The faint smell of dragon's flesh forced his fingers to tremble. His tongue continuously messaged his upper lip, cleaning the dry blood from around his mouth and teeth. The dust and frigid steam danced at his feet, as he placed his scarred hand upon the worn ruins, decorated with the remnants of the current afterlife and red snow. Each step was taken with great effort, one after the other. The full moonshine bathed over his tattered cloak and hood as his rusted iron boots crunched in the thick snow. He inhaled and exhaled, allowing the cool to air escape his sharp teeth. He closed his hands in as he could feel the building numbness with his cold blood. After several more steps, deeper into the large ruins of stone, he took his rest upon a weakened wooden door. He cupped his hands in, gathering any source of heat from his body that he could. After a few more breaths, he leaned his head against the door; his silver-golden eyes gleamed as he studied the craters upon the moon. His diamond pupils shrank as they surveyed the sky, nesting a large family of stars up above. He felt a slight sense of serenity, even as the chilling wind would freeze his sweat. His Zen was short however, fainting with the smell all too familiar, heading his way.

"The 'cannibal' strikes again huh? You can't expect me to believe something so imprudent! Surely this is just some drivel conjured up by those senile humans! For a fellow Dragon to eat his own? Pah! I will not believe such nonsense until I witness it for myself!" A stern being of broad stature and peaking height, stood gallant and fearless. His structure was similar, but far beyond that of an average human. His muscles purged through his gleaming armor, his golden locks flowing down to his bare feet. His silver eyes shined as that of a blood-craved weapon of war.

"Do not jump to accusations so soon Garanth. Our predecessor has more than proved himself a foe worthy of his Emperor's eye. You have seen for yourself the remains of our fallen men. Teeth marks and torn limbs are all that we find. Underestimate our foe and you will find yourself joining them." A similar being of massive build and structure stood at his front. His hair shot with the deepest burgundy, matching the faded fire in his eyes. A wide scar ran about the top and bottom of his mouth. He walked ahead without much else to speak. Garanth shrugged, following close behind. He carefully studied the stance of his superior, feeling the impulsive energies emitting from him.

"Hmph! I'll think as I will! We are royals in the wealth of the Emperor's favor! I will be damned if I will allow some low-garbage monstrosity to intimidate me!" Garanth raised his sharpened claw as a black silhouette in the moonlight. "There is probably not even reason for me to shift. My strength alone will prove more than a match, just you watch Vertou!" Garanth could feel the crunch of his teeth from his growing anxiousness.

"The hybrid…he is just up ahead…" Vertou heightened his hand to halt Garanth's aggressive march.

"And you can tell this how, Seraph?" Garanth vigilantly scanned the surrounding wasteland of dust and thin fog. Vertou's eyes, however, met the ground with deep disturbance. After a fair amount of time had passed, Garanth finally took to his superiors glance. "Bones and fresh blood…I see. It does look as though we have come close doesn't it? This would be your first square off with this hybrid, yes? It is mine as well; ah I can barely contain my excitement! We have little time to lose!" Vertou placed his large hand upon Garanth's shoulders.

"Do not underestimate the abilities of this creature…I fear that he already knows of our presence…" Vertou's eyes appeared to glare off into the distance ahead, amongst the fog. "Proceed as though the very man with you will betray you. That is all I can say. We move." They proceeded with haste yet attentive to any blade of frosted grass that moved. Their feet crunched over iced bone and decay as they came upon fallen ruin laid to rest in the center of the great wasteland. "This town…" Vertou inspected what was to be assumed the entrance.

"What is it, Seraph? Do you find something suspicious?" Garanth placed his hands upon both hips, appearing as he would to know of his superior's suspicions.

"I had inspected this town no more than days ago. There was neither vacancy nor ruin; yet now, the life lays barren without a soul to be accounted for, and blood is more than fresh upon the ground. I fear all fellow dragons that where here…are no more…" Vertou clenched his fist until it bled.

"S-Seraph?" Garanth could see the blood dripping from Vertou's palm.

"No matter the reason…He must receive due punishment for his crimes. This has not to do with where he stands amongst our race, but with his actions…He will pay dearly with his life, I will make sure of that!" The bones in his thick fingers cracked and popped as if ready to cleave through the toughest of stone.


