The question isn't who will let me, but who will stop me
Der azurblaue Ritter des Betrügers
The question isn't who will let me, but who will stop me
It's been a few weeks since I was made a knight of the realm. Apparently, this land, barely after gaining its status as an independent nation, has been relentlessly targeted by invading thieves and mercenaries, attempting to claim the vast land and resources this place has to offer. Now, I was sitting atop a tower, staring out at the drifting clouds.
"Sir Nightmare?" I turn, and my gaze falls upon a young woman, with night-black hair. Upon her forehead, a horn extends, and her back has raven-like wings. Artemis, Faust's daughter, and next in line for the throne. Apparently, she was away during my first day here, and was trying to negotiate a peace treaty with another local species, in the hope of acquiring protection.
"Can I assist you in some way, m'lady? And please, the 'sir' part is wholly unnecessary." I stand up, and stretch out my demon arm.
"I simply wanted to talk." I raise an eyebrow. That's a new one. When we first met, she avoided me like the plague. I guess she wanted to change that.
"I should warn you, if it has anything to do with politics, then you've come to the wrong swordsman." In response, she chuckles, "No, no… I wanted to ask a few questions."
"Well… Ask away, then."
"You claimed to have been from a far away land. Mind telling me what that land is like?" Ah, crap. I was worried about this.
"It's a long, complicated story, m'lady. But, if you wouldn't mind hearing, then I shall explain..." I take a moment, trying to think about how to explain it without outright saying anything.
"It is… a land of invention. A land where ideas and thoughts are traded easily. A land where education is a given to all, and opportunity is as plentiful as the air we breathe. It is a land where men can see their children's children, and their children after. A land where lives can be recovered from impossible odds. It's a land where the poor can be given kind words and warm food, and anyone can raise or lower along the social scale… But I have no love for it. The opportunities are drained away rapidly. The children are slaughtered for coin. The lives that could be saved aren't. The poor are more often ignored than helped. Death is an occupant in every home. The only way to truly escape it was when my family, and the sect we belonged to would practice our sorceries." I give an idle wave of my hand, casting forth a small hellfire.
"The public at large believed magic to be myth. The stuff of children's stories. We had to train in secret. The miracles we sent out had to be kept from the waking world. Our endless good deeds went unknown, and unthanked. Of course, our sect was also filled with just as much evil as the rest of the world. Many tried to conjure abominations to rule the masses. My uncle, for instance, battled a man who tried to cast a mass hypnosis and turn thousands into his slaves, which would then proceed to slaughter countless more. His wife's cousin had to deal with someone who tried to summon creatures that would've conquered the surface world within minutes." I sighed, and shook my head, "Here, magic is a plenty. I can cast freely, and finally let others see the fruits of my efforts. Here, I can use a blade. Here, I can truly protect the innocent." I let my hand smoothly drag itself over Soul Edge's scabbard, which hums in response.
"That… that must be horrible…" Artemis sighs, "But… do you miss them? Your sect, and your family?"
I chuckle, "That's the understatement of the day, m'lady. My best friend… he taught me how to survive in the wild. My cousin… he helped me perfect the spell I use to summon Airy, so she may play with the children, and brighten up this place." I lean back, putting my hands behind my head and staring at the clouds once more.
"Indeed. The gardens never looked so full of life until now." Artemis looks down, and lets out a deep sigh, to which I raise an eyebrow. I roll over to my stomach, to see what she may have been gazing at. There, was Solaris. He was walking through the gardens, inspecting the flowers, while Airy and the children danced around. Airy then landed on his head, before propelling high into the air. Solaris glared, attempting to swat at her, and growling.
"Your Grace, I don't mean to imply anything, but that look in your eyes tells me that-" I was swiftly cut off by the speed she turned to me.
"Please, tell no-one of this. The other noblemen have been vying for my hand and the throne. If I were to even hint of my affections, I fear that they would attempt to have him removed, in hopes of eliminating competition. These are dark times, Nightmare. A brigand could just as easily be working for the gryphons as he could another Equestrian."
"… I understand. Your secret is safe with me, Your Highness." I nod, before marching to the edge of the balcony. I climb over, and leap off the edge into the woods.
