Online In Another World

"I didn't…No…This wasn't…" Emilio couldn't form a sentence.

Falling back, Treyna's body slid free from his arm, leaving a gaping hole in her stomach as Emilio caught her in his arms, dropping down to a knee as he held his mother desperately.

"Hold on…! I'll heal you! I can fix this…Mother…!" Emilio screamed as tears trailed down his cheeks.

Summoning his healing magecraft, pushing out mana through his body with such intensity it felt as though he may explode from the pressure, he tried to close her wound, but it was too grievous. Even worse, the burning fist he used had charred her insides, leaving it unable to be recovered.

"Please…Please! I didn't mean to do this…! Don't go…! Don't!" Emilio pleaded, his words soon becoming whimpers as he caressed the golden hair of his fleeting mother.

There wasn't an ounce of focus he had towards his enemies in that moment, who only watched as he desperately continued to use his healing magecraft, though it did nothing to prevent the fatality of the wound.

In that moment, he found himself frozen as his mother weakly reached her bloody hand up, gently caressing his cheek with a palm that felt as though her warmth was fleeting. Before that hand could slide away, he held it with his own, keeping it there as tears left without any restraint.

Memories flooding in from his childhood as he held her hand; recalling those tranquil times as he was held in her arms, always treated with such love.

"...It's not…"

"Mother…? Mother!" Emilio said, hugging her body close to his as tears continued falling, hearing her words.

The voice of the woman who was once so full of life was nothing but a fading whisper now, falling upon his ears once more, "...Not…your fault…"

As those words were heard, he felt the life vanish from the woman he held in his arms, clenching her close to his body as he sat there on his knees in utter disbelief. Flakes of snow and ash befell him as he sat there, unable to speak or conceive a thought.

[Destroy]

Unable to form a coherent thought, what filled his mind like a miasma of the end were emotions like any other; a primal rage that burned through his blood, seering itself in his flesh as in that moment, that one word filled his mind: "Destroy".

[Unleash the fire that will invoke a cataclysm unforeseen.] [Bathe the world in ash] [Turn civilization to cinder] [Destroy]

[Destroy] [Destroy] [Destroy]

The voice of the system that filled his ears was distorted; a bellowing growl that echoed within his thoughtless mind.

Cassian had that heartless look in his empty eyes, flicking his cigar to the wind, " Comet, do it."

"'Kay!"

–Before the lollipop-sucking figure could skip over to touch the Dragonheart, "something" erupted; a shock wave of steam that melted everything it touched. The mud was vaporized; fields of grass wiped away and left nullified of life forevermore.

Comet had warped, bringing their ally back with them from the sudden emission of steam. That bored look in Cassian's eyes twitched for a moment as the two unwelcome visitors to the valley witnessed a transformation that fell in line with nothing seen before.

"That was a bad move, Comet," Cassian remarked.

The androgynous figure plucked the lollipop from their mouth, "Wha–!? We warned him not to keep fighting back, right?!"

"Yeah, but we knew coming in here that the Dragonheart System was something unstable–what you did was add fuel to the fire," Cassian said, "Now we've awakened something terrible."

There was a constant eruption of steam from the spot the Dragonheart stood, alone in the crater as the azure flames that cascaded from his form shifted in their glow; waving like cosmic nebulae as the shine of stars moved within them.

An armor born from the depths of something enigmatic erupted from his skin, piercing his body and wrapping around before fully containing him within an armor of celestial scales; pitch-black, yet possessing the glitter of the cosmos within them.

A lengthy tail sprouted from his back, layered in spikes and emitting the same, cosmic heat of a lofty azure.

[Dragonheart System Activated?/%?]

[//?Alternate Path Unlocked?!/&^]

[Current Stage UNIDENTIFIED/?? | Beast of The End]

There were no words that spewed from him. There were no thoughts that filled his mind. Only one goal: destroy what was in front of him.

The crater which Yullim once stood was now filled with nothing but impenetrable flames and boundless steam that erased all that it touched.

Though devoid of thought, the grieving Dragonheart raised his hand, witnessing the ashes of his parent ascend along with the rising steam.

"That seems…a bit much!" Comet remarked, though their crazed smile never faded.

Cassian let out an annoyed sigh before casually walking forward, approaching the crater, "Let's just get this do–"

Before the figure could finish his words, his face was grabbed as a blur of the Dragonheart flashed by, grabbing Cassian and dragging him through the ground ruthlessly. Every step the bestial Dragonheart took melted the ground he walked on, piercing through the wind with such speed before traversing the valley in an instant, slamming the figure he gripped by the face against the hulk of a mountain.

