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I’ve always enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.
To see my prey cower as they know I’m about to sever their lifeline, to see the fear in their eyes as I cleave their bodies in half, it all fills me with such adrenaline that’s simply… indescribable. I’ve always loved the prey that fights back against me, it always offered more of a challenge. It does get boring clearing out the garbage all the time. Turning to hunting dragons was a steep change in career, and I learned much from my first few mistakes. I have scars that remind me that I’m lucky to be alive. As the dragons became rarer and rarer, it was harder to find a challenging prey to hunt.
That’s why I shook with excitement at this proposition.
This particular sorry village had an issue with a recurring beast. This ‘demon’ they claimed would slaughter members of their community in such gruesome ways, they doubted it could possibly be a rogue dragon. I was skeptical of course. What more could it be, than just a particularly intelligent scaly beast?
Well, a little more intelligent than the others, anyway.
The leader of the village told me of the details. This creature was a mysterious masked being that strode upon two legs, yet wielded the power of a dragon. The concept of halflings weren’t unknown, but very rare. Especially with the dragons being hunted with great success. I would see if the villager was right with his suspicions.
“So, Kayn. You scared?”
I turned to look at my weapon, the Dragonslayer’s Blade, a scythe crafted from a great drake’s fang, hammered down and tempered by the Great Blacksmith of the North. That particular quest was an especially rewarding one, despite my body suffering severe damages. The scythe was an ancient relic that lay hidden deep within the caves, guarded by dragons who knew of its power. One such guard was Rhaast, a demonic dragon who yearned to use the weapon’s power for himself, but ended up defeated, and trapped away in the very weapon he wanted to steal. The only trace of his former form was a piercing red eye located smack in the middle of the blade.
And it turned out that Rhaast was quite talkative.
“No, Rhaast. Quite the contrary, I’m quite excited.” I responded, twirling the weapon in my hand. The blade seemed to laugh in my hands.
“I’d like to see you terrified for once. It gets so boring to watch my brethren fall like flimsy beetles…” Rhaast grumbled. “They don’t make dragons like they used to.”
“Well,” I began, striding forth on my path to the spot the village leader said the last sighting of the beast was, “We shall see if this one meets your expectations.”
Rhaast’s intentions were always clouded. Did he enjoy slaughtering his own kin? Perhaps he simply liked and relished in the violence for it. I’ve always known he wasn’t to be trusted, but it didn’t stop us from bonding slightly over our shenanigans.
For now anyway.
I finally reached the clearing of the last whereabouts of the beast. I saw the bodies, and I immediately felt a small shiver crawl up my spine. One body had been strung up on a tree, the limbs torn and piled up at his feet, the entrails spilling out from a large gash in his stomach. The smell was absolutely revolting, with flies and maggots already covering most of the corpse pieces. This wasn’t the action of a mere dragon.
“Oooh,” Rhaast whispered softly, “I like where this is going.”
I gently nudged the corpse with the end of my weapon, and it fell from the tree with a loud thunk. I leapt back in surprise, and looked around to see if there was any movement among the trees. Thankfully, there was none.
Rhaast laughed. “You were scared there, totally!”
“Oh, shut up.”
I pushed aside the corpse. There was nothing that could be done to save it anyway, it was a bit too late for that. I looked around the clearing to find the other body, which was, as well as I could describe, had been shredded and woven back into some sort or twisted flesh sweater.
“Why would you weave skin…?” I muttered under my breath.
“Why not?” Rhaast chuckled. “Perhaps he was leaving a snack behind for later?”
“Ugh, you’re vile.”
I finished observing the leftovers that my target had left behind, and began looking closer to the marks in the dirt. There were a few trails leading out from the clearing, and soon I found a trail of footprints leading deeper into the forest. I whistled softly, and traced the edge of Rhaast around the shape of one. “I think I’ve found our lead.”
Rhaast’s eye swiveled around to blink at what I was looking at. He didn’t say anything, but merely hummed under his breath. The footprint was not of a normal boot, rather perhaps of some beast, or some creative armor.
“We must be close.” I muttered under my breath.
“Good,” Rhaast narrowed his eye, “We will finally see who the culprit is.”
I didn’t have much difficulty following the trail. The footprints faded as I continued, as if my prey was beginning to cover up its tracks. However, crushed plants and broken twigs led me the way to a small open lake with a small waterfall. I blinked and looked around, searching for more clues as the thunderous crash of water sounded from the fall.
