At last they reached a final descent into a churning pit of golden mist. The ground trembled, veins pulsing faster as if anticipating something. The mists parted as Artorius led the vanguard into the Heart-Crests, a labyrinth of auxiliary heart-like structures. The soldiers moved cautiously, formation tight. Corridors of arterial tissue twisted and folded in impossible directions, loops bending back on themselves.
Yet somehow, despite the vast scale of this labyrinth, the vanguard felt no heartbeat. The air was unnervingly still. No sound, no rhythm, no pulse, only the faint hum of bioluminescent veins stretching overhead, casting shifting patterns of light that seemed almost alive.
As the vanguard made their way deeper into the labyrinth of the Heart-Crests, they noticed something. At first, it was subtle. The soldiers began to feel a faint pull, as if their very perceptions were beginning to distort. The world around them seemed to shift. The walls felt… closer, as if the entire labyrinth was squeezing them in.
Then, the whispers began. Soft at first, no louder than a breeze stirring the leaves. But they were there. It was the heart's voice. Or perhaps it was the heart becoming the voice of something greater, something beyond comprehension. The whispers were filled with strange, cryptic words that seemed to carry weight in the air. It wasn't the language of any mortal tongue, nor was it even a language of sound. These whispers were ideas, concepts that settled into their minds without them fully realizing it.
Artorius tried his best to ignore it as he led the way, his lance steady. The dragons flanked him, wings half-unfurled to brace against any attack. Then from the back came the Sword Dragon descended, its scales gleaming like tempered steel and Artorius took notice of the deadly blade in its claw.
"We're almost there," it said, voice resonating against the silent tissue walls. Continuing they soon came upon other hearts which were reduced to smoldering, writhing husks, as if something had moved through them, devouring each one methodically.
There was only one standing that a scout reported back. However that was not the only surprise they had in store as they came upon remnants of the boss that had already been defeated. It was a strange knight creature which surprised him.
A fusion of knightly construct and living tissue, impossible in its coherence. Its armor was not mere metal, but a crusted growth of interwoven sinew and bone, etched with sigils that seemed to writhe across its surface as though alive. Limbs bent at unnatural angles, yet it retained a horrifying elegance
Image: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/154811305935982240/
The Sword Dragon looked at it and even in its ruin, it radiated lethality, "I believe it was over Level 50!" Artorius made no comment, if this thing they were hunting was already devouring hearts and defeating bosses at that level what chance did they stand?
The final heart loomed ahead, singular, massive, and aware. It throbbed in a slow rhythm, each pulse sending subtle vibrations that twisted reality itself.
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The whole army gathered before the final heart, the camp was a hive of activity as thousands of dragons were busy. Soldiers scrambled over auxiliary tissue outcrops, reinforcing barriers where the organ's pulsing threatened to crush encampments. They worked feverishly to stabilize portions of the tissue, securing supply lines.
Dragons hovered overhead, wings beating against air that shifted unnaturally. The perimeter was chaotic. Archers prepared their bows and arrows, engineers reinforced barricades with a frantic intensity. In the midst of these activities, small patrols were sent to probe the Heart but never came back.
Amid the chaos, Artorius moved with calm precision. One surprise that greeted him as the whole army gathered before the final heart was that the Pain dragon fell. There had been many losses suffered from countless champion blooded to many noble blooded dragons, thankfully the royal dragons remained because they needed them to lead the charge. The battle for the final heart, the culmination of everything they had suffered was about to begin.
He stood there looking at the heart, Artorius saw this was the core, this were all outcomes had been coming from. It was a presence, it was something that could be felt, something that could be almost touched by him.
At that moment, Artorius felt smaller than he ever had. It wasn't fear. It wasn't doubt. It was the recognition of something greater than himself, a force he had never truly understood until now. He was standing at the edge of existence. What lay ahead was beyond his comprehension.
He wasn't just facing a battle. But he had to move forward. The battle for the final heart wasn't just a fight for survival, it was a battle for the future itself. And in the face of it, there was no room for hesitation. Artorius could feel the heart's pull, its inevitable call, and he knew then that there was no turning back.
Artorius turned toward the main tent. There, upon a platform grown from heart vessels, the royal dragons had a final war council. The air itself tensed around the gathering. The Sword Dragon sat at the front with the Ocean dragoness, the Fragrance dragoness, the Gem dragoness, Psychic dragon, the twilight and dawn dragoness, and finally the shadow dragon who stood in the center.
Sword Dragon rose to his full height, drawing the weight of the council to attention. "Shadow dragon I think it's time to talk about ," he said, voice ringing like a war-bell. "You are the only one who fought the newborn Immortal Dragon and lived to tell the tale," the Sword Dragon continued coldly.
A hush fell over the tent, "It was born perfect. It possessed a Dragon Roar Mutation the moment it cracked its shell. A roar no infant should wield."
The Gem Dragon's crystal scales shook with anxiety. "You are kidding right?" Artorius had no idea what a dragon roar was but from the looks of worry and fear it had to be dangerous.
The Sword Dragon narrowed his eyes. "That basically makes our army ineffective. Any who are weak willed or of much lesser blood will fall to it!" The Shadow Dragon nodded slowly.
"What other capabilities did it have?" the Ocean dragon spoke.
The Shadow Dragon seemed to recoil not from fear, but from memory. "It wielded a Word of Power. Not just any but a very rare one that had to be made up of a combination of four or five other ones."
There was shock all around when that was revealed. Artorius could understand that and knew how difficult that could be. He was only able to combine two words of powers forget about that many, he didn't even know how to start doing it.
"Great," Fragrance Dragon commented. "And it should have gained plenty of more levels and unlocked more abilities since it has been able to defeat the boss and have plenty of enemies to hunt down here."
The Sword Dragon ignored her comments but Artorius could see it was also disquieted as its talons sank into the throne. "Shadow Dragon… what type of dragon was it?"
"A void dragon!" the shadow dragon answered. A pulse of dread swept the tent.
"What is that doing here? Aren't those creatures who are the absence of all elements? That unmake everything, try to devour everything, even erase stoic concepts?"
The Psychic Dragon could only shake its head, "they were almost myths but it seems like we are running into one today!"
"Now the most important question is whose child is this dragon?" the Ocean dragon begin.
Then a tremor thundered through the heart chamber. The Final Heart pulsed with a violent surge, sending shockwaves of light and flesh through the cavern. The Sword Dragon spread his wings. "It begins."
The Royal Dragons took their positions. The armies rallied. And deep, deep inside the heart something stirred.
-
Author Note: This is it, the final battle for this arc. How will things go down? Find out soon!
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Chapter 45 Recap!
Leveled up Race: True-Blood DragonMen to Lvl. 34!
Leveled up Race: True-Blood DragonMen to Lvl. 35!
+1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 CON, +1 PER, +1 CHA
Leveled up Archetype: Leader to Lvl. 34!
+1 INT, +1 WIL, +1 CHA
Leveled up Archetype: Leader to Lvl. 35!
+1 INT, +1 WIL, +1 CHA
Leveled up Class: Storybook Squire to Lvl. 34!
Leveled up Class: Storybook Squire to Lvl. 35!
+1 Str, +1 Con, +1 Will, +1 Char, +1 Luc!