His hands trembled as they wrapped around the blood-red hilt of the legendary weapon. The beautifully designed runes, that lined his back, flared with immense power. Ripples of crimson energy ran down his naked flesh. Bolts of crimson lightning shot from his body, as the immeasurable power of the ancient sword combined with it's dormant counterpart. His soul expanded as it's other half merged into it.
The ruby eyes of the dragon pommel flared in unison with the runes on Cassius's back. The power that filled his body was unbelievable, something he relished in crimson heart. His blue eyes had glazed over in the torrent of energy. Chuck too, was undergoing changes. His crimson fur was crackling with lightning. His soul was also expanding, and filling with power. This was something that the world of Telon had never seen. A God-Beast had never been bonded with a God before he claimed his item of power. With their connection, the power of the sword changed them both.
Cassius transformed with frightening speed. His blue eyes had changed, becoming slanted and reptilian in nature. The previously human body changed, growing and constricting. His bones hardened, and his muscles tightened. His soft, tan skin, had been replaced by hard, crimson scales. They immediately shimmered and faded, giving way to flawless, crimson skin. The runes had grown, becoming more prominent and powerful. The roaring dragon tattoo, now shone with ambient power. It's glassy eyes teeming with life.
Chuck's fur had changed, becoming coarser and thick. His eyes gleamed with profound intelligence, and his body grew exponentially. He tripled in size, his massive frame filling the sword chamber. His sharp chaws shimmered, taking on metallic properties. Something similar happened with his giant fangs; they darkened, their color resembling the sword's blade, and gleaming like steel. His maw opened in a ferocious snarl, flashing the deadly teeth.
The ancient palace shook, threatening to topple. The earth for hundreds of miles trembled, and buildings tumbled to the ground. In the Great-Wood, several wooden walkways tumbled to the forest floor below. In Pelemonte, the Great-Black Wyrm shivered in fear as an ancient tower crumbled; it's beady eyes gazed in the direction of the White Mountains.
As Cassius slid the gold encrusted sword from the slab, he roared with power. Massive thunder shook Telon, and crimson lightning once again arched across the blue skies. As the thunder dissipated, one could hear the distinct sound of a mighty dragon roaring.
****
Cassius stared at the Dragon Sword with joy, the other half of his soul had been reunited; one he didn't know he'd been missing. He gripped the red hilt tightly, his eyes taking in every detail of his Item of Power. The guard was hardened gold, it was cold to the touch. His eyes wandered to the pommel, smiling as the ruby eyes flashed crimson. The roaring dragon was so beautifully carved that Cassius struggled to tear his eyes from it. His finger traced the crimson runes along the black steel. In all of those years, the weapon had never lost it's edge.
Cassius looked behind him when Chuck snorted. He blinked twice to be sure he wasn't hallucinating, Chuck had grown exponentially, and his body was much different. "Chuck! What the hell happened to you?" He asked in shock.
A deep, baritone voice responded, "Sword."
Cassius jumped into surprise, "You can speak!" He exclaimed.
"Yes." Chuck said, his face had regained it's innocent expression.
"How?" Cassius tried you think of ways a bear could speak. Chuck had displayed profound intelligence by communicating through images, but Cassius never dreamed he could be so intelligent.
"Magic sword change Chuck. Make Chuck big boy!" Chuck said in a very simplified manner. Cassius had to stop himself from laughing at Chuck's caveman way of speaking, he didn't want to offend his friend.
"You are much bigger Chuck, I'm glad you can speak." Cassius beamed at his friend. Apparently being bonded to Chuck had altered him when Cassius claimed the sword.
Chuck nodded his huge head up and down, "Chuck happy!" Cassius shook himself from his stupor and stood to his feet. He took a gander around the large room and sighed.
"What now, Chuck? We made it to the Bastion, survived a dragon, and claimed the sword. What next?" Cassius scratched his face, and nearly jumped when he saw his crimson skin. "What the fuck?" He scanned his entire body, discovering that the runes had changed and so had his skin. It was completely crimson and ridiculously hard; his hair had remained the same, and he hoped the rest of his body had. He took a deep breath and steadied his frayed nerves.
Chuck looked closely at Cassius, then grunted, "We same." His big paw patted Cassius on the shoulder, nearly sending him sprawling onto the stone floor.
"Easy there big guy," he said as he rubbed his shoulder, taking his thoughts away from the strange color of his body. "Now, back to the problem at hand. Where do we go from here, and what to do with this damned sword?" As he thought that, the Dragon Sword shimmered and disappeared. He nearly cursed himself for losing his sword, but quickly discovered that by thinking of the sword, it would materialize in his hands. "Okay, one problem down."
"I can solve your second problem, my Lord." Came a smooth voice from the shadows. Cassius whipped around and drew the sword, it felt natural in his hands. His body seemed to known exactly how to wield a sword.
