7. Void Dragon's Trait

"You got to be kidding with me. That was her weakest attack?" Diana stared at Ethan, not knowing what to do or even what to think.

"Maybe not. Now that I think about it, a normal arrow would be her weakest attack," Ethan scratched his cheek, looking at Diana as if nothing was wrong with him countering an attack that could annihilate a smaller town, "We better get moving though, the apostle is probably using the Empresses forces so they're gonna find us pretty quick." He flicked with his wrist, a spatial storage appearing for a few moments before sucking up everything placed out in the camp. And like that, the pair set out for their long walk towards the eastern mountains, a great danger looming behind their backs, closing in with every hour.

Several of them passed before Diana had to ask a question that she had been struggling to quell in wait for Ethan to initiate the conversation, "Am I your disciple now...?"

Ethan looked back, an amused expression dancing over his face, "I suppose you are," He met Diana's gaze, an entertained light flickering in his eyes, "Guess I'll have to teach you a thing or two." Shooting a smile towards her, he turned around, continuing his walk forwards.

Diana looked after him for a second, wrapping her mind over the fact she had to consider the man before her as a master. Battling over a decision, she sped up, covering the short distance Ethan had laid out in a few seconds. "So what's the fist lesson, master?" She tasted the word, waiting for Ethan's reaction,

"Oh please, don't call me that, I've already had one disciple that was very keen on calling me master." Ethan almost looked sickened by the thought of her calling him master, which in reality, he was. For over 200 years, Nox, the second ascender called him master. Every. Single. Day.

Diana was happily surprised, a smile playing over her red lips. "And for your first lesson, lets go with awakening your trait." Ethan spoke casually, like awakening a trait was the simplest thing in the entire universe.

Diana had stopped fully in her tracks, not believing a word of what she just heard. 'Awakening my trait? Is that even possible?' Diana had lived a handful of years past the normal age without awakening her trait, if she even had one that said. But here Ethan was saying that not only did she have a trait, but he could teach her how to awaken it? Her mind was speeding, trying to understand what it meant for her to awaken her trait. Before she had the chance to come to a conclusion, Ethan began talking,

"When Nox and I began forging our relationship as master and disciple, he told me that there was a way to awaken a trait forcibly. The only downside was that it only worked on offensive traits, favorably those meant for destruction. Thus, for Nox to forcibly awaken his trait which belonged to the most destructive family of fire-power traits, it was a piece of cake to say the least," Ethan turned to Diana, a serious gaze meeting the curious one of hers, "And your trait is the apex trait of that family, the most destructive of all," Ethan's gaze turned even more serious, "What you possess is the long forgotten trait of the void dragon."

A stunned silence emitted between the two. Ethan looking at Diana with grave seriousness in his eyes, Diana meeting his gaze with a mix of shock and confusion. She was stunned over how serious Ethan had turned but confused over what the void dragon was. As far as she knew, dragon's only existed with powers relating to the four basic elements, fire, earth, wind and water. And what was this about the trait being 'long forgotten'? Diana only dug herself into more confusion by trying to understand.

"Why is this so serious?" Diana set word to the thoughts rampaging through her mind, looking at Ethan with complete bafflement.

"To put it into perspective," Ethan started walking again, "If you'd awakened with only a medium class energy pool. The boost in sheer power from this trait would allow you to even threaten people in the peak of high class, no kidding. So for you to have this trait whilst also already being in the peak of high class without having it awakened, well, it speaks for itself." Ethan's voice trailed of, his thoughts reaching deep into his mind, scavenging, in hunt for something particular.

Behind him, Diana had stopped, her eyes constantly searching across the horizon. "Somethings approaching." She turned around, spotting Ethan in the distance, him as well looking towards the horizon. He met her gaze, his left arm pointing at an object approaching with high velocity. "Second lesson. Shoot it down." Ethan's face turned cruel in an instant.

Diana let her gaze leave Ethan, returning back to the approaching shadow. She sighed, not really knowing how to act. As things stood, Diana was self taught in the way of her power. Currently she had only comprehended how to envelop her thin daggers in a intense blanket of flames and how to extend her flames slightly outside her body, as seen when she raced through the desert on her custom made glass footholds. Thus, shooting down a moving target at an altitude of several hundred studs was a hard-fought battle.

"Feel the power inside you. It's yours, it knows what to do, just listen to it and learn from it." Ethan's calming voice reached her ears, penetrating her clouded mind, lending her his strength.

With a trembling mind she dove. She dove deep inside her power, reaching points she never knew she could. The power felt her presence, reacting to it, forming itself around her diving mind. She felt what it was Ethan meant, it was almost like it talked to her through its feeling. With a gasp she resurfaced, a plan expanding inside her head. Extending her arms before her she began to mumble, arms moving with impossibly deep purple flames scorching their way through the air, it was almost like a... void.

Ethan observed her every movement, watching carefully after any hints of danger. His mind happily dancing around one single thought, 'She's really gonna awaken it herself? Was it only a nudge in the right direction that was needed?' Ethan had indeed thought that he needed to awaken it by force which isn't the most enjoyable experience. Before him, with closed eyes, Diana continued to move her arms, their speed only growing faster, her flames raging with a fierceness that would scare even the all-mighty phoenix.

Diana's eyes shot open, a strong and oppressive aura bursting from deep within her. As she drew upon every last drop of her energy she felt shackles breaking. A deafening roar erupting from her throat as her aura completely changed, going from a blazing red to a complete void. With the never-ending stream of energy coming from her pool came flames, violent ones. Purple flames erupted from her body, enveloping her arms and jumping the distance through the air to the intricate pattern hanging in front of her, wrapping it up cleanly as if it was a birthday present. Diana's arms began to tremble from the raging energy as she let it go with a chant that had been as clear as day for her to form,

"[Fireball from the Void]"

A single fireball manifested, vibrating with a mix of black and purple energy. It shot forwards towards the shadow circling above her. After a few seconds it reached its apex and exploded. The screech of the flying creature could be heard before getting completely overrun by the crackling shock wave from the explosion, a booming sound following tightly. A void colored cloud formed above them, stretching out for what seemed like thousands of studs. The shock wave hit them with full force, sending the already weak Diana to the ground in a violent series of coughs.

She felt strong arms lifting her up from the ground as her consciousness faded in and out. Before everything went out she heard a faint whisper,

"To think you would awaken it by yourself, and in such a destructive fashion as well. Its truly worth of being at the apex."

A smile lingered on her tired face, the very last thing she thought before blackness covered her mind being that she really had done it. She had awakened the void dragon's trait.