At dawn, as sunlight broke across the sky of Nocturne, the Dionysian Spear suddenly appeared in Nareth's hand.
Gripping the long spear, he felt the searing heat pulsing through it.
He walked onward, following the trace of a powerful lifeform his Warp Insight had detected.
'After a busy night, harvesting many sequence 3-level beyonder creature corpses, this trip to Nocturne was not in vain.'
'Even if Vulkan finds the largest fire drake, I still won't lose anything. The one who swore allegiance was the Emperor, not me.'
'And if I really lose… that old man will probably break the deal again. Wouldn't be the first time.'
As Nareth thought this, the Dionysian Spear cooled to a normal temperature. He placed it on his back, then drew his forged sword.
Before him lay a massive fire drake, as large as a mountain, its size comparable to a smaller iron-scaled kraken.
Its jagged maw gleamed with teeth like spears, and behind its head sprouted rows of barbed spines that ran down to its tail.
Golden light shimmered in the creature's half-closed eyes. Suddenly, they snapped open, locking onto the intruder who had disturbed its slumber.
"Roar!"
The fire drake reared up and unleashed a torrent of flames upon the bold figure clad in black armor.
Nareth neither dodged nor retreated, he charged straight through the molten inferno.
Flames engulfed him, then vanished in an instant.
In the next moment, Nareth stood atop the drake's head, driving his golden sword downward.
The blade pierced through the thick, armored scales of the creature's skull.
Nareth tightened his wrist and halted his strike.
The fire drake died swiftly, its eyes and teeth, the valuable alchemical materials, left untouched. The golden sword had gone cleanly through the non-essential brain tissue.
He sheathed his sword and, with a grunt of strength, hoisted the colossal corpse onto his shoulders.
At the same time, Vulkan shattered the protective shell on another fire drake's skull with his silver warhammer.
Hooking the hammer to his belt, he too lifted his prey and began walking out of the cavern.
Deep below, the world serpent, newly descended into a dream of fire, coiled comfortably in sleep.
But a flash of memory disturbed it, an image of a black-armored figure with golden wings, striking like lightning into its previous dream.
The greatest of its kind had once been slain by a single spear, the same hateful weapon of annihilation that now haunted its memory.
Terror rippled through the serpent's mind as it thrashed violently.
The entirety of Mount Deathfire trembled. Lava spurted skyward.
Aboveground, the rocks beneath Vulkan's feet crumbled, he slipped, and fell toward the magma below.
He caught the cliff's edge with one arm, clutching his hunted drake with the other.
Seconds turned to minutes. After eight days of duels with Nareth and hours of climbing the volcano, Vulkan's grip began to falter.
Sweat beaded on his bald head, but pride and determination refused to let him drop his prey.
Scanning his surroundings for a way out, his fiery eyes flared.
Across the lava flow, he spotted Nareth, carrying an even larger fire drake down the slope.
Nareth, too, had noticed Vulkan, and sighed at the irony of fate.
'I remember when the Emperor and Vulkan competed to hunt the fire drakes. Back then, a volcanic eruption trapped Vulkan on a cliff. He refused to abandon his prey.'
'So the Emperor threw his own, an even larger drake, into the magma, using it as a bridge to save him.'
'When they returned, the elders of the council declared Vulkan the victor, since the Emperor had returned empty-handed.'
'But Vulkan knelt before him and said, "The man who values another's life over victory is the true champion."'
Nareth's eyes gleamed.
'Vulkan is a perpetual, only a weapon made of Fulgrite can truly kill him. Even if he fell into magma, he'd resurrect… but it would take time, and the agony of fire is needless.'
'There's no reason to let him suffer, and no need for me to throw away my trophy to save him, like the Emperor once did.''
Setting down the massive fire drake, its weight flattening a small hill, Nareth spread his golden wings and flew across the gap.
Reaching Vulkan, he grasped him by with both hands.
The weight dragged Nareth downward a few meters, Vulkan was even heavier than the drake he'd carried.
'He's heavier than a fire drake… though not quite as heavy as a world serpent.'
Seeing Nareth struggle, Vulkan panicked.
"Let me go! I'll drop the drake, throw me up first! You'll fly free that way!"
"No need." Nareth's tone was calm. 'Alchemical materials shouldn't go to waste.'
Golden light blazed from his wings, illuminating the entire volcano.
The Burning One's essence within him surged, granting him the power to lift both Vulkan and his prey up to the cliff.
Vulkan stared, astonished.
"Your strength… how did I ever beat you at arm wrestling?"
Nareth released him and replied, "The golden wings may be fused with my body, but they aren't strictly my own power. When we competed, I didn't wish to rely on them."
Then he added, "Yet the strength they grant is fully under my control, no different from moving my own limbs. I don't see it as using external force."
Vulkan's molten eyes examined the golden wings from a smith's perspective.
He nodded solemnly, heat rolling from his mouth as he said,
"No, of course not. Even if you use them, it's still your own strength."
With admiration in his voice, he continued, "Nareth, your sense of fairness and your courage to save a rival, both are worthy of respect."
After their exchange, Nareth flew back to the other side and retrieved his drake.
Both giants descended opposite sides of the volcano.
In the city below, Alpharius was the first to see them returning.
He turned to the Emperor and said, "You were right. Nareth wins again."
The Emperor smiled. "It should be so."
Soon, the Nocturneans saw the two giants approaching.
At a glance, it was clear who had triumphed, the drake Nareth carried dwarfed Vulkan's.
When they entered the city, the elder of the noble council stepped forward, resigned, and announced:
"The final competition's victor is…"
"Nareth."
Vulkan nodded, his voice steady. "I concede wholeheartedly. As per our wager, I shall offer my loyalty to the outsider."
He knelt before the pale-skinned being. "I shall serve you as my lord."
At that moment, a blinding golden radiance burst forth.
The people gasped as the pale stranger transformed, his body clad in golden armor, glowing with the same light as Nareth's weapons.
"My son," said the radiant being, "welcome back to the Imperium of Mankind."
The celebration shifted, from honoring the defeat of the Shade Wraiths to rejoicing at the Emperor's arrival and Nocturne's return to the Imperium.
On the third day of festivities, the XVIII Legion fleet arrived.
Nareth watched Cassian Vaughn meet his gene-father Vulkan earlier than fate once intended, and he smiled.
'I've changed Vaughn's destiny, this time, he met his father not on his deathbed.'
That night, inside Vulkan's forge, the two sat by the furnace, talking.
"What? You're saying the fortress-grade energy shield technology Nareth has, that you saw on Cypra Mundi can protect an entire hive city?"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu