13- Into the Nothing
#18 of The Legend of Rift Book III: Downfall
Silvus winced as he finished cleaning off the blood staining his and Rose's scales. He pulled her into a hug, trying to silence her whimpers. "It's okay sis, he's not gonna attack us again."
The Light Guardian shook her head, wincing at the stinging of her horns. "It's not that. I'm sorry Silvus. I shouldn't have let him get you like that. I could have stopped him..."
The silver dragon rubbed her neck. "You did nothing wrong. We were both caught off guard. You may be the Light Guardian, but you're still in training. Nothing could have prepared you for that." He looked down at his chest plates, dried blood built up between the gaps where they were nearly ripped away from him. "I might have stood a chance had it not brought back memories of losing my horns, but I don't know though how things would have gone."
"Why did you bring him?" Rose shivered. "How could you not expect him to blow up when you know how much Rift meant to him? How many times did you have to chase after him because he tried to go after Shara?"
Silvus hung his head. "Twenty-eight." He pulled his sister into a hug. "Most of Dragon's Claw wanted to take the fight to Shara, but she would have easily won. So our hope now is to keep its location secret until I know we can beat her."
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for bringing Sithy here, I did see it coming. But I felt we could handle it better than Kara and Neala. Unfortunately things didn't go well."
The two made their way back up the beach, the waves slowly washing away their pawprints. "If you remember, after his last attack on Rift, Sithris begged me to find a way to get rid of his warp. He was afraid of this very thing happening again."
Rose nodded, shivering at remembering Silvus explaining how badly her cousin had been pummeled. "I remember, you spent weeks trying to find a way. I thought you may have found one, but then you said you didn't."
Silvus looked at the ground. "If I'm honest, I did. But the risks were way beyond the reward. Warp can easily kill us all, if it wanted to. When it infected Sithris, something about him called to it. Instead of killing him, the Warp moulded to him, only coming to the forefront when his emotions peaked. It's like a defense mechanism to keep Sithris safe."
They arrived inside, looking at the unconscious black drake. Silvus checked his pulse, grateful to know his late cousin's mate was still living. "When they became one, the Warp took on some of his traits, but pushed them to dangerous heights. Sithris is very curious, he wants to know how things work. Same with Warp, but it wants to inflict as much pain as it can in the process of learning."
Rose nodded, hesitantly placing a blanket on her former attacker. "Didn't Rift have some? I remember you being pretty depressed about it."
"Yeah... Warped Sithris did use it on him and it almost ended badly." Silvus looked back, thinking of the last time Rift had been to Shimmering Shores. "Rift learned an unstable power in his youth, Supernova. It's basically a last chance suicide to wipe out a massive area of life. He struggled with it for some time, but held it back. When he was infected with some Flux, it mixed with Supernova and made his element unstable."
"Losing control of your element? That would be horrible for a dragon!" Rose half shouted in surprise.
Silvus grimaced. "It progressed worse and worse, enough that he risked Supernova going off without his choice. He tried to drown himself to avoid Sithris being killed in the blast. I still don't know how, but that was enough to help him overpower it. He didn't blow up, and when Zapras revived him, he was free of the Flux. He kept Supernova, but never had an issue afterwards."
Rose went wide eyed. "Kara and Sithris! Supernova was emotionally triggered, right? After those two, his emotional stability massively changed."
The silver drake flashed a half smile. "It did. Kara and Sithris were his everything, eventually Neala too once she was hatched. He reminded me of when he was a hatchling." His half smile dropped. "Shara will pay dearly. Rift had been through enough torment for one life."
Silvus slowly maneuvered under the unconscious dragon, lifting him onto his back, and forming a portal. "I'll... Go inform Kara and Neala. Just keep yourself safe sis. Let me know if anything changes."
He paused, turning back to her. "Also, we received a letter via Falcon from the Cheetah Village this morning. Panthers have been stationed there to keep them under control, but Prowlus is building a resistance. Turns out they don't like their leader getting captured.