"Show yourself!" Growled Cassius, Chuck had tended beside him.
"Easy, my Lord. I am your servant." An ancient old man stepped from the gloomy shadows. "You may call me Irian."
Cassius's narrowed his eyes, "Who are you and are you doing here? Irian is dead."
A man appeared from the shadows. His body seemingly appearing from nothing. The man grew in stature, his muscles compacting and growing. His skin changed, becoming scalelike and crimson. Blonde hair sprouted from his head and his face became unnervingly handsome. "You are right, the Irian I knew is very much dead."
Cassius looked at the man claiming to be Irian warily, "Then who are you?"
The man nodded and spoke in a smooth, but powerful voice. "I am Irian, of course. But not the original, I am simply a remnant of his essence; left behind to greet his reincarnation, when the time came."
Cassius frowned, "What do you mean?"
Irian smiled, "I'm sure you've figured that out, my Lord." Cassius stared in confusion as he tried to piece the puzzle together, when a terrible pain tore through his head. Memories of the journal, the prophecy, and his realization.
Cassius dropped to his knees clutching his head, Chuck moved closer to him; prepared to protect his friend. "H-how can this be?" Cassius's groaned.
Irian waved and the pain in Cassius's head dissipated, "That is the way of the world, my Lord." He chuckled, "You didn't truly believe you would have been just blessed with immense power and given a quest to retrieve the most powerful artifact in Telon, did you?"
Cassius frowned, "Well, no."
Irian nodded, "Exactly. Now, my time is incredibly short. You already wasted plenty of it, wallowing on the ground. Truly unbefitting of an 'Elder God'." He motioned for Cassius to stand and follow him. Cassius forced himself to his feet and followed the older version of himself. They walked past the stone slab and into a dark corridor. "First things first. You may think that you are a different person, and in truth; you may be, in experiences, at least. But, you're truly Irian, In every sense. You have the same body, just much younger. You have the same mind, and the same sword."
"But how? If Irian died, how can I be him?"
Irian continued walking, "Good question, but not an easy answer." He took a left, into a darker hallway. "Everything in existence is connected, including two different realities. For example: Earth and Telon share the same reincarnation cycles. When mortals die, they go to the afterlife. This is not so for higher beings. When a God dies, they enter the cycle of rebirth. Their memories are wiped and they are essentially new life forms; that is why you reincarnated as a human on Earth." Cassius struggled to keep up with Irian as he began ascending a stairwell, "But, Elder Gods and supreme beings are different. In truth, Irian wasn't an Elder God. In actuality, he isn't a child of the All-Mother. He was born in a different plane of existence, one very far away from both, Earth and Telon."
"But I thought the All-Mother was the creator of everything?" Cassius asked in confusion.
Irian smiled, "I can see why you would think so, but no. She is not the creator of existence, but she is the creator of Telon and every being on it. That is why she is so weak, her essence was spent creating the world; that is the purpose of a Creator, they use their life force to create more life." They had finally reached the top of the stairwell, and came to large doors. Debris littered the ground, "Irian was created in a different reality. He fled here to take refuge,but then fell in love with the All-Mother. The resulting union were the Dragons that are so popular in Telon's myth. Real Dragons, not that pathetic creature that assaulted in the palace. That was a 'Lesser Dragon', a despicable beast created by that vermin, Bal-Tuhn."
Cassius sighed, "That, at least, is relieving."
"It should be, Dragons are very powerful and can shape shift. In fact, if you hadn't reincarnated on a magic-less plane like Earth. You would have been born as a 'Greater Dragon', the same primal race as the original Irian." The remnant of Irian placed his hand on a the door and the runes on his back flared. The doors swung open and they passed two Guardians. "Irian sacrificed most of his essence to create the 'Godstone'. That silly crimson stone that brought you here, it changed your body's chemistry; essentially transforming you into a Dragon. Sorry about your soldiers by the way, that wasn't intended to happen."
Cassius nodded in silent regret, but a thought entered his head. "How can you know everything that happened to me?"
Irian waved his hand, as if the question was stupid. "I can't believe you still haven't comprehended it. I am you! Once you came in contact with the Dragon Sword, I gained your present memories. It's truly a shame that this doesn't work in reverse; if it did, then you wouldn't have to worry about any of this conversation." Irian led them down another set of hallways, "Anyways, Bal-Tuhn wasn't Irian's true enemy. Bal-Tuhn was simply an annoyance in the grand scheme of things, one you will have to remove; sooner, rather then later."
"Then why did he sacrifice himself to kill him?"
"Now that is a good question, but easily answered." He led them into a room with two more Guardians, protecting another door. "He was buying time. His past incarnation had been weakened much earlier in his existence, fighting a horrible threat." Irian's expression became grave and spoke with a hint of fear, "This threat is the Great Evil, an enemy as old as time itself. This entity makes Bal-Tuhn seem like a halfway decent person. Anyways, he consumes creators and their creations to increase his power. His end goal is believed to be existence itself."
