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

The Starglider tore across the curved sea, its rose-gold hull shimmering against the mist-soaked gloom. Ahead, through the gray beyond, the horizon bent inward—its center marked by a colossal cross-shaped structure rising defiantly from the crashing waters. Its immense limbs vanished into the rolling fog, while vast circular braces overlapped and interlocked around a wheel-like superstructure.

Within the hull, the crew of the Nordos Starglider scrambled to their stations as the vessel neared the Translate-side port city of Demmeklass.

VWAAAA–VWAAAA–VWAAAA—

The vessel's transceiver blared to life, the resonant alarm flooding the bridge with a deep, thrumming call that vibrated through every panel and beam.

Bayren lifted a claw as the incoming call connected. A slender bar descended from the ceiling, its wiry form casting speckles of light that were warped by Kyyr into a video message.

Bayren rolled his eyes internally as a familiar black-scaled figure appeared on the display. Another Calamity Entity—nothing like Bayren in shape or bearing, yet unmistakably cut from the same cloth.

Deep-void black skin decorated with cracks that glowed molten amber. He lacked Bayren's pronounced snout; instead, his crest jutted outward in three horned pairs on each side of his face—two rising vertically from the zygomatic bone, another pair erupting from the cheeks, and the final, largest set thrusting from the sides of his skull.

Like Bayren, he bore no eyes—only that shattered gaze, laced up through the fractures of his jaw, a ruin of sharp teeth.

The new C.E.'s gaze shattered as he saw Bayren. "L-Lord Bayren!?"

Bayren said nothing, his expression unreadable as he stared back at his fellow C.E.

The C.E. swallowed hard, as his face cracked nervously. "F-Forgive my impertinence. I am the Overseer of Port Demmeklass—Mortem Class Xirc Saxcrar. At your service." He bowed his head low.

Bayren exhaled, a thin plume of fire slipping past his fangs as he leaned closer to study the lesser C.E. "You look just like your father," he said coldly.

Xirc raised his head. "Thank you, your Lordship…"

Bayren's gaze deepened, his presence pressing outward like a tightening vise. A palpable dread swept across the Starglider's bridge.

"What do you want?" Bayren asked, the annoyance simmering plainly in his tone.

Xirc struggled to steady himself, molten cracks along his face flickering. "We were not expecting a Dreadnaught-Class Starglider in the region—our hail was merely a formality. And… if I may, Your Lordship, might I ask you a question?"

"You've already asked one." Bayren replied, irritation slipping through. "But go on—you're free to ask. I'm not as pompous or conceited as your father."

Xirc's jaw cracked a little. "Very well then… what brings someone of your gravitas to the backwaters of the Crepusculata?"

"A request," Bayren said flatly.

Xirc hesitated. "May Your Lordship share the nature of this request?"

Bayren straightened in his seat. "The Diodecean Prince, Poltheris Vaund, requested aid in the development of a city complex on one of Fowoz-5's moons. And, in the spirit of curiosity and progress, I have gracefully accepted the request—as a meager Imperial Contractor."

Xirc tilted his head slightly. "Is that… truly reason enough?"

Bayren's visage cracked with faint irritation as he drew a long, steadying breath. "It's nothing nefarious. If you want the candid truth, I'm simply interested in witnessing the megafauna mentioned in the requests."

Xirc's visage, though inhuman, still radiated a deep sense of doubt. "I see. Then you are welcome to rest within our walls—though I must personally request that you do not linger. My great father Xaund isn't very fond of y— "

"I'm aware." Bayren interrupted.

"Then…" Xirc looked at him nervously.

"Put your worry to rest—we'll pass without stopping."

"Your Lordship…" Xirc wilted, shoulders sinking in defeated relief.

Bayren exhaled a thin ribbon of flame. "I've dealt with your asshat father's vapid rants for years—I'd hate to condemn you to one on my account."

Xirc bowed his head. "Thank you… but should you require supplies or wish to contact anyone within the major arteries, you are welcome in Demmeklass. I must warn you, however—our dorsal super-flag is raised in honor of my father's visits. So… bear that in mind when choosing to stop by."