Rose nodded slowly, watching her brother disappear though the portal.
"No!"
Sithris' eyes shot open. A loud sobbing was filling his ears. He tried to figure out where he was, quickly finding himself covered in a blanket in his and Kara's bedroom. What happened...
His mind clicked, as his memories up until his Warped form took over. His eyes welled and he allowed only whimpers to escape from his maw. "Why did I have to lose him again..."
"I'm sorry Kara... I wish I had stopped things before that point."
Another voice outside of the room. This one made the black drake release a weak growl. He realized the sobbing was not just one dragon, but both Kara and Neala. He winced as he forced himself up, slowly making his way out into the living room.
Kara and Neala were holding each other tight, letting free their pained cries. In front of them, Silvus stood with his tail entwined with Kardia. The black dragon growled, and everyone froze.
Sithris pulled Kara and Neala into a group hug, whispering promises to serve justice for the loss of their orange dragon. He looked to the silver dragon with a glare, watching a nervous sweat form on the horn-less drake's forehead. He started moving up to the other male.
"I'm sorry you encountered that part of me." Sithris saw the silver drake let out a sigh of relief until he continued. "But I am not sorry for any of his actions. You are the reason I have lost my mate. You didn't physically kill him, but your refusal to even let me rescue him puts you in at much fault as Shara."
Silvus slumped, wiping his eyes. "I was only trying to do what was best. Maybe I could have popped in and grabbed him, but I've never been to the Warfang dungeon before. I couldn't risk any of us dying trying to find him."
The electric dragon turned his head. "He would have gone through hell to rescue you. He did for Kara and I. Nice to see what family means these days."
The room's temperature dropped harshly, Silvus' anger becoming hard to control. "Rift was there to save my friend and I. He was my closest family for many years. If I let one of you get hurt, that would do him more harm than me leaving him. I protected you for him. Never question my love for my family."
Sithris watched him for a few moments, shrugging and walking away.
Several weeks later...
"Nngh... Fuck..." The turquoise scales rose and fell as Shara panted in exhaustion. "You have changed so much my mate. I am so proud of you."
A drake flumped beside her, breathing matching her own. Dark orange covered his scales while dark gray covered his underbelly and wings. Massive gray scars covered down the length of his body and two puncture wounds on his neck where the queen had claimed him. Gray eyes of determination looked at her.
"My queen, while I enjoy spending my time with you, I feel like I could do more. I would like to start proving my worth... If you'll allow me."
Shara pushed herself up, covering up her messy nether regions with her tail. She smiled and motioned the drake to follow her. They were entering the dungeons before she spoke. "You have served me well Riften. Before you are to service me outside of our private time, I need you to pass a test for me. Do as I say, and you will be allowed outside of the Palace."
The orange dragon nodded, watching as Shara motioned for a panther to unlock a cell. Inside was the former Chief of the Cheetahs, Hunter. Next to him, an unconscious young teenage dragoness. The Cheetah jumped up in excitement as the sight of the former Fire Guardian, not seeming to notice his changes. "Master Rift, I am glad to see you again. Please tell me you have talked the Queen to her senses."
The lack of an answer worried him. The Cheetah gasped as the appearance finally hit him, from the stubs of former horns, and the scar over his eye, to the dark orange of his paws. His heart dropped. "This can't be..."
Shara smiled and locked the orange Dragon's cheek. "You know what to do. Do not disappoint me."
The fire drake nodded slowly, walking over to the chained dragoness. With a snarl, he shattered through the metal links, catching the falling teenager with his paw. He gazed into Hunter's pleading eyes, and for a moment, his own shifted to a deep blue.
"Prove your worth."
Riften's eyes turned grey again and he lifted his tail spade to the dragoness' neck. With a quick pleading of the feline, the dragon swiped, slitting the girl's throat.
Blood spurted from the teenager's dead corpse, covering the front of Riften in dark red. He released the body, bowing before the Queen. Shara could not be more pleased.
"You have passed."