I, Draugr Chapter 55

Quick A.N. I made a mistake in the last chapter.
Serana's mother is called 'Valerica', not 'Veronica'. Fudge me.

Waiting is boring.

Very boring.

I hate waiting.

Why?

Because waiting is boring.

So, so boring.

Even beating up Harkon to pass the time lost its charm after I kicked him in the nuts for the one-hundredth time… Not that it brought out exaggerated reactions like before.

Likely because there is nothing left down there. And I can't even heal the fucker, else he'd turn to dust!

"P-Please…" The once arrogant fucker whimpers, now a mess of broken limbs and a swollen face that I enjoyed slapping while counting to one-thousand.

You know, Xianxia style, so to have a 'pig face'!… I find it disturbing that it kinda matches, but I guess that's how scientists feel when they test weird shit that somehow works out.

I hum and glare down at Harkon, "Did you repent?"

The poor fucker starts nodding his head furiously, and I can't see his eyes with how swollen his… Everything is. "I-I have! I-I swear!"

I hum and 'glare' down at him. Then cross my arms. "I don't believe you."

He starts sobbing right then and there.

This is the tenth time I've done this, now. It is still very funny.

Man, I am one twisted motherfucker, huh?

I do feel a bit bad, but then it vanishes immediately the moment I remember about the things Harkon has done, and who he openly worships.

Plus, I can insult Moggy through him! Pretty sure that ugly fucker is still listening.

"Perhaps Mommy Meridia will have mercy upon you?" I ask aloud, glancing towards the glowing Daedric Artifact right beside us, and Harkon turns towards it with hope within his eyes. Wherever they are.

I'm pretty sure I slapped one of his eyeballs out of their sockets… But I am not sure.

"Don't call me that." The annoyed voice of the Goddess who totally adores me rings out from the sword, followed by a vexed sniff.

I shrug, "Next time, don't make your body have hips that have their own gravitational field, yeah?" I huff, then look down at Harkon and jab a thumb towards Dawnbreaker, "Can you believe the woman? She's got some legs that go on for days, I swear!"

A flash of light, and then I find myself staring at a clump of ashes.

"Hey! I was bullying that!"

My Harkon! I wasn't done humiliating him! Or insulting Moggy through him!

"You may want to focus on something more important than that fool."

Now that she mentions it… The world suddenly feels very, very quiet.

I see the shape coming through Keraunos just as the very Heavens seem to crack open.

A black mountain crashes forward, bringing with it an apocalyptic wrath that had the ocean recede all the way back to the horizon.

The cloud rumble and howl with his arrival, and I jab an angry finger towards the big son of a bitch.

"Now, listen here you fucking chimichanga-!"

Alduin promptly tackles my shit through the goddamn portal.

What's with Dragons and tackling me!?

….

"Dur-Neh-Viir!" The desolate land of the Soul Cairn ripples as the Shout washes forth, echoing across the skies and growing fainter with each passing second.

The plains of the Soul Cairn were disgusting. The earth was a foul, deep purple and strewn with bones and decaying corpses everywhere the eye could see, though that was mostly covered up by the faint lilac mist wafting out of the earth.

Remnants of ancient buildings were strewn around, tall towers rising from the distance… A giant crystals floating high in the sky. The Ideal Masters.

"Gods, the air is…" Serana shudders. Despite being an Undead herself, even she felt sickened by the very air of the Soul Cairn. So impure, and corrosive. "It's so wrong."

Aurelia had a nasty, furious frown on her beautiful face, her balled up fist trembling at her side as she glared left and right. She could easily purge the foul air, but unleashing Holy Magic in the Soul Cairn was a way for her to swiftly get kicked out, and she couldn't afford that.

Deinmaar rests a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which helps calm her rampaging emotions. She did feel better knowing that this place would soon cease to exist, after all.

One less place from where Necromancers could gain power from would do good for all of Tamriel. Maybe the whole of Nirn too.

Though having them resort to robbing graves or ancient tombs wasn't much better… But those were easier to track.

"So, there is truly a Dragon trapped here?" Deinmaar questions, gazing around the desolate desert-like landscape full of death, corpses and ruins.

His stance was relaxed, showing that despite the foul air, he didn't really feel threatened by the surroundings.