Super-flag, huh? That idiot never changes. Bayren shook the thought away. "Very well. Then, if you will excuse us."

Xirc bowed again, almost frantically. "It was an honor."

Bayren did not respond. He simply ended the call.

The Starglider pressed onward, its bulk rendered insignificant beside the obsidian gate rising before it. The structure yawned open—an all-consuming mouth of stone and steel—stretching so high it vanished into the fog above. The vessel slipped through its shadowed throat, crossing into the Port City's threshold. They pressed through the darkness until they erupted into a huge clearing. Many of the crew who were near windows looked up in awe as they witnessed the floating Port City of Demmeklass.

Suspended in the sky, the floating Port City of Demmeklass revealed itself. The city hovered eerily above the void, tethered only by massive pipes that descended from its bedrock pedestal and plunged deep into the thrashing, murky sea below. Upon that slab of ancient stone rose a metropolis of black metal and darker rock. Spires, jagged and austere, pierced the air, while networks of interwoven stone arched between them like cosmic filaments—constellations of cold architecture.

Gray light seeped through the massive, ornate grated outer wall—one of the last architectural traces linking the city to the colossal, wheel-like silhouette of the Translate Anchor.

The Starglider glided onward, its crew stealing upward glances at the twin Megastrocta that connected Demmeklass to the Ordovis Translate and the Cammdol Translate.

But as promised, they didn't linger, the vessel cruising under the glimmering lights of the far-off city that hung in the sky. And with sparing looks, they emerged on the other side of the superstructure. Where once again the gray, ever-consuming mist of the curved sea greeted them as they journeyed further into the Translate.

It only took a couple of hours of surfing the spiraling waters before they saw it in the distance. A Translate Rip Gate—a colossal aperture in reality—rose ahead, encircled on all sides by towering stone constructs. These massive fortifications wrapped the entrance in thick, ancient walls, enclosing a small metal-built harbor within their shadow. The structure resembled a metallic canyon; sheer plates of forged alloy forming narrow passages, with a rushing canal of churning water linking the harbor to the Curved Sea. The entire complex funneled toward the rippling light of the Rip gate.

The crew of flesh and steel hastily organized themselves as they maneuvered the ship. Aligning the metal vessel with the narrow canal, they contacted the local port and after a brief exchange; the Starglider eased forward, its Kyyr output dwindling as it crawled up the gushing waterway. Cold spray lashed the hull as they passed rows of wet iron docks. Crowds of dockworkers, rangers, and civilians gathered along the platforms, watching in awe as the massive ship drifted toward the Translate Rip Gate. The air around the aperture twisted and surged violently as the Starglider breached through space and emerged into an immense, glowing ice cavern. Waterfalls thundered down from distant heights, their mist catching brilliant refractions in the crystalline light. The Starglider's bow dipped into the frigid waters, sending waves crashing across the surface.

They had finally arrived at their destination.

The gas giant Fowoz-5 was a rarity within the Translates. Most Rip Gates opened into third-orbit planets—worlds modeled after the ancient cradle of humankind. But deep within the Crepusculata Translate, 4 unusual Rip Gates defied that pattern, branching instead toward the moons orbiting Fowoz-5. Their names were Tryfen, Himadri, Ratan, and Shylith—with Himadri being the moon of interest.‌

Himadri was a peculiar world: an ice-capped moon encased in roughly 30 kilometers of ice—a thick shell that protected its dark seas from the black of space. Yet what truly set the moon apart was the life that thrived in those depths—carbon-based life, a trait normally found only on Vivant planets. This singular discovery had transformed Himadri into a bustling haven for xenobiologists, deep-sea fishermen, and curious minds from every strange corner of the Translates.

The Starglider approached a massive port carved directly into the ice. Unfinished structures dotted the frozen landscape—half-built towers, skeletal frameworks, and scattered warehouses—all illuminated by strangely festive lights. Green, gold, orange, and red hues shimmered across the icy streets, their reflections dancing along the Starglider's rose-gold hull as dockworkers guided the imposing vessel into position.

