Work Text:
The Arc Dragon of Focus's blow to Thunderfang’s chest sent the Shatter Dragon of Chaos spiraling into darkness. The eerie glow of the Spectral Lands quickly vanished from view as he writhed and struggled in the air, his skinless wings flapping uselessly as he tried to break his fall. Thunderfang let out a furious roar, clawing upwards as if the motion alone could save him.
Eventually, his fury gave way to fear. He was still falling. How long has it been? He should have begun counting the microsecond he fell. There was not even a speck of light from the surface as his anxieties grew. Not even a being as powerful as Thunderfang knew what happened once a soul was killed. I am not dead yet, he thought grimly. Is this another form of imprisonment? Is this my punishment from the Source Dragons themselves? I had them scared. Scared enough to send in an Arc Dragon… No. That doesn't feel right. Focus was assisted. They cannot even fight me on their own!
Thunderfang gave another rumbling roar, the sound as horrible as a glass avalanche. It already felt like he had spent an eternity thinking and falling. Falling and thinking. Hating and whining. Just as his hatred began to heighten again, he slammed into something. His cry was cut off as the air left his chest, leaving him gasping and curling in on himself as pain spiraled colorfully from behind his eyes. He groaned, clutching his chest as he fought for breath. Though the surface beneath him was cold, he did not trust even one of his six eyes. Everything was still black. Have I been blinded? he wondered, gingerly testing the solidity of the ground with a talon. Shakily, the Shatter Dragon stood, his claws trying to dig into the ground to root himself in place to no avail.
“Is anyone there?” Thunderfang called. “Show yourself!” The only response he got was that of his own voice echoing back to him. He let out a nervous growl, turning in a circle before blindly walking in one direction. Every step brought him worry, worry that he would trip on something invisible in the shadow. However, the ground never changed. It was as cool as stone and as flat as glass.
Suddenly, a light flickered into view. It was a dazzling white, and it almost felt familiar to Thunderfang. He crept cautiously towards it, nostrils flaring as he tried to catch a scent in the air. “What is this?” He grumbled to himself. “A trick? A guide?”
“Thunderfang,” the light rippled and grew and sharpened, corners turning into edges as a shape took form. “So you have finally passed from the realms.” The light emitting from the figure was almost blinding as Thunderfang took in the true regality before him.
Thunderfang knew that voice. It was the same voice that came out of the Arc Dragon, albeit this one held more power, more authority. “The Source Dragon of Focus,” his chest rattled as he breathed. “How dare you come to me now.”
“You came to us,” Focus replied simply.
“Us?” Thunderfang tensed as Focus's massive heads swung into view. Two magnificent bird-like heads, pushed together to give the illusion of one great dragon. All of her eight eyes were focused on the Shatter Dragon.
“What do you think you deserve after death?” Focus ignored Thunderfang’s insulted scoff.
“Power,” Thunderfang replied easily. “The power you refused me in life. The power I deserve.” Then, quieter, “I have passed even from death?”
“You are afraid,” Focus sounded almost shocked. Her voice seemed to echo from every direction at once, despite her great form in front of him.
“I fear nothing!” Thunderfang roared. “Especially not you!” He brought a talon up, intending to slash his claws through the fabled Source Dragon, but her flesh merely swirled like an icy mist as his claws flew through. The Source Dragon of Focus gave a bored hum before her form began to shimmer and compact in on itself, the starry form he had first seen returning again. This time, the orb of light shot upwards, and Thunderfang followed its trail. Focus's light became her symbol, shimmering far above in the endless void of a sky.
“You hide from me?” Thunderfang sounded much more confident than he felt as he taunted the Source Dragon. Suddenly, the ground rumbled and shook beneath him, and he fought to stay upright.
Massive black talons seemed to appear out of nowhere beside him as he turned to witness a dragon climbing out of the void. Deep brown crocodilian scales highlighted by amber blood formed the dragon lurching out of the depths. Ram’s horns framed a flat, broad face, a deep growl emitting from the dragon's throat as he spread his massive dawn-colored wings and leapt upward to join Focus. The Source Dragon of Strength, Thunderfang thought as the dragon, too, became a symbol in the sky.
