Raime…
As the moon was fast approaching, its surface began to glow red hot from burning up in the atmosphere. Cracks formed all across it as the speed of having been dragged through space threatened to tear it apart, but was held together by Ender’s strength alone.
Raime grit his teeth and released as much power from his soul as he could, compressing all of it into his body to its absolute limits and healing himself as well.
He shattered the stone chains and ripped the hooks out of his flesh with freshly regrown arms as he looked up just in time to see the clouds get pushed aside.
The gravity of the moon above also began effecting the land underneath his feet as it felt bulge and swell.
If the moon fell upon this world at such speed, then there would be nothing left of it.
Would he even survive such a cataclysm?
The thought made his heart race as he smiled up at the absurdity of this battle and shouted, “COME ON THEN!”
He spread out his arms, accepting the challenge even as Ender continued to look down at him.
Raime dug his feet deep into the ground, pulled back his right arm, and roared in defiance as the moon fell upon him.
50 KDE (King Dagon’s Era)…
The young Dragon Kin known as Raime, at the ripe age of thirty years old, had gone on a journey across the world of Erebus in search of strong warriors to kill and earn the title of the strongest in the world.
Even though he was born in this world, it felt more foreign to him than the Terra that existed in his inherited memories.
His father, Malthael, had fought and slain all manners of creature in Terra’s universe, from gods, to angels, demons, and even other Archdragons.
Malthael had achieved such strength to transcend even the progenitor of all dragons, Akatosh, the Dragon Goddess, the mother to all of their kind.
As his father, Raime had an overwhelming goal to reach, one that might appear impossible for any other dragon or Dragon Kin.
When all of the strongest warriors in this world lay dead at his feet, only then would he challenge his father Malthael for the title of the strongest dragon in creation.
At this time in his life he had already invaded the northern continent where the tribes of dragon slayers live. He had swam to the island of the elves and left with the heads of their elders. He had even come across the land of New Athens, ruled by a goddess called Athena.
Through she and her Valkyries were mighty, they fell as well, and he had crafted a coat made of the wings he had ripped from their backs.
He could have killed Athena if he wished, but he was fascinated with the tactics she had used to try and counter him so he spared her and left her land.
Unfortunately, when he found himself in Mordran, a strange man with a corpse body managed to defeat him all on his own. This loss set Raime back quite a bit, but he would not be deterred by a single defeat.
He now found himself approaching the land of Amaskia, a relatively new kingdom ruled by a man feared by all across the world.
Dagon.
Killing that man would bring him ever closer to his goal of becoming the strongest, he could feel it.
As he entered its lands, though he usually did not find it worth his time, he felt impressed by the sophistication of Amaskia’s fields and crops. The lushness of its harvest and agriculture were greater than any other kingdom he has been to.
As he continued on and came across the first handful of buildings, he noticed that the architecture was far more advanced than any other he had seen up to this point. Only Athena’s kingdom had even remotely come close to this level of complexity in its structures.
The further into the kingdom of Amaskia he went, the more amazed he felt over its level of progress.
What a shame it would be to see this kingdom fall after I kill its king. It might have gone on to become something truly magnificent, he thought to himself as his eyes laid upon the great city of Lugal Ma in the distance.
Yet before he could take a single step closer, he was met with a presence that was far greater than anything he had ever felt before. It was something even greater and more powerful than his own father.
The sheer weight of the presence made it difficult to breathe, and even harder to stay on his feet.
Yet rather than fill him with fear and terror, his heart raced with excitement at the challenge that may soon face him.
As he looked towards Lugal Ma, he blinked, and two warriors appeared in front of him.
One was a woman with blonde hair, fair white skin, hazel brown eyes, and the most beautiful features that he had ever seen in a woman. He was so impressed by her beauty that, for a moment, he considered taking her as his lover.
That feeling did not last however as a repulsive sensation of Death began to radiate from her body with such intensity that it mirrored that of Malthael’s own soul which has long been saturated with Death.
Though she was obviously a woman, she wore a uniform that was very similar to the design of the soldiers, though it was missing the metal armor plating.
She wore knee high leather boots, a thick dark red coat that reached past her knees over a black blouse.
But what caught his attention the most in that very moment was the man who was only a few inches shorter than himself, King Dagon.
With a well trimmed beard, tanned skin from fighting many battles in the sun for many many years, and red eyes.