Aurelia nods, "According to Lah, Durnehviir vanished some time after he gained an interest in Necromancy. They were good friends, apparently." While she didn't like a Dragon wielding the powers of Necromancy, she felt like this imprisonment likely taught Durnehviir a good lesson.

The Great Sage's original plan was to have armies of Undead beneath him, mostly to wield in his countless training spats with Lah when they shared their newfound discoveries and knowledge.

But Durnehviir's real goal was a way to attain a true, Undying body, hence his 'Undying' epithet.

A sudden Dragon roar answered the call, and the very Soul Cairn quaked beneath that horrifying might.

Deinmaar's gaze shoots skyward just as the clouds part, and colossal wings wrapped in profane deep purple flames cloaking skeletal wings with strips of flesh still attached to them.

What descended wasn't a whole Dragon, but a skeletal mountain of purple flames and decayed flesh and scales, the very presence pouring out of the creature falling upon the group like a sudden tsunami.

"Dovahkiin…" The Dragon spoke, malevolent flames gazing at Aurelia with an intense stare, "It appears I have been sealed here for many, many years…"

Giant claws stomp on the earth, crushing stones and bones alike beneath them as the massive Dragon – nearly as massive as Julspaan himself – started slowly circling the group, "And… Deinmaar? You still live?"

The Atmoran nods, gazing at the Great Sage without fear, "I am." He answers, before chuckling softly, "Still getting into trouble, Lord Durnehviir?"

"Just a temporary setback." Is the Great Sage instantaneous answer, making Deinmaar nearly snort out loud.

Durnehviir was known for being the opposite of Lah. The Great Saint of Knowledge was smart and wise, while the Undying Great Saint was… Reckless, stubborn, and always causing trouble when testing out his 'theories'.

Durnehviir was everything Vulthuryol failed to be and become. A stubborn fool that clawed his way up to power just because he wanted to butt heads with Lah himself.

"And you…" The Undying Great Saint lets his gaze fall upon Serana, who squirms beneath the gaze of such a powerful being, "You feel like Valerica… And look like the daughter she speaks off often."

Serana didn't know how to feel about knowing that her mother spoke often about her, but she decided to brush that aside for. "Could you lead us to her? I am her daughter..."

The Dragon leans back while releasing a rumbling hum, "And why would I do that? I am tasked with guarding her, after all."

That was when Aurelia steps forward, gaze steely, "We are here to also free you. Lah requested it from us."

The Great Sage stills at that, before his crackling flames swell and burn with foul Magics, "Prove it." He demands, deep voice a low, aggressive growl, "If you dare use his name to trick me, then be prepared for-"

"You once challenged Lah to a battle and got so thoroughly thrashed that you refused to admit that battle ever happened in the first place."

"I apologize for my outburst." The mighty Great Saint instantly became as meek as an obedient dog, head lowered and all, "Please do not share that with anyone else."

Aurelia blinks, then slowly allows herself to relax, "I thought I'd have had to use a lot more embarrassing and personal things to get you to believe us."

Durnehviir stills once more, "H-How much stuff did Lah share with you?"

"Everything."

The Great Sage whines and covers his flaming skull with both giant claws, "Why must that bastard go and share such things with strangers!?"

So Lah was indeed right… Durnehviir was quite easy to bully, it seems.

'It is his fault for being so stupid.' Was what Lah used to explain why Durnehviir was so sensitive to being bullied.

"So, uh…" Deinmaar starts, voice cracking as he tries not to laugh, "Can you bring us to Valerica?"

Latching onto the distraction, the giant Dragon perks up and recovers his previous arrogance, "...As long as you never mention these things again." The trio nods, and Durnehviir swiftly lowers a wing to allow them to climb upon his back.

His flames didn't hurt them, though the aura being released from them was nothing short of unpleasant, covering even Deinmaar's skin in goosebumps.

With a flap of skeletal wings and a powerful leap, the Dragon takes to the skies with the trio on his back, allowing them to take in more of the Soul Cain's wastelands.

It looked like a desert from above. Mounds of purple earth and sand, bones of creatures, wandering corpses, and ghastly specters moving about without purpose, lost in an eternal and vile torment. Stolen away from their proper rest.

Either by trickery, or by their own hand.

