASO, as those who followed the path of science would call it, coursed through the place.
The carvings glowed a deep red, illuminating the room in the same color; lightning shot across the surfaces, and the reactors shone like tiny stars, their power added to the ongoing ritual.
The energy continued to grow, a high-pitched hum echoed through the chamber, then the magic reached its peak.
The egg became a ball of light that shot upward, creating a white pillar in its wake, piercing through tons of concrete and metal, raining dust and rubble in its wake.
"Now everyone knows we're here. Go and do your work."
Without a word or gesture, the monster followed his master's orders, now in its female form.
Pausing briefly to retrieve handfuls of weapons scattered around the area. There seemed to be a remnant of humanity in its being, for it knew how to check the ammunition before continuing on its way.
"Will he succeed?"
The woman asked before her form changed back to the man from before, who replied.
"He must, otherwise, all this will be nothing but a useless effort."
They exchanged a silent glance, their severe faces unchanging, but there was something in their gaze, concern.
Whatever they had once been, both were far from their peak.
-XXXXXX-
The creature waited in the base's courtyard, holding a revolver in each hand, and meters behind it, near the main entrance, the other weapons rested, perfectly aligned on the ground.
A thunderclap rang out in the distance, signaling the coming storm. Dark clouds converged toward the massive, luminous orb in the sky, forming a swirl worthy of a natural disaster.
Gradually, the raindrops came, a timid beginning that soon became a torrent pounding against his body with enough force to cause pain to normal humans, creating a sound so loud it would confuse someone with inferior senses.
Nevertheless, he waited, upright and head held high, gazing at the horizon. Suddenly, a deafening ringing came from an unknown location.
There were no churches or similar buildings nearby, yet its origin was revealed when blinding cracks appeared in the sky, expanding from the orb.
Then, it appeared. Something large pierced the clouds and fell like a meteor toward the courtyard, creating a miniature earthquake followed by a rumble.
A shadow left the crater, moving amidst the resulting dust cloud. The being that had been hovering over the forest in recent days revealed itself: a large red dragon with golden horns, walking on its wings and hind legs.
It moved erratically, sniffing the air while its gray eyes stared into nothingness and its tail swung like a whip.
Finally, the white statue in the middle of the courtyard moved slowly, aiming its already drawn left revolver at the large scar on the dragon's chest.
CLICK!
BANG!
The dragon turned towards the source of the noise as soon as the trigger was pulled; the hammer's strike and the gun's firing confirmed the position of something in front of it.
However, something was different. At the exact instant the gun fired, a lightning bolt ripped across the sky, its roar drowning out what followed.
A red light escaped from the rotating chamber, and a projectile enveloped in pure magical power advanced towards its target, illuminating the darkness like a scarlet star.
The intense recoil made the monster groan in pain, but despite his lack of preparation, it hit his target.
BOOM!
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
The bullet exploded in a wave of pure power, making the dragon roar as its scales were ripped off and the sensitive flesh of an old wound opened.
It wasn't long before the next shots came, eleven shots, fired by supernaturally swift hands, each charged with power.
Four were accurate, bombarding the dragon through its body, but the mythical being was robust and armored; despite the waterfall painting the concrete red, it roared and flapped its wings, taking flight with a whirlwind, avoiding the shots that were to come.
Then it took a deep breath, an orange light shining in its chest. The white monster knew what was coming, abandoned his weapons, and ran towards the reserves.
An intense light approached, making the shadows snake around him, but he dared not turn around, not even when a scorching heat attacked his back.
There was an explosion followed by a tremor and a devastating wave of heat. Part of the courtyard and its vehicles were nothing more than a molten mass, but he had reached his objective.
A projectile pierced the smoke, this one longer and sharper than the previous ones. The dragon easily dodged by hovering to the side, but what he didn't expect was that the shot in question would explode in a wave of lightning that coursed through his body, scorching his scales and attacking his flesh.
Its flight faltered, its wings unresponsive to its commands, but the dragon held firm, landing on the roof of a nearby building.
The ancient structure creaked, nearly collapsing under the sudden weight, its form cracking, yet still standing.
Then the dragon waited, its senses alert.
BANG!
Another bullet shot through, tearing a hole in the smoke.
BOOM!
However, a fireball intercepted it, creating an explosion mid-trajectory. In the distance, the pale monster lay on the roof, pulling the bolt of his rifle, ejecting its empty jacket.
He leaped to his feet as soon as his location was discovered, for a second infernal fireball approached.
With a rifle in one hand, a shotgun in the other, and a machine gun coiled around his tail, he leaped from rooftop to rooftop, dodging the hell spewed by the dragon.
A fire raged faster than it could be controlled, buildings began to burn, spreading the flames to those nearby thanks to the vegetation that covered them.
The tolling of the bells grew louder and the cracks in the sky expanded, shattering like glass, revealing a red portal with an upside-down city on the other side.
It was in ruins, just like the world shrouded in night, but at its center stood a gigantic cathedral.
Unfortunately, neither combatant had the mental capacity to realize what was happening, finding themselves in a chase across the rooftops.
The pale monster leaped to another building, dodging a flaming explosion while firing its rifle mid-leap. The terrible conditions caused him to miss miserably, creating a pillar of ice in the middle of the forest.
The dragon seized the opportunity and flapped its wings, closing the distance with a leap, its jaws ready to devour its enemy. However, the roof of the building where they had landed collapsed, sending the combatants to the lower levels amidst a shower of rubble.
This did not stop the winged being from thrashing about like an uncontrolled beast, its tail and wings acting as wrecking balls, knocking down walls and beams as if they were made of paper.
The white being tried to free himself from the confusion caused by the fall, his head spinning and vision blurring as he tried to aim.
He failed; a whip-like tail swing hurled him away like a cannonball, crashing through wall after wall, stopping as he invaded the interior of the adjacent building.
For a second, it seemed that all was over, but a pile of ruins began to shift, and with a roar of fury, the monster rose again. His display of strength was short-lived; a gasp escaped his lips, and dark blood dripped from his mask.
Making a noise some would compare to a tongue click, he set aside his rifle, broken in two, and retrieved his remaining weapons, fleeing as he saw the dragon's head peering into the hole, searching for his presence.
While the battle raged on, the well-dressed man who had set everything in motion watched the sky from atop one of the still-intact buildings.
His face showed a rare change, the corners of his lips lifting in a small smile as he saw the familiar city in the sky. Perhaps it was nostalgia, or the joy of finally returning home, but after countless millennia, he could fulfill his duty.
"It's almost ready."
Then his female form took over, turning to the flame-engulfed building into which the dragon was trying to burrow.
"Now we just need to deal with our old enemy."
With a final push, the dragon stormed the building, knocking down everything in its path in the hope of finding its foe.
"RRROOOAAARRR!"
It didn't take long for the white monster to turn the corner, leaping from his hiding place and unloading his shotgun into the dragon's side. Each bullet tore through the flesh, leaving gruesome wounds that, if they healed, could only be considered a miracle.
A smell of burnt flesh filled the air, along with intense heat. Whether it was from the gunshots, each creating waves of fire, or from the blaze spreading through the corridors, it was impossible to tell.
When the crackle of the empty weapon reached his ears, the monster discarded the shotgun, switching to his machine gun.
The dragon's tail came again, but this time he was prepared, leaping and grabbing a steel beam in the hole leading to the upper floor, courtesy of his enemy's relentless advance.
With the pull of the trigger, a rain of magic bombarded the dragon, a cacophony of gunfire, explosions, and pained screams that would bring nightmares to anyone who witnessed it.
Scales shattered and the flesh beneath was pierced, each impact creating a wet thud followed by a gush of blood. Bones shattered in their path, and soon organs were struck.
The dragon's eyes widened; the pain became too much to bear. In a desperate, swift movement, its head slithered like a snake, its jaws clamping around its enemy's legs.
It was his turn to scream; trying to maintain his grip proved a mistake, nearly snapping it in two. Abandoning his perch offered little relief; the sword-like fangs tore at his flesh and crushed his bones.
His weapon slipped from his grip, and the torment continued as he was repeatedly slammed against the ground, blow after blow, the concrete cracked—or was his bones?
