Dragon Knight – Bloodfall Arc
Chapter 1 – Fires of Memory
The night stretched quiet and endless above them, stars scattered like jewels across a black sky. A lone campfire crackled at the center of the clearing, painting Strom, Sam, Astrid, and Wraith in warm flickers of orange. The flames swayed with the night wind, carrying the smell of ash and woodsmoke.
They sat together, blades and spears leaning close by, but for once there was no battle—just voices, laughter, and old scars carried into words.
Sam leaned back with his hands behind his head, smirking.
Sam: "I was a jerk growing up, not gonna lie. My mom and dad beat the crap out of me more times than I can count. But hey—I was unstoppable. I really didn't know when to quit."
He chuckled, but then added sheepishly:
Sam: "One time I was messing around so bad an old man fell flat on his face 'cause of me."
The firelight shook with their laughter. Strom nearly dropped his spear laughing, Astrid actually slapped her thigh, and even Wraith cracked the faintest smile.
Astrid leaned forward, her sharp eyes reflecting the fire's glow.
Astrid: "My parents were both knights. But when I was born, my mom hung up her blade just to raise me. My father though… he died when I was seven. Cut down by demons while defending our village."
Her hand gripped the dirt tightly as her voice hardened.
Astrid: "That night, I swore I'd be like him. No matter how long it took. No matter how much I'd bleed."
Silence followed, but not of pity—of respect. The others nodded, pride heavy in their eyes.
Wraith stared into the flames, his face shadowed. His voice came quieter, but sharper than the crackle of firewood.
Wraith: "I don't have good memories of childhood. I was happy… until my sister was born. My father killed her in cold blood. My mother broke after that—she left me with nothing but pain."
Her jaw trembled slightly, though he didn't let it show.
Wraith: "At the castle I was a walking corpse. Then I heard humans were hunting my kind for blood. I left the castle, filled with rage, to kill them all. That's when that… voice started speaking to me. The blue ring of my father. My curse."
He glanced at Strom, his voice softening for the first time.
Wraith: "When I joined Strom, that's when my father's rage came down on me. You all know the rest."
The group went silent, the fire popping in sympathy. Then Strom reached across and placed a hand on Wraith's shoulder.
Strom: "You're not walking alone anymore."
Wraith gave the faintest nod.
At last, Strom himself spoke, his voice low, carrying both warmth and sorrow.
Strom: "I don't remember much of my past. When I was ten, That wizard erased my memories—said it was the only way I'd move forward. All I've got left are fragments… my grandma's stories, going to the market with my dad… and my mom's goodnight kiss."
The team froze, stunned by the quiet tragedy of his words. Even Sam, usually quick with a joke, said nothing.
Astrid: "…that's enough. You're here now. With us."
Strom gave a small smile.
Strom: "That's all I need."
They leaned back under the stars, the fire warming their bodies, but the company warming their hearts. For once there were no monsters, no war—just them.
The night grew deeper. One by one they drifted into sleep, stretched across the cool grass. The fire dwindled to embers, and silence spread…
But in the shadows beyond the campfire's reach, something was watching.
A faint metallic sound echoed. Like armor breathing. Like blades humming for blood.
The first ripple of Blood Knight's presence.
Chapter 2 – The First Shadow
Morning light broke through the forest as the group prepared to part ways. Strom tightened his spear straps, Wraith packed the last of the supplies, and Astrid brushed dirt from her armor. Sam whistled as he headed toward his village path, carefree.
But something felt… off.
A figure appeared in his path. Astrid.
Sam frowned.
Sam: "Astrid? I thought you already left for your home."
She smiled sweetly, almost too sweet.
Astrid: "I was getting bored… thought I'd take a walk with my sweetheart."
Sam blinked, cheeks warming slightly.
Sam: "Heh… well, I've got no problem with that."
The forest seemed calm as they walked—until Astrid suddenly swung her massive blade with killing intent. The steel cut the air inches from Sam's chest.
Sam: "WOAH! Easy, Astrid—I'm not your practice dummy!"
Her voice sharpened, cruel, dripping with hunger.
Astrid: "You are mine."
Sam froze. Something about her tone—harsh, alien, too deep—didn't match the woman he knew.
Sam: "…that voice. That's not you."
Her eyes flashed crimson.
Astrid: "They will match… soon."
She swung again. And again. Sam dodged desperately, casting a blast of kinetic magic to shove her back. The ground cracked where her blade struck.
Sam's instincts screamed. This wasn't Astrid. He bolted through the trees, her laughter chasing him like a curse.
By evening, Sam returned, sweat on his brow, storm brewing in his chest. He pushed open the door to Strom's house—only to see Astrid sitting with the others, sipping from a mug and laughing.
Sam froze. His eyes darkened.
He didn't greet her. Didn't smile. He sat far from her, arms crossed.
