Nameless King

"Didn't you have any other way to do it?" Wain asked looking at the Abyss Artist.

"Nah..." Abyss Artist shook his head, "It was the most efficient way. I had to get the dragon fang to admit that it was Nicole's weapon, but it couldn't be done forcibly, so I chose another way."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly two bright flashes appeared in the thick darkness. One was a scythe above which a Dragon Head hovered, the other was Nicole. She was completely baffled not knowing where she was. Nicole looked around, and though she looked directly at the Abyss Artist several times, she didn't see him.

"Hmm? She can't see us?" Wain muttered with a curious expression.

"Yeah. We're not really needed here. This girl can handle herself, I just wanted to see what happens next." Abyss Artist smirked, "You know, she's lucky, she's getting not just a weapon right now, but a weapon with her own consciousness as well. That scythe is actually a masterpiece, that blacksmith girl did a decent job."

Whooooooooooooosh.

The Dragon Head roared furiously before she threw on Nicole. She was at a loss, but when the fight began, Nicole concentrated all her attention on her opponent.

The massive teeth of the Dragon Head snapped together, but they couldn't reach Nicole since she jumped aside at the last moment.

"I don't know what's going on here, but it's a good thing the two of us are here. You're my weapon, whether you like it or not. If you want me to show you that I'm strong enough, fine! I'll do it right now!" Nicole exclaimed as she rushed forward.

They confronted each other for some time as for the first time Nicole received several wounds. The Dragon Head was moving fast, Nicole just didn't have time to react to everything, and the Dragon used energy flows to attack Nicole as if with multiple whips.

Time inside Nicole's mind went completely different than in the real world, though things were even slower now than before since the Abyss Artist had connected multiple minds in one place.

"I see... You put a piece of Nicole's soul inside the scythe, so you want that scythe to have a consciousness of its own." Wain muttered with a thoughtful look, rubbing his chin.

"Exactly. What Nicole is fighting now is just a residual aura from that dragon. It doesn't even have a clear shape, only the head since that's where that fang has been for hundreds of years. A piece of her soul is just the catalyst that will help them find each other faster." Abyss Artist nodded as a sly smile appeared on his face.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Dragon Head and Nicole continued to fight. Gradually Nicole began to get used to Dragon Head's attacks as she became faster and stronger. The Dragon Head tried to close her teeth around her, but Nicole just jumped up and punched the Dragon Head with all her might.

The Dragon Head shattered into streams of energy, but quickly came together and attacked Nicole again, a moment later Nicole struck even harder.

"Roooooaaaaaaaarrrrrr!!!" Dragon Head was furious. It was trying to get at Nicole somehow, but she already knew all its moves ahead of time. Every time they clashed, Nicole came out victorious.

"Stop growling! I don't need a wild animal! I'm a lot like you myself!" Nicole exclaimed once again, destroying the Dragon Head with her fist, "Come on! Become my weapon! No more being part of a dragon that died decades ago! You are mine now!'

Whooooooooooooosh.

A torrent of darkness erupted from Nicole, raining down on the Dragon Head. It tried to dodge, but the darkness completely absorbed the white energy, tearing the Dragon Head apart.

"What's going on...?" Nicole muttered in confusion since everything suddenly stopped.

Previously, every time Nicole destroyed the Dragon Head, everything returned to normal after a few seconds, however, now there was nothing on the scythe. Nicole won? Well, she herself didn't think so at all.

"No! Hey! Come back! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Nicole waved her arms with a confused look as goosebumps ran down her body, "I can't lose you!"

It was her first weapon, and though the scythe did not yet recognize Nicole as her master, Nicole already considered the scythe her own. She fought to subdue the weapon and rid it of the dragon's evil aura, but she didn't want to destroy it completely.

"No... Did I really screw up that badly... I don't believe it..." Nicole muttered with wide eyes as she dropped to her knees.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly the scythe trembled as a powerful flow of white energy burst out of it. Along with the white energy came many black threads. They were much smaller, but the energy in them was denser, almost as dense as Nicole's own.

Gradually the two energies turned into a massive white sphere with another, smaller and black one inside.

"What is that...?" Nicole muttered with a dazed look, then she flinched as someone touched her shoulder. She turned around and saw Abyss Artist with Wain there.

"What...? Have you been here the whole time?" Nicole's eyes went wide.

Abyss Artist nodded slightly, "Sure. We've been watching your fight closely. It's been quite interesting, you're a capable girl, but now is the most important moment." Abyss Artist looked at the orb.

"Do you know what it is?" Nicole muttered unable to turn away from the bright white star-like orb.

"Hmm? Don't you understand? I thought you should have seen more than just a blob of energy in that sphere right away." Abyss Artist wondered, "Well, you'll understand now, just look carefully."

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

After a while, the black sphere inside began to beat slowly, like a real heart. Gradually it got faster and faster as if something or someone wanted to get out.

"Pretty soon you will get your weapon and it will be immediately with consciousness. This is my gift to you." The Abyss Artist smirked.