After a brief but tense exchange between the docking pilot and the ground crew, the Starglider settled into place, its engines dimming. At last, the ship was ready to be disembarked.

Bayren stood at the edge of the bridge, his shattered gaze sweeping over the surprisingly advanced port town below. Threads of imposing Kyyr brushed against his senses—faint, but unmistakable. He turned slightly, letting his gaze trail down the curve of the massive window toward the docks. There, among the clusters of humans bustling about, one figure immediately stood apart.

A Diodecian.

A vast port-side aperture opened along the Starglider's flank, large enough for armored transports and multi-limbed mechanoids to stride out in coordinated formations. Vehicles thundered down the ramp while the mechanoid units clattered forward, carrying the goods bound to the request. Meats, grains, construction frames—an unbroken tide of freight rolled into the frozen dock. The dock exploded into motion as workers and machines mingled, shouting orders over the rising din.

Hisssss…

A smaller entrance near the bow slid open with a sharp exhale of steam. From it emerged the dark silhouette of Bayren. The dockworkers faltered—some slowing, others stopping outright—as the imposing Calamity Lord descended the ramp. The clang of his claws against metal echoed through the bay, each strike sending an involuntary shiver up their spines.

And at the base of the ramp leading down to the dock, there stood a tall entity. A Diodecian—a man fish. Though he was no fish, rather he bore the skull of the Vaund family.

An octopus?

The Diodecian's head broadened into a flattened disk of light brown flesh—smooth, slightly domed—a pulsing mantle pressed firm against an unseen skull. The skin, though textured like something meant for the deep, held a taut surface-hardened against gravity. And ringing the lower edge of his face were short, webbed tendrils twitching incessantly. But his eyes… those vast, glossy orbs glared with a predatory stillness, their animalistic form cut into by a deep human frown that gave emotion to those dark, unreadable, unblinking eyes.

This odd head sat atop an impossibly muscular body—one sculpted by harsh waters and centuries-deep genetics. A soma pushed to the apex of physical development. He was shirtless, almost human in outline, though coarse patches of hardened flesh mottled his skin. Along his ribs, six individual gill-like slits pulsed faintly with each breath. Around his waist hung a gelatinous pelt, cinched with a dark belt above loose black work-pants that ballooned at the legs before tapering neatly into stylized boots. The boots were sheathed in metal plating, their reinforced soles lined with jutting barbs that dug into the ice.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The Diodecian spoke, his voice deep and cordial. "Lord Bayren, I, Opithoseus Jack, greet you in solemn courtesy and welcome you to Aeburgh—our humble, yet glimmering hold beneath the ice crust of Himadri." He concluded his greeting with a low, respectful bow.

Bayren took a whiff of the cold air—there was a subtle sting to it that matched the muted murmuring hiss from the waters at his side. He parted his jaws. "It's a pleasure. I take it, Xirc informed you of my arrival."

"Indeed—truth be told, we were humbled when word reached us that one of your standing had turned their gaze toward our quiet corner of the universe. But it unsettled some of us… so, if it is not presumptuous of me, might you share the purpose that guides you here?" Jack asked, still holding his bow.

Bayren walked past him, his towering frame matching Jack's. "You can rest your worries, dear Jack. I'm here for a simple reason—I wish to witness one of your infamous Carboxarax. I have a personal interest in observing and cataloging megafauna. So, naturally, I couldn't resist the whispers of a new natural Leviathan."

"I… see." Jack lifted his head.

Bayren's jaws parted into a gleeful fanged smile. "I will aid in developing Aeburgh—on the express condition that your xenobiological data must be shared with me and my team." He began to pace along the dock, examining its structure with idle curiosity.

"Your Lordship, would you allow me the honor of showing you around the town?" Jack asked as he followed behind.

Bayren nodded. "Sure—though I'd like to visit your research facilities first."

"Of course. Though your presence may startle our researchers if we don't warn them ahead of time…"

"Do what you must—but be quick." His coarse voice ground against Jack's internal ears.

