Ruling as the Next Dragon Sage!

One of my eyes was forced shut, and I laid completely flat on my back. My body stung, like, the entirety of it. Even I saw smoke emit off of my body…and maybe the ground as well.

For once, I looked right at the sky as I slowly got up, weakly. Never been in much pain like this before. Is this how it feels to take the brunt of my magic spells entirely? With zero brace or defense?

Had I known I was going to full commit my mind to it, maybe I would've casted a few buff incantations as well to buff my defense. But…saying I managed to survive that alone is more than enough.

I looked around, for once, our fight traveled so far away that I never realized we were near the mountainside again. Not near the mountains themselves, but just wilderness. I could make out the fiery inferno of Sultan's estate in the distance, however.

I held out my hand, trying to cast [Soulwarming], but I forgot that I was hit with the Magicless debuff. Couldn't use magic to the best degree I could, so, in other words, the output and effectiveness of my magic was lesser than what it should be. Less utility, less production, less damage from any source of magic no matter it's role.

Then…that also means about Cloudjumper, no?

I tried to look for her, in the middle, grass barely remained. Replaced with blackened earth, even some of the trees were scorched. There's no way she…

No, she might've actually—

"No, no—no. Can't think like that. Cloudjumper, you're supposed to be strong. Durable. You can't be a Sovereign if you think—"

Then, my eyes caught onto it. Not too far off in the distance.

Scarlet wings.

I ran as fast as I could, almost broke into a glide as I slid across the ground. Hands searching her armour that was still in tact. I waited for a heartbeat, anything.

It wasn't there.

No, no, no.

Cloudjumper—no.

"Fuck, Soulwarming!"

The spell barely came to life within my hand, at this rate, it wouldn't be enough to heal her to a considerable point.

There was no considerable injuries, nothing out of place. Nothing injured beyond comprehension. How she survived that and managed to…

…my eyes trailed over to her wing. The ones she would use to constantly mask her figure with. The deep red scarlet scales, I see permanent scarring.

On both wings, did she…

No, she did.

Cloudjumper shielded herself with her wings at the last moment. What kind of move is that?

It looked nasty, most of the scales had broken off, revealing underneath a tender skin. Black scarring went deep into the wings, marking some of the scales and furthermore by extension some parts of her armour as well.

None of it dared come to touch her skin, though. Which means that in the final moment…Cloudjumper really did try to use her wings to shield herself.

And this is the result.

Her own…demise.

Brought by me.

"N-no…it can't be. Cloudjumper, c'mon…!" I don't know what it was, really. I think—no, I hoped for something else out of it. That she was still there, and still alive.

And I would do anything to make sure that she was.

Despite her trying to kill me.

Maybe I'm a bit delusional about it. Was she really going to go through with that? Was she really going to try to get me out? Crush me to death with her [Gravity] magic? Maybe. Maybe…

After what felt like a long time, a time with no distinct changes, my prior spell still debuffed my [Soulwarming] magic, but it started to have an effect.

Her breathing wasn't picking up, but her slow heartbeat was. I had to remember it was not the effect of lightning nor the product of [Soulwarming], dragons naturally had slower heartbeats.

With my hand placed over her abdomen, I kept it there. Let it remain there. If Cloudjumper awoke to found out she somehow survived from this because of me, she might never live with that.

But better to live with that than not to live at all.

Knowing Cloudjumper…she would think that the latter option is far better than that. Damn Dragonkins and their pride-filled minds. It may have just been her, though, and her uprising. Dragonkins always had some variation of…"traditional" thinking to it.

Her eyes fluttered, but didn't awake. Good, [Soulwarming] did it's job, and I would still be debuffed for the next counting moments. No point in trying to stay over here. I withdrew my hand, and it seemed like a little bit of strength would eventually return to her now.

Her lip slightly curled, even unconscious. What could she thinking about? No matter, not my call to pry into it.

With my tail, which also had suffered the same amount of pain the rest of my body did—I dragged Cloudjumper and propped her against a jagged stone. That would be good enough. Get her out of the uncomfortable position she was by just laying on the floor.

"There. With how much I let the feud between Cloudjumper and I drag out, I have to get back to Sultan, fast. There's no telling what he had done now—"

A white, no, bright yellow flash occurred behind me. I snapped quickly, thinking it was a spell, but it was the opposite. A large beam that ascended into the sky. A calling of some sorts…

My eyes widened.

Sultan's ritual.

It's completed.

I became so entangled with Cloudjumper that even I had forgot about it, as if that was the earlier priority! If I don't get there fast enough, I'm not sure if Vaniti could handle it, much less handle Koga. I didn't even stay long enough to see if she would fare well against him…

Then, I look at my body. My cloak is slightly torched, scattered even further. The sleeves were gone, revealing my forearms even greater. The chains were still there, still two, but one of them looked like it was on the verge of breaking.

Tanking the full force of that spell was not for the weak, one thing I will admit. I need to head back, fast.

Because if I don't.

Then…I don't even want to imagine what could happen.

I turn, and look at Cloudjumper one more time. She's there. Alive, breathing, but still unconscious. When she does wake up, I hope she's not in much of pain as I am.

I slowly lifted off the ground, and headed towards Sultan's estate, or what remained of it now.

No more of this.

Time to end it for good.