Joy Pursuit: Steel Dragon [Sci-Fi Fantasy | Horror | Action]

Swordless bloodshed was all that remained. The scent of iron mixing with the earthy brine of seawater and mud. There was little time to rest in the days following the rise and fall of the Inverse Sea.

Over 180,000 Servinae were among the dead or missing—corpses strewn across Môry'Plu by the wake of storm and shadow. Of the 1,100 rangers sent to guard the towers and outposts, over 600 were gone—cut down or swallowed whole by the night. Retrocosmic Intrusions left little to hope for, the rising rains cleaving the surrounding coast and forests. The once pillowy white and gold of the Gilded Forest now uprooted, reduced to splintered earth. Turning it all into a drowned wasteland of mud and ruin, a purgatory of dried seawater and death.

The towers that had once soared through the skies as bastions of the ENN.KORR now carried the lingering resentment of the abyss.

Of the three, Rortem emerged almost untouched, its walls free of abyssal corruption, the Servinae on board disappointed they'd been spared of a nightmare they yearned for some ungodly reason.

But deeply contrasting Rortem—Curvadoss had been hollowed from within. Its Servinae population all but consumed, its halls claimed by the Cause. Its upper floors infested with a festering hive of flesh and bone. And with the birth of an abyssal structure of that size, the Endymion Tarantula had marked the tower for a purge, the infected structure banished to the skies, hurled 40,000 feet to let the beasts within meet a biting chill.

Lastly, Cetarro had suffered the most structural damage—its midsection fractured, its windows shattered, water and abyssal filth seeping deep into it. And yet, against all expectations, life clung to its walls. Survivors endured. Evacuations eerily quiet, the Caused aboard the vessel abnormally docile. And with such a unique population of infected, Cetarro's fate would lie elsewhere, unable to join its sister towers above the Ordovis Coast; instead, sent far north to be repaired and its lingering ghosts studied.

And under the shattered skies, a worst-case scenario had occurred. The Thalassorhax Vai'tolant had breached containment, its massive body ripping the coastline as it made its way to the open seas. With no one able to stop its escape, its path tracked to the cold depths of the black waters of the Orrick Sea. With no way to capture or slay the beast, the stretch of water between Ordovis and the northern continent of Fjøsk would become one of the most dangerous places on Esthes-3. Would the depths be enough to shield the beast from the obsession of the black heart of the abyss? Only time would tell, time that had come and gone, leaving a rather odd pair trekking through a muddy hellscape.

A young man slipped on some tarry mud, the heat of the sun half-baking the concoction just enough to make the aimless journey that much more agonizing. He stared up into the blue sky; the heat beating down upon his pale skin—cooking him like a shipwrecked prawn. Teal eyes half-open, pondering imponderables, his sense of self warped by the heat and twisting memories.

Misfortune, they call it. This godforsaken heat… everything itches so much. If only I'd been the last to wake up, and not the bloody first. His eyes managed to open under an encroaching shadow. And of course there's you…

A dark figure eclipsed the sun, its form houndish, its iridescent white scales out of place among the mud and grime. It reached down with a long, scaly arm and helped K to his feet.

K stared at the creature as he felt its pull, its surprisingly tender grip lifting him up with ease. His eyes glazed over as the bright sun revealed its visage. The S. Cerberus stared straight at him, its eyes wide and empty, yet there was some lingering emotion within. If anything, it was kind of cute—well, as cute as a 5-meter-long whatever the hell could be.

K squinted at the creature, lazily loosening his muscles in its hand as he shut his eyes, looking within himself into his throne.

The red furniture was all over the place, with Gira, Ezzeks, and Savagrios sprawled out like dirty laundry. Berserkrios's rampage had drained them of their Kyyr. Leaving them nothing more than exhausted husks. Well, except for one gloomy figure that had the misfortune of joining K in the waking world. Vaal.

K stared at him for a second, but didn't bother to interact. The golden-eyed man had been ignoring him since they'd woken up in this miserable forest. K let out a long sigh, his mind wondering how much Vaal knew about him. How much he remembered about that miserable string of days that led them here.

The Cerberus let go of his body, lightly nudging K, its massive body receding back with a tilt of its head. K wobbled forward, struggling to stand on the mud, the sickly warmth rising up his feet with an itch. K moped as he sank into the mud.

"Ummm…" he looked straight up at the Cerberus. "Yo, can't you just carry me?"

The Caused tilted its head further, its neck snapping unnaturally.

"Uh, you know…" K began to motion with his hands as if he was picking something up. "You know, uppies or whatever…" The Cerberus continued to tilt its neck, its bones crunching slightly as it thought. K raised a brow. "......"

