The Culmination of a Purpose

The screech of Gerickst's speed grew in intensity, deafening us to any other sound. The noise kept growing until he came into sight, swooping up and slowing down, blasting wind to the ground as he lowered. Just when he was close to the ground, he retracted his wings and landed with the force of his weight, sending dust and dirt into the air around him, his spike-covered body poking through the cloud, his tail swaying mindlessly. He had a line of spikes, like a mountain range, running from his head down his back and tail, growing bigger toward the center of his back and smaller again. Two smaller lines of spikes ran beside them. The cabin was behind him to his left.

"Ah, Gerickst. Welcome," Abraxas spoke.

He stared toward Abraxas and nowhere else. "Hello, Abraxas," he answered with a hiss in his voice.

"I take it you came here with a purpose?"

"I did. You see, I paid a visit to a town, not far from here. A town I haven't been able to in ten years. There was this puny… boy there who stopped me."

"Forgive my confusion, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Well, I know you have a… fondness for those tiny creatures. And I couldn't help but notice his scent here. Now, this boy is a demidragon—" He spat at saying the term. "Hence why he was able to stop me."

 I entered my wolf's eyes. I was already in the ranger camp, sprinting past Dannas and jumping over a ranger who sat down. I made it to Captain's tent.

"What in the—"

"Captain, it's me. He's here! Hurry!"

"I'll put together the group and send them immediately. We're coming."

I left his eyes and sent him back to me.

"Okay, so you smelled him here?" Abraxas asked.

"Yes." He turned around, and immediately clocked the cabin. "Hm. What's that doing there, Abraxas? Forewarning, don't lie. I'll know it."

"Oh that?" His voice cracked. "It's just a cabin for weary and lost travelers to rest in. I am fond of humans as you say."

He chuckled. With a short pause. Then suddenly his tail cracked like a whip, striking Abraxas across the face.

I immediately reached for my bow, but stopped when my hand grasped it. I knew I needed to wait.

"Abraxas. I told you I'd know, didn't I? I smell his scent, and to top it all off, I smell hers too."

"I-I get plenty of random travelers. I suppose, they could've come here at some point."

Another crack across his head. I gripped my bow tightly.

He growled at Abraxas. "That girl stopped me for ten years, and when I finally got the chance, so did that boy. Now, I'm patient. I'll give you one last chance to tell me the truth. Are you harboring those two? Is that his home?"

"No."

Gerickst sighed for a long time. "Abraxas… you have disappointed me. I'd say I don't want to do this, but I'd be no more truthful than you."

All of a sudden he lunged at Abraxas, tossing up dirt with his thundering steps. Abraxas struggled and grunted as Gerickst wrapped himself around him, almost like a snake. He clawed and bit at Abraxas until he managed to force him on his back, exposed. They were sideways to us, on the opposite side.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE THEY?!!

"I… do not… know…"

"I AM GERICKST THE ALL-BURNING!! ANSWER ME!!!"

"The only one who can carry that title is Ladon. He was more powerful than you ever could be, even with one head."

I saw a flash of intent in Gerickst's eyes as he snarled. And just when his opened mouth and exposed teeth could lunge at his throat, a thunderous clap came from my right ear just before an arrow pierced Gerickst's left eye. I realized my bow was in my left hand, and my right had just released the arrow. I didn't know when I pulled either out, or when I used them.

"Fuck."

He screamed and recoiled off of Abraxas. When he regained his footing, he looked around frantically, before his right eye met mine, slightly out of cover. I drew another arrow without a second thought.

He smiled sadistically, bearing all of his jagged, sharp teeth. "There…"

Another clap, and my arrow pierced through the air straight into his left eye in between a twitch, almost exactly in the same spot.

He screeched and whipped his head about, unable to remove the arrows from his eye. They were like small splinters in comparison to it. Although it probably wasn't damaged beyond repair, I could tell it gave him enough pain to keep it shut.

