It seemed like the alcohol in her blood and the collar on her neck had drained her energy, making her fall into a deep sleep. I moved quickly, jumping from building to building toward my hotel, trying to avoid being seen.
When I finally reached the hotel, my thoughts raced. Could I show Aylin this? I hadn't told her about Sekito's kidnapping yet, only that we were here to save Emovi. Should I take the risk? After some long deliberation, I decided against it. Sekito was Aylin's savior; revealing her now might turn Aylin against our plan completely.
I leapt back the way I came, my heart pounding with the weight of my decision. As I sprinted across rooftops, I felt it, someone was watching me. A shadow, lingering just out of sight. My instincts sharpened, but I couldn't pinpoint their location. Holding Sekito tight, I flew through the city, trying to shake the feeling of being followed. Sekito mumbled something in her sleep, but I barely heard her over the pounding in my chest.
After what felt like hours of evading unseen eyes, I found an old bridge hidden beneath the city's chaos. I descended, laying Sekito gently on the ground beneath it. She slept soundly, unaware of the storm raging inside me. The steady stream of water nearby filled the silence as I tried to gather my thoughts. Then, behind me, the unmistakable sound of footsteps echoed. My heart stopped. I turned and saw him—the silver man from the bar.
Now that he was closer, there was no doubt. The glow that surrounded him, the shimmering aura trailing behind—it was him. The Silver Saint. The man from the desert.
Was he a force of justice? If so, would he stop me from taking Sekito? They seemed to know each other. If he tried to stop me, my entire plan would unravel. I needed to get away, fast. I grabbed Sekito again, ready to run, but before I could move, the silver man spoke.
"I'm not here to stop you from taking her," he said, his voice calm. "I just want to give you something."
I froze, staring at him in confusion. His eyes locked onto mine, their colorless depths unsettling. For a moment, time seemed to stop. The air around us chilled, a cold blue aura filling the space. The ground beneath me began to freeze.
Panic gripped me as I tried to think of something, anything. I had believed the power of the dragon would drain all energy in Dragonspine, but here he was, using loxes effortlessly.
I groaned as I stumbled, losing my balance, my legs frozen in place. The ice climbed higher until it stopped at my waist. But it wasn't ice—it was something else. Something hard, shiny… silver?
"I just want you to accept my gift without running," he said again, his voice smooth but commanding.
He reached toward his waistband and pulled out a silver sword. It was unlike any weapon I'd ever seen. Calling it beautiful would have been an understatement. The blade glowed with an icy blue light as he supported it with one hand and walked toward me, each step deliberate.
"What are you…" I began, but he remained silent.
Without a word, he cut his own hand with the silver blade. Blood, silver in hue, dripped from his palm. He flicked it toward me, and in an instant, my mouth was sealed shut, frozen by the silver.
I struggled, trying to pry it off, but my hand froze entirely as I touched it.
"Shatter."
The silver covering my mouth shattered into dust, leaving a trail of glitter in the air. I gasped, feeling the dryness on my lips, and stared at him. The Silver Saint's eyes were cold but devoid of malice. Instead, they were filled with something else—sorrow.
"Don't resist it."
There was no intent to kill me in his eyes. But within that void, I saw pain, a sadness so deep it chilled me more than the silver binding me. My body relaxed against my will, but my mind raced. The dragon absorbs energy; it doesn't negate it. If I could activate the flower of Freedom, even for a moment, I might escape.
I felt the flower on my cheek starting to appear, but before I could use it, his cold hand touched my skin. His speed was inhuman; he had closed the distance in an instant. The flower vanished from my cheek as he covered it with silver, just like last time in the desert.
Before I could think of a new plan, I felt it. A sharp pain—a blade pierced through my chest. His sword. Cold and searing, it froze my insides with silver, spreading rapidly through my body.
My movements slowed, the silver crawling over me. My mind spiralled into chaos. Why wasn't my mark activating? Couldn't it sense that my life was about to end?
The silver entombed my organs, my heart was racing until it was encased in silver completely. My brain told me I was going to die, but even with my imminent death incoming, I didn't feel fear, my body seemed to accept it.
Even with overcoming fear, the pain was unbearable, with a pained expression, I squeezed out one word.
"Why…" I gasped, but the word barely escaped my lips.
The silver spread, encasing me completely. I could only watch as Sekito, too, was engulfed. Then I heard him speak again.
"Shatter."
A bright aura surrounded me, and suddenly, the sword in my chest began to disintegrate, its power being absorbed into my body. My eyes widened in disbelief as the blade shattered, leaving only sparkling dust behind. Everything around me turned into a glistening, translucent brilliance. When I looked down at my hands, something felt… different.
Sekito had been unfrozen. The silver man was gone.
I instinctively clutched my chest where I had been impaled, holding onto and feeling my heartbeat. It was steady as usual. A traumatic look grew on my face as I supported my hands against the walls and foundation of the bridge. There was something deep inside me, clashing with my Aeon. It was like a battle inside my own soul, I felt as if both of these powers tried to assert their dominance.
