Ashen and his forces kept travelling toward Xovia and made it to Dragon's Tears, a river that connects from Exithia to the west part of the ocean. They all decided to take a break and relax near the waterfall. They set up camp and began their break.
"Finally a chance to rest our feet..!" Cecilia said then sat down in one of the chairs.
Silas sat beside her then looked at the sky. "How do you and Ashen do it..?"
"Genetics." Both Pandora and Ashen said then looked at each other and laughed softly.
"And we both are able to wield infinite power via my Dragon Stone and her Sacred Core." Ashen said.
"The Dragon Stone is like our core isn't it?" Cecilia asked.
"Yeah. In a way it is. You see your Sacred Core works on pretty much any being based on what Pandora tells me. The Dragon Stone only grants power to people who are of Dragon Descent. So if you were to want the power of the stone the most you're gonna get is a temporary boost in your abilities but that's it." Ashen explained.
Soca looked at Ashen and Pandora. He had his arms crossed as he watched them. "There's also this other source of power called the Corrupt Ember."
Everyone looked at Soca. Ashen looked at him then crossed his arms.
"Have any of you heard of it?" Soca asked.
"I have." Ashen said and sat forward in his chair. "What about it?"
Pandora looked at Ashen then looked at Soca. "What the fuck is going on right now?"
"The Corrupt Ember is one of the strongest sources of power ever. The Ember are the souls of a powerful monster of universal feats. If one were to acquire and awaken 100% of its power, they will be unstoppable...but the aftermath is inevitable." Soca said then stood up.
"Look Soca, I understand you're the Hero of Legend of this generation, but what's your reasoning on bringing up...the Corrupt Ember..?" Ashen said then his eyes shined.
Soca looked at Ashen then his eyes shined as well. "There's a reason for it."
"Choose your words wisely, Hero." Ashen said and smoke came from his nose.
"Babe! Soca! Enough!" Pandora said then stood up, holding her arms out to them. "We don't need anyone fighting anyone!"
"I would listen to my wife if I were you." Ashen said then chuckled.
Soca turned away from Ashen. "4%. I can't tell if it's your draconic energy or if it really is the Corrupt Ember."
Ashen smirked then heard rustling in the trees. He closed his eyes and used his Dragon Sense to track down the individual. He caught onto the target then opened his eyes. "Cipi."
Cipi summoned her bow then took aim at the target within the trees. She summoned a dragon arrow then fired it at the target. The arrow tracked down the target then hit them and exploded. A woman's voice was heard yelling as she fell into the water. She stood up and grunted softly.
"Who is that..?" Cecilia asked.
The woman threw off her cloak. She had long white hair tied in a ponytail, orange eyes, and had a determined smile on her face. She wore a white colored Gi outfit that had a Sacred Symbol on the back.
"Hold on, that's Sora." Pandora said.
"Sora?" Ashen asked and looked at Pandora.
"She's one of the best Martial Arts Masters in the world. She's one of three retainers of King Xavier." Pandora explained.
"Cooorrect!~ I am Sora, the woman you blasted out the sky! I was going to do a super mega awesome intro, but now I want to skip all of that and get right into the action!" Sora said then got into her stance.
Ashen looked at everyone else then chuckled and started laughing. Everyone looked at him and wondered why he was laughing. Ashen looked back at Sora then crossed his arms.
"A Martial Arts Master. What a joke." Ashen said, taunting Sora.
"A joke..? Just know I worked my ass off to receive this title! If you really want to see for yourself then here I come!" Sora bellowed and crouched down then dashed toward Ashen at high speeds. She hopped then went for a spinning kick.
Ashen just stood there and tanked the kick. This surprised Sora then she glared and landed on the ground, striking Ashen with a barrage of punches. Ashen stood strong, tanking every hit like it was nothing. Sora grunted and jumped backwards. She bellowed and channelled her chi energy then charged up an energy attack.
"You won't tank this!" Sora propelled herself toward Ashen and bellowed. "Phoenix Crash!"
She crashed into Ashen then groaned as she was blown away from the smoke. She rolled backwards then recovered onto one knee. She looked up and noticed Ashen had flown to the sky with his dragon wings.
"Is that all you've got? If your mission is to stall us for time, it won't work. I'll make quick work of you." Ashen said then looked at his hand. "Now let's fight.."
Sora looked up at Ashen then roared as her aura surged around her body. She flew up to Ashen then went for a punch. Ashen caught her fist then pushed her hand to the side and struck her with a powerful punch to her face, blowing her away. He flew after her.
"Come on everyone! We have to follow them!" Pandora said then ran off.
Everyone began packing up then followed Pandora. Soca kept track of Ashen's energy and quietly groaned.
Ashen blocked Sora's strikes then kneed her stomach and flew around her then grabbed her ponytail, throwing her. Sora groaned as she crashed through multiple trees then landed on her feet, sliding backwards. Ashen landed in front of her and evaded her energy blasts then ran toward her at high speeds. He generated a ball of energy and pressed it against her stomach then it exploded. Sora groaned as she rolled backwards then slid on her side.
