I will strive beyond this cursed bloodline!

Elizabeth felt the rush of mana coursing through her body as the tendrils of mana fought against the dragon scales of her other self. She felt resistance, defiance, desperation, fear, and finally…despair.

 

Her other self was being tainted by her, no…not tainted. She was being overwritten, and her skill was changing the very fabric of who she was and what she was. And within seconds the last vestige of the [Dragon Elizabeth] would disappear from her [Soul].

 

“And so, you made your decision…me.” A voice resounded when the shadows consumed the last remaining of dragon Elizabeth.

 

What remained was a small marble with lightning bolts being thrown around it.

 

“Who are you?” Elizabeth asked as the shadows tried to get hold of the [Gem], but as soon as a shadow tendril got near it, it was blasted into oblivion. Elizabeth winced each time this happened.

 

“Are we putting up the bimbo act again?” The voice spoke with mirth. As if amused by this.

 

Elizabeth of course was wary, she could feel the mana within her body pulsating, the hunger was present, she was channeling Gluttony and while she could control it for now, she felt it gnawing at her temples as the Crown of Sin - Gluttony wanted her to indulge into the feeling. To extend her shadows over the world and DEVOUR IT.

 

She didn’t have time to deal with this.

 

“You can’t be my Dragon Self, that one I made sure to Devour it. So are you the remains of my [Dragon Inheritance]?” Elizabeth asked funneling all the shadows back into her body. Her body turned from a blur made of shadows into what seemed to look like her [Shadow Weaver] Magical Girl regalia, only instead of fabric her dress was living shadows from where maws and eyes occasionally showed themselves.

 

“I guess you could call me that. I am glad you didn’t follow in my footsteps you know? Even if you got close, I was beginning to think our bloodline was indeed cursed.” The voice spoke from within the gem.

 

“Wait, your footsteps?” Elizabeth said taking a few steps back, “Are…are you Alexanders? Aren’t you…dead? As in dead dead? You gave me your [Vestige] and crumbled away! How many lives do you have, you asshole?!?!?”

 

“Hahahahahahahah” The voice started laughing, she could see it, the image of the blonde asshole laughing while looking down at her. “Sorry, but no. I’m not Alexanders Saintsworth. I am a remanent hidden within the bloodline of The Dragon of Calamity.”

 

The what now?

 

“I am what the human who had the name Alexanders Saintsworths left after ascending to Godhood. I am a warden, a keeper, a guardian…or how he would put it. A…failsafe.” A what now? “....oh god, we truly became a bimbo.”

 

Wait a second, rude!

 

“Rude!” Elizabeth said as one of her shadow tendrils reacted to her emotions and lashed out, only for her shadows to turn into ashes again.

 

“Let me put it in simpler terms, I am…closer to a Vestige, but not quite there. I am a glorified message hidden within your blood. The blood of the Saintsworths carries it hidden within their DNA, waiting to bloom using the mana of those that hold the golden eagle. If someone has Mana and manages to wake up the Inheritance, they will have a version of me on them. But I’m not Alexanders Saintsworths.” The gem spoke back.

 

“Well you are answering my question quite well for a mere ‘message’. Do you really think I am that dumb? I will not be played as a fool again.” Elizabeth glared at the gem, waiting for the second the blonde asshole materialized and shot a Railgun at her, again.

 

“...I was designed by the scion of the Saintsworths; I am closer to an AI Singularity. Do you think he couldn’t predict the reaction of any of his successors? Really?” The voice from the gem spoke again with derision; she almost could feel… disappointment.

 

“...Point taken,” Elizabeth answered, if Alexanders was something, it was a genius monster, if someone could make an AI and stick it into the DNA of his descendants, it was him. “No, wait for a god damned second! Alexanders didn’t have sons or daughters!”

 

Elizabeth was sure of that, kind of sure of that, almost sure of that. She hadn’t seen any family pictures of the man with any sort of family. The closest thing he had to family was Alexa, and the little girl didn’t seem like a daughter…even if they were pretty similar in appearance.

 

“...I became a god. Do you really think I couldn’t alter the bloodline of my family?” The gem spoke back mockingly, “But enough of that, Elizabeth. I am not speaking to you because of this, but for something else.”

 

Elizabeth felt her senses sharpen as the monster's gaze focused on her. She couldn’t see his eyes, face, or anything, and yet she felt as if she was being looked down on by an ancestral predator. Elizabeth felt what it was to be gazed upon by a True Dragon.