Cassius's body shivered in fear, something instinctual seemed to clench at the mention of such a being. "Why has no one stopped it?"
Irian sighed, "Many have tried, but they all fail. The only being capable of stopping such an evil force, would be the Supreme-Father; creator of existence." Irian opened this door the same way as before, "Sadly, he lies comatose for some unknown reason. Now, the Great Evil strengthens himself in preparation of consuming the Supreme-Father. He is nearly powerful enough to initiate his end game. This being wants to recreate existence in his image, but to do that, he needs more power." The door slowly opened, revealing what appeared to be a throne room; just without the throne. Instead, the throne was covered under crumbled stone; part of the ceiling had caved, burying it. "The Gods of this plane believe they are playing a 'Game of Chess', but that is ridiculous. They are fleas compared to the Great Evil and his disciples. In the prophecy it says that the 'Game of Gods has resumed.' This game has much higher stakes then the designs of these petty 'Gods'."
Cassius followed Irian, listening to his words in a daze. "How do I stop him?"
Irian stopped and turned to Cassius, his face grim. "First, you must stop Bal-Tuhn and his allies. Along the way you need to discover your power and grow stronger. After that, you need to gather other powerful beings in existence to your cause. Uriel would be a good start, as would the All-Mother." He turned and resumed walking, he led the young Dragon God and his bear through the last rooms. They had finally reached the ruined hall that the Lesser Dragon had first attacked them in. "This is as far as I go, Cassius. My power is spent and I will soon disappear. But, before I leave, I will give you a word of advice. Do not take on the Great Evil until you are ready. His disciples will come for you first, they are but a reflection of his power."
Cassius stared at the remnant of his older self with mixed emotions, "Is there any chance to stop it?"
Irian smiled with pride, "As long as you fight, Cassius, you will have a chance." He began to fade away, but paused. "Oh, and one last thing."
Cassius frowned, "Yes?"
"You will need your son, Elios, and his Dragons. I believe they will be an invaluable asset with the passing of time" The last remnant of the original Dragon God faded, leaving behind his much younger, and more powerful successor.
Cassius stared at the place Irian had been for several moments, deep in thoughts. Determination had seeped it's way into both, his and Chuck's hearts. They turned and looked at each other, Chuck snorted. "We win."
Determination crept onto Cassius's crimson face, "You're right, Chuck. We will win, we have to."
****
The Emerald Palace, Capitol of Pelemonte.
Dante fought valiantly against the onslaught of Wyrmkin, his steel sword cutting through the endless sea of black armored enemies. Beside him, stood the legendary Commander Locke. The enemy had come much sooner than expected, leaving the Emerald Palace greatly undermanned. Luckily, the forces of Pelemonte were on their way to give aid. All Dante and his forces had to do, was hold out for two days.
Locke grabbed a Wyrmkin soldier by his black hair, and plunged his long sword through the man's throat. He turned to Dante with a wild look in his eye, "I don't reckon you have an astounding plan to save us this time, my Prince?"
Dante shook his head sadly, as he sliced through a Wyrmkin's neck, that had nearly made it over the walls. "I'm afraid I'm all out of ideas. How about you, Commander Locke?"
Locke chuckled and ducked under a Wyrmkin woman's wild stab, "None that don't involve us miraculously defeating Great Black, over there." He motioned to the giant black Wyrm that soared over the enemies vast forces. It was an incredibly powerful creature, but that didn't make it invisible. It made a point to avoid ballista bolts, that could potentially injure it.
The attacked Wyrmkin retreated, allowing a fresh wave of enemies to rush the exhausted defenders. "God's save us!" Dante moaned as he prepared to meet the new wave. His eyes looked to the sky as terrible thunder shook Telon, followed by familiar, crimson lightning. Building crumbled inside the Capitol, civilians screamed in panic as they awaited their doom. The enemy forces had stopped in their tracks and stared back at their 'God', Great-Black. As the the thunder dissipated, a dragon's roar could be heard. It was ferocious and struck fear into the hearts of the strongest willed men.
Dante watched with surprise as the great black wrym fled in terror. A superior predator was near. In his black, corrupted heart, he knew that dragon's roar. It was the roar of his former God, Irian. The Dragon God should have been dead, but had somehow survived. This was something his master had to learn, Irian was the only being in existence to face his full power and survive.
The defenders of the Capitol roared in victory as the Wyrmkin army fled behind their great 'God'. Commander Locke turned and stared at Dante with wide, fevered eyes. "Gods saved us indeed!" He laughed like a madman. Dante gulped and tore his eyes from the mad Commander, his eyes locked on the White Mountains. He knew in his heart that the Gods hadn't saved them.