With will, intent, and vision, he began.
And the darkness stirred.
The darkness began to coalesce. A larger amount in front of Aldric rose into the air with a stream of black following. Rotating and shifting, the pattern continued as more and more darkness rose, yet to take form. Seconds passed as the temperature dropped slightly, and all the while, Aldric was focused.
It was recently that he put together exactly why [Dire Ordinance] was such a tumultuous ability to use. When he had received it, Aldric noticed just how draining the ability was. But during a training exercise where he exerted himself to the fullest extent, he noticed that his ability to use [Dire Ordinance] stopped before he even ran out of essence or darkness. As if there was something else powering it, a limiting ingredient. But as he began to use it more and more, the capacity of this unknown energy began to increase until it stopped weighing on his mind. But his conversation with Alana had told him all that he needed to know: that the thing powering [Dire Ordinance] was his will. The very thing required to ascend to a supreme.
And in this very moment, he poured everything that he had.
A burst of essence left his body; even with his multiple cores, the essence drain was massive, but his attack was beginning to form. As the darkness continued to rise, there was no more space for it to rise to, so it simply coiled around him in the air.
A head began to form while the rest of the body took shape. At the front of the large body of darkness, a dragon head appeared. With an extended mouth full of serrated teeth and sharp features, its eyes seemed to be the only part of its body with any colour. A sea of red filled its pupils. And as more time passed, the following darkness began to be more and more defined. Unlike typical dragons depicted in the waking world, this one held a much more serpentine body with no arms or legs to speak of. And it was then that a pair of pitch-black wings sprouted outwards. But once again they were unlike the massive, all-encompassing wings like Sevras showed in his transcendent form. They were much closer to the feathered wings of a bird than the textured wings of a dragon. With the tail now fully formed, the dragon was now ready to ascend.
There was only silence on the ship. It would only be fitting for the birth of a creature from darkness to be within a void of sound. It met the world with a cold muteness unseen from any other creature in the realms. Its figure blotted out all light and shadows on the ship. Creating a space devoid of either.
Raising his hand, Aldric gestured with a single finger pointed upwards. With a fixed expression on his face and a stiff form, his will bled into the world. Following its master's directive, it spiralled towards the skies as its massive wings slammed against the open air. Producing gusts of wind that disturbed the surface of the ship. With its mighty size, the dragon spanned a staggering two hundred metres. Only its coiling nature allowed it to fit on the surface of the ship.
Its gaping maw widened as it rose. A myriad of serrated teeth larger than the size of a human lined its mouth with a silent scream filled with mountainous ferocity leaving its gigantic form. The sight stirred fear and birthed terror into anyone that dared to stare at it for too long.
And it rose.
With the two flying ships hidden above the lowest layer of clouds in order to ambush the armies, the dragon rose through the open air and pierced through the second layer of clouds that rested above them. Parting the clouds like a wave, a beam of moonlight cut through the opening and illuminated the space between.
And in doing so, it revealed what lay in front of them.
Not a single soul spoke as they watched the miracle. The action had elicited varying feelings and countless thoughts from those present. This was... This was something an awakened on their level should not be able to do.
Sunny felt a short relief as the overwhelming presence of darkness left the ship, but the moment of respite was short as what he just witnessed sank into his mind.
'How the... How in the absolute hell is he doing this? I... DAMNIT! I thought I got closer to them, but each time the gap only widens!'
Sunny stood at the other end of the ship, watching the behemoth of a dragon rise into the clouds. His thoughts were in disarray. He knew that he could not match the firepower or size of what he was seeing. With him not being able to control shadows that weren't his own, comparison ate away at him.
Something of this size and magnitude was an anomaly coming from an awakened. Even compared to Nephis, this eclipsed anything that he had seen from her. Sunny truly began to think that Aldric might be the strongest amongst all the awakened-ranked humans.
'But why in the hell is the dragon rising to the skies!? There is nothing there. Our enemies are down below!'
He thought with confusion. And he was not the only person thinking this. Both Kai and Effie matched his confusion with their own, while Cassie seemed to have a look of utter shock on her face. As if she could not believe what she saw. It was only Noctis that seemed sure of what he was seeing.
The neighbouring flying ship was stunned in silence. Seeing such a grand spectacle, they knew that this was the opening move.
And speaking of enemies. Aldric looked towards Noctis, and a sharp smirk formed on his stony face. Pointing his finger below, he spoke.
"Noctis, lower the ship. It's time for them to see us."
Following his directive with a small chuckle, the flying body descended beneath the lower layer of clouds. Breaking through the sea of white, an armada met them.
An armada of nearly one hundred flying ships met their descent. It was a shrewd mix of red and white sails that littered the sky. The armies of both the War Apostles and the Ivory City. In the air, each ship contained dozens and dozens of mundane and awakened soldiers with a handful of masters. The War Apostles wore red embroidered armour that was fit for battle, while the Ivory City soldiers were adorned in white cloaks.
And below them, a colossus stood tall.
The Sun Prince, a giant the height of nearly one hundred metres. He looked as though he were a statue plated in metal. Sharp and handsome features were lost to rust and dullness, yet his armour was as pristine as it could be. Like a true warrior of light, his eyes were wreathed in sunlight.
BOOOOOOOM
The sound of a war horn echoed from where the armada floated. And in turn, a series of horns repeated the same sound as if they were confirming what they had heard. Like a chain reaction, their enemies were now aware.
"We're spotted!"
Kai spoke out, his eyes squinted as he peered through the clouds. And with that said, everybody slowly looked towards Aldric. Waiting for him to do something, waiting for his move to bear fruit.
With his arm now raised, Aldric unclasped his hand fully and dropped his arm to the ground. Letting gravity take it down. And in that moment, a blitzing figure broke through the clouds above and speared through the air like a falling meteorite. The calamity's wings wrapped around itself like a cocoon, creating a mass of darkness that descended onto the earth.
And it was then that Aldric made his final move. Whispering a name with intent and will, he spoke.
"Abyssal Comet"
And in silence, the dragon exploded.
Like a ballistic warhead, the darkness that made up the calamity unravelled into a burst of small dark projectiles. Like a meteor shower, bolts of darkness poured and poured. Unrelenting and unending, they fell upon the Ivory City like a plague. Even as the dragon continued to fall, shards of darkness continued to break off from its body and descended even faster.
A firework of darkness, without sound and without light. Drenching the skyline in utter void. To those present, the show of force stirred countless emotions into the forces behind Noctis; however, to their enemies, it was a completely different story.
Silence overwhelmed the armada of soldiers. Not a sound or a whisper as they witnessed the spectacle.
THUD
The singular sound of a sword dropping onto wood was all that the army stationed on the third flying ship could hear. Whoever that cowardly soldier was, his fear broke that silent deadlock.
And with that, sound was birthed once more.
Screams, shouts, yells—not a singular person was idle or silent. The masters readied their shields and prepared themselves as best as they could. The awakened looked towards the masters and followed their lead in the best way they knew how to. But the mundane soldiers, they knew not to try. They knew that death would be upon them in but a moment. Without any aspects or enchanted armour, it was a folly to even try.
In the dark of the night, where darkness started and the night sky ended, nobody could tell. From their positions, it looked as though the dragon-like form continued to expand as it fell. Making it feel and look as if the night sky was being blotted out in complete darkness.
The shower of sharp, heavy bolts and arrows of darkness was now upon them.
"BRACE!!!"
A voice shouted across the cacophony of noise. Who it was, no one knew, but they listened.
Death, chaos, and terror descended onto Aldric's enemies. Thousands and thousands of black arrows tore and pierced through anything that it touched. Armour, ships, hulls, and bodies. It shredded and destroyed everything. While they were equivalent to awakened-level arrows in strength, their piercing power was incomparable. Only made stronger by the forces of gravity. But the true horror behind the attack was the sheer number of arrows that descended.
Plenty of them missed their mark, descending onto the city below, but those that struck true were enough.
The death count was immeasurable. Blood, bodies, limbs, and all, littered each of the many ship's decks. Literal hazes and mists of blood hung around in the air. It was a depiction of the brutality that one human could exert onto their fellow man.