"You…" He grumbled low. "I'll fucking kill you for that."

 I froze for a moment, as the cold fear washed over me.

"NO!!!!" I heard Abraxas scream, just before ramming into him.

Gerickst reacted like a cat, turning as quickly as possible to fight back. Abraxas was clearly bigger and heavier, but he wasn't a fighter. Gerickst quickly manipulated his weight around Abraxas, only getting hit a fews times while tripling the attacks at him. He managed to swing Abraxas's weight around until Abraxas started using that, trying to swing him into a tree.

I ran to the edge of the clearing, looking for an opportunity to shoot him in the other eye.

 Before long Gerickst regained the upper hand as they stumbled through and around the clearing, until he managed to use both their weights to slam Abraxas into a redwood. The impact shattered halfway through the trunk, not before Gerickst could jump and flap away. The redwood creaked and cracked deeply, before falling down on Abraxas who was trying to move away, breaking against his back at the thickest part. The weight of the tree stayed on him. His body shifted with breath, but moved not in any other way.

"Now… Where was I?" He stood on top of the trunk with his front claws, peering down at me from above.

I let loose an arrow at his right eye, only for him to close it, causing the arrow to bounce off.

"Won't work again."

I looked back to Mi. "Go!"

She shook her head.

I heared a sound I've only heard once before, and turned to see Gerickst's chest begin to glow, his face beaming with a smile. "I get to sunder the both of you at once. Delicious…"

He breathed fire at us like a torrent of air.

I put both my hands out just before the massive breath of flame could touch us. Like there was an invisible wall, his fire stopped and sprayed to the sides and above. As the breath continued, I used my magic to curl the fire inward at the ends, away from the forest. His breath kept coming, pounding me with so much force my feet slid into the ground.

"AAHHHHHH!"

Just when I felt like I couldn't hold it back anymore, it stopped on its own. I nearly fell to my knees.

Gerickst panted for just a moment. "So your element is fire. Of-fucking-course it is. I'll eat you raw then." He stepped forward, just enough for his body to stand over the trunk. He rose his left foot up into the air, flapping his wings to give to tower further.

I immediately detached my quiver and dropped my bow before running forward, knowing his attention was on me. I can't stop him, but I can distract him.

He sent his clawed foot down with all his weight at me. It was too fast for me to run past. I pushed my legs as hard as I could before it stopped, blasting me from above with wind. I came to a halt immediately, noticing a sort of shadowy coating around him. I turned around to see Lili, contorting her fingers at him, Karik in front of her, Dannas behind Mi as scared as could be, and Gin-me in front of those two.

"Don't stop… He's heavy!" her voice shouted in my head.

I nodded, turned around, and sprinted to the trunk. "GET HER OUT OF HERE!!"

Suddenly the spell broke and his body fell. I jumped as his claws impacted the ground so I wouldn't trip, used my speed to land on my legs, sliding under the trunk that was at an angle thanks to Abraxas's body.

On the other side, I kept running, then stopped and turned around before immediately running again. I leaped, running up the trunk's cylindrical shape before leaping again. He was covered in shadows once more. I used the elven rope to latch onto a spike on the side of his head, swinging to another, then pulled myself with all the force I could muster higher up, still managing to use my momentum to climb on top of his head. The rope retracted to my wrist as I reached to my lower back and pulled out my dagger. I rushed past his main line of spikes, using my speed to fall to his right eye, but my neck got tugged to a harsh stop by my cloak. The shadow disappeared. I fell on my back, my neck hanging by my cloak like a nuse. Gerickst shook his head around before whipping up, launching me into the air faster than I could tell in the moment. I spun around until my back suddenly impacted a trunk, knocking the wind out of me before I realized I couldn't feel the dagger, and fell onto a large branch. I quickly regained my breath before realizing I was on a redwood and peered over its side. I saw the small glint of my falling dagger, and the tiny figures of my friends looking up to find me as I realized I was near the top of the tree.

