The sky split in two when we moved.
Just one step, and the soil crumbled under me, one more, and I was at his shadow; a quick and decisive strike to the back to end this.
His pale skin caught in the reflection of my blade, his fiery red hair trailed in the wind--Draconia's fire-born heir, he hadn't noticed I was behind him yet. His blazing wings sprouted once again, and his body shifted to the side.
He was fast, but not fast enough--I could still land this blow. I-
He twisted at the last beat, my blade cutting through where his body was just a moment ago.
Heat began to pour off him in waves, the smell of burnt flesh, and something deeper--bone.
He spins, his wings folded into a jagged arc, his spear became a blur of flame. For just a few seconds, we are nothing but motion. A flash of crimson hair, the flames of his will, my sword already hauled back from the killing blow I thought I landed.
The sound of our steel was world splitting, two blows that had enough force to level mountains. The noise flooded the field like a hive, metal rung. The sheer impact of it made me gasp for air, my lungs giving way. Behind me the three-headed beast manifested again, and this time I consumed it.
My body twisted and changed, bones creaked. The sound unsettled me far beyond anything mortality could do. My blood boiled--burning and savage, too much for a normal body to hold. But I could, my ribs expanded and my nails grew into claws.
Three shadows of muzzles stood behind me, I no longer summoned the titan I became him.
I stared at him, his scales and burning wings a fantastical sight. Two men turned into beasts for what? One of us was doomed to die simply because we were on opposite sides. In another life we could have been brothers.
It didn't matter--I moved. The ground beneath my feet splintered, a dense fog filled up around the field. A perfect condition for me to prowl in.
Down the field was the heir of Draconia, the tip of his spear burned brighter to cut through my fog, and his wings grew even larger than before. The sheer intensity and heat of the flames turned them white now, far hotter than when they were orange.
He was fearful, like a true prey now.
Even with the wings and flames of his beast he knew he couldn't survive my hunt--none had. Before him laid a man who devoured his own god, a blasphemy hunting.
I stalked forward through the fog, my blade dragging against the grass. I circled him, my breath came out as a dense smoke; where my claws touched the world hissed.
I could smell everything; his scent, his fear, the smell of the men behind me, and the dead bodies surrounding me.
I dashed in, and his spear swung around in an arc. Fire lashed out and hit my skin, but it barely left a singe. He planted his feet and the flames grew larger, more fierce.
I stepped back and he flourished his spear, sending fire all around him--they dispersed the fog. But in a few seconds more rolled in, he sighed, "Ardius, how long can you hold this? Will you hunt me in time, or will you collapse of fatigue-" his voice cut through the fog piercing my ears.
I was too animalistic now to reply, I let out a low growl. He scoffed back, I continued circling around him. Waiting for the right opening to strike--there.
A faint tremor hummed under the ground beneath him; he was confused, but I was already there behind him. My blade in one hand and claws reaching out in the other. I moved at a speed incomprehensible even to him.
He twisted dodging the arc of my blade just in time--but my claws sunk into his skin ripping the flesh off of his back. Metal, scale, skin all of it came off. He screamed in agony as I ripped off chunks of everything. His blood spewed on the ground, it burned the ground beneath it.
His scream split the air, and made the world stop. The spear in his hands exploded, and the flames engulfing it had turned into an inferno. He jumped, and stood ten feet above me. His breath began to spew fire, but that wasn't the attack.
The flames were dense and fiercer than I ever could imagine, his lance piercing through my side and sent me flying backwards. The heat cauterized my wound, but the pain was unbearable. I whimpered in pain, and growled.
My vision was blurry and my ears rung, but I could see the world had burned white.
He was above me again, lance poised down at me. This time his wings were more intense and I could see his scales had become more noticeable. He was fully synced with his titan, a dragon was flying down at me.
My blade met his spear, and the impact met at a standstill. I put all my force into just to hold off his assault, his eyes glared at me glowing, and his skin covered in scales, that same crimson hair was smoking and what was left of his skin was burned to a crisp.
