FINAL EPISODE: THE KING'S DAWN; BIRTH OF THE UNISON COURTS
Reis and Erikkus Di Devilli were locked in a vicious clash of swords. Reis had assumed the form of the Golden Drakengaӓrd and launched Erikkus Di Devilli into the skies. Now the two hovered over Saggeese.
"Be crushed by your despair as you watch me attain my true form!" Erikkus Di Devilli roared.
Reis felt his heart pulsate.
"What's this feeling?" he wondered.
He felt his insides turn sour and then visions began to flood his mind.
The same was happening throughout the world. People were paralyzed by fear and slowly the sky took on an ominous darkness. Most Saggeesians saw visions of how they had turned against the royal family and replaced them with Erikkus Di Devilli. Their wounds they began to realize were mostly self-inflicted. Reis experienced the loneliness he felt in Saggeese and felt his power slowly weaken. He saw his father's sorrow as he left the family with a younger Aurora and Jared. He experienced the coldness of the Saggeesians towards him and almost began to empathize with Erikkus Di Devilli's cause. Aurora saw the murder of her family and her flight with Sir Jinrai and her brother. She felt a familiar feeling of great loss. Darak saw the many attempts his brother made at killing him for the Dragon Blade. Erasa felt the loneliness she experienced when she thought Shin was dead and Shin experienced the coldness of the people towards him during his youth. Many people experienced many things. For the Novatians, it was how they had failed to act but merely observed Saggeese's demise all this while.
Erikkus Di Devilli grabbed Reis by the neck.
"You finally see it don't you that you were alone in your attempts to overthrow me. It was the Saggeesians that made me king in the first place. You have been fighting against the will of the people all this while. What makes you think you can win when you have experienced firsthand their coldness towards you?" Erikkus Di Devilli asked.
"Look down there. You should be able to see it, why you cannot win. They all carry my impulse within them. In essence they are all a part of me" Erikkus Di Devilli pointed to the earth.
Reis looked down and saw darkness escaping the people and heading for Erikkus Di Devilli.
"You think you won because my Wyverns were infected by the Dragons' souls? Well the ones you fight for are infected with my impulse. Everything you thought you were doing for them was in essence for me. I did tell you that the very thing you were fighting for was that which gives me life" Erikkus Di Devilli said with great malice. "In other words you have been slaving away for your worst enemy all this while!" he declared.
Among the many things Reis saw, there was a vision of a world unfamiliar to him being ravaged by a monstrous beast with the characteristics of a chimera.
"Right about now, everyone should be realizing how pointless their actions have been. They should be on the verge of being crushed by the weight of their sin" Erikkus Di Devilli declared.
Aurora took in a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. The visions were terrifying but she remembered that she had gained something greater than her loss.
"My Arӓlpheisl" she muttered to herself and walked towards the others.
"Shin…Shin" she heard Erasa cry.
"Erasa, Shin is alive!" she shook Erasa.
Erasa snapped out of it.
"We are Dragon Rangers. Facing sin isn't something we are unfamiliar with" Aurora said.
"Can you awaken Ethan and Effuien?" Aurora asked.
She was still struggling to regain her composure. Erasa nodded and walked to her brothers.
"Wake up you two!" she said and slammed her fists on their heads.
They opened their eyes.
"What was that? Another Severing?" Effuien wondered as he opened his eyes.
Darak and Kyla were already awake.
"How are you two awake already?" Aurora asked.
"He woke me up. Ironic since I am the one always doing the waking" Kyla laughed.
"And you Darak…how are you awake?" Aurora asked.
"The moment you woke up, you should have realized that this spell or Severing, whatever it is, is not invincible. Mind domination is one of the many things a ninja trains to repel and you forget that I am both ninja and Dragon Ranger, a formidable combination" Darak said.
Aurora laughed.
Then another vision flashed within her mind but this one was different. She saw a boy with blue hair who was bleeding from his head and struggling to steady himself on a rainbow coloured sword. He looked into the sky and Aurora saw what looked like great flames raining on the earth.