The instincts of the "Beast of The End" were sharp, sensing the howl of death as he leaped up, avoiding the deathly aura that emitted from Cassian.

"Nnn…"

Cassian quietly let out, his entire face being melted off as nothing but bare muscle and bone beneath was shown, rebuilding itself through the weavings of death.

'He's way too fast now. What a bother,' Cassian thought.

Immediately after evading the reach of the life-erasing extension, the Dragonheart flew back in with unsurpassed speed, grabbing hold of Cassian and dragging the man straight up into the air.

A single flap of the draconic wings ushered in the breath of the cosmic flames, propelling them both upward through the clouds like a bright-blue star through the night sky.

The entire time that the Dragonheart gripped onto Cassian, he surrounded them both in a swirl of the ascended flames, causing the lifeless man's body to char and peel from the extraordinary temperature.

"Ghh…!" Cassian struggled.

Even the reach of death found itself obstructed by the enigmatic flames that bore themself from the "Beast of The End", exuding from the cosmic scales of the enraged Dragonheart.

From down on the ground floor, Comet finally plucked the lollipop from their mouth, pouting as they sighed, "Dummy Cas is always letting his guard down, and I always have to step in and save him! Oh, well."

Seamlessly, the rainbow-haired figure warped from their position on the ground, immediately arriving amidst the clouds and intercepting the Dragonheart's ascent through the skies.

Comet clapped their hands together, "Alright, time to let Cas go!"

A mysterious force echoed through the wind, somehow causing the Dragonheart and Cassian to be separated as if always meters from one another.

As soon as he was away from the transcendent flames, Cassian's body rebuilt itself as he sighed, standing on a skull made of the deathly force he wielded, "He caught me off guard again. Thanks, Comet."

"Maybe pay attention and it won't happen so often!" Comet huffed.

Unprovoked, a roar unleashed itself from the Dragonheart who had ascended through rage, unleashing a sky-shattering cry that parted the surrounding clouds and produced a storm amidst his yell.

A bestial rage; that emotion was felt through the incarnation of power that birthed itself through those celestial flames, sent forth as a massive wave towards the Dragonheart's enemies.

"Comet," Cassian said.

"Yup, yup!"

The eccentric, rainbow-haired figure got behind Cassian as the trenchcoat-wearing man held his hand forward, facing the incoming wave of mystical fire that swept through the sky, unleashing a counter of his own: "Fallen Kingdom."

It was the sound of bones cracking and popping into place followed by an ominous hum ushered in death from the great beyond.

What manifested in front of the stoic figure was a wall forged of deathly bones, welded together by a miasma that oozed the antithesis of life.

As the flames collided with the wall amidst the sky, a howl of clashing concepts echoed through the clouds.

"…Hm," Cassian watched, holding his hand forward to maintain the barrier.

Even when colliding directly with the death-infused wall, the celestial flames did not extinguish, managing to fight equally against the large wall. It was more than just simple heat that made the nebulae-like flames able to combat the essence of death itself, getting closer and closer to the wall itself through the fog of miasma.

"That fire sure is crazy!" Comet remarked bubbly.

Glancing over, Cassian noticed his ally's words, "Enlighten me."

"It's really, really dangerous! I can see it–that pretty fire is eating through the space in front of it! That's why it's able to combat your authority of death!" Comet said with a smile.

Cassian took this information in then moved his other hand in a clockwise rotation, "Contain."

The skeletal wall of miasma bent itself, meeting its two ends into a circular form as a sable skull protruded from the front with its jaw parted, siphoning the transcendent heat within it. As the tsunami of dazzling flames were consumed through the skeletal jaws, it all perished with a clap of Cassian's hands, dismissing the miasmic object along with the flames.

"--"

A few moments of silence persisted as both of the figures watched the Dragonheart before the scaled figure rose his arms, instantly manifesting another cataclysmic force. Ascending through the skies, serpentine dragons forged of the celestial blaze roared out, accompanying the Dragonheart and breathing their annihilating fire through the skies.

While the sky was flooded with flames, the two strangers were protected by a bubble around them made by Comet, which seemed to exist on a different wavelength of space entirely.

"How wonderful! What a terrible existence!" Comet giggled, holding their arms out at the sight of the transcendent flames, "I can see why this one has the favor of Chaos!"