Ashen and his army made their way back to Exithia and decided to visit Redleaf Woods. Mati was pretty excited to see her family and friends again, even telling Silas about her bloodline. Ishia grumbled softly and crossed her arms. Ashen stopped walking as he reached the entrance and noticed that Zyre's Forces had taken over the village. He noticed dead bodies on the ground and memories of his past tragedies flooded his head.
"No..." Mati said in sadness and walked forward, seeing everything ablaze.
"Anything but this..." Pandora said then watched Ashen walk forward.
Ashen looked at Zyre's army then glared. His dark aura surrounded his body. Zyre's army looked at Ashen then their leader stepped forward. She looked at Ashen then chuckled softly.
"Wow, you're still alive! It's so sad to see what happened to your beloved childhood village huh? This is what happens when you cross us! Commander Long's death will not go in vain!" The woman said. "I am Fei! New Commander of Zyre's Forces! Long...I will avenge him by killing you all!"
Ashen grunted softly and his hair shadowed his eyes. "How dare you destroy something that's been a staple of my kingdom for generations..? How dare you kill MY people?!" Ashen said and red lightning crackled around his body.
"We could ask you the same, Monster! You won't make it to Ryujin Zyre! We will have you dead before you get the chance to see Exithia again!" Fei bellowed.
Ashen's heart began pounding against his chest. He grunted and held his head as the memories flooded his head more. He grunted as his body shook from the immense anger he felt. "I'll kill you all...every one of you will die by my hands.."
Fei laughed and looked at Ashen. She pointed her sword at him then smirked. "You can try, but you will fail. Don't you realize who we are? We are Zyre's Royal Knights. You've never been able to beat us. What makes you think you can defeat Lord Zyre?"
Ashen saw the vision of his Lair and gripped his head then his flame erupted from his chest. Fei watched Ashen then got a bit serious. Kinona watched him and began to get worried. Pandora looked at the destroyed village and noticed one of the Knights fly to the air and fire a barrage of arrows at Ashen.
Ashen grunted then roared. His aura deflected the arrows. Cursed marks began to appear on Ashen's body.
"Look at what they did to your childhood village. Allow me...to slaughter each and every one of them, Ashen." Ragnarok said.
Ashen's flames and aura engulfed his body.
"I will fuse together your Draconic Power and my Infernal Essence to create the Infernal Dragon Form. Use your Willpower to manifest a Dragon Crystal within." Ragnarok instructed.
Ashen used his Willpower Ability to manifest a Draco Crystal and Ragnarok began to infuse his Infernal Essence with Ashen's Draco Crystal. Ashen roared as his power grew to new heights.
"I shall become a monster that is compatible with you. Your new Monster Form will be the Infernal Dragon Form. Let us destroy those cretins and then kill Zyre." Ragnarok said.
Ashen's aura disappeared and he was in his new Infernal Dragon Form. His horns were a blood red with scales covering them. His hair had grown longer and his eyes shined a blood red. He looked at Fei and glared at her.
Fei smirked a little. "A new transformation won't sa-"
Fei coughed blood then noticed Ashen had struck her body before she could comprehend what happened within that split second. Ashen roared and rushed her with relentless attacks. Lightning began to crackle around his arm then he thrusted his arm at Fei, penetrating his arm through her chest. Fei gagged a bit as blood leaked out of her mouth.
"She didn't even stand a chance." Ishia said.
"His power level...he's broken into God Tier levels." Cipi said.
"Ragnarok has given Ashen his essence plus he now has the Draco Crystal. Ashen has fully accepted Ragnarok and taken his hand in unification." Ruination said.
Ashen tooked his hand out of Fei's chest then let her fall to the ground. He watched the other knights and glared at them. They bellowed and charged at him. Harold dashed forward and struck one of them with a barrage of imperceivable attacks then set them flying with one slash.
Another knight appeared behind Harold only to be blown away by Cipi's lightning strike. Ishia ran to Cipi's aid then transformed into her dragon form and unleashed a powerful beam at the knights.
Mati watched as her friends fought for her dead clan. She walked forward and casted away her fears to get revenge for her father. As she walked ahead, Ashen placed his hand on Mati's shoulder.
"Let them handle it, follow me to the Leader's Building." Ashen said then walked forward.
Mati nodded then followed Ashen.
"The rest of you, retreat to the river! We will meet with you momentarily." Ashen said.
Pandora watched then decided to take lead. "Come on! Let's go!" She ran off to Dragon's Tears.
The others followed behind her.
Ashen and Mati made it to the building then Ashen kicked the door open. He noticed the culprit for the attack and growled. "You...who are you..?"
The man with lime colored hair, yellow eyes, and dragon markings on his arms looked up and stared at Ashen then chuckled. He stood up and looked down at Mati and Ashen. "I could be asking you the same, Brother."
"Brother..?" Ashen asked and rose an eyebrow.
.....
