CHAPTER 6: THE SHARD AND THE SHADOW
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The tentative thread of our bond hummed with a symphony of agony. Nyx's pain was no longer an abstract force in the cavern; it was a raw, open wound in my own mind, a searing green fire centered in my shoulder. I gritted my teeth, sweat beading on my forehead.
I need to remove it, I pushed the thought down the fragile connection, accompanying it with an image of me pulling the Demon Iron shard free.
A wave of primal fear and remembered trauma slammed back into me, so potent it made my knees buckle. NO. PAIN. MORE PAIN.
Her massive body tensed, a low warning rumble vibrating through the stone beneath my feet. The Bond Level, flickering at a tentative '1', threatened to snap. I was an ant asking to perform surgery on a titan, and the titan was understandably skeptical.
I couldn't force her. The ritual had created a bridge, not a leash. My authority, my commands, were meaningless here. All I had was trust I hadn't yet earned.
I know it hurts, I thought, pouring every ounce of empathy I possessed down the bond. I showed her the memory of applying Luna's poultice to my own wound, the initial sting giving way to relief. The pain of removal is the path to healing. To flight.
I approached slowly, my empty hands raised. Each step was a battle against the aura of her power and the psychic feedback of her suffering. The Demon Iron shard was the size of a broadsword, its jagged edges glowing with malevolent green energy. The flesh around it was necrotic, pulsing with a sickly light.
"Elun'dar," I whispered, repeating the ritual word for 'bridge'. I placed my bare, bloodied hand on a scale near the wound, flinching at the electric jolt of her alien life force. I am the bridge. Let me bear it with you.
A long, tense moment passed. The warning rumble faded into a shuddering, weary sigh that shook the very foundations of the mountain. A single, clear concept traveled down the bond, stripped of all complexity, pure as a shard of glass.
...Hurry.
Permission. That was all I needed.
I sheathed my dagger. Using a weapon here would be a violation. I wrapped both hands around the base of the shard. The moment my skin touched the Demon Iron, a corrosive agony shot up my arms. It was a poison for the soul, a nihilistic whisper that screamed nothing matters, all is pain, let go.
[Status Alert: Soul Corruption (Minor). Wisdom -10%. Willpower Save Required.]
I held on, my knuckles white. I focused on the thread connecting me to Nyx, on the image of Stonecrest standing firm, on Luna's face. My reasons to live.
"NOW!" I roared, both aloud and through the bond, and pulled with all my might.
Nyx screamed. It was a sound that tore the world in two. Her psychic agony became a physical storm, throwing me backward. But I never let go of the shard. I felt it shift, grating against bone, and then, with a final, sickening tear, it came free.
I landed hard on my back, the massive, still glowing shard clutched in my burning hands. The pain was immense, but it was secondary to the wave of pure, unadulterated relief that flooded the bond from Nyx. It was like the first breath after nearly drowning, a catharsis so powerful it brought tears to my eyes.
In the cavern, the physical change was immediate. The oppressive green glow vanished, replaced by the serene silver of Nyx's natural aura. The Void Miasma began to recede, drawn back into her body as she healed. The necrotic flesh around the wound started to knit together at a visible rate, scales shimmering back into existence.
Nyx lifted her head, a movement that was no longer labored, but fluid and powerful. She stretched her wings, the previously pinned one unfolding with a sound like a thousand silken banners catching the wind. She tested it, beating the air once and sending a gale force wind through the chasm that nearly blew me off my feet.
Then, her great head swung down towards me. I froze, the Demon Iron shard still clutched to my chest. Her molten silver eye, now clear and focused, examined me. There was no gratitude, not in a human sense. But there was acknowledgment. Respect.
A new thought, clearer and more complex, formed in my mind. You are small. And fragile. But your will is... sharp. Like a star.
[Bond Level Increased: Nyx - Level 2 (Accepted).]
[New Passive Ability Unlocked: Shadow's Embrace - You can blend into shadows, muffling sound and reducing your presence. Effectiveness scales with Bond Level.]
[Primary Quest: The Dragon's Bond - COMPLETE!]
[Reward: +1000 Plot Points, +1 Draconic Evolution Path Fragment, Bond Network Fully Functional.]
A thousand Points! I nearly laughed aloud. But my triumph was cut short by a sharp, insistent pulse from the System.
[URGENT: Stonecrest Keep is Under Attack!]
[Demon Tide has arrived early!]
[Time Until Keep's Fall (Estimated): 4 hours, 12 minutes]
My blood ran cold. Early. My deviations had already altered the timeline.
I looked at Nyx, desperation overriding protocol. "My home. My family. They are under attack. I need to get back. Now."
I pushed the images of the demon tide, of Luna and my father on the walls, down our bond.
Nyx regarded me for a long, heart stopping moment. Then, she lowered her massive head until it was level with the ground before me. The intention was unmistakable.
The small and fragile should not walk when the sky is open.
I didn't hesitate. Scrambling up the offered head, I settled myself at the base of her neck, just behind the crown of horns. The scales were surprisingly warm and smooth, fitting against my body like a second skin.
With a beat of her powerful wings that thundered through the chasm, Nyx launched us into the air. We shot up through the tear in the mountain and burst out above the Cursed Peaks into the open, twilight sky.
The world sprawled beneath us, vast and terrifyingly beautiful. And in the distance, I could just make out the faint, ominous glow of fire around a familiar silhouette on the horizon.
Stonecrest.
I leaned forward, the wind whipping tears from my eyes. "Fly," I whispered. "Fly as if all of destiny is chasing us."
And the last Night Fury, free at last, obeyed.
CHAPTER 6 COMPLETE
Next: The cavalry arrives. The Battle for Stonecrest begins, with a dragon and her rider descending from the heavens.
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The hero has his dragon. Now, the world must see what a side character who has seized the script can do.