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

THUMP!

Sey felt the subtle shudder of steel against flesh ripple through the glider as the glider struck the figure.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Lucien cried out. "THAT WAS DEFINITELY A PERSON SIR!"

Draell had a creepy look on his face as he studied the large crack that had formed across the glider's windshield.

THUMP!

A loud metallic groan erupted from above the cargo hold. Lucien and Sey both snapped their heads towards the deep wail of metal. The glider shuddered, echoing with clanking steel and tempered metal cries.

"Sir!" Lucien shouted anxiously.

SCREEEEEEEEEEUNNK—!

White bone. Claws ripped through the cargo hold's ceiling, the whipping whimper of the cold night air hissing through the room as Sey and Lucien's hair whipped around wildly. Another set of claws ruptured through, their white tips facing opposite ‌the other set. With a sudden jolt of movements the set of claws cut through the metal, ripping the metal like wet paper. The howl of the frigid air flushed through the Stolkglider, but they barely noticed. All their attention was on the set of jaws that were glinting against the deep-cut shadows of the night. The distant red glow poured into the hold along with the skeletal frame of Berserkrios.

Draell shot glances back down towards the echo clattering bone, a confident smile on his face as he spotted an ample location to land aboard Cetarro.

Lucien and Sey down below watched the ivory beast descend into the cargo hold with a striking clatter of bones. The Coarseblood rose from the shadows, his claws folding the bent metal of the ceiling, bony growths flowering from his wrist and patching the breach. The howling wind was gone, leaving Lucien and Sey with only the silhouette of the Coarseblood to focus on.

Crack!

A decisive snap ripped through the hold. Flesh and bone compressed with a guttural crunch as the figure shrunk in the dark. The beastly form splintered under its own pressure as it took human form.

Ezzeks's eyes glowed light blue, his eyes landing on the ladder leading to the control room. Ignoring the frightened ranger, he made his way to and up the ladder.

Lucien's eyes followed him, his eyes growing wide as he realized Ezzeks was completely naked. He turned away, grimacing. Sweet Symbols, he's fucking naked!

Up in the control room, the Stolkglider's comms were broadcasting a cacophony of cries. The storm's power over the systems was now gone, allowing for the pleading screams of hundreds of rangers to come through.

Chaos.

Draell listened to the noise, carefully maneuvering the Stolkglider into Cetarro, and with a subtle clack, the landing gear made contact. Ezzeks stood behind him drenched in shadow and silence. Draell had noticed him, and with a big smile, he turned to greet Ezzeks."Hey there pal are y—"

!!!!

Ezzeks had clocked Draell across the face, sending a spray of blood across the controls. "That's for crashing into me, dickhead." He said.

Draell froze in place, like a cat doused in cold water. He stared blankly at the glistening red of his blood on the controls.

Ezzeks didn't linger, jumping back down the ladder where he found a confused Lucien and Sey, who was on the brink of spilling her guts all over the room.

"Please kill me…" a voice wailed from the stone casket.

Ezzeks looked around confused. "Where are we?"

Lucien looked at him with a mix of disgust and confusion, while Sey pressed herself against the nearby wall, steadying herself. She swallowed hard. "Ugh, this is a Stolkglider…" she wobbled in place. "A-Are you Mr. Gira?" She asked, her voice wobbly and tinged with twisting nausea.

Ezzeks studied the girl, "Yeah… that's technically me."

Lucien looked Ezzeks up and down, confused, turning to Sey. "You know this…uh… guy?"

Sey pressed her back against the wall. "He's the Coarseblood."

"The one that almost killed that kid back in Krreat?" Lucien said, his eyes wildly studying the figure with ‌tense apprehension.

"Yup." Ezzeks answered, walking into the shadows past a pile of scattered boxes. His eyes grew dark with bitter distaste. Pressed against the back end of the cargo was the mangled body of Sorroz. Pushing past the boxes, he knelt down beside the old ranger's body.

Lucien let go of the ladder, his knees still shaky. "Hey!" he stumbled forward. "The fuck are you doing? Get your hands off him!"

Ezzeks paid him no mind, pulling Sorroz from under the heavy boxes; he carefully put the worn body onto the nearby bench. With a heavy expression, he murmured some words.

"Don't touch him!"Lucien said, rushing towards Ezzeks only to stumble on some boxes.

Ignoring the shaken Lucien, Ezzeks stood tall, scanning the room until his gaze rested on the glowing exit sign.

From above the control room, the sound of shuddering chains suddenly filled the room, and from above Draell came crashing down. With the left side of his face bruised, his nose bleeding profusely, yet a smile spread wide across his face.

"COARSEBLOOD!" he shouted. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you! Welcome formally to the Voltasaxx Squad!"

Ezzeks stopped just short of the stone casket and glanced back. "Huh?"

Draell closed the distance between the two and put a hand on his shoulder. "You can call me Draell! Better known as the Commander of the Voltasaxx Squad. I was supposed to meet you a while back, but work stuff came up and I forgot you existed—but—here we are. Sorry for the amazing accuracy earlier, I have this urge to hit things that fly at me. You know." He nudged Ezzeks with his elbow.

"I thought Morray was the Commander, or… Captain? Leader? Actually what the fuck does he even do?"

"He's like a glorified intern—anyways, kid, you gotta tell me about that light show. That was you behind that starlight display of dragon fire?" Draell got uncomfortably close, his weirdly cold ‌hand pressing harder into his shoulder.

"Uh," Ezzeks pulled away, "Well… it was, but—" He stared blankly into his palm, "no more."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Draell leaned in closer, his breath brushing against Ezzeks's face.

Ezzeks stepped back, but Draell pressed closer, his glassy eyes searching for something within him.

Draell pulled back, his unblinking gaze unmoving."Hmmm… I don't feel a sputter of Draconic Kyyr from you—peculiar. Say, was that light show a Coarseblood thing?"

Ezzeks's eyes traced his own veins. "I don't know how or why, but it was an act of Divinity. The last hurrah of a dead man's memory."

Draell stood there for a second, a bewildering excitement revealing itself upon his face. "You don't say."

Ezzeks leaned against one of the Stolkgliders' windows. "Where are we?"

Draell joined him by the window. "We're aboard Cetarro. I was tracking the Caused you turned to ash. But, seeing the tower this low has caused a change of plans."

Ezzeks continued to study the dimly lit remains of some kind of store just beyond the glass.

"Are we gonna crash?" he asked.

Draell walked past Ezzeks. " At this rate, yes. We're on a collision course with the oversized aquarium below us." He pointed at the ground. Draell sighed, "I was hoping to let loose, but, duty calls." He shrugged. "Coarseblood, you were aboard Cetarror before I graciously caught you, right?"

Ezzeks gave an annoyed look. "Yeah?"

"Were there any survivors?"

"Yes, there was Xizu and her daughters, a couple rangers, and a Servinae."

"Who were these rangers?" he asked, eyes lost in the damp black outside the glider.

"There was Mera and Serfet. There were also two others I hadn't met before, women I think."

"Hmmm…" Draell tightened his hold on the chain that was wrapped around his wrist. "Ranger Gira Mourns, as your first order from high command, I command you to provide us with support against the Abyss. Purge orders are in effect."

Ezzeks nodded along. "Works with us."

Sey, who had been listening in with Lucien, cleared her throat, getting their attention. "Sir," she said, averting her eyes while pointing down at the naked body of Ezzeks. "Could we please do something about his attire?"

Ezzeks looked down at himself. "Do you guys have any spare clothes? Preferably not from the dead gentleman." He said, glancing at Sorroz.

Lucien walked over to one of the many boxes, his hands carefully tracing the rims. "There should be some extra uniforms and equipment somewhere around here…" he nodded towards the jumble of supply crates.

"Right…" Ezzeks mumbled, leaning down and tracing the rim of another box looking for a latch.

The group searched for a while, procuring a set of uniforms that were on the smaller side.

Lucien tilted his head. "I'm not sure if this'll fit, but this is all we could find."

Ezzeks tried the uniform on, and while it fit, it was extremely tight, to an uncomfortable degree.

"Why the fuck is this thing so small?" he complained, flailing against the tight sleeves while the bodysuit squeezed his ass and groin.

Sey piped up, "It seems these uniforms might've been for women."

Draell inspected Ezzeks. "It'll work."

Ezzeks shot an annoyed glare at Draell, who was awkwardly trying to shove the pleading casket through the doorway.

"Please…kill me…" it groaned.

"It'll work my ass…ugh, if only I could shrink…." He got an idea. "Give me a sec." he said, before going limp and slamming into a wall.

The three rangers just kind of stared at Ezzeks, watching him slide down the wall.

