Three small figures darted through the desert contained within a massive cage, their eyes locked on the massive egg shimmering in the distance. Heart pumping and guts wrenching, they ran their ragged breathes sang a chorus that sounded like steel scraping against bone.
At the other end of the cage there was the sound of the rattling of chains. The sounds grew louder with each passing second, as massive as they were they could not hold back the massive creature meant to be bound there.
Towering over a hundred feet, with clipped wings spread wide that looked like a huge canopy that had been ripped violently as if hit by a torrent of sharp objects. The creature they were attached to looked massive and terrifying all in one, scales looking like diamond, long massive hands and claws that looked like a testament of the power they possessed within.
With each move it made, it left an explosion of sand and dust in its wake. It slithered with violent precision and bore it's rows of sharp teeth at the little intruders.
"Shit—we're not going to make it." The boy with shaggy black hair and a pale skin said. His legs were moving faster than he could have imagined, using more air in one moment than he had ever used in his entire life. He was surprised he could even find air to speak.
Hot sweat poured down his forehead, his body burned like a boiler left on for too long. His clothes clung to his wet body, his vision blurred slightly but he shook his senses back. "Don't pass out, remember there's a freaking dragon right there." And it was unlike those in fairytales he was used to.
In those stories dragons were mostly evil, with some exceptions made to the ones who helped the heroes. But they were generally bad, and they mostly revolved around the dragons terrorising the castle trope or the dragon guarding the lost princess. The only difference between those dragons and the one before him now was simply that those dragons at least looked decent and well detailed on paper, whereas the dragon before him now, though it looked well detailed it was anything but decent.
Right before his very eyes, Aerith saw none other than the harbinger of death.
At the start of their long run he had thought he would have to hold back for Emilia to catch up, to his surprise she was much faster than he was. His body was sluggish and unprepared for the activity, which was to be expected since he had been laying in a bed for so long. "Curses, I should have gone out more at least." He struck himself a mental blow to the face.
The egg which was anything but innocent was not too far away it seemed, but the burning desert did not make the long run any easier. It threatened to take every bit of moisture from their body one way or another. The relief that overwhelmed them when a huge shade appeared right above them, it made the air much more cooler and easier to breath in.
But that relief only lasted a second.
Because the next their faces were forlorn and desperate, towering before them was a mountain of a beast. The dragon stood regal and mighty despite being brutally damaged, it exhumed an aura that told them it held the power over their life and death. And if it was any consolation to them, it could not breath fire or fly so they could scratch death by barbecue-fication off the list.
"Shit." Aerith said between gritted teeth as they came to a stop heaving heavily, his lungs begging for air.
Now that he was staring at the enormous form of the dragon just before very eyes, some of its featured stood out more. Of course it's scales looked more detailed and shiny, they reflected the light perfectly. He could almost imagine how Annik looked in his prime, he would have been glamorous and glorious like a knight in diamond armour. Souring over cities and reflecting the world around him, a testament to great beauty and power.
But right before him was something more horrendous, the dragon was anything but glorious, it looked horrid. There were many cuts and scars on it, some huge enough to cover it from it's neck all the way down to its back legs, others small. What made Aerith and hic cohort shudder even more was how all of its diamond shaped scales were shattered, causing the light they reflected from them to be fragmented and unsettling. It looked like it had gone through a brutal form of torture that no animal should have gone through, even a beast.
It looked down at them growling, it's massive crave haunched over it's egg. It's huge black eyes swirled like dark ink in a bottle as it looked down at them. And for a reason he could not decipher Aerith felt it was staring directly at him, or maybe it's focal point was on the man in middle. It growled, which sounded very much like steel scraping hard bone, they all winced in pain.
Aerith kept repeating the same phrase in his head. "Don't blink idiot." He feared he would be dead if he shut his eyes for even a second. But the dragon simply started at them, letting its rage boil to a maximum.
Aerith held it's gaze, his bladder on the verge of wetting him but he could not look away from the mighty dragon. He wished he could hold his breath to focus his thoughts but the panting did not stop, it only grew louder like rolling bells.
He swallowed hard, letting the saliva rolled down his throat only to feel it dry up before it went all the way down. To make matters worse a drop of sweat somehow slipped into one of his eyes causing it to sting with hot pain. He wanted to make it stop or blink but had to force it to stay open.
Annik move it's fore arm slightly forward and cranes it's head slightly, it's eyes not hiding it's ill intent towards them. Aerith in that moment felt responsible not for his own life alone but for the others, in all his years he would have never expected to face off against a dragon. If he was even pissed with the question he would laugh it off. But here he was facing a dragon that was broken and mad with fury.
His heart started to beat louder, announcing the inevitable.
BA-DUM!
His fingers twitched by his side.
BA-DUM!
His legs tensed.
BA-DUM!
The dragon made its move and lunged forward but it was too late, they had already made their move.
"RUN!" Aerith screamed at the top of his voice as they darted forward, with their fear hidden beneath a mask of confidence.
They ran towards the egg, towards the bloodthirsty dragon, towards their deaths. With only one goal in mind, to survive together as one.
But the odds were greatly against them, and Aerith had already concocted a plan. If this was a trial for them to enter the tower then there had to be a way to pass it. That was when he found the loop hole, but would it be enough? Even he could not tell that much.