 

“Good, that is the correct response.” The gem replied more happily, “My question to you, Inheritor. Do you wish to forsake your Dragon Birthright? If it is now you may forsake it entirely; you can turn it into fuel to accelerate your path of ascension. If you wish to ascend as a Human God it will probably turn you into a Dragon Slayer Deity. You could also try to change into another race. Your mother spoke to you about them, right? Knife ears(Elves), Midgets(Halflings), Dwarves(Superior Race), Beast-kin, Ashura, Demons, Angels….Anything really, you are using the Inheritance of a True Dragon. The sky is not the limit, the limit is your imagination.”

 

The what now?

 

“...Why?” Elizabeth asked.

 

“...Can I summon the black-haired one? She seems like the smarter one.” The gem sighed as it asked for Alice.

 

“Why must I change?” Elizabeth asked back once more.

 

“Why? I mean…because…. you have all my Prana? Dragon Prana is heavier than normal Prana. Unlike normal Prana, dragon Prana isn’t built from Faith but by our Mana. We aren’t limited by the belief of our followers, but by the amount of mana we can refine. Why would you waste this Dragon Prana? I know you are slow, but… are you going to limit your growth?” The gem spoke back astonished.

 

“No, you misunderstand me. I can literally change the composition of mana thanks to my Shift. Why would I limit myself like that? Can’t I just… stick your all-powerful Prana into a gem for the [Crown of Sin]?” Elizabeth said as she started walking towards the Gem hovering there.

 

“...I…No… but…. huh?” The Gem seemed confused. “Good job, Inheritor. I didn’t think this would happen, but you managed to find an answer that I didn’t think. This is a pre-recorded message to say to you. Good job.”

 

Elizabeth smiled at that, not because this had confirmed the fact that the Gem was indeed a complex program, but because she managed to think something the monster that was Alexanders hadn’t considered.

 

“Man… I had thought that the only way something like this could happen would be if I somehow got reincarnated and ended up receiving my own Inheritance, glad someone smart enough was born from our bloodline. Perhaps…we….have….hope…” By this point Elizabeth was already standing in front of the gem.

 

Her face…. looked as if she had eaten a sour lemon, Alexanders had indeed hit the nail on the head, the asshole. She was indeed him reincarnated, receiving her Inheritance, the asshole had indeed managed to predict what would happen, even at this last minute.

 

“...Just… Get on with it,” Elizabeth said as she took the gem with her hand and placed it inside her mouth. The thing melted as soon as it touched her tongue, and she felt the remnants of her [Dragon Half] want to take control of the body once more.

 

“Behave” was all Elizabeth said and the mana started coalescing into a [Gem], she felt her [Crown of Sin] turn a little bit heavier, but she didn’t look at that, instead she dismissed the [Crown] and focused on her body.

 

She was aware that her body on the outside was still that of a [Dragon], that she was standing in front of her former body, and that everyone on the outside was waiting for the resolution.

 

Elizabeth wanted nothing else but to return to the real world and fly straight towards Rossie and Rena, to help them now that she had found a way to do it. But…

 

“Why don’t you return?” A whisp made of black flames spoke to her.

 

“I promised to save you, to help you…Not…this.” Elizabeth said turning to the whisp. To what remained of Alice. The last vestiges of a girl who had sacrificed everything for her…What was with black-haired girls giving themselves to her? Was this another vestige of Alexanders desires?

 

To have cute goth girls giving all of them to him? Was that the reason why Elizabeth had to suffer? The asshole.

 

“I wouldn’t be able to do that, you know. You are the one who has Shift. I don’t have that Skill. It was impossible for me to survive this. So long as you give Elzbeth a second chance, we can call it even.” Alice spoke as her flame started to diminish in strength.

 

“And you? If your sister is anything like me, she will probably try to claw her way into the underworld and bring you out. I would do it.” Elizabeth said as she grabbed hold of the small whisp. “We have another option you know.”

 

All it took was a flick of her will and the remaining Dragon Prana answered. A shadowy portal formed at the right of Elizabeth.

 

“...you would have me join your underworld?” Alice asked as she eyed the shadow plane depicted on the other side of the portal.