"Fuck."

I heared the thunderous flaps of Gerickst.

Must be rising.

I ran down the length of the branch and jumped, pushing through the leaves to see him looking up at me, as he flapped in the air, his body nearly perfectly vertical. As my luck would have it, I was on his left side, and managed to fall over his blindspot before my rear impacted the top of his head. As fast as I was falling, I slid down his back. I spotted a smaller spike on my way down and tried to grab it, only to lose my grip to my speed and tumble down his back, hitting my back and face and back again before I met open space. My tumbling slowed just enough to see the thin end of his tail coming right at me. Impacting my whole body I wrapped my arms around it, holding on with all my might. He kept whipping his tail around. I had no clue where I was anymore. I could barely see anything between my body getting smacked by his tail at every turn and the fast movements themselves. With every whip and bend my grip was loosening. My hands were burning through pain I've rarely felt—the pain of my muscles truly struggling. 

Suddenly my body felt as though it was whipped down. For a moment, I saw the ground, but before I could react, I was sent upward so fast I barely felt anything. I was spinning like a thrown ball. I saw the ground, the sky, the clearing, more sky, the high edge of the clearing, then the entirety of it before my spinning slowed and I realized I was above the trees. Far above. I could barely see Mi or anyone; even the redwoods felt far away. If I turned, I knew I'd be able to see the mountain range running from the far west, down south. If I turned the other way I knew I'd see more of the forest than I'd ever seen at once. But I didn't do either. All my attention was on the ever-rising Gerickst, pounding his wings against gravity. My body reached its peak in height as I felt the shift in acceleration to my fall. As fast as Gerickst was flying up to me, I was falling to him.

I made my body horizontal, shifting whether my feet or head would be higher. I quickly realized it was moving my body in different directions. Gerickst was coming quickly, his chest aglow once more. I aimed my body, sending myself back, then forwards again as his flaming breath howled at me. Doing a front flip, I pushed my hands into the fire, creating a barrier around myself until I came out the other end, above his left eye again. My plan was the same: slide down his back and hold on.

I slid faster than before, every large spike passing like a tree next to a sprinting wolf. My eyes spotted the same spike from before and instinctively grabbed it. This time my grip didn't slip, even as the harsh force dislocated my shoulder, sending a new pain through my arm and body. I screamed for a second, before grabbing the spike with my other hand and using it to ram my shoulder against it, knocking it back in place just as painfully. We were still moving, in some direction, I could only tell the speed with the wind as it was. I felt a burning sensation near my rear. I looked back to see my violently flapping cloak in flames. Quickly and arduously I unpinned my cloak and let it fly off and fall with the pin's weight. Watching it fall past Gerickst I noticed something. His scales opened and closed toward the bottom of each one to let him bend, like scale mail. It wasn't just a flat surface.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU, BOY?!"

Maybe there's flesh underneath.

Hanging from my left arm, my back against his, I grabbed the bottom of one of his scales, pulling with both arms at once as hard as I could. I could feel we were moving in a circle now but I was pulling so hard it couldn't affect me beyond my legs. I kept pulling, feeling it give little by little until it pulled open by maybe thirty degrees. I stopped and hanged to give my arms a rest, only for a moment. I turned and changed hands so I'd hang from my right, facing him now. I grabbed the scale with my left and pushed, pulling with my right. I maintained the hardest force I could, until it finally gave with a resounding tear barely reaching me through the sound of the wind. It wasn't perpendicular to his body, but still attached.

Swapping back to hang from my left, I pulled Last Resort out with my right, holding it in reverse grip. Like a hammer fist punch, I stabbed into his flesh. Surprisingly, my blade pierced its whole length into him. Gerickst screeched and rithed.