Present Day, Equestria, pre-Season 1, White Tail Woods
Oh, my head… why does it ache so? Damnation, this is painful… I need an aspirin… My vision is blurred, I can barely make out anything. I can see sunlight, that's for sure. It's filtering in through a window, I think. As my vision recovers, I see that I'm in a cottage.
I slowly raise myself up, looking about carefully. I try to stand, only to feel my legs give out beneath me. I fall to the ground, and land on my hands. I breathe heavily, and let my gaze fall unto the ground, and my hands. I gasp, and see that my right hand is no longer malfested. I now have a perfectly normal right hand.
"…" I try to speak, but my throat is too hoarse for words. I begin to crawl, dragging myself along the ground until I reach the door. When I do, I am greeted with a shoe. On someone's foot. I slowly raise my head, my eyes trailing up the long socks, before seeing a skirt, and-
Thank you, based Shub-Nigurrath, for I have seen heaven. And it is a bright white.
"Pervert!" And now, I am greeted with hell. Which is a size 6 shoe. To the nose, I might add.
"!" I grab at my nose, silently screaming, and trying to slither backwards, away from the offender. I slowly raise my head, holding my aching nose, and I'm greeted with a face. With blue hair, and eyes. And in an anime schoolgirl uniform.
"…" I try to mime defensiveness, and apologies, and my host seems to understand. She backs off for a moment, and I mime for a glass of water.
"I'll be right back. Don't try going anywhere." I nod sarcastically, stroking my aching throat.
As my host walks away, I notice that the room is quite chilly. In fact, it's almost too cold for someone in armor- wait, I'm not in armor. I slowly turn my head down, and…
I'm going commando. I was in my birthday suit. And I was just caught looking up someone's skirt. Holy Cthuga, I am boned beyond all relief at this point. Pun unavoidable.
"Here ya go!" She walks right up to me, and hands me the water. I quickly throw some sheets on, trying to be somewhat decent, which leads her to laugh, "Oh, calm down. We'll get ya some clothes in a jiffy!" 'We'? There's more of them? I drink down the water, and feel the soreness dissipate somewhat.
"H… Wh… Who…" I barely scratch out, before slapping my hand to my mouth. Where's the demonic echo? Why am I not spouting out some brand of evil auto-tune?
"You've been asleep for along time. Just rest, for now." Asleep? What does she mean? I was never asleep. I've been awake the whole time. Wait… the sealing spell… that was no ordinary seal, was it? I look to her, but she's already gone.
How long was I really sealed? What kind of magic was it, anyways? I don't remember anything. I just… kind of… blinked. It was only a minute in there. But… I feel darkness clouding my vision again, and I collapse onto the bed.
2007 years ago, Equestria, Everfree Forest
I tear my blade from the manticore's skull, as Soul Edge drains its soul. I breathe as I feel the ever constant hunger for souls be soothed. At this rate, I'd have leather hides and manticore meat for everyone. As I grab onto the corpse, and raise it into the air, I hear a sort of low buzzing noise. Not unlike a fly's wings, but instead more like a bee's, or a beetle's. And much more powerful, to boot. I swing my head around, before casting my gaze onto a figure hiding behind a tree, who I can sense carries a good amount of magical energy. Around this figure, several others, wearing armor that resembles insect chitin, and wielding spears, lurch from the shadows.
"Not many can have the claim of sneaking up on me, especially with the noise you make. Show me your face, and I may consider letting your presence here remain unnoticed… for now." I swing Soul Edge around, and it extends into its Male form.
During the time I spent here, I had gained control over Soul Edge's transformation abilities. Now I was a full master of them, commanding my blade to turn from its short-sword form to its Male state in an instant. But much to my surprise, instead of any kind of gasp, I hear a low, feminine chuckle.
"Now, now… wouldn't want to poke someone's eye out, now would we?" The figure steps out from the tree line and as the light casts upon her, I lower my blade.
I would say that my heart stopped, but… blood flow appears to be normal. "… Identify yourself! Before I decide to pay attention to my better judgement." I swing Soul Edge around with ease, and then slam it into the ground, letting it release a surge of power. The wave washes over the various infantry surrounding her, yet it was only a show of force. The soldiers around her back away, yet she remains unaffected.