Astrid: "Hey, Sam. What's with the long face? You won't even talk to me?"
Strom looked between them.
Strom: "I don't think he wants to talk… hey bro, what happened?"
Sam's voice cut like venom.
Sam: "Before asking me… ask this redhead instead."
Astrid blinked, offended.
Astrid: "It's not my fault I have red hair. What kind of logic is that? You ignoring me because of my red hair now?"
Sam laughed bitterly.
Sam: "Wow. Now you're acting like you don't know anything. Perfect."
Astrid slammed her mug down.
Astrid: "You're making me angry, Sam! Just spit it out before I swing my blade on you."
Sam's eyes narrowed.
Sam: "…same as this morning, huh?"
Astrid's jaw dropped.
Astrid: "What morning? I was at my house! Before we left I literally gave you a goodbye hug. And now you call me a liar?"
Sam's fists trembled.
Sam: "Unbelievable. You should think before attacking me and pretending it never happened."
The tension cracked the air. Strom raised his hands.
Strom: "Okay, okay—don't fight. I think maybe Sam just… had a dream."
Sam's face fell, betrayed.
Sam: "So even you take her side, huh? My best friend doesn't believe me now, wow!"
He pushed past them, slamming the door behind him.
The room fell silent. Astrid looked pale with frustration.
Astrid: "He's losing it. That damned magic book has poisoned his head."
Strom rubbed his temples.
Strom: "…I don't like this."
Just then, Wraith entered with a tray of tea. He glanced around at the heavy silence.
Wraith: "What did I miss?"
Strom didn't answer.
Outside, Sam stormed through the forest path alone, anger burning in his veins. The night pressed down around him, shadows shifting like they were alive.
Somewhere in that darkness, a low laugh followed him.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 3 (The Cracks Open)
Strom stormed out of the house, his jaw tight. Astrid and Wraith stayed behind, still confused from Sam's sudden outburst.
But only five minutes later, Strom walked back in—his steps heavy, a grin stretched unnaturally on his face.
Strom: "Yo! … bitches."
Astrid nearly dropped her blade. Strom had never spoken to her like that.
Astrid: "Strom… what the hell did you just call us?"
Wraith: "That's not funny. Don't you dare talk to us like that."
Strom (snickering, unnatural): "Come on, you two are overreacting. Can't you take a fuc#ing joke?"
Wraith clenched his fists.
Wraith: "We're not in the mood for your jokes right now."
Astrid (furious): "First Sam loses it, and now you're acting like this?!"
Strom's grin widened.
Strom: "Ahhh, Sam was right. You're both such dumbasses fools."
Then he turned and walked away, his voice echoing like a mocking shadow.
Astrid's grip on her blade tightened.
Astrid: "That little mage is behind this. I'll crush his ribs myself."
Wraith: "Wait—Astrid!"
But she was already gone.
Meanwhile, the real Strom finally found Sam sitting near a quiet river, his face hard with anger.
Strom: "Bro! What are you doing out here?"
Sam: "Don't you start too. Nobody believes me."
Strom: "Sam, listen. Astrid's house is on the south side. Yours is on the north. She could've crossed paths with you by chance—nothing strange."
Sam's eyes softened, his rage fading.
Sam: "…Damn. You're right. I didn't think about that WTF."
Strom: "Good. Now just apologize before Astrid snaps. You know her temper."
Sam: sighs "Fine. I'll do it."
But when they returned, Astrid was already coming toward them, blade drawn, her aura boiling with fury.
Sam (panicked whisper): "Strom… she's going to kill me."
Strom: "Just apologize. Do it now before she ends you."
Sam (stepping forward nervously): "Astrid… I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I—"
Astrid: "Excuses! You think I don't know what you really believe about me?"
Sam: "What? No—you're beautiful, you're amazing—"
Astrid (snapping): "Liar!"
Sam: "I'm not lying!"
Astrid's blade pointed straight at him.
Astrid: "Strom, he called me dumbass. You know it's true."
Strom's face went pale.
Strom: "Wait… I never—"
But Astrid was already shaking with rage.
Sam: "Bro, you're stealing my girlfriend now?!"
Strom: "What?! No—what are you even talking about?!"
The three of them erupted—arguments twisting into blows, sparks of steel and bursts of magic lighting up the clearing. By the end, bruised and furious, they all turned their backs, storming off in different directions.
When Strom finally dragged himself home, Wraith was waiting with a calm cup of tea.
Strom: "Hey, demon."
Wraith (narrowing his eyes): "…Go to hell, idiot."
Strom: "I'm not in the mood. Astrid and Sam are acting weird, and now you—"
Wraith (cutting him off): "I don't care, mommy's boy."
Strom's veins pulsed.
Strom: "Wraith… don't make me slam you into the ground."
