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Unyielding Will

Within the depths of the eternal cosmos, a vessel of questionable origin drifted. It was a ramshackle spaceship of sorts the size of Great Britain, its outer layer consisting of hull platings in hues ranging from dull greys, rusty browns and even the shiniest of rich silvers.Pieces of the ship’s shell were flaking off like dandruff yet never seemed to leave its
circumference, instead forming an asteroid belt of metal. A slender antennae towered upon
the ship’s bow and a handful of shorter “children” were perched in asymmetrical lines stretching over the flat, disk-like surface before ending at its control towers.Said towers stretched further than the tallest antennae and were connected through intricate patchwork steel bridges, giving it a royal air reminiscent of a medieval castle.Two circular constructs the size of a small town each hung at the port and starboard side with their front segmented into two smaller round bodies to form a cannon, though they seemed one fried circuit away from blowing it all to kingdom come. At the ship’s stern, charred metal peeled off to circle the vessel’s blackened cylindrical jets in a whirlwind of heat before melting into nothingness - how this wreck hadn’t fallen apart yet was a right mystery.Inside this miraculous vessel, a maze of hallways spread throughout the interior like a deep
blue and grey ant colony, though in terms of cleanliness it wasn’t worth comparing. Sheets of
steel could be found leaning against the walls in case hasty repairs were required, food
ration wrappings lay strewn on the floor alongside a long trail of crumbs and it was not
uncommon to find discarded tools or pieces of the ceiling when turning corners. Venturing
deeper would bring one to the hangar, a spacious room dimly lit by red and orange neon
lights which flickered in tandem to emulate a campfire. Despite the cold steel interior, the
atmosphere felt warm and welcoming - it felt as though one were truly outside in the
wilderness as the room’s inhabitants stared at the stars through a large monitor latched to
the ceiling.A motley crew of unique individuals were seated in the hangar’s very center, savoring the
warm mood with a smile on their face. Among them was== a young bespectacled human== with
jet black hair dressed in equally dark clothing, pencil in hand as he doodled upon his
portable drawing tablet. His gloved hand moved in erratic yet controlled patterns to craft and
erase lines on the spot, eyes drifting upward for a quick glance before resuming his work.A dapper dark-skinned gentleman in fine clothing and with a bejeweled black horn on his
forehead leaned back on his chair beside him. A pair of lustrous golden eyes observed the
linework of his neighbour and he rubbed his chin in interest, pointy ears twitching to the sound of pen against modern canvas. On the opposite side of said artist was a young man with pink hair slicked back by means of an orange hairband, one hand adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses - his bright amethyst eyes were fixed on the puppet latched to his hairy
gorilla hand.Though dressed in the same blue & orange vest and red hoodie combo as its owner, the puppet seemed to have a mind of its own as it had nailed a juicy sausage to a stick which was held above one of the neon lights.A lady with fair skin and platinum hair stretching down the waist was sitting with her trio of friends, red and blue heterochromia eyes watching over them as she smiled.

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She was dressed in a white coat decked with stylistic black markings and as the female rested her left arm on a knee, the letters “LILLYYENVT” were spelled out in big bold letters.A long tail the color of her hair swished like a cat’s and on her forehead were two gnarled horns stretching upward into numerous points like branches of a tree. The dark-skinned elf’s attention shifted to the woman and he broke the silence.“Say, Lilly,” he started, “we know you’ve told us about your lore but…something feels missing.” Lilly raised a brow. “Missing, Ghel?”“Yeah!” the puppet blurted out, causing its owner to jump in his seat. “Spill the tea Lilly, we wanna know!” She stared at the puppet, then its holder - she could tell from a glance he wanted to know.“Belos…”Like the two before him, the bespectacled artist echoed their sentiment. “I’d like to know as
well. What was it really like?” The horned lady’s lips curled into a smirk and she rested a cheek against her palm. “Fox
too? You’re all so very inquisitive…” Her smile faded like raindrops in the sun and she released a heavy sigh. “Very well then…”She raised her head to the monitor up above with a lost look in her eyes, gazing at the stars.There was an abject look of longing on her face, as if she had lost a piece of herself… then turned her attention back to them with a solemn, faint smile.“It all began with my fall…”My first memory was that of pain.
I woke up in the center of a deep sizzling crater, covered in soil and confused earthworms. Lost in a state of disarray, my weak newborn self could only gaze upon the flickering stars as they looked down on me like a million golden eyes, judging me. A single voice reached my mind in an eerie, otherworldly echo;“Become a god, for that is why you were forged.” Me, a god? Surely that must have been a poor joke. Our draconic instinct does tell us to rule, no doubt, but there’s a clear distinction between royalty and godhood. Yet… the echo was too captivating and ultimately overwrote my base instinct of regal splendor to instead strive for a
far grander ambition.So I climbed out of the crater, shook off the dirt and faced the world! The world, naturally, faced me in kind with a battalion of human soldiers on horseback, led by some posh fellow dressed in garish red linen and a tacky cape with golden borders. Upon setting his eyes on my form, he halted his army and dismounted before uttering the most
ridiculous thing…“A baby dragon! It must be a gift from the gods!”

