He was a man with a long sword hanging around his waist. His hair was tied, his eyes had a slit, and he carried himself while looking down at the army of the War Maiden that has come to face the Ancient Elders that guarded this realm. Kaiser, the Half-Dragon, stared at the enemy that has defeated him.

She was a woman who had been blessed by the powers of the divine. She grew to become a wonderful lady, a powerful lady that defeated the darkness, overcoming the dangers of the Time Wraith. She was a human monster blessed with the talent and skills of a monster. Kaiser, the Undefeated Dragon Swordsman, was defeated soundly at their bout. He was careless because she was just another War Maiden. He didn’t expect that she would meet his blade without falter, not a single fear for the man who has reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship.

“Are you ready, milord?” a servant said.

“I am, though this time it will be different. I will not lose to the same woman again.”

The servant’s face suddenly twisted. She smiled wickedly.

“Is that so? This woman,” she said while cackling. “She has reached the pinnacle and she knows her powers more than anyone. To wield weapons and master the magic, she has become a woman worthy of defeat!” However! Do not dare to slack on thy duty of protecting the entrance to thy Holy Tree! That is your duty!”

“I know that,” Kaiser said. “But I cannot be placid at the thought of fighting such warrior! I thought that we would never fight this bout! To think that she would be challenging for entry in the higher realms!”

The servant cocked her head to the right. “She’s a woman who had gathered all the elemental lights, she has the blessings of the Gods, and she is a demigoddess living in the lower realm. She should have ascended but she has no reason to do that until now! If she wants entry, then it is possible, however, she is asking to bring her family to the new realms! Only those who are worthy can be included in the realms where the true humans live! How can we let such strugglers enter?”

“Hah!” He said. “The War Maiden gets what she wants! Even before the humans of the Ancient, none of them has been able to match such worthiness other than her! If she defeats me then so be it! If she dares to face Draedan then let it be known that she has walked over this corpse of mine!”

His hold was that of a dragon, the aura that he possessed was stronger than a beast or monster that this world could produce. Kaiser was the sole guardian of the Dragons that have lived for a million years ever since the birth of men. They were here when the asteroids fell, they were here when humanity rose, and they were here to witness the fall of humanity when it left for the stars. They saw the world turned black from their weapons and saw how it was revived by the Gods.

For Ages Kaiser has watched heroes and legends drove back their enemies. He had seen the world of warriors, the world of knowledge, and the world of strife and blood, and by the time the demons and humans have wars, he was there to listen in to the cries of those who were brave and the fall of cowards who think they were mightier than the Gods.

However, never would he thought that after so many years the end of this world has come. He thought of how it would end. Would it be because of the world dying? Would it be a giant rock from the sky turning everything into dust? Or was it going to be the looming darkness that worlds under the world tree succumb to?

Each tree below the world tree had a mechanism that allowed it to ensure that those that lived inside those trees are saved. Still, not every seedling of the world tree can survive the shadows of the world tree. A tree grows by getting its share of sunlight and water. And if a tree does not receive both then it will slowly wither and die.

The War Maiden of the Era was a person who saved the world than she could. When the light goes out she was the sun that shines. She was the guiding light that covers the world for protection. Now, that same guiding light was targeting the Guardians who secure the passage to the upper realms. She was aiming for her and her family to reach the realms with their power.

“That War Maiden knew this seedling of the world tree can no longer sustain life any further. Like the other humans, they could become the birds that fly the universal sky and reach the other trees. However, that cannot be with how the world is and the only way for them to reach it now is through the passage guarded by Lord Draedan. Do you think she can take us on?”

“Think? She defeated every elemental dragon and now what remains is that old fool who had given his life to me. He wanted me to become the last carrier of protection, and that Lord Draedan may never be forced to fight. But that old fool thinks that he could stop that War Maiden. She’s a force that cannot be measured by us!”

“Even with the life force of an Ancient, you still can’t be sure that you would defeat her?”

“That’s right,” he smiled savagely. “She has become stronger, and stronger, and even stronger than the days that we fought! She has truly awakened the might that ever surpassed us dragons!”

“To evaluate a human this way,” the servant said. “It is truly odd.”

“Shut up, toy,” Kaiser swung his claws. “You are merely a toy, I do not need your thoughts. Perish before me, leave my sight, and never become back.”

“Sir?”

The servant vanished. She could not say any words as she was erased.

Kaiser stood, his eyes looking down at the woman who had to bring the might of her family to the doorsteps where the dragons slept.