[Kara] Chapter 6: Second Stage (Patreon)

Kara had reached the Second Stage of her dragonsoul. Having ascended from a Hatchling, she was now what was called a Young. And while she didn’t exactly fully understand all these different terminologies— considering she had only learned of them just now through the fragments of Zarkoth’s memories— she knew one thing was for certain:

She is far stronger now.

A coat of golden fire cloaked her body as she stood out in the magical storm with a grin spread across her face. Zarkoth’s distant voice whispered in her mind, telling her of her new abilities as she inspected herself. There wasn’t much noticeable difference in her own physical appearance, but her flames were clearly far stronger than before. The falling rain evaporated before they touched her skin, and the ground almost threatened to melt at her feet. A cloud of steam simmered around her as she took in her newfound power.

Kara felt invincible. Even compared to what she felt on the first day she had been given her dragonsoul— when she had been running around the ancient ruins of Arcos and crushing gargoyles left and right— she felt even stronger now. She couldn’t help but feel giddy, just wondering what she was capable of now.

“This is… fucking awesome!” the words left her mouth without her even realizing it.

She thought of the machine that had hunted her down. She thought of the Soulmaster, whoever he was.  She thought of all the dangerous monsters wandering through this mountain range, from the elemental birds to the giant golems. And perhaps it was in the heat of the moment, but she felt like she could face them all.

But a small noise drew her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she saw a little furry figure cowering from her behind a curtain of rain, whimpering in fear. She frowned, and then she realized who it was.

“Angel,” she said, approaching the bear cub. He curled up into a ball and trembled as she came to a halt before him. “Don’t be scared— it’s me, Kara.”

He raised his head, and he looked at her with his big brown eyes. Some of his fear faded away. But there was evidently some apprehension there. He eyed her flames hesitantly, and she paused.

The young woman looked down at herself, seeing the way her flames burned everything it touched. Glancing back, she saw the trail of scorched footsteps she left behind. And she blinked.

“Oh.”

And with a thought, the golden fire protecting her was extinguished. Angel perked up at that. He slowly got back to his feet, before wrinkling his nose. He sniffed her, then leapt into her arms. Kara laughed and hugged him back.

“You worry too much,” she said as she set him to the ground. “Nothing bad happened to me. So don’t be afraid.”

He met her gaze and nodded. She took a step back, flexing an arm.

“I’m actually stronger now. Which means I can protect you better.” A smile spread across her face.

Angel looked her up and down, before tilting his head. He looked confused about what was going on. And to an extent, Kara was too.

She had expected something to happen to her when she filled her dragonsoul with that pool of absorbed mana. However, she didn’t expect this much of a boost in strength, let alone experiencing those visions she saw.

“Come on,” she said as she shook her head. “Even if I’m stronger now, it’s still dangerous out here.”

She urged the bear cub back into the cave, away from the rain. But right as they reached the entrance, the ground behind them burst open. A wave of flames shot out of the ground as Kara’s head snapped back.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw a creature crawl out of the earth. The orange flames dissipated, and the monster took a step towards her. It was about the size of a large alligator. But while it looked like a lizard, it had claws and its tail was lit aflame.

“That’s…?” Kara’s eyes went wide.

She recognized it at once. It was one of the two flaming salamanders that had attacked the machine a few hours earlier. The one that had survived the encounter. And it was not alone.

A pair of smaller flaming salamanders dug out of the ground, their tails burning with a soft yellow fire. They joined the first flaming salamander’s side as Kara stood protectively over Angel.

Why are they here? the question raced through her mind. Did they track me down to avenge their friend?

If they did, there was no point in trying to reason with them. They were monsters. They couldn’t understand her. And they were clearly after her head. With a cacophony of low ticking noises, they drew closer.

Angel growled at them, but Kara glanced back at him.

“Get behind me, I’ll deal with them,” she said as she took on a defensive stance.

He looked up at her, before nodding hesitantly and receding obediently back into the cave. Kara faced down the trio of flaming salamanders as they surrounded her. She closed her eyes for a second, taking in a deep breath.