It didn't take long for Durnehviir to reach their target. A large ruin of what seemed to appear as an old, aged castle, sealed within a large spherical and glowing purple bubble.

Before the bubble lay a courtyard, one large enough for Durnehviir to land on with a loud rumble. "Valerica!" The Dragon roars as the trio jumps down from his spine, "You have guests!"

Serana gulps and breathes in, turning towards the spot in the barrier that showed the doors of the ruined castle beyond. Said doors slowly opened, revealing a tall and beautiful Nord woman with pale brown hair tied up in a high bun, and noble red and black clothing.

The woman's glowing gaze flicks to Serana, before she suddenly freezes, "No… Serana?" The woman rushes towards the barrier, eyes wide, filled with both fear and hope. "What are you doing here? Please… Please tell me that Harkon didn't-"

"He has been handled with." Serana cuts in softly, stepping close to the barrier herself, gaze complicated. "He is likely dead by now. Or begging for death."

Valerica blinks, mouth opening and closing in shock, "I… What? Are you certain?"

Serana nods, "I've seen it with mine own eyes." Her lips then twitch as her gaze flicks away from her mother, "Stomped on his private parts after he was easily defeated by my… Friends." She finishes with a light smile, beckoning Aurelia forward.

Valerica flickers her gaze towards the silver-haired woman and narrows in suspicion, before narrowing even further, "A Paladin of Arkay? Serana, are you serious-"

"Mother." The younger Vampire cuts in, voice sharp and gaze serious, "I haven't come here to have my choices be judged by you." Valerica reels back in shock at her daughter's cutting words, "The whole Prophecy? A sham. A plot created by another Vampire. Me and Father would have both become victims of his twisted revenge against a God."

Not that it would have ended well for that Vampire even if he succeeded. He'd have likely gotten swarmed by Dragons soon after he started using the sacred weapon of Auri-El, who would never let such an offense against their father go by.

Even if it was a different incarnation of him.

Valerica narrows her gaze, struggling to wrap her head around the information her daughter suddenly dropped on her. Then her gaze finally flicks towards Aurelia, "You. I would speak with you."

Aurelia lifts a lone brow and crosses her arms.

Still frowning, Valerica keeps going, "What is a Paladin of Arkay doing in the company of my daughter? It pains me to think you'd travel with Serana under the guise of her protector in an effort to hunt me down."

The Dragonborn merely sniffs and rolls her eyes at those words, "You aren't worth the effort." The woman coldly replies, stunning Valerica, "I have far more horrifying Undead to hunt out there than a negligent mother."

"Negligent!?" Valerica's voice rises an octave, her eyes glowing with her anger, "You believe it pleased me to seal my daughter in a tomb?! She has sacrificed everything to prevent Harkon from completing the prophecy! Something you put at risk-!"

"A 'sacrifice' is a big word… Did Serana do this willingly?" Valerica flinches, and Aurelia openly sneers, "My lover unsealed her because she didn't deserve to starve in a dusty crypt for over Two Eras. I am simply here to reunite a family, not to be judged."

The older Vampire flares her nostrils, "And you put her in danger for some pity!? The Elder Scrolls are useless, it is her blood that Harkon needs!"

Deinmaar perks up at that, "Her blood?" He questions, drawing the woman's intense gaze towards him, where it falters and flickers in fear at his mere presence.

"Like myself, Serana was a human once. We were devout followers of Lord Molag Bal." Aurelia shoots a look towards Serana, who avoids it and lowers hers to the ground, "Tradition dictates the females be offered to Molag Bal on his summoning day. Few survive the ordea."

"Those that do are called 'Daughters of Coldharbour.'"

Aurelia's blood chills, her look of anger morphing into one of absolute horror and disgust, "A-And you did this willingly…?" She asks, gazing at Serana in horror.

But it was Valerica that answered, "It was expected of her, just as it was expected of me. Being selected as an offering to Molag Bal is an honor. She wouldn't have dared turn her back on that-"

The entire barrier rumbles, a pressurized shock-wave rippling forth and sending both Serana and Valerica on their butts, with Valerica gaping in horror at where Aurelia had punched the barrier, which dented under the force of the blow.

"Expected? Honor? Dared?!" Aurelia was shaking from anger as she flares her nostrils, her fist still pushing against the crackling barrier, "Do you even hear yourself, you bitch!?"

