Angra slams his feet against the ground and shouts, "Dragon blood battle arts; Blaze!" From all three heads, giant masses of fire burst out, completely covering the area as they rush towards Garəbra.
Sanshinryeong drops down in front of her and holds his hands up as a giant diamond appears in front of them, blocking the flames, yet soon, from Angra's three heads, darkness bursts out, fusing with the flames, causing the barrier to be absorbed bit by bit.
Turning his head, he forms a new barrier inches behind the first one to maintain their defence. Sanshinryeong asks, "Garəbra, in that state, Angra is far more dangerous than he was when he claimed the life of your father. We need to act now."
"Diamond Dragon, watch your tongue, because it sounds like you're asking me to take his life."
As the second barrier gets absorbed, the Diamond Dragon forms a third one, and says, "I can never ask you to do what you don't wish, I will die on your household's demand. My only job is the protection of your wishes, but I cannot deny the reality that if something isn't done, you may end up sparing Zahhak's life for another one of your family members."
Garəbra's head drops down, and from the sky a giant spear made out of dragon scales smashes down into Angra's body, causing a scream of bloodcurdling pain to surge throughout the area.
Looking up, Garəbra sees the Hunting Dragon riding on the back of a wyvern along with a series of other Dragon's in black armour. The Hunting Dragon directs his soldiers to attack Angra, causing her to shout, "STOP THIS INSTANT AND STEP DOWN THRAETONA!!"
He quickly flies down towards her and says, "Garəbra, do you not remember the scriptures of the Church of the Messiah?"
Confused, she says, "The human religion? I have read those books decades ago, but what does that have to do with your blatant disrespect right now!"
"The seven beasts?" Garəbra hears as she turns her head to see Paouruazi.
"Sister, what are you on about?"
"The Seven Beasts are 7 creatures that will spread terror and fear throughout the world. The Church of the Messiah's holy texts specify four worlds, and due to that, they see history in four cycles. They see the destruction of the sixth continent, Nitztzedek, as the end of the 1st cycle, and everything since then as the 2nd cycle. The Seven Beasts are said to be the heralds of the end of the 2nd cycle, and their leader is the multiheaded Dragon that signals the beginning of the end."
The Hunting Dragon says, "Zahhak has always had the strange ability to split his tail into three when no one else could."
Glaring at him, Garəbra asks, "So you have been staring at Zahhak as if he is a beast based on that."
Paouruazi says, "He is the only Dragon to have ever killed a parent during birth. He has been blessed with a body surpassing even his brother's at his age. He has shown a wild lack of care for his surroundings in this decade. And more than any of that, he currently stands with a beacon of destruction who, if left unchecked, could easily bring upon a tragedy equally to the destruction of Nitztzedek, we must act no-."
"SILENCE THRAETONA! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR NONSEN-."
Paouruazi, with her hands shaking, grabs Garəbra and says, "You can feel it, can't you, the pressure of the spirit energy circulating around his body. He is growing stronger by the second as our fear grows more and more. In 30 minutes, he will have the same strength he used to kill your father, and in an hour, he will have surpassed that. With Indrani in her current state, you know who will have to come to end his life, and do you think such a fate should fall on that man whom you love dearly?"
Garəbra's hollow, lifeless flesh fills with emotions as the pain of all the different decisions in her mind continues to flow again, and again in a never-ending wave of pressure that crushes her very soul.
Thraetona, taking a knee, says, "Please, Princess, give the order."
Garəbra says, "Zahhak! He is waiting for you, in my mother's stomach, someone who wants to meet you more than anything else. Someone who is without a father, just like you, so please, even if it hurts, even if it feels like it's going to kill you, please keep living for him and become his friend, his ally, now until the day you die. Because I am sure if you take such a path, you'd be able to create new legacies far greater than any of us have!"
Φ Her words were kind and full of love, filled with a desperate plea to try and get Zahhak to strengthen his heart even a bit. She relied on him more than she relied on anyone else in her life, betting on the person he is more than anything else. And her words reached him, embedded themselves in his mind despite Angra's grip on his soul, forcing his body to freeze in place as they locked eyes.
She smiled with all her heart and relief in the world, yet as her words circulated in his mind, an image appeared without the help of Angra or any other force, an image of his own creation, one of a newly born child receiving all of the affection and love that was once his out of pity. A hole appeared in his heart, and in full agreement with the evil sensation of Angra, he instantly moves at full force to strike the temple Indrani lies in.