“You know, you caught me at a bad time.” She shook her head as she strode forward. “Normally, I don’t like fighting. But today?”

Her eyes flickered open. The large salamander made a popping sound. Its two minions rushed at the lone human. And she gave them a savage grin.

“I am in just the right mood to kick some salamander ass.”

Kara dashed forward as the first of the lesser salamanders leapt her way. She slid under it, then opened her two hands. Zarkoth’s voice echoed in her head as her fingers were ignited by her magic.

Dragon’s Claws.

Her hands were coated by fiery golden dagger-like protrusions. Each one was like a sharp blade, but also burning with an incredible intensity. She swiped up with her right hand, striking the lesser salamander’s underbelly.

Its hard leathery flesh tore open like butter, but no blood was spilled. The wound was instantly cauterized by the flames as the first lesser salamander crashed into the rock wall behind Kara.

She skidded to a halt, then looked up just in time as the second lesser salamander reached her. Sidestepping its first swing, she then parried its second attack with her own Dragon’s Claws. It reeled back in pain as its arm came clean off from her strike.

Kara blinked, not expecting that. She had just meant to block the attack, but she had torn straight through its claws then shoulders. She quickly broke out of her stupor and jammed her right hand into the monster’s neck. It hissed, before collapsing as the yellow flames on its tail were snuffed out.

Taking a step back, Kara stared down at her Dragon’s Claws. While it was not as destructive as God Strike, it was more effective in how it wasn’t a single-use attack. It was also far more efficient, wasting very little mana with each swing. Instead, it slowly drained her mana over time as long as it was active.

“This is way better than punching monsters in the face.” Kara grinned.

She glanced back at the first lesser salamander. It struggled to get back to its feet, before pointing its tail towards her. A blast of yellow flames shot towards her as she brought her hands up to block herself.

Once again, Zarkoth’s voice reverberated in her mind as she reached for her dragonsoul.

Dragon’s Scales.

And her body burst into flames. But the fire covering her didn’t burn wildly like they did beforehand. Instead, they coated her like armor, blocking the blast of yellow flames.

Kara watched as the flames washed over her Dragon Scales, failing to burn her. The yellow flames dissipated, and she lowered her hands. The lesser salamander stared at her for a moment, standing on shaky feet. Then it toppled over as the flames on its tails grew smaller, before fading away.

“That’s two down,” she said as she spun around. “Now for the third—”

But as she started, she saw a shadow blur towards her. The large flaming salamander flanked her while she wasn’t looking, swinging its tail towards her. She braced herself, but the attack bounced off her Dragon’s Scales.

The large flaming salamander yelped as its skin was singed by her protective flames. Unlike the coat of fire she conjured when she was still in the First Stage of her dragonsoul, she was actually protected by her Dragon’s Scales from any oncoming attacks, while still burning anything that got closer to her.

“Nice try, but my flames burn hotter than yours.” She smirked as she raised a hand.

A ball of golden flames came into existence in the palm of her hand as the large flaming salamander leapt back. It pointed its tail towards her as its orange flames flared up, then it unleashed a powerful fireball her way.

The fiery attack ripped apart the ground as it shot its way towards her like a speeding truck. Kara stared at this approaching massive orange sphere— a show of force from the large flaming salamander far more destructive than its fallen lesser brethren. She saw this. And she accepted this challenge.

She raised a tiny ball of golden flames to her mouth, remembering the vision she had seen. The memories of Zarkoth as he ascended into Young Dragon. As he learned the true heritage of all dragonkind.

And she breathed out, “Dragon’s Breath.”

All at once, the tiny sphere of golden flames expanded. It shot forward right as the large flaming salamander’s fiery attack reached her. And her Dragon’s Breath dug straight through the massive orange sphere, completely overwhelming it with ease.