Draell stared for a second before shrugging and resuming his brutish abuse of the doorway and his casket.

Lucien leaned in next to Sey. "I guess the rumors about the Voltsaxx Squad were true…"

Sey laughed awkwardly. "I-I mean… they're a little strange." She glanced between Draell, who had jammed the casket into the doorway, and Ezzeks, who was leaving a snail trail on the wall as his face slid down the wall. "Just… a little." She sighed in defeat. "Let's help Commander Draell…"

Meanwhile, deep within the entrails of the void that comprised his throne, Ezzeks opened his eyes, feeling a little dread before perking up. All around him was the black void, though the once neat living area had exploded, sending all the crimson furniture flying all over the place. But amidst the chaos, he spotted 4 figures standing around what looked like a random assortment of stuff.

Gira dodged a punch from an enraged Vaal. "Come on, tell me! Who is she?"

Vaal had a deep-set frown on his face as he swiped at something in Gira's hands. "Give that back you pilfering rat!"

K was nearby, his hands up as he tried to calm the two down. "Dear me! Maybe we should let this go!"

"But I remember that face!" Gira exclaimed, his eyes darting to a small screen that displayed a woman, her golden hair bathed by the distant shine of an orange glow that illuminated a bright smile. "Who is she?"

"None of your fucking business you little piece of—" Vaal kicked Gira in the stomach, causing him to crumple into his guts.

"HAHA!" Savagrios let out a hearty laugh. "Come on Gira, there's no way that actually hurt!"

Gira grumbled, "But it did…"

Vaal dug into Gira's arms, ripping the control from his hands and flicking the screen off. "Don't touch my shit!" he hissed.

"But who is she? Why do I know her?"

"You don't!" Vaal shouted, his voice filled with a vile edge. "You don't know her. Trust me…" his voice softened as he walked over to the scattered pillow fort where he began to collect his things into a bag. Vaal seemed to shrink, clutching the display tightly, his demeanor as soft as a whisper. "Just leave me alone."

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"But," Gira got up, "I swear I've seen—"

"NO!" Vaal raised his voice, his tone sharp."Let—it—go."

Savagrios gave K an awkward shrug as he pulled back from the scene. "Just so you know, we crashed into your domain by pure chance."

"Indeed, we're honestly a little confused." K added.

Vaal sighed, "it's fine… at least I'm not dead… and neither are you. I guess." He finished gathering his things and began to walk into the void.

"Dead?" Savagrios repeated. "That beastly ranger wasn't that bad."

K looked at Borren in disbelief. "Are you daft? Borren shot us multiple times, pummeled us, broke our skull, ripped our hand off, he burnt us, crushed our spine, he…"

Gira got up."He punched us so hard my eye popped out too. " he added, hovering his hand over his eye. "But Vaal's probably talking about all the other stuff that's happened since." Gira grumbled, licking his teeth as he reminisced. "There was some big abyssal thing going on, and we ended up fighting a bunch of nasty things, and…" he put a hand on his face, "Oh man, what happened? My head is a mess."

"We do not understand what 'abyssal thing' is supposed to mean." Savagrios said.

"Something about a storm—"

"Guys!" Ezzeks called out, cutting the conversation short.

"Hello dear Berserkrios! How does our body fare?" K asked, waving.

Vaal stopped mid-step, and turned to glare at Ezzeks.

"Berserkrios!" Vaal called out. "Where's Ezzeks?"

"You're looking at him." Ezzeks said without sparing a glance.

Vaal raised a brow. "What do you mean by that?" But Ezzeks didn't answer as he walked over to the three idiots who were still rummaging through Vaal's stuff. "Hey! Answer me!"

The group of Giras looked over towards Vaal who had dropped his stuff on the ground.

"Berserkrios! What the hell did he tell you!!?"

Ezzeks sighed, "He told me about himself. It was a miserably long and lonely story with an incredibly shitty ending." He turned to face Vaal. "He told me about his last moments. You know, sometimes the dead don't forget, but I bet you wish they did. Every Cause has an effect, every deed a shadow. What did your dumbass expect would happen that day? You pathetic pissed-eyed bastard."

Vaal trembled, fists balled tight. "What did I expect? Not that the likes of you would be the one lecturing me… Pathetic, huh? How ironic." Vaal shook his head. "Ezzeks only knew what he saw. So don't act all high and mighty when you're wearing the skin of a blind fool."

