Destruction

Staring at what remains, the unthinkable happens.

DESTRUCTION

 

              Gone.  Azazel stared at the shattered shell that used to be their home.  He heard Kamikaze and Geo walking up behind them.  As the rain beat down on the fires still burning, Azazel looked as he saw Equinox walking out of the ruined castle city.  Seething rage boiled over as the hound cried out and lunged at his target with his rapier.  Kamikaze and Geo rushed into help, but the trio were immediately thrust backwards by a wave of dark energy.

              “Fight, coward!  What, you only destroy in solitude!  Fight me, d****t!” Azazel cried out in anger.  He could feel his blood boiling as the rain increased intensity made visibility difficult.  As Azazel tried desperately to see through the drops, he realized the ryuukin had vanished.  Clenching his fist, he turned to face his friends as they got back to their feet.

              “We’re giving chase.  I’m not letting him get away with this.  We rendezvous with the others, then look into where he may have…guh!”  Azazel let out a gasp and gripped his head.  The hound fell to his knees as he cried out in pain.  Surges of dark and wind energy surrounded him as the air grew hot.

              Azazel!  Azazel, can you hear me?  Lepp, we are connected, right?!  I don’t think we’re reaching him.  We need to get to the castle now!  Azazel could hear Sirroco’s voice in his head, but try as he might, he couldn’t collect himself enough to respond.  Something felt wrong.  He could feel a surge of magic rising.  Gusts of wind preventing Kamikaze and Geo from reaching their friend.  Azazel slowly got back to his feet and turned his head to face them.  When they looked at the hound, they gasped.

              Azazel’s eyes had become black as night.  Swirls of dark and wind magic gripped him as he began hovering in the air.  A black shell encapsulated him as he ascended higher in the air.  Before long, cracks began forming in the shell.  Kamikaze and Geo could only stare before they turned to the sound of splashing footsteps behind them.

              Sirocco flew in as Lepp, Oktober, Citrix, and Freya rushed to them.  Sirocco stared at the shell, his right eye reflecting the blackness that consumed both of Azazel’s.  “We’re too late…we’re going to have to take him down as soon as that shell breaks,”  Noticing the others stare at him, the realization once again came to light that the young ryuukin knew more than he was letting on.  “Get ready…d****t!”

              Sirocco gripped his head and cried out in pain as soon as the shell shattered open.  What emerged was a long serpentine dragon sharing the same colors as the screaming ryuukin.  “No!  How are you…?  This isn’t what should be…” Sirocco quickly passed out from his pain as the dragon coiled up and reared its head.

              As the dragon launched its head forward, a blast of black magic erupted from its mouth, blasting into the surrounding forest, setting fire to everything it touched.  Wind surrounded the dragon as it prepared for another attack.

              “What the hell are we supposed to do against that?  Especially now that our ‘all-knowing’ pain-in-the-a*s is out of commission, we don’t exactly have intel on how to deal with a fully grown dragon,” Lepp scoffed as he held Fimbulvetr tight.  The cat looked at the others and sighed at their dejected looks.  “I guess it can’t be helped…that dragon is our leader…”  Lepp looked up as the dragon reared its head again for another blast.

              “Take cover!”  Geo shouted as he and Freya formed a barrier around the group.  They could do nothing as the dragon released another blast; this blast was aimed at the one thing that should never be attacked…

              Bursting in flames from the impact, Yggdrasil began cracking apart.  The World Tree had been hit.  The dragon screeched as the form broke apart, leaving Azazel hanging in the air before he promptly plummeted to the ground.  The barrier dissipated as the group, excluding Freya, rushed to his aid.  Freya stayed behind and began tending to Sirocco.

              “The two of you need to figure out what this connection between you is.  We can’t keep having this happen and it’s only getting worse…” the blind archer whispered as the ryuukin slowly got to his knees from his stomach.

              “How bad was…it…” Sirocco stopped as he looked at Yggdrasil in the distance.  He bowed his head.  “When he wakes up…I’m taking him to Valhalla.  I’m sorry Freya…you’re right.  Things need to change…”  He looked ahead as he saw the hound slowly get to his feet.

              Stumbling unaided, Azazel leaned against Citrix to keep his balance.  The fox held on tight to the battered hound and looked down.  “Azazel…let’s get somewhere safe.  You need to rest…” the fox said softly.  Azazel nodded, but couldn’t muster the energy to respond.  Taking one more glance back at their ruined home, the group made their way back to their camp as the rain continued beating down on them.

              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A rodentus monk in a yellow gi stood at the base of the World Tree as the fires finally ceased.  The lights of healing fading from his hands. He looked at the branches and sighed.  While not completely destroyed, Yggdrasil had certainly taken a massive hit.

              “There’s no telling how this will change our world.  May the Guardian protect us all…”