The town was surprisingly lively, especially considering where it was built. All sorts of people moved through the streets, but the Diodecians stood out. Their sculpted, godly physiques clashed strikingly with the strange heads they bore—sleek sharks, long-snouted swordfish, broad-winged rays, sinuous eels, even crabs with armored mandibles. Each visage looked as though the ocean had been grafted onto an Olympian body shaped for war or worship. The males were the most numerous—towering and imposing—though the female Diodecians were just as physically blessed. Equally powerful yet voluptuous, their movements were fluid, confident, and graceful as they wove through the bustling streets.

A child suddenly shouted as he pointed. "Woah! Mommy, look—a Calamity Entity!"

The bustling crowd fell silent. Conversations died mid-word. People stepped aside in a widening ring of fear as Bayren followed Jack into the street.

The boy's mother seized him and covered his mouth, backing into the crowd's edge. She huddled around him protectively, breath trembling as Bayren's shadow washed over them. The mother and child huddled in terror, hoping not to be noticed.

But he did.

Bayren stopped, looming over the panicking mother and child. He lowered his frame, until his snout hovered centimeters from the horrified woman's face.

"Y-your Lordship…" Jack muttered.

Bayren tilted his head, the cracks along his face widening as he smiled. "What's your name, kid?"

The small boy shook in his mother's embrace, as Bayren's heat enveloped the two. His mother hugged him tighter as she fought herself to talk.

"M-m-my ne-ne-name is Hu-hugo…" he weakly answered as he felt his emotions erupt in his pants.

Bayren's smile grew wider. "It's a pleasure Hugo." He reached beneath his cloak and withdrew a small bag. A flicker of Kyyr snapped the clasp open. From within, he produced a single bright red lollipop. "You have a good mother, Hugo," he said, offering the candy. "A gift." he whispered, his voice reverberating down the child's spine.

The child hesitated, but his hand rose—drawn by instinct or politeness. His tiny fingers brushed against Bayren's massive black claws as he accepted the lollipop.

Bayren gave a satisfied nod and straightened to his full height before returning to the terrified Jack.

Hugo's mother clung to him as they watched the Calamity Entity walk away, still trembling.

"Th-Thank you!" Hugo shouted, prompting Bayren to raise his hand in a casual wave as he continued toward the research center.

The research facility sat at the far edge of town, perched near a region the locals called the Pit of Styx. It began as a steep, icy decline—an open wound in the ice—that sloped into a yawning tunnel that at some point melted into the true abyss of Himadri.

The main complex itself was a striking sight: a vast structure that cascaded downward in stacked levels, each tier sinking deeper into the frozen dark. Massive metal supports anchored it on all sides, drilling into the glacier with the permanence of roots gripping stone. The topside facility sat on a modest campus that harbored sparse buildings, each humming with its own purpose.

As Bayren and Jack walked through, several of these outlying labs caught Bayren's wandering interest. Especially the Biotelemetry Building.

Inside, a crowd of researchers had gathered near the entrance, eager to meet such an enigmatic entity. But among them, one man stood out—with a bright smile on his face, his sharp eyes ecstatic behind a pair of fake round glasses.

As soon as Bayren entered the building, the researchers bowed in perfect unison. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Yo," he said flatly.

"We salute your Lordship!" they shouted in a poorly rehearsed chorus.

Bayren shook his head."Listen—I appreciate the gesture, and I'm aware you've been raised to bow to my kind. But I'm not some self righteous monster like Alvlad or Eshen. Ease your fears, and be free to look me in the eyes."

Hushed whispers rippled through the group as they reluctantly lifted their heads—all except one man.

Bayren narrowed his shattered gaze on the lone researcher. He walked over to the man, his talons clacking against the tile floor as he knelt down, his curved horns grazing the side of the researcher's head as Bayren parted his jaws.

"Did you not hear me?"

The man shuddered, his eyes wide as he stared at the ground. "I-I HEARD YOU, MY LORD! But how can a pathetic worm like myself dare to raise myself in your glorious presence?! HOW COULD I!?" he cried, voice cracking as he shouted.

Bayren placed a charcoal-black hand on the man's shoulder. "Do I know you?"