I heard a shuffle and whipped around, my weapon at the ready. I saw a few leaves move, and stood very still, awaiting my prey’s next move.
Suddenly a shadow leapt towards me, flashes of metal catching my eye. I quickly dodged it, and turned to get a look at my attacker. He was covered in light armor, everything edged in gold with plates resembling scales. I couldn’t see his face, as a mask covered his face but I could see the bloodthirst in his eyes. He resembled a human more than a dragon, except for his long tail behind him, which was adorned with shimmering scales the color of dark ruby. His armor seemed to be lightweight, and he wore a half cape that looked leathery, almost like a bat wing. He hissed softly, his golden armored claws flexing.
“So, is this the hunter they sent out to find me? A scrawny child with a small farming tool? Ah, how desperate these humans must be to put faith into such pathetic of excuse for a dragonslayer.” I was irked when he spoke, half because of his insulting words, the other half being his voice was nothing like what I expected. Calm but also soothing, if he wasn’t mocking me, I could have listened to him speak for longer.
He stood up and at his full height he towered over me. I was slightly intimidated now, especially as he swept his cape around, and adjusted his mask and armor without even taking as much as a glance at me. I realised, he didn’t see me as a legitimate threat. I hissed, and dashed forward, using my unexpected speed to lunge towards his lesser protected left side that was covered by the cape. He smoothly avoided my advance, sidestepping me and leaving me grunting as I prepared for another attack.
“Oh please. You are as predictable as a wounded dog.” He chided, dodging me for the third time, and I gave a snarl of frustration.
“You damned beast, come and fight me, instead of just dodging my attacks!” I hissed, as Rhaast snickered at my side. I was infuriated. My target looked up at me, and narrowed his eyes, and I prepared myself for his attack. Instead, he gestured to himself quite proudly.
“That’s no way to address me, child. You will refer to me as: the fearsome Khada Jhin, maestro of displaying blood and flesh, conductor of orchestras of carnage.” Jhin seemed quite proud of his title, and his pride only served to dislike him even more. “Perhaps you can help me with my next performance, I’ve always wanted to string up a piece with a mewling kitten.”
“That’s it.” I snapped and lunged again, this time Rhaast readied to the side. I feigned my direction to one side, and when I saw him begin to dodge again, I changed direction and lashed out with my scythe, finally hitting my target. I tripped him up, and Jhin tumbled to the side, dust covering his once clean cape. Jhin gritted his teeth and huffed, getting up quickly and positioning himself into a fight ready stance.
“Fine, you’ve irked me enough. I guess we shall have to move your finale date to… now.” Jhin pulled out his weapon, which looked much more like a human gun than any weapon I expected him to wield. He aimed and fired towards me, and a speedy harpoon sank into the dirt where I had been a moment before. It barely missed me, and Jhin ripped out the rope from the gun and lashed the rope like a whip, which cracked loudly and I winced as the rope seemed to explode with light, blinding me.
I rolled away, trying to get away from Jhin’s weapon as far as I could, but the light had blinded me to make my vision blurry. I saw a sparkly blur, and dodged, using Jhin’s need for flashy armor to my advantage. He lunged towards me with another weapon, this time a shining dagger. I swung upwards with Rhaast, scraping his shoulder plates and emitting sparks. Jhin snarled angrily, and knocked me over with the butt of his gun. He fired again, this time a large blast like a fireball hurtling towards me, singeing the ends of my hair.
After I managed to get away from subsequent bullets of flame, I glanced at the leftover rope with the harpoon in the dirt. I ripped the harpoon out of the dirt, and waited for Jhin to attack me again. He whipped around and fired another fireball, and I vanished amidst the smoke and into the shadows. Walking amidst the shadows and terrain in my incorporeal form, I snuck behind Jhin, and stabbed him in the vulnerable side with the harpoon.
Jhin yelped in pain, and punished me with a panicked rake from his claws against my neck, cutting the skin on the side of my chin. I pulled away, only to pull the rope around his legs, twisting his ankles together and Jhin teetered, and tripped on my trap.
“So, how’s that for a ‘mewling kitten’?” I laughed, putting my foot against Jhin’s side, nudging him in the dirt. He flashed me dangerous eyes, and I couldn’t deny the small chill along my spine. “Too bad they want you alive, because I wouldn’t hesitate putting down a
monster
like you.”
