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752: The Wrath of Heavens

What does it take for one to be called an immortal?

Many would say to simply live forever.

Others would say to live a great life and be remembered for eons.

Others would say to be divine.

But for the most, it is to cheat death and extend one's life through supernatural means whether through Necromancy, Alchemy, or Rejuvenation.

But immortality isn't really something hard to attain. In truth, once one dies, they become immortal in the world thereafter. Whether in the glorious halls of Sovngarde, the beautiful landscape of Far Shores, or even in the deepest pits of Coldharbour. The soul has always been and forever shall be immortal unless it gets consumed by something dark, such as a black soul gem, but even that sends the soul to the afterlife of the Soul Cairn.

When used right though, a Black Soul Gem can have some incredible effects like keeping a part of the Soul safe even from death itself.

That's how the player in the game could enter the Soul Cairn, a realm of the dead, if the character was a living mortal. 

As for Kendov, whom Jon has just congratulated for his new head, it seems that the dragons have put in a lot of effort to create this so-called Artificial Dragonborn.

If Jon was right, which is usually the case, Kendov's soul was separated from his body after injecting it with Dragon Blood and keeping him barely alive. After sealing his soul in a Black Soul Gem, his body became practically unkillable as the toxicity of the Dragon Blood acts like an invasive elixir on the human body, it kills and rejuvenates the living cells at a rapid rate causing the body to be destroyed and restored endlessly. But for it to reach the rate of recovering a good whole head after missing it, something powerful was at play here. 

Jon only needs one thing now and that is to find Kendov's Black Soul Gem and control it. He can kill Kendov instantly if he gets his hand on it and nothing will practically stop him but knowing that his enemy has meticulously studied him, that soul gem must be at the other end of the world by now if not in a different domain altogether.

They have even prepared for the Sin artifacts, which Jon was secretive about their details, but how far have they gone?

Jon wanted to test something so he jumped at Kendov and drove his fist against the man with the intent to dismantle him piece by piece. To his surprise, Kendov was able to receive a hit from Jon and even counterattacked with a dragon bone dagger which Jon skillfully evaded with his upper body while cunningly delivering a straight kick to Kendov's forward knee.

Break!

Shatter!

The sound of bone shattering, when Jon used a pure combat technique, was terrifying and Kendov was surprised but only for a second. Jon was capable as both a warrior and a mage but no one had witnessed him not using any magic or weapon before.

"You're good!" Kendov said.

"Wanna see more? Come at me." Jon said and provoked Kendov into attacking.

As soon as Kendov's bone healed in less than a second, he charged at Jon attempting to stab him in the lower abdomen but Jon intercepted the attack with his hand, Kendov let go of the knife from the hand Jon held and dropped it to the other hand in order to continue attacking but Jon flipped the whole thing upside down.

Using a takedown technique, Kendov was lifted and flipped upside down before falling on his front. Jon landed with his knee against Kendov's back and with all his weight, he snapped Kendov's back, dislocating his right shoulder, stood up, held Kendov's opposite arm between his legs, and twisted his posture until he heard multiple snaps and fractures.

Leaving Kendov shattered and broken, Jon walked off but as he heard Kendov laugh, Jon simply stomped on his skull and walked off.

A few seconds later, Kendov stood up and kept recovering and returning back to his natural self while continuously laughing.

"Hahaha! Man, you're acting like I thought you would. You're trying to figure out if my regeneration has limits. Keep dreaming, man. Keep dreaming." Kendov laughed and played with his knife but then…

"Oh yeah?" Jon cast his magic instantaneously and the knife in Kendov's hand was suddenly pulled with Telekinesis to Jon's hand.

Seeing himself disarmed, Kendov wasn't really nervous but then.

Swoosh!

The knife Jon just stole from him was thrown back with lightning speed and rested deep in his skull right between his eyes.

Kendov himself was blown back but he still managed to stay on his feet.

"D… Damn! That almost got me!" Kendov said as his eyes looked at the dagger handle right between them and he pulled it out.

The wound between his eyes and gapping right through his skull also healed in less than a second.

"That's fast!" Jon said.

"Nobody said it is going to be…" Kendov was about to reply but Jon immediately teleported in front of him and held his face from the sides.

Realizing that Jon was about to try a new way to kill him, Kendov rolled his eyes at Jon's rude interruption. However, what Jon did next was almost too baffling.

Jon's face got closer to Kendov's. Kendov saw how Jon's eyes were closing and a shudder ran through his bones, he didn't know what was going to happen and would be of him if he….