The researcher's eyes shot open. "Y-yes! My name is Solan Pax! I was one the scientists you worked with on the Drauth Project!"

Bayren reminisced for a second. "I see… from back then." Bayren gazed down at the man. He must be one of the resurrected from the incident with that four-armed bastard… No wonder he sees me as a god. How annoying. "Solan Pax," he continued aloud. "I look forward to working with you again—but please, treat me as a fellow researcher. Nothing more."

"B-Bu-But your Lordship!" Solan's eyes welled with tears.

Bayren's patience began to fray. "Please. Otherwise, I'll have you transferred to another world."

Solan began to shudder as he raised his head, a deranged expression plastered on his face. "Oh-of-of course. If that is your command…"

Bayren recoiled, clear disgust cracking across his shattered visage. He turned his head, surveying the room. The surrounding researchers stared back—some terrified, some fascinated, others simply unsure what to make of the Calamity Entity standing among them.

Bayren cleared his thoughts. "As some of you may know, I am Bayren Emperar, a family head of the House of 15. But while I remain on Himadri, I ask that you see me as a fellow researcher. For much like you, I am filled with wonder and curiosity of our universe at large." He lowered his head to the horror of Solan. "I thank you in advance for tolerating my intrusive desires."

The tension in the room fluctuated between anxiety and ease as the researchers whispered to one another. Solan, meanwhile, staggered backward, staring at Bayren in personal, existential terror.

And so the Nordos Crew and Bayren began their time on the frozen moon Himadri. To the crew's surprise, it was only a matter of weeks before their presence was accepted. This homely reality was, surprisingly, an aftereffect of Bayren's status as a Calamity Lord. This little nuance meant he had no need for a military force, and with most of his crew being composed of scientists and humble workers, they had managed to homogenize into the local culture quite easily.

Bayren devoted his days to helping in construction and clearing ice while also studying the strange and wondrous life that thrived on Himadri. This moon was unlike any place he had ever seen—its surface defined by unlivable cold, its underworld defined by a sea almost entirely composed of water so rich in CO2 the ocean itself was carbonated, churning with dissolved gases that shaped its ecology into something wholly alien. Creatures of bizarre physiology navigated its shimmering depths, adapted to pressures, chemistry, and behaviors far beyond the bounds of ordinary biology.

Though his main point of interest lay in the Carboxarax—a local leviathan unique to these alien waters and the greatest threat to the settlements—Bayren found himself lingering on every detail recorded about the creature. The Carboxarax was a colossal organism, evolved with the extraordinary ability to metabolize carbon dioxide—a feat that tethered it to the dark, carbon-rich oceans of Himadri.

Yet it was more than a deepwater monster; it could breach the surface, carve through the ice sheet, and vanish into the frozen kilometers above. A super-predator unbound by the sea, the beast was a chimera—part whale, part eel, part crab. Its head sat beneath a massive, mineral-rich shell shaped like a baleen whale's head, though lined with backward-curving blades used to spear and cleave ice.

It had no eyes.

Inside the shell-like skull was an intricate system of bony tongues, interlocking structures meant to grip and shred. At the back of its throat and along the rear of its jaws hung clusters of silicone tendrils, drifting feelers that trapped anything that tried to escape.

This monstrous head joined a broad thorax supported by three pairs of crab-like digging limbs known as celipheds. Each limb ended in two massive claws capable of vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies, allowing them to melt ice through friction and thermal exchange. The celipheds—and nearly the entire creature—were wrapped in a silicone-fur mantle, thousands of gelatinous strands riddled with pores that secreted ice-softening proteins.

These strands coated the rest of the Carboxarax as well, trailing along its long, muscular, eel-like tail, a limb covered in thousands of pleopods and undulating silicone filaments. The Carboxarax was an opportunistic predator, hunting both in the crushing abyss and within the low-gravity ice chambers of Himadri.

A single juvenile had once attacked an entire fishing crew that descended into the Pit of Styx—48 men and 4 Diodecians with high Kyyr efficiency—slaughtered.

