★ 181
NYXON'S POV
We made it past the volcanic part of Pyrral when I picked up multiple signatures from all around us. Ten of them in total.
'Huh?'
I was neutralising our signatures yet... I turned and saw it... It was Zar. A faint glow almost invincible escapes his body.
"Oh no, dragons."
Vera followed, picking up their presence.
'That bastard.'
I wrapped them in a barrier before kicking them into the sea of lava.
' Utilise my signal properly.'
I sent a telepathic message to Vera before they drowned in the lava ocean, their signatures fading.
As I turned, they were all around me. Ten Void Dragons, clad in armour, their wings beating like thunder, a multitude of eyes drilling into me.
Simultaneously, they raised their hands. Then, without warning, rods of darkness tore through me at close range, their jagged tips bursting out the other side.
From each tip, chains lashed outward, linking to the others until I was bound from every angle. Before I could even draw breath, the crushing weight dragged me to my knees, the ground cracking beneath the strain.
(Example with two rods. Two rods stabbed through him. Each tip, four in total, unleashed chains that bound themselves to the others.
Tip one linked with tips two, three, and four; each in turn did the same, locking him in from every side. Do that twenty times. Because each Dragon used two rods.)
The chains glowed before fading. They only turned invincible, and the weight was still present.
"Seal his lips."
A black paper-like stuff sealed my mouth.
At the joints where chains knotted together, the air collapsed inward. Tiny voids flickered into being, and black holes emerged. Not the kind that devoured all indiscriminately. These guys had a different purpose. My mass, which is immensely beyond mortal measure, resonated with their pull.
Instead of crushing me flat or dragging me into their depths, the singularities siphoned my weight apart. Every ounce of my body was divided and redistributed across the lattice, as though the burden of my existence had been split into dozens of equal shares.
The ground beneath me, which should have shattered under the pressure, remained untouched. The black holes held me instead, suspending me in their invisible currents.
I tried to rise, and in that instant, the prison moved with me. The chains tightened, and the singularities shifted, dragging me along in an unnatural rhythm. It was not walking but being pulled, but each step, a forced lurch guided by the gravity wells around me.
I strained against them, but every effort collapsed back into the lattice. My strength was devoured before it could even leave my body.
'The harder I resisted, the more the black holes drank from me, feeding the prison that held me. Impressive. They're not all muscles after all.'
It was no mere binding. The Void Dragons had done worse than to trap me. They had seized the very thing that defined me and turned it against me. Now my mass belonged to the void, carried and reshaped by it.
(Weird trap. Skip if you don't understand how it works.)
'Let me blend and see what happens.'
"Let's go."
They flew dragging me alone with them. We were already close to the city, so the journey was short. The voidlings adjusted, making me stand upright before gliding me into the Silver Palace.
Upon entering the hall, two Void Dragons were already waiting.
"I see."
The red-haired Void Dragon said, voice even and unreadable.
"Release him and leave us."
Commanded from behind the curtains. The guards obeyed, unshackling the outsider before withdrawing.
I was free, though the woman's resolve surprised me, she spoke like someone unafraid of consequence.
"That includes you two."
"Fine."
The dragon replied.
"I await the judgment you think you can deliver. Let's go, Marquis."
'So that was the Marquis. The red-haired dragon must be the Ash Duke.'
I thought, identifying who is who.
On their way out, I was standing before the Ash Duke and the Marquis. I was already processing how mu conversation with the queen will go when something slightly unexpected happened.
"You ought to be..."
The Ash Duke stomped on my knee, followed by a slap that sent me face-first into the titles. I've never been hit on the floor once, not even in training, not like this.
"...this low in front of an Ancient Power."
He finished his sentence before leaving the hall with his Marquis.
'Ah, how humiliating.'
I sighed, thinking to myself how humiliating the whole thing should have felt.
Humiliation was meant to sting, to provoke anger or the desire for revenge, to chip away at pride and leave someone feeling small, worthless, even.
'Some people broke under it, drowning in hopelessness and helplessness.'
But I stood up as if nothing had happened.
'I didn't feel a damn thing. As a matter of fact, I had let my guard down on purpose, testing how he would react and how I would respond. I wanted to see if anything inside me would shift. Perhaps I can fell something, anger, frustration, anything at all. But unfortunately, I didn't.'
I remained still, gaze fixed forward.
(If he can experiment on himself, then no one is safe xd.)
'There are more specimens in the vast laboratory. I can never run out of tests.'
'A hidden personality?'
Entares flinched, surprised.
"So, why am I here?"
I asked, ignoring him.
"That's my question. Why are you in Pyrral? No, why are you in Kalidor to begin with?"
She asked.
'Where did I go wrong again?'
I asked, narrowing my eyes. She stepped out behind the curtain, revealing herself.
Behold, the ebony, busty queen with long silver hair. Just like any other Void Dragon, she had an obsidian horn, which curved unnaturally. Her deep eyes are lavender, staring deep into me as I take in all her magnificent features.
'Oh Star. I'm beginning to wonder if Ela is maintaining her top spot in my Ladies List.'
"That look again."
She sighs, placing her hand on her forehead. A throne appeared, and she gracefully took a seat.
"Everyone who sees me has the same reaction."
'What facial expression did I make?'
I asked, and Enta showed me a glimpse of a weird-silly-looking Nyxon with a nosebleed.
'I'll never make such a face.'
He's probably lying, so I ignored him. I blinked and rearranged my Nyxon personality, arranging my thoughts and bringing back the villain in me.