"An impressive little magic display. But if you're trying to scare me, you'll have to do better than that..." She still walks forwards, and I take a step back. My eyes flicker all about, trying to look anywhere but directly at her, and instead at the environment. The sheer amount of magic on her, and its structure, lets me see that she uses some sort of low-level hypnosis. Instead, I let Soul Edge itself stare at her, seeing through its eye.
Soul Edge's vision is rather curious. Rather than see physical things, it instead sees magical power, and the souls of living beings. Thus I am granted a form of X-Ray Vision. With this, I can see that she is surrounded by at least a couple dozen soldiers. All of them are mind-numbingly weak, but the sheer quantity lets me realize that's their strength. The Zerg Rush. So simple, and yet, so weak. Honestly, all I have to do is create a fire, and I can smoke out the lot of them.
"I demand you tell me your name! Who are you! If you have any ill intent towards the Equestrian people, then I should warn you that I shall place your head on my wall as a trophy!" I now swing Soul Edge about in a tornado manner, trying to force her and her advancing allies to back off.
"C'mon, just let a girl have a little fun." At that, I lower my blade. Right to her heart.
"Name. Now." The glare in my eyes gives off full killing intent. I'm not taking any chances at this point.
"If it's that important to you… I'm Queen Silkius, of the local Changeling hive. I'm simply greeting my neighbors."
At that, I raise an eyebrow in curiosity, "Changelings? How come I've not heard of your kind from the Equestrians?" I jab Soul Edge forwards more, as if to make a point. No pun intended.
"Those brigands that've been charging in here have made social interactions rather… difficult, to say the least. But from what I've seen..." At this, she slowly slips past my blade, and lets her hands slide over my armor, "You're the one who's been solving a good majority of the problem. Truth be told, I've never seen such ferocity on the battlefield. I just had to see if my children's' reports were true with my own eyes."
I leap back, and try to gain some wiggle room from the 'Changelings', "As questionable as this story may be, I have no evidence to the contrary." I lower my blade, and it converts to its short-sword form. I sheathe it in a single motion. "Show me this 'hive' of yours." The grin on her face disturbs me to a degree, but I pass it off as my own paranoia.
"Oh, indeed! Come along, come along!" She motions for me to follow, and she guides me through the forest.
As we walk, I try to avoid casting my gaze on her clearly seductive movements. Key word being try. Hey, it's not like I have full control of myself or anything. The low, subtle swing of the hips, the clothing which is just designed to let you see only a portion of her- NOPE! BAD THOUGHTS! BAD THOUGHTS! NO! BAD BRAIN! THINK GOOD THOUGHTS! Puppies and cookies and ice cream! THINK RATED G! THINK RATED G! Puppies and cookies and ice cream! PUPPIES AND COOKIES AND ICE CREAM!
Suddenly, my boot catches itself in a tree root, "Oh, bugger." As I fall, I reach out with my demon claw at a tree. But I misjudged, my claw wasn't long enough. Instead, I fall past it, and my claw lands on her dress.
RIP
Alert: Brain.exe has stopped working. Blood flow has altered to lower extremity.
"The only reason you're not dead for that is because I like you."
I slowly pick myself up, cast a spell on the torn half of the dress I'm holding, and I toss it at her. Swiftly, it begins to repair itself, binding to its other half. Silkius looks at her newly repaired dress, "… Impressive. I've never seen any Arcanus use magic like that before." Arcanus. The term used for the horned Equestrians, like Solaris. The winged ones, known as Seraphs, can fly, and even manipulate the weather. The featureless ones are known as Hyur, and appear to do little more than have slightly superior physical strength compared to the rest. Not exactly a fair trade, in my opinion.
I give her a stare, "It's not Arcanus magic. In my world, it's a simple to understand spell, although for some reason many take forever in learning it." I wave my hand, an create a few sparks of light, to demonstrate my point. Silkius looks clearly impressed.
"Magic from another world? Impressive, to say the least… Perhaps I could get a… demonstration, later?" And the gold star goes to Mr. Freud.