Bayren felt a palpable thrill as he read the reports. "Unknown adult size…" His jaw parted into a wicked smile. "I cannot wait to see one…" Bayren whispered to himself by the lamplight of his personal chambers.

Chime~

Bayren narrowed his gaze and rose from the desk cluttered with flickering screens. He opened the door—and was immediately met by a panicked doctor.

"Your Lordship!" the man cried. "The castaway! Something's wrong with her fetuses. It's like nothing I've ever seen!"

The cracks along Bayren's face widened as he stepped out of his chamber. "Tell me as we move."

"Y-yes!" The doctor fell into step beside him, nearly jogging to keep pace as they hurried toward the Medbay.

"What's wrong?" Bayren asked, his long strides forcing the doctor to half-stumble forward.

"Her children are developing abnormally," the doctor said, through struggling breaths. "Development was normal, but the pharyngeal arches began to deform—transforming them in ways we can't classify. They're turning into tumors."

Bayren frowned. "Has she spoken about the father?"

"No. She still refuses to speak with staff, and… her suicide attempts are becoming more elaborate."

Bayren exhaled through his snout. "Can we isolate the gene causing the deformities?"

"We believe so, yes. We just need time and—" The doctor hesitated. "If I may make a bold request—we need your Kyyr."

Bayren's face cracked with discomfort at the thought. The idea of using his Kyyr ability on a pregnant woman. To use Regression on such a delicate target… prolonging such personal misery. But those two souls… "I'll need her Kyyr sonograph data," he said at last, voice low. "And I want your team's guarantee that you can isolate the malignant gene."

"Yes your Lordship!" the doctor answered.

As they entered the Medbay, the doctors greeted Bayren with palpable dread. On a restraint-bed lay a miserable-looking woman, her crimson-pink eyes dull and lifeless. A feeding device clamped over her mouth—built not only to nourish her, but to keep her from biting through her own tongue, a deed she had proven disturbingly capable of.

"What's the timeline on the isolation of the malignant genes?" Bayren asked an Endymion Setacian stationed on a specialized console in the corner.

The multi-limbed mechanoid churned for a second as one of its appendages turned to Bayren. "If you grant me access to the Main Stem I can expedite the sequencing."

Bayren glared at the mechanoid. "You know I won't allow that."

The Setacian's limb lingered in the air. "Unfortunate. Query: Why must this poor woman suffer longer?"

Bayren didn't feel like entertaining it. "Just get it done." he hissed, turning to face the doctors. "Doctor Qi—contact the dock and have them on standby. I'll be requesting access to their Kronos Logiscope to aid in the gene sequencing."

"Yes, your Lordship." Doctor Qi answered.

With that, Bayren contacted his newfound allies, and the arduous and long journey toward the twins' birth began. Months passed in grueling cycles of long hours and perilous uses of his Kyyr—each attempt undertaken for one purpose; to allow two souls to be free of their uncontrollable suffering.

"It took 22 months for me to be born… 22 long months for my mother. 22 months that Lord Bayren spent carefully treating my cancerous body…" Mera said, her voice soft as she stared up at the expansive blue sky. "But thanks to his efforts… two healthy girls were born—and we were named by none other than Bayren Emperar, a supposed Calamity Entity."

The cries of newborns filled the delivery room as the doctors worked quickly, stitching the mother's C-section wounds. Nearby, Bayren stood cradling the tiny infants in his monstrous arms. For the first time in a long while, his Kyyr faltered—this harbinger of death, this beast of sexual violence, and conquest. Had his human instincts driven out into the open, stark and clear.

Black scales loosened and drifted from his face as the baby girls blinked up at him. And what they saw was not a Calamity Entity, not a lord of death—but a gentle human smile and a pair of amber-gold eyes, soft with the quiet acknowledgment that every sleepless hour… had been worth it.

Bayren opened his human mouth for the first time in decades. "Lamia…." he whispered, gazing into the wide, curious eyes of the quieter twin. "Mera…" he added with a soft laugh as the other girl wailed with all the strength her tiny lungs could muster.

He drew them closer, voice gentle in a way few had ever heard. "It is my greatest pleasure to welcome you both into this curious world."