Yamik resigned from the clash and came back to Vlan. Seeing the blood that wouldn't stop, he knew his brother needed immediate help. But he also knew that Leon alone was barely sustaining himself. And even though eradicated easily, the increased number of Gobels was also a concern.
"Use it, Yamik. Eagle eye- to stop the cellular flow, that would slow down the bleeding" Leon whispered, grunting in pain.
"But… you both need assistance" Yamik was hesitant due to his duties.
"Do it, mate. We will handle it; after all it's trivial enough to fondle with these creatures" Faf came in.
Leon closed in to the beast. The sickle and the sword clashed sparking gigantic energy flow.
The fight wasn't even in any limit, the defeat was certain.
["You are barely keeping up" The Path of Eternal Deity spoke up]
["Want to activate 'Prelim Reading'" Another messaged flashed]
"What does it even mean?" Leon was questioned.
["The book of Eternal Deity will savour your story before you even write it. This will provide you some max ups"]
The crystal sword from the Emberal beast pierced straight into Leon's chest. The blood withered as the tip came straight out of the dorsal flesh.
"Activate: Prelim Reading" Leon whispered right before he would doze off.
The sight he was in was unclear, as everything around was hazing darkness. That's when he sensed a devilish energy behind him- it was the two skull beast that embodies The Path of Eternal Deity. Its body was pitch black, barring two white skulls synced to one consciousness. One of the skulls leaned in towards Leon and whispered "I devoured your story, but it wasn't worthy enough to grant you a max-up". Its voice was as if multiple readers cried out together.
"Are you serious, that wasn't worthy enough?"
"Nope" The Paths replied "simply illustrating your story won't allure people, Revenant. You need to keep it emotional, at least that's what humans feed on- raw emotions. I know the beginning of your scripture is great, but I can't relate to it, I can't understand your mission"
"Well, haven't I explained enough. I want to conquer the Ascensions. I want to become the emperor and gain my ticket to the past life" Leon was clear.
"But that doesn't hit my nerves and gets me excited about what is happening now. You need to improve your state" The two skulls gave a creepy smile "If you don't think about something, you might die by those beasts hands"
"What are you? Aren't you supposed to be my aid? Wasn't everything supposed to be good?"
"It's a bigger hell up here, Revenant. Your earth was much of a heaven compared to this realm"
"Both are the worst places. And…I'm tired… I'm sick of this desperate life trying to unveil the spindle. I'm tired of taking everything on myself, wasn't I tired already. I came here thinking it would be similar to those action movies, I conquering over everything, getting all the world's might. But instead everything is falling apart. I didn't even get to stay still and that bloody emperor attacked the town. Killed the two people who were supposed to comfort me. When I got to the Imperial town I got a loving family, I thought this might be it. But who knew it was the beginning of another great deal of work. I love to grind for those people but still… Can't I be tired? Oh… I can't rest even now, Agasthus is in severe danger" Leon's tears dropped "I need to defeat the dragon and take the herb to Agasthus. He must be in devastating pain"
Leon continued, trying to get up "I need to move, with or without the max-up"
He slipped but got up again "I need to kill Tistra Domiscus, and become the emperor"
He got up, trying to wipe his tears. "I have to ascend the farthest, so I can become a revolutionary writer- the dream that my mother saw for me". He tried intervening in the flow, but the tears kept flooding.
"Yes…that's it…that's what we need. The mad man, ready to cross boundaries. You are yet to achieve it Leon; but the day you become one, you will be unstoppable. For now, let me grant you the max-up: Damage revival" cherishing the speech, the Beast of the Paths faded away "Good luck out there, Revenant".
But Leon was still puzzled by the use of the max up.
"Damage revival" Leon thought "what could it be?"
[That's when the screen flashed "Damage revival gives you a max up by which every damage you take hypers your senses, also boosting your speed and strength]
"That's fascinating" he thought, as the tears stopped "it's more of a cheat code".