"Seraph…the ground." Garanth made notice to the fresh footprints in the icy snow. Vertou ran his fingers over the small embedment, impaling it with his fist.

"This creature's size compares no greater than that of a mere human! It is almost impossible for me to comprehend that he stands on par with our greatest knights…" His deep, drawn out exhale revealed his poisoning frustration. Garanth began to expose his impatience.

"Talking will get us no where Seraph! I say we call him out right here and end this! There is no use in hiding, beast! Go ahead! Do your worst-"Garanth valiantly raised his shining claws once more.

"Garanth! Enough I say!" Vertou could abruptly feel a great chill upon his back, turning to the array of mounted debris. His muscles tightened, the cold suddenly becoming sharp as swords. He could feel the fire of his body erupting with the frantic pulsing of his enormous heart quaking through his body. He compressed the wrist of his flinching hand, feeling its burn beneath his skin. "He…he is close…" Vertou's vision became unstable. "This feeling…is it excitement? Is it fear?"

"Well then let him come! Let him-"Garanth's ears twitched with the distressing noise mesh of crunching bones and rending flesh. The overwhelming pain was much swifter than the follow of his eyes and late reaction, only to see a storm of red drops obstructing his sight from above. The glimmer of the moonlight reflected from the masses of blood, as red crystals, crying from the riven remains of his left arm, still held overhead. Garanth's yelp echoed throughout the night sky, bats taking flight from hiding. Vertou had only just realized the missing arm of his comrade, as mere seconds had passed since words where spoken. Garanth fell to his knees; the veins throbbed through his eye sockets. His teeth cracked and crunched.

"W-What…when did he...I didn't even sense him! No living being could possibly move with such thundering agility…" Vertou could feel the dark energies spiral through the air, unlike any sort of presence he had ever felt. His body became heavy as Garanth's blood spread at his feet. Garanth appeared to have lost consciousness as his body was shifting. "Where? Where are you? Show yourself, damn you-" Vertou felt a crushing sensation through his spine, piercing through the bones anterior to his backbone. In his diminished vision, he could make clear sharp steak-like objects protruding from his chest."T-This is…" Vertou struggled to turn his head. His rage was at its peak. The distorted shadow before his eyes banished the brisk fog with the aid of the moonlight. The blood of his own dripped and frosted as it met the frigid soil. "B-Bastard…BASTARD!" In that moment of silence, the taboo deity before him stood with his shoulders out, hunched, with his arms dangling to his feet. The snow about the ground at the beast's feet appeared to melt, sizzling beneath its toes. Vertou's arms flinched between his pierced nerves, restricting Garanth's arm, extending from his backside. He clutched ahold as tight as he could, relinquishing Garanth's solid-scaled arm from his backside without moment's hesitation. The solid gold scales gashed through his flesh and bone as the claws still held remnants of his insides on its tips. The gaping hole revealed his fractured backbone before the wound proximately closed itself up. He tossed the limp arm aside, facing his demon predecessor. "You…" Vertou's feet dug through the solid soil. His muscles pulsated as he could feel the veins beneath his hardening skin, thicken. "Have you not to say, creature of the Damned? You would murder your fellow kinsman and stand before me as if you are worthy to exist? Have you no remorse, nor thoughts of atonement for these atrocities? Have at you a word Beast, before I cleave the life from your sinful heart!" Vertou's roar surged as quaking thunder. His eyes flared as his skin sharpened. Burgundy scales gushed from beneath the soft layer of skin that cloaked his arms and legs. The dimensions of his overall physique tripled in size. Four gallant, crimson wings opened; the angelic design upon each wing glistened in the limelight of the stars above as that of a holy being through the heavens.

"S-Seraph…" Garanth motivated himself through pity and disappointment, reaching for his arm inches away. Vertou allowed his wings to spread far and wide, crushing the mighty granite stone of the buildings in his wake. His vengeful cry echoed in the night sky as he towered several feet above. "You will speak!" The boom of Vertou's voice was great as the garnet-white fangs from his mouth. The four horns upon his head extended out as mighty angel wings.

"Bl…ood…S-Sur…vive…m…ust…" The creature's words were barely shaped, his voice shaken as if tormented with a sense of remorse and endless agony.