Wraith laughed darkly, then suddenly hurled a clay pot across the room. It shattered near Strom's feet. Without another word, Wraith walked out.
Hours later, Wraith returned, face stern.
Wraith: "I searched the whole village for you, and you've been sitting here?! Strom, what's wrong with you?"
Strom (snapping): "Shut up. You threw a pot at me, don't you remember?!"
Wraith (confused, sincere): "…What? I left the house to find you."
Strom's anger boiled over.
Strom: "Just shut up already!"
Wraith: "You're sick. Sit down, I'll cook—"
Strom: "I don't want your damn food."
Wraith slammed his fist on the table.
Wraith: "That's it! I'm not your slave, Strom!"
Strom: "Then get out! And don't you ever come back, demon bitch!"
Wraith's eyes burned with betrayal as he walked out the door.
Wraith: "Then stay alone… idiot human."
Strom: "GO AWAY! You're nothing without me!"
The silence that followed was heavier than any blade.
One by one, the bonds of friendship had snapped… exactly as the Blood Knight planned.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 4
(Breaking Bonds in the Rain)
The morning broke heavy with storm clouds. Rain poured, striking the earth like iron.
Strom stood in front of the forge, fists clenched. He slammed his bare hands into the anvil again and again. Each punch split skin, blood streaking the iron, but he didn't stop. His breath grew ragged, his anger unbroken.
From the haze, Dravyss appeared in her human form. She rushed forward, grabbing Strom's hand before the next strike.
Dravyss: "Son! Why are you hurting yourself?"
Strom (glaring, voice shaking): "These people… I love them like family, and this is what I get back?!"
Dravyss: "Listen, arguments are a part of friendship."
Strom: "No, mom. Arguments are part of friendship when they stay small. Not when they break the whole bond apart."
Dravyss: "Maybe they're just frustrated—"
Strom (cutting in, angry): "Frustrated? We just enjoyed a whole dam vacation a month ago! What more do they want?"
Dravyss: "Son, it may not be about you. Sometimes it's deeper… family problems, burdens you cannot see."
Strom froze for a moment, then ripped his pendant from his chest and shoved it into her hand.
Strom: "Don't follow me, mom. At least… not now. Please."
He turned and stormed into the forest, leaving Dravyss standing alone in the pouring rain.
She wandered, shaken, when she saw Wraith sitting under a tree's shade. The demon girl's body trembled, eyes red, tears running down her cheeks.
Dravyss: "Wraith, it's okay. Don't cry. Everyone's angry, but don't take this so seriously."
Wraith lunged forward, hugging her tightly, still sobbing.
Wraith: "I thought he understood me… he's my whole world, and this is what he gives me back…"
Dravyss: "Forget Strom for now. I'm here, okay?"
Wraith: "No! You're not my mom!… you love him. I'm just an unwanted being on this planet. I regret being born at all."
She tore herself away and bolted into the rain, her voice breaking.
Dravyss (frozen, whispering): "No… you are not my mom."
Those words cut deeper than any blade. Dravyss stood paralyzed, her heart hollow.
Dravyss (to herself, trembling): "This is what I left my own planet for… for them."
Elsewhere, Strom sat in the forest, drenched, his body shaking in rage.
Strom: "I hate this life. I was happier alone. Why the hell am I saving people for this?"
The rain drowned his words, but the anger burned brighter.
At Astrid's home, thunder rolled overhead. She was outside, swinging her massive blade again and again, rain splashing with each strike.
Flowra (calling from the doorway): "Astrid! Come inside, child!"
But Astrid ignored her, lost in fury, her strikes growing sharper, louder.
In his own place, Sam was hunched over spellbooks, hands glowing, blood dripping from his nose.
Sam: "More mana… means more power…"
He forced spell after spell, despite the pain racking his body. His eyes burned with obsession.
The storm raged.
Each of them — Strom, Wraith, Astrid, Sam — separated, angry, drowning in pain.
And in their hearts, one truth whispered quietly:
If I see them again… I'll end them.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 5
(The Loneliest Night)
The night was cold, rain still dripping across the rooftops.
Strom returned home, bloodied hands trembling, his voice weak.
Strom: "Mom! Mom, where are you? I'm sorry for my words… please come back…"
Silence.
No answer.
He rushed outside, tearing through the streets, running into the storm.
Strom (screaming): "MOM!!"
Villagers watched from their windows. Some whispered, some shook their heads.
To them, Strom was just a boy with no parents, now screaming into the night like he had lost his mind.
But Strom's cries were real.
The only one who ever truly mattered to him was gone.
He slammed his fist into a tree. His earlier wounds split open, blood spilling fresh. He roared in pain, then kept running.
Finally, under a small broken shelter, he found her.
Dravyss — in her human form — asleep.
He fell to his knees, grabbing her, hugging her tightly, tears streaming down.