He wore fairly simple clothes compared to the one who stood at his side.
A plain white button up shirt and fine pants, but was barefoot.
It was this man’s presence that overwhelmed him to such an extent.
King Dagon looked him in the eyes and asked with a curious tone, “What is your purpose here Raime, Son of Annika.”
Raime went stiff when he heard his mothers name as both he and Malthael both had not known her name, yet somehow the king of this land knew it.
So as not to lose face in front of this man, he composed himself and said, “I am here to kill you so that I may become the strongest warrior in creation.”
Dagon smiled and repeated his question in an amused tone, “What is your purpose?”
Annoyed by hearing the question be repeated, he said with more grit in his voice, “To be the strongest, and your life will be a stepping stone for realizing that goal.”
Hearing this, the woman next to him took a step forward and started to reach for her blade but King Dagon raised a hand to stop him.
“Stay your hand Nashandra. His business is with me,” he said while maintaining eye contact with him the entire time.
“So you accept my challenge?” Raime asked and King Dagon nodded with smile.
“I do, but I can guarantee that it will not end in your favor,” he said before Raime’s vision went black.
When he re-awoke, he realized that he was still alive.
“How am I…,” he muttered to himself in confusion.
“So you are awake… I hadn’t expected you to wake up so quickly after being rendered unconscious. You truly are a monstrous warrior,” The voice of King Dagon said to him as he sat next to him while Raime lay on the ground.
“Indeed. Though I still fail to see why you would wish to spare his life, my lord,” Nashandra said, with such a pleasant voice that matched her beauty.
Realizing that King Dagon and Nashandra had been beside him while he was asleep the entire time, he quickly got back on his feet and made some distance between them.
He could not manage to remember any of what had happened during their fight and was disturbed by their calmness when being around him, as if he was such an insignificant being to them that they could easily swat away without a second thought.
Even that strange man from Mordran was not nearly as formidable.
“W-Why did you…why am I still alive? If you are strong enough to defeat me so completely, then why allow me to live?”
“I wonder the same,” Nashandra said.
“Raime… is battle the only thing on your mind? Is strength the only goal you’ve set yourself to achieving?” King Dagon asked.
“It is all that I am. I am a Dragon Kin warrior. What else could there hope to be in store for me?”
“There is more meaning to this world than you can begin to comprehend,” Nashandra said.
“Well said,” King Dagon complimented as he stood up and brushed off the grass and dirt from his pants.
There was something about this man that Raime found intriguing, something that provoked thoughts in his mind he didn’t think he had.
“What is your purpose in this world then, King Dagon? Beyond being a king, what is your goal? What do you strive to achieve?” he asked him.
The King folded his arms as he said, “Throughout my time living in this world, I have come to realize that we are perpetually stuck in a state of stagnation. Caught in a cycle of violence without any significant push for progress or innovation, yet its more than that. Somehow, some way, that same stagnation not only affects our culture and way of life, it affects the very nature of our being. Our very existence is stagnant, and I want to bring us into the next age.”
“Am I to fit into that new age of yours somehow? Is that why you spared me?”
“Perhaps, but I cannot be certain now. Anything and everything can change at a moment’s notice. The truth is, what I need are those who are strong to help pave the road to the new era,” he then turned and pointed his hand at Nashandra.
“You see this woman? I consider her to be my right hand that will aid me in sculpting the world into its new form. However, I can only do so much with a single hand, which is why I am considering making you my left.”
“You want me to join you? What would I hope to gain from joining this dubious cause?”
“Well, if after everything I’ve shown you, that strength remains to be your only goal, then by serving me you will attain a level of strength and power that is far greater than anything you would hope to attain on your own. What do you say?”
Raime paused to think about this and what it could mean for him.
Nashandra didn’t seem bothered by it, which he found surprising. In fact, her body language showed that she was open to the idea.
“Very well… I will accept your offer. However, if I find this path to be lacking, I will not hesitate to abandon you and this kingdom,” he answered.
“I respect your honesty… If that is your wish, then so be it,” King Dagon said as he and Nashandra turned around and started walking back to Lugal Ma and he followed after them.
In the following years that he continued to serve under King Dagon’s rule, he had become witness to the most extraordinary things that not even his father had seen before. So much of what he learned and witnessed was so new to him that he could thoroughly enjoy the sensation of new experiences.
As decades went by, Raime found himself pledging absolute loyalty to this man as he deemed no other goal to be nearly as grand.
