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

Savagrios collapsed on the cabin floor. His body had given in—the exhaustion, the Kyyr—reducing him to nothing more than a husk. And within his soul, he found himself perched atop a very decorated city wall. His eyes wandered over a sea of myriad lamplights dancing in the distance, their orange glow highlighting the rim of the curved roofs glazed with crimson tiles that shimmered in response to far-off fireworks. Ghostly bursts blooming over a fading memory, a world filled with nothing more than fragments and spirits. An echo filled with bold strokes of gold and silver, shining bright under lantern light, a festive whisper of some far-flung moment that had carved itself deep in the dissonant memory of…

"Savagrios." A coarse, monstrous voice rattled from behind. Crimson eyes turned to cower under the shattered visage of his mirror reflection.

"Oh. It's you…" Savagrios mumbled, turning back his gaze to the streets below.

The other Savagrios, crimson-scaled, and fully transformed—leaned beside his human counterpart; a red gargoyle matching the warm glow of the festival below.

Light below illuminated the human Savagrios's face revealing a deep grimace cut deep. "Did you remember as well?"

His Coarseblood counterpart nodded.

Savagrios raised a hand, studying the creases of his palm, searching for some numbing answer. "We… I—I've been remembering more things. Place, people, moments—here and there, but—the more I learned, the less it all made sense. There was this emptiness to it all, this distance." He put a hand to his chest. "This blank feeling… I finally remembered—" A firework bloomed in the distance, coloring his eyes. "It was anger. Pure, consuming hatred of the most violent order—and it was born here. But I… I've lost that spark. Why?" He looked up at the clear night sky with a miserable smile. "Is it because I'm not really me? Am I just an echo of some miserable memory—too shallow to really understand, too distant to ever know." The light shimmered across his face.

The other Savagrios lowered his head, jaws parting. "Have you spoken to the others about this? Have you wondered if they thought the same?"

Savagrios shook his head.

His Coarseblood self sat in silence, fireworks shining through his crystalline form, casting ripples of twisting light over his human self. A comforting red glow under that starry night sky.

His Coarseblood self parted his jaws. "You should speak to them. We're literally soulmates after all." His visage cracked faintly at the corners.

Savagrios gave him a curt chuckle. "Ew… please, don't put it like that."

The Coarseblood rose and offered a claw. "Let us not wallow in regrets we cannot understand. Instead, let us focus on what we should do—survive, grow, and escape this caged world. For we cannot slay that Bastard Dragon while we remain here. So, let us follow the steps of our old comrades. Onward. Forward—you remember, don't you?"

Savagrios smiled weakly. "Yeah… I do." He reached out, taking the crimson claw. "Send me over. I—We have much to discuss with the others."

The Coarseblood's expression softened, his visage splintering as he smiled. "Very well, dear Vire—"

Savagrios's eyes grew wide. "Huh?"

A flash of crimson split the air, and Savagrios's head was severed cleanly from his body, which faded away before it could reach the cobblestone street below.

The Coarseblood sat back down, his crimson scales falling away as the vague figure of a man emerged. Refined—almost prince-like—with a soft expression far from Savagrios's. His long silky black hair fluttered in the wind as he opened his dreamy, star-filled eyes to wistfully watch the fireworks in solitude.

He drew a deep breath. "Ahhh… how could we forget?"

A colorful wash of fireworks painted the heavens. Myriad colors washed the starry sky, bright—alight—the lights ignited the night high with the undeniable fervor of a dying dragon's breath. One particular ‌fire sprite soared higher than the rest—a bright amber spark that pierced the firmament, burning in harmony with a memory held deep and tight.

The stranger watched with peaceful melancholy, his silhouette outlined by the starlight blaze. In the fleeting afterglow, he smiled softly, lost in painful remembrance of a time long bygone.

" Oh, sweet Suyi…how he misses you," he whispered, his features stoic in the face of deep sadness.

Sadness that seeped through him—down and into the entrails of their throne—where Savagrios rose from the darkness. The crimson furniture greeted him with its red contrast. The quiet breathing of a slumbering Gira reinforced his resolve as he marched into the black, pressing his hand into the nothingness. He entered one of the many memories beyond the throne. Sensation near and far, his and theirs, painful and sad.

He pressed deep into the shattered realm of their soul, until he reached a pleasant place.

Blue skies stretched overhead. Fields of white and purple flowers swayed gently in a soft summer breeze, their scent carrying the warmth of long-forgotten days. And far beyond that meadow of sweet remembrance stood something impossible: a small, picturesque village resting upon the titanic palm of a long-dead unknown.

Savagrios exhaled, shaking his head with a weary smile before setting off toward the far end of memory—where Ezzeks and K sat at a quaint little table, deep in conversation, while a confused young woman glanced between them, caught in the crossfire of their revelations.

And beyond the throne—back on the shatter-glass beach forged in the wake of Morray's resounding Kyyr—a group of rangers swept their lights anxiously across the dark shore.

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"We found someone!" a ranger shouted over the roar of the crashing waves.

Morray stood on the edge of consciousness. His breathing was ragged, his body scorched and trembling. Blood poured freely from the mangled remains of his arm. His half-lidded eyes stared upward toward Carrion's shattered frame, the mechanoid's skull lolling forward as loose wires hung and swayed with the pull of gravity.

"Morray!" Okari's voice broke through the wind—first exasperation, then horror. "SWEET SYMBOLS! What the hell happened? Your arm!"

Morray tilted his head, its weight dragging it almost too far before he caught himself. He smiled, his usual aloofness replaced by a strange, satisfied smugness. "Ha… I've still got it in me," he muttered, steadying himself against Okari's shoulder.

"You idiot! Why the hell would you use your Kyyr ability?"

Morray coughed—blood splattering across Okari's uniform. "Listen… that mechanoid—there's something special about it. We need to—" His words cut off as blood bubbled up his throat. He turned toward the sea and puked his guts out, the sound drowned by the crashing waves.

Okari steadied him with a hand. "Shit…" She pressed a hand to his chest to keep him steady. "Someone get me a med-drone!" Her gaze lifted to the remains of Carrion—his long metal snout twisted into a haunting grimace. "And collect that mechanoid!" she ordered as she helped Morray to his feet. "By Enlil's firelight, your arm's a mess."

Morray managed a faint smirk. "I can feel it," he grumbled, stealing a glance toward the manor. "What's the situation inside?"

Okari lowered her head. "Everyone on the bottom floor was systematically killed by the Hollows. 64 are dead—that includes casualties from some of the perimeter guards and those who were dealing with the insurgency. Having so many High Command members still on-site really helped…" Her voice faltered, the irony bitter on her tongue.

"…" Morray frowned, his eyes drifting to Carrion's mangled remains. "We need to review the security footage. The chemical composition of the furnace. The Scrutineers data—we…we have to." He drew a shaky breath. "Because I don't think Gira's dead. I can't—" He swallowed hard, blood thick in his throat. "I just… don't buy it."

Okari gave him a sharp nod as several medical drones swarmed around Morray, their lights flaring in synchronized rhythm as they prepared a stretcher.

Morray took a deep shuddering breath while the mechanoids injected him with a cocktail of tinctures and stabilizers."I'll leave things to you and Draell…" he muttered, his voice fading as they began to lift him away.

Okari stood there, watching as he disappeared into the flurry of drones before her gaze rose toward the fallen mechanoid. Its body was mangled beyond recognition—marred with shards of glass and molten metal—yet its shape still lingered, the silhouette of a skeletal beast carved against the glimmering shore.

Shudder…

Her eyes narrowed, a chill running down her spine as a faint amber glow flickered to life within the creature's jagged maw.

Carrion jittered, its melted body convulsing in a violent wave of motion as, against all odds, it tore itself free from the cliff wall. The twisted mass plunged into the waves and shattered glass below, throwing up a spray of sparks and seawater. Its voice modulator crackled, warbling a horrid digital screech that made the remaining rangers stumble back in shock.

"P̵a̶t̸h̶e̸t̶i̵c̶ f—fl̷e̸sh... b̴agsss... h̴ow d̵a̷r̶e̶ y̸ou... i̴n̴t̵er...ru̴pt̷ a̵ [G̸̢̙͎̿̒͛͑̑͛͗̀̚͝O̵̜̩͛̍̏̽͊̏́Ǫ̴̦̮̅̅͂̎̐̍͐̑̐͋͝D̴̓͗̑̐̔̽̿͑͐͌͘ͅ ̸͓̗̗̈́̎̑̅̋̾̔̿͐̇͘͝Ș̶̛̀̆͂̾̈́̚͠H̶̢̞̯̦̞̞̫͙̯͋̍̎͌̿͑͐͊̕͝O̸̡̟̤̤̅͑̿̔̕̕͝͝W̸̙͔̤̎̍̎͌̾̆!"