"FUS…"

Kendov closed his eyes from fear but then he heard that word.

"RO…"

He opened his eyes once he realized what Jon was doing.

"DAAAAAH!"

Jon shouted the Unrelenting Force shout not at Kendov but right through his body from his mouth. Jon being taller meant that this shout wasn't aimed across Kendov's head but rather down through his entire being.

The force blew through everything in its wake and Kendov's body exploded, leaving only the empty head of a man with nothing left but a shocked face, a skull with the brain inside of it, and anything from his throat to his feet was blown off completely.

"Bet you didn't think of that, did you now?" Jon said and held Kendov's head up to the ten Dragons that refused to come from their high places.

Still, Jon witnessed the bizarreness of the creation of the Dragons and the only intact organ from Kendov started regenerating once again.

"Are you fucking serious?"

Jon had once gotten rid of Kendov's head but his body regenerated it, yet now as he got rid of the body, the head started to regenerate itself into a new body.

"Motherfu…" Jon said but then looked towards Thor and Idun before clearing his throat, "Motherlover!"

The damaged parts of the head regenerated and the throat started to form then a spinal cord started to regenerate from upside down and it seemed like Kendov was going to come back to life again.

"Nope!" Jon, however, had a different opinion.

With his middle finger, he flicked anything beneath Kendov's throat and caused the regeneration process to start all over again from that point.

Every time the neck starts to regenerate, he flicks it off. This caused the situation to reach an awkward stalemate of constantly hitting and flicking spinal cords that kept infinitely regenerating.

"Hey, ugly bastards up there! There got to be a limit, right?" Jon spoke to the Dragons who still kept their composure despite Jon handling Kendov like a fiddle.

Seeing that they were not responding, Jon rolled his eyes, and instead of constantly flicking the regenerating parts, he cast Levitation on the head and then put a Flames spell rune beneath it to constantly burn anything that regenerates.

"One so-called immortal freak, perfectly handled." Jon said and nodded proudly to himself then turned once again to the dragons, "Now, let's handle the big lizards."

But just as he was about to jump at them…

"Jon Dare." The voice of Kendov spoke calmly to him.

"FUCK!" Jon jumped off his place and turned back to Kendov who was still as he left him, a floating head with fire beneath it that prevented it from regenerating, "You scared me, man! Not cool!"

Kendov's eyes looked down then looked back at Jon.

"So this is how you managed to handle me, got to admit, your creativity never ceases to impress me."

"Oh! Stop flattering me this much, I'll blush." Jon said and dismissed Kendov playfully.

Kendov wasn't smiling towards Jon as he used to since the start of this scene. He looked at the Dragons up on the higher levels of the chambers and spoke.

"My Lords, please."

Seeing him act all humbly to the dragons, Jon became wary and his feeling was in its place when the dragons above opened their dark maws and started shouting.

"YOL TOOR SHUL!"

"Fuckers!"

Five of the Dragons shouted their flame breath at Kendov's body and a strong blast devastated the place. Fire spread all over the ruins and Jon was forced to avoid the attack as fast as he could.

Jon appeared right beside the barrier where Thor and Idun were trapped and seemed to be trying to breach it but the Dragon that cast the barrier was something akin to a barrier specialist and it felt impossible to penetrate.

"DAMMIT!" Jon said and had to try using another method, "Greed! Drain it."

Jon sent out another Sin Artifact whose specialty was draining Magicka but as soon as it was seen by the Dragons, one of them shouted immediately.

"KUN LAAS SHUL!" (Light, Life, Sun)

Just like a grand cosmic explosion, something akin to the sun in the middle of the day was cast to the middle of the chamber, causing a terrifying burst of bright sunlight to illuminate the room.

"Shit!" Jon feared for his young siblings to be harmed by this light and immediately acted based on instinct.

He jumped between the Sun Nova shout effect and the barrier of the two siblings, fearing for their senses to be damaged, and tried his best to raise the ground in order to stop the light, creating a wall of earth by Telekinesis alone.

"Got you!" At that time, Kendov came out of the flames, with his body still in the middle of its regeneration and walking without an outer skin layer.

He had the Dragonbone dagger in his hand and aimed for a blind spot for Jon. At that point, Gluttony jumped off Jon's body and attacked Kendov, ramming him away from its master.

"Hehe!" Kendov, however, was smiling, "The living shadow, now the flesh abomination."