And with that, Vaal walked away, disappearing somewhere in the dark, his presence silently fading leaving the three very confused Giras and Ezzeks.

"Pssst—K. What the heck were they talking about?" Gira asked.

"Forgive me, but I don't have the slightest clue."

Savagrios leaned in, "could you tell us more about what happened after our duel? All we recall is terrible pain and then waking atop the remains of the pissed-eyed ghouls' domain."

Ezzeks finally caught up with the group. "To sum it up, Abyssal fiends attacked while we recovered, and we ended up at the edge of death."

Gira nodded along, "Yeah, me and Berserkrios ended up fighting a bunch of nasty tasting tumor heads. And then these three howling things showed up and then…and then, uh. I actually don't know. Something about splitting the sky, err…" Gira's hair-bits twitched. "There was someone laughing real loud, I think."

Ezzeks' demeanor softened. "A hero came to save us. That's all."

Gira's face lit up, "A hero!? Like a real one!? Are they still around? Can we meet him?" he gestured at himself and the other two.

Ezzeks' expression became as soft as melting snow. "You can't meet him. Not anymore. He really needed to rest."

Savagrios gave Ezzeks a weird look. "Have you suffered brain damage perhaps?"

Ezzeks frowned, "you're the last person that should be saying that."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?! We assure you our brain is chronically at its best."

"Chronically?" K repeated dryly.

"Indeed! It means we have lifelong ingenuity and charm!" Savagrios said proudly.

"Okay?" Ezzeks said with obvious uncertainty.

"What's with that tone you—"Savagrios began to retort but was interrupted by Gira.

"Wait, so did he win? Did everyone make it out safely?"

"That's what I was going to talk about." Ezzeks said, "there's this maniac who's here to help? I think. But he wants me to wear this small uniform and well—" he stared down at Gira, who was about a head shorter than Ezzeks.

"Oh. I mean, sure." Gira mumbled. "Let me just find a spot to lay down." Gira said with a weak half-smile.

"Dear me, what about Savagrios and I?" K asked.

Ezzeks examined the two, and though they outwardly looked fine, they had practically no Kyyr. "You two should rest up, thanks to the hero Gira and I got plenty of Kyyr left."

"What did this hero guy even do?" Savagrios asked.

Ezzeks dramatically looked up into the void. "He split the heavens."

"What? What does that even mean? Like literally or is this one of those clever word things?" Savagrios asked.

"It's a little bit of both." Ezzeks said with a shrug.

"Huh? That just confused me more, what—" Savagrios prattled on, getting progressively more vague responses as Gira looked for a comfy spot.

Outside beyond the veil of their throne, Draell had managed to pull out his casket and had wandered off into the dark, leaving behind Lucien and Sey to tend to Ezzeks who they'd at least covered with a tarp.

Lucien poked the inert Ezzeks. "What the hell happened to him? He was completely fine a little while ago."

"Don't poke him." Sey said. "He's probably just tired."

"I was just checking on him. Maybe he suffered some kind of internal damage or something."

"The bio-reader says he's all green… It's probably some Coarseblood thing." Sey leaned in closer, her starry-eyed pupils focused on his sleeping face." You know, I swear by all that's gold, he looked different the last time I saw him."

"Really? Maybe it's a Coarseblood thing? Aren't there rumors C.Es can transform into other people? Have you heard the stories where C.Es kidnap young women by turning into their lovers. Luring them out to the edge of town before taking them away into the night…"

" Wouldn't that be super redundant for C.Es to do that??"

"How so?" he asked, pulling his hair back and tying into a ponytail.

Sey lowered her head, glancing over at old Sorroz."…You know, Mr. Sorroz was from the Luxinae Translate. He used to talk about it now and then, usually when things got quiet. Stories about living in one of the Big Six. I'm not sure if you knew… but his home-port was under the Emperar Family. Most of what he shared came back to the C.Es somehow. "Funny thing—no matter how the story started, it always ended the same way. C.Es taking whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. They were above everything. Untouchable." She gave a dry scoff. "He never told his stories bitterly, but there was always this fear in his old eyes… And who could blame him? Anyone would grow weary remembering the tragedies of Monsters—even among Monsters."

Lucien's gaze lingered on the old ranger's battered body. "…He carried a lot more than he ever let on, didn't he?"

Sey sat beside Sorroz, her eyes still swollen from tears. "At least… the storm didn't change him. He stayed himself, right to the end." She leaned back against the cold window, her gaze drifting over the bleak store as if searching for something in the dark.