"… I'll consider it..." Maybe I'll summon a shoggoth… nah, those take too long to dispel. Fel Hound? They hate closed spaces. How about a Star Vampire? Oh, that'd be a laugh!
I continue to list the many 'demonstrations' I could perform in my own head, until we finally arrive at a large cave. Silkius takes me through the winding and easily confusing cave, with me having Soul Edge leave energy pulses to memorize the caverns, until we finally arrive in an extremely large section that looks like Ridley Scott's Alien hive. The walls are coated in a black, membranous material, which pulses and shivers when one steps on it. Every now and again, there's a large pustule sticking out filled with green, bioluminescent material, giving off a faint light. Some parts of the walls also have large 'roosts' of sorts, where the Changelings seem to crawl into, much like a doghouse. If it was built into the wall.
"Sorry about the mess. We don't get many visitors. So, whaddya think?" Silkius' motions indicate this is solely to show off. She wants attention. If that's what she wants, she'll get it.
I stare at the various bio-organic constructions, nodding slowly, "Hmm… Impressive… How far do these tunnels go?"
She shrugs, "We've yet to fully explore them. All we do know is that they go down for miles. Plenty of room for a hive to rapidly grow." As she says this, I command Soul Edge to do a little exploring. It sends a pulse of energy which travels through the material along the walls, going on through wave after wave of rock until it finally runs out of gas.
"These caverns go on for at least 8000 kilometers. Again, plenty of room to grow an army." In my mind's eye, I see Astral Chaos, and the image of Inferno, Soul Edge's spirit. He shows me various images to explain his findings, and I nod in return.
"You have... a lot of untouched ground, I do believe. Far more than you think."
Inferno snickers, "Understatement of the day. These incompetents haven't even touched half of this place."
I order him to hush up, and I look to Silkius, who shows an expression of bewilderment, "My, my… Your otherworldly magic must be greater than I thought… Maybe you can be a bit more helpful than I first thought..."
"Damn straight." Oh, hush, you.
"Honestly, how much can you tell about this hive, with your powers?" This is the demonstration? Alright, then… Inferno, do your thing.
"You don't tell me what to do." Bitch, don't test me. "Okay, okay, sheesh!" Soul Edge sends out a red pulse, which echoes through the cavern. I breathe slowly, processing what I was given.
"Over four hundred strong. With at least three dozen eggs in the lower catacombs, and at least twenty nurses. How close am I?"
To my surprise, Silkius was practically taking this like a joke, "Ooh! Someone's finally got it! You are very interesting, you know that?"
"Mayhaps I am… but that's a matter of opinion. But I like to hear about fact. Why're you called 'Changelings' anyhow?" I lean forwards, but place my claw and hand behind my back, trying to give off the image of formality.
Much to my surprise, Silkius is absorbed in a green wave of flame, and suddenly, Faust stands in her place. I almost drop to one knee, before I hear Silkius' distorted laugh coming from Faust.
"My, my. You are a quick one. Maybe you should consider being the Captain of MY Guard?" The disguise dissolves just as quickly as it appeared.
"Hah. Hah. Hah." My laugh, dryer than the Saharan Desert, echoes through the caverns.
"But now you've piqued my curiosity. What use could your species have for this? I'm guessing you can't imitate animals, so hunting is out of the option. Espionage isn't a natural ability that evolution can provide for."
"Well… maybe it's more for that first one than you think. See, Changelings can eat normal meats, and even a few rare vegetables and fruits, but our greatest meal is that of love."
Wat. "… Might I ask, how do you consume an intangible concept? Do you actually deprive a living begin of feeling that emotion? " That's just the first of many questions I have about that topic.
"Maybe I could've worded that more precisely. See, Changelings can use a sort of… natural empathy, if you will. We feel love coming from others, and we can use it to access their magic reserves. From their, we drain as much as their love allows us. But if the love is directed at the one we disguise as, we can drain even MORE..." She trots around me, dragging her claws along my armor, and I tighten my grip on Soul Edge.
"Be cautious! She'll FEED on us! FEED!" I hush Soul Edge up with a thought, and turn to see her right in my face, with one hand grabbing me by the cheeks, a single finger dragging along my mouth-plate and the other pushing up her ample bo- RATED G THOUGHTS! RATED G THOUGHTS! PUPPIES, COOKIES, AND ICE CREAM!