"Did Serana ever even get a choice in her own Arkay-damned life!? Or was it always you and others?! Turned into a toy for a vile God with a risk of death, turned into a tool for some stupid prophecy, and then sealed away because you were too incapable to fight your husband!?"

Gritting her teeth, Aurelia pulls away and looks at Serana with a cutting stare, "Was it, Serana?" She asks, startling the younger Vampire, "Was it an honor to have your body defiled by a God? Was it an honor to be buried in a dusty crypt and left to starve for thousands of years?"

"Was it an honor to have your life be dictated by others every step of the way?"

Serana trembles, then bites her lower lip as her eyes narrow in anger, "Fuck no." She breathes out, and Valerica quivers, her gaze falling and soon becoming lost. "Mother, I… I want to live my own life."

Aurelia breathes in, calming her rampaging emotions before flipping to look towards Durnehviir, "How do we break this barrier?" She really didn't want to, but the choice wasn't up to her. If Serana wanted to fix her relationship with her twisted mother, then it was her affair.

The Great Sage lifts his head to gaze at one of the distant towers far away from their current positions, "The barrier is held active by the three Keepers. Slay them, and it comes down."

"Alas, if you do so, I will be forced to fight you due to my contract with the Ideal Masters." Aurelia flicks her gaze to one of the giant crystals hovering up above.

They weren't the corporeal forms of the Ideal Masters, but more of a medium they used to interact with the Soul Cairn and any Necromancer that seeks access to it and the horrors within.

"And to free you?"

Durnehviir nods towards Valerica, "You drag her out of the Soul Cairn, and I will be free. My contract will become void." She nods at that, remembering that Leonidas spoke about how Durnehviir was only meant to guard Valerica until death while in the Soul Cairn.

Thus, once dragged outside, the contract would become void, and she could simply Shout his Name to recall the Great Sage to Tamriel.

Attacking the Keepers meant having to fight a Great Sage, which would be suicide… So threatening the Ideal Masters was the final choice, like Leonidas had expected.

"Alright, then we'll-" Her words came to a halt when the Soul Cairn itself suddenly shook.

A horrible crack sundered the purple sky like a nasty scar, and it was soon followed by countless more… Then by a roar of horrid power.

"Alduin…?" Deinmaar whispers, and they all gazed towards the distance in utter horror as two shapes rose high into the sky over the horizon.

A mountain-sized black dragon covered in spiky scales rose high, and a pair of colossal jaws clamp shut around one of the crystals floating high in the sky… Before it explodes, a whine and howl of a tens of thousands of Souls echoing forth from the explosion that rippled across the Realm.

Another nearby crystal instead was swallowed by a tide of abyssal darkness, and it was followed by another explosion and horrid wails of damned Souls being devoured.

The two beings battled in the sky, clawing at each other, roaring at each other, and-

"Did you seriously fucking tackle me through the goddamn portal!?"

"You were standing in front of it!"

"No the fuck I was not, you bitch!"

"Yes you were!"

"Nuh-uh!"

And… Arguing?

Aurelia gaped at that, but her eyes also remained fixed upon that apocalyptic beast. The World-Eater. Her nemesis. Her duty.

"We need to move! Quickly!" Deinmaar shouts as the earth starts rupturing, the very Soul Cairn wailing and collapsing as streams of energy flowed in colossal streams towards both Leonidas and Alduin both.

"The Keepers! Where are they-!"

The Soul Cairn froze.

A blast of glacial winds slammed into them with the force of a meteor. The barrier sealing Valerica popped like a bubble being poked by a dry finger, and they all watched in horror as dense frost and snow overtook the Soul Cairn.

Skies, land- Everything had gone white, and the glacial winds kept growing stronger and colder. A bone-chilling cold that attacked their very Souls, making even the likes of Durnehviir shudder despite having no body to feel the cold.

"What sort of monster is that…?"

A giant black spear smashes into the ground near them, and a pool of black soon expands from it. Deinmaar was the first to understand, "To the Spear, quickly!" He howls, pushing through the glacial winds and supporting both Serana and Valerica.

