“The half-way point is often the hardest.”

  -Heard by the therapist.

  Coras’s armor began absorbing the Dragon’s mana, something the dragon undoubtedly noticed, but likely didn’t care. Why would it?

  It stared at him, not doing anything, was it waiting for something to happen, or just musing to itself. Either way, this thing was in his way, so he began to pry its hand apart.

  The Dragon sniffed Coras while he was in its grip, then it let him go. Coras landed on the ground, then ran for the massive doors. When he passed through the cave-like area began shaking.

  Coras made it to the center of the where he’d landed, he turned to find the Dragon standing and walking out to meet him, shaking off any debris that was on its scales.

  They met, Coras looking up at the dragon who stared at him with elongated eyes. Coras lunged. His fist met with the creature's scales, cracking them. The dragon swatted Coras back, sending him flying into the wall.

  Coras nearly shifted—then stopped. The fall below was deeper. So he just put his arms up to shield the oncoming flames.

  The fire burned through the armor, heating it until Coras’ bones felt it. He was durable, but he couldn’t stay in this heat forever. So he extended his soul, his strength increasing beyond what it ever had.

  He kicked off the wall and pushed through the flames, landing on the steel floor. He ran, aiming to strike the same place. The dragon forced its foot and weight onto Coras, slamming him into the ground.

  Coras forced his armor to move, then began pushing. He struggled for a moment until the dragon's claws wrapped around him again as it lifted him up, and slammed him against the ground.

  It roared. The cavern shook, shedding debris as it lifted from the ground. Its wings extended, and flew toward the wall, slamming Coras into it.

  It flew around the enormous hole, dragging his body into the stone. Coras attempted to pry the dragon's hands off of him, but it had gripped him at an awkward angle.

  “Fool thou art, and of small account!” the dragon thundered. “Through ages unnumbered hath my strength waxed! The firmament trembleth at my rising, and the deep groaneth beneath my shadow! None stand as my equal beneath heaven—yea, even Death turneth aside at my tread!”

  With that, the dragon threw him up. Coras’ body flipped about and he struggled to steady himself. When he did, however, he was met with the dragon's open mouth. It bit down.

  The force of his claws began crushing the osmium as the damage extended to his bones. Coras fed Nearie’s mana into the armor..

  He appeared back in the cave. When he looked back, the dragon’s mouth crushed the boulder that replaced him. He watched as the dragon roared once again, then flew in his direction.

  Coras ran to meet it half way. Just before they clashed, Coras disappeared, reappearing behind the dragon. It slammed into the massive doors, then turned back to face Coras with a deep growl.

  It had in its mouth a massive steel sheet from the floor, the thing Coras had swapped with. Coras swapped with it again the moment the dragon had spat it out. He reached its underbelly, striking it again.

  The dragon reached to grab him again, but he swapped again. Growling, the dragon shoved the steel plate off the edge, then roared fire.

  With nothing to swap with in sight, Coras jumped at an angle toward the dragon. Its hand spiked Coras back into the ground. When he began to move, the dragon placed its tail to the wall behind it.

  Streams of bright color began flowing from the wall into the dragon, through its tale and into its body.

  With the power it absorbed, the dragon roared. Its roar carried wind, too much of it, forcing Coras to be forced back. He struggled to take a step forward.

  When he managed it, steel from beneath him swirled around him like flowing water then began to condense. It couldn’t pierce his armor, and when Coras forced it to bend, the dragon stepped up.

  Its once red eyes glowed with colors of all shades. Its wings spread, and it stood on its hind legs.

  A storm cloud began swirling above, forming in its blackness. Thunder sounded, and the dragon's mouth opened to show lightning prepared.

  Coras used Nearie’s mana once more, immediately, the steel around him rusted, then snapped under his force.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Lightning struck.

  Coras wasn't there, however, he moved through shadow and was thrown from the ground on the other side of the dragon. The dragon continued to spit lightning, the flashing light and booming sound echoed harshly across the entire hole.

  The dragon turned, and before Coras could sink into the shadows again, he felt a sudden weakness settle in him. With part of Nearie’s mana gone, his bones began slowing down.

  The mana in his armor was low as well. He had to end this, or at least force the dragon to stand down. No other choice, he thought. Coras reached out his hand.

  Before he could go through with it, however, the dragon narrowed its eyes expectantly. Did it know what he was going to do? If so, it wouldn't stand still. Coras let down his hand, and went to his knees.