"Is there anyone… special, you have in mind? Any cute faces that you've seen around the castle?" I tear myself from her grasp, and feel Soul Edge rattling, begging to put her down.
"… I pride myself on being efficient, and not letting myself fall prey to such feelings. I am a loyal servant of the crown of Equestria." I huff, and stroke Soul Edge's scabbard, trying to ignore my desire to burn her for her arrogance. Wait, why do I feel that need, anyways?
Before I can contemplate my status as a sociopath any further, I am taken aback by the sudden arrival of a Changeling guard, "M'lady! Something's attacking! In the northwest section of the caverns!"
Silkius turns and gives a sharp gasp, "What? What is it? What could be attacking now? What could possibly be trying to harm MY hive?"
The guard opens his mouth to speak, but a sudden rumbling and a sharp, powerful roar interrupts him, "… That, Your Majesty."
"Is that… a dragon? Oh, dear… Close off the passages! If that thing crawls its way in here, its flame could do untold damages to the hive!" The guard nods, and hastily runs back, calling other soldiers to arms.
"… I'm guessing this isn't a normal occurrence for you?" I draw Soul Edge, and begin stomping the way that the guard came from.
Silkius follows, her hands and horn glowing with magic, "To say the least. Dragons coming down from the western mountains are practically unheard of. They keep to themselves. We don't have enough riches for them to swim in."
Of course it's a Tolkien-esque dragon. "So, what's the average size of a dragon round these parts? Eight, nine meters?"
"Five. But that doesn't change the fact their breath still wreaks havoc on Changeling hives. This material on the walls? It's not just for fear. This is everything that a hive needs to operate with. When a Changeling sleeps in it, their wounds are healed. It naturally alters its temperature as an incubator for eggs. Yes, we lay eggs, don't look at me like that. It also is how we store food. Deer carcasses can sit in the hive walls for months and not even look as if they've aged a day."
"You're surprisingly calm, considering how your children may or may not end up getting an early cremation." I swing Soul Edge about, and it shifts into its Male state.
"Yes… Need souls… Yes… This is a strong soul… Give it to me!" Inferno cries out joyously. I apply a small amount of willpower, and a piece of imaginary duct tape flies over his would be 'mouth'. He shuts up swiftly after that.
"… You know, I have a feeling that one sword, however large it may be, won't be enough to fell a dragon." Silkius stares at me with a look of bewilderment, and slight disappointment.
"If you think that a single blade is all I have, then you've sorely underestimated me. My grandfather gave me lessons on combating larger targets. What I'm up against here is merely a way to see if I haven't gotten rusty over the years." I chuckle, and let Soul Edge leak out some of its power, casting a red mist in its path.
I step outside of the cavern, and I'm greeted with, as was described, a five meter tall dragon. Its scales are a dark green, and its underbelly a bright blue. The eyes of the beast were a thick orange, which radiated almost like the sun. Changeling guards swarm about, and the beast swats at them, snarling and growling.
"Hello there!" I call out. The guards drift out of the creature's range as it turns to me. I raise my hands into the air to demonstrate I mean no harm, and even set Soul Edge on the ground. I toss a look to Silkius, who nods in quiet understanding. I return to the problem at hand, "Why do you approach this Hive? Changelings invest not in gold or jewels. We beg of thee, please leave. There is nothing for any of us to gain in this continued violence." I drop to one knee, and hold out my hands in a pleading manner.
The dragon stares at me, before simply scoffing, "You expect me to believe that there is nothing of value in those caverns? Do not underestimate the senses of a dragon, fool. I can smell silver across mountains. I can feel the hum of gold through the earth. Do not lie to a dragon, foolish boy."
Yog-Sothoth save this bastard. Because I won't. "If there are precious metals in this mountain, we had no knowledge of their presence prior. Just leave this hive be, and we shall grant you the gold." At this he halts, and almost looks like he's considering.
"You intend to stay by this arrangement, knave?" Okay, you've just bumped Solaris' place on 'the list' to #2.