"Aurora Sabre, before dying I pray thee to grant me this final wish…" the boy seemed to be praying. "…use my soul to protect this world that I love!" he declared.
Before the boy stood an unimaginably sinister dragon. Aurora saw the sword suck the boy's pure soul within itself and shatter, transforming into a mighty dome to shield the earth from the raining flames.
She opened her eyes.
"I think I understand" she said.
"Effuien, how far is your psychic range?" she asked.
"I've never tested its full capacity since it could be harmful to normal folk and invite troublesome foes" Effuien said.
"In this situation that should not matter. Can you transmit my thoughts to my people?" Aurora said.
Darak smiled.
"You really have gotten over your pain Aurora" he thought to himself.
Effuien lay a hand on her head and channelled her thoughts into himself. Then amplifying these thoughts he transmitted them throughout Saggeese.
"People of Saggeese, my people" Aurora called to them.
They heard her voice and listened closely. They felt a great sense of guilt and foreboding as they wondered what she had to say to them after the visions they had just seen.
"You must have seen these visions yourself. Visions of the pain we have inflicted on one another. It is not my place to say whether or not these visions are true or false for each of us can truthfully tell what our role actually was in Saggeese's history. All I want to say now is that regardless of this, the past cannot be changed but even at this moment, we can still fight for the future. There is no hope for Saggeese if we allow ourselves to be crushed by the weight of our sins but if we are willing to cast those shackles aside and fight, perhaps a miracle may be born this day" Aurora said.
The people of Saggeese heard her words and began to weep.
"How we have wronged the princess and yet she still thinks of us. How can we not fight after hearing these words?" they thought and in an instant, Dragon Rings appeared on their hands.
Shin was still freeing the Wyverns from Armageddon's control when the visions began. In an instant, he stood within his own mind as the Silver Drakengaӓrd. He grabbed the sealed Armageddon within his mind which represents Armageddon's impulse.
"Get out of my body you ancient serpent!" he roared and flung Armageddon out of himself.
Armageddon felt this. The impulses of Armageddon that escaped the people all headed to him and he absorbed them.
"As expected of the Silver Drakengaӓrd. Since his domain is truth, he was unaffected by the visions" Erikkus Di Devilli said as the impulses charged him up.
"My power has returned!" he roared as he released a huge amount of power from himself and transformed into the greatest Dark Dragon, Armageddon.
He now held Reis tightly in his claws.
Meanwhile, Shin hearing Aurora's thoughts for Saggeese amplified them even further and sent them towards Novatio. The Novatians began to feel that the Princess of Saggeese bore them no ill will and the Saggeesians were ready to take back their land. Meanwhile, Old Lady Kamikaze and the Dragonlord were in shock.
"What's this? Every Saggeesian now has a Dragon Ring and I can feel more rings appearing on more and more Novatians. Things are happening too quickly" the Dragonlord said in great surprise. Meanwhile, the king of Novatio feeling Aurora's resolve sent a portion of his troops to Saggeese.
"We have kept Saggeese at arm's length long enough. Now we will aid her" he said.
The Dragonlord sensing the king's actions supported his troops with Dragon Rangers from the main guild.
Reis meanwhile was beholding another vision. In this vision he saw Zan rip off a rhino horn chain and hold it tightly in his hands. He felt Zan's indignation grow as he turned to confront the great chimera beast.
"I AM JUST ZAN NIGHTBANE! THE HUMAN DREAMWEAVER AND COORDINATOR OF THE SEVEN SOULS OF VIRTUE, REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SOUL OF VIRTUE, TRUTH; IN RARE TIMES WHEN THE FATE OF MY KIN; MY FAMILY IS THREATENED, I CALL ON THE SWORD THAT BEARS MY OWN NAME; MY FAMILY HEIRLOOM; THE NIGHTBANE ALSO CALLED LIGHT'S REVENGE!!!" he heard Zan's declaration.
Reis saw the dreams of many people and watched as these dreams began to form links. He beheld a great and mysterious constellation.
"A constellation of Benedict" he thought to himself. "My predecessors. You were all so amazing" he thought with a smile.
