Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 926: Winter ()

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Jian hissed, taking a threatening step forward, "What madness have you done this time, Asrig?"

Asrig clicked his tongue, shaking his head slowly. "Madness? No, never that."

"I am a man of science," he stretched his hands out, "And ambition."

"While the rest of our kin saw an oppressor, I saw a man who had clawed his way to the pinnacle of existence." His eyes reflected genuine awe, "Single handedly subduing the forlorn under his service, and then enslaving a great race such as ours."

"The world was under his feet. Every race trembled at the mention of his name...every life, existed by his mercy." He tilted his head back, drawing in a deep breath.

"He wasn’t a man..." Asrig says reverently, "He was a god.

"And I killed him...I killed a god." He chuckles darkly, "Something our father couldn’t achieve. I freed this world of him! I freed the dragon kind... and I realized then, just how much I was capable of." He exhales a shudder breath, "Just how much was within my reach, if I could only just reach out. Scales of gold wouldn’t make me a god...but a piece of the dark lord’s soul, now that was true power."

Jian’s expression scrunched up in disgust. "You...stole a piece of his soul?!"

"Oh don’t worry, your rider already knows the truth. You see, we had sufficient time to get well acquainted and even share stories of our past, before my return. Isn’t that right, Veah?"

Neveah stiffened, "Keep my name out of your mouth!" She snarled through gritted teeth, "I don’t care who killed the Dark Lord and who didn’t."

Asrig shrugged, "Yes. Before his soul could disperse, I stole a piece of it."

"And it showed me the truth. The power to defy death...it showed me the future. My brother’s betrayal...my death at the end of your blade." He grinned, "And it showed me a way out. That there would be a woman..." His eyes turned to Neveah,

"A woman my brother would so desperately desire to save, that he would selfishly defy the natural order of life and death, ripping through time and space... and by so doing, give me the opportunity to be resurrected."

"So here we are." Asrig announced, "Me, Mykael, bless his soul. And the two of you, doomed lovers that made all this possible."

Neveah could sense Jian’s pain. His disgust and disappointment at seeing the true face of his brother.

It had finally dawned on him that Asrig didn’t choose the wrong path because he felt unwanted due to his inferior scales.

He simply...wanted to be the Dark Lord. No, be wanted to be greater. Darker.

"I brought you here..." Asrig gestured around, "So you may be closer to our mother, when I send you on your way."

The Fae royal meadow, Neveah realized.

This place had felt so familiar because she had been here before, in Adrienne’s memories.

This was the place where Agardan’s rider, Raena, the Lady of Golden Scales, died.

"Do not fret," Asrig added as his eyes shifted to Neveah, "The girl will live, if she leaves now, that is. Unlike you, she has a place in my dynasty."

"I’m not leaving him!" Neveah snarled fiercely.

"Then you will die with him." Asrig shrugs, "The choice is yours.

Jian’s eyes narrowed, he took a step forward. "Beloved, you are hurt...go." he says, without glancing her way.

Neveah’s eyes widened in horror, "No! Don’t you dare even think about it!"

"You promised me! You promised!"

He glanced over at her then, "Then fight with me."

Neveah took a step forward, suppressing the pain lancing through her.

Asrig rolled his eyes, "Your brave theatrics were intriguing for a while, but I’ve grown weary of them Neveah."

"You are no dragon lord. I will not grant you an honorable death."

Just then, a thick tentacle latched around her, and she was forcefully pulled through the air.

"Veah!!!" Jian raced for her, but a great orc emerged from a portal, blocking his path.

"You live. I live." She urgently communicated the thought to Jian as the shores faded from her vision, the tentacle pulled her through the forest at lightning speed, tossing her through the air.

The ground rushed up at her and Neveah reached within, summoning a desperate burst of magic to break her fall.

She groaned in pain as she landed in a crouch.

Glancing up, she found herself staring straight at a three headed Hydra lumbering forwards at a slow, stalking pace.

The beast tilted its heads back, releasing an earth shaking shriek.

"I can’t ever catch a break, can I?" Neveah exhaled slowly, rising to her feet.

She tilted her head back, tears stinging her eyes, "I just want to spend the rest of my life loving them, is that too much to ask?"

"Is it such a great crime?!" She spat out a mouthful of blood, wiping her lips.

"Very well." She grinned, teeth bloodied, but eyes gleaming with blood thirst.

Neveah pulled out the single pill Celeste had given her.

She could recover her greatest strength when she needed it the most. But the consequences...

She’d hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. She’d only accepted it as a failsafe.

But it had already come down to this, what did she have to lose?

One final battle...

She threw her head back, swallowing the pill.

The change happened instantly. A familiar presence flooded her mind, stronger than it had ever been.

There was no swirling golden light. No hum of magic.

It wasn’t Demevirld. No.

It was her wolf.

"We are reunited again, Neveah."

Neveah smiled through the fading pain as her wounds rapidly healed themselves, her wolf abilities returning, stronger than they’d ever been.

"We are reunited again, Winter."

She’d never once named her wolf. She’d feared to put a name to it. To something she didn’t understand, or didn’t believe she should have possessed.

But now, she knew better.

This was her birthright. She was and would always be, an Alpha King Wolf.

Winter...if ever she had given her wolf a name, it would have been that.

She felt her shift wash through her, bones cracking and reforming. And she welcomed the change with open arms.

"It’s only fair, a beast faces a beast."