"HOW DID YOU—"

I kept stabbing as quickly and deeply as possible, turning this small section into minced meat. I aimed more inward, jamming my sword under his scale repeatedly, until enough cuts were made, and like a lever, managed to tear it off. The scale fell below us as blood poured out, more than I've ever seen.

'THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!" he screeched.

I kept stabbing and stabbing and stabbing, until he went into a sudden barrel roll clockwise, then counterclockwise, making me lose my grip before getting launched over his main line of spikes, straight to his right wing. Keeping my sword in reverse grip I landed my rear on the main section of his wing, running my sword through the thick leathery flesh like paper as I slid with all my momentum. I shook my wrist repeatedly to make the cut as messy as possible to maximize damage. Before long his wing bent upwards knocking me up again as it flapped. When the wing came back, I now slid down the far end of it cutting through as if I was hanging from my sword, his rising wing bending and flexing, quickening the damage as I hung there.

As the wing reached its upward formation I got launched once more, back above the main section of the wing. As I fell, the wing came back up to flap once more. I made a perpendicular cut through my previous one as I fell through and under it. I turned around, watching him. Every flap worsened the cuts, pulling and tearing his wings, making him need to flap faster to keep himself up, worsening its condition that much quicker. Within ten seconds the three cuts became two large holes, as he began to fall. He spiraled down with his weight, struggling to slow himself.

Just then, watching him fall under his own weight, I was reminded that I too was falling, far further down than him at that. Before I could react my back fell through several leaves. I knocked my rear off the edge of a branch, spinning until I hit my back through another branch, falling and spinning through more and more, unable to tell anything as I crashed through it all until I hit my forehead and a flash burst through my vision, and everything went dark.

Images flashed through my eyes, of the orphanage, a bright sunny day under the apple tree with Mi. Of everything I did to survive. So many things so fast, so many years so fast. All my fights; all the faces of those I killed. Mi's face. My hands around her neck. The guards. Suddenly I remembered everything I did under the extract's influence, like someone kept a record and was showing it all to me. I could've sworn for less than a moment I saw the skeletal head of a bat, but as quickly as everything came, they vanished. I was laying down in darkness.

"Am I dead?"

"Not yet," the original Ladon's voice spoke.

I turned around to see the five gargantuan heads of my inner dragon.

"You've fought better than anyone I've seen in a hundred years."

"Is it over?"

"No."

I sat up. "Fuck. I have to wake up!"

"You're wounded. Badly."

"Fatally?"

"I'm not sure."

"Then I need to be healed, just enough to fight. I'll end him. I'll end it all, whatever the cost on myself."

"I didn't help you this far just to die with you, boy."

"And I didn't come this far to let those I care about die."

He sighed, his heads resting on the ground, almost leisurely. "I suppose I have little choice then."

"What?"

"Do what you will. Just don't fuck it up."

I nodded. I need to heal.

I blinked and suddenly I was in the air, flying past every tree in sight. I could feel my wings flapping. I could see all the lights of the raised city of trees, Ith Trelanwi, maybe fifty meters away. I flew through looking for anything I could recognize. I was moving so fast. I passed the training course, and quickly followed above the path back to the stave house, stopping on a windowsill one floor above mine. No one. I flew with the wind to the right, and saw Inowyn, in her nightgown, sitting on the edge of her bed, rubbing one side of it. She looked like her mind was preoccupied with thought.

I pecked at the window with my narrow beak.

"Huh?" She turned around, immediately recognized my eagle, and rushed to the window, opening it up.

"Ladon? What are you? Why are—"

"I need your help. We need your help. Gerickst came. I've been fighting him. I need your chaos."

"What?!"

"Hurry! Please!"

"I-I'll come right away! I'll get Tarwyn! I'm coming!"

"Thank you. I have to go." I left my bird's eyes.

A wave, no, a mountain of pain washed over me, writhing in it only made it worse as though I was being poked all over with tiny knives at every motion. I couldn't see anything—just black, almost red. Any sounds I heard were blocked by highpitched ringing. I groaned and rolled over, before suddenly falling on my face.