The next dragon to crawl from the depths was quick. Deep red talons with golden claws brought forth a firey might of a dragon, her face narrow and her horns elegant. Her golden eyes did not once look towards Thunderfang as she vanished in a graceful flash of flame, her tail lashing almost close enough to burn the Shatter Dragon. The air itself seemed to hum as she took her place as a symbol beside Focus and Strength. The Source Dragon of Motion.
In her wake, electricity cackled. The next dragon to haul itself from darkness was the Source Dragon of Energy, who looked wise and noble. His horns seemed to be made of lightning itself as they held their sharp shape, framing his narrow, sloped head. His eyes were unreadable aside from a fierce determination and kindness as he spread his brilliantly bright wings, sparks emitting from his form as he dashed to meet his siblings.
The Source Dragon of Life was the next dragon to rise. Their wooden antlers were vast and littered with different flora, and if Thunderfang squinted, he almost thought he could see birds resting within the leaves. There was an eerie glow to the Source Dragon, as their form seemed to be actively shifting, growing new roots as the previous ones curled in on themselves. Their wings dropped only a few leaves as they flew up to take their place beside the others.
The final dragon was the Source Dragon of Flow. Her form wavered like the sea, and her ascent sprayed water everywhere. Thunderfang wasn't shocked that she was the final one to make an appearance. As her form, covered in oceanic lines and formations and horns like coral, vanished, silence began to weigh on the air.
Thunderfang waited for one of them to speak. But that wasn't right. He peered at the Source Dragons' physical forms in the sky. There were seven Sources. Why are there only six now? Thunderfang glanced around, expecting the Source Dragon of Balance to make his presence known. The uneasy silence stretched out, as if even the Source Dragons themselves were worried.
“This is a waste of time,” Strength grumbled, his symbol glowing in time with his words. “I say we end his existence once and for all. He has caused nothing but pain and chaos in his wake. Isn't that right, Focus? You have felt it firsthand.” He sounded certain that Focus would agree.
“I have,” Focus’s voice was carefully measured as she replied. “And that is why I know what must happen next.” A beam of light shot out of her symbol, forming a shape in the middle of the Source Dragon Council. Thunderfang tried to strain his neck for a better look, but he couldn't make out any particular details. It was just a blobby… thing.
“What?” Came the outraged roar from multiple Sources, the loudest of the group being Strength.
“Focus,” Life’s voice had an irritated edge. “Surely you're not proposing what I think you are. Are you unwell?”
“I am perfectly fine, Life,” Focus replied coolly. “I have thought this through carefully. Since the fall of Balance, I—,”
“Balance has fallen?” Thunderfang blurted, jaws open in astonishment. “How?”
“Don't sound so shocked,” Life’s symbol faced Thunderfang, their voice insulting and laced with venom. “You wanted to destroy us.”
“Yes, but…” Thunderfang grasped for words. Normally, he would have been furious at Life for even daring to speak to him in such a tone, but this was very, very different. “I wanted to conquer. No Source has ever fallen. What has become of Balance’s Source Energy?”
The Source Dragons fell silent again.
“We don't know,” the Source Dragon of Energy eventually murmured.
“We are sparing our own power to make sure it stays stable,” the Source Dragon of Motion added quietly.
“Some of Balance’s energy has returned to us,” Flow joined in. “Thanks to the mortals.” The sentence sounded targeted, but if it was, no Source rose to challenge her.
“Thunderfang has power, whether we like his use of it or not. If we could repurpose it…” Focus murmured thoughtfully, as if trying to coax the others into agreement.
“I think your idea is fair, Focus.” Motion’s symbol lit up as she spoke. “But is it reliable?”
“And where is this coming from?” Strength snorted.
“Imprisoning Thunderfang the first time gave me millennia to think this over,” Focus mused. “We knew it was inevitable that Thunderfang would one day go to the Spectral Lands. This is a means of containing his being and repurposing his energy. This proposal is not made lightly. He will become something entirely new.”