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Rather than having this obvious threat culled like a sane person would, he wished to let me
into his kingdom.The fool.As the royal kingdom’s ‘pet’ there was no shortage of privileges. I was given embroidered silk pillows filled with down feathers, a personal servant who tended to my every need and I was fed brilliant meals every day. Roasted duck, pork pies, fluffy cakes, cream puffs and so much more. Over time however, the king grew old and frail - his once impressive brown beard had withered into single grey strands, smooth skin gained the texture of old onions and those strong limbs of his shrunk into twigs. A predictable outcome, one I had long since prepared for.The king departed to the soil and the kingdom had this lavish funeral which looked more like
a celebration of his death than honoring his legacy. My situation was unchanged however,
for I had bonded with his eldest son and fooled the simpleton into believing he was the true
chosen one.This continued for decades - by the third generation of kings I became a symbol of power to the kingdom, on the fourth my likeness was carved into the royal sigil and on the fifth I learned to take a more humanoid form, though my horns and tail remained. The royal family still believed I was under their control, a subservient pet they could brandish like some shiny piece of jewelry, blissfully ignorant of my schemes. I weaved words like the finest of tapestries as I offered them my guidance, giving each royal the illusion of free will, that the choices they made were their own.My words. My choices. My rule.While the royals relished in the prosperity I so generously bestowed upon them, a network of
information gatherers was created by yours truly to learn about the nearby kingdoms. Whenever I caught wind of foreign anti-dragon hostilities, it only took one sweet-like-honey whisper for the current king to quash it with his army and thus my reach grew even further like untended vines.By the two-hundredth year I had grown strong enough to run unopposed, yet few things had actually changed after my arrival. Famine and plagues gripped the world, new wars sprouted like weeds and the people, in their desperation, could only pray for a morsel of hopeI’ve no idea when it happened but I developed a certain…fondness for these hopeless, pitiful humans. As I was not yet the god they so craved their prayers could not be answered, yet their faithful cries filled me with a power unfamiliar to me. It sustained me to such a degree that I scarcely felt any hunger anymore - it was around that time I found out that the people’s faith, their boundless belief in my power, was precisely what made me strong in the first
place. Could this be the reason I was so fond of these weak things?A subconscious sense of gratitude? I didn’t know. The only thing I could stake my faith on was ironically enough my own lack of belief in the gods’ plan.If my own source of power was something the gods thrived on, then why did they not intervene in the suffering to help these mortal benefactors?Did they not feel gratitude like I did? I had to know. When questioned however, the gods merely laughed. Just the thought of spending just a grain of their power to aid ‘mere mortals’ was seen as a ludicrous notion. It was beneath
them. Shameful.

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I suggested I’d teach them magic, but my creators mocked me - they claimed sharing such power would tear the pantheon asunder. I was called weak and spineless, a failed creation who had strayed from her destined path.The gods never answered my calls again. Naturally, I was pissed. No, infuriated! The gods failed to see my vision and I was intent on
proving them wrong! So I set out on a quest to unite the world.This marked the first time I set foot upon the battlefield. I tore barracks apart with my giant claws, ate cavalry horses in a single gulp and burnt all weapons into a beautiful mix of charcoal and molten sludge… And just like that, all of the world’s kingdoms and nations were
unified into one solitary empire in less than a month.My empire.Though humans feared me at first, I could tell there was a lingering sense of admiration in their hearts. I suppose conquering the world without shedding a drop of human blood was seen as an impressive feat at the time. Under my impeccable leadership, every nation pooled their resources together and civilization advanced at rates far beyond what their mortal minds could even fathom.Diseases were eradicated one by one, societal structures were built to minimize poverty and wars became a thing of the past - my brilliance invoked the love and adoration of all, which in turn filled me with even greater power. I taught my subjects the way of the arcane and in turn they used this knowledge to foster generation upon generation of spell-weavers, each more ingenious than the last.They bent and manifested their magic in ways that hadn’t crossed my mind, like tethering the planet’s
leylines to machinery as an additional power source. In just a few centuries, this primitive
civilization had become the pinnacle of magitech artisans - they erected sky-piercing cities,
built arcane-infused weapons capable of razing continents and giant spaceships that could
traverse the galaxies at light speed… The gods were right to fear them.And so, I donned some magically infused warpaint under my eyes and declared war against
the gods!With a magitech fleet at the rear, I embraced my draconian might and revealed my true form in all its glory. The segmenting branches of my massive horns arched inwards to point at a miniature sun of compressed energy, thick layers of platinum scales glimmered in the colors of the rainbow and a pair of giant wings stretched towards the cold cosmos, each feather the size of our fleet’s ships.A mane of lustrous strands flowed in the empty void and jagged amethyst spikes traveled down my neck, across the spine before ending at the very tip of my fluffy tail which I fanned like a paintbrush. Once a whelpling the size of a newborn pup, I had now become so grand that it was now possible to even hug the planet that raised me. I looked down on my obsidian claws and bared my diamond teeth into a wicked smile of brilliance, then turned to face the army I had so meticulously crafted.I was firm in my belief that the gods would be proven wrong.Years upon decades, decades upon centuries and centuries upon millennia, innumerable planets and civilizations were conquered by me and my forces.