Aurelia instead gaped towards the distance, unable to see the battle between her lover and Alduin, but she could feel it reverberate across the air and the earth of the Soul Cairn, which was rapidly collapsing and being devoured. "Cocytus…"

This was a Spell Leonidas had told her about, which he could rarely use due to how it could destroy the surroundings.

Shaking her head, she turned to the equally stunned Great Sage, "Durnehviir! Come with us, we are leaving!" She shouts over the roaring blizzard, pointing towards the giant spear overflowing with darkness.

The Dragon watched as Deinmaar, Serana and Valerica walked through the black surface of the Spear and vanished, and he instantly felt the contract against his Soul be released.

Thus, with a joyous laugh, the Great Sage launched himself into the Spear and disappeared within the darkness.

Aurelia glances back and bites her lower lip, overflowing with worry for her lover- Only for hands to sprout from the darkness and drag her in, uncaring of her terrified squeal.

And as she fell into the darkness, she swore she heard a certain little shit cackle.

Oh, he was getting a beating once he was back…

~XXX~

The battle before Ragnvald raged forth.

Companions and Nords mowed through tens of thousands of Undead, a brilliant green light washing down upon them, empowering them and healing them both.

Instead, a vile purple light rained down upon the Undead, making them tougher to kill and protecting them from the Holy Magic raining down on the Nord army.

Soldiers fell in the dozens, but each soldier by now had dragged hundreds of vile Undead to the grave with them before falling, their corpses irradiated with Holy Magic, thus making them unable to be brought back as a thrall to fight against their comrades.

On the right side of the battlefield, Ulfric roared, unleashing a blast that slammed into Vokun, dispersing the Illusion Magic around the floating Dragon Priest.

A hand rises to create a shield- But it is swiftly destroyed by the Ebony Warrior, who hacks his ebony sword down through it, cleaving the spell apart and cutting off the Dragon Priest's shriveled thumb.

Curses in the Dragon Tongue flowed out of Vokun, who was stuck dealing with worst possible match-up for him.

The strategy they had built relied on the fact that Dragon Priests resembled the name of their Masks. Vokun meant 'Shadow', thus making Vokun an assassin instead of a Mage.

Through the usage of Illusion Magic to cloak himself, the Dragon Priest had been planning to stalk through the battlefield to cut down the enemies with precise attacks on their backs… Only for the release of the giant Holy Spell over the battlefield to thwart that plan of his.

Suddenly exposed without warning, Vokun had no chance to retreat as Ulfric and the Ebony Warrior launched themselves at him like feral beasts, depriving him of a moment to escape.

"Hah! Is this one of the mighty servants of the Dragons?!" Ulfric sneers, pure venom dripping from his mouth, "Even the milk-drinkers the Imperials recruit have far more grit than you!"

The Ebony Warrior flips the blade in his right hand with a low hum, "His balls must've shriveled up in his Undead state." He points out, earning a roaring laugh from Ulfric and a snarled hiss from the Dragon Priest, who launched himself at them once more.

The Ebony Warrior stomps forward and raises his gleaming ebony shield, blocking the magical blast of lightning that erupts out of the Dragon Priest's staff, while its other hand conjures a Daedric Dagger within its grasp.

Just as the Ebony Warrior peeked out from behind the cover of his shield, a dagger suddenly stabbed towards his eyes from the thin opening of his visor- Only for a vicious kick from Ulfric to push the Dragon Priest back.

Uncaring of the close shave to death he had, the Ebony Warrior jumps forward, "The Shout!" He calls out, cleaving a bolt of lightning in half with his blade before bashing his shield into the Dragon Priest's skull… Then jumping to the side.

"Fus-Ro-Dah!" A blast of force slams into Vokun, bending him in half like a chair and sending him skidding across the ruined battlefield- And straight into Balgruuf's attack.

The Jarl roars out a bellow, jumping over the corpse of another fallen Dragon, Wuuthrad lifted high over his head before he brings it down with all of his might.

Stunned, Vokun moves his staff in the way to block the blow, but Wuuthrad smashes through it like it was made of poor quality wood, and came down on the Dragon Priest's left shoulder, cleaving it clear off the body together with the whole army.

Vokun snarls back, the dagger in his grasp gleaming and turning into a spear that jabs towards Balgruuf's skull- Only for Ulfric to throw himself in its path, blocking it beneath the stump of his missing arm and locking it in place with a feral grin.

