Several hundred meters underground, beneath the valley between the shattered peaks, a small cave existed. This cave was blocked off from the surface, and filled with an incredibly heavy aura of death.
This aura was so powerful it seeped into the earth itself, exuding the faintest trace of aura to the mountains and valley above.
The cave was small, only a couple dozen meters wide. The most unique aspect about this cave was its shape.
It was entirely circular, like a large sphere cut from the ground. The walls were smooth, unlined by dust or cracks.
The Aura Dorian unleashed was full of might, but at its core still a degraded version of the Aura the fallen Angelic Class Wizard had held in life. He had only managed to condense and store it, making use of the unique Soul Spell Matrix he had.
Still, even when Dorian unleashed the degraded version, its reach spread out for miles on the surface, and hundreds of meters into the sky above, and the ground below.
And, at that exact moment, the slightest hint of that Aura reached this cave, deep underground.
The moment it did, golden light began to appear, a small ball appearing at the center of the cave.
An old, aged voice spoke aloud,
"My successor..?"
..
When the pale, slightly grey skinned woman began to yell back at Dorian, he knew he was in trouble.
He played it cool, however, his success in driving away the humans empowering him. He could do this.
The strength of the Aura he emitted was slowly beginning to fade, he noted with alarm. The red haze that surrounded his body had thinned, almost imperceptibly. If this lasted much longer, he would need to draw on it again, using up another quarter of one of his trump cards.
'Ausra, can I use one of my Absorptions on them?' He still had two chances left to absorb almost anything that held a bloodline. However, according to the safeguards the Godking had set, he would have to immediately become whatever he absorbed, and if that being/form was too strong for his Soul to bear, he could collapse and perish. Ausra had made this clear to him.
'These two appear to be Vampire Nobles, both in the Grandmaster Class judging by their physical appearance and intensity of blood aura. Your Soul would be unable to bear the burden.' Ausra replied.
Dorian blinked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Blood Magic: Sweltering Shade!" The woman called out the words to a spell. Immediately, some odd type of red fog began to form and began covering the sky.
'So be it.' He thought, steeling himself. He'd made it this far, he would make it a bit farther.
"YOU DARE OFFEND THIS GODLY DRAGON?!" Dorian roared out, puffing out his tiny dragon chest with all his might. His voice almost cracked as he said the last word, parched from all this yelling.
The female Vampire Noble shuddered. It seemed his aura was still having an effect! All hope was not lost!
'Quick!' he thought, frantically. He needed to say something intimidating, something that would scare them off, and make him sound like a majestic dragon of the heavens.
As darkness swallowed the valley, inspiration struck.
"YOU THINK DARKNESS WILL AFFECT THIS GODLY DRAGON? FOOLISH MORTAL, I WAS BORN IN THE DARKNESS! MOLDED BY IT! YOU HAVE MERELY ADOPTED IT!" His voice thundered as he waved his roast deer leg threateningly, quoting a character from a movie back on Earth as he tried to sound menacing.
He couldn't make out where the vampires were due to the darkness, but he glared in their general direction. The crimson fog blocked off all light completely, making it impossible for Dorian to see, even with his draconic body.
All of a sudden, he heard a loud thudding on the ground.
A split second later, he felt more than saw something slam into him, and then envelop him. His entire body was instantly surrounded and chained down, unable to move. A heavy aura of blood began to suppress his mind, causing his consciousness to waver.
His body felt like it was being crushed. No matter how he struggled or moved, he couldn't stop this feeling, some odd magic spell crashing upon him.
'Whelp.' He sighed, mentally exhausted, 'Its been a good run. Goodbye cruel world.' As the inevitably of his death seemed to sink in on him, he felt tired and hopeless, a strange calm coming over him.
'Several bloodlines have been detected. Do you wish to absorb them?' Ausra's voice in his head was like a cool oasis in a fiery desert of darkness.
(Special note: This is not one of his 3 Absorbptions, but instead just him absorbing blood through his Soul Spell Matrix like he normally can.)
'Yes, YES! YES!' He mentally screamed, his body barely holding on, desperately clinging back to life. The strange calm from before vanished instantly, torn asunder.
-Absorbing detected bloodlines-
-Bloodline Origins-
29% Golem Wolf
25% Black Mire Wolf
24% White Rain Wolf
15% Virulent Wolf
5% True Vampire
2% various undetermined bloodlines too small to currently measure.
