Battle of the Bloodchosen (2/2)

Far, far below at the bottom of the Realm of Power, there is an endless plane of glowing, white mana crystals that reflect rainbow colored light.

The landscape of this crystal is just as complex as any planet's. It has canyons, planes, and mountains.

There, on one of the cliffs, is sitting a lone figure with her legs dangling off the edge.

The woman is naked, except for the plates of black scales covering her body like armor.

Her long tail, which is well over 20 feet long, is draped around her haphazardly like a rope someone forgot to wrap up.

Hanging long past her shoulders and sprawled on the ground is long, silky black hair. The hair contrasts so perfectly with the white mana stone floor that it appears to be a rift in space – so dark it is.

Atop the woman's head is a rack of seven horns, arrayed in the shape of a shagged crown. The middle 3 horns are long and jutting high above her head, while the other 4 horns are wrapped around her head and curl in the back, like a sinister circlet.

Most importantly, the woman's eyes are glowing a strange golden color. At first, these eyes seem to shimmer dimly like unpolished gold, yet the longer you stare into them, the more brightly the eyes shine. If one were to look into them for too long, your brain would melt from the pressure.

The woman's face above the nose is shaped so perfectly that nothing in all creation could rival it, other than another Goddess of her stature. However, below her nose, her left cheek is showing terrible burn scars and jagged cuts.

Finally, hanging around the woman's neck, is a large, grey feather that's tied to a string and fashioned into a necklace.

The dragon is leaning back on her seat with her arms propped behind her, and her eyes are looking far into the distance.

Of course, no human could see as far as she's looking with the naked eye. Far, far in the distance, she sees her collection of galaxies flowing and swirling in unnatural patterns. Every now and then, she'll see brief flashes of light.

"So they've finally started it, huh?" she mumbles with interest. "It's been so long since anyone came here…"

(Well, there ARE countless worlds she's eaten before with people on them, and those worlds are still in her sky. Those people aren't guests, but prisoners, so they don't count…)

In Drakavar's eye, she can acutely see the natural flow of Forces. She can tell where gravity is pulling things, and she can see where a thing's inertia will take it.

Hence, when others see galaxies and stars holding still in place, she sees a dynamic river carrying all celestial objects.

There, she sees, in beautiful shades of color, the two dragons yanking the energy out of the nearby galaxies and hurling them at each other.

'Why are they BOTH holding back?' Drakavar wonders to herself. 'How silly.'

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After only about ten minutes, Dakka has gotten the hang of his new powers. From that point on, he starts treating their duel more as a game than anything else.

Fheldin, however, finally realizes what his grandson is thinking.

And so, the old dragon immediately halts in place and crosses his arms. If he did this while fighting anyone else – letting his guard down, he'd effectively be forfeiting the match.

However, Fheldin knows that Dakka won't take this chance to take him down unfairly.

"Dakka… What are you doing?" Fheldin asks with a disappointed tone, yet a stone still face.

"I…I'm fighting you!"

Instead of answering, Fheldin takes a deep breath and says calmly. "I see… It appears that I've been going too soft on you."

The next moment, the older dragon disappears from Dakka's view.

Dakka, of course, can feel the flow of Force, so he knows where his grandfather is about to appear again.

However, instead of dodging, the arrogant dragon stays still and slightly strengthens his defensive scales.

…But when Fheldin appears, his two iron swords swing on unison at Dakka's throat.

Dakka calmly tries to catch the blades with an upraised hand, but his vision is suddenly blurred by red and he feels his hand feel a numb, pulsing pain.

Fheldin's right sword was caught by Dakka's palm, but his left sword passed straight though 2 of his fingers – severing them both before bouncing painfully off of Dakka's throat scales.

"AAAH!!!" Dakka roars in agony. Out of reflex, a bit of his true power bursts out, and all the space around them is cleared away. The stars are pulled from the heavens, and all the nearby galaxies have the energy ripped out of their cores.

This one burst should've killed a 5-Horned dragon, yet instead of dodging, Fheldin takes one step back, then swings his right sword down – cleaving Dakka's attack in half.

Without hesitation, Fheldin steps forward again, and lunges at Dakka with his left blade.

This time, Dakka slaps his two hands together and catches the sword between his palms.

Dakka attempts to snap the blade in half, but Fheldin pushes his power through the blade just in time – strengthening the iron and saving it from destruction.

Then, with his right blade, he swings at Dakka's shoulders.

Just in time, Dakka catches the sword near the base of the blade with his tail – the base being where blade has the least cutting momentum.

In that same moment, Fheldin swings his own tail around and slaps Dakka's left wrist so hard that his grip on the left blade loosens.

Taking this opportunity, Fheldin lifts the hilt up and angles it for a stab.

If Dakka hadn't flicked his tailed and used the ensuing explosion to jump back, he'd have been skewered through the eye.

And just like that one exchange, Dakka is put on the defensive. Fheldin is getting deadlier and deadlier with his strikes.

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'Why? WHY!?' Dakka thinks in disbelief every time he trades blows with Fheldin. 'My scales are as strong as they're going to get, but Grandfather is still breaking them! He's only a 5-Horned dragon! HOW!?'

Being consumed by curiosity, Dakka roars to Fheldin between their minds, "How are you so strong!? I thought Drakavar's blood gift doesn't work in this realm!? You're only a 5 horned dragon!"

Fheldin puts his swords down, and looks at Dakka with droopy, disappointed eyes.

"I thought you were smarter than that…?" he replies calmly. "Weren't all of the Hal'Nithkin Elder Dragons?

Indeed, the Halnith-Kae – the blood chosen – were the first generation of dragons. The eldest dragons were also all Elder Dragons.

Plus, the only way for the blood gift to be passed on is through ritual combat…

Just as Dakka starts to realize the truth, a horrible pressure starts to emit from Fheldin.

He then plants his feet in the ground of a nearby moon, and he concentrates.

"Tell me, little Dakka," Fheldin says in an even voice, "How could I have obtained the blood gift if I haven't defeated an Elder dragon before?"

With that said, Lord Fheldin – ruler of the world called Arra – releases a long sigh, as if he's relaxing a tensed muscle for the first time.

Then, before Dakka's very eyes, a 6th horn emerges from Fheldin's head, and the power flowing within him multiplies by millions of times.