The large flaming salamander’s eyes widened as a golden inferno shot its way. It tried to jump back, but it was not fast enough. The blast reached it, overwhelming its body as it shrieked in pain. A blinding explosion erupted where it stood as Kara covered her eyes.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left behind was a burning crater where the remains of the monster lay. Kara stared at this sight, even as the rain washed away her golden flames carpeting the earth. Stepping back, her Dragon’s Scales and Dragon’s Claws vanished, and the magical storm continued to fall around her.

“So that’s all of my new abilities, huh?” she remarked as she glanced between the three dead salamanders, before tilting her head back. “And my dragonsoul still has five more stages of ascension to undergo.”

Kara nodded to herself as she returned to the cave.

“...maybe I’m actually going to escape these mountains one day, after all.”

—--

Unfortunately, another month passed, and Kara remained lost atop the mountain range. She faired better against the dangers of this deadly terrain. The magical storms were less of a threat to her because of her ascension, so she dared to venture out of the little crevices and caves she normally sought refuge in to face the monsters that lurked that blanket of death.

And while her three new abilities proved to be incredibly useful in battle, that was not all she needed to rely on to survive this treacherous place.

“God Strike!” she shouted before a cavern,

Her attack tore through the giant spider that guarded the cave entrance, before incinerating the webs within. In general, Kara was much stronger than prior to her ascension. Every single thing she was capable of doing had been enhanced. From her fire conjuration to her physical capabilities. She could run faster, punch through a rock wall, and create a ball of fire that was as large as a boulder now.

And there was more of a pool of mana within her dragonsoul to draw from, which meant that she could cast God Strike more frequently. While she couldn’t just run around, swing her arms around, and use the attack every single time, she didn’t need to use it so sparingly anymore either.

Kara was stronger now, but unlike how she felt when she first ascended, she wasn’t invincible just yet. She glanced back into the horizon as she saw the sun disappear behind the undulating mountains. There, she saw a stream of smoke pouring up into the sky. And even though night had fallen, an artificial orange glow redolent of twilight flickered at the base of a valley.

She saw the distant shape of a raging fire. She made out the vague shape of collapsing buildings. And she remembered all the destroyed cities she had seen.

Angel walked up next to her to stare at this scene, but she took him by the arm. “We should stay far away from that.”

He blinked at her, and she shook her head, before ushering him into the safety of the cave.

—--

Angel had been traveling with Kara for many moons now. More than he could keep count. And throughout their entire journey together, she had always protected him.

He was grateful for that. While he had been dubious of her intentions at first— considering that she was a human— he now knew that she had the best intentions in mind for him. So he stuck with her. Regardless of the circumstance, he followed her lead. No matter what she told him to do, he would do it if she was certain it was the right choice. Because he knew it was for his own safety.

But while he definitely did trust her, he wasn’t content. He looked towards Kara, and he watched as she studied a metallic staff.

“How do I even get you to work?” she asked, tapping the red crystal poking out of the staff.

It was the very same staff that the hooded figure had been carrying when he had been hunting both Kara and Angel. It had been capable of sending a beam of powerful energy at a target— an attack that was one of the most destructive things the bear cub had ever seen.

When Kara had first brought it back that day, she had been excited to try it out. But she never learned how to use it in a combat situation. And after trying to tinker with it every single day to no avail, she finally resigned herself to failure.

“I give up,” she sighed as she set it down on the ground. “I’m never going to get it to work unless I get someone else to take a look at it. I’m going to sleep.”

The sun had set long ago, and the twin moons hung high in the night sky. Today had been another long day of travel. Because of that, Kara closed her eyes and immediately went to sleep.

Angel stared at her. His eyes were fixed on her slumbering figure. Seeing her exhaustion, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated. There was a reason why he wasn’t content about the status quo. And it was explicitly because he wasn’t able to do anything at all to help Kara.

Every single day the bear cub woke up, he found himself trailing behind her, offering nothing but his presence. Many times, he wasn’t even allowed to be there. All he could do was run and hide because he was so weak.

He tried to help. He really did. But he wasn’t able to offer much in the way of actual assistance, only morale support. And even though he really tried his best to be useful— by doing whatever he could to grow stronger— he was still… weak.

He was still a mere cub who hadn’t undergone his Awakening.