Leon's eyes opened, the dragon was about to swing another attack when the sudden surge of energy shoved him back.
It was shocked….
"What have you done? You are different" the beasts whispered
The energy was purely dominant even for the Emberal Dragon. It couldn't budge against the deadly strength. A straight punch- and just after it- the beast saw its arm sent swinging away in the air. Another one grew back, only to be sliced apart again.
The next strike landed straight on the knee, detaching the lower body from the rest of the mass.
Next one sliced open the abdomen….
The dragon was devastated, and could only think of escape. It transformed back to its gigantic form drifting towards the sky. It was trying to use the clouds to hide from the Revenant's sight. From its perspective everything was clear as the cloud polished its whiskers. But the drought came when the clouds cleared: Leon was waiting with his two sickles extended near his waist, ready to finish the dragon. He burst towards the dragon pushing it several miles to the ground. Mid air the Dragon got rampaging cuts, bruises, and wounds that would never heal. And the beast could no longer heal, as its Emberal energy had been exhausted. The scales came down and the spikes shrunk into its skin, with the head cast aside, falling closer to the Revenant.
That's when the mystery was solved as a young warrior rose from the dragon's remains "I was the soul trapped inside the beast, destined to stop the trespassers of the forest"
"I understand your duty," Leon whispered
"You are brave, young one. So let me clarify a haunting truth. This forest isn't the Tergoray Nols, because the real woods are believed to be destroyed by the emperor"
If those weren't Tergoray Nols, Agasthus's fate was doomed from the very beginning.
"If I'm not wrong…you are here to protect someone whose body has been disintegrating. Someone who chose the Path of Apostle" the man asked.
"yes…"
"It's all because of Tistra. To become an emperor you need an Apostle you could trust, so he manipulated the energy of those Paths itself. He even destroyed all the Joota herbs that could prevent the sacrifices" the man acknowledged.
"So, it's a dead end" Leon was sabotaged
"No, don't worry, I got this" the man summoned a gem with remaining embers in his body "the gem of pure energy. It would falter Trista's manipulation over your brother, but won't last long compared to Joota roots. And interestingly, young one. If there is no cure left…"
"Then he had no reason to create this mirage with you in it" Leon completed the sentence.
"Verily… that's right" The man cherished the immediate understanding "Well it's time for me to go"
"Wait…" Leon exclaimed "don't you have a story to tell".
"An author seeking to contempt himself with stories" The man explained the tale that held him hostage for several years.
His name was Kristopher, he was 25 and married to a beautiful woman. They had a child, a cunning young daughter. But, Morgan was always gloomy about his infested dream…it was to become a Dragon Sorcerer. The dream wasn't just of his own, it was something he inherited from his father. Day went on and finally his harmonious bond got an evil eye. He left them…to become a dragon sorcerer. The man he chose as his master was the finest in those arts, but he had some different shades to follow. The man was indebted to Tistra, so he turned Kristopher into his fine repayment. He turned Kristopher into a complete dragon and held him hostile in Tistra's court. Since then Kristopher had been nothing more than a slave. He once went back to his family, in his new humanoid attire, but he found out it had been several years since he left. Time goes by very differently when you are a dragon afterall. He got to know his wife married a new worthy man after he left, his daughter was married in a prestigious household, and his name was completely abolished from their lives. Just like he once forsaken his family, how he was cast out from their chapters too.
"That's all Revenant, that's all I have. From that day onwards all I lived was solitude that the emperor blessed me with" his body started fading into glowing specks "seems like I can't hold this body together any longer"
"Thanks for your story, Emberal. You may rest in peace" Leon claimed.
Another story went by and another chapter closed. Still, the end sought was yet to be resolved- Agasthus was on the edge, balancing between life and death.
For now it was time for the warriors to claim their victory…
But none was thrilled with energy…
They took Vlan for immediate aid, and finally they themselves dropped their bodies for fine rest.
"Well… I feel like I'm constipating" Vlan forced a punch.