Strom: "Why did you leave me, mom?! Why? I don't have anyone, and now you… you also left me. I feel like I'm really alone in this world…"
Dravyss slowly opened her eyes, her face cold, her tone cutting.
Dravyss: "Yes. You are alone on this planet."
Strom froze. His heart cracked. His hands trembled on her arms like he had just been abandoned all over again.
Strom (shaking): "Mom…?"
Dravyss (cold): "Yes, you human child. You are alone. I am not your mom."
Strom: "Mom! You're not telling the truth. Please… I'm not in the mood for jokes."
Dravyss (snapping): "Who the hell told you I'm joking? Who are you to me, huh?"
Strom (begging): "Please… I'm your son ."
Dravyss (voice like a blade): "Son? Hah. You are not my son. Never. However you thought of me, I am Dravyss the Dragon. And you? You're just… a weak experiment. Nothing."
Her words shattered him like glass.
Strom's soul broke into a hundred pieces.
He stood up, voice shaking.
Strom: "Okay… I understand what you mean. I'm sorry for wasting your time. If it's possible… just forgive me, mo—"
His voice cracked before he could even say mom.
He turned and walked into the rain.
On the road, Wraith appeared. Her eyes burning with anger, she attacked.
Strom didn't fight back. Her strike cut deep into his shoulder. He collapsed onto the mud.
But instead of fighting, Strom just cried — because he had nothing left. No family. No power.
Wraith paused, awkward and shaken by his tears. She stepped back, then turned and left him lying there.
Strom stumbled back to his house, blood dripping, body breaking. He sat on the couch, clutching his wound — but the pain in his heart burned even deeper.
Later, Dravyss returned. She looked worried, frantic.
Dravyss: "Son, where did you go? I tried to find you everywhere."
Strom stood, eyes dead.
Strom: "Sorry fir wasting your time, but please… don't play with my feelings. I beg you, please."
And he left again, walking into the streets until his body collapsed on the wet ground.
Strom (to himself, broken): "No one wants you, idiot. Not even a single person in the world. You are just garbage. Nothing."
He forced himself up, staggering through the rain, until he reached the place where his real parents were killed.
There, half-buried in mud, he found his mother's pendant.
He clutched it to his chest and cried louder than the storm itself.
Meanwhile…
At Sam's home, his family sat around him.
Drati: "Sam, I don't think your friends would ever do that."
Sam's Father: "Don't worry, son. You'll find better friends. I'm happy now that you left them."
Drati (cutting in): "I don't care what either of you think. I believe Strom wouldn't do this. He knows the value of family."
Those words hit Sam like lightning. Memories of Strom, their laughter, their bond, tore through his heart.
Sam locked himself in his room, slamming his fist into the wall until it bled.
At Astrid's home, she lay shivering in fever after training all night in the rain.
Flowra sat at her side, placing a wet cloth on her forehead.
Flowra: "Why are you hurting yourself, huh?"
Astrid (weak): "I'm not in the mood to talk about it."
Flowra: "Listen… I know you're angry. But I don't think any of your friends are like that. I don't care what you saw, or what you think. At least… I don't believe it. Not one bit. Sorry."
Dravyss sat alone at Strom's house, hands shaking, whispering to herself.
Dravyss (broken laugh): "Wow… Dravyss, this is what you get after sacrificing everything. Great. Just great."
Far away, Wraith sat in her dark kingdom, kneeling by her sister's coffin. Tears streamed down her face.
Wraith (weeping): "I didn't even try to understand his pain…"
Every one of them was drowning in sorrow.
And yet—
Not one of them was able to speak to the other.
The night stretched on. Silent. Shattered.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 6
(The Night That Broke, The Monster That Came)
Midnight drips like cold water through the trees.
Strom sits alone on the old stone where grass refuses to grow, both hands wrapped around his mother's pendant. The chain's half-rusted; the little charm is warm from his grip, cold from the rain.
Strom (whispering): "So this is what I was born for… just to carry pain. Why, God… why not end me here?"
He glances at the empty corner where his spear should be. Not even the mercy of steel tonight. Wind tears through his breath; thunder answers nothing.
Far away, in the vaulted dark of her kingdom, Wraith stares at her sister's coffin. The candles burn low; the stone is wet from her tears.
Wraith (steadying herself): "None of us talk like that. Someone's playing with our heads—our feelings. I will find who."
She kisses the coffin, a soft, breaking touch.
Wraith: "Thank you, little one… for guiding me."
Morning. The storm has not left—only learned to whisper.
Astrid walks into the near forest, fever gone, jaw set. By noon, Wraith reaches Astrid's home; Flowra opens the door, anxious.
Flowra: "You just missed her—she went to the forest."
Wraith runs. Leaves slap her face, branches tear at her cloak. She finds Astrid slumped against a trunk—deep cuts, too much blood, breath shallow as a thread.
Wraith: "Astrid!"