I watched him blink at me, the anger in his eyes fading and only replaced with amusement. I wondered what he was thinking. He was exceptionally crafty, even if I didn’t believe the theory that Jhin was a halfling. I doubted a real half-dragon would be put down this easily… unless.
This was all part of his game? I looked at him again, and from his eyes, I could tell he was smiling. “What’s so amusing?” I demanded.
“Oh… nothing,” Jhin laughed, and I grew more wary. “You hunters… all the same.”
I knew to pull back as Jhin exploded in a ball of flame. I let go of the rope as it was quickly consumed by the fire, and stared in fearful awe as I saw a large shadow within the bright golden flames. Jhin was gone, and replaced with a large dragon, a slender beast clad with golden scales and curled horns that reached out like antlers. His eyes were piercing, and had the similar sharp quality that Rhaast’s did, and he was baring his teeth, sharp fangs like daggers. Each side of his mouth was marked with a long furry whiskery tendril, extending past his jawline. He slashed towards me with his golden claws, and in my awestruck state I nearly lost my entire head.
I was woefully unprepared to fight Jhin in his new form. Jhin drew in air through his nostrils, and bellowed a powerful wave of striking golden flames towards me, and I covered my mouth to protect myself from the smoke that plumed from the edge of the fire. I pulled Rhaast away from the fire, even if his weapon form was hard to damage, I wasn’t taking chances.
The dry grass quickly caught on fire, and began emitting sparks of light, rather than burning with smaller flames, ignited like sparklers. I tripped on an exposed root of a tree, and turned to face Jhin, his lips raised to reveal his grinning teeth.
“You mortal slayers are so foolish, using your ego and pride to fuel your actions, and never prepared to deal with the likes of me.” His voice was booming, filling my mind and it felt so large and overpowering, it was hard to feel brave with his eyes stabbing into my soul. “You will however, provide a small amusement for me, as not every slayer that comes along manages to wound me, even if it is merely my mortal form.” Jhin was pulling back, and preparing another fire breath attack when a murder of crows cawed loudly, fleeing from their spot in the trees in the distance. Jhin faltered, and hesitated. I wondered what it meant, and gripped onto Rhaast tightly, frozen and unable to do anything else.
Jhin took small steps away from me and swung his magnificent head to look upwards. Even with his large size, he still didn’t reach the tops of the trees, and I saw him narrowing his eyes, the gears in his head turning at rapid speed. “Hrmf.” He snorted, and dropped his head again to look towards me. “You may be spared now, but mark my words. You slayers are all the same… none of you will be able to stop me, and my purpose.” He raised his forelimbs and swung his claws down, blinding me with light again though I tried to turn away, and cover my eyes as much as possible. By the time the light died down, Jhin was gone, only leaving behind a few sprigs of grass fizzling out and smoking.
I recovered quickly, and got up, blinking away the flashes that were imprinted in my vision. “Damn him!” I yelled loudly, swinging Rhaast into the ground out of frustration.
“Please, don’t manhandle me.” Rhaast grumbled. “I don’t like being used to scar the dirt.”
“Don’t mock me, Rhaast,” I growled. “I had to deal with the first formidable halfling I’ve seen in a while.”
“Mocking? Oh sorry, I wasn’t meaning to.” Rhaast said, his eye blinking in a state of daze. “My ability to see was completely gone after the first flash of light. He’s very flashy, that one.”
“He sure is.” I grumbled. “I surely won’t forget him in a hurry...”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I couldn’t shake the visions out of my head.
The burning fire, the blinding light, but worst of all, the glare of those damned eyes that obliterated every last drop of bravery I had in a mere moment. They were seared into the back of my eyelids so I couldn’t even get a wink of sleep that night. I laid in my makeshift bedding and sighed deeply.
“Not still thinking about your failures, are you now?” Rhaast said tauntingly. He surely had his own thoughts on the encounter, but what was hidden behind that blazing eye of his was a mystery to me. I rolled over on my tarp deliberately so my back was facing him. “Hey now, don’t be cross. You’ll get him next time, yes?”
I hesitated. “Yeah. I will.”
Rhaast hummed a bit but said nothing else. Perhaps he knew what I feared? But it wasn’t just the threat of failure, being cast out as a disgrace, broken down and shamed by a halfling of all things…
It was as if Jhin had ignited something in my soul. Something toxic, poisonous that threatened to slither its way around my throat and strangle me as I slept. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t dare close my eyes.