I walk closer, and slowly bow, "You have my word of honor. If the Changelings remain unharmed, you shall acquire whatever riches these caverns have in store."
At this, he chuckles, "Fine. These caverns, and all their riches, belong to me, and the insects shall leave without any further injuries."
I sigh deeply, "Okay, fuck this. Silkius!" She casts a spell, and Soul Edge flies in the air. I leap up, and grab the blade, before coming down on the dragon. It sidesteps, and then breathes a powerful wave of fire at me.
"Hah! Is that the best of what the Changelings have to offer? Your pathetic species are better off remaining as spies!"
"Who said I was a Changeling?" The flames dance about before flying into Soul Edge, and the dragon hisses at me. Oh, I think I feel a song coming on!
I run forwards, sidestepping the blasts of flame, before sliding and taking a large swing at the behemoth's heel. A straight, clean gash appears, and a fair amount of blood spills. It roars in agony, and raises its injured foot, before bringing it back down on my head. I cast a spell, and create a wave of force, knocking the beast's claw up and off of me.
"Gyagh!" It begins to tumble, before completely falling off balance. As this happens, I leap into the air, and let my fair (read: ludicrous) knowledge of video games guide me.
"Aether!" I drop down, and create a single vertical slice along the drake's side, and he tumbles back. He roars, before swinging his tail at me, and knocking me into the air. Big mistake. I raise my demon claw up, and generate magic, before aiming it at him, "You're through!" The bolt of dark sorcery hits him dead in the head, and forms a pitch-black mist.
"Hyah! I can't… see!" He swats at his head, but only succeeds in moving air. I jump against the rocky wall, and then use that to propel myself high into the air.
As I bring my blade down, he randomly swats the air, and hits me, breaking my concentration. Once I hit the ground, the mist dissipates, and he raises his claw up, and slams it.
THUD
He raises his claw again, and this time, clenches it into a fist, before bringing it straight down on me.
THUD
I feel my bones start to give in. Audible cracks echo across the field as the beast's fist pulls off of me. He now brings it down again as a flat palm strike.
THUD
Now, my armor feels broken. A loud creak sounds about, and my senses begin to dull.
In my mind's eye, Inferno scoffs, "Considering all I've done for you, and you can't even best one measly lizard? Fine, I suppose I'll give you this much… but I expect proper compensation in the future."
The beast raises its claw once more, and then brings it down as a fist again.
THUD
Silkius' cry of fear fills the area. Fear that her last line of defense has fallen. Fear that she will lose her home. Fear that she and her children will starve.
"Hah! You can't win in combat against a dragon! I take what I want, and I kill who I want! No mere mortal can hope to stop me! not now, not EVER!" He laughs maniacally, before feeling the weight under his claw shift.
"Who said I was mortal?" I extend my legs, now holding up the dragon's fist with nothing but my demon claw. Soul Edge's red power surges forth around me, completely hiding my form.
He snarls, "Still alive, eh? Let's see how well your magic protects your little roach friends!" He propels a ball of fire at Silkius, who screams in terror. The guards move, but they're too slow to approach in time.
I dash forwards, grab her, and run up the stone wall. I stop for but a moment, and jump off, and land near her guards, and set her down slowly.
"You may be swift, but speed cannot slay a DRAGON!" He launches a wave of fire, to which I raise Soul Edge, which glows with an equal ferocity. The flames are completely halted by the blade, which proceeds to consume the magic within them. I feel my broken ribs begin to move back in place, but not actually heal.
I swing Soul Edge about, and chuckle, "Is that all you have?" The dust disperses, and I let the dragon revel in my new form.
The dragon stands, bewildered, "H-how? What ARE you? You're a… a demon! A-a thing! A monster! A devil!"
I walk forwards, morbidly chuckling while swinging Soul Edge around like a baton, "I am all of those things… and more. I am the Azure Knight. I am Equestria's Dark Blade. I am the Nightmare." I raise Soul Edge, and aim it at the drake, "And I am your worst fear."
The creature gawks, before turning around and letting his wings take him into the sky.
"Yes… It thinks it can run… hunt it down… Slay it as it flees! Give it no quarter!" Inferno laughs and bellows in Astral Chaos, madly gazing at the beast through Soul Edge's eye, locking onto the large soul it wields.