"The Silver Drakengaӓrd was unaffected by the fires of indignation. The Golden Drakengaӓrd's domain is light so…why was he affected. Not unless…DON'T TELL ME…?!" Armageddon exclaimed in horror as Reis broke out of his clutches and reassumed the form of the Golden Drakengaӓrd.
"You finally figured it out didn't you? Indeed, I have been waiting all this time…for you to take back your evil impulse" Reis said with a smile. "I think you know what that means don't you?"
Armageddon looked to the earth and saw all Saggeesians wearing Dragon Rings.
"IMPOSSIBLE! SO THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN SCHEMING ALL THIS WHILE BY PRETENDING TO BE UNCONSCIOUS!" Armageddon roared and flew towards Saggeese.
In an instant, Reis stood before him and gave him a heavy backhanded blow to the side of his jaw, grabbed him by the neck and flung him back into the skies.
"Don't even think about it!" he declared with a calm sense of rage.
Armageddon looked over the world and what he saw astonished him greatly.
"CURSE YOU…ARӒLPHEISL!" he screamed in horror in realization of what was about to commence.
Reis shut his eyes and recalled the words he had spoken as Arӓlpheisl roughly two years ago. He uttered them to himself.
"Ye sleeping Dragons! Hearken to these words and finally awaken from your long slumber. These words are an expression of the love humanity has for itself and for you! Once these words are uttered, the world as you know it will start to change. The balance of power will be tipped yet again and it is possible that another Drӓkan War will occur in the near future…but I have faith in you, all of you that you will use my final gift to you wisely" Reis recalled his words and opened his eyes.
"But this is no mere tipping of the scale of power! WHAT DID YOU DO ARӒLPHEISL?!" Armageddon roared.
"Lost confidence already? Well you said I was utterly alone and that everything I did for everyone was merely a form of slaving away for you. Since you say I was working for you why can't you see for yourself? You are blind to a lot of things Armageddon. You may be able to predict actions but your inability to measure conviction is why you'll always lose" Reis said.
"It is about time" Reis sighed and began to sing.
"What is a heart…" he uttered as a tremendous pulse resonated throughout Ryugaeia. "…or rather Who is the Heart? So fragile that it can be rended apart?" Reis sang as he thought of Benedict.
"One part Strong…" he sang as visions of valiant men filled his mind.
"One part Weak…" he sang as visions of kind women filled his mind.
"Broken He appears…" he sang as he saw the Saggeesian Dragon Rangers in hiding and the rest of the Saggeesians aiding one another.
"But wholeness He seeks…" he sang and saw the Novatian army heading towards Saggeese.
"Origins and Endings, two contradictory ideals…" he sang and saw visions of Alpha and Omega.
"But brothers they are and as one they feel" he saw himself and Reia.
"Strong and Weak
Broken and Whole
Add one more element, when these two become one
They beckon to Him the Heart
For when Human meets Divine He shall be born
The Heart that destroys Armageddon
And His name is…Benedict" Reis sang as visions of the Dragon Rangers, Dragon Rings, the Dragons and the Drakengaӓrds filled his mind.
Reis recalled his predecessors. A bright light began to pierce through the darkness in the sky and numerous lights descended. Reis' appearance began to change. His hair grew longer and flowed to his shoulders. Six powerful white wings grew out of his back and his arms and body were covered in Alpha's golden scales except for his face. His emerald eyes took on a strong glow and his silver hair began to sparkle.
"This is my…" Reis began to say as powerful memories filled the hearts of people all over the world.
They knew the words Reis was trying to express.
"This is our…" Aurora and everyone exclaimed as their Dragon Rings began to glow brightly.
The ground in Saggeese began to shatter as the rangers underground raised their hands.
"THIS IS OUR…" the strong lights flew about the skies of Ryugaeia and their voices called loudly. "UNISON COURTS!!!" everyone called as the ground shattered and the rangers underground flew on the backs of their dragons into the sky. The rest of the Saggeesians and Novatians took to the skies. The lights materialized and formed millions of Dragons and Drakengaӓrds.