I cried out in pain as the Aeon of Freedom's pain nullification had been broken. But oddly enough, it conspicuously appeared on my cheek. It was pulsating before vanishing. Then I collapsed down onto the ground, my whole body trembling and shaking as if I was having a seizure. A silverine aura coated itself around my body but dispersed into nothing after a few seconds. The mark of Freedom reappeared on my cheek, followed by the silverine aura, repeating over and over again.
It finally stopped after 2 minutes. I felt nothing new inside myself, it was as if nothing happened in the first place. I placed my hands in the water, trying to cool myself off, and washing my face. I supported myself up against the walls while breathing heavily as if I had just run a marathon before stumbling towards Sekito making sure she was asleep.
I'm not quitting this mission no matter how much pain I was in. If I cannot run, I will walk, if I can't walk I will crawl, and if I can't crawl anymore, I will use my bare teeth to drag myself forward towards my goal.
"A few hours after Vivshi had encountered the Silver Saint."
A fisherman who used to fish near this river in Dragonspine cast his lure into the water, but it wasn't the sound of it hitting the water. It made a rigid bling sound as it hit the surface. The fisherman peered down towards the river to cheek what that sound was and what he witnessed, he would never forget in his life. His eyes widened in shock as he screamed out in terror. Passersby ran up and asked him what was wrong.
"THE RIVER…."
As people gathered, they all peered over the stone bridge below, their expressions grew terrified, their pristine river had been solidified with silver.
The next morning, I loaded Sekito into a crate. She was awake, conscious, but strangely calm. She didn't struggle or complain, only humming softly to herself as I secured the lid.
I found a nearby trolley that I used to push around the crate containing Sekito inside. I was minding my business delivering Sekito to Aylin when I heard a commotion, people were running towards a bridge screaming that "an act of God had happened." I just thought people were up to some religious stuff, making bogus crap up and shrugged it off.
I took her back to Aylin and told her we were finished.
"But we haven't found Emovi yet. Isn't Devina and Sekito also supposed to be here?" she asked.
"I already found her, but we need to get—"
Before I could finish the lie, pain flared on my cheek. The curse. I groaned, collapsing to my knees as my cheek burned.
"Are you okay, Vivshi?" Aylin's voice broke through the haze as she extended her hand.
How was this possible? How was my Aeon working?
Then I felt it. The power of the dragon had stopped radiating from the bones.
I looked up, eyes wide, toward the hull of the dead dragon. The sky above twisted with dark clouds, swirling around the massive, ancient ribcage like a gathering storm.
"What's wrong Vivshi? You look pale."
Then the first crack.
Aylin who just got ignored looked at me worriedly before realizing something was wrong. She held onto my arms and asked what was happening.
Loud, like the earth itself splitting open, the bone made a sharp, jarring sound that echoed through the streets. It was as if the air had been sucked out of the city for a moment, leaving only the deafening crack reverberating in the void. Another followed, louder, closer.
"Something is happening to Dragonspine."
With a concerned look, Aylin asked if I had a plan to get us out of there, and I reassured her that we would be okay.
Cracks spread along the massive ribs of the dragon's skeleton, crawling like lightning across the surface of the bones. Each break was accompanied by a low rumble that shook the ground beneath our feet. Buildings trembled. Windows shattered. The sky itself seemed to tremble as the ancient remains started to fall apart.
"Vivshi, look!" Aylin outbursted, before pointing into the sky.
Grabbing Aylin, I placed her on the trolley and started rushing towards the gate of Dragonspine.
The earth groaned, the weight of ages collapsing in on itself as the hull of the dragon's skeleton splintered. The sound was unbearable, like the deep growl of an earthquake, accompanied by a terrible screech as massive chunks of bone began to break free. The ground beneath us rippled with aftershocks, making it hard to balance.
Panic spread in waves through the city. People ran, their screams barely audible over the growing roar of the cracking bones. The dragon's sternum, a massive curved piece of its ancient skeleton, shuddered as the cracks spread further. I could hear it creaking under its own immense weight, groaning like a giant on the verge of collapse.
I tried to dodge the fleeing people, as I pushed as fast as I could, towards the exit. Aylin sat on the box, completely staring at the descending pieces of bone.
And then, with a tremendous crash, the largest bone snapped clean in half. The sharp edge of the broken bone tumbled downward, falling toward the city like a meteor about to strike. It picked up speed as it fell, splitting the air with a terrible whistling noise, growing louder by the second. The city paled in comparison with the bone, even though it was thousands of meters up in the air, you could see that it would completely flatten the city if ever it made contact with it.
I stared upward in horror, my eyes locked on the falling piece of bone. It was enormous, easily large enough to destroy the entire city if it hit.
"Aylin!" I shouted. "Hold on tight! Imma go as fast I can and when we exit Dragonspine, teleport us back as fast as you can!"