The words cracked apart mid-speech, devolving into a static growl as its body twitched back to life. With its remaining arm, the mechanoid smashed through the fractured glass and lunged toward Okari—black jaws yawning wide.

Okari's eyes widened; fear flared in her Kyyr as she threw herself sideways, the creature's claws raking the air where she'd stood.

A ranger aimed his gun and fired.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Okari shouted—but too late. Carrion lurched toward the panicked shooter, and the ranger's finger slipped on the trigger just as the mechanoid dove headlong into the muzzle.

"NO!" Okari thrust her Kyyr forward. Cinder-strings unfurled from her fingers, burning in streaks of amber as the feathery projections wrapped around the thrashing machine. Muscles taut, she dragged it back with a raw, guttural cry.

"GET BACK!" She shouted.

Carrion screeched, convulsing violently. Its head snapped at an impossible angle; wires stretched, popped, and dangled as it thrashed against the cinder threads.

"Shit!" Okari gritted her teeth, tightening the weave until the strands bit into the gunmetal alloy.

Carrion's body bucked once more, voice stuttering into a garbled roar. "Ș̷̨̛͍͚͔̍͗̏͛͌͝h̴̳̗͍̩̦̠̫͋̔̽͋̅͒o̴͇̰̟̜͎̯͙͓͋͆͗͂̽̍͑͘ͅŭ̸̡̜̩̻̜́͂̆̾̍̅͝͝l̴̖̤̬̅̓̎̕͘d̷̠͓̠̈́͋͋̒͑̇̏͘'̵̙̤̜̻̻̮͕̿͌̄͋̅̑͠v̴̳̳̯̬͈̜͓͒͌̀̓͠͝e̷̡̩̝̗̤̲̦̗͊̐͂̔̿̑͘̚—̴̞̪̪̅͗̍́͌͝͝ —[TERMINATION ERROR]."

It stopped.

Okari stared down at the twitching husk, a sickly dread clawing at her gut. This… Was this a suicide attempt?

The rangers all stared at the mechanoid as it writhed within the glowing weave of Kyyr, as it let out electric shrieks so loud that the air itself seemed to vibrate along the white-stone cliffs of the Ordovis Coast.

Okari swallowed hard, her voice barely audible beneath the metallic wailing. "What the hell are we dealing with…?"

As the screeching grew louder, unseen by the rangers on the beach, a Hollow crept over the alabaster walls of the manor. It slithered down the cliff face, metal claws scraping softly against the pale stone. Its crimson eye dimmed to a slit as it steadied itself—lining up its maw, which split open with a mechanical snap to reveal a long, pitch-black barrel. The glow in its eye flickered, shifting from red to amber as wind hissed past the cliffs, rising—then fading. Calculations whirred through its mind as it waited for the right time.

Carrion's shrieking climbed and faltered, the spasms of its melted body syncing, almost rhythmically, with the pulse of the wind. Like a dying breath, it rose and fell.

The cliff-side Hollow's neck snapped as light clicking popped from its jaw.

BANG—!

Okari flinched, a split-second too late to register the impact. Carrion's head burst apart in a spray of molten shrapnel and smoke, the scream cutting off mid-note.

"No…" She spun toward the cliffs, eyes darting across the white stone for any sign of movement. But the Hollow was long gone, its metallic frame vanishing under the velvet white canopy of the feather tree forest.

Its voice modulator hissed in broken static as it crawled through the underbrush—its internal mapping already locked onto the city beyond the Cau Mountain Range.

"Good show Morray Hassle. [GOOD SHOW] Amusing. PERFECT. Satisfactory." Carrion? hissed as it disappeared into the crimson-tinged night. Bringing their time in the living graveyard to an end.

As strange and uncertain motions rippled from what remained of Môry'Plu, the murky waters drained, pulled by the finality of gravity.

All that remained was the empty thrum of a synthetic sea.

Chilling wails deep in the roots of ancient trees.

Servinae who remained lost in the maze of their creation; and those who chose to tear themselves free.

Rangers struggling with the aftermath of the sudden storm; and those who succumbed to its rising waters.

And the unseen horrors of steel and flesh—strangers to the world, yet watched by the prying eyes of something vast beyond comprehension.

Mist rolled inland now, gentle on the shattered coast. The sun crept over the horizon, dispelling the bloodshot sky. The chaos and carnage ebbed, and the world seemed to exhale—gravity guiding all attention across the Cau Mountain Range.

A confluence of fates—all beneath the suffocating shadow of the Steel Dragon and its unseen hold over the Port City of Krreat.