Immediately, a screen appeared in his mind, listing the bloodline origins of the beast that had attacked and enveloped him. He felt a rush as a large amount of energy was absorbed and stored in his Soul Spell Matrix, awaiting his evolution.
At the same time, the spell attacking him disappeared entirely, the pressure weighing him down vanishing, and he heard a loud scream.
..
"ARRRRGH! SALUM NO!" Gaia felt a vile, horrible tearing sensation in her soul as her innate connection with her Blood Beast, Salum, was shorn through. Agonizing pain ripped through her consciousness as she trembled in shock.
A split second later the beautiful vampire's eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she collapsed, unconscious.
"Damn." Brutus made a split second decision as he saw this.
His years of experience had led to him encountering several life-or-death situations, but this one was like no other.
"Blood Magic: Caesar's Burn."
His body was wracked with dark, crimson light as he cast one of the strongest spells he knew. Caesar's Burn, a spell created by a long dead Highlord Vampire, sacrificed ten years of one's lifespan to temporarily boost one's strength to an enormous height. After casting the spell, however, one would become incredibly weak for several weeks, and be unable to cast magic for several months.
It was a spell that only someone with the abnormal regenerative prowess of a Vampire could manage. If a human tried to cast it, their body would directly collapse from the strain.
His heart pounded, knowing this was the biggest disaster he had ever faced in his life.
Any being that could casually destroy a Grandmaster Class Blood Beast was a being that could end his life with ease.
Immediately, Brutus leapt forward, snatching ahold of Gaia. His body moved so blazingly fast it was a blur, every step he took sending massive cracks into the rocky ground.
He scooped up her body and tossed it over his shoulder, and then hurled himself to the south.
He paid no attention to the condition of his body, brutally pulling on every fiber of his being. Several of his bones cracked as he pushed them to an extreme, dashing outward away from the valley, covering more than a thousand meters in just seconds.
The only thought on his mind the horror he, a proud Vampiric Warmage, felt upon the sight of that terrifying beast.
..
Dorian growled ferociously as he maintained his position, light gradually creeping into the valley as the bloody fog faded.
A large pool of blood stained the ground near him. Several small holes and cracks decimated the valley, turning the once peaceful paradise into a cratered battleground.
It seemed the attack that had tried to crush him had been made entirely of blood from several types of wolves. Any blood his body touched was blood he could absorb due to his unique Soul Spell Matrix. Attacking him with a spell made out of blood was like offering him up a refreshing snack.
He carefully looked to the left and right, his eyes alert.
He saw no one.
A crackling noise caught his ears and he spun around, his teeth pulled up in a snarl.
Miraculously, the fire that he was roasting a deer at was somehow still lit. The deer was still on the spit, and part of it had set to sizzling.
The fight had seemed like it lasted forever, yet in reality had only taken a few short minutes.
Dorian slowly walked over to the fire, putting it out. The deer was fully cooked, and anymore time on the spit would most likely burn it. Though, there was no chance he could eat anything right now. He set down his half eaten deer thigh.
The powerful, red aura he had unleashed gradually began to fade away, dissipating around him.
He glanced at the deer before stalking over to the river.
He looked down at his reflection. His green scales were stained red, covered in dark blood, giving him a ferocious appearance. No fish could be seen in the river, all of them having fled due to the aura he unleashed, and the impacts of the battle.
Dorian jumped into the river, shaking off the blood. He then swam over to the small hole, hidden in the side of the river.
He quickly entered the small, hidden cave, holding his breath as he swam all the way down to where he had found the dead Wizard's empty Spatial Pouch and bones.
The cave was the same as before. A long, damp room with a low ceiling, half filled with water.
As soon as he made it safely into the cave, hidden away, Dorian collapsed on the ground, his body shaking haphazardly.
"Hahaha…hahahaha…HAHAHAHA!" He began laughing uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face. The noises echoed in the underground cave, bouncing off the walls. His emotions exploded down a huge range, fear, horror, self-doubt, joy, and excitement mixing together.
"I'm alive!" He spoke the words aloud, shaking as the tension and stress of the previous few minutes hit him.
"I'M ALIVE!" He laughed again, his tiny dragon claws clinking together as he air pumped.