"I was never alone! You just couldn't see it because you were focused too intently on me!" Reis declared.
"WHAT IS THIS?! HOW COULD THE DRAGON RACE BE REBORN?! I THOUGHT I DECIMATED THEM IN TIMES PAST!" Armageddon roared.
"Well weren't you wrong! Drakengaӓrds! SHACKLES!" Reis called and the Drakengaӓrds cast their shackles towards Reis.
Reis caught each shackle and charged towards Armageddon. Armageddon tried to strike him but he parried Armageddon's attacks via the Dragon Parry and shackled Armageddon's feet, arms, wings and mouth. The Drakengaӓrds held the shackles tightly.
"In the end you are the one that is alone! DRAGON RANGERS! ELEMENTS!" Reis called as the Dragon Rangers bombarded Armageddon with their elements.
"Hello brother, it's been a while" Reia greeted Reis.
"It certainly has" Reis said to Reia who had assumed the form of the Emerald Drakengaӓrd. Shin and Reis' father were on the battlefield along with Reis' grandfather who now rode a Dragon.
"You intend to use it don't you? Our family's greatest weapon manifested in Zan's world as the Nightbane" Reia said.
Reis was surprised that she knew about Zan.
"Get a clue already little bro, I wield Omega" she said and stretched her weapon towards Reis. Shin did the same and Sir Jinrai and Reis' grandfather also stretched their weapons towards Reis.
"A sword called Light's Revenge? What an ironic name" Reis laughed as the power their weapons generated converged.
Reis pointed his blade towards Armageddon and slashed heavily. His sword created a tidal wave that struck Armageddon and opened up a void behind him.
Armageddon struggled furiously to shatter the chains.
"Drakengaӓrds! Cast him into the void! Dragon Rangers, keep up the attacks!" Reis called.
The Drakengaӓrds flung Armageddon towards the void and the Rangers blasted him with their elements. The supergravity generated by the void pulled Armageddon in and the void shut forever! From that moment on, Armageddon had no part in Ryugaeia's history.
Everyone cheered happily. Darak who had been battling as Darag-Arӧkna flew towards Reis.
"It's over" Reis said as the dawn broke in Ryugaeia.
It was the final night Ryugaeia endured as a land of extinct Dragons. When the dawn broke, Ryugaeia was reborn as "Dragon Earth".
There was a great celebration throughout Novatio and Saggeese.
Aurora assumed her rightful place as Queen Of Saggeese and with her brother's help Saggeese was restored. She did away with all of the previous oppressive policies Erikkus Di Devilli had imposed on the people and ruled Ryugaeia with the justice of her parents before her. Once things began to settle down, Reis proposed to her and the two were wed. Alpha, Omega and Epsilon were there to witness their wedding. So were the Dragon Rangers from Novatio, her own people, Reis' family including his mother who had raised Reia and his father.
"As you are bound by these cords today, I bind your destinies. As you are united by a common love, I proclaim you husband and wife" Alpha uttered these words as crimson cords bound Reis to Aurora.
That night, Reis and Aurora flew among the stars.
"You fulfilled your promise to me. You promised to ensure that I learnt to love my homeland and you did" Aurora said to Reis whose head was rested on her lap.
They flew on Marina's back. Alpha was too sacred a beast. Reis laughed.
"Ryugaiea's stars have grown even more beautiful since that day" Aurora said as she stared at the stars.
"They're still not as beautiful as you are" Reis said and the two shared a kiss.
A few months later, Kyla and Darak and Erasa and Shin were wed as well. There was so much to celebrate. In years to come, Reis and Aurora would have a son and a daughter. Their son, they named Jinrai after Reis' father. Their daughter they named Celestia after Aurora's mother. Novatio and Saggeese enjoyed times of great peace and friendship and rapid development as they shared resources. The Drakengaӓrds lived their lives in Ryugaiea united to its nature as the Kaisers were.
Thus then was the tale of the Hopeful Legend and the birth of the Unison Courts.
THE END.