Yes, Angel had grown since he first met Kara. He was bigger now. If he stood upright, he was nearly up to the human’s shoulders. He felt stronger too. However, most of the monsters in this mountain range were many times his size while being much more physically imposing than him.

So his progress felt like it was all for naught. Whenever he lay down at night, lost in his thoughts, his fears crept up to his mind like crawling ants. He shivered as his eyes fluttered shut.

But he steeled himself. He opened his eyes, and his breathing calmed. He stared at Kara as she slept soundly in the night. Next to her, a metallic staff leant against the rock wall. He clambered to his feet and approached the inert weapon.

He wanted to help Kara. If he couldn’t attain his Awakening yet, then there had to be some way for him to be useful. That was why he had been doing this every single night for a while now.

He picked up the inert weapon, and his gaze focused into it. He saw his reflection on the dull red surface of the crystal jutting out of the tip, before he placed a paw on it. It reminded him of his monstersoul. Something that held the potential of power.

But currently, it was just… there.

Doing nothing.

Angel tried to focus on it. He tried to peer into it like he was told he could peer into his monstersoul. However, he saw neither a change in the surface of the crystal nor the magic that was hidden within himself.

Just like every single time he had tried to comprehend the magical crystal, he failed to make heads or tails of it. Even as the stars in the night sky turned overhead, and the twin moons began to make their way back down, Angel accomplished nothing again.

It made him feel even more worthless than before. It made him even more upset than before. He wasn’t able to be useful again. He wasn’t able to do anything again. Despite his best efforts— his best intentions— he was just there.

Just like his monstersoul. Just like this staff. None of them did anything.

They were just there.

Angel’s frustration almost made him throw the staff at the rock wall, but he caught himself. That wasn’t going to do any good. So he lowered the inert weapon to the ground as he weakly gripped onto it.

He lay there, defeated. Overcome by an inanimate object. And he knew, if he couldn’t even do anything here, that it was going to happen again.

Just like before, he was going to lose everything again.

Angel’s mind flashed with his past memories as he held his eyes tightly shut. His breathing grew unsteady, and he recalled that horrible night so long ago, when his kin were all dragged away from him as he could only watch. It terrorized him. Even until now. He never wanted it to ever happen again.

Unbeknownst to him, the crimson crystal began to shimmer. It reached for his frustration as his thoughts were further thrown into turmoil, and the darkest of the night began to come to an end.

Angel knew if he continued to be so weak, it was going to happen again. He was going to be forced to watch as Kara was taken from him like his papa. Or he would go to sleep one night, only to wake up with her gone, just like his mama. Maybe he would even be forced to watch as she was killed like his friends and family.

It couldn’t happen again. He couldn’t let it happen ever again.

He wanted to let out a ferocious roar. He wanted to smack his head against the ground. He wanted to do anything that felt like it gave him meaning. But he knew it was all pointless.

So he did his best to control his tumultuous emotions. He calmed himself as his grip over the staff tightened.

And the crystal continued to glow brighter, while the chaos he felt within started to simmer. The golden glow of dawn emerged from the line where the sky and the earth met. And then, there was a flash of light.

It didn’t come from the rising sun. It didn’t even come from the crystal, which instead lost its light. Instead, it came from within the bear cub.

Angel didn’t know what it was. All he knew was that it felt like, for a very brief moment, that his soul had left his body, only to return entirely renewed, brimming with light. He saw the inside of his soul for an instant. A giant statue of his mama towered over him in a world of looming mountains. Her eyes were filled with a red light which grew brighter until it engulfed everything he could see.

Then the surface of the crystal flickered. It cracked, and so did something within the bear cub.

The sun rose over the horizon.

—--

Kara woke up as she felt the trembling of the ground. Her eyes blearily blinked open in a daze, and then she heard a crack. That made her jolt to her feet.

Thanks to her heightened senses and having lived in these mountains for months now, she was very easily startled awake by anything that resembled the sound of an approaching monster. She immediately activated her Dragon’s Scales and burst into flames. Spinning around, she swept her gaze over the cave as she readied herself for a fight.

