In a small tavern on the southern side of Shadowspire, Onyx set his mug down somberly.
"Sir, would you like another refill?"
Onyx smiled, and shook his head.
"No thank you, although you wouldn't happened to know who won the aetherball championship would you?"
The bartender's smile grew wider.
"I do! Phoenix won, it was a mighty battle as well..."
She trailed off, leaving quite the suspicion from Onyx.
"And?"
"Well, it is said, that Leander of House Orion and Rhysara, Queen of Frostfang waged war at the end of the game, and had their own mighty battle that cracked the skies above Frostfang... That's all I know though."
Onyx shut his eyes, and set a hand on his chest.
'May the gods be with you Leander...'
Then, without any warning- The tavern door slammed open, and several armed bandits ran into the room.
Some quickly slit the throats of nearby citizens, while other's went straight to the bartender for money or whatever vile causes they had.
Onyx sighed, and summoned the blade of retribution from his catalyst, and as he stood up, it was said that one could see a dragon resting within the soul of Onyx, as he ripped through bandit after bandit.
He actually had grown up a Stray until the months of his eighteenth birthday, when a giant monster had descended from the sky, giving him the gift of his true lineage.
And now that he had the power to change the world, as the first ever human heir of the House of Dragon, he was sure as hell going to do just that.
Before he killed the last bandit, he remembered Summer, and wondered where she was on Vallmora, but alas it was not any of his business.
Then as his sword pierced the throat of the surprised bandit, Onyx remembered Leander's final words to him on the day that he had left the academy.
'Go far, remain distant, for you do not want to see the world burn from its outside window.'
It took him several years to learn the meaning of his old teacher's saying, but once he did everything he looked at always seemed to turn gray and meaningless.
It had been nearly a century since the last birth of a sacred soul, which meant that it was time, and if Onyx had read anything about Orion, he knew that the world was about to grow quite impatient.
"Ya know what. I think I will have one more drink."
He told the panicked bartender with a subtle smirk.
"Of course! Honorary guest, Onyx... The Black Dragon!"
In the darkest caverns of the mountains far south of Orion's Kingdom...
Summer had trouble with directions, not that she had anything wrong with her, but she was deathly afraid of caves, and darkness, and anything remotely terrifying.
Her traveling companion chuckled from behind her.
"You know you didn't have to do this right?"
Summer nodded, as she scanned the vast and endless cavern for a faint glow.
"I know... But I am a healer, saving lives is a must for this kind of job."
Danny let out a sigh.
"Of course, forgive my words."
Summer smiled, and shook her head.
"No it's quite okay, you should have met my last traveling companion, we were going to form a party one day, but... Never mind."
It looked as if Danny wanted to ask more, but decided against it thankfully.
Summer let out a gasp, as she looked down below her, on the edge of a large drop off within the cavern.
"No way..."
Danny whispered from her side.
The sight was absolutely stunning, and unbelievable at that.
Millions of vibrant orange herbs lay throughout the bottom of the deep chasm, like a blanket of tranquility, as they spanned for what could have been thousands of meters.
"It's real..."
Summer couldn't believe it, the herb that she had spent her entire life searching for had been below her feet this entire time.
"The herb of restoration..."
In the highest level of the heavens, a man made of stars sat watching over the ledge that led down to the world of the living.
"Azzorath was wrong..."
He whispered, feeling the weight of his mighty master's name crush down on his godly chest like a thousand anvils made of raw gold.
Eternity had always had a terrible feeling that the humans would one day evolve to a point of reaching that of the sacred souls once more.
"Damn Lilith and her plans..."
He whispered, just to hear his own voice.
Being a god was quite the task, but it came with its perks.
His voice rang through the heavens like a marvelous melody, and his soul hummed with nothing but raw power.
He still couldn't find the boy, otherwise he would have murdered him at birth.
There was no point in stretching this out any longer, he needed to find Chaos, and end his evolution, before he learned of his mother's lineage.
Or else the gods would have a much larger problem than some simple revolution...
'If he manages to break Orion's spell then we are simply done for, but it appears time is most certainly on my side once more.'
He knew that Azzorath, even though eternally asleep could hear every single one of his thoughts, so he had to think in a way that the all seeing father could not read them.
In all honest, Eternity had warmed up to the heir of the Phoenix clan, all though Lilith's seals of death had blocked him from intervening in the boy's life, he had chosen not to involve himself anymore than necessary.
After all, the world had become so much more entertaining with a new sacred soul at its core...
In the depths of the underworld, a black castle stood at the peaks of a thousand mountains with bountiful rushing rivers of lava flowing through its center.
On the mighty crimson throne, a withered woman sat quietly, as the thorns of death grew ever closer.
"He doesn't have much time..."
She struggled to get the words out, but Zephyr knew what the queen was referring toward.
"My warrior... I think I want you to leave me..."
It was difficult to utter the words, but she knew that her time would eventually come, after all not many can survive the terrible fate of the Void Primordial...
"And go where...?"
"I will day in the next three years it appears, my injuries are far to vast, and my soul is withering in this very moment, but I can still keep the seals of death active until he is ready... His father's lineage will never suit someone with a sacred soul... But mine might be just the answer that he strives for..."
"Do you believe that he will drink from the chalice and take the throne?"
Zephyr knew that it was a tough thing to talk about, but Lilith did not blame him for worrying of the next ruler of the underworld.
"It is his choice..."
Zephyr nodded.
"Then I will leave this world... And I will protect the heir..."
Lilith smiled.
"Thank you Zephyr... May your journey be that of the fiery soldier that you have shown me to be..."
Zephyr, for the first time in centuries spread his crimson wings, and with a simple smile, shot himself toward the exit of the black castle...
Now that Lilith was alone, she poured all of her essence into the seals of death...
She needed to protect her son... At all costs...