"Ow… fuck…"

I pushed myself up slowly, my arms shaking with extreme soreness. I wobbled, trying not to fall backward. A small breeze gave a feeling of cold wetness on my face and forehead on top of the splitting headache. I wiped my face without thinking, feeling a cool, thick liquid. I could finally open my eyes, painfully, but when I did I saw a thick layer of blood on my hand. From my left periphery I saw Mi running to me, though my vision was blurred and wobbly, the sounds muffled. Dannas was running behind her.

"Ladon! Ladon! Are you okay?!"

Suddenly Gerickst crashed in front of me, maybe twenty meters away, just next to my cabin. The force of the wind from his fall nearly toppled me over, and would've if it wasn't for their help. I could see he was breathing, but beyond that he wasn't moving.

"Ladon! Let me help you."

"Sword…" I said almost unintelligably as I looked around.

I found it, lying just next to a destroyed bush I undoubtably landed in and rolled off of. I stumbled like a drunk man to it, almost falling over to pick it up, and almost falling over again after.

"Ladon! Let me heal you!"

"W-wha—"

Mi placed her hands on my forehead as I felt a burning pain relieve and felt less blood run down.

She panted to regain her breath. "Let me try to do more. Show me your back."

"Mi… What are you… You're not—"

"I'm sorry," Dannas started. "We tried but she kicked Karik in the face when he tried to carry her out."

"I told him not to touch me. Which reminds me: why'd you make them take me away?"

I heard a tree creak and crack to my right somewhere. "Dangerous. I… I—"

"LADON?!" I heard Inowyn yell from my right. "What in Preyanor's name happened?!"

"He's hurt!" Mi shouted.

"Real bad!" Dannas shouted.

"Here, let me help. Mi, if you can, I could use a little assistance."

"Right!"

I felt their hands place against my body in various locations, Inowyn chanting her spell repeatedly with her moss and dirt concoction. After several minutes I felt better, but terrible nonetheless.

Inowyn breathed heavily. "That's all I can do at the moment; you have some internal injuries. We need to get you out of here so I can help you more."

I saw Mi lean into Dannas as she could barely stand at the moment.

"Tarwyn?"

"Couldn't find him."

I saw Gerickst's body shift slightly.

"Come on!" Inowyn shouted.

"No…" I answered. "I can't leave him. Not with Abraxas… Go."

"W-what?"

"Go. Dannas, take Mi back to the others, and go."

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Mi shouted.

"L-Ladon…" Dannas said, shaking. I could tell he couldn't argue.

"I can't leave you either," Inowyn said.

"Go! NOW!!"

"No!!!" Mi shouted back. "You'll die…"

Tears welled before running over some dried blood, as I looked at her. "Mi… please… I'm begging you." I've never begged before.

"C-come on, girl." Inowyn said, holding her shoulder.

Mi stared at me with tears in her eyes. I could tell she'd never seen my expression like this in person, or at the very least, Dannas and Inowyn never have as they all silently followed my wishes against their feelings, holding back tears as Mi continued to fail to do so.

"Please… go… I can't have you here. Not now…"

They walked away, as if they wanted to do anything else. Mi watched me as they followed the edge back in the direction of the others, until the trunk Abraxas was under obscured my sight of them.

Gerickst started getting up, similar, though not in anatomy, to how I did. Somehow, he looked just as hurt as me. His left eye was still closed, he was profusely bleeding from his left side, and his right wing was ruined. As he turned to me I saw a limp in his hind right leg.

I felt a sense of relief that his attention was solely on me, and the others were away, hopefully leaving. Whatever resolve I had to fight was being chipped away by every aching bone, stinging joint, and exhausted muscle.

"You… child," he spoke through grunts. "You're the first since The Cull to cause me need of the great slumber. As much as I hate it, I've got to say you've earned some respect. What's your name?"