She hauls her up, half-carrying her back through the rain. At the house they bind the wounds, pile herbs, whisper prayers. Astrid's skin is cold; the bandages stain fast.
Wraith (to Flowra): "Keep her breathing. Don't let her bleed more."
Wraith turns to go.
Flowra (calling): "Daughter—where are you going?"
Wraith: "Someone's targeting us. I have to save my friends."
Strom's house is empty.
No Strom. No Dravyss. The hearth is dead ash.
Wraith goes straight to Sam's. His father blocks the door, hard eyes, harder voice.
Wraith: "Sir, please. I need his help—someone is targeting us."
Sam's Father: "No. I don't trust you. Leave before I call the knights."
The door nudges—but Sam is already there, pushing past.
Sam: "Wraith? What happened?"
Sam's Father: "You should've left them, son."
Sam (shaking his head): "No. I think she's right. And I'm sorry, Dad—this time I won't be your obedient son."
Sam's Father: "Who are they to you now?"
Sam (simple, iron): "Family. And right now, they need me."
He shoulders by, ignoring the shove to his chest. He knows his friends. He knows their hearts.
Outside, Wraith spills it fast—Astrid's wounds, the wrongness, the feeling of a hand in their minds.
Sam: "Is she alright?"
Wraith: "Too many cuts. Too much blood. I don't think she is."
Sam (jaw tight): "Then it's on me too. We all believed what we saw instead of each other."
Wraith: "It's on all of us. We fix it—together."
They split to search: Wraith toward Strom's paths, Sam toward the cliffs above the valley where Dravyss likes to watch the weather knife the horizon.
In the trees, Strom stops. Something in him settles, like a door closing.
Strom (low): "Whoever's behind this… will pay."
On the cliff's edge, Dravyss stands in her true skin—vast, old scales catching the stormlight. She crouches to leap, winds curling around her wings. Home is somewhere only a dragon remembers.
Sam (running, breathless): "Aunt Dravyss—please! Stop! We need you!"
Her gold eyes rest on him a heartbeat—too long to be nothing, too short to be comfort. She turns, and launches into the sky. The gale eats her roar. She is gone.
Sam stands there with rain on his face and a feeling like being a boy again watching a door close forever.
Strom returns to the house, finds no one, takes up his spear. The haft sits in his palm like it never left.
He tracks the forest's deeper dark, follows the wrong smell—old iron and wet dust—until he finds a clearing where the air moves like breath.
There: a red-armored monster knight, kneeling over Wraith. One gauntlet crushes her shoulder; the other sinks toward her chest. Her voice is a ghost.
Wraith (hoarse): "Help…"
Strom doesn't think. His spear leaves his hand as a thunderbolt—CRACK—and punches through the Blood Knight's helmet, nailing it to a blackened tree. The monster's head jerks; red dust leaks from the crack and swirls back into him.
Strom (stepping in front of Wraith): "Stay away from my girlfriend."
The knight rises, slow, like a nightmare learning to stand. He calls his blade; it jumps to his fist like a starving dog.
Blood Knight (voice like grated steel): "You… dragon blood… I want you."
Strom rips his spear back into his grip.
Strom (snarling): "Then you should talk with me, bitch."
The shadows split. Three… five… eight silhouettes slide out of him and circle, each holding the same Alpha Blood blade. The air tastes like copper.
Somewhere miles off, Sam feels it—the mana signature of Strom's throw, a clean tear in the world. He runs until the trees blur.
The Fight
Sam bursts into the clearing, hands already on fire with spell-ink, eyes red from overcasting.
Sam: "Strom! I'm here!"
Strom: "Watch the clones!"
Sam lifts both palms—THOOM—a shockblast tears three clones apart. They reform in a spill of red dust sucked from fallen leaves and old stains in the dirt. Every ripple of blood in the ground answers him.
Strom meets the first wave head-on. His spear smashes, the ground cracks under each step; when he stomps, the earth coughs like an earthquake. He fights with a fury that would skin a dragon.
Blood Knight moves like oil on fire—fast, low, wrong. Each slash of his Alpha Blood leaves wounds that hiss and refuse to close. Where Sam's knuckles split, the blood lifts as dust and whirls into the monster's armor—healing it, mending plates, feeding the curse. Wraith lifts her hand for water—nothing answers; the curse rejects it.
Sam (gritting teeth): "He's absorbing—every drop!"
Strom: "Then don't bleed!"
He whirls the spear in a brutal arc, shattering two clones—but the real one isn't among them. It slides past him, silent, a hunter's step toward Sam.
Sam plants his feet, drags mana up from a place that hurts to touch.
Sam: "Arc—Burst—"
Blood Knight is already there. The crimson blade bites across Sam's ribs—not deep, but cursed. Sam drops to one knee, breath ripped away, blood rising as dust, streaming into the monster's chest. The knight shudders in pleasure.
