Wake the Dragon Lord

WARNING: TEAR JERKER!!!! Chapter 8 to come!

Chapter 7: Sacrifice

Darkness. All around it was dark. Gunther groaned and fluttered his eyes open. Though everything was black in the spirit relm, Gunther could see that he was not alone. In front of him, coming to its massive paws and flexing its maw, was Yama in his spiritual form. The great dragon growled low in its gullet, so loud that Gunther could feel it in his chest.

“Fool…” he growled turning twoards the demon. Gunther swallowed slightly and looked at the dragon’s size. Clawed feet big enough to crush a horse like an ant, eyes the size of dinner plates, and fangs long enough to be short swords. Gunther realized why they gave the title of Lord of the Dragons to Yama.

“Fool…” he stated again, prowling twoards the smaller creature, his body inflating to intimidate the demon. Yama had no need for wings, he was fast enough on land to outrun his flying breathren. His body was the color of blood stained clay, and the patterns upon his thick hide gave him the illusion of being made of the very stone he could control.

“You think that by severing the tie I have with that demon’s body you can destroy me? You mearly sentinced his body to a suspended animation and then death! And what of your body? Surely it’s already parished by now!” Gunther stole himself and stood his ground.

“So what if it is? I will give up everything to save my home. To save Gwendel.” Yama growled deeply and prowled closer walking on ground that couldn’t be seen.

“You demons and humans. Working off of emotions such as love and honor,” he said as he stopped, his head stooping down to speak in Gunther’s face. “That is why you are weak. Self sacrifice does nothing but weaken your pathedic race. Self preservation and enhancement should be the way of the demons and humans. The dragons have been around since before you were a mear thought in the process of the Great Creator. Since then we have developed to follow our own wiles. Only following those whom can devower you without a second thought.” Saliva flew into Gunther’s face from the viciousness of Yama’s spoken word. “Don’t you see? Eventually the dragons shall rise up again under my claws, and crush you!” Slamming a massive paw down onto where Gunther was, he roared. Expecting the attack, Gunther was able to avoid the blow, coming to his feet and whiping his face clean of the saliva.

“You think your invincible! You’re not! I know how to destroy you…how to send your own soul into oblivion, to use the words you told me upon the mortal plane. AHH!” Gunther went flying as Yama’s whip like tail slammed into his spiritual body. He rolled to a stop, groaning, before the trapped spiritual form of Gwendel. “G-gwendel…” Gunther stood and looked as Gwendel’s form was encased in spiritual talons.

“Such bravory in the face of impossible odds, all for the one whom you believe to love you in return. I’m almost…touched…” Yama brushed away a non existant tear and grinned darkly. “Fortunately such moments pass quickly.” Roaring, Yama charged at Gunther. Gunther gaped and lept out of the way at the last moment as Yama’s maw came crushing around the talons that were holding Gwendel.

“GWENDEL!” Gunther yelled seeing Gwendel’s limp spiritual form land upon the ‘ground’. Yama growled and turned to Gunther, his eyes flashing in anger.

“You can’t run forever, Gunther Von Christ. I will devower you.” Gunther winched and looked up.

~He’s right…I can’t run forever. The only way to do this, is to summon her.~ Gunther, in the split moment of the thought was suddenly pinned under the large paw of the dragon. Gasping as he felt his form being pressured, the lavender haired mage grabbed the two foreclaws and tried to push the massive creature off of him. Yama smiled darkly and put his nose to Gunther’s face.

“I will enjoy devowering you, you know. Do you know what happens to a soul that has been devowered by another? You will not reincarnate as some demons do. You will be erased from existance, and looked down upon as a weakling. Demon souls aren’t as much as a delacacy as dragon souls, but perhaps, though, I will gain a little power from you, as I have with all others.” Yama smiled darkly and pushed slightly harder on Gunther. “Oh yeeesss….”

“No…you won’t be the one to devower me…”

“What…?!” Yama roared in shock as a strong spiritual blast came from the insignificant demon. Knocked on his side and dazed, he watched curiously as Gunther placed one hand over his heart and the other above his head. Within moments, a small ball of wind began to form, and something began to grow inside. Realization dawned on the dragon and he stood up slowly glaring at the demon in front of him. “You call upon HER?! Did I not tell you that self sacrifice will do nothing for you! You have nothing to loose except your very existance!”

