The Dragon King's Servant: Rise of the Daemon King

Chapter Thirty: Storm Bringer

Darkness stood in the center of the dark pit. The walls were the the blackest that black could be. The ceiling was absent of any light, as was the floor. No crystals lit up the corners. No ambient glow gave off any hint of surroundings. It was the dark pit. Designed to take away the most prevalent of the senses in order to hone and make use of the others. Including the sixth sense. For Kelly and Melanie, this had been their greatest combative challenge. Having had to open their senses to something they knew little about.

For people in Terra, the sixth sense was something supernatural. In some cases a myth. A foreign sense that only the most psychic in nature could use. In this world, it was a common thing. To have a sense of the world around without having to look. Though that did not mean everyone knew how to wield it for combat. It took decades to harness the ability of the sixth sense for combat. Even then it needed constant care and dedication.

Something that Maalceus and Lucian had been disciplined in. Maalceus stood still and silent. Wearing only dark shorts, the rest of his naked body was vulnerable to darkness that surrounded him. With a training straight sword in his right hand, Maalceus stood in a firm but easily shifting stance. Left leg forward, right leg back and to the side. He drank in the darkness like it was a part of him. With his eyes closed he allowed his other senses to come out fully. Every sound was an echo.
Every movement caused the air to quiver.

Every sensation along the stone floor created the briefest vibration. Every intention sent waves of energy that lit up against his aura. Similar to echo-locational instincts used by nocturnal creatures of the darkness, Maalceus let his senses take in the reverberations of the world around him. He waited, never moving and hardly breathing. 'One to the front. Two to the side.' He told himself, feeling out the presences of his combative enemies that lurked in the darkness.

As though sensing they had been spotted, the figures cloaked in pure black moved in. Maalceus, eyes closed and breath even, crouched into a roll. The enemy to his front launched into a forward thrust that hit only open air as the intended target rolled away. Maalceus leaned forward, left leg forward and sword pressed at a horizontal downward angle. The enemy still recovering from the thrust felt the on-coming strike and moved back, only to trip over Maalceus' extended leg.

*****

"My...divinity?" Lucian asked, pure confusion on his face as he stared up at the serpentine creature. He shook his head, unsure of what to make of it. Lucian, like all dragons, were immortal beings. As long as their hearts beat and their head remained attached to their body, they would live on. Being immortal and being divinely eternal were two very different things. Divinity was given to those who surpassed the realm of mortality. Those who had been raised from the limitations of immortality.

Divine beings were intrinsically fused to forces of nature in one way or another. Deities such as the lady of the land was connected to an entire world. As long as the world survived, so too would she.

"Do you not remember your encounter with the lady?" The dragon asked.

"The...lady?" Lucian asked. "I remember pieces but..."

The dragon shook its long draconic head and hissed with displeasure. Before Lucian was fully aware of what it was doing, he felt its long tongue snake out of its mouth and touch his forehead. Upon contact, Lucian was bombarded with a bright electrifying sensation that tossed his mind into a void of white.

"Remember." Its voice echoed.

The white void that he had been tossed into exploded with color and details that he vaguely recalled as being with the lady. As though being the silent and invisible observer, he watched himself with the lady of the land.

"Go to her. Trust in her and your people. You do not carry the weight and responsibility of the world on your shoulders alone. Unite with your people Lucian Drakkon and celebrate your eternal life with gratitude and love."

She kissed his forehead and then all snapped into place. Every memory that he had forgotten. Every word that she had whispered to him. It all came rushing back. Lucian opened his eyes and looked up at the dragon. It's large draconic head hovered less than a foot away from his face, silently waiting for something. Lucian tried to speak but the enormity of the revelation was more than he was prepared for. It would be more than most people could prepare themselves for.

Even one who had been living for five thousand years. Lucian met the dragon's amethyst purple eyes and felt the truth from its gaze.

"I am...eternal."

"That...you are." The dragon growled.

*****

Maalceus was not as swift as his brother. Agility was not his strongest suit, however, what he lacked in flexibility and agility; he made up for in rigid control. Maalceus had refined his combative skills to the point that they no longer her had excess motion. No extraneous movement. When his sword went up, it went straight to the ideal location for a perfect strike. Maalceus could smell the sweat from his enemies. He could hear the fabric move against their skin.

With his eyes closed, he could see more clearly than ever. It was, the shadow sight. Seeing without looking. Sensing without having to second guess through sight. He knew where his enemy was without having to confirm it through sight. The shadow warrior to the right rushed in with a flurry of wild sword slashes that seemed inefficient but Maalceus knew what it was for. He blocked a wild swing with his own sword and then took a step to the left.

The enemy at his back lunged into a thrust that took the other down. Had the attack been successful, it would have been Maalceus on the ground rather than his enemy. Pivoting around to the side, Maalceus struck the rear attacker with the wooden pommel of his sword. The strike to the head dazed the enemy, allowing him to front kick the momentarily stunned opponent. The enemy recovered but it was not quick enough. Maalceus was upon them like a tidal wave. A pure force of unrelenting fury. Maalceus stopped short, edge of the sword level with the enemy's throat.