Finding Nico wasn't going to be hard since I could sense star ether. However, the possibility of running into Devon was also there so I wasn't going to rush to anything for now. The chances of me winning against Devon were too low if you ask me.
After praying for Tyris's corpse, I looted anything I could find on her body which was only a simple gold necklace with a bird on it. And proceeded to the next chamber. The gentle sound of running water was coming from everywhere which wasn't a coincidence because I saw the stream earlier while in the meadow.
The next chamber was brightly illuminated by ethereal blue flames of star energy that burned continuously. In my eyes, the flames were hard to look at because of the concentrated star ether flowing out of them. The walls of course black, but the strange thing was that ancient words were written on them.
These walls were murals. I noticed while walking through the silent chamber. I wasn't familiar with ancient civilizations or civilizations from other realms like this one. However, I had made an incredible observation about this place; the spire wasn't from Nether.
'No wonder it felt so out of place.' I thought while trying to observe the ancient writings. Maybe some of them would seem familiar now that I was part dragon. Unfortunately, being dragon part didn't trigger anything.
When I made it to the end of the chamber, I didn't wait to follow the narrow path leading to the unknown. I was sure that Nico was somewhere looking for me as well. But, if he happened to find Devon first, then I feared he was going to meet the same fate as Tyris.
Navigating the chambers felt like traveling through an unknown and ancient labyrinth. The air was cold and wet. The deeper I got, the more chilliness I felt as I continued down this dark path.
At this point, I was relying on my instincts to guide me.
And soon, I found more and more signs of human activity along the way. There was also a faintness of star energy in the air, clarifying that I was on the right path to probably Nico or Devon. I followed the path which led to a quite interesting part of the Dragon Monarch's spire.
Here, the beautiful obsidian doors were wide open. The entrance was leading to a large brightly lit throne room of some sort.
With a sigh, I stepped into the throne room and I was instantly marveled by the grand design of the Dragon Monarch's throne room.
There was a single straight path leading to throne that seemed to be cut from the same stone glass-like material as the spire outside. Large black humanoid statues of the dragon monarch's strongest warriors towered over me on both sides of the room. All of them wielding swords, bows, and weapons resembling riffles.
The statues didn't look human of course. Each of them had horns growing out of their scalps to show that they belonged to the dragon race.
"Am I going to grow horns too?" I quickly checked my scalp for anything growing. And luckily, there was none of that. I was still normal.
I took the first steps forward with my dagger gripped in my hand. The warm feeling I received from this place ensured that I shared a connection with this place. I was soon to be the dragon monarch so maybe that's why I felt nostalgic about this place.
"Astrid?"
I heard a familiar voice call out from behind. I quickly turned and a sigh of relief quickly left my mouth when I realized it was Nico who had called my name.
However, Nico seemed different. His clothes were burnt and he was covered in his own blood. He was breathing rapidly and his sword was halfway broken.
"Nico!" I gasped.
He looked at me and smiled weakly. "You're alive."
"I know. You don't look so well."
"I'll be fine. Did you find the soul?"
I nodded. "Yes. It was given to me on one condition, though. On condition that I take someone's life. And you?"
He frowned. "Take someone's life?"
Yes." I sighed. "I have to kill someone if I wish to acquire the Dragon Monarch's power and awaken. The person I'm supposed to kill is…"
I paused on sensing another burst of star energy behind me. In a flash, Nico had already beaten me to it and was attacking the source of the energy.
Boom!
When I turned, we were both hit by a powerful boom of energy that threw us in separate directions. Nico had saved the last moments with his shield, but that hadn't been enough. The shield was blown into sparks of energy, meaning it was destroyed beyond repair.
"Urgh…Nico…" I woke up shortly after the blast. I could see the sparks of star essence in the air, dancing violently in the air between us and the single throne at the end of the room. I traced my eyes back to the throne and noticed that a figure was seated on it.
"So you did acquire the soul of a monarch. I guess Tyris was right when she said the dragon monarch would recognize you."