Blocked and stunned, Vokun received a devastating shield bash straight to his masked skull, causing his grip over the Daedric Spear to go slack and for his body to be launched across the clearing.

His Mask suddenly gleams with dark light, and his body suddenly sinks into the shadows of the night the moment it crashes into the ground.

"Back to back!" The Ebony Warrior roars, and the three warriors move in a triangle formation, pushing their backs against each other as they slowly spun around, keeping a watchful gaze on each shadow around them.

But the formation didn't last long, "Argh! Show yourself, coward!" Ulfric roared, disrupting the formation by pushing his two comrades away, leaving his back open.

"Ulfric! You f-!" Balgruuf starts roaring, spinning around just as Ulfric's shadow expanded beneath him… "-ucking genius! Hah!"

Roaring with laughter, Ulfirc unfurls a scroll, unleashing an enormous dome of jade-green light upon their group, thus forcing Vokun out of his shadow with a pained hiss as the Holy Magic rains down upon him.

And he jumps out right within two incoming attacks, too late to react to them and dodge.

Wuuthrad bisects Vokun's waist, and the ebony blade stabs clear through its dead heart, pinning the Dragon Priest in place as Ulfric flips around and cleaves its head right off its shoulders.

"Magic ain't so bad, after all." The Stormcloak leader pants out, massive grin on his face as Balgruuf claps his hand on his fellow Jarl's shoulder, "Stupid plan, but it worked."

The Ebony Warrior laughs, stomping on the skull and fully finishing off the Dragon Priest, shattering the Mask in the process, "Using stupidity to draw in the opponent in a false sense of security is a genius plan, my friend!"

Roaring with laughter, the trio rushed to rejoin the fray and their fellow warriors, bringing death to more Undead.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, a roaring flaming beast charged at Volsung. The tall and lean Dragon Priest had a pair of long and thin conjured blades within his grasp, and his movements were swift and deadly.

He dashed between the legs of the flaming beast, slicing its feet off to have it crash and explode on the ground. Only for it to reform with a mad roar and pounce towards the vexed Undead relentlessly.

Far away from that battlefield, Hildr was keeping her narrowed gaze towards the skies, flaming crackling between her hands.

A Dragon swooped down, breathing frost upon the army, but-

"You call that cold?!"

"If I wanted to feel cold, I'd have dipped my balls in the waters north of Dawnstar! Your breath feels like a refreshing breeze!"

"What the fuck did you eat?! I'm going to throw up in my own armor! Ugh!"

...The army was just raining insults upon the Dragons. Said Ice Dragon barely had time to feel offended before a beam of immense heat smashed into its side, punching a hole clear through its midsection and nearly bisecting the beast in half.

It fell from the skies, now the seventh of Dragons Hildr felled with extreme precision and piercing Spells.

Her eye flicks skyward, where a much bigger Dragon was roaring and battling an invisible blur.

That Dragon was a Saint, and Nereva and leaped at it without hesitation before it could bring havoc upon the battlefield.

A clap of thunder flows skyward, cleaving across the clouds as the Saint tries to swat the fly carving wounds into its flesh- Only for a brilliant flash to followed by a roar of pain as its right eye was gouged out.

Then by another, and the Saint started falling as one of its wings was severed.

Then another flash, then another, then another- Nereva became a blur of deadly sharpness, putting the speed she was using against Aurelia to shame as she tore the Dragon apart with her sharp blade.

Hildr's hand suddenly snaps to her left, and a wave of flames gushes forth, stopping Volsung's sudden advance towards her as he erects a Ward with a derisive laugh directed at her usage of the simple Flame Spell.

Uncaring of the mockery, Hildr glances at the Dragon Priest, then swipes her other hand towards her Spell. Air gushes in, and the crackling of gushing flames turned into a devastating roar.

The Ward shatters, and a trench is melted across the valley as Volsung is carried by the massive beam of pure heat and power, which left its clothing scorched and charred.

Hildr sniffs, and her Familiar pounces forth with a mad roar once more, swelling in size and heat, now dwarfing even a mammoth in size.

She gave the battlefield one last glance. There weren't many Dragons left, and they would soon be brought down by the ethereal Companions one way or the other. Those guys were absolutely nuts.

