The doors of the church pushed open at the slightest touch, exposing the daylight to his eyes, temporarily blinding him. His eight months of training were spent purely underground fighting Orion or sleeping.
He sent off in the direction of the forsaken's presumed location, listening to his surroundings, filtering out the feeding of vultures and chirps from various species of birds polluting the island.
For eight months, they hadn't explored much of the island despite its size, focusing solely on Mammon's studies and dueling Orion. Their first search for treasure bore more fruit than they could have ever hoped for.
A particular bird caught his eye, a familiar pitch-black dove he had amply named the Midnight Dove. Its gaze was locked onto him as he eyed it curiously, inspecting its feathers, their gazes meeting for a moment before it flew away, surveying him from the air instead of a charred tree.
He would pay his admirer no mind until the creature he was hunting was dead at his feet.
He walked for a while until he reached the edge of the island. He scanned the surrounding land, searching for any sign of the forsaken. The landscape had changed since his arrival: patches of greenery had become fields of lilac and golden trees. The sight refreshed him, reminding him of Nova's meadows.
Ratella stood still, surveying the land for a while, before an ominous feeling wrapped around the island, the sudden vibration of the island raising all the alarm bells in his mind. Heavy footsteps soon reared out of the peaceful atmosphere, casting any life in the area into silence.
He jumped backward away from the island's edge, sensing the threat approaching from below. Suddenly, a rotted claw slammed against the island's side, dragging something up toward the surface.
The forsaken eventually revealed itself to him, its form half rotted and pitch-black scales covering everything that wasn't rotted. Veiled wings were the first thing that caught Ratella's eye.
The forsaken took the form of a dragon long since passed its prime, most likely choosing the isolated island as its final resting place. From the brief explanation from Liliana, he guessed that the devil was once strong, courageous, and protective of its young.
Wheezing and the faint sounds of struggling against pain encompassing its body could be heard to Ratella's heightened ears as he covered his eyes.
"You seem to be in great amounts of pain. Don't worry, I'll end your suffering swiftly," declared Ratella. He wouldn't pull any punches out of respect for the once courageous devil.
The values a dragon embodies are the ones he places the most respect upon. Although it was his favourite creature from the fantasy books he read as Zafikel's student, it was the main reason.
"W-ait, pl-ease," muttered the forsaken dragon, shocking Ratella at its ability to speak; he hadn't thought they would be able to talk.
From her explanation, he figured they were just evolved mindless devils lost to bloodlust, searching for prey until slain. Excalibur faltered slightly in his hand, the blade lowered an inch. No longer ready to strike at the unexpected situation.
"You can speak?"
"Ye-s, you se-em to be a go-od perso-n similar to my so-n before I succumbed to bloodlust. Please put me out of my misery and take care of my son. I beg you," said the forsaken dragon, its way of speaking hinting at the immense amount of pain rattling through its body.
The dragon slowly placed its veiled wing on the ground, and a small dragon cub nestled within its wings. Looking terrified at its mother's wary and dire state.
Its condition wasn't anything like its mother's, being a pure black dragon with violet eyes, peering into Ratella's, practically begging for aid.
His earlier resolve to slay the monster was gone at the sight of the adorable dragon cub, its eyes laced with sorrow as it watched its mother succumb to whatever ailed her.
"What's gone with you? Why are you deteriorating like this?" asked Ratella, his voice riddled with pity and sorrow.
"Age and starvation. I haven't eaten an angel or devil since I regained my mind. Please help him."
He approached the cub cautiously, walking slowly so as not to startle it. His movements were tracked by the mother's one remaining eye. Tapping the cub to get its attention, they shared a gaze for a couple of seconds before he picked the cub up, nestling it into his arms. Rubbing its head, trying to calm its struggles at being disconnected from its mother.
The cub slashed his arms, causing deep cuts, but Ratella did not retaliate. Instead, he endured the pain and covered his arms with a layer of divinity to protect against further attacks.
"I'm glad I came across you. You seem to be more powerful than I at full strength; you shall be a good guardian to my child," said the forsaken, pausing for a moment, a river of blood escaping its mouth for a second before continuing again. "My child, this man is your father now. Be a good son and protect him with your life."
The cub's struggles quieted at its mother's words, able to understand their meaning, licking the wounds he had inflicted on Ratella's body, deeply apologetic at causing his new father harm. Despite this cute action, he felt no joy, only a deep-rooted sorrow at the task he had been given.
He placed the cub upon a stray rock, inviting a yelp to escape its mouth. He approaches the forsaken dragon, placing his forehead against the dragon's snout.
"It'll be okay. I'll pause time so you feel nothing. I'll take good care of your child. He is safe with me. Please rest in peace."
"Thank you, he's two years old, and he doesn't have a name yet. I'll leave it up to you, kin-d sir," said the forsaken, moving its snout downwards into Ratella's forehead, accepting the warmth created.
"Tell me your name."
"It was Ellis Snow. Goodbye, help my son live a long and fruitful life no longer shackled by my cowardice."
"Don't speak of yourself that way, Ellis Snow. May you find peace in the next life," exclaimed Ratella, softly rubbing the forsaken's snout before activating his Time Lord's Domain, muttering the command word under his breath.
He plunged Excalibur into the forsaken's brain, granting a swift, painless death. A single tear trailed down his cheek as he mourned Ellis Snow's fate. With time still frozen, he pulled the sword free, wiped its blade, and lifted the cub. He tucked the cub's face against his shoulder, using his wings to shield the cub's eyes from its mother's lifeless body and prevent it from witnessing the tragedy.
When time returned to its natural course, the cub fidgeted in his grasp, surprised by its sudden imprisonment in his arms. It's yelping met deaf ears; his mother is no longer able to hear its voice.
"It'll be okay, I'll protect you until the end of time in the place of your mother."
Ratella hugged the dragon tightly, a few more tears running down his face, dropping onto the cub, drawing its attention to his face, inviting curious murmurs at his sorrowful expression.
"Towards Ashfall, then to meet the sun," declared Ratella, flying off into the air, soaring through the skies towards Ashfall, clutching onto the cub tightly.
He was still watching the midnight dove in the back of his mind as it followed his every movement.