  I can't win, Coras acknowledged. Even if he waited another ten thousand years he would be no match. He had to get out of this another way.

  The dragon breathed out, as if in a sigh. “Seed of the serpent,” the dragon’s voice roared. “What desireth thy soul?”

  Coras slowly lifted his head. The language the dragon spoke was barely comprehensible. It was a language spoken by the first man, the first language of God. While it may have seemed as if the dragon was offering him a boon, Coras knew the dragon meant it differently.

  “I seek only to leave this place!” Coras shouted.

  “Thou speak falsely,” the dragon said. Its voice slow and deliberate, as if time slowed for it. “Thy flesh is not thine own, thou accurse-ed. Thou smellest of a being not of this world, nor of His divine appointment. Hath Death not yet laid claimed thee O liar?”

  “I cannot die oh great beast of the world, I’m cursed of thy adversary, whom I wish to falter. Let me out, and I will be on my way.”

  “Think ye that I am yet a fool? Do not the fowls of the air cry out against thee? Thine armor is of His mighty Spirit—whence hast thou obtained it?”

  “I yet not know where it was created, oh great dragon! For I came across it on my path, and took it for the safety at peace of others from my deathly appearance!"

  The dragon looked up, then sat back on its hind legs. “Speak, and declare why I shall not cast thee yet further into the depths.”

  “Great and mighty dragon, I’m on a path to destroy that which threatens the world! And the children of him who lies above.”

  “No summoning of mine hath been called forth. Wilt thou stand before me and bear false witness?”

  Coras didn’t reply. This wasn’t working. If the dragon refused to believe him, he would need another way out.

  “Cold are my wings, and unseen hath my breath been for ages uncounted. I shall bring thee forth—but first shalt thou fetch for me that which I require.”

  “I’m yet yours to command, great dragon.” Coras responded.

  “Yet in the abyss below lie weapons that have borne the blood of millions. Take them up. Bring them unto me.”

  Which is faster? He thought. It might take three to four years to dig out if I get around the dragon. Retrieving these weapons may take an equal amount of time. Coras bowed himself again.

  “I will find them for thou, oh great dragon,” he said.

  The dragon let fiery breath from its nostrils, reached out a hand, grabbing Coras, then it turned. He leapt down into the abyss below.

  Darkness consumed them immediately. Wind shoved Coras back while the dragon's grip kept them going, the force was enough to have killed any ordinary man.

  After what seemed to be a solid minute of falling, the dragon landed. Stone shattered outward in a cloud of dust. Flame poured from its jaws, spreading in a wide arc and igniting the cavern in violent orange light.

  The chamber was vast—so vast that even the dragon seemed diminished beneath its ceiling. The shaft they had fallen through tore jaggedly through the stone above like a wound in the stone.

  The dragon released him and rose again at once. Its wings beat once, twice, extinguishing much of the fire it had made before vanishing into darkness above.

  Coras stood alone.

  He walked to the nearest burning trunk and lifted it easily. The wood smoldered fiercely, resin dripping like molten amber. He held it high and began to search.

  After several hours, he had a guess as to how large the cavern was. It had taken him over an hour to find a wall, but even then there were several tunnels branching from it. So he’d turned around and started in the other direction.

  He was searching for another wall. His time walking and his guess from the dragon's breath gave him information, but he wanted to know if finding these weapons would be worth his time.

  He searched the ground as he went, but the constant ridges and bumps in the ground forced him to slow his pace. Of course the pulx creatures were equally at fault for slowing him. He saw them in the corner of his eye.

  His fire had run out, and he now used the armor’s mana to make itself glow for light. Though it meant taking more breaks for his armor to recharge, it was worth the expense.

  Some time later, he found the wall. This one had taken him nearly a day to reach, but now, he knew he had no reason to be here. It would take him years, perhaps decades to find those weapons.

  When he turned back to leave, however, his armor’s light went out. They came the moment off. Black shadows of death circled around him, swinging their claws at him, hoping to get through his armor.

  Coras ran, forcing his armor to move. While the pulxed creatures weren't an immediate danger, if they found a way into his armor they could stall him for years.

  They followed quickly, and though he was faster, he was running without direction. He would be lost.

  So when he looked behind himself to find they were no longer following, he immediately turned to find his way back. Unfortunately, however, even after he’d waited for his armor to recover enough to glow, he didn’t recognize where he was.

  I’ll have to find something to give me constant light. He thought. But he knew of no such thing. Fire was the best way, but making a fire without anything to burn would be pointless.

  He was lost.