Death's Redemption

Chapter 13: Death's Redemption

Author's Note: It's been a long road, but the last chapter of this story is finally complete. Thanks for the support it's had so far, and I hope others will be able to enjoy reading it in the future as well. This has been a long-time project for me, and it is wonderful to finally see it come to completion. It allowed me the chance to vastly improve my writing and better find my personal writing style. Now I plan on finishing the other story I'm working on, and then I will start writing something that I can actually publish. Thanks to everyone who has read and/or supported the story! I hope you all have a great day, and enjoy the conclusion!

Alexstrasza's head felt heavy, her mind hazy as she slowly breathed in through her nostrils. Her body was numb, her vision clouded, and her ears were ringing. She strained to move, feeling her claws slide across the ground. All she could see was a white blur, her vision slowly returning to her. As she struggled to get up, she felt a headrush that made her take slow, deep breaths. She could feel her body aching, her numbness beginning to wear off. She could see the sky above her, tiny pieces of snow falling onto her face. She pushed her body again, lifting her head with great difficulty. She panted for a moment, using one of her wings to help herself up.

Her sight had become much clearer, allowing her to look at her wing, finding it mostly intact. She then looked at her body, gasping as she saw her condition. That gasp became a groan as pain flooded through her, reminding her of the injuries she had sustained. She was covered in cuts, blood seeping from her chest the most. Some of her talons had broken near the middle, and her tail was swollen. She remembered what happened, looking down to see the ground was black. Looking again, she realized the ground was not ground at all, but scales—Neltharion's scales.

Fighting the pain, she pushed herself off of him and slowly turned herself over. With a grunt, she forced herself to her claws, wincing as she felt some of her broken talons hit the ice. She lifted her head, looking at the one who saved her—only for her heart to sink as horror replaced her pain. She looked upon the mutilated body in front of her with eyes of sadness, seeing just how damaged he was.

His limbs were angled in a way that looked all... wrong, one of his shoulders was pushed out of the socket, most of his plates were missing, and his neck was bent to the side. Worst of all, though, his tail was crooked near the middle, with its spear-like tip stabbed deep into his chest. His molten life force dripped from the countless wounds upon his body, hardening as it touched the ice below him. Some of his injuries were simply minor cuts, but others were deep, long gashes pouring out magma.

She looked upon his face, more afraid looking into his eyes than she ever was looking at Deathwing's. There was no raging fire, no burning inferno of hatred—just still, lifeless, blank eyes. As more of his molten blood spilled out, so spilled her tears as she went to the ground. She crawled over to him, ignoring the blinding pain she felt from touching his blood, and put her head on his bloated side.

"NEL!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please don't leave me..."

As her tears dropped from her face and onto his side, they healed the smallest of wounds upon his body. She lifted her head, looking around and seeing the Black Dragonflight standing around her and Neltharion.

"Somebody help him!" she screamed, choking up as she rested on his motionless body. She gave out a plea for help to her flight, praying they would arrive soon.

Wrathion came up to her, putting a claw on her back. She looked up at him with pleading eyes, whispering, "Help him."

"If we have any chance of saving him, we need to take him to the Obsidian Dragonshrine. Only the warming lava there can hope to heal him."

She tried to pick him up, unable to get him to budge. Wrathion grabbed onto him, the rest of his flight coming over to help. With ten black dragons lifting him at once, his body slowly lifted into the air. They carefully carried him in the direction of the Obsidian Dragonshrine, barely able to move him. Alexstrasza tried to follow them, forcing her legs to move, but she cried out as she took her first step, collapsing to the ground. She roared, lifting herself back up, only to fall back down again.