I finally lost my battle with my exhaustion and found myself standing at the foot of a tree, spring breeze in the wind. It was a pleasant day, the scent of new life in the air, with petals and leaves fluttering through the breeze.
It was the world before it was engulfed in flame. I barely remembered it of course, but I had heard stories from my mentors. A beautiful world, where humans could live in safety and did not worry about their houses being demolished overnight. Food and resources were plentiful, and people didn’t need to scurry and scavenge like rodents.
It all changed when the dragons came.
I was startled awake, having only closed my eyes for what seemed like a moment. The dream I had reminded me of the stories of old, and my thoughts began to recollect the dusty tales. The elders told the stories to us young budding Dragonslayers. They recalled the day it all began. They spoke of the dragons, like demons ripping their ways out of hell, crawling out of the earth’s core to wreak havoc across the world. They tore across the land like natural disasters, bringing with them their wrath and fury, a fusion of power and intelligence that storms crafted by nature lacked. They waged war with us, driving people apart, dividing families and loved ones, and obliterating homes.
With combined efforts, the Dragonslayers defeated the accursed knight that had called them forth into our lands. Humans used their ingenuity to craft armor and weapons from the beasts, turning their claws, fangs, and hide into weapons we could use against them, and finally prevailed. That was the first wave.
Of course it wasn’t over. A wicked dragon sorceress was breeding new life into the draconic plague that threatened to kill us all, but humanity and their might struck again. However, her seeds were sown so deep, even the new mighty Dragonslayers couldn’t uproot them all. Since then, dragons have frequently cropped up, usually in disorganized onslaughts against weaker villages. Most of the new age Dragonslayers have learned from their past and prepare for the next war, a time when another organized horde of dragons threaten to reclaim the land as their own, and drive us to extinction.
These stories give me purpose, but I was dissatisfied. What use is wasting our energy chasing pests when a greater danger can strike at any moment? I had stolen Rhaast to prove a point, but the others did not agree. I had always been an outcast, even amongst slayer kind. I was tossing and turning a bit, then I heard Rhaast clearing his throat (like he had one) in my mind.
“Your thoughts are troubled. What is it that you truly fear?” Rhaast whispered softly. I tried to ignore him, but alas, he was too good at probing for my anxiety.
“If I can’t even destroy a halfling, what use am I?” I began, crossing my arms, “These lesser draconic pests were nothing compared to him, I’ve never seen anything like it. Intelligence like that, that cunning. It’s like the worst of mankind and the sheer power of a dragon rolled into one.”
“Ah, but he holds the flaws of humankind as well,” Rhaast rumbled, seemingly amused at my thoughts. He paused, thinking for a while before continuing, “Perhaps if he cannot channel his draconic form, he can be slaughtered like any other man. Or there may be another way to penetrate his defenses…”
Rhaast’s musing caught me off guard, and I lay there thinking. Other ways? Things that weigh a man down but not a brutish beast of feral instinct… Perhaps that was something to go off of. My thoughts wandered to Rhaast himself, and I wondered again, what were his motivations for helping me?
I only knew of what he had told me and the rumors of the skittish townsfolk that his kind tormented. The way they were described almost reminded me of Jhin himself, cunning in a way most dragons I had faced before weren’t. There was simply too much I didn’t know to come to any conclusion, other than imagining Rhaast as anything else than a farming tool was impossible.
I felt myself slip into a slumber, for real this time. Somewhat calmed by Rhaast’s words, I did not dream of dragons bringing the world I knew to ashes. Instead, my dreams brought me to a different place…
“Wake up.”
I grumbled, not wanting to rise just yet. Who was that? Let me rest, at least for a few more moments…
“Get up, we need to leave.”
Ugh, shut up… Just a few more moments…
“KAYN, WAKE UP! We need to move,
now!”
I jolted awake, yelping and kicking up a large cloud of dust at my feet. I glanced about, feeling the adrenaline coursing through my veins to spring into action at the danger when I spotted it… until I realised the voice was chuckling.
“Ahhh haha! You should have seen that
look
on your face! Ah, oh that brings a tear to my eye.” Rhaast was cackling, the scythe slightly quivering in amusement and his eye slitted as he laughed. I growled, and swiftly kicked the dirt at him, and his laughing immediately ceased to bouts of scowling. “Hey, ow, that stings! Bastard!”
“Really thought I was going to die there, Rhaast,” I snarled, “don’t wake me up like that!”