"IIZ SLEN NUS!" (Ice, Flesh, Statue)

The ice form shout, a shout Jon didn't even bother to master, came to bite him in the ass as it froze Gluttony solid and incapacitated it.

Kendov rose from the ground, now fully regenerated, and walked to Jon who seemed unamused by the fate of his four sin artifacts that got neutralized as soon as they came out.

"Now, this is a face I like to see, a dejected Jon Dare." Kendov said and approached Jon while summoning his armor back on his body and walking through the fire and smoke.

"This face you are so delighted to see was the last thing seen by the Forsworn. You sure you want to vex me more than this?" Jon asked with his eyes fixed on the opponent he was so much annoyed with at the moment.

"Jon Dare. Remember what I said? Everything you've ever achieved, we studied it, we understood it, we prepared for it." Kendov said and smiled, "Only a monster like me can face a monster like you. You ought to be very proud of yourself, even the Dragons don't want to face you now and so I was made… just for you."

"Can you imagine it?" Jon laughed with an angry and mocking sneer.

"Can you? My whole purpose is to fight you, Jon Dare, and you know what, I am doing a damn good job. I know winning against you will take Lord Alduin himself but keeping you in check, bothering you to no end, that's my job and I am damn good at it, aren't I?"

Seeing Kendov being so proud of himself, Jon kept staring at him.

"You've prepared for everything?" He asked.

"Indeed. I know my enemy." Kendov replied.

"Everything that I have achieved?" Jon asked again.

"Everything." Kendov nodded.

Jon then smiled and his smile displayed a hint of cunning and slyness.

"You sure about that?" He asked and scratched his chin, "You sure that you have prepared for every little thing, for Lust and Sloth as well?"

"The crystal whore and the ice giant. I know everything there is to know." Kendov nodded and then added, "And the cat too, we are prepared for her."

"Nefertiti is far away, you needn't worry about her." Jon said with an affirming nod before looking at Kendov, "What about Pride?"

"The flying staff, we accounted for it most of all." Kendov replied.

"The flying staff, huh? Let's see… it was at Miraak's place when it happened so it's natural you don't know about it."

Jon's childish way of hinting something out felt a bit irritating but Kendov was sure… so sure.

"Let's see then. What's your counter for Lust?" Jon asked and the elusive Venus of Lust appeared beside him. 

"That's your weakest sin. It only affects the weak-willed so we had everyone that can't resist that level of temptation vacated. Also, we know it can't endure excessive heat." Kendov said.

"What about this big boy then? Sloth." Jon asked and a throne of frost was summoned above him before it transformed into a Karstaag, king of the Frost Giants.

"Melt it with the fires of Ten Dragons." Kendov replied.

"Smart. That would work indeed." Jon nodded before sending away Lust and Sloth.

"What about Pride? What do you have in mind for my most powerful sin?" Jon asked with his staff in his hand.

"The disarming shout before sealing it, of course. We have a specialist." Kendov replied.

"And you are so confident that I'll be pushed to a corner while using these artifacts that your plans would work anyway even with me knowing them." Jon concluded.

"Because we know much more. We are the War Dragon Cult, we are not mere warriors, we are strategists who learned the art of waging war." Kendov said with pride.

"I commend your efforts." Jon said and nodded, "You got me at every single one."

"But?" Kendov asked, trying to match Jon's cockiness.

"But you got something wrong." Jon turned to Kendov with sincere eyes, "I am not the same as me from yesterday. I am stronger, I am always evolving."

"Show me then." Kendov didn't want to back down and acted all smug and confident.

"Hecate, be a dear and come out."

Just by saying that, Jon's staff transformed into a feminine image of him for a woman of complete whiteness and blackness, with white skin that was as pale snow or milk and black hair and eyes that reflected nothing of the light cast on them.

She was beautiful and horrific. Powerful and peaceful. Charming and dangerous.

The Elder Staff's personification, Hecate, was a terrifying force that wasn't limited to anything.

Kendov wasn't pleased to see something he never heard of. He pointed at her and the most logical thing that came to his mind was…

"Time Freeze!" He cried and the Dragons heard him.

The Ten Dragons were also surprised by Hecate and tried to subdue her with their shouts that could freeze her in time. However…

CLICK!

Hecate flicked her fingers before the dragons could shout and it sounded like a drop of water falling into the middle of a small puddle in the middle of a hollow cave, echoing its sound through its walls.

Then the dragons' shouts came to be.

Something happened or rather… nothing happened.

Every Dragon was a master at shouting some signature shouts but only a few had the power to halt time. This was an emergency step planned beforehand in order to counter Jon if anything went out of their expectations.