Then, with no warning, the Cerberus swooped him off his feet and flung him up into the air, his rear landing on its scaly neck with a thud as K slid down, landing between its two dorsal spikes. "Woah! You actually understood!."

The Cerberus snapped its neck backward, its upside-down visage millimeters from K's. It snapped its mouth open as spiraling tendrils emerged.

K had little time to react as the tendrils caught him by the arm. "Eh?" K watched the thin black growths, tongues writhe around slowly, spelling out a crude symbol and word on his arm.

Name —> Alia

"You remember your name…." K stared in surprise before the realization slapped him across the brain. "YOU CAN TALK?" K shouted.

Yes-ish

"Well not talk, but communicate! Wait… no… if you're conscious doesn't that mean the other…." K put a hand over his mouth and grimaced. It's best Gira doesn't hear about this… he thought as he lowered his hand, light tracing the tendrils. "Then. Alia…Who, or rather what's behind this infection? What kind of voice do you hear in your head?"

The black tendrils subtly twitched as he finished his words. They twitched into symbols, words, and wobbly mangles before settling into 3 words.

I don't know.

K narrowed his eyes. Afraid, huh… "Hmm… then—I've been wondering. Why are you out here with me? What happened last night?"

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Last night?

"How did the two of us end up in this miserable forest? What led to, well, this." K said, spinning his fingers before aiming at her jaws.

The tendrils writhed for a second before spelling out a new response.

You were crying. That man was bullying you. I felt bad. So I helped.

K looked at the words confused. Saint-like kindness? Or does this thing not realize we almost killed her? Was crying enough of a reason? Is she lying? No… There's no reason to lie… Or? No… If she wanted to harm us, I would've never woken up in this muddy nightmare… K cleared his throat. "Umm, Alia, could you tell me about yourself?"

The tendrils spiraled on his skin, lapping lightly against him as they struggled to form a cohesive message, before simply ending with a single word.

No.

The tendrils retracted, her head snapping forward, Kyyr flaring as the distant sound of lowgliders hummed through the warped forest. K felt her muscles strain.

"WAIT LET ME HOLD ONTO—"

She suddenly burst forward, tearing through the mud, gliding through the grime. While K fluttered in the air, barely holding onto some of her sparse hair.

The S. Cerberus's body rumbled as a low growl filled the air, her movements fast, precise despite the thick mud. The low hum of the lowglider growing louder by the second. K glanced over and glimpsed the vehicles gaining on them.

What do I do? Gira almost killed that ranger last night, and now I'm stuck running away with this Caused. If we're caught, they'll probably kill her, and after last night there's a high chance my neck is on the line. Where do we go? Do I abandon her? No… it saved me—us. The hum of the lowglider grew closer. I'll have to use that… He frowned, Kyyr rising as he pulled himself closer to her hide, his weak Kyyr sputtering to life. His focus on something unseen and deep within the Cerberus.

"Alia! I promise this won't hurt! Whatever you may feel, let it happen. Let it all swallow you. Submit to it. To me!" K shouted.

The Cerberus's Kyyr waned as she felt a warmth spread through her back as terror spread through her scaled body, her very bones contorting with a familiar hum as a wave of Kyyr swallowed her into unfathomable depths.

The lowgliders came to a stop, surrounding K, who sat alone in the mud, his teal eyes dancing from ranger to ranger.

One ranger got out of their glider, his heavy boots crashing into the mud with heavy, slick splashes. "Yegh…" he flicked some mud off his boot. "You alright kid?"

K didn't immediately answer, his gaze lost in the mud his hands clutched tight around a silvery scale in his palm. How do I approach them? Do they want to kill us? Do I talk as K or Gira? Gira… He glanced at the deep muddy trench the Cerberus's claws had dug. He swallowed hard before looking up."Y-yes sir."

The ranger kept his distance. " Hmmm… well, we've been hunting stragglers from the storm, and helpin' any survivors along the way. We happened to ping some abyssal Kyyr and well… you seen anything?"

Though K couldn't see his eyes, he could feel pressure in his words.

K felt the dryness in his throat as he swallowed before looking up with an awkward smile. "N-no… thankfully just mud and bugs."

" Really?" The ranger suddenly aimed his gun at him. "Then what the hell is up with those tracks?" he gestured to the path torn in the mud by the Cerberus.

"W-wait!" K shouted, raising his hands. "I'm Gira. Gira Mourns the Coarseblood! Those are my tracks."

The rangers looked at each other, unsure, when suddenly one spoke up.