Lucien knelt next to Sorroz, "True…"

"True what?" Gira asked.

Lucien flinched hard at the sudden voice. "Holy shit!" He toppled backward into a stack of boxes, sending them clattering across the floor.

The two rangers stared confused at the less imposing figure of Gira who was snugly wearing the uniform they'd given Ezzeks.

"Who are you? Where the fuck did you come from?" Lucien asked, mid-struggle to stand.

"Uhh, from over there." Gira said, pointing to where Ezzeks had been standing.

"What the? Where did the big guy go? And who the hell are you?" Lucien pressed.

"I'm Gira. And I'm guessing you're the guys Berserkrios was talking about! Pleasure to eat you—I mean meet you!" he said with a smile. "Hehe, sorry, I'm just a little hungry. Anyway! What's this rescue mission thingie?"

Sey, though startled at first, recognized the spiky-haired young man. "You… you mentioned an arcade earlier, remember? Commander Draell went ahead to the entertainment floor to look for survivors."

Gira snapped his fingers. "Ohhh, yeah, that's a place with all the lights and stuff. Though, they're definitely not there anymore, since we ended up escaping into this big open area near one of those see-through elevators."

"That sounds like one of the atriums?"

"The what?"

Sey tried to find the words to explain herself, but Lucien answered for her.

"It's like a big vertical room with multiple floors."

"Ohhh, yeah, that's where they were!" Gira said, trying his best to draw the atrium in the air with his finger.

"Do you remember what floor they were on?" Lucien asked.

"Hmmm, I don't really remember the exact floor, mainly because of all the freaky things that were trying to eat me, but, I'm pretty sure it was towards the top where all the black sludge was piling up."

Sey got up from her seat and pressed something along the jaw of her suit. "Sir, according to Gira the survivors were in the upper floors of the entertainment floor's atrium, not the arcade."

There was a brief silence, during which Sey nodded along. "Ye-yes sir," she gestured over to Lucien, who in a panic scrambled to his comms unit.

"Sir!" he said. "Yes…. mhm….huh? Y-yes sir!" he said with frazzled conviction.

Gira looked between the two rangers, who were now looking at the wide-eyed Gira.

"What's up? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Lucien exhaled, his demeanor darkening."They're calling for back up from post 33. A hored of infected suddenly appeared and overwhelmed the ground forces. Commander Draell has decided to send you down for back-up."

"Oh. Alright, I'm okay with that."

"But well, we've been ordered to support Commander Draell, and we're just kind of wondering how he expects you to make landfall." Lucien explained.

"Landfall?"

"You realize we're over five hundred meters up in the air right?"

"Oh yeah… We're on the cool tower things right. Hmmm… Can't I just fly down with this thing." He loudly tapped the inside of the glider. "I bet I could do it."

Lucien shook his head. "You'd probably kill yourself."

"I can't die, trust me." The two rangers looked at him annoyed. "Well then what else am I supposed to do? Jump?"

We could… Ezzeks's voice reverberated from within the throne.

"We can?!" Gira raised a brow,."But the pretty lady said we're like 500 Gira's from the surface!"

"The fuck?" Sey muttered in confusion.

"Who are you talking to?" Lucien asked.

I'm not sure why but we actually have a lot of Kyyr…

Gira closed his eyes, and focused on his body, feeling the blossoming energy ripple through his bones. "Woah! You're right! It's like when I used that Booster back at Trant! B-but how? Weren't we running out of Kyyr earlier?"

No clue, but it's best to take all blessings with grace…

"Wait… since we got all this Kyyr, does that mean…" Gira began to tremble with unbridled excitement, "Hehe…AH!" He looked down at the uniform he was wearing. "Oh wait, does that mean us putting this on was kinda pointless?"

It appears so…

"Eh, whatever—I get to fully transform!" Gira exclaimed with disturbing glee, confusing Lucien and Sey even more. "Welp! It was nice meeting you two. " he said, walking up to the two and shaking their hands at the same time. "But, I've got energy to burn and things to kill." He said, his bright demeanor failing to match his words. "Oh, and if you guys meet up with Xizu tell her I'm still alive~"

The two rangers nodded stiffly, unnerved by his bright, unshaken demeanor. With Gira already bounding toward the exit, there was nothing left for them to do but follow Draell's orders.