Dozens of the ships collapsed from the sky and fell to the city below as enough of the arrows damaged the enchantments that held them up. The structure of the armada was completely obliterated. The sheer damage Aldric had done to their enemies in all aspects was innumerable.
[Y̷o̴u̶r̵ ̶s̶o̵u̴l̸ ̶g̵r̸o̶w̴s̴ ̴d̶a̸r̵k̴e̴r̶.]
[Y̷o̴u̶r̵ ̶s̶o̵u̴l̸ ̶g̵r̸o̶w̴s̴ ̴d̶a̸r̵k̴e̴r̶.]
[Y̷o̴u̶r̵ ̶s̶o̵u̴l̸ ̶g̵r̸o̶w̴s̴ ̴d̶a̸r̵k̴e̴r̶.]
[A new Dark Core is collapsing.]
The nightmare spell blared out in noise, announcing the gains from Aldric's heinous massacre. But he was numb to it. Only pain twisted and fractured his soul as a new core was formed. With silent grunts and groans, he felt it all. But he endured.
'This isn't the place to falter...'
He thought in agony. The pain of having his soul torn and reformed was not a light one. A feeling that only a few in the world could relate to.
But he had one more move to execute. With the faint extrasensory connection he had with the dragon made of darkness, he mentally exerted one last order. While the darkness of its body was exhausted in the shower of arrows, the head of the dragon still remained. Only a wisp of darkness extended behind its head, creating an ethereal yet apparition-like appearance to it.
Its ferocity peaked as though it could feel the end of its life. Just as its descending form nearly reached the ships, its maw extended to a degree impossible from any creature alive, and it fell upon one unlucky flying ship. With its size, one-fourth of the ship's deck and side was caught in its grip, but that was not its aim. The momentum of its attack jolted and thrashed those on board. With its red eyes sparked with energy, Aldric pulled his final move.
'Abyssal Nebula'
The dragon head exploded in a sphere of empty space. Crushing and obliterating over half of the ship. And immediately, the enchantments failed as it began to fall. But just as it did, it crashed into its neighbouring ship like a falling star. And like a domino effect, the surrounding ships were caught in the chaos. The fireball that used to be five ships descended onto the city below, bringing ruin to everyone on board and to all the civilians down below while the surrounding ships were bombarded with shrapnel and debris that heavily damaged them too.
And it was then that Aldric was done. Exhausted of his will, exhausted of his supply of darkness sealed in his ring, and nearly exhausted of all his essence. This entire attack drained him completely.
But just as the pain began to lessen, the nightmare spell spoke out once more as an influx of dark sprites filled his new core.
[Y̷o̴u̶r̵ ̶s̶o̵u̴l̸ ̶g̵r̸o̶w̴s̴ ̴d̶a̸r̵k̴e̴r̶.]
[A new Dark Core is collapsing.]
The agony continued.
With a thought, Bael stepped out of his darkness-coated shadow and stood tall above his master. Taking that moment, Aldric collapsed onto his knees just as Bael extended his dark, water-like cloak around his form. Protecting him from anyone that wanted to gaze at his current state.
And to those that watched, words could not describe the multitude of feelings they were experiencing. Effie was shell-shocked at the magnitude of the attack, while Kai nearly threw up, as the cruelty of Aldric's slaughter could only be seen properly by his eyes.
Yet Sunny was silent. His ghastly visage of a Shadowspawn hiding the feelings and thoughts of what he just witnessed.
Whichever way the Sun Prince, Sevras, Solvane, or even Noctis thought the war would begin, this was not something that they could have thought of in their millennia of existence.
In this moment, Aldric stood beyond the confines of a mere awakened and reached a height much higher than he had any right to.
"Singularity... You..."
Noctis spoke with widened eyes. Completely numb and indifferent to the massacre that took place, only being shocked by the sheer strength that he witnessed.
"Everyone! What better opening could we have asked for?!"
Just as Noctis shouted, a horrific draconic roar echoed in the air.
And in that miasma of death, the war had begun.
***
Thanks for reading.
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Till the next one.