Turning back to Volsung, Hildr advances towards the Undead with a feeling of trepidation within her. This was going to be her first, real fight as a Mage, after all.

Her palms open, and twin spheres of flame flicker to lift within them.

"Heat – Spark – Ember – Hot – Kindle – Burn – Fire – Blaze – Flash – Pyre – Flare – Scorch – Incinerate – Conflagration – Inferno – Sun!"

The twin spheres of flames had, by now, turned into twin Suns. The earth beneath Hildr's feet bubbled as it became incandescent magma, which she easily ignored as she kept walking.

If Kara were here, she'd gape at how many Chants Hildr had used in one go.

Sixteen Chants, all back to back without stop. Chants attracted Magicka from the surrounding atmosphere towards the Spell, empowering it massively without having the Mage use any Magicka of their own.

Each Chant had different levels of enhancement. The first three boosted the Spell by ten percent each, the next three by thirty percent each, then the next ones by eighty percent each. It was an enormous jump in power, which required incredibly precise control over Magicka so to not make the Spell implode from the influx of power.

The ones after the ninth? Two-hundred percent each.

Kara too would struggle with containing such a colossal influx of Magicka, hence why she resorts to Illusion Magic to create other voices, which would in turn do Nine Chants each. It was a way to avoid causing a disastrous Spell Detonation…

With all that Magicka contained inside the twin Suns, Hildr waves her hand and conjures a large flaming Original Rune, before hurling one of the two Suns straight through it.

The Original Rune bends and empowers the Spell that rushes through it, unleashing a sharp, whistling sonic-boom.

Volsung barely has time to cut down the Familiar once more and turn towards the Spell before it hits him straight in the face.

The detonation shakes the valley, yet the explosion was small. A dense, blinding dome of flames rumbles and spins around the location of impact, all thanks to the Original Rune from the 'Contained Detonation' Spell.

That's when the secondary effect of the Sun triggers, and oxygen gushes with a loud howl, the sphere of flames shrinking- Before detonating once more with far greater force.

Volsung's scorched form leaps out of the dome of destruction, missing one leg and looking completely ravaged by the flames. Even his ancient armor looked moments away from falling apart.

His Mask was glowing brilliantly, and Hildr narrows her eyes at the way Magicka seemed to be pushed away from him. A form of Spell Resistance, which makes a Spell grow weaker the closer it gets to his body by stripping away its Magicka.

Yet, it didn't matter that much.

Hildr smirks as her Familiar roars out of the flames from behind Volsung, leaping at him with colossal arms dripping with glowing lava.

The Dragon Priest flips around while swiping its blades, expecting them to cleave through the Familiar like usual- Only for them to bounce off the hardened obsidian wrapped around its body from the use of Rahgot's Mask.

Two giant claws slam around Volsung, squeezing him within their grip and keeping the Dragon Priest pinned, a chance Hildr didn't wish to waste.

The other miniature Sun is hurled, but not at Volsung. Her Familiar opens its jaws and swallows the Spell, the heat being released by its body growing nearly a hundred-fold within a split second.

Now with both hands free, Hildr swiftly started weaving Spell after Spell. Flaming chains erupts around from her Familiar's body, trapping Volsung within them as her Familiar drinks in the surrounding Magicka to recover what Volsung's Mask was stripping away from it.

Miniature scarlet-black Original Runes appear all over the prison of chains and giant claws, each one from the same Spell from the Ash School of Magic.

It was a simple Spell. One of the first ones that Leonidas had bought for her shortly after their first meeting, in fact.

The Spell was called 'Combustion', and it created a simple cloud of very, very explosive Ash.

It was soon followed by a brilliant and fiery Original Rune that appeared on her Familiar's head, which promptly swallowed it and all of its Magicka, the Magicka in the surrounding atmosphere, and rushed towards the seal of claws and chains.

A simple 'Detonation' Spell.

The explosion blinded Hildr for a moment, and a giant mushroom cloud had risen high in the sky but the time she blinked the spots out of her eye.

"...Right, sixteen Chants worth of Magicka." She whistles, while throwing a worried glance towards the battlefield, which luckily wasn't affected much from the immense explosion she unleashed.