Zyre stood at his balcony and watched the moon shine. "Ashen...Your victory in Xovia will not go unnoticed. You killed a God and destroyed his entire kingdom. The whole world is on guard now. Once you show up here...you will see what True Dragon Power is."
"Sir! Reports from Redleaf Woods! Ashen's army has begun their attack! Half of our Royal Knights are dead already!" A general reported.
"Don't worry. My son is there. Ashen won't have such an easy time with him. Let him do his work. Even if Ashen does win, he will be worn down." Zyre replied.
.....
"I am the son of Zyre and Lady Kinona. You can say I'm your and Ishia's half brother. My name is Azath. Before you can go to my father and fight him, you'll have to get through me." Azath said then his dragon armor appeared around him then the jewel in this middle of his chest began to shine brightly.
Azath got into his stance. He propelled himself toward Ashen. Ashen pushed Mati away from them then blocked his attack and grunted as he was getting pushed backwards. Ashen pushed his arm aside then kicked Azath away. Azath rolled backwards on the ground then recovered onto his feet.
"Let's see how strong you truly are, 'Brother'." Ashen said then vanished.
Azath grunted and looked around then lightning sparked from his eyes then he dodged Ashen's barrage of Lightspeed Blitzes. He dodged Ashen's next attack then tried to block his Burst Strike, but groaned as it went through his defense and sent him flying. Ashen appeared above Azath then rushed him with Dragon Strikes then kicked him to the ground.
Azath rebounded off the ground then flew toward Ashen and laughed. Ashen looked at Azath and saw Zyre's face which angered him even more. He roared and punched Azath's face and his Wrath Aura surged around his body. Azath was sent crashing through multiple buildings then crashed through multiple trees in the forest.
Ashen flew after Azath then summoned his sword and spotted Azath then bellowed. He slashed down at Azath, but he dodged then a purple line of light shined on the ground then an explosion happened. Azath looked surprised and noticed multiple lines of light appear on the ground.
Azath dodged Ashen's Void Cutters until one line appeared on his arm and he gasped and felt like things were moving in slow motion. His arm was sliced open and Azath roared loudly in pain then fell to his knees, holding his arm in deep pain.
Ashen lowered his blade then smirked darkly at Azath. Azath looked up at Ashen then gasped as a purple line of light appeared on his neck. As a Void Cutter was about to dish the finishing blow on Azath, someone tackled him, causing him to avoid the slice. Azath noticed a group of trees falling from the slash then heard Ashen laughing.
"You talked so boldly, and yet you're on your knees beneath me." Ashen said.
"Just who are you?!" Azath yelled.
"I am Ragnarok, God of the Infernal Realm. I am the Infernal Dragon! Soon to be Overlord of the entire Mortal Realm! I will turn everything into dust. I will destroy all adversaries who dare to challenge me." Ashen answered then Ragnarok appeared beside him and looked at the person who saved Azath.
Azath looked at the person then noticed it was his sister. "Serenity.."
Serenity was a gentle looking woman who had short white hair, blue eyes, and an Oracle Symbol on her forehead. She had four feathered dragon wings and a gold halo around her head. She looked up at Ashen then stood up.
"Please, Lord Ashen! You can stop this now and create peace with our two clans!" Serenity said then watched Ashen descend to the ground.
"There can never be peace between us. Zyre had only one intention coming here. To take over Exithia and he did successfully take it over, but it won't last long. As long as you stand in my way, you will die by my hands." Ashen said.
Serenity looked at Ashen seriously then stood her ground. "Please, Lord Ashen."
Ashen looked at her then pointed his finger at her then a small ball of red light shined at his fingertip. "Move aside, Serenity."
Azath noticed Ashen was distracted then vanished and appeared behind Ashen. He went for a fatal blow, but Ashen dodged it then struck his body with a Lightspeed Blitz, sending him crashing into a pond.
"How about you surrender yourself to me? I will make you a deal. If you surrender, I won't kill your brother." Ashen said then raised his hand, causing a black aura to surround Azath and raise him from the pond. The black aura began to suffocate Azath and slowly corrupt his body.
Serenity looked at Azath with shock in her eyes. "I surrender Lord Ashen! Put him down!"
Ashen kept Azath in the air. "You're the child of a man who assaulted my mother...the child of a man who doesn't deserve to be alive. You don't deserve to live!"
Ashen bellowed and slammed Azath on the ground then released a black aura across the forest. His eyes shined brightly and smelled Serenity's fear. She stumbled away from Ashen and tried to run away, but black chains rushed out toward her and captured Serenity. Ashen looked at the ground and chuckled softly.
"You....fucking...bastard..." Azath said and grunted as he slowly stood up.
Ashen walked to Serenity and grabbed the chains, pulling her toward him. He looked directly in her eyes. "Sit."
Serenity grunted as her body moved on its own and made her sit. She closed her eyes and tears of fear rolled down her cheek. "What are you going to do to me..?"
Ashen looked down at Serenity and saw Ishia and Kinona in her. He knew she couldn't have become a Dragon Oracle without Kinona's approval. He released her and turned around back to Azath.
