The Dragon Wakes

Even if Berus wanted to celebrate his victory, he was too busy clinging to the remainder of the bridge to do so.

“That was the worst thing I have ever witnessed!” Ki-Rai screamed at him. “You cheated! That was not a fun fight!”

It didn’t help him with clinging to the planks.

“I told you, didn’t I, you stupid soul? Even if you’re fine with dying—what is wrong with you, by the way?---I just woke up, and I don’t want to spend another century trapped in the void!”

She looked like she wanted to shake him. But it was actually the wind that clawed at his armor. He was just a soul, weightless. But the automaton itself, on the other hand, was heavy.

He didn’t know how long the bridge would hold his weight.

The fight had taken its toll on him. The metal joints creaked as he moved them, and with his mana at less than five percent of his full bar he felt a strange dizziness, both in his mind and his soul-body.

“Berus!”

Now Mikkah joined the voices that were screaming at him. She sounded desperate and when he looked up, he saw her now ungloved hand reaching out to him.

“Get up!”

“Don’t worry,” he groaned.

Even though he was sure she was a fine mechanic, he doubted she had the strength to actually lift him. He had to climb up by himself, as much as he could.

At least the rain was getting less and less. The bridge was wet, sure, but at least the water didn’t ruin his vision anymore. Instead, the storm was dangerously silent aside from that low rumbling. Now, it sounded more like it came from underneath than the sky above him.

Something is off, he thought.

But instead, he focused on climbing the wooden planks, one by one. If he looked down, he was sure it would only end worse.

“Lucine, please save him,” Mikkah muttered, while she looked at him with desperation. “Oh sweet lady, please stay by our side, and shine your light on us…”

“Ehehehe. What an idiot,” Ki-Rai giggled. “Lucine won’t save her. Not even Nys is looking at us now.”

Mikkah still reached out a hand towards him.

“It’s fine, really,” he said, and tried to sound as calm as he could in this situation. “Just focus on staying safe.”

“But…”

“It’ll be fine.”

“As if!”

She glared at him. He didn’t understand. Did he offend her somehow? But he couldn’t afford to think about it more. If it was something that persisted, they could talk about it after he had ground under his feet again.

Even though his body was made from metal, not flesh and blood, he could feel pain. It was different from the pain he remembered from his past, and yet, it was just the same: it hurt. Instead of his muscles that screamed in pain, it was his soul, and even though his mana bar slowly filled up again it was still too slow, leaving him even more vulnerable to the pain.

“It won’t take long, now,” he said.

Plank by plank he climbed towards her, using the ones he had already conquered to step on them. He was so close.

“Watch out!”

Just as Mikkah warned him, one of the planks that he stepped on broke, and suddenly, he hung in the air again. With pure instinct, he held onto the other planks, and struggled to find his footing again.

“Stupid! Idiot! Dummy! Don’t do that!”

Ki-Rais commentary was a little less helpful.

As he watched the bridge, he could see that the damage was still there, and slowly got worse. And he couldn’t tell which part would hold, and which would break. That gave him an idea, though.

“Mikkah! Can you repair the bridge with your skill?”

“H-huh? It’s already broken, can’t you tell?”

“I mean the part that still holds me. Can you reinforce it somehow?”

“Oh! I mean, I can try. Yeah, sure.” She flashed a smile at him, and then muttered, “Help me, Lucine.”

And she promptly started to work on the bridge. Berus couldn’t quite see what she was doing, but he felt the bridge improving. With each plank he grabbed, the wood felt more sturdy, and the rope was stronger. Now he only hoped it would hold up enough to get him over the edge. Plank by plank he worked upwards.

The rumbling underneath him got louder, and grew more familiar.

Oh, right, he thought. There’s that optional boss down there. A red dragon or something. What was it called again?

He had a bad feeling about this. Even though he wasn’t quite on the shard yet, he dared to look down below.

Out of the rainy mists came a shape, a deep crimson amidst the gray. And it grew bigger, much bigger than he remembered from the game.

It was a heavy dragon, almost too heavy to have the ability to fly. Its wings looked small in comparison to its hefty body, which was covered in spikes. At the end of its fat tail it had a club, and even that was covered in tiny spikes. Its eyes were golden and tiny, but they were firmly locked on him. The dragon opened its maw, and rows after rows of tiny teeth greeted him.

Ah, I remember now, he thought. It’s called a Fledgling World Eater.

“What is that thiiiing?” Ki-Rai screamed.

“Faster! Get up here faster!”

This time, Berus used the energy their panicked screams caused in him to break his trance. He climbed faster, and tried to shove the dragon’s existence as far away from his mind as he could. He focused only on the planks in front of him.

“Ki-Rai? Can you tell me how far away it is?” he asked.

He didn’t know if she would cooperate with him. But under these circumstances, he hoped she wouldn’t joke around anymore.

“Close! Too close!”

“That’s not helpful.”

“Just climb faster! Even we can’t fight that thing!”

All around him, the air got hotter. It smelled like smoke, burnt hair and brimstone. Panic rose in him once more. If the dragon got him, it would all be over. He doubted that it would be fine with just him, though. He couldn’t protect Mikkah from it. Not if it was this close.

And Ki-Rai…

“It’s getting closer. It can’t reach us yet, but we don’t have much time,” she said. “Just take my energy! Come on, climb! It’s getting closer! Closer! Closer!”

Her words were underlined by her half-laughs, half-sobs. And in time with her words, he climbed up, as an energy flooded his system that wasn’t there before.

“Faster! I can’t keep this up! Oh, we’re so screwed!”

Under him, he could hear the dragon’s jaws snap shut.