Rhaast continued to grumble to himself, and I stood to walk off to find the nearby lake to wash up. I knelt by the shore and rinsed the sleep out of my eyes, still feeling rather bitter. I scooped some water and washed the wounds from yesterday, wincing. I took care of my injuries, and luckily they didn’t seemed infected, at least for now. I continued to wash, annoyance and anger filling me. To be honest, I wasn’t only angry at my weapon, but at myself.
The dream I was having when Rhaast rudely awoken me was truly… how to describe it? An amalgamation of unconscious and intrusive thoughts, twisted and forced upon me when I didn’t desire it. At least my waking self didn’t, my dream self had shown no resistance to what my mind had shown me, and I hated it.
The remnants of the nightmare were still there, as I continued to scowl gazing downward. Had Rhaast seen it? If he had spotted my erection he would have commented on it or something, I was sure of it. That vile demon was a bully, and would have pestered me, or even worse, chosen to not wake me up at all and let the nightmare run its course…
Ugh! I splashed more water into my eyes, trying to wash out the filth that was in them. Unfortunately, thoughts couldn’t be as easily wiped away as dirt, blood, or even… other body fluids. If Rhaast could read my mind, he would have seen it all. How I cowered before the halfling, but instead of killing me, he had reached for my body and proceeded to use me against my will. Judging from what I knew of him, it wasn’t something Jhin
wouldn’t
do… but I did not want that happening to me in reality, no thank you. That was vile, absolutely corrupt, sinful to the highest degree.
I really had to kill him before this horrid curse ate me away on the inside.
Before I returned to Rhaast, I had to kill something else first. I stared at the tent in my pants and winced. I was still exhausted from my lack of restful sleep, and wasn’t really in the mood to be interrupted mid relief with another cursed vision of… him. Maybe just some relaxation, some meditation would help me.
After a few minutes of mindful relaxation and watching ripples on the lake, I returned to my campsite, where Rhaast was waiting looking annoyed.
“What took you so long? I’m still covered in dirt, you know.” He complained. I sighed and picked him up and began to wipe him on my shirt. “Ow, ow, ow.” Rhaast said methodically, with each rough rub of my shirt.
With Rhaast slightly more clean, I stowed him away in a satchel and slung him back over my shoulder. I was planning on trailing Jhin again today, but I could do without Rhaast paying too close attention to me, at least for a little while.
I traveled back to the place we had fought yesterday. It still unnerved me how quickly Jhin decided not to kill me, as if the tremor was more than just a simple quake. If there was a greater danger lurking beneath, I had to know of it, and tell the other slayers.
I laid low and soaked in my surroundings, seeing how the ash covered the plants and dirt. There were scuff marks and footprints from yesterday's scuffle, but no more. I couldn't even find Jhin’s tracks from when he retreated. Perhaps he flew away when I was blinded.
I continued to scout the area until I noticed something quite strange. A small trap, hidden in a patch of scorched weeds. Was it one of his? I looked carefully at the design. It was a device made of metal, artfully forged to resemble the looks of a flower that shone like a dying amber. I stepped back, and slowly pulled out Rhaast.
“Oh? What is that?” Rhaast asked curiously. I didn’t answer, and carefully nudged the trap with the edge of the blade. I pulled back when it started to tick ominously, and the trap activated, twisting and turning. I stepped back several feet before it blossomed, exploding into a whirl of flames. Rhaast closed his eye, but I stood watching until it faded away, leaving behind a lump of blackened metal, melted and disfigured from the intense heat.
“Idiot, I could have been damaged!” Rhaast snarled. “What brought you to do something like that?”
I didn’t answer immediately. “He has such craftsmanship on his traps… he clearly designs it all himself. His guns as well. He has an arsenal.” I spoke, and Rhaast continued to hiss.
“So? How does that help us?”
“Why is he doing that?” I asked. “Why go through all the trouble of creating such unique tools for destruction, if he is so powerful himself? These are all tools a human would use, why does he insist on killing people in that inferior form?”
Rhaast faltered, but continued frowning. “Who cares to delve into the mind of a psychopath and destructive beast? That isn’t your goal is it, to understand him? You’re supposed to kill him!”
“Don’t be rash.” I retorted, approaching the trap again, which was still radiating heat. “He preys on humans, yes, but he is still afraid of something. Otherwise he would have killed me yesterday. There is a greater danger here, and Jhin knows it. Humans were able to push back against the worst of dragonkind, and Jhin’s dragon form is not as big as the other great dragons from what the stories describe.”