“I know…and I risk it all to save those whom I love. I give up my very soul to the Void to see Gwendel happy. Even if it’s not with me, I will give up everything I ever had! Everything I would ever gain from living on to see Gwendel smile again! With Anissina, or whomever else his love may lie with!” Tears flowed from Gunther’s eyes his very body glowing as he sent everything he wished to give up to call upon the Spirit of Air and Sacrifice. “You cannot call upon the Spirit of Earth and Protection, you have nothing to protect other than yourself. You can’t get away from Aiko. I promise you that…” He looked up as the winds wipped around him, and the ball of air hatched the great dragon Aiko, Spirit of Air and Sacrifice. Serpent like in body, with a white mane, which flowed and dissapated like fog, that traveled from her deer like horns to the tip of her feather tipped tail. Her eyes were blue with white irises. Long wiskers traveled from just above her nostrals and traveled back to her jawline. In her front paws she held the yin and yang emblem. Her size was enormous, four times as large as Yama, and six times as long.

“I will not be defeated! I shall destroy you!” Rage flowed through Yama’s body and he rushed Gunther and Aiko. Gunther watched, almost in pity, as Aiko suddenly was around him, her foreclaws no longer holding the emblem of balance, but clawing deep into Yama’s shoulders.

“You said yourself that demons were ruled by emotions, and yet…you are ruled by the worst of all of them, rage, hate, and envy. I give up my soul to see you destroyed so that you will never upset the world I love again. It’s true, I’m ruled by love, compassion, and protection, but I find you a more pitiful creature, Yama, Lord of Dragons.” Gunther cleared his eyes and watched as the coils of Aiko began to wrap around him and her massive head open to devower him so to send him to oblivion.

“Save me from your idiocy…you destroy me…” Yama said as his body began to be sent to the void. “And another stronger will take my place…” A last roar of pain and shock was all that was last heard from the spirit of Yama. Releasing her coils, Aiko looked to Gunther and then motioned to Gwendel with a claw.

~Go…~ She said in his head. ~Do as you must to see him safely to his body. I shall watch and give you time…~ She rested watching as Gunther smiled sadly and went over to Gwendel.

“Gwendel…come on Gwendel, wake up. You have to go home.” Gunther sniffled and tried hard to push back the tears as Gwendel came out of the Dragon Lord’s spell.

“W-what…? Gunther? What’s going on?”

“It doesn’t matter. Gwendel, I want you to know that…that I love you. I always have, but I’ve been too afraid to tell you. And now it won’t matter anyway. Go on though, you need to go home. I’ll miss you. I don’t know what waits for me, but I know that I’ll always miss you.” Gwendel sat up and looked at him sharply.

“What are you babbling about?” Taking a moment to see that he was infact in the spirit relm, his heart sunk. “Gunther…! What’s going on? Where is Yama?”

“He’s gone…he’ll never return. He won’t bother the Demon Kingdom any more. Oh…tell Yuri and Wolfram that I’m sorry that they got hurt. I should have been better prepared for Yama’s tricks. Heh…oh well. Hind sight is twenty-twenty. But you need to go back to your body. Anissina’s waiting I’m sure, as well as your mother. Don’t keep them waiting, Gwendel. And…at least smile a little more with her, all right?”

“Gunther stop talking like that! What about you? Did…oh good lord…I…I killed you…?” Gwendel gaped and stared at his hands as if they were not his own on his body.

“No you didn’t! You were posessed, nothing you did while under Yama’s control was your fault. It takes sacrifice to destroy a dragon like that. It’s time for you to go, Gwendel. You don’t have much time…” Gwendel looked up at Gunther, his own eyes welled with tears. Gunther knelt down in front of him and smiled lovingly. “I love you Gwendel. I always will.” With that he leaned forward and kissed him with all his emotions. Gwendel blinked and paused before kissing back. Letting Gunther gain entrance, their tongues danced quickly before Gunther pulled away, tears staining his cheeks. “Now…go home…” He pushed Gwendel back, and watched as the connection
reestablished between his body and soul. Gunther backed away into the waiting arms of Aiko.

“GUNTHER!” Gwendel watched as light began to blur his vision around the edges, as Aiko’s coils gently cradled Gunther’s soul and she opened her mouth around him. “GUNTHER!!!”

That was all he saw.