"Oh, don't you worry about that. Just give me the power, and I'll handle the rest." I dash forwards, letting my body's new speed easily let me ascend the rock face, before leaping off, and propelling towards the dragon. I aim my demon arm, and cast a spell, which stops the beast where it stands. I raise Soul Edge, which glows with raw dark magic, funneling it until it peaks off, and Inferno's demonic roar goes through the blade into reality.
"It's over! Omnislash!" I fly forwards, and completely cleave through its right wing, leaving a stump in its place. I land on the ground far below, and leap into the air, slicing at him again, through his already wounded claw. The one that stomped me repeatedly. I then curve through the air through Soul Edge, and proceed to repeat, instead taking out a chunk of his stomach. I continue this process of bending around in air until I find myself above the beast, high enough so that I can see its entirety without moving my eyes.
"Say good night!" I swing my blade forwards, and continue to rotate, until I become a buzz saw, and land straight in his back, barreling through and going straight through his chest. I land at an angle, and as I continue to slide through the dirt, I plant Soul Edge, catching myself with him. I stare up as the dragon is consumed in red magic, before his body completely dissolves into a ridiculously large pool of blood, which flows into my blade.
"Ah..." I give off a groan of satisfaction as the raw power of the dragon's soul flows into my body. I look about as the strains of blood also comes into my armor, and tends to my wounds. My nerves come alight with relief and joy as the aches and pain fades away.
"Yes… this shall make up for the energy I had to expend to give you this power… And more..." Inferno chuckles, and holds the creature's soul in his claws. He mercilessly tosses it around, and juggles it before throwing it into the Star of Chaos, the place where souls are broken down into fuel for the blade.
"Nightmare!" I turn to see Silkius and her guardsmen rush to me, but stop at a certain distance, their fear denying them the ability to go any further. "… What… what was that? Did you… did you eat that dragon?"
I scoff, and inspect my new claw, "You're not the only one who feeds off of the power of others, Silkius. Soul Edge, my blade..." I hold up the blade, which turns its eye to them, "It is a living creature, too. Forged of dark magic and bathed in the blood of millions, it gained a will of its own. It changes form to suit the master, but they all have the same fate: to serve in collecting souls for the blade's continued existence. And enjoyment, but mostly the former. Now, before you freak out and stab me or something, realize that I am DIFFERENT from the rest. I have… bonded to the blade, in a way. Note how when I gained this new form, it changed. Soul Edge and I have harmonized. I assure you, I will not bring you or your children harm if you do the same to me."
Suddenly, Soul Edge and I give off a red glow, before I feel it regress into its short-sword form, and I into my first form. "Stay calm. The form is still available to you. You just have to will it in battle. Just not now, of course. I would like some rest after that… interesting episode."
I shake my head, and sheathe the demon blade. I turn to Silkius, "For now… can this remain our little secret? I'm already on bad enough terms with Solaris. I highly doubt that he'll let me live this one down. And I also doubt that Faust would honestly let me stick around, too. Even her generosity has limits..."
Silkius nods slowly, "I… think I understand…" Well, there goes a possible friendship. "I-I'll arrange for you to be taken home. Worry not, I'll keep your secret safe. As long as it's useful to me." her seductive smile leaves all the color in my face completely drained.
Ah, crap. Now she has blackmail on me.
"Nice work, genius."
I don't even respond as I follow the guards towards the fortress.
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interesting
I have the weirdest boner right now.
Little curious as to how Soul Edge will exist in present-day equestria. Can't imagine there are a whole lot of souls to reap.
5450119 Soul Edge has survived for thousands of years. And not all of that time was spent in bloodshed. My opinion (which is law here) is that whenever Soul Edge is in a place where there's no souls to harvest and no hosts to cart it off (i.e: in a random valley in the middle of nowhere), it enters a self-induced 'hibernation' of sorts, that lets it wait until it finds a new host (i.e: some stupid settlers that are easy pickings).
fightersgeneration.com/characters2/nightmare-sc2-hd.jpg
5449169 Same here XD
Yes, breathe fire at the immortal fire demon who consumes souls