Its power had been even greater due to whatever happened to her Familiar after it had come in contact with the Fire Origin Rune. Any Fire Spells she activates through her Familiar would come out so much more powerful than normal, akin to hurling them through an Original Rune… But more.

"Damn." Hildr squeaks and jumps, turning towards Nereva, who had suddenly appeared right beside her and was admiring the molten crater left behind by her recent Spell. "And I was supposed to look out for you?"

The redhead flushes slightly, "I may have gone overboard…"

"Meh. First Mage battle, right?" Hildr nods, "It happens." Nereva reassures, then grin and offers her fist, "That was cool as hell, though!"

The two bump their fists together-

"Enough."

The battlefield fell quiet.

Even the Undead stopped fighting.

All heads turned skyward, as yet another Dragon Priest descends from the sky, a glowing Staff gripped in one hand, and a golden sealed scroll in the other.

"I had believed that what I had left would be enough to crush the enemies of the Great Dragons… But it seems I was far too optimistic."

The Dragon Priest descended like a God upon the battlefield, staring down at the army below like they were an amassed group of ants that posed no threat to him.

"It appears… That only the great Dragons and Dragon Priests of the past may prove worthy of such an endeavor."

The Elder Scrolls unfurls, and a blinding light washes forth.

Far into the distance, Kara went to move to stop Morokei, but was surprised when Lah ended up holding her back.

"Honey?"

Lah chuckled… Then laughed deeply, "That fool… His plan was flawed from the start, and he is none the wiser."

Kara blinks in confusion, but turns to watch the unfolding event without asking more question, holding full trust in her lover.

The army of humans fell back as the light of the Elder Scroll washes forth, and all of the Magicka of Skyrim gushed towards it through the Staff of Magnus in titanic streams.

"Upon this day, I, Morokei, shall use this Elder Scroll to open a door across the River of Time!"

A vertical white crack splits the Heavens and the Earth, and Reality itself groaned as it tore open, causing glacial winds to wash forth out of it.

"And call forth the mighty Dragon army of Atmora!"

The crack split open like a gaping wound in Reality, revealing the sight of frozen plains beyond it, from which a glacial wind that made Nords shiver and buckle washes out from.

Then a Dragon flew out of the Time Wound.

Then another.

Then a dozen.

Then hundreds flowed out, smashing into each other, roaring in panic, horror and fear as they rushed for the skies.

Morokei paused and turned, confused at the sight.

It was soon followed by a giant Dragon covered in thick stones, who smashed his way through the open Time Wound and roared to the skies, "Lord Alduin!"

The Dragon Sage wailed, voice overflowing with utter terror, "Please! Quell his wrath-!"

The Dragon exploded in a shower of blood and gore that turned into blood-red snowflakes and ice-shards.

A deep, unsettling darkness covered the interior of the Time Wound… And a pair of titanic black hands suddenly appeared, grabbed the edges- And tore the gaping wound further open without strain.

Reality itself wailed.

The Dragons in the sky screamed for mercy.

They all exploded one by one, turning into shards of bloody snowflakes.

An Eldritch horror slowly forced its way through the opening. Billions of compound eyes peered at the surroundings, forms beyond human comprehension taking shape and being consumed each passing second.

Trillions of horrid, demented beasts howled and snapped their jaws as they overflowed out of the Time Wound like a twisted avalanche, staining the surrounding with a darkness that swallowed all light and sound.

The Stars burned as the Gods all came to bear witness to this one moment.

And then, as the world fell quiet… A lone step rang out.

A figure draped in a thick cloak billowing in endless, eternal darkness walked out of the Time Wound at a measured, collected pace.

Every single being on Tamriel felt his presence.

Reality started to unravel. The sky started to disappear, followed by the ground, by the surrounding mountains, by the oceans-

Storms rose and died all over the planet by his mere presence. Earthquakes cracked open the earth, and tsunamis ravished the coasts.

Mundus struggled to contain his existence.

The Godhead wailed in pain.

And Solomon stepped across the River of Time once more.

A.N. Surprise Cliffhanger.

Yeah, Solomon is OP as absolute fuck.

He could kill Prime Alduin with such laughable ease it ain't even funny.

Hope y'all enjoyed this cliffhanger!

Nyehehehehe!

Toodles!