Fusbayro, Market Square.
Relying on the equipment Duke had given him, Lux's father, Piet Crownguard, fought desperately against the Shadows of Nightmare. With the strength amplified by his exoskeleton, he tore apart a massive beast from Freljord, its body dissolving into black smoke.
Before he could catch his breath, a hulking figure leapt before him, a long-horned demon wielding a black war axe.
It looked just like the barbarian warrior Piet had slain years ago.
He raised his sword. The Demacian battle cry was already at his lips when suddenly, golden sunlight pierced the veil of darkness and spilled onto the market square.
The moment the light fell, Piet noticed something uncanny: every Nightmare Shadow froze in place, as if turned to stone.
Then, in the next breath, they began to crumble. Like embers in the wind, all of them disintegrated into black dust.
The dust drifted to the ground, and under the sunlight, it faded together with the shrinking shadows, vanishing completely.
"The nightmares… are gone?"
Piet muttered in disbelief. He had thought he would fight until the end of time, crushed wave after wave beneath the ceaseless tide of Nightmare Shadows.
But now, with the first rays of dawn, all darkness retreated, and every nightmare was swept away without a trace.
"We've won."
A guard whispered the words, then glanced around at his comrades. The next moment, cheers erupted in unison:
"We've won!!"
At the center, protected by Viper Cannon, Lux and her mother both let out long breaths of relief. The night had finally ended. Light had returned.
Pride (the sentient weapon) snorted heavily, glaring at the vanishing shadows. Dissatisfied, he transformed back into his motorcycle form and quietly parked in the square. He had nothing more to say to these people.
Lux noticed his transformation, surprise flickering in her eyes. But as she looked around, at the hovering drones, the exoskeleton on her father, the Viper Cannon shielding her and her mother, and the Sonic Screwdriver in her own hands, Duke's words echoed in her mind:
"Believe me. I'll show you a future unlike anything you can imagine."
Feeling the flow of magic within herself, Lux gripped the screwdriver tighter. Turning to her mother, she mustered her courage.
"Mother!"
"What is it?"
"I… I want to learn from Brother Duke!"
"Learn?" Her mother arched a brow in surprise.
Lux nodded firmly. "I want to learn everything from him. His craft, his ideas, his principles, I want to learn it all!"
"May I, Mother?"
Her mother smiled softly and stroked Lux's hair. "That depends on how much of a disciple's gift your father is willing to prepare."
"Really?"
Lux's eyes went wide. Ever since learning she was a mage, she had never dared ask for much. But now, her mother had actually agreed.
Of course she did.
Why refuse?
Duke's strength and brilliance had utterly convinced her. This young man was destined to stand at the very pinnacle of the world, one of the few to shape its future, perhaps even the brightest among them.
Her son Garen already had his own path: to fight in the Arena of Glory, then join the Dauntless Vanguard and serve Demacia.
But her daughter Luxanna… she was a mage.
In Demacia, to be a mage was to be guilty simply by existing. Their only plan for her had been to hide her within the Church of the Illuminators.
But now, a new path had appeared.
To apprentice under the youngest Master Artificer in history… to become an artificer herself, that might be her way.
Just then, a metallic cry echoed across Fusbayro. Lux froze, whipping her head toward the inn.
"That's the cry of a dragon-bird?" her mother tilted her head, frowning. "But… it sounds strange."
Piet Crownguard heard it too. Yes, it was Dawnwing's call, but something was different.
A colossal shape burst through the roof of the inn, soaring into the skies with a triumphant cry, the sound filled with the joy of rebirth and the haze of confusion.
At the same time, far outside the city, Duke was returning. He had sealed Nocturne in a bottle and sent Tahm Kench off with a new recruit to bully, leaving the creature satisfied at last.
Good. About time.
Duke steered Glutton back toward the city, considering his next plans. Perhaps a trip to Mithril City to study the Statue of Justice, then on to Capital City. Too dull. Maybe a detour to Greentooth Peak's anti-magic stone forest to examine its origins…
"Screee!"