He flashed backwards, standing across from me now.
"The world," he muttered, "was never meant for beasts like you and I." he said.
He jumped into the air again and his flames snuffed out my fog, he could see me clearly now. and his lance was aimed at my heart. He dove.
Finally to my feet again, I planted my feet into the singed soil and jumped meeting him in air.
My blade ready to break through his spear.
Then silence--deafening silence. Our powers clashed, damned and hideous they fought. The fog had dissipated entirely now, leaving the battlefield visible.
All the men who stood there before were burned to ashes, others had been ripped apart by the fog. Just environmental effects of two beasts like us clashing killed them.
The impact broke and we both were pushed back, I fell first. My knees buckled and gave out, hard enough to leave crater in the ground. My claws began to fall off one by one and my bones popped back into place.
Across, the heir of Draconia landed--he laid on the ground his skin charred and roasted. His wings gone and the flames around his spear disappeared. We both had run out of stamina.
He stood up, and raised what was left of his spear--half burnt metal, and bent unnaturally. He pointed it at me, just as I did at the start of this.
I gathered what remained of my strength and stood up with both legs, my body barely surviving that last impact.
"Come now Ardius...bare your fangs." He screamed.
I gripped what was left of my sword, and dragged it through the ground as I dashed toward him. My speed far slower than before.
My ark was still burning, it's glow begin to die out faintly. I had overclocked my powers, and I looked at his forehead taking in his ark and saw that he had too. Now we were just two regular men squaring off.
The last steps between us began to close off, and my blade lifted up meeting the shaft of his spear.
One of us would die with this final blow. Becoming just another scar on this field.
As our weapons met, I finally realized the truth in his words. This world was never meant for us.
I pushed with all my might against his spear--snap. The shaft had broke in half, and my blade cleaved through. His armor had mostly burnt off by now and his chest was exposed. His scales gone, he was just a man. I cut through flesh with as much power as I could muster.
His blood began to spray outward, much of it covering my blade. It was not burning any longer, dark crimson--just like a normal man.
He staggered backwards, eyes wide--not in fear, but something close to peace.
For just a beat, the world held it's breath. The final reverberation of the blow boomed through the valley and came to a stop.
He fell, his body gave out. Face to the soil it was over. He tried to get back to his feet but the blood loss was too much.
And I stood, just a few feet in front of him--his last sights in this world would not be of his family nor his lover, but me. A predator with fangs bared.
The titan's power had long left me, but my veins still felt it like poison. I would not be the same after overclocking this severely, but I won.
I stared into his eyes, two embers remained refusing to go out. He tilted his head toward me, coughing and a blood spewed out. He gave a faint laugh, the type someone only gives once in their life.
"So now we sit--two weapons forever scarred. I die here, and you--you may never fight again." He paused, coughing again and blood spewed out once more. "But maybe that's mercy Ardius, we have been tools in this war long enough. I'm tired." he said.
I just stared, I had no answer. His words struck far deeper than his spear ever could. My voice was shot from screaming and growling, and my body ached like nothing I had felt ever before.
He looked into my eyes one last time, the embers flickering about to go out.
"D-don't let them... forget us." He said, his voice dying out at the end.
His eyes lost their ember, his life ending.
I kneeled on one knee, reaching my hand out. His body lied motionless. My hand was cut and bones broken, but I reached for his eyes. Closing them for the last time.
The field was silent all around me, not a person but me alive. Thousands of bodies dead on this very soil.
I stood back up, taking my knee off the ground. And I stuck my sword into the ground, and looked at his lifeless body.
"Forgive me... for I don't want to remembered Asthyx." I said. My voice was hoarse, just above a whisper.
The sky was cloudy, and thunder began to rumble. And just seconds later rain hit my face, washing away all the blood on this field.
I--The Fang of Faelrau, walked away from the crater. The sole survivor of this final battle. Bodies serving wolves and dragons torn apart alike. And the land would remember the scars his fangs left.