Blood Knight (soft): "More blood."
Strom (roaring): "Over my dead body!"
He hammers forward. Clones crash into him; he tears through them like a storm tears through tents—splinters, sparks, mud. But every time he reaches for the real one, the knight is somewhere else, smiling behind another mask.
The real blade rises above Sam's heart.
Sam (hoarse): "Strom!"
The moon blinks—a shadow bigger than the clearing falls over them.
Dravyss drops like a meteor, dragonform filling the world. Her roar shakes the trees; the clones stagger, dust boiling away in the shockwave. One claw scoops Wraith gentle as a secret. Another seizes Sam. The tail closes around Strom, spear and all.
Blood Knight watches, expressionless behind the cracked helm. He raises his blade in a lazy salute.
Blood Knight: "Run. But remember—I don't forget a scent. I will end you all."
His laughter follows them up into the rain—not loud, but endless.
Dravyss surges through the storm, wings hammering wind, carrying the three of them away. Strom hangs in her grip, chest heaving, eyes locked on the red glimmer shrinking below. He realizes with a fresh bolt of fury and dread:
They didn't even scratch him.
Not a single mark.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 7
(The Tale of Bloodfall)
Dravyss dove low over the rooftops and banked toward Astrid's home. The door flew open before she even landed—Flowra stood ready, eyes wide.
They stumbled inside in a blur: Sam and Wraith both bleeding hard, Strom carrying Wraith in his arms, Astrid bandaged but pale on her cot.
Flowra moved like a storm given purpose—clean cloths, boiled water, needle, salves. She wrapped Sam's ribs, pressed herbs to Wraith's shoulder where the cursed cut hissed and refused to close.
Astrid forced herself upright, voice thin but steady.
Astrid: "So… all are here. I just want to say… sorry. I overreacted. If I hadn't… maybe we'd all be fine right now."
Sam looked down, ashamed.
Sam: "I'm sorry too. I started this first. I walked into the trap."
Wraith tried to speak—her voice was almost gone.
Wraith (hoarse): "I'm… also sorry. Please… forgive me."
Her knees buckled—Strom caught her before she hit the floor and laid her gently beside Astrid.
Strom swallowed hard.
Strom: "I'm really sorry, guys. I didn't even try to understand… I just left everyone."
Dravyss lowered her head, voice soft.
Dravyss: "And sorry from me as well. I failed you when you needed me."
For a moment, despite the blood and pain, the room warmed—they were together again. Fingers squeezed. A breath of laughter came and died, but it was there. The bond held.
Flowra glanced over Strom as she tied off a bandage on Sam and checked Wraith's pulse.
Flowra (quietly, surprised): "Not a scratch on you, boy… and you're not even wearing armor."
Strom shrugged, eyes distant. His pendant was still missing—left with Dravyss—and yet he stood uncut, hands steady around his spear. It wasn't luck. It was pure skill.
Flowra: "So… who is behind this?"
Strom stared into the coals of the hearth. The flames painted his face with old shadows.
Strom: "I didn't believe he was real. But now… I think he is."
Dravyss: "Who?"
Strom: "A monster from my grandmother's stories. The Monster of Bloodfall.
The Blood Knight."
Silence swept the room. Even the rain outside seemed to listen.
Each of them had heard whispers as children—parents muttering warnings by candlelight. Don't wander at night. Don't bleed in the wild. Don't follow the red dust.
Flowra made the sign of warding. Sam looked at his hands. Wraith's eyes flickered, a memory surfacing. Astrid gripped the blanket.
Strom exhaled and spoke—not as a warrior, but as a child who once sat at a grandmother's feet.
Grandmother's Tale (as Strom remembers it)
"Once," Grandma had said, "there was a knight who wanted strength so badly he left the light behind and walked with demons. He trained among them, killed among them, and drank their lessons like poison wine. Each victory gave him power… and cursed him in return."
He was born human, but he lived with demons until his veins ran hot with their magic. His flesh hardened, his soul scabbed over with curses. Strength answered every question he asked, and it answered in blood.
The Demon Lord noticed. And one night, beneath a sky the color of a wound, the Lord marked him with two forbidden gifts:
Shapeshifting & Multiplication — so he could become anyone and be many. So no one could ever corner him, and no army could be sure what it faced.
Alpha Blood — dual blades hammered from a red star and quenched in mortal screams. Their wounds reject healing, rot at the edges, and steal the body's hope. Water won't mend them, herbs won't soothe them—even a blue demon's water-healing fails.
The Demon Lord offered him a place at his feet.
The knight spat on that throne.
"I serve no one," he said. "I am Bloodfall itself."
He walked away and made his own name: The Blood Knight.