"YES! YES! YES!" He let loose, his emotions rioting.
He began to dance around the cave, celebrating, his tiny dragon feet clinking on the hard stone floor.
"Screw you shitty Vampires! Screw you shitty humans!" He spun around, victorious, conveniently ignoring the fact that he was once human.
"Did you think you could kill this godly dragon with your pathetic strength?!" Dorian was giddy with excitement, the fear of the moment washing off as he took joy in simply being alive still.
As he was in the midst of celebration, Ausra's cool voice cut through his mind.
'Your soul has sufficiently adapted, thanks in part to a spurt of growth over the past few minutes. Evolving to Myyr Dragon's 2nd Growth Stage…'
..
The valley returned to a semblance of norm as both the humans and the Vampire Nobles fled from the area, the animals and wildlife gradually returning. A calm breeze picked up and blew through the valley, casting away the stench of blood and destruction.
As Dorian's body began to evolve, safely hidden within his cave, a small, glowing ball of light appeared in the valley, standing where Dorian had been just a few minutes ago.
"Successor?" An aged voice spoke aloud, emanating from the golden ball. Gradually, the figure of an elderly man appeared, transparent and ephemeral.
This elderly man was dressed in a long, white robe, adorned with golden lace. The emblem of a sun was emblazoned on the center of the robe, beams of light shooting out from it. He had a kindly, tired face, with a bald head, and a long, white beard. His piercing red eyes scanned the valley, noting everything.
The man appeared and turned to look directly at the underground Dorian, who's body was currently transforming.
"No… You merely have a similar Aura within you. Refined from a remnant of my own Aura, it seems, how impressive." The aged voice sighed with disappointment. He could not bestow his inheritance to someone that wasn't already a wizard, and while some dragons did study magic, the one before him clearly did not.
The elderly man watched the small dragon's body transform with interest. It seemed to be growing from a wyrmling to a young adult dragon, at a vastly accelerated pace.
"It seems I am to perish today, as is my Magic." The old man rubbed his chin, a deepset sadness in his eyes. His body was a collection of his remant Soul and Soul Spell Matrix, formed after his death so many years ago.
He had hidden in this valley for many years, awaiting a successor from his Kingdom, hoping they would find him and the hidden messages he sent out. He had gone to rest after some unknown period of time, deciding to awaken only when he felt an Aura similar to his own.
Unfortunately, it seemed his plans had failed. He sighed again, accepting his loss. It seemed his Magic truly would perish today, the experiences and knowledge he'd gained passing on into the dark.
At that moment, a small groan caught the attention of the aged Wizard.
Off to the side, next to a pair of cracked trees, a young Wizard lay deathly injured, covered by a collection of Healing Branches from a Great Elm.
No, he corrected himself mentally, it was a magical recreation of the Healing Branches of a Great Elm, and a very skilled one.
Despite this active healing magic, the young Wizard's wounds were far too grievous. Death seemed unavoidable if he continued down this path.
The Elder Mage Horhavil looked at the dying Wizard, his eyes filled with pity. He could gather what had happened to the young man from the remnants of the situation around him.
A great battle had taken place here, quite recently. He could detect traces of the Blood Aura of Vampire Nobles, and a powerful, vibrant energy that could only come from Lightning Magic, as well as some delicate strings of Fate Magic. All of them at the Master or Grandmaster Class.
The young Wizard here studied Wood Magic, one of the more versatile styles of magic, but was only at the Sky Class. He could faintly sense the wavelength of the injured man's soul, and could tell he wasn't evil.
Clearly, his companions had betrayed him, or left him to die, casting him aside.
'Just like myself…' Horhavil muttered, his eyes gleaming over, memories of his own death arising. Betrayed by his trusted companions, bitterly left for dead after robbing him of his chance at reaching Ascension.
His eyes gleamed sharply, his fists clenching. He looked down at the dying young man, making a decision.
Why bother caring if this man was from his Clan? His Clan had yet to find him, after all these years, and if he perished now, without passing on his inheritance, his Magic and knowledge would leave this world forever, wasted.
And the situation the man was in touched him, deeply at a core level.
He would save this man, and make him his successor.
But for that to happen, he would need a favor.
The old Wizard turned his head to look underground, where a certain dragon was dancing in celebration at its newfound growth in strength.
