May 3, 2031
Ninian crouched next to a small pool of water, the first one she came across in a hundred miles. Being a dragon, her body could withstand the scorching heat and lack of shade better than most; in fact, she could get by with much less food and water than an average person as well. Still, she had been walking for four days already without water which left her quite parched. Sand dunes covered the land as far as she could see even if she flew a hundred feet into the air. But here was a small oasis in the middle of this desert.
Small grass grew along the banks of the oasis, but none taller than a few inches. However, with her keen vision, Ninian saw something in the water that surprised her. Swimming along near the bottom, she saw tiny fish, no bigger than a couple inches. They looked like minnows except they were bright green. Occasionally, the fish would swim closer to the surface for a few moments and make some bubbles before diving back to the bottom. It was the first sign of animal life she had come across on this barren planet.
Ninian placed her hand just under the water's surface and injected some raw magik into the little pool of water. This was her process: stimulate local life with magik and then monitor its growth. Within a few minutes, the plant life grew another inch, and the sand around the water became more like sandy soil. She sat cross legged close enough to the water that her hand still bobbed just below the surface. Days passed as Ninian continued to allow magik to trickle from her into the landscape around her, slowly changing the area to be more hospitable to life.
A week later, the oasis that was once fifty square feet had grown to the size of a football field. Ninian was pleased with her progress, but she knew she had a long way to go. Around noon, she looked out into the desert and saw three figures in the distance coming over the crest of one of the dunes. All of them were taller than Ninian, but one of them was a foot taller than the other two. They wore black cloaks that covered most of their bodies and moved across the sand like intelligent bipedal creatures. Ninian had seen hundreds of different intelligent but never on this planet despite being here for several months. She wondered where these people had come from because they didn't seem to be from here. Yet, she wasn't concerned about them since she hadn't come in contact with anyone in the entire galaxy as strong as she was except her brother.
Once the three creatures were a few hundred feet away, she could see their bodies much easier. Two of the creatures were green and had slender bodies underneath their cloaks. The third creature was much larger with a body that was stuck out in the back. All of them had pointed legs that pierced into the sand like insects which allowed them to scurry across the dunes quite easily. They also had long, claw-like hands though the larger creature had two sets of arms and hands more like Ninian's.
When they were about a hundred feet away, the slender ones stopped while the larger one took a few more steps forward and removed its hood. To Ninian's surprise, it was a woman's head with long black hair that had streaks of forest green throughout it. Her skin was pale white and, combined with the glint of her exoskeleton, looked like marble. What stuck out the most, though, was her red irises that seemed to glow even in the sunlight. The woman called out, "Hello! Are you friend or foe?"
"I am neutral," Ninian replied, "Who are you?"
"My name is Petrine, and these are my aides. What is your name?" the woman answered as she took a couple steps closer.
"My name is Ninian," she said confidently, "Where did you come from? I haven't seen anyone on this planet since I arrived."
Petrine grinned, "We're from a system a few light years away. We've been surveying the land and system here."
"What are you surveying this planet for?" Ninian asked, "I apologize, but I've already claimed this place as my own. I'm not sure if I want to share it with someone else."
"My people are currently involved in a large-scale war, and this planet could be a good waystation between our home and where we're currently fighting. I'm sorry, did you say you've already claimed this planet? That could make things a little difficult since we have also claimed it as our own," Petrine raised an eyebrow.
"That's alright; you didn't know I was here," Ninian shrugged nonchalantly, "Now that you do, you can leave it to me. As I said initially, I'm neutral in your conflict and have no desire to join it. My work will be more effective with less outside influence."
Petrine smiled widely, "I don't think you quite understand. We will be using this planet with or without your permission. We will fight you if necessary." Ninian stood up, clearly annoyed with these people, and released her Charm aura that easily encompassed the others.
"You can leave now," Ninian repeated, "As I said, this is my planet." The two who had stayed back turned away and began walking away, but Petrine stood her ground about thirty feet away while her body shook slightly. This caused Ninian to raise an eyebrow as it had been centuries since someone resisted her magik. Petrine's legs buckled slightly while she dug into the sand. Then a dark magik surrounded Petrine who slowly stood up straight.
"That's quite some power. What are you?" Petrine questioned as she gritted her teeth.
"I am a child of fire," Ninian stared, "It's been a while since I came across another race with magik, especially one that wields it so well. Were you born with the Void sphere or did you acquire it somehow?"
Petrine cackled, "And you're knowledgeable about magik too? This is too enticing! I must study you. Prepare yourself for the full power of a Laxtros, fire child!"