"Ladon."

He chuckled to himself. "Ladon? It's funny how life works."

"Why's that?"

"I killed the last one to carry that name."

"W-what?"

I heard and felt weight shift from Abraxas's direction.

"That's right. I'm the one who fucking killed him. I've earned my title. I'm going to relish in killing you; in ending the legacy. If only you could fill my appetite." He limped to me, somewhat slowly.

The closer he got, the more I knew I couldn't do anything. I had no fight left; barely enough energy to stand.

At least they're gone…

As his jaw opened showcasing his many sharp teeth, I felt a relief stronger than before. A relief that I'm going to die, that they've all left, minus Abraxas, that I've done significant damage to him, and relief that I did all I could. I was ready, my grip on my sword loosening, and my head leaned back. The sun was past the west side of the clearing, one line of light warming my face. I was ready.

Just as his jaws could lunge at me, I heard a snap that awoke my attention as I saw an arrow bounce off his head, just shy of his one good eye. I looked to my left and saw, just barely under the broken trunk's raised angle, Mi, with my bow in hand, a dark shadow along its limbs with a barely standing Lili holding her shoulder. Everyone else was still around them.

He grumbled and growled. "You… I almost forgot about you…" He turned to them, walked in their direction.

My eyes opened wide. I thought they left. I thought they were safe. Now he's after them, fuck… fuck!

My breath hastened beyond control, my pain left. I felt more energy than I ever have in my life. I felt more strength in my arms and legs than I ever knew I could have.

Fuck fuck FUCK!!!

And suddenly, my voice, deeper, louder, and more monstrous than I knew my throat could ever make, yelled, "FUUUUUCK!!!!!!"

I ran forward, making it to him faster than a single thought, feeling like an instant, jumping into a stance, sliding through the ground as I slashed from my left across his left ankle. I kept cutting through as if he was butter until I passed his huge foot and my slide came to a halt. I ran to his rightmost claw and slammed my sword into it, cutting deeply. I then sent it back into the wound, point first, then like a lever, I jumped over his toe and cranked my sword though its barely cut left side. I then lifted my sword, and in one fell swoop, severed the rest of the claw, even through the bone. I turned to the next one, ready to repeat as many times as necessary; anger and determination unlike anything I've ever felt. I slammed my sword down on the claw as a loud ring blasted my ear, the top half of the blade snapping on impact, flying somewhere else.

"Huh?"

I looked at my sword, snapped halfway down its length, the words Last Resort still visible. What was left of the blade was chipped beyond repair, the handle ruined. I looked around, realizing his foot hadn't moved. I looked at his severed claw, blood only now beginning to seep out, slowly, just a few drops. No screech or reaction from the wound, or the one before that. I saw one falling leaf, just past his foot. I walked to it as I noticed it almost wasn't moving.

"What… in the Hels?"

The longer I watched it, the more it seemed to speed up. Before long It was tumbling, ever so slowly, down. Eventually as it got closer to normal I saw, all at once, the greens and browns of the leaf fill in as all of my surroundings regained color I never knew had left, though I knew I saw color before I rushed in. Before I could react, Gerickst screeched above me as a hard claw smacked my back, launching me away, bouncing off of the ground until my back impacted the stump of the felled redwood, leaving me in a sitting position, pointing my ruined sword in his direction. My body felt worse than ever as my arm fell.

"I'LL FUCKING—"

"RRAAAHHHH!!!!" I saw Abraxas rush at him from under the trunk.

My vision was getting blurry, the ringing returning, muffling most sounds. I felt the running steps of several people.

The stomps of the two dragons were thunderous, nearly bouncing me.

"LADON!!!" I heard several voices shout, muffled.

Vision was leaving, I could feel my consciousness slipping with every breath. My body was empty. For the first time, I had nothing on my mind, like I now truly did everything I needed; everything I could.

It's over… right?

"STAY WITH ME!!!"