"What are you talking about? I was just thinking how unnatural Pyrral was at each turn."
"Heh?"
She froze, not expecting this turn.
"It's weird. You're weird. Others lose touch with reality in my presence, but you're thinking of something else."
'I wasn't, and at the same time, I was. She's indeed beautiful, but no beauty in existence can make me run wild.'
(Hehehe, we'll see if that's true.)
"Let's start with your name. Who are you, Outsider?"
"It sounds to me like you've already given me a name."
'Cool wits.'
Entares' voice brushed through my thoughts, quiet but amused.
I could almost picture the faint smirk he carried when something clever landed. I didn't acknowledge it outwardly. The moment wasn't about him. It was about how they saw me, and whether it mattered.
"Just because we got off to a silly start doesn't mean you should take me for granted."
She straightened, dark aura rolling off her in waves meant to intimidate.
It had weight, an attempt to remind me of the difference between us, but after everything that had happened I couldn't even pretend to feel pressured by it.
"I'm not."
I said, lowering my head slightly. Not in a theatrical way, just enough to acknowledge the hierarchy and the apology it implied.
Her aura faded before she spoke again.
"I won't ask twice."
Without waiting for permission, I lifted my head again. I wasn't going to remain bowed any longer. Pride or not, answering questions from that position felt wrong, submissive in a way that served no purpose.
"Nyxon."
The name left my mouth clean and firm.
"You've dropped the 'Silverwing Blood'?"
She asked, noting the difference.
I didn't flinch.
"Never wore it."
I replied shortly.
'That approach. She must know I'm not alone.'
"That was my companion's intervention."
I added, scratching the back of my head.
"And where is she?"
'She. That's too specific. Did Obsidian Wyrm report this or someone else? If the latter is true, then I have to be more careful.'
"Dissolving in the sea of molten magma."
"How cold."
"Death is nature."
I replied.
"She met hers. There's nothing serious about it."
"What are you, Nyxon?"
She asked again, question after questions.
'A Scorpios Constellation Star in the Pond won't be a wise answer.'
"From another world."
I replied, keeping it vague. No need to name something that would complicate matters.
"What is your goal in Kalidor?"
"Exploration."
"You know this is a restricted area. We are nobles, at war, preparing to claim the world."
"I don't involve myself in your conflicts. And don't ask me to fight your battles. I'm only passing through."
'You won't save or destroy but watch. Is this the path you're going to choose?'
'For now.'
I felt something move above me and looked up.
A huge silver Void Dragon hung in the air in a position that should have been impossible, seated as though gravity were a suggestion rather than law.
Its scales caught the faint light of the hall, smooth and almost reflective. Like the queen, it possessed lavender eyes and black horns, an unmistakable mark of authority.
"He's not lying, Your Majesty."
Yhe dragon said. Its voice was deep but controlled, carrying the weight of something ancient.
"He answered all six questions correctly, from heart and from mind."
I remained still, expression neutral. No need to react. Questions were tests; I had passed them.
'Hmm, invading my mind, huh? That must explain the itching in my head.'
'Rest assured, no one can infiltrate your Mind.'
"How weird. And here I thought you're a Star."
"What if I am?"
I asked. If my identity was exposed, what will she do?
"The Ash Duke Velros, will take it from there."
'Velros is his name, huh. Noted.'
"So, what are you going to do with me?"
She stood up and approached me. Her tit's giggling with each step. She didn't stop but started to walk in circles around me.
"Normally I'd have you chained and locked up."
She said.
"But there is something more urgent to handle first."
She hugged me from behind, her jugs pressing deeper against my back.
"What is it?"
I asked, not shifting my stance.
She lowered my hood and spoke in a quieter tone.
"You know what we must do."
Her warm breath washed over my neck. She gently bit my ear, which is an intimate gesture. She removed my cloak, letting it fade away, but I remained unfazed.
'What happened to parthenogenesis, aka virgin birth? Did Vera lied about that?'
The hall dissolved and the surroundings shifted, revealing a bedroom. It appeared to be hers.
"I'm a gender-free species. That sort of approach isn't possible."
I said. My tone carried no irritation, only a factual clarification.
She didn't seem inclined to listen, which told me the gesture was symbolic rather than literal. She pushed me onto the bed.
I remained still where I landed, not reacting with alarm or resistance. The action carried intent, but I had no reason to interpret it as anything beyond an attempt to control the situation. I waited, observing instead of reacting, letting the situation unfold on her terms.
'I didn't plan on using this now. But I have no other choice.'
The metaphysical construct under my command, Essen, operating beyond the constraints of space and time, executed the sequence I had prepared. Since yesterday, I had been releasing explosive particles, subtle and dormant, a contingency in case circumstances turned hostile. It wasn't me planning for a genocide, this was merely a preparation for something in the future.
Essen transported them to the far edge of Pyrral before triggering the detonation.
The explosion of darkness was catastrophic. Though distant, it rippled through the land, a deep concussive force that shook the Realm itself. I had expected power, but not to that scale. I had not cared how many Void Dragons might be caught in it; the objective was to create space if I needed it.
"What was that?"
She asked, lavender eyes fixed toward the window as if she could see beyond the walls.
"Sounds like an explosion to me."
I replied. Before I could continue, she raised a finger and pressed it lightly against my lips, silencing me.
I held still, not resisting. The gesture carried intent, but I interpreted it only as an attempt to control the moment. I waited, observing.
'This is a golden opportunity. I hope Vera takes advantage of it.'
To be continued...