His devotion to King Dagon’s ambition had become so great that he had joined the people’s belief in him that the man was a god.
Even as Dagon claimed himself the title of the God of Madness, never did he put himself above the man he served, nor did he allow anyone else to make such a claim that he was greater. There would be no one in the world to be his true equal.
Even the progenitors of this world, Ordovis and Nøkkra, were felled by his king and subjugated into his service.
So great was he, that a human man went on to achieve a level of strength and power through his own merit that it transcended the oldest and most powerful of this universe’s gods.
So true did he feel this statement to be that the mere suggestion of a successor appearing in the world one day was seen as the most abhorrent insult to him.
To Raime, there would be no man or god that could claim themselves higher than King Dagon himself.
And yet...there came a day when King Dagon would fall at the hands of that same man who resided in Mordran. The undead warrior who came to be known only under one title throughout the world, The Dark Champion.
However, Raime knew the truth of his identity.
This very same man had appeared from thin air in the throne room of Lugal Ma, with a weapon of such might that it warped reality around it just by existing.
He appeared on the day Dagon had seized the throne of the old kingdom and gave it its new name of Amaskia.
When he appeared, King Dagon had captured this man and began interrogating him for answers but found that this man had no name and knew nothing of this world as he had come from another.
He spoke of nearly killing God, much to everyone’s confusion at such a statement, before he appeared in the throne room.
Amused by his existence, King Dagon exiled him from Amaskia before giving him a new name.
Ruvick.
That same man seemingly killed King Dagon and resulted in the collapse of Amaskia until one day, a man by the name of Kayron appeared, with the Bloodletter sword in his possession. Though it was a shell of its former self, it still held great power within it.
What’s more, Raime felt Dagon’s presence within it begin to stir. Something told him that very soon, Dagon might reemerge and bring about the new age he spoke so much of.
After waiting so long and suffering the world’s stagnation for ten thousand years, Raime was prepared to devote himself to the cause wholeheartedly, and allied himself with Mordran. He would ally himself with the very kingdom who raised up Ruvick as their champion and destroyed Amaskia.
Then, later down the line of the war, he found that Nashandra was in Kayron’s service as well.
However...she did not seem the same. She was not the same person he remembered her to be as she seemed docile, and far quieter.
She did not even bother to respond to him when he talked to her.
Yet despite all of this, he remained faithful in the hope that King Dagon would return as the war came to a close.
While it did eventually end, it did so with Mordran being annihilated, Nashandra and Kayron disappearing with the Bloodletter, and all of his hopes rotting away.
Even his father, who had once allied himself with Amaskia and had then also allied with Mordran, was killed by King Lycaon’s descendant.
Being witness to not just one great kingdom, but two that he served under fall in front of his eyes while he alone survived caused him to lose it and break down.
But then, when he heard his father roar once more, he awoke from his slumber, clawed his way out from the mount of swords that had threatened to bury him alive, and searched for any trace left of Dagon’s will in this world.
Now…
The moon fell upon his body and threatened to crush him, but he found his strength of will to be that much stronger as he struck the surface of the moon. His fists teared their way through, blasting it apart until he dug himself deep enough where he released nearly all the remaining strength he had within him.
As he did, the moon exploded with Raime at the center of the devastation as he fell back down to the surface of the world within the battlefield.
Ender, who had been watching him fight his way through it, looked annoyed.
“Well that was disappointing. I was hoping that it would smash you into paste right then and there, but you had to make my theatrics look trivial in front of everyone,” he said.
“Your existence is trivial,” Raime spat back at him.
Ender sighed and replied, “Enough of this. Let us finish this battle once…and for-”
Raime blinked in confusion as Ender struggled to form his words, with his head shaking slightly as if he was going dizzy.
As he tried to speak, his words were unintelligible as two voices spoke at once with another beginning to dominate the other.
“-have I told you Ender? I don’t need you anymore,” Marcus’s voice said as his eyes changed color from red to blue as he spoke.
They changed back to red as Ender said, “- certain? You would have died and lost the battle if not for my stepping in. Can you really-”
“Yes, now leave me alone.”
Raime laughed and said, “Do you not realize the stupidity of what you’re doing? Ender was giving you the edge you need to win and you tossed him aside?”
Marcus did not care as he said, “When I’m finished with you, you’ll be begging for Ender to come back and give you a merciful death.”