"Find Mom and my wife. You're free to leave." Ashen said.
"I won't leave without my brother!" Serenity said. "You don't have to kill him! He's only following Father's orders! I didn't want this either...please.."
Ashen held his hand out then trapped Azath in black aura, suffocating him once more. "From what you said, he had a choice. He killed the clan that was a heavy influence in my life. He killed MY people. I will not let him live. The only reason I'm letting you live, is because you have my mother's trust."
Serenity opened her eyes and looked up at Ashen.
"You're a Dragon Oracle. Only those with pure hearts and desires become Oracles. You're an ally, but Azath...is every bit of Zyre. He dies. Now leave, before I change my mind.." Ashen said.
Serenity looked at him then stood up slowly. 'I've failed you, Azath...' she thought to herself before retreating.
Ashen looked at Azath then dropped him. "Retreat now, boy."
Azath coughed and looked at Ashen. "What..? You're showing mercy?"
Ashen walked away. "I want to fight you at your full power. I want to kill you at your best. Killing you now...wouldn't satisfy me. I need to see you lose hope in yourself. I want you to feel despair and to start...I will break apart your family as your father did to mine."
Azath watched Ashen walk away. "Ashen!"
Ashen stopped walking then looked back.
"Next time we meet...You'll have the best battle you'll ever had! No one else will be able to compare.."
Ashen smirked and continued to walk away. "We'll see. You'll have to become a God to make me break a sweat and even then...you'll need to be a powerful God or of the liking. Train, Dragon."
Ashen warped away.
Azath looked at his shaking hands. "He spared me...he actually spared me...but took my sister away. He gave me something new to fight for...Serenity I will save you." Azath said.
.....
Serenity panted as she ran around the forest then bumped into Sora. Sora looked back and noticed Serenity. She looked at her then noticed her Oracle Form. Serenity looked at Sora then freaked out and stumbled backwards.
"S-Sora!" Serenity squeaked.
Sora turned around and walked to Serenity. "Serenity..? Why are you here?"
Mitsune looked back at Serenity and Sora. "Serenity is here..?"
Kinona recognized Serenity's name then looked in their direction. She stood up as she noticed Serenity then hurried over to her. "Serenity?!"
"L-Lady Kinona!" Serenity said then hurried to her. Serenity hugged Kinona then Kinona hugged Serenity. "What's happening..? Why is there so much bloodshed..?"
"Xavier, Zyre, and Ericus are the reason. The things they've done to us. To Ashen...to his wife...our family and friends.." Kinona said.
"I don't like this..." Serenity said and softly cried.
Ishia and the others made it to Dragon's Tears and Ishia noticed Kinona holding Serenity. She hurried toward Kinona and looked at Serenity.
"Who's this?" Ishia asked.
Kinona looked surprised to hear Ishia's voice and looked up at her slowly. She looked back down at Serenity. "Ishia...this is...Serenity, your half sister.."
Ishia looked at Serenity and stared. "How old is she..?"
"She's 19 like you are...through the power of the Mythic Dragon of Wishes. Zyre...is her father." Kinona said.
Ishia placed her hand on Serenity's head then placed her other hand on Kinona's head and rubbed their heads. "It'll all be over soon."
Ashen appeared in front of everyone and looked at them. "From this point on, we split into two armies. My army will be the residents of Exithia, Ionara, Mati, and Nadori. Serenity will join as we."
Pandora looked at Ashen and rose an eyebrow. "We're splitting?"
"We will each handle our respective kingdoms. If either one finishes before the other, the first will assist the other. Once Exithia and Aestrea are liberated, we will move on to the next step." Ashen explained.
Pandora nodded. "Then that means the rest of you will be with me. Father...will be struck down as well as Soca! Failure is not an option!"
Both groups let out a battle cry then the two forces split up and headed straight to their respective kingdoms.
"This is it everyone. The moment has come where I finally kill Zyre once and for all." Ashen said.
"You've got this, Brother. We will handle the Royal Guards and Knights." Ishia said.
Ashen smiled and chuckled. "I know you all will."
...
Zyre heard the sirens going off then noticed the guards getting into position. He noticed an explosion and Ashen running out the smoke. Ashen corrupted two of the Royal Knights and they rushed into battle against their allies.
"So...it's time." Zyre said with a smirk. He jumped down from the balcony then landed on one knee.
Ashen noticed Zyre then stopped walking and stared at him. The wind blew and the two stared at each other.
"Ashen! Are you ready to be struck down?! This will be your final resting place!" Zyre bellowed and his Divine Aura surged powerfully around his body.
"My final resting place?" Ashen asked then chuckled. His Infernal aura surged powerfully around his body then he crossed his arms and smirked at Zyre. "No...This is where my legacy begins. Killing a Dragon God."
"Ha! You think you have what it takes? You stand no chance against Divinity like mine!" Zyre bellowed and flew toward Ashen at high speeds.
Ashen glared and watched him. "You stand no chance against me, Zyre."
To Be Continued...