"Captain Crar I was present on Cetarro during his Parabellum Onryō. I'm pretty sure that's him, just muddy and kind of pathetic."

Pathetic? Why'd he add that? K thought while glaring at the ranger.

Crar raised a brow. "For real? This shrimpy kid is the Coarseblood. Wasn't it supposed to be red? Like blood in Coarseblood? Cause the bastard looked pale white."

"Well, sir!" another ranger suddenly shouted. "Last night during the attack on the Hangars near post 20 I witnessed the ivory Coarseblood shred dozens of infected."

Crar studied K. "Really? Ivory, huh?" He looked K up and down. "So what's your deal, Coarseblood? Why're you way out here?"

"Umm… I—I don't know… I must've lost consciousness at some point…"

Crar stared at him as he tapped his helmet. "Really…" Crar tilted his head scanning K. "Wow, well shit. Optics says you really are the bloody thing. I genuinely thought you were some new Caused or somethin'. I was seriously about to jerk a knot through that creepy face of yours." His eyes narrowed. "Good thing you're human. Errr… well as close as you can get." he scoffed. "WELP!" he shouted, turning to the rangers. "Get that damn pretty boy cleaned up. Draell owes us a honey sweet prize for nabbing his little pet."

And with that K was ushered onto a lowglider, enduring an awkward ride before being unceremoniously dumped in front of the Voltasaxx Manor.

Crar clicked his visor, revealing a cocky grin plastered on an annoying-looking man with a bright smile and silvery eyes. "Nice meetin' ya, Coarseblood. If ya ever snap try to not eat anyone from my squad. We're rough and taste like shit!" he laughed at his own comment as the lowglider roared as it spun, taking off back down towards the remains of the forest.

I kinda want to punch him… K thought to himself as he watched the glider disappear down the hill.

"Gira." A mechanical voice suddenly spoke, causing him to flinch. "I am pleased to see you survived last week's storm."

K was reeling from the micro heart attack before his eyes grew wide. "Wait, did you just say last week?!"

Kermot, the Hollow, slithered around K examining him. "Correct. You were listed as one of the missing. Your safety will surely bring great joy to your fellow rangers."

"It will?" K said, unsure. They don't know… or is this a trap? Did anyone survive the Vai'tolant's escape? Did one survive its breach?

Kermot draped a cloth over K's filthy body. "Indeed, it will. Our squad suffered minimal losses, but the few we did left our little squad in quite a miserable state. But first we must bathe and treat you. So let's hurry on."

Kermot suddenly wrapped his tail around K, dragging him deep into the manor and straight to the shower rooms. Along the way, K noticed the increased number of mechanoids present.

"Where are all the people?" K asked.

"Most rangers are currently resting or out on search and rescue. There's a lot of work to be done. Though some of our members were summoned to Krreat for a meeting discussing the politics of the ordeal. You see, Master Morray made quite the discovery, one that's got the Science Council and the Court of Dissipation in absolute panic. There's also rumors the towers were infiltrated by a third party that was aiding the abyss you see."

Kermot glided down an alabaster flight of stairs, past a familiar skeleton and fountain.

K's eyes narrowed. What kind of psychos would commune with the Abyss… To what end?

They arrived in the shower room where K was suddenly blasted with water and soap as Kermot scrubbed away at the matted mud and grime that was pressed tight against the disgruntled K.

After a brief battle of shame and water, K was forced into a fresh set of clothes and was promptly delivered to Gira's room..

"If you're still hungry in a couple hours, dinner will be held at the usual time with the rest of the Squad. I would encourage you to visit." Kermot said with a chiptune tinge to his voice.

"Right… Thanks, but I think I'm gonna pass out for a while. But I'll try and join if I get the chance."

Kermot nodded, the ear probes on its head twitching. "If you need anything, call for me."

"Will do. Thanks" K said, waving Kermot farewell before collapsing onto his back. Exhaustion crept up his spine, dragging him into darkness—delivering his consciousness back to the throne. There a strange figure sat on a red pillow, staring out into the void. There, on a red pillow, a strange figure sat staring out into the void. Long, messy black hair veiled her face, and a low, broken whimper echoed in the dark.

K stared at the whimpering girl, her soft cries stinging his heart. His movements were subtle, his hands unsteady as his feet carried him forward on their own. Awkwardly, he sat next to her, unsure what to say. The girl's tears stopped for a beat as she turned to look at K, her violet-tinged eyes meeting his, and he managed a crooked, helpless half-smile.

Silence. She stared into his eyes. K panicked inside. There's so much happening outside, and now—there's you…

He cleared his throat."A-Alia?"