"Is this the power of a Martial Arts Master?! You're no better than the worthless peasants I kill just for fun!" Ashen said as he walked toward her.
Sora slowly got up on one knee and coughed a bit of blood. "King Xavier...didn't accommodate for how powerful...this bastard truly is...I have no choice..."
Sora stood up and bellowed then her energy began to increase rapidly in power. Ashen stopped walking and watched her. Ragnarok appeared beside Ashen then smirked.
"You're just gonna let her power up?" Ragnarok asked.
"Yep." Ashen answered.
"Prepare your eyes...for my Oracle Form!!" Sora bellowed then tapped into her Oracle Aura. Her aura shined a light blue then eight Power Beads appeared around her neck. Her aura disappeared and she got into her fighting stance.
"Done with your light show? Good. Because I was starting to get bored." Ashen said.
Sora punched the air, unleashing a wave of raw pressure at Ashen. The pressure struck him then he grunted as he was knocked back. Sora began punching and kicking the air, sending pressure strikes directly at Ashen, hitting him with each strike. Sora threw one last attack and blew Ashen away with a powerful pressure strike. Ashen stumbled back then chuckled darkly.
"What a nice barrage of attacks.." Ashen said.
"That's what I like to call Burst Strike. It bypasses all forms of defense!" Sora said then pointed at Ashen. "While I'm in this form, you can't beat me, Dragon!"
Ashen looked at Sora then stood up straight. "Oh? I won't even need 25% of my full power to beat you. After all we are still in Dragon's Tears, I have more than enough power to handle you swiftly."
"Enough talk! You'll have to prove it!" Sora bellowed and dashed toward Ashen.
Ashen stood in his spot then dodged Sora's attacks. She kicked toward Ashen, but he dodged that as well. He chuckled and jumped backwards. Sora threw a punch at the air, sending a Burst Strike toward Ashen. Ashen got into his counter position then countered the Burst Strike, sending the wave of pressure back at Sora. She groaned as she was hit with her own attack with double the damage.
Sora roared and the pressure of her aura cracked the ground. She transformed into her Awakened Oracle Form then propelled herself toward Ashen. His eyes shined orange then returned back to normal. Sora fired her Power Beads at Ashen, but he dodged then and struck her stomach. Sora coughed blood then was sent flying to the sky. Ashen flew up and appeared above Sora then palmed her back, sending her back to the ground. He fired a beam of dragon energy at her, the beam hit her then an explosion happened.
Pandora noticed the explosion then ran toward it. The others followed behind and Soca felt Sora's energy fading away quickly.
Ashen held Sora by her neck and raised her off the ground. He looked at her then threw her aside. Sora grunted and rolled on her side. He walked toward her and stepped on her head as she tried to get up. He made her bow down to him.
"You're just a mere peasant to me. You should've thought twice before trying to raise a single hand toward me." Ashen said.
"My love! Above you!" Pandora screamed.
Ashen looked up and noticed an anthropomorphic lion above him coming down with a powerful slash with his claymore. Ashen dodged the attack and slid backwards.
"L-Leonidas?" Sora said in shock.
"Sora, you should've stayed with the group. There's no possible way you're beating Ashen's army alone. Even with your Oracle Goddess Form. I can sense his energy...he's something else." Leonidas said.
Leonidas, Leader of the Lion Nation. He was an anthropomorphic lion with a black mane wearing a suit of gold and black armor. His sword, Lion's Wrath grants him immense power under the sun and through sheer will alone.
"I know that now. He hasn't even broken a sweat yet." Sora sighed and stood up. "Where's Mitsune?"
"So this is the Prince and his wife." A man said then appeared in front of Leonidas and Sora then stood up, fixing his scarf.
"Well well...the party is all here." Ashen said then crossed his arms.
"I didn't come alone." Mitsune said then multiple other ninja appeared behind him and his allies.
"Neither did I." Leonidas said then roared summoning his Pride.
"I...I don't have a race of Oracles but prepare to lose!" Sora said then held out a thumbs down.
"We are the Trio of Revelation! You will know defeat!" All three said.
Pandora walked up next to Ashen then placed her arm on his shoulder then smiled at them. "Trio of Revelation. How cute...but we are the joined army of two of the most powerful kingdoms in the world. You think you can beat us?"
Cipi's eyes shined, Soca summoned his sword. Ishia, Cecilia, and Silas got into their stances. Harold placed his hand on the handle of his blade.
"You'll be fools to just challenge us. I'm feeling generous today, I'll give you one chance to tuck your tails between the crevasse of your ass cheeks and run away." Ashen said. "If not, let...the carnage begin."
Cipi roared and flames came from her mouth.
"We stand strong. Xovia won't go down without a fight." Leonidas said. "If we defeat them here...we take the River and we will be able to manipulate Exithia's power source!"
"Hmph...so be it." Ashen said then snapped his fingers. "Just to let you know, you'll have to find the main stream of energy to do that. The Dragon Stream I mean."
Cipi charged forward and roared. Leonidas pointed at Ashen and his allies and his Pride began to charge toward them. The rest of Ashen's and Pandora's army charged into battle, thus beginning the Battle for the River.