As I am standing shin deep in the Earth I see plumes of smoke erupting from the town, cultivators begin to flutter through the air, all on Flying swords so somewhere in the Marrow Cleansing to Earth Realms, but there are so many I had better lay low. I’ve no idea how I stack up against a standard cultivator. I prepare to bypass the town, brainstorming where I can get rations before before hitting the next town. I am roused from my thoughts as the sky becomes pitch black and a Dragon descends. Two waves of fire emanate from its eyes and all the cultivators in the sky fall dead from their flying swords.
It locks it’s eyes on me and in a booming voice that causes a full scale Earthquake it says “YOU POISON DEVIL! DIE WITH ME!!!”
It’s enormous mouth speeds through the air, almost subconsciously I activate zero point guard and try to line it up with his teeth that are the size of small hils. I then close my eyes and wait for my fate. After three beats of my heart I open my eyes. I am between the dragon's jaws and it is missing the two teeth that would have taken my life. Two pearly white balls rest in distortions by my side. I think this dragon is sic-before I can finish my thought I am swept away in a torrent of blood.
I wake up and I am buried in cement like hardened Dragon blood, I use distortions to dig out of the blood. The sky is filled with significantly more cultivators, many of whom have already picked the dead clean...including their bones, though they seem to be avoiding the Dragon for now. As I make my way to the dragon, It has sprouted dozens of more grotesque limbs, tumors and boils...it is the same causing this as my qi.
I speak to it. “Elder Dragon, do you still live? Why did you attack me? Did I do this to you somehow?” A fuzzy pupil returns to an otherwise blank eye and the Dragon begins speaking, no booming voice, a quiet whisper. “No child, I see how despite having the greatest control of this blight of any human I've seen you wrap yourself for the sake of others and that you could have finished me a dozen times. Nor do you loot the dead.”
It continues, it’s voice genderless and ancient, not actually speaking. Simply will that shakes the air like a throat. “I know not how you have cultivated this strength child, but your brethren use it to steal this world. These glowing stones are of the mortal realm, but destroy spiritual strength...it’s eats even my soul as we speak. I was struck by a ballista containing a fell arrow.” It shifts so I see the massive arrow penetrating it’s belly before continuing. “It near instantly fused to my bones, your people are invaders to this world, we of the Beast Coalition have been rebuffing your aggression for decades now, even before you found this world....but you have changed tactics, finding our cooperation and skills unbeatable your brothers have resorted to poison. This rock that kills us and them in equal measure. They either have protective measures or lie to lesser cultivators it is safe to handle. Thinking you were the central crafter of this poison I attacked.” A new arm bursts through the dragon’s eye. I roars in such pain that the vibrations disrupt the beating of my heart, I refocus it as the dragon continues.
“Our regeneration is far superior to that of humans, this poison turns that against us, we had little hope...and now I must ask young hero before I continue my story, will you aid me?” My answer is simple.” If it suits me.” The Dragon laughs and it again nearly kills me. “I will give you a great boon if you accept, my whisker and a scale, containing a full dragon’s soul. The scale also is engraved with a technique I created for discharging punishing energy rings from the eyes.”
“Very well, what do you ask of me, Dragon?” I have no idea if those gifts will be useful, I just hate that he calls these swine my brothers. I want to prove myself to be a different stock to anyone who thinks of me as such. Given what the dragon says next I think he perceives this.
“Excellent, you are no invader. Some years ago, and the irony is not lost on me child, a human girl was born in the slave arena, we of the Beast Coalition perceived her bizarre qi and rescued her. While she has little control of her abilities now with time we believe she could heal us against this dread poison. She is sixteen and resides in the town currently under attack. My whisker will point the way to her, extract her from the town. As long as you are with her the Beast Coalition will find you and relocate her...I leave this in your hands...Good...luck…”
His body crumbles except for the scale and the whisker he leaves behind which fly to my body, the azure scale adheres to the stony bandage on my chest and imparts some kind of mantra to my mind. The whisker wraps my arm and clearly becomes part of it, it hangs over my head like a God’s Tennin. One end is unmovably pointing to the town.
I head towards it crashing through the Earth as I do with no stealth ability whatsoever.
