As most of the sleepers were focused on the fading vestige of the majestic dragon Jasper was already running, he was worried about what he would find but he hoped that it wasn't too late, his breathing was rugged and his wounds hurt like hell but that didn't matter right now.
He ran quickly to the center of the roof to find Damains body crumpled over itself like some form of deformed pretzel with only his armour giving away that he was still alive, his body was badly burnt and more bloody pools were forming underneath him as Jasper made it to his side.
He had expected to find the man unconscious and on the brink of death but he was only half right, to his astonishment the man's eyes were open if only barely and he spoke in whispers as he coughed up more blood,
"T-the Dra-a-gon?"
Jasper's eyes started to tear up as his voice broke,
"Dead…Warden forced it into the lake, where it died from its injuries."
Damian's eyes were filled with passion as he spoke,
"Y-you injur-red? Ho-ow man-ny alive?"
Jasper shook his head as small streams of tears rolled down his face as he tried to help the man to his feet, placing one arm over his shoulder to be used as a support,
"Im fine, my injuries are not too bad, already mostly healed. A bit over half survived, thirty maybe thirty five of us are left, would have been far less if you didn't step in at the end, thank you."
Pulling him from the ground a march of other footsteps could be heard approaching their location, as they turned to face the noise they saw Jest carrying Warden in a similar manner as they hobbled forward, Warden's appearance had changed slightly, now covering his shoulders and flowing in the wind behind his back a vermillion cape rustled, looking as if it had been woven from the scales of the dragon itself as if they were thread.
Warden spoke, his voice broken yet still filled with fearless determination,
"The monster is dead, we can enter the main keep now, no creature would have been foolish enough to live too close."
///
Damian was being lead away by Jasper with the support of some other sleepers as well as they descended the ladders they had made before, back into the grand courtyard they found the broken bodies of many sleepers who had fallen to their demise and even a few who had survived the fall but were in critical condition, without help soon many of them would die.
Damian was no exception to this, his core was broken worse than it was before and his inner sea was ragging as if trying to break free from its cage within his soul, the cracks over the surface of his soul were also growing larger with every moment that passed, his body and soul had reached a tipping point and he was now doomed to die and yet he wasn't afraid.
He knew death would eventually come for him and he found it oddly fitting that the cause of his death was his selflessness to help others in times of need, even if he was forced to do so by his flaw some of the time, he truly believed they would find the answers they were looking for just beyond the heavy doors leading into the keep.
Jest and Jasper opened the doors together as they carried their battered allies through the opulent hall, the room was large with many decorations broken and rotten to age, works of architecture unlike anything they had ever seen, intricately carved pillars and floor markings. Standing in the center of the room was a large raised dais with a throne sitting on its center, the chair looked untouched by age as its red fabrics were interwoven with gold and white stones giving it an ethereal look, an ageless artifact of times long forgotten.
The floors were marred with ancient blood which had long since dried up and was nothing more than dust which was blown away as wind entered the chamber from the outside in the first time in millennia, despite this one pool of blood remained, staining the dais as it ran down the stone the blood still seemed to flow. Damian could swear he saw motes of gold floating through the crimson liquid as they approached, the sleepers were silent as they were stunned by the sight yet also mortified as it did not seem to contain a way back home.
Warden broke away from Jest who watched his friend with a look of concern on his otherwise jovial face as the broken knight stepped forward and kneeled before the throne, looking at the engraving on the floor Warden crouched down as he reached his hand to fell the surface of the stone, he did not care that the crimson liquid was marking their surface making the stone seem red instead of pristine white.
As his hand touched the blood he hesitated for a moment as he looked up as his lips started moving as if he was reading something that no one else could see, no words were being said until he spoke one final word ,
"Yes?"
Suddenly the atmosphere of the room shifted as the crimson blood around the throne began to move, moving up his arm Warden screamed out in agony as the blood corroded his body, entering his onw through the burns and cuts as he stumbled around, the blood slowly covered him as it entered every surface of his body as a golden light slowly emanated from him.
THe blood entered his eyes, nose, mouth everywhere it could enter his body, any point of damage covered by this substance, his pain was unreal, unmatched by anything he had ever felt, the burning of his flesh at it melded with his armour was nothing more than a light scratch compared to this.
His body rocked up and down, forward and back as he stumbled onto the dias, as he did the engravings on the floor began to ignite one by one as a strange golden light rose from the ground, eventually Warden found himself falling into the throne looking over his companions as a strange energy enveloped him as the light shimmered as he vanished leaving no trace behind, taking all of the divine blood with him into the unknown.
The sleepers watched as a faint hope ignited in their hearts,as they helped lead the injured onto the dais, not all of them made it to the throne but that did not matter, as one by one the sleepers vanished in brilliant streams of light, soon enough only a small handful of people remained, who looked at the scene with a mixture of hope and fear.
The first of this lot to pass through the gateway was the young shieldmaiden, after kissing Jest on the cheek and thanking him for saving her she kneeled on the dais letting her body disappear into the light, the next was Jest, who was stammering as what just happened as he said his goodbyes to Damian and Jasper, hoping to never see the two monsters ever again, at least as his enemy.
Soon all who remained was Jasper and Damian, sharing a look with each other they walked up the dais as the light grew brighter and brighter as Jasper sat Damian down in the throne before he said,
"See you on the other side my good sir."
Damian forced a smile as he raised a closed fist to the younger man,
"See you there"
Jasper connected his fist with Damian's as they both disappeared into the light,
[Wake up,Damian! Your nightmare is over.]
[Prepare for appraisal…]