But time didn't halt as they had hoped and both Hecate and Jon remained where they were.

"To explain what happened, you guys have lost the ability to speak." Jon said with a smile so wide, "What Hecate did just now was to prevent the air molecules around you from vibrating and so whatever sound you try to make is muted."

This proved to be utterly shocking for the Dragons who lived their entire lives without being denied shouting for a single instance in their lives.

But now under the effect of Hecate's reality-bending powers, there was nothing even for a dragon to come up with in such an unexpected and sudden situation.

"Hecate, be a dear and take everyone out. Daddy needs to have a word with those lizards." Jon said.

Following his orders, Hecate snapped her fingers one more time and the sin artifacts disappeared as mysteriously as they appeared. Even Thor and Idun were sent away by Hecate along with everyone else who was trying to infiltrate the Dragon Cult's base.

Seeing that happen and how Jon was already on top of the situation, the Dragons and Kendov were preparing to initiate Plan B.

"Unexpected, huh?" Jon looked at Kendov and asked, "You were so sure."

"Quite the opposite really, else there wouldn't be more plans to deal with you."

"GRON VUTH STAAD!" (Bind Stop Place)

"GRON VUTH STAAD!" (Bind Stop Place)

"GRON VUTH STAAD!" (Bind Stop Place)

Every Dragon in the chamber shouted and formed layers upon layers of sealing barriers, trapping Jon and Kendov within. Kendov seemed to have received more dragon weaponry which can injure Jon and seemed to be ready to serve all he has to Jon.

"I remember being like that once. I had a lot of wrath, a lot of unnecessary pride too." Jon reminisced and shook his head before pausing and having a casual smile, "How about I show how I can take you all down in one single move? Ten Dragons, one Dragon Priest, one move."

"I say you are flattering yourself more than you should but then again… if anyone can do it…" Kendov said and seemed to be ready with the ace in his sleeves too.

"You're the one flattering me." Jon laughed and said, "Alright, you have one move to make before I do mine."

"MUL NAH GAAR!" (Strong Fury Unleash)

Suddenly, Kednov shouted. Jon never knew he could shout but as a Dragon Priest, he should have at least been tongue. Then again, Jon had never really seen a Dragon Priest shouting before.

Still, that shout was something even Jon couldn't master as it was unsuitable for him. The Dragon Rage shout, which dragons use as a last resort when they are engaged in melee, was a really powerful shout but applying it on a human was tricky. Somehow, it seemed that Kendov had made it possible.

His aura was reinforced with more power and it could be seen that he will be able to fight better than before now. Jon, however, was still unimpressed.

"Make your move already." Jon said and stood in no combat pose.

Seeing that Kendov leaped on the opportunity towards Jon at an unimaginable speed, now aiming for Jon's vitals since Gluttony was no longer here to apply its ridiculous healing factor to Jon.

No man, even if it is Jon Dare, can endure a stab to the heart.

Kendov was no weakling, Jon would need more than just his brute strength to stop his attacks, he would need the best weapon in his arsenal and that was…

"MUL QAH DOV!" (Strength Armor Dragon)

Jon finally used it, a shout that would make even the Dragons tremble from inside.

Kendov was swept with the golden draconic force that came from Jon and couldn't resist such power the same way he first met a Dragon.

As the dust settled and everyone in the room could see the center of events again, all of them were shocked to see a spectral golden dragon twisted around Jon with its head raised and eyeing every Dragon in the vicinity murderously.

As for Jon, he was now seated on the ground with his eyes closed and his hands on his knees. He was in a state of deep focus that demanded him to surrender all his senses and trust his inner dragon.

After all, this opportunity he was given won't be repeated ever again. No one has ever offered to place him under so many protective barriers even though it was to trap him.

All Jon needed was to face the level-up he had delayed for so long and finally step into the level unforeseen even by the game that started this all.

Jon was going to face the Final Heavenly Tribulation.

————————————[Status]————————————

— Name: Jon Dare (Jonhild Firemane)

— Titles:-

—— The Last Dragonborn

—— Grand Thane of Skyrim

—— The Boss

— Race: Human (Nord)

— Age: 21

— Level: 99 (Peak Thunder Heart Formation) [★Level Up available!★]

— Class: Arch-Wizard / Master-Warrior

— Craft: Grandmaster Binary Enchanter

— Bloodline: Firemane (Fireborn/Titanborn)

— Birth Sign: The Serpent (Eating: The Shadow)

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