Dragons Fight - Odyssey II: The Rise of Power
Arelon dodged with calculated moves—at least, he tried. SWISH SWISH! But faced with a speed that transcended all limits, his body struggled to keep up. His sharp reflexes were derisory in the face of this avalanche of attacks.
A blow that he thought he had avoided hit his chest without warning. CRACK! The pain was exploding in his ribs. Another hit his shoulder before he could even figure out where he was coming from.
BOOM! Each dodge became a desperate attempt, it was a fight against the inevitable. Even when he anticipated, his movements were slowed down in a reality that no longer followed the same rules as Lysandros.
The strikes were so fast that they beat him in time, inflicting wounds on him before he could even perceive them.
Darius : «We have to recognize one thing. It's not just a duel of power. It's a duel of intelligence and strategy.»
Lysandros still driven by his rage unleashed one last attack.
[Flood of Paradise!]
Under the effect of his devouring rage, Lysandros gathered all the dark energy around him into his body. At the first incantation, the sky opened and was ready to bend under the immensity of the skill.
This was not an ordinary spell of destruction.
It was a manifestation of a disfigured paradise, an illusion of absolute beauty that hid a much more perverse and dangerous reality. The black flames and darkness dissipated and were replaced by a blinding brilliance.
A crystal white light burst around him, irradiating everything around him. Luminous flowers fell from the sky, floating gently. Majestic trees grew in an instant and offered fruits of an unreal brilliance. Streams of silver water meandered around Lysandros creating an illusion of earthly paradise.
But at the heart of this sublime scene lay absolute horror.
The flowers were not ordinary flowers. With each petal that fell to the ground there was a wave of corruption that spread devouring the earth, creatures and souls transforming everything they touched into abominations.
The trees seemed to feed on the souls with their roots that sank into the ground and came out in the form of half-human, half-vegetable creatures that suffered from an existence torn between life and death. The streams were in reality channels of demonic water capable of sucking any form of magic or life energy.
The true power of this skill lay in its paradox: offering a perfect and pure paradise while being a hellish prison. Anyone who fell for this illusion of beauty found themselves slowly trapped, forced to live forever in a false Eden where suffering was never visible but omnipresent.
Every drop of energy in this skill was a micro-implosion, capable of corroding existence at the subatomic level and rewriting the laws of causality and reality. Entire universes could be altered or annihilated in an instant.
Seeing the danger of the attack, Arelon decided to react as quickly as possible to avoid suffering any damage.
Arelon closed his eyes and stretched his arms toward the sky.
«If this is what you call a paradise, Lysandros, Then you have forgotten that the true sky is forged in the fire of the soul.»
He opened his eyes and launched his attack. The sky itself cracked as he spoke the words of the spell.
[Blow of the Divine Exile: The Plunge of the Immeasurable Eclipse]
In that moment, the world stood still. An eclipse as black as the deepest night materialized engulfing all light in a sphere of absolute darkness. Where the Flood of Paradise had offered an illusion of beauty, Arelon offered a devastating reality, the end of all that was not divine truth.
Within this eclipse, the energy of the universe seemed to compress. The darkness itself was crushed as the light manifested in a brilliant explosion of divine clarity. Every flower, every tree in Lysandros' paradise was turned to ashes reduced to formless shadows.
Creatures were torn to pieces and turned into dust of oblivion.
It was a total purge, a divine judgment to tear out the very roots of false reality. The skill sucked existences into a divine vortex completely erasing them from all memory and leaving behind only absolute nothingness. Lysandros' paradise was dislocated into a series of luminous fragments that created an explosion.
But amid the debris and dust WOOOSH, the two dragons remained standing with their bodies unharmed.
Lysandros: «You did well in this first round... But this is just the beginning.»
Arelon held out a hand to him:«Get up, Lysandros. The real fight begins now.»
Volmeryn: «And if you start to get a little serious? It all sounds a little too quiet for a dragon fight, right?»
The fight had barely begun.
The two dragons were suspended in the air. Lysandros and Arelon were each in a defiant posture, they seemed to be the masters of a universe that only they could understand. The fight that was a simple confrontation had become a struggle to impose their own definition of reality.
Lysandros: «It's now or never, Arelon! I will show you that true power lies in the absolute authority of a dragon-god.»
With a broad gesture, Lysandros set up a spell:
[Apocalypse: Judgment of Absolute Chaos]
VROOOOOM!
A sphere of glowing darkness appeared above him, engulfing the light around him. This sphere created tornadoes of destruction with winds that annihilated everything they touched.
Even space was unable to resist the attack.
Lysandros: «Here is chaos incarnate» he said pointing the sphere at Arelon.