 

“No, I would have you join my Pantheon,” Elizabeth said as she felt the words tinged with power, it was a weird feeling, she hadn’t attempted to form [Idea], and yet she was sure that should Alice accept, she would be linked to her. Not in the same way that Rossie and Rena, not like Beatrice, Nyx, and the other shadow dragons.

 

No.

 

It would be different. She would be tied to her, yes, but even so, she would be an independent entity.

 

“....Will you offer the same to Elzbeth?” Alice asked, she hadn’t moved a single centimeter towards the portal. Even as the time passed and her demise was closer.

 

“Of course, I wouldn’t leave anyone stuck to Akira’s body. She will have to bathe for a week though, no way in hell I will have her near my [Shadow Haven] after being stuck in such a slimy thing for so much time.” Elizabeth said, still shuddering at the mere idea of any aspect of her being stuck in such a body.

 

The horror.

 

“Then I will accept your deal, Inheritor, “ Alice said as her whisp transformed back into the body of the black-haired girl she knew and loved. I’ll be looking forward to what you achieve at the end of your path.”

 

And like that the black-haired girl walked through the portal disappearing.

 

Elizabeth felt the world around them start to crumble and felt herself being pulled towards reality once more. Now…what was she going to say to Elzbeth and Jenna…

 

Oh right, Jenna was outside, how had that come to happen?

 

—---------------------------------------

 

As soon as she felt her body once more Elizbeth knew that something was wrong, it was….wrong.

 

“pfff, Alice?!?!? Are you okay sis? What are you doing?” Elzbeth managed to rip off the shadow gag that her dragon half had stuck in her, probably because Elizabeth hadn’t intended for them to stuck.

 

So as soon as her Dragon Half was consumed the orders in the shadows had stopped.

 

“Elizabeth? What….what did you do to Alice?” Jenna asked as her former body seemed…dead. Her eyes had become unfocused and it was trembling.

 

It was as if it was a puppet whose strings had been cut.

 

“Alice? Don’t play silly jokes…that… that is my thing you know. I am the bimbo remember? The dumb silly girl…” Elzbeth was crying as she started summoning spells to rip away the shadows.

 

It would be a heartbreaking scene… had that not been the body of Akira ugly crying while wearing a mini-skirt. She would need to bleach her eyes later.

 

“*Clears a dragon throat* She did a noble sacrifice-” Elizabeth started speaking, she felt her words rumble and the cave tremble.

 

“SHUT IT ELIZABETH!” Elzbeth screamed as magical circles manifested and bolts of lightning, fire, wind, ice and rock flew towards her. Elizabeth almost winced but soon enough she noticed how it wasn’t needed for her to even react.

 

The spells hit her dragon scales and she felt no damage.

 

“...She-” Elizabeth started once more.

 

“I SAID SHUT IT YOU BIMBO BITCH!” Elzbeth screamed once more as the magic circle formed once more, this time the spell seemed to be a restraining type of barrier, designed to attack her mana signature and attack anything that was draconic in nature.

 

It was a complex spell that took into consideration her attempts to teleport, to channel other attributes and even the strategy of flooding the spell with her heavy and dense mana. Really, Elzbeth was a genius in spellcasting.

 

“...” Meanwhile, Jenna stood at the back, looking at Alice's pale, empty body and Elzbeth's crying form, then turned to stare at Elizabeth in her dragon form.

 

“Enough.” Elizabeth felt her words turn Heavy. The spell broke, and her body started shining as it condensed in form. It shrunk down, and soon enough, she was a reflection of the body that had housed Alice before.

 

The only difference was that she had a crown made of dragon horns on her head. Seven horns had seven openings, and three of those openings housed a gem each.

 

“I’m sorry for the scare, but Alice is safe.” Elizabeth said as she kneeled at the side of her former body, she enveloped it in shadows and it sunk into the floor, she would put it in her [Garage] for now and see what to do with it later.

 

“....Why?” Elzbeth asked, “ Why couldn’t you let us have a happy ending?”

 

That…was hurtful.

 

“I am sorry, but Alice is okay, she has joined me, not as [Vestige], nor was she sublimated on me. She joined the [Shadow Haven]. “ Elizabeth said as she summoned once more the shadow portal. She felt some strain on her body as summoning this away from the deepest part of her [Soul] seemed to be harder. “Do you wish to follow her?”

 

“ I…” Elzbeth said as she looked at the spot where the body of Alice had been then to Elizabeth, and finally to the portal. “Will I be able to see her again?”

 

“Of course, I also like Alice, and I would love to know you better Elzbeth.” Elizabeth said smiling at her former [Shift].

 

“No, Elzbeth isn’t a name I earned, but merely a fake one. I will need a new one, if I am to become more than a reflection of what you were.” Elzbeth said shaking her head, as she did so the body of Akira fell at the floor and only a phantom made of mana in the form of [Elemental Weaver] remained. “ Give me a name. If I am to be your follower I will need a new identity.”

 

A name huh. She…sucked at naming things.

 

“Okay, a name huh. That’s easy.” It was not easy, “You will be… “

 

Oh, right…Names could be used to honor those who had fallen.

 

“Chloe….Chloe Starbright.” Elizabeth felt the remaining Dragon Prana in her body left as [Elemental Weaver]’s hair got painted dark.

 

“...You suck at naming stuff Elizabeth, but…I will cherish the name of our lost sister, and I will make her proud. I will be happy for her.” The newborn Chloe Starbright said as she walked into the rift.

 

Leaving behind Akira’s body.

 

“...What am I supposed to do with this?” Elizabeth said as she summoned a tree branch and poked the body of the man-child dressed in a mini skirt with a blouse that…to be honest, if Elizabeth had seen before she would have bought in the spot, now?

 

Now she would burn the establishment, that blouse was ruined for her.

 

“Elizabeth? Is that truly you? You are…back?” Jenna Lewis said, poking her at the side, “But why do you have a tail? And horns?”

 

Oh right, she still had those…

 

“Shift Cancel.” Elizabeth said and felt the mana high she had fade away, her body returned to the average Mostly Human body she had before. “Hello Jenna, long time no see…You have….grown quite a bit since I saw you last time.”

 

And wasn’t that the truth? The last time Elizabeth saw Jenna she was barely a few centimeters above her. And they both were mostly flat. But now?

 

Now, Jenna was carrying enough plot in her that she could probably start her own adventure and get enough followers just because of the sheer size of the plot she had.

 

“You grew quite well too… But that isn’t why I’m here, your father asked me to look after you.” Jenna said then looked around, “And now I kinda get why he wanted me to look after you… But can you explain to me what happened? And what happened to you? You…changed.”

 

And wasn’t that an understatement?

 

“Well, I like to think that I changed for the best… But it seems the evidence is against me. I'm sorry about the Prideful Dragon act. One of my skills was acting up…And while I would love to catch up with you…I do need to go and help my girlfriends.”Elizabeth said as she focused her senses on one of her skills.

 

As she was now, she knew that she could teleport back to Zaanam if she wanted, but she closed the rift that Alice had opened and focused on trying to find the Spire once more.

 

“...clever girl,” Elizabeth said in a small tone as she noticed how her senses were being redirected. She had noticed it because her Instincts told her to follow something away from a spot, as if something of value was there.

 

But nothing was more important than Rossie and Rena. So Elizabeth ignored those prompts and soon enough found the spire and the ruined city of Aquila.

 

“...Wait, is that plural?” Jenna asked as she blushed a little, “And female? You have more than one p-partner?”

 

“...Oh Jenna you are adorable, if I wasn’t in a rush to save the life of the girls I love I might even consider kissing you.” Elizabeth smiled as she locked down the area surrounding the shadow spire. She could sense Beatrice and the shadow dragons panicking, they rushed from place setting up defenses and her Royal Mages were even trying to undo her space lock.

 

The only one that could perhaps attempt to do something like that was Aura, but the girl seemed to be refusing to move as she smiled and seemed to look at her, cheeky girl.

 

“Anyway, want to tag along? You may find some interesting stuff, if I got what your [Skill] does right you can peek at past and alternate lives, right? You may find something interesting in my [Soulscape].” Elizabeth said as she offered her hand to the blue-haired girl.

 

“....I do need to look after you, so sure. Let’s go.” Jenna sighed as she said, “No, wait, you said [Soulscape]? Are we in-”

 

And before Jenna could drag this more Elizabeth teleported herself and Jenna straight back to the base of her [Soulscape], back to her [Shadow Haven], to the capital of a ruined world. To the girls she loved.To the place that housed her biggest mistake in these seventeen years of life in Zaanam.

 

Elizabeth Starbright was returning to the love of her life.

 

She…was going to make it so everything would be all right.