Ashen sat in his room in the inn and stared at his hand. Pandora noticed and sat beside him on the bed. He looked at her then smiled. She smiled back then leaned against him.
"He's dead...but my people are not free yet, but Xovia comes first. All will die. Man, woman, or child. Dog or cat. God or Mortal. We will destroy everything together, my love." Ashen said.
Pandora nodded then looked at up. "Together..~" She reached up and held his cheek then kissed his lips.
Ragnarok looked out the window and chuckled. Ruination stopped reading her book and looked at Ragnarok. He kept chuckling then laughed softly.
"The look on Long's face when you powered up. He thought you had died...The despair he felt in his final moments. Ashen, you have outshined yourself once again." Ragnarok laughed.
Ruination gasped a bit and sat up quickly. "Y-You didn't call him, boy?"
Ashen pulled away from the kiss and looked at Ragnarok. "Finally showing respect huh..?"
"You seemed to have earned a bit of my respect. I won't knock you down for this one." Ragnarok said while still looking out the window.
Pandora puffed her cheeks. "Now that you're done talking, back to kissing!" Pandora said then made Ashen look at her and started making out with him again.
Ruination walked to the window and sat down at the table with Ragnarok. "It is a beautiful night isn't it..?"
Ragnarok stared at the moon. "It could always use more stars."
Ruination smiled and rested her cheek on the palm of her hand. "So I was thinking..."
Ragnarok didn't say anything. He closed his eyes then exhaled. "I want to focus on my goals first. What we had was enjoyable, but world...no Universal Domination is more important to me. Just like I took over the Underworld and built my Infernal Realm, I want to do the same with this Mortal Realm. It is much bigger than my realm. Multiverses reside here."
"Multiverses? How big is the Mortal Realm?" Ruination asked.
"No one really knows. The Mortal Realm is the largest Realm but it's like that for a reason. Mortals are weak at first but they have a skill only they can teach us called Evolution. They evolve which is why they are able to become Deities something you used to have to be born as. They can imitate even sometimes become Gods." Ragnarok said.
Ruination looked at Ragnarok then looked at Ashen and Pandora on their bed. She looked back out the window then went back to reading her book.
.....
The next day rolled around, and Ishia was in the training area with Cecilia, Silas, and Hime.
Ishia dodged Hime's attacks then grunted as she struck at invisible speeds then slid backwards. "Ow ow ow! What was that?!"
Hime giggled and bowed at Ishia. "My apologies, Lady Ishia. I couldn't resist using Lightspeed Blitz."
"Lightspeed Blitz? What's that?" Ishia asked.
"Well it's a combination of Burst Strike and Light Blitz, two powerful techniques only an Oracle and a Sacred Maiden can learn." Hime explained.
"Weird because I saw Brother use it against Long yesterday." Ishia said.
Hime smiled and shook her head. "He's a Monster, but a special kind. His Monster has all kinds of weird techniques and powers that can't be explained by me. It's like a man called Farceur, he was known as the Wild Swordsman who knew every technique of the blade."
"I am nothing like that man." Ashen said.
"Good morning, Lord Ashen." Hime smiled at Ashen.
Ashen nodded his head at her then greeted Silas and Cecilia. "My ability is to Replicate any attack and I can use that ability however many times I would like. There are no drawbacks to the ability and the best part is that it's Passive meaning I can even copy abilities in my base form."
"Replication? That's kinda awesome." Silas said and looked at Ashen.
"Observe." Ashen said then got into his battle stance.
Hime watched him then grunted as she was struck with a barrage of lightspeed attacks. She rolled on the ground then recovered onto her feet. She caught her breath and panted. "What the- Lightspeed Blitz..?"
"See?" Ashen said.
"Okay you're just flexing now, get outta here this is my training time! Not your talent show!" Ishia said, pushing Ashen aside.
Ashen laughed a bit as he walked to the sidelines with Cecilia and Silas. He crossed his arms and watched Ishia and Hime.
"Okay, Ishia. Come at me again!" Hime said then got in her battle stance.
Ishia nodded then stomped her foot down then blew smoke out of her nose then propelled herself toward Hime. She started off with a crescent kick, but Hime blocked it and pushed her leg away. Hime struck Ishia's side at lightspeeds then jumped up with a twist and surrounded her leg with sacred energy, kicking Ishia to the ground.
Ishia grunted as she hit the ground. Hime landed on the ground and watched Ishia stand up once again. Ishia's eyes shined then she roared and her dragon aura surged around her body. Cecilia and Silas grunted softly from the wind that was generated from Ishia's aura. Ashen smirked and his eyes shined.
Ishia flew to Hime at high speeds then kicked, but Hime dodged her kick. Hime avoided her barrage of attacks then went for a Lightspeed Blitz, but Ishia instinctively dodged it. Hime noticed and went for another. Ishia dodged it and her eyes shined.
"Dragon Instincts. She's starting to awaken them." Ashen said.
"Dragon Instincts?" Cecilia asked as she watched Ishia dodge the Lightspeed Blitz.
"It's a form of Battle Instincts that reach higher than normal instincts. It's better than Tranquil State, Calm Mind, and Mushin Form. This type of instinct allows the user to read their opponents with relative ease. Not only is it used defensively, but it can be used offensively." Ashen explained.
Ishia dashed toward Hime and avoided her kick then struck her stomach. She twirled and kicked Hime away. Hime was spinning in the air, but stopped herself and landed on her feet.
"See that? She found openings on Hime. Our instincts allow for perfect opportunities for attacking and defending. If one were to train their instincts enough they could achieve Ryujin Instincts. A perfected form of Dragon Instincts." Ashen said.
"Dragons are so cool, what was my dad talking about?!" Cecilia said and cheered on Ishia.
Sora walked on to the training area and looked at Ishia. "Training huh." Sora threw a Burst Strike at Ishia, but Ishia dodged it then grunted as she was hit with the next one.
"What the hell! What crawled up your butt?!" Ishia said.
"Apparently this woman here is an Oracle. It's so interesting to see, but she isn't the right opponent for you if you wish to grow your potential fast. You will need actual battle training. How about a rematch from our fight a couple days ago?" Sora said.
Ishia looked at Ashen. Ashen nodded at her and smiled at her. Ishia nodded back then looked at Sora.
"I accept your rematch." Ishia said.
"I-I don't think this training area can handle a full blown match." The small dragon said. "We do have a battle arena just a bit down the road though. Our Dragon Colosseum."
"Perfect." Ashen said. "Let's go, after breakfast. You can never fight on an empty stomach. Breakfast is on me."
.....
Kagura looked at the Sacred Core then held her arms. She closed her eyes and contacted Kinona. She noticed Kinona answered. "Kinona, let's meet up at the Bridge. I want to talk to you about something."
"Okay. I'll be there." Kinona said.
Kagura disconnected then warped to the bridge. She landed on the bridge and noticed Kinona standing in front of her. She walked to her then they both walked to the rails.
"Are you worried about your children as I am my children?" Kagura asked.
"I am. I think about it everyday. Ishia has never truly been in battles like these. She's not too good at fighting. She's never had battle experience." Kinona said.
"Cecilia and Silas as well. They've only trained with Hime. Also, Ashen...what my husband said about him...do you-" Kagura started.
"I do have my suspicions. His eyes whenever he looks at my husband. Soulless, murderous, cold...it scares me. He...he hasn't been the same since his uncle died. He still loves me and everyone he has a connection with, but I can sense...a destructive flame within him.." Kinona said.
"What if he does have this Corrupt Ember?" Kagura asked.
"I would still love him even if he does decide to take my life. He's my first born, my baby. My only son. My true only son..." Kinona said.
Kagura looked at the lake. "Do you hate your husband too?"
"Oh yeah, I hate him to my core. If I could kill him myself, I would take that chance every time." Kinona said then gripped the railings.
Kagura pat Kinona on the back then rubbed her back. "We'll make it through. Our miracle will soon come again."
...
Sora stood on one side of the battle arena and Ishia stood on the other side, stretching. Ashen and the others watched from the audience section.
"This battle ends when either one is unable to fight!" Harold said. He looked at the two. "Ready?!"
Sora got into her stance then looked serious. Ishia got into her stance then blew smoke from the corners of her mouth. Her eyes turned dragon like.
"Go!" Harold called out.
Ishia's aura surged around her body then she propelled herself toward Sora. She bellowed and went for the punch, but Sora blocked it then countered. Ishia grunted as she was struck in her stomach then Sora struck her face, knocking her back. Ishia landed on her feet then ran toward Sora once again. She feinted her first attack then spotted an opening. She swept Sora off her feet with a kick then struck her with a barrage of Dragon Strikes then palmed her stomach, blowing her away.
Sora crashed into the wall and grunted softly. She stood up slowly then looked at Ishia. Her eyes shined then she bellowed and transformed into her Oracle Form. She dashed toward Ishia and Ishia ran toward Sora as well. They two clashed for the first few hits then Ishia blocked Sora's next kick then struck Sora in her stomach. Sora coughed then was stunned. Ishia threw a barrage of attacks and each one landed on Sora. She bellowed and blasted Ishia away with an energy blast.
"She's doing so good!" Silas said.
"Yeah, she's really gotten a lot of experience now!" Pandora said and giggled.
Ashen looked serious and watched. "It's not over yet."
Sora's aura surged and a bright light shined. Ishia grunted as she noticed Sora's energy. Sora had transformed into her Super Oracle Form. Her aura had a golden glow and her eyes shined red.
Ishia braced herself then her eyes widened as she was struck with a barrage of lightspeed strikes. Sora appeared in front of Ishia then punched her stomach. A barrage of lightspeed strikes hit Ishia as well. Ishia coughed a bit of blood then was sent crashing into a wall.
"That's so much faster than my Lightspeed Blitz.." Hime said.
"That was a taste of my Warp Strike and Flash Barrage." Sora said.
"Warp Strike?" Cecilia asked.
"What Sora just did was fuse her Burst Strike with Spatial Energy. Because her Burst Strike can't be blocked, it's a free hit and teleport. Flash Barrage is a Multistrike move that's based on speed itself. Imagine if we had to face this Sora the other day." Ashen said.
"We could've faced this Sora, but you just used your Ultimate Arts and traumatized her." Pandora said.
Ishia stood up and the Draco Crystal inside her began glowing. She roared loudly and her voice echoed throughout the sky. The dragons from the village was alerted to it. Cipi looked surprised and sat up in her seat.
"What is this energy I'm feeling?" Pandora asked.
"I feel it too.." Hime said.
"It's so powerful." Silas said.
Golden markings appeared on Ishia's body and shined brightly. Her eyes shined a bright blue color and her aura began to release energy particles.
"This is the aura of the Ancient Ones. She's a reincarnation of one of the 22 Ancient Dragons. Her potential is the highest of them all, she's the reincarnation of the Dragon of Potential!" Cipi said then stood up.
Ishia looked at Sora and spread her dragon wings then a light blue halo formed over her head then sparkled. Sora looked at Ishia as well then smirked. The light in her eyes came back then she laughed. Ishia bared her fangs.
Sora pointed at Ishia then her eyes shined. "This...is going to be good..."
To Be Continued....