Φ Seeing Zahhak's body move towards the temple, Garəbragrabs her chest, then in an instant the scales around her arm form into a giant claw which she uses to knock Angra flying backwards, before landing on the top of the temple.
Paouruazi shouts, "EVERYONE BACK AWAY!"
Thraetona, beside her, says, "Let me help."
Sanshinryeong covers everyone's body in a diamond barrier and says, "Don't be rash, young man. For the person fighting now needs no aid from any one of us, for that woman is the Death Dragon Garəbra."
Taking a quiet breath, she says, "Dragon blood battle arts; Rebir-."
Φ "I FOUND YOU!"
In an instant, I see the images of Zahhak's memories fade as a hand grabs me, and for the first time since I have experienced all of this, I feel my body fully reform, as every aspect of the world freezes and turns pure white. Turning my head, I see the sight of Angra's body in front of my own as his hand completely enraptures my body. My eyes beam around as I try to break out of his grip, but no amount of strength frees me from his grip. The more I move, the harder he enforces himself onto my body, causing me to say, "How could you do that? Corrupting his love for everyone and turning it into a tool, you ruined his future!"
His hand wraps itself around my mouth as he says, "Do you really think that?"
In front of my very eyes, previous memories of Zahhak's first 10 years appear like paintings etched into the wall, each image shows a moment of Zahhak around, Garəbra, Indrani, or Paouruazi, accompanied by strangers or each other. "You can see it can't you, the face of him in all these images, every single time another Dragon appears and gets attention from those three sadness, hatred, jealousy, anger, seeped into his heart little by little."
"You're wrong!"
"I am right, and you know it. What other reason would there be for all the incidents and escape attempts he had? Each time he did one, they were forced to give him attention; he'd ignore lessons from Garəbra whenever she focused more on the subject matter than him, he even pretended to show interest in the humans so that he could have more to talk to with Paouruazi. He was a liar, a coward, and a selfish monster beneath it all, and when I gave him the power to act on it, he couldn't help but try to strike them down. Even deep down in the crevice of his mind, he held nothing but contempt for the baby that would replace him within their family because he is evil, and gladly opened his heart for me as you do."
"Stop lying! Not a single word out of your mouth can ever be trusted. You relish in suffering of ever-."
"And your can be? Cyrus, your bias is far greater than mine in this moment. Because you need it to be. You need for Zahhak to be blameless, you need for all of my control to be only due to me, because if it isn't, then you're at fault for my encroachment into your body, because if it isn't, then you can't just blame the void for this situation."
"I WOULD NEVER DO THAT!"
The images across the walls all start to change into memories of my sister and me. "Would it be anything new? You've always relied on others to come save you. You've always left all the harsh work to others due to your cowardice. You've always chosen obedience over defiance because your own path is too scary. And just like Zahhak, you believe what you wish for is owed to you, so deep in your heart you feel resentment, anger, sadness and every vile emotion imaginable that you've been forced into this situation, trying to find some excuse for your own weakness by pushing the blame on others."
"No, no, no, no, no…"
"And that's why I can control you, take dominion over your soul, because you want to lash out at everyone, and everything, for forcing you into this situation because it's all their fault."
The feeling of his hand disappears, and I fall to my knees as I grab my head and say, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"
"It's your parents' fault for dying. Your sister's fault for not protecting you. Orb's fault for being such a weak leader. Suzuka's fault for relying on you like a brother. The humans fault for allowing you to be enslaved. The Dragon's fault for not having the medicine to heal you. The Dragon God's fault for giving you such a strong yet weak body. They all deserve to die, they all deserve your wrath, they all deserve endless suffering for turning your life into such a tragedy."
Wrapping my hands against my body, as I cry, I say, "Why do I have to experience this?"
You shouldn't.
"I only try my best."
Yet they reject you.
"Why do you all wish this suffering onto me?"
Because they are evil, they are monsters who exist to hurt you.
"I won't let them push me around like a doll."
Cut the strings and take their lives.
"I WILL KILL THEM AL-." A cold feeling surges across my body, freezing my tears, and as I peer my head around, I say, "What is this?"
Don't let them fool you.
"Cyrus, my story isn't over yet."
As that voice shakes them empty space darkness surges everywhere, engulfing me.