The Crimson Lady glided like a phantom, her sleek form weaving through the dense jungle landscape. "We'll arrive at the outskirts soon. From there, we'll dock and infiltrate ZoZo's stronghold," Petre informed me as I stood beneath a makeshift water sprinkler, allowing the frigid droplets to cleanse my skin and armor of grime and blood.
"I'll leave this mission to you lads. I'll be in my chambers until it's completed," Darby announced, his voice resonating with authority as the crew busied themselves, gathering weapons and donning armor.
Sleep had eluded me since our arrival on this accursed planet, my thoughts consumed by feverish fantasies and murderous schemes to dispatch ZoZo. "You alright, Leon?" Drill inquired, his hand resting on my shoulder. I glanced at him, my weariness evident. "Yeah, just a bit tired, I guess," I muttered, the dark circles beneath my eyes betraying my exhaustion.
"Don't worry. We'll finish this job quickly and be on our way," Drill assured me, his voice steady and confident. He was one of the few crewmates I trusted... Trust, a concept foreign to me until recently. Friendship and loyalty were newfound experiences in that chapter of my life. For a soul destined for destruction and death, the gift of friendship was a fleeting treasure I once held dear.
"My friend, you must find rest and solace. I worry for you," Drill spoke, his voice laden with concern.
"I try, Drill, but slumber often eludes me," I admitted.
"You're haunted by the visages of the damned," Drill intoned, plucking thoughts from my mind's depths.
"How did you know?" I queried, genuinely surprised.
"My friend, I perceive only death in your eyes, yet you persist in clinging to your soul. Endeavor to seek the light," Drill advised, his words echoing like the wisdom of an ancient orc chieftain.
"Light…" The word lingered in my mind, unfamiliar and almost bitter. I had once known what it meant to hold hope close, to trust that some goodness might yet remain in my path. But that felt like a lifetime ago, buried under blood and vengeance.
And yet, some part of me wanted to believe that light might still exist for me, faint and flickering like a forgotten memory. "Maybe, one day," I murmured, almost to myself, feeling a strange yearning for peace—a whisper I knew I'd have to silence if I wanted to face what lay ahead.
The hum of the ship's engine diminished as we ventured deeper into the verdant jungle, the colossal trees casting their shadows over us. We nestled the ship amidst the vines and branches, effectively camouflaging its presence. Rad and Petre summoned us to disembark, and as I stepped onto the damp jungle floor, I was struck by the fragrance of unfamiliar flora.
The wild scents tantalized my senses as I watched peculiar tiny flying lizards flit among the trees. Their delicate, dragonfly-like wings carried their slender bodies, adorned with vibrant markings and patterns. "Chillyflies," Petre offered, addressing my unspoken curiosity about these intriguing creatures. "They're harmless little critters, but their kin are a different story," he added cryptically.
"What are their relatives?" I inquired, my interest piqued. Petre scratched his head, pausing for a moment before responding with an air of suspense, "Dragons."
My thoughts swirled with fascination about dragons as we delved deeper into the jungle. I had often listened to tales spun by local merchants about these mythical cosmic beings—their devastating power, their unparalleled might, and their mysterious magical abilities. A tale slipped back into my mind, one I'd heard in hushed whispers in Ravenside: consuming the heart of a dragon bestowed not only immortality but the dragon's strength and powers.
The thought stirred something dark within me. Could such power be any different from the influence of Orphease's ring? The ring already promised me strength beyond mortal bounds but demanded a piece of my soul in return. Would consuming a dragon's heart demand the same sacrifice, or was it the one power that didn't come at a cost?
As we ventured deeper, the allure of such strength lingered, a bitter temptation woven with my own unending hunger for more. The jungle seemed to echo it back, each shadow concealing promises of strength I hadn't yet attained.
"Legend has it that if one consumes the heart of such a beast, that person will gain not only immortality but also the formidable abilities of the dragon," Petre continued, laughing as if he had just shared the most ludicrous notion. "No one has ever accomplished such a feat, friend. No one has even managed to slay a dragon, let alone partake of its heart. Restrain yourself with the fanciful tales," Rad interjected, his voice tinged with skepticism.
In spite of Rad's dismissal, the stories enthralled me, igniting a spark of curiosity and wonder deep within. The concept of immortality and transcending the limits of one's abilities captivated my imagination, even as I acknowledged the improbability of such tales.
We surged through the jungle at a breakneck pace, the ship slicing through the dense foliage as myriad creatures fled into the shadows. As we navigated a narrow path deeper into the jungle, sudden explosions of rockets and lasers erupted from the hidden depths of the verdant canopy. The ship shuddered, and I was flung to the ground, while Darby clung to the controls, expertly evading the barrage assailing us.