The metallic cry reached him. Duke looked up and saw Dawnwing soaring across the heavens.
"Oh? Already complete?"
He arched a brow, mentally calculating the timing. Yes, it matched.
"Looks like I've got my next research subject."
Duke quickened his pace.
Back in the city, as people awoke from slumber, all eyes turned skyward, captivated by the magnificent silver beast.
Piet Crownguard stared, stunned. "It's Dawnwing, yes… but why does it look like this?"
Above, Dawnwing finally calmed, spreading his wings to descend. To his shock, he realized he could now glide steadily through the air without even flapping.
And the world itself seemed transformed before his eyes.
But finding his master mattered most. With no more hesitation, Dawnwing descended directly in front of Duke and Ciceria's inn.
His massive body blocked the entire street. He craned his long neck, poking his head into Ciceria's room, and let out a soft call to wake her.
On the floor, still unconscious, Ciceria stirred. Her brows furrowed, her eyelids trembled, then slowly opened.
The first thing she saw was a pair of glowing eyes, data streams flickering within. Instinctively reaching for her weapon, she blinked and glanced aside, her Beast Coffer lay open and empty.
Then her gaze returned to the familiar giant head before her.
The answer was obvious.
"Dawnwing!"
Throwing her arms around her partner's head, Ciceria's face shone with joy. "You've finally awakened!"
"Skreeee!"
Dawnwing nuzzled her, but the motion sent her flying into the wall.
"Cough, cough…"
Ciceria waved weakly, smiling through her coughs. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"
At that moment, Duke arrived at the inn. He leapt from Glutton, put on Edith, and had the AI begin scanning Dawnwing's reconstructed body. At the same time, he paced around the great beast, eyes alight with curiosity.
"I thought the Beast Coffer would create a half-organic construct… but this result is beyond my expectations."
The Dawnwing before him had grown to nearly triple his old size. Feathers had transformed into metallic plumes, shimmering with prismatic light. His wings were broader, his body sturdier.
"Bones reforged, muscles rearranged… his strength must have increased by several magnitudes."
Examining the torso, Duke nodded. "Now this is worthy of the title 'dragon.' Massive, powerful… reinforced by reconstructed bone."
"And he can hover… magnetic levitation, no doubt. Has he been granted control over magnetic fields?"
His gaze shifted to the talons at the wingtips, longer, sharper, capable of rending stone. The feathers along the neck had vanished, replaced by overlapping metallic scales that pulsed with each breath.
"Abandoning feathers for scales enhances defense and aids heat dissipation."
"And that head…"
Dawnwing turned, revealing Ciceria perched on his skull, gripping the newly grown horns. His eyes gleamed like electronic sensors, streams of data flashing within.
"Duke, my Dawnwing has finally awakened!"
"I know."
Without sparing her a glance, Duke continued his analysis, dissecting the beast with his eyes.
"So that's it…"
A flash of understanding lit his gaze. His respect for the Beast Coffer deepened. This device, capable of transforming animals into mechanical lifeforms, was nothing less than the precursor to full Mechanical Ascension.
Perhaps even the key to its code.
"I need to study this artifact in far greater detail."
Just then, Piet Crownguard approached with Lux and his wife.
"Sir Duke, we owe you our deepest gratitude. Without your aid, Fusbayro might have fallen."
Duke smiled politely. "Think nothing of it. It was only my duty."
But in truth, his mind was already elsewhere, on Dawnwing, and on the secrets of the Beast Coffer.
"Um…"
Lux's mother glanced at her husband, then asked cautiously, "Duke, may I call you that?"
"Of course. Garen is my friend. That makes you my elder. No problem at all."
Duke gave the courtesy reply, but his attention stayed fixed on the dragon-bird.
"We have a request."
"Please, don't stand on ceremony."
"We would like Lux to become your disciple."
"Oh, sure, no proble, "
Duke froze, snapping his head up. "Wait. Did you just say… you want Lux to apprentice under me?"
End of chapter....
🔹 Hexcore Initiate – 15 chapters ahead
🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters + 3 BONUS CHAPTERS
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer