X - Ferrum's Beginning

In front of Mairi's office, Cerana knocked on her door.

"Lady Yoshida? I'm coming in."

Cerana opened the door quietly and spotted Mairi with her head buried in a pile of paperwork.

Cerana sighed as she closed the door behind her. She approached Mairi and tapped the desk.

"Mairi, wake up."

Mairi groaned as she lifted her head and looked up at Cerana, bags under her eyes.

"Oh, hey Cerana."

"Mairi, you need to rest. All this can be done at a later time. I can even help you with it."

"No, it's fine. I can finish within an hour. I appreciate it though but I can manage."

Cerana watched as Mairi continued with her paperwork and she could only shake her head.

"Is it Ferrum you are worried about?"

Mairi continued to sign her paperwork, ignoring Cerana's question.

"Mairi, you can discuss this with me. We are cousins after all."

"Cerana, there is a package I need you to pick up at the tavern. It'll be ready by the afternoon."

Cerana stared at Mairi and let out a sigh.

"Y-yes, my Lady."

Cerana turned around and walked towards the door.

'No use, huh?' She thought in her mind.

As she reached for the door, she heard someone running down the hall and the door flung open, nearly hitting Cerana.

"Fuckin- what the hell, Eranheart!? You can't just intrude like tha-!"

"Ferrum is gone!"

"Ferrum is what-!?" Cerana yelled. Maira looked up at them and the two looked back.

The window behind her began to glow when suddenly a bright light flashed. Seconds later the windows shattered and everyone was hit by the shockwave.

Cerana attempted to aid Maira but was dragged and shielded by Eranheart.

The side of the building was destroyed. During the time that the debris smoke had cleared, a massive dragon stood in the fields, brimming with intense light.

Eranheart pushed aside the debris and turned around.

"You okay Cerana?"

"Y-yes." Cerana responded as Eranheart helped her up.

"M-Maira! Where is she!?" Cerana began looking around with a worried look in her eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of glass shattered and a dimensional opening appeared above them. An object seemed to fall out and fall towards the ground. It was a blade, disfigured and unlike any sword Cerana or Eranheart had ever seen.

Then a hand would catch the blade by its handle. A burst of dark energy would shoot up into the sky. A figure rose from the rubble and ascended. The dark energy would wrap around her and then the energy dispersed. A tall, long white haired woman donning an violet armored dress appeared in her place, floating in the air. A crown infused helmet covering the upper half of her face formed on her head.

"Rashakane!"

Rashakane turned and looked down at Cerana and Eranheart. She pointed her blade at them and spoke.

"Evacuate everyone. Now." She spoke in a soft but demanding tone. The two nodded their heads and started to leave.

"What will you do?" Cerana asked.

"I will take the dragon."

Rashakane swung her blade and she vanished, leaving shattered glass-like material behind.

Meanwhile, the dragon roared as it unleashed a wave of light bullets, explosions erupting around it. The explosion consumed those that it touched and left nothing but ash.

The dragon let out a guttural noise, blue liquid flame dripping from its mouth.

Suddenly the air began to warp.

[Disrupting Chorus]

The cries and screams of lost souls would echo through the air and pierced the ears of anyone hearing it. The dragon roared as it covered its ears, blocking the noise. Rashakane appeared in front of him and swung her sword. The dragon quickly evaded the incoming slash as a shockwave flew past him, destroying a column of trees.

The dragon smacked Rashakane to the ground but she evaded, opening a rift to escape. She would be seen appearing on the ground.

The dragon growled, lifting into the air. A crackling sphere of light appeared in between its hands as it prepared to launch an attack.

[Draconic Vortex]

Multiple beams fired from the sphere as they slowly began to curve and eventually formed a swirling wave of light.

Rashakane clutched her blade. She took a step forward before slashing the air with her blade and the air around her began to twist.

Soon the wave engulfed Rashakane. A few seconds later, Rashakane appeared out from the wave, stabbing the dragon's throat.

The dragon swatted Rashakane to the ground and flew higher into the sky, holding its throat. Light covered the stab wound and it closed up. The dragon roared, its wings beginning to shine, Rashakane readied herself for the next attack.

[Apex Light]

A pillar of light engulfed the dragon and once the dragon was covered in light, it plummeted towards the ground.

Rashakane readied her blade, engulfing it in dark energy.

[Darkness Blockade]

As she swung her sword, she slit open multiple portals in the air and from those portals came out millions of dark spikes, creating countless layers of walls.

The dragon upon contact smashed through the walls with ease, absorbing the energy that would emit from the spikes. When it had shattered the last layer, Rashakane stood there with a different blade in her hand. The blade emitted a dark blue radiance.

[Edge of Splitting Skies]

Rashakane swung the blade and a shockwave traveled through the dragon's body. Its light dispersed as it was knocked up into the sky. The skies itself would be split in two, the clouds diverging from each other.

The dragon plummeted to the ground, creating a crater as it landed. Though fatigued, it slowly picked itself up. Rashakane deposited the blade into a pocket dimension before drawing her original blade.

"Yield." Rashakane ordered the dragon. The dragon simply glared at her and roared back, not showing any signs of giving up.

Rashakane lifted her visor, revealing scarlet red eyes.

"Just what are you?" Rashakane asked, though now her voice was that of Mairi's.

The dragon growled before taking an upright posture. It stretched its wings out, its entire body lighting up. The energy circulated towards its hands.

"That's not good." Rashakane said, her voice returning to normal. Her helmet visor flipped back down. She stabbed her blade into the ground as she opened up her pocket dimension. Reaching inside, she drew out another blade. The same distorted blade Mairi had used.

She held both blades and waited for the dragon to attack. The dragon let out what sounded like a cackle before forming an orb which gradually expanded, forming a massive blinding sun-like sphere.

[Predator Nova]

The dragon threw the sphere and its speed caught Rashakane by surprise. In less than 3 seconds it was already halfway towards her.

Rashakane didn't hesitate though. She immediately dashed forward and when the sphere was about to hit, she delivered a powerful double crossed slash. The impact managed to push the sphere back towards the dragon.

The dragon roared as it took the sphere head on. It bellowed as it slowly lifted the sphere before pushing it towards the sky. The sphere flew straight up and within seconds it had disappeared into space.

Meanwhile, the dragon had not noticed. Rashakane was already in front of him, preparing her attack.

"I'm finishing this with my next and final attack." She said, the dragon bellowing as it tried to crush her.

As she dashed to the side, her blade glowed a bright violet color and with one swing, she made her move.

[Omega Final Shredding]

More than a millions vortexes shot forward, engulfing a wide range. The vortex surrounded it only the dragon but the area that was in front of her. Trees, birds, animals, even the ground, all were trapped in a vortex and then they burst.

The dragon received numerous slashes all over its body while the area beneath and behind it erupted. All this happened within a second.

All that was left was a long lane of ruin. Rashakane shook her blade before depositing it into her pocket dimension.

The dragon let out a faint roar as its body became light particles. Raskakane extended one of her hands and she would then become dark smoke. The smoke would be absorbed into a rift which would close up on its own.

Mairi, who now stood in Rashakane's place, dropped to the ground. She took deep breaths before picking herself up, supporting herself with her sword.

She walked towards the crater the dragon had formed just before it vanished and when she looked down, a tear streamed down her cheek.

Ferrum was at the bottom of the crater, not a single scratch on his face. His skin still had its color. He was still alive.

"So it was you all along, Ferrum."

Mairi turned around and looked at the village. Unfortunately, the town hall where her office was located had been wrecked along with two other buildings. On the bright side, a significant percentage of her village was still standing.

Mairi prayed there were no casualties but she knew there would at least be one or two.

Mairi would return her gaze back towards Ferrum and sighed.

"Now what to do with you."