GREY LUCAS
'Come to think of it when I was much younger…' it seemed like Déjà vu,' I…I can't fully remember,' A memory came through as I pondered upon it, 'oh Mom told me and Jay a story, 'more of a fairy tale I thought at the time, it was a long time though, it was about knights and dragons.
"Come closer," Mom would say, while tucking us in.
Long ago before the age of hunters there were knights, around the seven continents. These warriors protect the realms from beings that crawled out of gates. But some creatures live alongside the other races in uneasy peace. Dragons lived outside the gates they were strong, ferocious creatures skin stronger than any armor, they had an enormous amount of Ekrin control, with breaths that shook fear into the hearts of men.
Dragon flew through the sky both day and night, most thought it was beautiful but there were most who didn't see it as such. They were scared of the dragons, reason being that most of them like to claim territories. And fight to scare anyone or anything that tried to invade. Most of those territories could be cities and it would raze those cities to the ground with furious flames.
It became a national matter, an emergency to be precise, kings and leaders of all continents gathered in Elarion – The Kingdom of Luminas.
The kings Aeralith, Luminas and Frost Haven at that time arrived at a decision that the dragons should be purged of all the continents, regardless of whether good or bad; their fear outweighed their desire to protect the few good dragons.
They paid no mind to those kingdoms that had grown accustomed to them, had traditions with the dragons or tamed them as companions. The Elders of Virendell and the king of Alestria tried to oppose that decision that they had no rights in deciding that. They fell into a political conflict with three kingdoms.
A vote was proposed to quell the commotion and determine how the matter should be handled—and all present agreed.
Alas, the majority resolved that all dragons must be purged from the continents. They would be permitted to flee to other worlds or into gates, but those who chose resistance would be executed without mercy.
The Round Table all came to an alliance and deployed their knights of combined forces to go around and act on their orders, to slay any resisting dragon. But before that those who used dragons in their kingdom had to go back and sent their precious long scaly friends away through gates it was.hard for most continents. But it had to be done. The knights fought with valor and determination against the dragons; the skies were covered in flames, blood rained with the sound of rough steel clashing with metallic scales, the sound was carried around the seven kingdoms in a throbbing wave.
Looking back at it now, I was probably…
I asked Mom if the story was a happy one most of the times she told it. But she would smile and say 'It was a true one,' dodging my question.
But now I finally understand, dragons have not been seen in the outside world in a long time and it was rare coming across one in the labyrinth, the only people who weren't scared of the dragons were the knights.
So this story is one of fear and that the same fear I have now as I'm death swallowed me. It was as though I'd seen the future when I said, this was where I die or maybe it was just karma. But now it felt fairly real, as I lay injured in the stomach of an enraged dragon.
Acid gushed out of what seemed to be a sac, 'Shit!!'I sprung up from the bone-like structure lay on, as it got swallowed by acid fused with magma, I held myself up with Ieva, crouched atop the sword. My left hand was a mangled mess as a result of me using it to block its maw while being gurgled down. I felt nerve wracking pain, I contemplated on why they were scared of
dragons and it was the same with me. It was an inferiority complex or even racism.
"I'm not going to be like those old grumps—I'll face you head on," like the knights of legends." I held onto courage, looked at the system once more and was trying to find a possible way to fight. The system was
a way for me to let me grow stronger in a short amount of time, but using the authorities, Ruler's touch and Emperor's Chain too much, without a body that
could better handle and a mind that understands it, I didn't go to any academy
so… "I don't really know what kind of power this is! No thanks to that bastard!" I was wobbly, tired and in agonizing pain.
The interface appeared, the dark abyssal gut was filled with a brilliant light.
SYSTEM:
STATES:
ZONE: GOLD RUNES
COSMIC FORM
ELFRIAN — 150G
DIVINE BURST — 1,000G
SUPER NOVA — 500G
COSMIC FORM
Elfrian — Grants the user an elf-like form, allowing more fluent control of Ekrin. Enhances the senses (see farther, hear softer sounds), grants night vision, increased agility and speed, silent movement, heightened reflexes, control over vines, roots, and trees, the ability to sense disturbances within forests, natural camouflage, mastery of archery and dual blades, arrow infusion, and Wind-Step movement (almost teleport-like speed).
''OK, I think this form can help assess my skills without triggering the error anomaly.' I clicked it— Ekrin swelled, my hair glowed blonde, ears stretched backwards, sensory and neural systems became more mature. I felt lighter.
SYSTEM: Due to Elfrian you have the ability to use a skill without overexertion risks.
'Finally,' I immediately also activated the black knight form, black aura swirled around me like molten armor. The pressure burst out, I grabbed my sword, lunged onto a grotesque lump of flesh. Ieva transformed mechanically and became twin blades sensing my elf combat form.
Wind pressure enveloped my entire body. I flew through lumps of stomach flesh while instantly switching skills.
Flame engulfed the flesh as I tore through and escaped the dragon's infernal gut.
"Yeah…" I whispered, eyes blazing. "This is just like a fairytale—because this battle is between a knight… and a dragon!"
As I hovered above using my gravitational affinity staring at the injured dragon—burns with fury, and an agonizing suffering cry.
The Final Duel
He dashed forward—fast but not as much as his usual speed. The dragon countered, swinging its wing like a horrendous blade of terror. Grey shot back like a bullet. Before he approached a rock platform in a bloody
crash. The dragon spat a roar that unleashed a sea of fire.
Grey crossed his arms, forming Ekrin Shields and Luminous Barriers. The blast collided, erupting in a cataclysmic explosion.
Grey let out a suffering cry, crashing downwards through floating rocks.
He gripped one mid-fall, armor sparking. "Not done yet!"
Launching himself back into the air, he unleashed Magma Burst, a torrent of molten energy colliding with the dragon's wing.
Ieva transformed into a bow, in reaction to Grey's will, he condensed Aura in his hand shaping it to form an arrow.
It released like lightning as it exploded on the melting wing. He drew another and another as they exchanged firepower from afar. The dragon became gravely injured; its colossus frame broke in the sky. It became difficult for it to remain skyborne.
Grey caught notice, dashed through debris towards Gliphernir—sticking downwards with all his might, severing the injured wings
with his twin blades.
Gliphernir fell, Grey dove down with it and plunged his sword at its injured gut and slashed upwards towards its wounded chest, Gliphernir struggled to escape, gathering its last breath. Grey sensed it and smiled weakly.
"Not today!"
His helmet was already breaking from exhaustion, exposing his face, so he couldn't take any chances. An armor claw crashed into his elven frame, the collision destroyed his upper armor and sent him twirling upward annoyingly.
The dragon fell as it drew its last breath. The world went silent.
Then-
In soul-rending pain, Grey fell through the collapsing air.Landing face-first on a platform.
"Ah—damn… I pushed too far."
Blood trickled from his lip. "Flipping through multiple skills is hard work, forcing my Ekrin… yeah, that was reckless."
After a few minutes, he sat up straight. He dangled his feet as he leaned his weight on his shoulders. The sky cleared. The sun gleamed on his face
"Not bad," he said softly, looking at the horizon.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"The knight won."