The weapon was quiet again, finally thinking alongside with me. “So.. you’re saying there’s something he’s scared of? Something he knows he can’t face as a dragon?”
“Perhaps. That rumbling doesn’t sit well with me. If he can prove his tools are effective against even the strongest of Dragonslayers, then he can prepare for what’s next.”
I waited for Rhaast to reply, but he didn’t say anything. His eye glanced towards the smoking heap of metal, and back to me. He almost looked… concerned. “It could be that he has been baiting your kind on purpose.”
“Huh?”
“Not that I’m the same sort of psychotic killer, but if I wanted to continually keep testing stronger killing methods, but wasn’t confident on going head on, I’ll need to first lure the prey in. Like worms on a fishing line, like meat in a bear trap, like-”
“Bodies strung up in trees, for someone like me to find.” I said quietly. I was right when I had thought about it, it wasn’t the work of just a mere dragon. Dragons, sadistic and cruel as they were, had no reason to hang up bodies from the trees like flags, signaling their presence.
“Or we may be overthinking a simple situation, just a particularly cruel being with dragon blood in their veins.” Rhaast said quickly, almost as if to stop the subject in its tracks.
“Right, right.”
I continued forward, spotting a small trail of burned grass. It wasn’t the most visible, but I could see it was flatter than the rest, telling me someone had been here. I followed the trail closely, but made sure I didn’t step into any more traps. I found a small shady grove of green trees, not yet burned to a crisp. I crawled down under a few bushes and almost laid my hand on a trap, before I quickly stopped myself and avoided it.
“He’s near. I can feel it.” Rhaast uttered softly. I nodded, trying to stay quiet. I stood up and glanced around. I was in a small area decorated with particularly colourful flowers, and small saplings littered the ground under the branches of a particularly large beech tree. I held my breath waiting for something terrible to happen, but nothing did.
I stared at the flowers that dotted the small grove. There was no more trace of ash here, and my soul felt light, seeing such greenery untainted by the dark soot that usually coated most of the vegetation now. This area was a small sanctuary, but I couldn’t enjoy peace here, not yet.
I slowly strode along the grass, noting the small pathway barely visible to the eye. There was a small patch where grass grew less in front of the tree, and when I approached it, I laid my hand on its bark.
It was cool, a strange sensation almost alien to me. My world was filled with cold stone making barriers to protect villages, or dead and dying wood of forests afflicted with the burning plague. To see something alive, still living in all its glory, felt so strange to me. I was almost inclined to sit there and sleep when I heard a noise amidst the gentle rustling around us.
Breathing.
It was coming from behind the tree. Rhaast’s eye glanced around, and I knew he noticed it too. I readied myself, and slowly and as carefully as I could, approached the other side of the great beech tree.
There he was, the beast himself. Jhin was breathing a bit harshly, his hand clutching a wound on his side. It was where I had punctured him, and it seemed to have barely healed at all. I held Rhaast, and I knew it was time to strike. Cleave the beast’s head when I could, when he was vulnerable.
I watched Jhin breathing, his chest rising and falling as he coughed, grumbling a bit under his breath before holding his injury again. He seemed nervous, I could hear his heart beating. Or was that mine? I couldn’t wait any longer, I needed to act now, I had to-
Jhin made a rapid movement before I did, slicing a rope with his claws. I stood there, dumbfounded as a net scooped me from under my feet, hauling me into the air. I panicked, trying to wriggle free but it was no use. I felt the horror of the situation creep in as I saw Rhaast’s panicking eye below me, on the ground outside of the net.
“You shouldn’t… have hesitated for so long.” Jhin said softly, his voice almost rasping. How badly did I hurt him? Weren’t dragons supposed to regenerate more quickly than humans could? My questions were answered when he knelt down and picked up my weapon with his clawed hand, chuckling softly to himself.
“What fun, a blade melded from the weapons of my own kind. Your people have some ingenuity, don’t they? No matter… I’ll use this.” Jhin looked at me and laughed again, his excitement overtaking his exhaustion. He pointed Rhaast towards me, and I stared at the swiveling eye, then back to Jhin’s crooked smile, barely visible under his mask which was slightly askew. “You’ll make a good test subject.”
I gulped, feeling a large pit in my stomach. My body was crippled in fear, and the poisonous threat in my body reared its ugly head again.
I was cornered.
I was dead for sure.