Where he fought, blood turned to dust—rising from the earth, spiraling through the air—and that red dust rushed into him, healing flesh, mending armor, feeding a hunger that never shrank. His plate was forged of magic steel that repairs itself at the touch of blood; every drop shed on a battlefield stitched him whole again.
He became a story to frighten children. A shadow in lullabies. Parents warned: "Don't bleed where the wind is wrong, or the red dust will find you." Villagers called him the Monster of Bloodfall, because after he left, rivers ran clear and ground ran dry—not a speck of blood remained.
But he didn't want lands. He didn't want thrones. He wanted bloodlines—every kind of Mystic Blood the world could offer:
Blue demons' water-blood to restore him beyond reason.
Valkyrie blood for divine strength.
Cosmic fire blood to taste the flame of stars.
Anything human, beast, or angel—if it lived, he would drink it.
He called his obsession the Final Chalice—to drink every kind and become something beyond names.
And among all bloods, there were two flavors his hunger sang for:
The heart-blood of a blue demon princess—a queenling's heart still beating, to bind his wounds forever.
And dragon blood—not to heal, but to crown him. For if he could hold a dragon's fire inside his veins, he believed nothing could ever end him.
Some stories whispered a different ending—a rumor Grandma never proved:
"Careful, boy," she'd say, voice dropping low, "for some fire cannot be swallowed. Some blood burns the drinker from within."
Then she'd tap his chest, right where his heart lived, and smile sad.
The room breathed again. The tale ended. The storm went on beating its drums outside.
Sam cleared his throat, voice small.
Sam: "So the shapeshifts… the clones… that was him dividing us."
Wraith touched the edge of her bandage, jaw tight.
Wraith: "And the Alpha Blood—that's why water wouldn't heal me."
Astrid: "And the dust… the way the blood left the ground and… fed him."
Dravyss stared into the fire, old pain in her eyes.
Dravyss: "He refuses masters. He refuses mercy. He only feeds."
Flowra: "If all this is true… how do we fight something that heals from every wound?"
Silence answered—heavy as an unsaid prayer.
Strom looked at each of them—Sam's wrapped ribs, Astrid's stitched cuts, Wraith's trembling lashes, Dravyss's shaking hands—and then at his own clean skin and empty neck where the pendant should hang.
His voice was steady when he spoke.
Strom: "We don't play his game. No more fighting each other. No more believing what we see before we trust what we know."
He lifted his spear. The metal hummed like it heard the story too.
Strom: "We hunt the Monster of Bloodfall."
No one argued.
Their friendship didn't erase the pain in the room. It held it. Stronger than before. Strong enough to try again.
Outside, the rain thinned. The storm wasn't over.
But the sky knew their answer now.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 8
(The Blood Oath)
The cold night carried a heavy silence.
"Mom… take me home," Strom whispered. His voice cracked, but his eyes were steady.
Dravyss nodded without question, spreading her vast wings. As they soared through the dark, Strom's guilt spilled out.
Strom (choking up): "I'm sorry. Sorry for failing… sorry for everything."
A single glowing tear slipped from Dravyss's dragon eye, hissing as it cut the air like molten silver.
Dravyss: "No, Strom. Don't ever say that. It was me who failed you. I swore to understand you, to protect you… but I couldn't."
Strom (shaking his head): "No, Mom… a mother is never defeated. Not in my heart."
When they landed, Strom donned his armour swiftly. The plates locked into place with a thunderous echo, his resolve burning brighter than the steel. Together, they flew back to Astrid's home.
But horror met them at the door.
Sam, Astrid, and Wraith lay unconscious, bleeding but alive. Only Flowra still stood, her dress torn, gripping Astrid's colossal blade with both hands.
Blood Knight (mocking): "You're only retired Valkyrie knight. One more strike, and you'll break."
Flowra (spitting blood, defiant): "I don't care. As long as I stand—you'll never going to touch my childrens."
Her swings shook the room. Every strike cracked stone, every clash rattled the walls. Yet the Blood Knight absorbed it all, unbroken, unstoppable.
The ground shuddered when Strom stormed in, his spear flashing like a bolt of judgment.
Dravyss pulled him back.
Dravyss (to Flowra & Strom): "Take care of them. I'll finish this."
She shifted into her dragon form, jaws blazing. The clash between her and the Blood Knight was apocalyptic—steel against flame, shadow against fire. The monster moved flawlessly, never landing a blow but never faltering under hers.
Watching, Strom remembered his grandmother's prophecy:
"He will feel the burn… when the right blood comes."
His hand trembled on his weapon. He understood.
Leaping forward, Strom let the enemy's blade scrape his arm. His own blood scattered like glowing dust—touching the Blood Knight's armour. For the first time… it didn't heal.
The monster ignored it, locked in combat with Dravyss.
Strom (yelling): "Mom! Let me fight him!"
He hurled his spear—caught instantly by the Knight, who whipped it back. It tore across Strom's shoulder, and blood streaked the floor.