Another voice cut through the silence, this one was ominous and deep. I didn't recognize it at first. But when my vision cleared, I got to see the owner of the voice, and my blood boiled instantly.
Seated on the throne, Devon had his legs crossed while staring at Nico and me with an evil smirk on his face. His dark hair had grown longer and his eyes were no longer brown as I remembered them. Now, his eyes were a crimson red and he was bleeding out intense bloodlust.
In his hand, he wore a special glove on his right hand. And in it, bluish star ether cackled after he had just used it.
"Devon." I forced myself to speak and coughed right after I uttered his name. The iron taste of blood was clinging to my tongue to remind me of my internal injuries.
He looked at me with a somewhat bored look and stood up. His steps echoed as he slowly walked down the short stairs leading off the throne area.
"I am amazed you made this far Astrid. Your soul is brimming with dormant energy so I'm guessing my target took the bait and accepted you."
He then turned to Nico. The poor boy was still recovering after taking the true force of Devon's surprise attack.
"Nico and you will not make it back to the real world, unfortunately. I need your souls."
With those words, the glove in his hand cackled with star energy. The tendrils of energy formed into something more wild and destructive. The destruction then exploded from his hand as soon he pointed his palm at me.
Running to the side, I dodged an electric blast that shattered the glass-like stone as if this wasn't made from some hard substance. I then charged forward and created a second copy of myself once I got the opportunity to use the Mind Walker. The copy ran up to Nico, while my original self continued towards Devon with a dagger in my hand.
I dodged more of his electric blasts with ease as I let the silent strength in me awaken. Once I was close, I swung my dagger with nothing but the intent to end his life right away.
He had killed everyone else, this was the punishment he deserved.
Swinging my dagger, I was surprised when he managed to block it with a weapon of his own. Even more surprising, I didn't see any struggle as he pushed me back and lunged forward with a speed I hadn't seen before. His red eyes glowed as he twisted his form and delivered a powerful kick right in my gut and that sent me flying into one of the statues.
I vomited blood on impact and hit the floor immediately.
"You've become more bold and tougher than I expected. That kick was supposed to kill instantly. Let's try again, shall we?"
When I looked up he was already towering above me with a menacing look in his eyes. He giggled as he grabbed hold of my hair and pulled me up till I was facing him directly in the eyes.
"They told me that you would be stronger than me after taking the potion. But look at you, Astrid. That power is mine."
With a weak grunt, I managed to force out a weak laugh. "I really didn't want to kill you, but you have left me no choice."
"Huh?" he frowned.
At my signal, Nico attacked from Devon's blindside with his sword ready and managed to thrust deep into his back.
Devon screamed in agony and freed me right away, his attention drifting to the stab wound in his back. I then gathered all the star energy I could and landed a direct punch in his gut that catapulted him from where we were and into another stone statue.
We knew he wasn't dead since the Nexus didn't announce the kill. So, Nico and I charged forward at the destruction. Devon was too powerful so the two of us needed to take care of him before someone like him ever got out.
If he were killed here, we could say his death happened at the hands of a powerful creature.
"Ahhh." Devon's roar shook the throne room as he emerged from the black debris with only some blood on his head to prove that we had done some damage.
Nico was the first to reach him. His sword resonated with Star Ether he drew out as much he could. Suddenly, a bright flash exploded from the sword as it engulfed itself in star essence.
Devon tried to block the weapon with his longsword, but it immediately shattered once it came into contact with Nico's. The force of the explosion pushed him back.
Once that happened, I mustered up all my strength once again and launched myself at Devon as he was still recovering from Nico's strike.
My control over star ether wasn't as good as Nico's or Devon's. However, my case is different. The blessing [Child of Stars] made me part of the Nexus, part of the universe. The star energy I controlled was more potent and pure thanks to that blessing. It was much stronger. So, even with little control, my attacks were effective.
Once Devon was within my reach, I willed all the star ether I could generate in the hand holding the Trusted Dagger. The blade's surface began to crack from my energy. But I prayed it didn't break before it served its purpose.