With no other option, dark marks appeared on his skin, his magic pushed to its limit, and with it, an overwhelming wave of electricity was unleashed. A charge so great it was visible to the naked eye coursed through the dragon's body.
Its grip on its enemy loosened, but instead of escaping upon being freed, the monster climbed its body, grasping its horns and wrapping his tail around its neck.
The dragon gasped, feeling the airflow to its lungs cut off, and even with its nerves screaming in agony, it thrashed like a bull, trying to free itself from the creature on its head.
However, he refused to let go, even as he crashed through walls and ceiling, even as he reached absurd speeds only to stop suddenly, even as the dragon burned fire into its chest, transforming itself into a living furnace.
Wounds accumulated on both their bodies, but both refused to yield. The first to fall was not the pale monster or the red dragon, but the structure around them.
Flaming rubble rained down on them both, burying them under tons of concrete and steel.
-XXXXXX-
How much time passed? Hours? Minutes? Seconds?
The bells still tolled and the city on the other side of the portal still waited. However, so far, no one has left the pile of flaming rubble. The military base was practically nonexistent, reduced to a pile of ruins whose fire had spread beyond the walls, consuming the forest.
The well-dressed woman watched in silence, ignoring the chaos around her, her lips a thin line. She frowned as she watched the pile of rubble shift, taking a step back with concern on her face.
This gave way to a nervous smile followed by a laugh as she saw the pale monster crawling out of a narrow, dark passage. However, her joy died, assuming her masculine form with fear in his eyes as he saw the dragon rising, shedding all the weight that held its body.
The pale monster struggled to his feet, stumbling halfway as he limped away, supporting himself on whatever he could find.
The dragon, however, didn't go far, taking a few weak steps before collapsing like a fallen tree, coughing up vital fluid as it oozed in rivers from all its wounds.
In its final moments, clarity dawned on its gaze, and the dragon spoke with a woman's voice.
"COUGH! C-Caim… COUGH! C-Caim, w-where are you?"
It was pitiful, but there was no one to offer comfort.
The pale monster lifted a nearby beam, sharpening its point with fire magic and stopping before the dragon, raising his makeshift weapon above his head.
"COUGH! I-I just wanted to s-see you again…"
It was something little known, but dragons possessed a special magic called Wish, capable of altering reality and helping them escape death, creating new life.
With what little power remained, the dragon closed its eyes, magic filled the air, and its body shone like a star. When the light faded, the great mythical being had vanished, the bloodstains on the ground being the only proof of its existence.
The well-dressed man laughed, a disgusting and cruel sound echoing through the firelit night.
That was the end of his old enemy; the human and the dragon who had given him so much trouble were gone in pathetic ways, and now he was free to return.
"Human, you have exceeded my expectations. Slaying a dragon, even a weakened one, is not something to be ignored. As a final gift, I offer you wings; now let us return and bring about the end of both worlds. But do not worry, your loyalty will be rewarded; there will be a special place for you among us."
The pale monster fell to his knees, screaming in pain as the flesh of his back pulsed and tore, revealing a pair of wings as sharp as blades.
His reactions ceased as his master regained control, then he flew as if it were second nature, as if he had practiced for centuries for this moment.
Meter after meter, he soared toward the portal with his master floating beside him. The bells ceased, giving way to a chorus of angelic voices.
Opening his arms, the well-dressed man closed his eyes and smiled, feeling the light of his creator blessing him once more.
"Brother and sisters, I have returned home."
BOOM!
His eyes snapped open immediately upon hearing the explosion and widened in horror as he witnessed several missiles striking the luminous orb that had ripped reality apart into another world.
The sounds of engines echoed through the wind, and in the distance, two aircraft too advanced to describe from afar performed return maneuvers.
"NO! NO! NO…"
BOOM!
The second missile struck the pale monster squarely, engulfing him in fire and smoke. As the monster fell, shattered and nearing death, the last thing the well-dressed man saw was the portal closing.
One thing crossed his mind before everything went dark: that his death couldn't be more ironic.
END OF CHAPTER