Dravyss rushed toward him, but Strom raised his hand to stop her. His wound was glowing, and the blood falling to the ground shimmered into sparks, burning like embers.
The Blood Knight staggered. His perfect rhythm faltered.
Strom grinned bitterly. He knew what had to be done.
He turned his own weapon—not on his enemy, but on himself.
Each strike he gave himself spilled more glowing dust, his life essence blazing into the air like burning starlight.
Sam (weakly): "Strom, stop!"
Wraith (gasping): "Please—don't…"
Dravyss (screaming): "MY SON!!"
But Strom didn't stop, every wound becoming another torch against the monster. The Blood Knight stumbled, his armour cracking, body shaking. The dust ate into him, fire crawling through his veins.
Blood Knight (snarling, desperate): "ENOUGH! You'll kill us both—STOP!"
But Strom only drove deeper into the oath he had chosen. His body was breaking because of deep wounds and blood lose but his spirit would not.
At last, he drove his blade through his chest. The dust erupted in a storm of flame, surging like a living inferno.
The Blood Knight howled as cracks split across his armour. Fire burst through, his form collapsing, until his body finally shattered into ash and silence.
Strom fell too.
Dravyss caught him, her trembling arms pulling him close. His blood stained her ashen hands, but his chest still rose faintly—barely alive.
Her tears fell like molten glass as she whispered:
Dravyss: "Don't leave me son , I can't live without you"
The healing returned to the land. The others stirred, their wounds closing. The curse was broken.
But Strom lay silent, his body pale and broken in Dravyss's arms, a hero who had nearly given everything to save peoples he loves.
Dragon Knight – Chapter 9 (The Blood Awakening)
Days passed. The storm of blood had ended, but the scars it left were heavy. Inside Astrid's house, silence filled the air except for the faint sound of breathing. Flowra's healing bandages wrapped around Strom's body, but the wounds were stubborn — too deep, too painful — carved by a spear forged from Dravyss's own tail scale.
And then… a faint groan.
Strom (blinking, weak smile): "Am I alive… or we all are dead?"
Before he could even move, Wraith threw herself at him a hug, squeezing so tight his ribs creaked.
Strom (choking): "You demon! I… can't… breathe—"
Wraith (crying, voice trembling): "Shut up. Just hold… hold for a moment… because I'm not letting go right now."
The tension broke as laughter filled the room. But deep down, everyone knew — Strom had risked everything, without caring for his own life, just to protect them.
Sam (sitting beside him, exhausted): "Man… I tried every spell, every healing chant… but your wounds were carved too deep."
Across the room, Astrid leaned on the wall, still pale, gripping her own blade for balance. She gave a faint smirk.
Astrid: "Looks like our knight finally proved something."
Wraith (sniffling): "Yeah… that he's the biggest idiot alive. Who sacrifices himself like that?!"
Sam (half-grinning): "Nah… I think he proved he's the real fear of demons."
Astrid (shaking her head): "Both wrong. He proved… he's dragon-blooded."
The room went quiet. Then Dravyss, standing in her human form with a soft gaze, stepped forward.
Dravyss (placing her hand on Strom's chest): "No… he proved he is the strongest knight. The Dragon Knight."
No one argued. Because everyone knew — she was right.
Dravyss slowly pulled out the radiant blue stone pendant, the one that once symbolized her bond with power. She leaned close and hung it around Strom's neck.
Dravyss (softly, voice breaking): "My son… this power belongs to you now. Not me."
Strom, still weak, reached into his pocket and pulled out an old pendant — the one his mother had . He lifted it, smiling faintly, and pressed it into Dravyss's hand.
Strom: "And this… is the pendant of my mom. For my mom."
Dravyss froze, eyes trembling as tears formed. She wore it instantly, clutching it to her heart.
Dravyss (whispering): "…Thank you, son."
For the first time in ages, the room felt warm again. Then—
Wraith (raising her hand): "Sooo… who wants to drink some blood?"
Everyone turned their heads, giving her the deadliest stare imaginable.
Wraith (nervously waving): "Wait— easy! I meant because of the blood loss! You all need—"
Laughter exploded. Even Strom coughed from laughing too hard.
Strom (turning to Sam, mischievous grin): "Oh right… I almost forgot something."
Sam: "What?"
Strom extended a shaky hand. Sam, confused, shook it. Strom grinned wider.
Strom: "Welcome, bro. I stole your girl."
Everyone laughed even louder, Astrid crossing her arms with a smirk while Sam groaned.
Astrid (to Sam, teasing): "And listen… I only say something nice to you when you need motivation in a fight. Otherwise? You're just… a little mage."
The room burst again in laughter, even as Strom leaned back, his body broken but his spirit burning brighter than ever. For the first time… the title felt real.
He was Strom. The Dragon Knight.