In the ruins of a village upon a certain mountain a lone figure stood among the devastation. His black and red armor were scorched in several places and he was nursing his right shoulder that had a strange burnt smell coming from it. He was fresh out of a battle with the most powerful man in Elementia and he hadn't faired well. Zach had often thought about fighting his old master, he had done so plenty of times during his training but only now did he realize that his master had been holding back until now. Stratos Bannot, that name was like a curse to him however Zach could not refute his strength. Strat had been way more powerful than he had anticipated. Fortunately as soon as the energy fluctuation from above had risen to an unprecedented level Strat had taken off a worried look on his face. He never came back through the portal.
Suddenly in front of him darkness began to gather. It condensed quickly and a humanoid form began to take shape. The shadowy figure had no face but his voice was deep and booming when he spoke.
"Zachery it looks like you have failed your mission." It wasn't a question, the figure was stating what he already knew. Zach immediately went down to one knee in front of the shadowy figure. the shadows rolled off this man like a dark mist and began seeping into the environment around them.
"I'm sorry My lord I couldn't stop Stratos," Zach said more than a little disgruntled. The shadowed figure just chuckled.
"I didn't expect you could. There is a reason he has been able to stay alive for so long. Me and him have fought each other countless times over the centuries and although he has never been able to beat me he is still no push over. I highly doubt he used all his power to fight you or you wouldn't be here."
"Then why...?" Zach asked in shock.
"Because you are a very stubborn person, and much too arrogant. If we are going to defeat the Academies I have to do things differently then I have in the past. And I need you to be by my side. This was a part of your training. You need to learn that there is always a bigger fish in the seas. Arrogance gets you killed and if you get killed then you are of no use to me." Zach stayed quiet as he pondered what the voice was telling him.
"But, even though your defeat here was expected, it is still vexing. However, none of that matters now." Zach looked up at the figure.
"Why is that master?" The voice was quiet as if was savoring something.
"Because the Gates of Hell have opened."
YOU ARE READING
The Heroes of the Elemental Academies Book 2: Dragon's Breath
ActionThe army of Demons has been repelled and almost a year later demon activity is scarce. That is until a new terror descends on the Lightforce Academy, Dark Dragons. Dragons haven't been seen in Elementia in thousands of years so their return is troub...
