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The execution ceremony came to a halt when the dragon gods appeared on the gray stormy skies, each one from a distinct cardinal direction. They had been expected, but the gathered army were still surprised and apprehensive. The archers shot a first volley of arrows. The dragons deflected them by making gust with their claws as they approached the castle grounds, also blowing the shooters away. The lord yelled more orders and the foot soldiers raised their lances, but soon they realized it would be pointless.
Knelt and tied down, the prisoner raised his head. His usually beautiful mane of fiery dawn was sweaty, tangled, and dirty. The hair covered his eyes, but he did not need them to feel the presences coming to his rescue once again.
"Who are these children?" He whispered.
It wasn't until they were close enough to land that the captors could see that the dragons had human riders on their backs.
"Are we really going there, mister dragon? Those men have pointy things directed at us."
"That does nothing to us. We are the Ouryuu."
"A-aaaaaah."
The boy had expected to suddenly become brave and heroic after drinking the sacred blood, yet he didn't. It's not like there wasn't a transformation. His whole flesh felt like boiling and he could've swore scales covered his skin at some point. But once the long, excruciating pain receded, the only physical evidence left from the metamorphosis was the golden hair. While it indeed was more impressive than its previous mousy color, it didn't seem to be useful in a battle against anyone. Hell, it was so flashy it would make it easier for enemies to spot the youth in a crowd. Was he really a dragon now? He didn't feel anything different. Maybe he didn't take enough blood and the process was incomplete?
Zeno grimaced. He was having second thoughts about this warrior destiny. He had pestered the dragon during the journey with questions about his so-called powers with no avail. How did his new body work? Did it even work? What if a world of pain still awaited him? Even if the dragon was right and his body was now sturdy, then what? The big plan was just getting there to save their master and then serve him. That was it.
It became obvious that the other chosen ones didn't share his worries when they jumped from their respective dragons. First the guy on the green dragon -falling so gracefully he seemed to float-, followed soon after by the guy on the white one and the guy on the blue one.
"Eeeeeeeh? Are they crazy?!"
"It is time, child. Best of luck."
"You want me to jump, too?"
It was evident from the abrupt tone of voice. Zeno gathered the little courage and optimism he had. Alright. Leap of faith. He could do that.
He could, but it wasn't pretty. The boy followed the others but he fell flat on his face.
He was certain he had broken a tooth in the process. But when he spat the blood in his mouth, it was all liquid. A survey with his tongue told him there was nothing missing. The fangs, however, were unusually pointier. He couldn't dwell on it; a strong arm raised him from the collar of his worn robes.
"What's wrong with this one?" Boomed a disapproving voice somewhere. "He ruined our great entrance! Thanks a lot, brat."
"Are you okay, Yellow?" Said a more concerned voice belonging to the owner of the arm holding him. Zeno looked up; he saw an enormous claw with razor-sharp fingernails, and raised eyebrows as white as the young man's hair. The guy was huge, wore a leather armor with a fur coat, and really looked the part of a dragon warrior.
"I think so... I'm sorry."
"I can't believe this shrimp is one of us," said the other voice. It belonged to an aggressive-looking man with dark green hair in a ponytail. Not just his canines but all his teeth looked like saws. His clothes were dirty and he wasn't wearing any shoes, which left a scaly foot at plain sight.
"Shut up already," murmured a third voice, belonging to a teenager who wore expensive silk clothes. They could only see his back and long blue hair, as he was staring at the army coming slowly at them, spears at hand.
"Blue is right," nodded the white-haired guy and put Zeno back on his feet. "We're wasting our time here. Time to deal with this lot and save our king."
"No one tells me what to do. Give me orders again and I swear--"
The green-haired guy didn't have time to finish his threat. A general yelled and the soldiers moved to attack the group. White and Green ran to their encounter, bloodlust and smirks on their faces, their dragon limbs ready. In no short time, they were destroying every lancer. Blue moved out of the way and kept staring at the enemies as though he was waiting for something special to happen.
Zeno didn't know what to do, so he looked behind to ask his dragon god once more. The four were already gone, though, on their way back to the Heavens. Curses, they had been abandoned. However, with Hakuryuu and Ryokuryuu's abilities they seemed to be handling it fine. It was obvious that they had been good fighters even from before they drank the blood. Ryokuryuu had managed to take a lance from someone as loot and used it as a secondary weapon, while his impressive leg kicked and leaped hard.
"Blue, Yellow!" Cried Hakuryuu as he almost tore a man's torso apart. "While we distract them, I need you to move to the platform and free the king." Zeno thought he sounded like a captain making strategies, and in his opinion it was nice that someone of the four had a clear mind. Hakuryuu threw the sword on his belt to Seiryuu; it was obvious he wouldn't need it anymore with that new hand.
Zeno followed his partner. On profile, Seiryuu had a delicate, pretty face that matched his fancy outfit. But that all seemed to pale next to the eyes. They shone like amber and were more golden than Zeno's hair, with slit pupils like a cat. There were markings below that went down, all over his cheeks. Maybe they were there to draw attention to the dragon eyes. Zeno's instinct told him to look away just in case.
After some running in which there was a lot of dodging -Seiryuu, like Zeno, didn't seem used to inflict physical violence with swords-, they climbed the steps. Seiryuu was the first to arrive, as his legs were longer, but he stopped as soon as he was in front of King Hiryuu. He closed his eyes in pain, clutched his chest and breathed heavily. Maybe he had a heart condition and that was a lot of effort.
"After them!" Yelled the lord to the high-ranked soldiers, who pointed their weapons at the two dragon warriors. "And you, executioner, kill Hiryuu already!" Behind the line of officers, a burly man took an ax and pushed down the redhead to a wood block.
"No! Leave my king alone. Now." Seiryuu's voice was icy cold and his eyes burned with hatred.
Then it was chaos. Every man stopped as his command demanded. Then, they opened their mouths, and complained that they couldn't move their arms or legs. Most of them even fainted. The executioner weeped in fear and dropped the ax with a high-pitched scream about his arms getting cut, despite the fact they were still there.
Seiryuu walked ahead with confidence, but after three steps he lurched forward and hit the floor.
"S-Seiryuu? What happened to you?"
"...I'm petrified. My powers..."
"What?! How did that...?"
"Take the sword and cut his ropes, Ouryuu. Now!"
Zeno rolled his body with difficulty, but he finally grabbed the sheath and jumped over in the king's direction. Their eyes met. That's when it happened. Once again, every inch of his body throbbed and the blood through his veins was boiling as the voice sang.
Warriors of the Four Dragons! From now on, you are our other halves. With Hiryuu as your master, protect, cherish, and never betray him for as long as you live!
When he came to his senses, he was surprised to see his clothes smoking a bit. The burning feeling was making him weak on his knees. But there was no time to be shocked: Seiryuu was crying something about the enemy lord approaching them. Finally, something closer to bravery urged him to act. Zeno unsheathed the sword and clumsily diced through the bindings.
"I thank you both," said the king with a smile as he massaged his wrists, and he grabbed Seiryuu by the shoulders. Zeno gaped as he tried to reply, the voice of the yellow dragon still scorching inside and his heart beating fast.
"King," was the only thing he could say.
The enemy lord was finally upon them, robust and terrible with blade in hand. With the king holding a listless Seiryuu, Zeno realized, there was no one else up to the task. The other dragons were running and jumping towards them, but it would be too late. It was up to him. Still shaking but determined to protect that smile, he stepped up and put himself in front of the others, sword wielded. But he was really lucky, because that imposing nobleman wasn't used to fight against scrawny 17 year-olds below the average height. Zeno quickly crouched and dodged, then pushed the steel through the man's stomach from below with all of his strength.
That was the first time he had even used a sword. He wasn't even sure he was holding it right. There was blood on his travel cape, and he felt a bit sicker than he already was.
"Gods, you are as useless as I thought," said Ryokuryuu an eternity later -or a minute later- as he looked down on the lord. "This douche is still alive, kid. Have you ever killed someone? Next time, aim at the vitals or something."
"It's fine," Hiryuu told him with a firm expression. "I don't wish to see him dead."
Ryokuryuu's expression contorted. Then he fell on his knees in an uncomfortable reverence. He seemed to be fighting something inside of him. Behind him, Hakuryuu was going through something similar, but he bowed until his forehead touched the wooden planks of the platform. Unlike the other warrior, the white-haired young man gladly muttered promises of loyalty to his master.
Zero finally understood. They all went through the same burning feeling. It was the pact of the dragons flowing in their blood. Somehow he felt a little less lonely.
"Listen. I'm very glad to meet you four," beamed the king, "but I think we should escape before the sun sets. You can explain and introduce yourselves later."
"You're right," said Hakuryuu, and took the petrified Seiryuu with his right hand. "Let's take some horses and leave."
"I've never ridden a stupid horse. I'd rather jump," said Ryokuryuu as they all walked to the stables.
"You just rode your dragon god on your way here, Green. Just get used to it, brother!"
"I'm not your brother, dumb hand."
"So noisy," whine Seiryuu with his new eyes squinted. "Let me sleep."
"Oh, c'mon! You're almost as useless as the yellow twerp!"
Zeno glanced at Hiryuu and saw him smiling at them all. He didn't fit in with them, true, yet he couldn't help but smile as well.