“Angel, come here!” she called out instinctively. “There’s something dangerous nearby—“

Kara caught herself as she saw a figure standing furrher inside the cavern. At first, she didn’t recognize him. Perhaps it was because he stood slightly taller. Maybe it was because he was standing on two feet. Or it might have even been because he was holding her metallic staff in the air, making strange waving motions.

But then she saw the color of his fur. She caught a glimpse of his face. And she immediately knew who he was.

“Angel?” She narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing?”

As she asked the question, Angel raised the staff, and she heard the walls of the cave cracking. She looked to the side and watched as chunks of stone broke off and floated towards the bear cub.

Her brows snapped together as he brought the staff down. “That’s…”

The floating rocks came together to build a statue right before Angel. A feat of magic that he had never demonstrated before. Kara stared at the figure that was built from stone— at the small monument the bear cub created.

“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed, realizing what he was capable of now. She turned towards the statue as she walked up to his side. “And this is—”

She froze when she saw what it was. A myriad of expressions pass through her face as she stared at the statue. First, a look of grief. Then a strong showing of regret. Finally, she wore a soft gaze, before bowing her head. Because…

It was a statue of Angel’s mother.

The very same three-headed bear that Kara had killed. It had been done so in self-defense. But still, the young woman couldn’t help but feel guilty.

She turned towards Angel, not knowing what to say. However, the bear cub didn’t need to hear anything. All he did was place a paw on the statue as he closed his eyes.

His lips seemed to move. But no words left his mouth. He growled gently, and Kara looked up at the monster that had come closest to endearing her life.

Finally, she knew what to say. She placed a hand next to Angel’s paw as she faced him with a kind smile. He looked towards her, and she spoke in a soft voice..

“Your mother was very brave.”

Perhaps Angel didn’t understand the full implications of what Kara meant. Or maybe he did. But all he did in response was give a nod.

He drew back away from his mother’s monument, before returning to standing on all-fours. He slowly walked towards the exit of the cave as Kara watched. He turned back towards her and gave her an expectant look.

She stared at him, before giving one last glance to the statue. Closing her eyes, she whispered for no one to hear.

“I promise you, I will protect your son with my life.”

And with that, she hurried after the bear cub. Both Angel and Kara made their way out of the cave and into the new day. They strode through the salmon-colored landscape, side-by-side, just the two of them, as they chatted.

Even if neither of them could truly speak the same language, they understood how each other felt.

“How did you do that?” Kara asked as Angel glanced back at her. “Wait, does this mean you’ve had your… uh, Awakening? Or how does that work?”

She scratched her chin, uncertain. The bear cub simply beamed at her as held onto the metallic staff with his mouth. Her eyes fixed onto the broken crystal as she blinked.

“And what happened there? Did you do that? Why is the crystal cracked?”

She inundated Angel with all these questions. But little did she know, he didn’t quite understand what happened either. All he knew now was that he could finally fight for his loved ones just as they fought for him.

—--

Many more weeks— maybe even a handful of months— passed as Kara and Angel traversed the treacherous terrain of the tall mountains. All they encountered were monsters, magical storms, and ruins. Until, one day, as the sun was hanging high in the sky, as oppressive as ever…

“Wait, what is that?” Kara squinted as she saw something strange protruding from the base of a mountain.

It didn’t look like a natural formation in the slightest. While it was made out of rocks, they appeared to be chiseled, building up into a defensive fortification of sorts. Akin to the walls of a medieval fortress, or…

“Is that… a city?” the young woman asked, furrowing her brows.

Angel spotted it too, but he saw something else which excited him. He pointed towards a shadowed stream cutting across the landscape and heading towards the city.

Kara looked down at what he saw. And her eyes grew wide. She made out the crowd of figures. She discerned the weary faces.

And she exclaimed, “Those are people!”

Was it fate? Was it luck? Kara didn’t know. All she knew was that  after so long, she had finally found civilization.

Author's Notes:

4,400 words. What thonk?

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