But Arelon did not back down. He reached out and a shard of pure gold emerged from his body.
[Divine Submission: Edict of Heaven] he whispered.
WOOOOOOSH!
His power emitted a divine aura that cut off the momentum of the apocalyptic sphere by transforming chaotic energy into luminous particles that evaporated into the air.
Arelon: «Your chaos is impressive, Lysandros, but only a power harmonized with the laws of the world can dominate.»
Volmeryn's other subordinates who were watching the battle were amazed.
Lyara (wide-eyed): «They manipulate the primordial forces as if it were just a game.»
Trok (laughs): «They don't fight, they rewrite the rules of the universe. I bet this fight won't end until they destroy the arena.»
Carlos: «This fight is a demonstration of raw power and absolute control. They are dragons-gods not mere dragons.»
BOOOOM!
Arelon once again recoiled slightly into the air with his body shining with a celestial light. He whispered an incantation and suddenly, a golden runic formation appeared beneath his feet.
[Ultimate Shrine: Wall of Origins.]
SHIIIIING!
Around him, a divine force field unfolded reflecting any attempt to attack. Lysandros, frustrated tried to break through the barrier with:
[Astral Blade: Infinity Rift]
CRACK! FWOOOOOSH!
It was a sword of energy that cut through even dimensions. But the blade burst against the sanctuary and was dissipated by the divine authority of Arelon.
Arelon: «You can't force your will against me, Lysandros but I'll show you what true power is.»
He raised a hand, and a golden portal appeared behind him. VWOOM! From it came a massive form:
[Draco Aeternum: Avatar of the Infinite Skies],
It was a colossal manifestation of his will in the form of a cosmic dragon that blushed with divine power.
Lysandros, upon seeing Arelon's avatar, burst out laughing.
«Do you think I'm going to back down from this? Let me show you the true power of the abyss.»
He activated one of his ultimate skills:
[Infernal Nexus: Destruction of the Ten Realms].
BOOM! Around him, ten vortexes appeared, each unleashing pure elemental energy—fire, ice, lightning, darkness, light, and more. CRACK! These combined forces converged on Arelon in a cataclysmic explosion ready to wipe out anything nearby.
But Arelon was not impressed. With a simple thought, he triggered:
[Great Restoration: Eternal Cycle]
WHOOOSH! A golden light emerged again, absorbing the attack with disconcerting ease. Lysandros' destructive energy was redirected and not only cancelled but transformed to strengthen Arelon's power.
As the battle reached its climax, one person shouted in the air:
"Enough!"
It was Erylis who had appeared in the middle of the two dragons.
«Your fight threatens to destroy more than just this arena. Remember why you are here.»
Lysandros and Arelon stopped. TSSS... The energy was still crackling around them. One had a carnivorous smile and the other remained stoic.
Seraphon intervened in his turn with his deep voice:
«If you continue like this, you will be nothing but ashes in history and it would not be an honor for any of you.»
He placed himself between the two dragons by imposing his presence. THUD! He put one foot on the ground and made the arena tremble.
«We have a mission, a purpose greater than your fight .»
Lysandros: «A bigger goal?» TCH ! He was visibly frustrated.
«And what is that purpose Seraphon? To become ghosts in history?»
Seraphon: «We all have a role to play in the rise of the kingdom of Cælora. If you keep fighting for such trivial reasons, you will destroy what we have built.»
Erylis turned to the spectators and raised her hand. WOOSH! A current of energy was blowing.
«This fight was a show of force. But beyond brute force, there is the mind. And it is this one that will lead us to victory not just power.»
Volmeryn: «I think Eirlys is absolutely right, it was likely to go a long way. Too bad this fight ended so quickly but thank you for entertaining me.»
As the fight drew to a close, Lysandros and Arelon were satisfied with the demonstration they had made.
Arelon: «It was... interesting. But you're still not ready to surpass me.»
Lysandros: «It's not a defeat Arelon. Just a warm-up. You know very well that neither of us used half of his power»
SHFF... He was slowly moving away, blending into the shadows.
The other dragons, with the exception of Seraphon remained spectators of this silent discussion.
Erylis watched them with a gleam of amusement in his eyes.
«Sometimes I wonder if these dragons will ever know what unity is.»
Trôk: «Maybe, but maybe they'll do better that way. United in competition, dedicated to their roles.»
Darius: «All of this shows us that, despite their power, these dragons are individuals. But maybe that's exactly what we need.»
Lyara: «They could go on like this forever, but at this point, it all comes down to who makes the first mistake.»
Carlos: «Maybe, But no matter who wins, this fight will go down in history as one of the greatest ever seen.»
CHAPTER ENDED.