"Damn it, they must have known we were coming!" Rad shouted, his voice straining above the cacophony. Opol and Rudo scrambled to the cannons, retaliating with a hailstorm of projectiles into the jungle. "I can't see a damn thing!" Rudo bellowed as another blast struck the ship's hull.
I struggled to regain my footing, only to be slammed back down by the force of the impact, my body sliding perilously close to the ship's edge. "God damn it!" Opol cursed, unleashing another volley into the jungle.
As I finally clawed my way back to my feet, a phalanx of masked figures emerged from the jungle's depths, riding airboards with lethal grace. Cloaked in black, they bore an enigmatic emblem on the left sides of their chests. Armed with formidable weaponry – long rifles equipped with searing laser beams – they glided seamlessly through the air, closing in on our vessel. With expert precision, they fired grappling hooks, intent on boarding our beleaguered ship.
One of the masked marauders succeeded in boarding, barreling into me with the force of a battering ram. His arms encircled me like iron bands, and I realized, with a jolt of terror, that he intended to hurl us both over the edge of the ship. "Leon!" Drill's shout echoed in my ears as he lunged, trying to grasp me, but it was too late. The assassin and I plummeted into the jungle's embrace, crashing through branches and undergrowth.
The impact stole the breath from my lungs, and I lay gasping upon the muddy ground. Nearby, the masked assailant stumbled, clearly disoriented from our violent descent. I hauled myself to my feet, clutching my sword as I lunged at him, my elbow connecting with his nose with a sickening crunch. He staggered, and I seized him, driving my knee into his ribs with brutal force. Gripping the back of his neck, I prepared to strike again, but he reared his head up, headbutting me squarely in the chin. My grip slackened, and I stumbled back, momentarily dazed.
The attacker lunged, a dagger glinting wickedly in his hand, aiming for my side. I dodged the strike and countered with a bone-crushing right hook, my armored glove smashing into the side of his head. He crumpled to the ground, screaming in torment as I towered over him, my anger now a raging inferno. It was time to end his suffering. I raised my sword, plunging it into his throat with a savage finality. Blood spurted forth, painting the jungle floor crimson and mingling with the nearby river.
I stood there, panting, bloodied, and battered, a sudden emptiness settling in my chest. "Damn it, where do I go now?" I muttered to myself, wiping the blood from my mouth and surveying the seemingly endless expanse of wilderness that stretched out before me.
Resolved to follow the ship's intended course, I pressed forward through the mire of the jungle, hacking away at the branches and tall grass obstructing my path. The air hung heavy and damp around me, heat clinging to my armored form as if it were a living thing. As I trudged onward, my burdened mind conjured fleeting shadows in the periphery of my vision.
Kneeling at the river's edge, I scooped water into my cupped hands, quenching my thirst and washing my face. It was then that I heard faint whispers emanating from the jungle's depths, the voices ethereal and childlike. "This way," they urged. I shook my head, desperate to convince myself that the sounds were merely figments of my imagination. But the whispers persisted, accompanied by the appearance of tiny, glowing orbs floating amidst the trees. The whispers called out again, and against my better judgment, I followed, seeking either the source or the confirmation of my own madness.
The jungle before me teemed with life, the air thick with the heady, earthy scent of lush plants and the metallic tang of unseen dangers lurking in every shadow. Towering trees swayed ominously above, their twisted branches casting eerie shapes against the ground as strange, predatory flora snapped viciously at passing insects. Each step seemed to stir a murmur from the depths of the jungle—a low, hissing chorus that rose and fell in tandem with my movements. I gripped my sword tighter, hyper-aware of each rustling leaf and shifting shadow, as if the jungle itself had eyes that watched, assessing and waiting.
The whispers intensified, ethereal and childlike, coaxing me further. "This way," they called, soft yet insistent, pulling me like a current I couldn't resist. The words brushed against my mind, lulling me into a strange calm even as I knew I should be wary. My body, heavy with exhaustion, begged for rest, yet some unseen compulsion urged me onward. The jungle's darkness seemed to pulse with a life of its own, each step a heartbeat that echoed in the night.
Emerging from a dense wall of underbrush, I stumbled into a clearing bathed in moonlight, its floor a lush carpet of flowers that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light. As I took in the sight, delicate orbs floated down from the treetops, drifting closer until I saw what they truly were—fairies, tiny beings with translucent wings that shimmered in the faint glow of the jungle. Their laughter was barely audible, soft and echoing, as if it came from somewhere beyond the realm of the living.
"This way. You're almost there," came a lilting voice, as a small purple fairy hovered before me, her voice weaving a spell in my ears. Mesmerized, I allowed the fairies to guide me, their gentle glow casting a path through the endless expanse of strange, shifting blossoms. As I followed, an odd sense of peace mingled with dread, each step drawing me further into the depths of the jungle's secrets.
As we walked, an unnatural stillness settled around us, thick and pressing, as if even the air held its breath. The fairies drifted before me, their glow deepening to an eerie blue, casting elongated shadows that twisted along the ground. I followed, stepping forward into an altered reality where the sky had shifted to a surreal, dark purple, the stars above casting a spectral glow. The field of flowers seemed to smolder, each bloom ablaze with a faint, ghostly blue flame that danced and flickered as though alive. My skin prickled with a sense of wrongness, but an unseen force drew me forward.
I found myself standing before a colossal stone temple, half-swallowed by the jungle, its cracked stones blanketed in creeping vines and tangled moss. The structure loomed like a forgotten tomb, its pyramid-like shape and towering stone doors invoking an ancient reverence tainted by an unshakable sense of dread. Carved into the stone were two enormous dragon statues, their expressions twisted in defiance and fury. Their eyes, set with glistening gemstones, seemed to follow my every move, as though warning me to turn back.
My hands pressed against the frigid stone doors, their resistance palpable, like pushing against the weight of centuries. When they finally gave way, they creaked open with a groan that echoed into the dark beyond. A wave of stale, heavy air rushed past me, thick with dust and the unsettling scent of decay. I hesitated, feeling the fairies' tiny lights fade behind me, their presence retreating as though unwilling to follow me further. Left alone, I descended into the temple's depths, each step resounding like a drumbeat in the oppressive silence.
Candles flickered in suspended iron cages along the walls, casting ghostly shadows that wavered with each breath of stale air. The passage seemed to stretch on indefinitely, each turn amplifying a sense of descending further, not merely into stone but into some ancient, slumbering darkness. With every step, the carvings lining the walls seemed to pulse with faint, ominous light, their depictions of dragon-gods locked in brutal battles with unknown deities becoming clearer, more vivid, as though alive with the echoes of forgotten wars. Each heartbeat felt louder in the dark, and with it, an instinctual unease clawed at me, warning that the path forward held far more than mere shadows.
The deep, monstrous voice that had been my guide bellowed from below, commanding the fairies to depart. They scattered like leaves on a stormy wind, leaving me alone in the temple's dark embrace. Trembling, I pressed onward, the voice urging me deeper into the shadows. My fingers traced the intricate carvings along the walls, depicting battles between dragons and gods, their expressions etched in defiance and torment.
Finally, I reached the bottom of the steps and stood before another set of stone doors, their surface adorned with a massive ruby that seemed to hold a burning fire within. The voice demanded I open the doors, and as I hesitated, my ring began to emit a strange aura. Compelled by an unseen force, I pressed my fist against the ruby, and with a flash of crimson light, the doors swung open, revealing a void of darkness.
Dread thickened in my chest as I took another step into the pitch-black expanse, my sword a comforting weight in my trembling grip. Silence enveloped me, heavy and suffocating, until a low, rumbling breath broke through the dark—a sound so deep it felt like the earth itself exhaling. I froze, every nerve screaming as the air grew charged with a primal energy, older and more powerful than anything I had known. My grip on my sword tightened, but I knew—somewhere deep within—that steel alone could offer no protection here.
The faintest shift of movement echoed from the shadows, and I turned, heart hammering as I felt the space before me swell with an immense presence. Chains rattled somewhere in the depths, and a dark silhouette loomed, shrouded in shadows too dense for even my eyes to penetrate. Each breath the creature took seemed to draw the air from the room, pulling me closer to the abyss. I stumbled back, but a part of me—a dangerous, awe-struck part—yearned to see what lay beyond the dark.
In an instant, countless candles flared to life, their flickering flames illuminating a cavernous chamber. My breath caught in my throat as two titanic, reptilian eyes emerged from the darkness, swirling with galaxies, each flecked with the colors of a thousand dying stars. They fixed on me with a gaze that felt ancient, unyielding, as though I were nothing more than dust before them. Power radiated from the creature, a force so intense that it vibrated through my bones, pressing down upon me like a weight too heavy to bear.
There, half-hidden in chains that spanned the width of the chamber, lay a dragon—a being of such breathtaking terror and majesty that it defied words. Scales as dark as the void stretched over its massive frame, rippling with streaks of iridescent light that seemed to shift with every subtle movement. Each breath it took was a storm, a reminder of the sheer power it held, barely restrained by the ancient bonds.