Fifty black balls appeared over Petrine's head in an instant and suddenly flew towards Ninian. Without moving an inch, Ninian copied the attack with prismatic balls and met the attack head on which created a screen of monochromatic space between the two women. Petrine grunted and created two hundred orbs this time, but the result was the same as Ninian countered again without a single motion. So, she made a thousand balls and fired them simultaneously almost like a wave of darkness. This time, Ninian flicked her wrist and released a solid wave of Arcane magik that engulfed the darkness and snuffed it out entirely. There was no monochromatic display this time which meant Ninian's attack was much more powerful than Petrine's.
The spider woman's eyes grew wide at this display because she realized she might have underestimated this teal-haired woman. She clenched her fists while three more sets of eyes appeared on her forehead, each completely black. As soon as the other eyes opened, her normal eyes turned completely black as well. Next, she pointed all four of her palms at Ninian and produced four pitch black beams that shot towards her. Meanwhile, Ninian yawned and aimed her palms in response, generating two beams with each hand that collided with the obsidian beams. Again, the beams cancelled each other out and warped the color of the space between them. Frustrated, Petrine let out a blood curdling screech and bared her sharp teeth at Ninian.
Ninian rolled her eyes, "If this is the best you can manage, it's best if you leave now. I indulged your little tantrum at first, but you're beginning to annoy me."
"Fine. I guess if I want to capture you, I need to come at you with the intent to kill," Petrine cursed. Red streaks started up Petrine's legs before wrapping around her midsection too. Then her pale arms and face changed to a shade of crimson while magik covered her entire body. Ninian raised an eyebrow while she too covered herself in magik, unsure of what kind of transformation Petrine had just undergone. In a flash, Petrine scurried forward and lunged towards Ninian, closing the distance between them in a single moment. With two fists, she swung at Ninian's side and head, but Ninian twisted her body enough to avoid the body shot and block the headshot with her arm. Still, Ninian was thrown to the side by the force of the impact and sent flying fifty feet. It was the first time Petrine had actually connected with an attack, even if it didn't damage her opponent.
Ninian picked herself off the ground just in time to block a two-handed hammer drop from above because Petrine wasn't going to let up her assault. It only took one arm to hold back the attack, but the sheer force drilled Ninian into the ground up to her shins. Then Petrine swung her other set of fists towards Ninian's stomach. With her free hand, she grabbed one of the fists, but the other slammed hard into her ribs, causing a pop to echo across the battlefield. Breaking through the ground at her feet, Ninian launched a straight kick that shoved Petrine back twenty feet. She jumped to a clean spot of ground and wiped a little blood out of the corner of her mouth.
This time, Ninian dashed forward and kicked towards Petrine's body again. Unfortunately, Petrine caught the foot with two hands and held on tightly. Faster than Ninian could react, Petrine jerked the leg back towards her and slammed her other set of fists into Ninian's exposed stomach. Once again, Ninian was sent flying back fifty feet, but this time she coughed up more blood. Petrine sneered before bolting forward and pinning Ninian down with her pointed legs.
Petrine snarled, "You put up a good fight, but it's all over now. In my final form, there isn't a being alive stronger than I am." Then a huge pulse of magik exploded from Ninian's body and knocked Petrine back a hundred feet.
"I have to admit that no one has pushed me this far in a very long time. You are strong, maybe even stronger than me," Ninian boomed in a deep demonic voice, "But now, you've really pissed me off."
A bright light covered Ninian's body for a few minutes. When it dimmed, she looked like a red, sultry succubus with magik swirling around her body like it was alive. Wisps of pink mist wafted through the air around her, and Petrine knew this was much different than when the Elandrian activated their form change. A sinister grin on Ninian's face was the last thing she saw before she became a blur. The next moment, an uppercut smashed into Petrine's chin and rocketed her a hundred feet in the air. However, Ninian was already in the air above the flying spider woman when she reached the full height. With a sharp stomp to Petrine's chest, Ninian drove Petrine nearly ten feet into the ground which caused a crater in the sand. As she lay there, Petrine choked on the blood pooling in her mouth.
In an instant, Ninian appeared on top of Petrine with one of her cloven feet pressed firmly on Petrine's throat. A slight crack could be heard as the exoskeleton was fracturing under immense pressure. Petrine wildly swung one of her fists at Ninian's leg, but it was caught easily by a slender tail that had popped out from Ninian. The prehensile tail wrapped around the fist and squeezed with a strength no less than the foot on her throat. Except, since there was no magik surrounding the fist to cushion the attack, a violent snap echoed as the hand was completely crushed. Gurgling noises came from Petrine as she desperately struggled to breathe, yet Ninian only dug her foot into the throat harder.
Ninian growled as blood dripped from her nose on Petrine's face, "I'll let you leave today, but mark my words. If you or your people venture to this planet again, I will give you no quarter. Blink if you understand." Slowly, Petrine blinked, and Ninian's tail released the crushed hand which flopped to the side. Petrine took a deep breath as the foot on her neck moved off. Not wanting to push the issue, Petrine disappeared in a puff of black smoke.