Gira stumbled out of the Stolkglider, landing with a splash in a puddle of water. The Inverse Sea had scoured the store clean, stripping it of furniture, décor, and life until only a hollow shell remained. A damp, oddly soothing scent clung to the air. The twinge of wet concrete and sea breeze filled his lungs as he straightened, his steps light and careless while he wandered toward the yawning void where the window had once been.

He drew in a long breath, the night air cool and sharp in his lungs. Gira's gray-black eyes flickered, a pale blue glow blooming within. Ezzeks stirred in the shared throne of their mind, and with the melding came a sound—the phantom roar of a cheering crowd, hollow applause rising from nowhere. A ghostly ovation of spirits that had never been there.

Lucien froze, his head snapping toward the sound. "What—what is that?!" He pressed himself against the glass, eyes wide. "That's not—there's no one out there—" His breath hitched. "Sweet Symbols… what the fuck is that?"

Sey joined him at the port, her gaze falling on the figure outside. There stood a malformed silhouette, its repulsive form sending a shiver through her body as she failed to averse her eyes.

Gira's torso was stretched, spiny ridges erupting through his uniform and down his spine. The black fiber of the uniform writhed like thrashing waters as bone bulged his tail-bone ripping through his skin and lashing outward into a long, coiling tail. Flaying flesh split at the seams. Muscles flared red under the shattered sky, his arms trembling in violent bursts as he raised them in agony. His fingertips ruptured, peeling back, bone splintering under the newfound weight of twisting growths that flowered into massive claws.

The ghostly cheers warped, their cadence collapsing into a low, mournful chant. Gira raised his head from the jumble of bones, hair and skin sloughing away. From the ruin of flesh and teeth, a long skull pushed through —Berserkrios revealed itself, the snout jutting forward, bone clattering in the wind. The chant hollowed further; the voices lost all human resonance, bleeding into an atmospheric hum that drowned the chamber in dread.

The Coarseblood stood up, his head ripping through the ceiling as his body adjusted. He dug his massive talons into the floor, his long bony tail shuddering as the end rippled, warped into a bladed tip. He let out a hollow exhale, dropping on all fours, his jaws split wide, his long-bladed tongue meeting the red remains of his discarded humanity. His spine quivered, then ruptured again—armored blades erupting from his shoulder blades. A low, pained growl rumbled through the Stolkglider, causing the terrified rangers to freeze in place as Berserkrios's miasma bathed the tower.

The Consummate form of Berserkrios was massive, overshadowing his crimson twin, in figure and weight. His bony scales were like armor in memento mori of a Dragon. Compared to the Nascent form he was larger, his snout longer, his chest wider, his essence imposing.

Cracks scored his visage, fracture lines carrying implications of an inhuman gaze. His auricular Kyyr receptors twitched, a familiar essence entwined with a deep, menacing presence.

Two distinct echoes of Abyssal Kyyr bled through the night.

Ezzeks grumbled within, Of course he didn't finish it off. Like a bolt of lightning he came and went, leaving behind his scraps… He let out an annoyed sigh. And now there's another… Gira. We must put those fell beasts to rest. In remembrance, and for our duty.

Gira—no, Berserkrios—lowered his head and answered with a resonant roar. The sound thundered outward, shaking glass and bone alike, echoing through both land and sky.

Sey and Lucien clamped their hands over their ears, faces twisted in pain. Rangers from low and high turned to face the night sky with dread. The monstrous call of the Coarseblood rolling through the glassy surface of Poseidon's Tectonaphis until it found its targets.

There, consumed by the tower's shadow, stood a lone figure amid the butchered remains of dozens of rangers and Caused alike. And at its feet writhed the charred, still-living body of the Cerberus. The unfortunate beast whimpered in fear, its tendrils lashing against its devouring presence. Its single eye tearing up as it descended upon the helpless creature.

Flesh knitted and tore, pressed together in grotesque defiance, as black spiraling tendrils unfurled from the warped union. They coiled outward, seizing what was left of man and beast, and dragged it all into the waiting dark.

The flesh bubbled and writhed as three heads emerged from the contorted flesh. Blood and water began to rise. As sickly pink Kyyr crackled in the air as rain rose into the sky.

And deep below, under the vast shroud of Gore's Vivathecca, a vast eye watched. Its instincts churned, overwhelmed by something foreign, something that twisted all thought into the urge to kill.

THUMP!

The world trembled as the wyrmm glass cracked.