Aylin nodded putting all her trust in me.
But then something caught my eye.
A bright, silver trail darting across the rooftops.
The silver man. He was here.
I shielded my eyes as the hull was suddenly swallowed by a brilliant substance, reflecting the sun's light. When the glare faded, I saw him—the Silver Saint. He was a blur, moving with impossible speed as he leapt between the buildings, glowing with that ethereal silver light.
Was he actually planning to stop that massive thing? There was no way on earth a human could stop an object weighing millions of tons from falling at that speed. That is simply impossible.
He stretched out his arms, and from his spine, an enormous silver sword began to emerge, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that I would never see again. Its blade seemed to materialize from thin air, shimmering and twisting, growing larger with each passing second. It was colossal, towering over the city like a monument of silver, the light from it casting long shadows across the buildings below.
Sunlight was blocked out of my eyes as the sword was summoned. I fully opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I was seeing. Who is this man? The Silver Saint? Is he an Aeon? How could a human possibly attain so much power? I looked over towards Aylin, who stood there with her hand covering her mouth, her eyes fixated on the giant sword. Her terrified expression reminded me that we had to get out of there before something happened, but I couldn't help but admire the beauty of the Silver Saint's art.
With one graceful motion, the Silver Saint leapt onto the sword, his feet barely touching the blade as he balanced atop it. The air around him shimmered with energy as he raised one hand toward the sky.
Tracking his movement in the air was almost impossible, it was like trying to keep focus on an eagle diving through the skies. A beautiful silver dust trailed behind the sword as it soared across the sky.
And then, with a single, impossibly fast movement, he brought the sword towards the dragon.
I stopped dead in my tracks and Aylin asked me why I had stopped.
No words were coming to mind as I was watching the scene unfold in front of me. I never thought a human would be able to overcome the boundaries of the Aeons.
"Aylin… is that man human?"
The blade collided with the falling dragon bone, and the impact shook the entire city. It was as if the world had been struck by a comet. The sound was deafening. A low, resonating boom that sent shockwaves through the streets, shattering windows and cracking stone.
But the bone didn't shatter. The sword held. The sheer force of the impact had driven the massive piece of dragon bone back into the sky, pushing it away from the city below.
The Silver Saint wasn't done. His silver aura flared, growing even brighter, and as the light intensified, I saw it, his sword was freezing the sternum.
Crystalline frost spread from the blade, crawling over the surface of the dragon's ribcage, and enveloping it in silver ice. The air around us grew cold, so cold that I could see my breath. Everything from the buildings, the streets, the very air—seemed to freeze under the weight of that silver aura.
Everyone including me, stared up into the sky, seeing this mysterious man saving them from the bones crashing upon them. People started to calm down and started to observe closely.
One man suddenly yelled out:
"HEY THAT'S OUR MAYOR!!! WE ARE SAVED!!!"
The panic had subsided, and the crowd started to cheer on their Mayor.
Their Mayor was the Silver Saint… then the mythical gift that the warrior told me about… it must have been that beautifully crafted sword. He saved me in the desert and saw my worth during my fight with Fear? Is that why he gave a helping hand in surviving against him? He wanted to see if I was worthy enough to take on his will? Giving me a tiny amount of his power, seeing if I was compatible enough to overcome death itself. After seeing the results of the battle he must have thought I was worthy enough for the mythical weapon.
The entire sternum of the dragon was encased in silver, the cracks along the bones slowly mending as they froze solid. The sternum, once tumbling toward destruction, was now suspended in mid-air, trapped in a prison of gleaming, silver ice.
The Silver Saint hovered, his sword held high, and for a moment, the world seemed to pause. The only sound was the faint crackling of ice spreading across the dragon's hull. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he brought the sword down again—this time, gently.
And the dragon's entire skeleton shattered.
It didn't just break—it disintegrated into glittering dust. The pieces, once colossal, now shimmered like tiny fragments of light, scattering across the sky in a thousand directions. For a moment, it was as if the entire world was made of silver, the dust catching the light of the rising sun, reflecting it in every direction.
Then, as if by command, I heard the word again.
"Shatter."
Another blinding flash. The sword exploded, raining glitter over the city. While enjoying the beautiful scenery I saw in the distance people getting blown away by an invisible force, a shockwave was coming straight towards me and Aylin.
"You've got to be kidding—"
Aylin jumped onto me at the last second before we were thrown into a building, I cradled her body, trying to shield her from the impact before crashing through vendors and walls until we hit the city's outer limits. The pressure left nothing intact. Buildings near the epicenter had been reduced to dust. And the dragon's sternum… vaporized.
"Are you okay Aylin?"
She nodded and smiled, but said her ears hurt a little bit.
Rubbing her head I smiled and told her that everything was okay now. The city was no longer in danger.
In the chaos, Sekito's crate broke open, and she disappeared. As the dust settled, I stood, brushing myself off, my eyes still fixed on the sky, now filled with shimmering glitter.