The sight of Anya transforming… it wasn't the majestic dragon I expected. Instead, the light shimmered, the air crackled, and Anya-Lyra doubled over, clutching her head. A guttural sound, more animalistic than human, tore from her throat. She wasn't becoming a dragon, she was fighting something.
"Get back, Tokoyami!" she gasped, her voice strained, fighting through the growing growl. "It's… trying to take over."
Her body convulsed, muscles bulging unnaturally. Fangs elongated, nails sharpened into claws. Her eyes, still that brilliant blue, flickered with a terrifying red glint. It wasn't a transformation into something draconic, it was a possession.
"Malkor…" she managed, the name a strangled whisper. "He's… linked to me. Through… through my dragon blood."
She staggered, clutching at her head, a desperate battle raging within her. "Veritas… it was a trap! He knew I'd come here, seeking… seeking allies. He wanted to corrupt me, to use my power against my own kingdom!"
The red glint in her eyes intensified. The growling deepened. Anya-Lyra was losing the fight.
"You have to stop him, Tokoyami," she pleaded, a final, desperate burst of her own will. "You… you have to sever the link. Find the… the Dragonstone. It's the only thing that can break the connection."
Her voice was almost gone, replaced by a guttural snarl. "Find it… before it's too late. Before… I destroy everything."
A surge of energy erupted from her, not the majestic aura of a dragon, but a dark, chaotic force that threatened to overwhelm everything around it. The training grounds were plunged into an unnatural twilight. Shadows writhed and pulsed, taking on monstrous shapes.
"Go!" she roared, her voice now completely corrupted. "Run, before I kill you!"
She lunged, no longer the skilled swordswoman, but a feral beast driven by dark magic. Her claws tore at me, her fangs snapping with predatory hunger.
I barely managed to dodge her attacks, my instincts screaming at me to flee. But I couldn't abandon her, not yet.
"The Dragonstone!" I shouted, trying to reach through to the remnants of her humanity. "Where is it?"
The snarling subsided for a fraction of a second, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. "Beneath the Academy…" she whispered, her voice a broken echo of its former self. "The hidden library… guarded by…"
The snarling returned, fiercer than before. She attacked with renewed ferocity, forcing me to retreat.
"I'm sorry, Anya-Lyra!" I shouted, tears streaming down my face. "I'll find it! I promise!"
I activated Shadow Embrace, dissolving into the darkness, escaping the possessed princess and the corrupted training grounds. But as I fled, I knew that time was running out. I had to find the Dragonstone, and I had to find it fast, before Anya-Lyra was completely consumed by Malkor's darkness. And before she destroyed everything I was trying to protect