“This asks us to recreate the current timeline,” Flow said thoughtfully. “Are you certain it's worth it?”
“Very,” Focus replied in an instant.
Thunderfang couldn't help how intimidated he felt in the presence of the Source Dragons. He had always dreamed of reaching their ranks, of leading them by force or taking their power for himself, but seeing them debate so intensely was… unprecedented. He did not once imagine this. I should be up there with them. I should be the eighth Source! He noticed Strength’s symbol turn to him as his anger began to find itself again, as if the Source Dragon could read his thoughts.
“You won't be happy when we reach this point again,” the Source Dragon of Flow continued. “I hope your memory is as sharp as your mind. I will stand with you.”
“I will stand with you.” Motion agreed. Thunderfang thought he could see her mortal form nodding behind her symbol, but if he could, her outline was incredibly faint.
“You need to think this through more,” Strength rumbled, his voice dripping with thinly veiled anger. “Keeping Thunderfang alive? Letting him keep his power? Sending him back to the Merged Lands? Absolutely not. He has given us more than enough trouble as is. His arrogance will kill us all. I do not stand with you.”
Send me back to the Merged Lands? Thunderfang could only watch in astonishment. Are they letting me go? The idea was so shocking that no words left his open mouth. Where his fury and hatred for the Source Dragons festered, he felt only confusion. What in the world could they possibly be discussing?
“He will have no way of remembering himself,” the Source Dragon of Energy put in. “Erasing this identity will keep us safe. He will forge a new balance in the realms, if he is guided by the right mentor.” The Source’s symbol seemed to turn to peer at Life as he continued speaking to Focus. “I stand with you.”
“Majority vote has won,” Life sniffed. “I see no point in voicing my opinion.”
“We need all of the Sources to discuss this,” Motion put in gently. “Even with this plan moving forward, it is important we have every perspective. After all, your power will be required to help. You are within your rights, Life.”
“Always with the words,” Life sighed. “I think this is a foolish idea. It will bring forth the end of this cycle, but perhaps that is what is needed now. The timelines have rooted themselves deeply in chaos. Re-releasing said chaos will only end in tragedy. That being said,” they added before anyone could object, “I will stand with you.”
“You will also regret that decision,” Flow’s murmur was so quiet that Thunderfang almost couldn't hear it.
“Get your head out of the timelines,” Energy coaxed. “Be with us in this moment. Anything could happen. We will wait and see how it goes.”
Flow did not reply, but her symbol gave a spark of energy, feeding into the shape that Focus had put out earlier. Soon enough, the other Sources followed. When Life added their energy, the shape became more distinguished, and Thunderfang could make out a tiny body. A small dragon.
When Strength's turn to give his energy came around, the Source gave a hefty sigh as he reluctantly performed the action. His symbol shuddered afterwards, as if the duty was so far beneath him that it disgusted him.
“Thunderfang,” Focus’s symbol shifted. Suddenly, her mortal form landed gracefully in front of him, much smaller than last time. This time, she was only a little bigger than him. “Do you accept your role?”
“What role?” Thunderfang narrowed his eyes. “Are you finally giving me my rightful place among you?”
“If you accept, you may just get that.” Focus’s gaze became distant for a moment, as if she was seeing something he could not. A strange sadness seemed to radiate from her briefly, vanishing so quickly that Thunderfang wondered if he imagined it. “I will only offer once again. Do you accept?” She held out her porcelain talons, the thing she had created resting within them.
“A child?” Thunderfang rumbled suspiciously. The dragonet was tiny and gray and stubby, his wings far too small to support him in the air. His head was massive compared to his body, and his eyes, though closed, took up all of his brain space. He wasn’t breathing. “You're joking. What am I to do with it?”
“You will have power beyond limit,” Focus pushed her talons towards him. The other Sources looked on in silence. “It is your choice. You will return to the Merged Lands as something new, something with a unique power.”
“But what does this—,” Thunderfang felt laughter bubble up in his chest. “You don't mean you're sending me back as that, are you? HA! You Source Dragons are even more arrogant than I thought. Not only do you hide like cowards, hoarding the power all to yourselves, but you also have the worst sense of humor I've ever…” He slowed his speech as Focus did not move. “You're going to make me into that dragonet. Really?”
“Power beyond limit,” Focus repeated quietly. “I know that is what you seek most.”
“What good is power if you're too small and stupid to do anything with it?” Thunderfang countered. “No. I refuse. I am powerful enough in the Spectral Lands.”
“Where are those lands now?” Focus pressed.
“Up there,” Thunderfang tried to narrow his eyes as he looked up, to see through the darkness of the Source Dragons' void as he jabbed a claw in the same direction. “Send me back so that I can return to destroy you without your little cheats and tricks. You are all fools. I will outsmart you. I already have twice. You're scared of me,” he puffed out his chest. “You needed your Arc Dragon to even pretend like you had a chance at getting rid of me. Not this time. Send me back, now.”
“If you insist,” Focus shrugged amusedly. Before Thunderfang could ask what was so funny, a horrible feeling erupted from the shadows of his chest. His soul—she’s taking his soul! He watched, helpless and horrified, as it left his body. His jaws gaped in a soundless shriek as his eyesight began to blur and darken, the last bit of feeling draining from the tips of his claws as Focus hummed gently.
“Rest, child of Chaos. You will understand one day. Goodnight, brother.”
—
A squawk of fright left his beaked mouth as he frantically ran from his attackers, blasts of energy zooming past him and disintegrating everything they hit. If he had the mind to feel true anger, he'd have cursed his short, stubby legs and tiny wings.
“Get that dragon!” The raw, scratchy voice of Rapton cried.
The little dragon kept on running, wary of the sounds of tires squealing on the street. The vehicle skidded to a stop in front of him, a blur of white and blue and pink.
“Hop on, buddy!” The voice of a child no older than perhaps fourteen cried. Riyu obliged easily, chirping as he felt the mech begin to move again.
“Who are these kids now?” Rapton’s slightly breathless voice was too loud, too close as he snarled, “Get them!”
“Looks like we're in another race,” the boy audibly grimaced. Riyu tried to flatten himself more, to press himself deeper into the concealed mech, wary of his pursuers.
“Good thing we've still got that turbo-boost ready to go!” A girl spoke triumphantly. Riyu could faintly hear her press a button once, then twice, and then a few more frantic times. “Uh–,” she hardly got to cry out as the mech suddenly spun out of control, a burst of flame dissipating as the boost failed. Riyu warbled as he was flung from the mech, which had fallen apart and tumbled over a ledge. Now, he could clearly see his clumsy rescuers. The boy wore bright orange, and his dark eyes were wide with fear. The girl wore colors matching the now-destroyed mech, complimenting her cat ear headphones. But there was something more…
Riyu found himself oddly calm as he plummeted. The ground was rushing quickly to meet him, but he focused on the girl. There was power within her, power that she clearly did not yet understand or even know. He concentrated, yapping as he opened his heart to her and fed her power a massive boost. He could feel the power leave his own body, draining from his veins, his scales, his life…
The girl's hands began to glow pink. A power under—... Riyu tilted his head back curiously. This was new, but he couldn't figure out new to what, or why he knew that. The world seemed to pass by in his thoughtful daze, because before he knew it, he was scrabbling desperately to flee a tiger-man. He certainly wasn't quick enough, because he felt fireworks of pain spiral within his skull as his vision went dark. Slowly, the world began to slip away from him in an all-too-familiar way.
“You are just the first,” the tiger said in a voice so low that it almost sounded like a cruel purr. “Now, I'm going to hunt down your entire family, wherever they are.”
My family… was all that Riyu could verbalize in his thoughts. Faintly, a mighty red-and-black she-dragon flashed through his mind. He didn't have the time to wonder why he thought of Firstbourne before his tribe mother as everything slowed to a stop.