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Knowledge was harvested like bees gathering honey and assimilated into our society in a manner akin to a seamstress weaving an embroidered dress - my army grew into a nigh-invincible force of the sort that could wound even gods, and we did just that.Many lesser gods were struck down by me and my forces, yet that also made me realize I could be harmed by them as well. It was for that very reason I never revealed the origin of my power to them, for I worried what they’d do with that knowledge and whether they would still follow in my path. By this point I had become so powerful that a single eye dwarfed whole planets yet deep down I carried this burden which refused to leave my shoulders. No matter how fond I grew of these humans, deep down I could never bring myself to trust them with this forbidden knowledge…As we delved deeper into the Pillar of Creation however, it appeared that the gods had finally
taken notice of my rebellion as they sent one of their own to quash my “temper tantrum” as they called it. I still remember that bastard’s entrance as if it happened yesterday - a rift opened in the vacuum of space and expanded far past the size of galaxies as it lit up with the heat of a thousand suns. Innumerable tendrils emerged from the rift in what could only be described as tube-shaped air pockets filled with cosmic energy that flowed like IV drips, then spread like flower petals with the glowing rift as its pistil.Just then, a supermassive sun far outclassing my own squeezed through the rift and as it rose, I felt every cell give pause at the magnificent ascension until it came to a halt. The sweltering heat faded in an instant as the god’s tendrils gathered into a cluster beneath the molten sphere, turning and twisting into complicated knots like one of those balloon animals a clown would make at a circus. Silly though it might sound, I refused to let my guard down for a single second as the cosmic giant twisted into shape. Its body took the erratic visage of am asymmetrical torso with no rhyme or reason to its structure while the waist ended in countless layers of circular tubes around the rift it came from - the twat was only half a body in the grand scheme of things yet it was still more than three times my size.Worse yet, the god’s four limbs stretched its twenty or so digits into the deepest depths of the cosmos before returning with a sun attached to each fingertip, then flexed its ‘joints’ in a taunting gesture. It had extinguished twenty galaxies just for the sake of mocking me!My response to the callous god’s cruel mockery sprang my fleet into action;“Mortals, deploy Magitech Shields. Maximum output!”While giant blue power fields surrounded the vessels, searing liquid energy passed through
my gullet and gathered just behind my tongue before I opened my massive maw to unleash
a great beam of aether. In response, the tubes making up the god’s body separated and my
attack passed through without harm to the entity, instead turning a row of nearby planets into less than cosmic dust. The tubes returned to their original position and the arrogant god moved its arms in a gesture imitating a shrug before pointing at one of my ships, then fired a molten beam of concentrated solar energy. It splashed against the forcefields which flickered as the vessel was pushed out of formation, but the immediate energy dispersion caused by the field’s unique shape prevented a direct hit on the ship itself - mortal ingenuity had, at that
very moment, touched the realm of gods!

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which stretched towards the stars before bringing it down upon my fleet like an axe. It sliced through the nearest ship’s energy shield and tore into its sturdy deck in a single swing, bisecting the entire vessel with such force that even my scales shook from the vibrations.As the molten halves separated in the cold space, I could feel the deaths of a million men strike
at the very core of my being as the vessel exploded, knocking aside all adjacent vessels through the shockwave alone. Countless generations, bloodlines spanning entire centuries, wiped from existence without so much as a whimper. Before I knew it, my obsidian claws had already reached the god’s body as I swiped at it in a rare case of blind rage.How dare that cosmic mute harm my subjects?! Yet no matter how much I swung at that stupid space
noodle, my claws merely passed through the tubes which reattached in seconds and when I dug my teeth into the body, it felt like taking a bite of a faucet’s running water. Nothing I did could harm the greater god and when my rage subsided I finally felt the heat - the scorching, agonizing heat! My once beautiful scales began to melt into molten platinum sludge and my
meat soon met the same searing fate, forcing me to disengage. The god’s spherical head bubbled as I retreated back to my fleet and raised an arm to dip its five fingers into the molten surface, leaving behind the suns it had so brazenly robbed moments prior. An intense heat reached me once again and - in an act of pure instinct - spread my wings at maximum capacity to shield the fleet against what came next. I could only watch with wide eyes as the cosmic entity’s head ballooned in size before shrinking at an abrupt pace, unleashing a solar flare which almost knocked me unconscious on the spot.Despite my efforts to protect the fleet, numerous ships belonging to ancient royal families and famed warriors were struck by the blast and I could do nothing but watch as their disabled vessels were catapulted deep into the cold, dark cosmos. It filled me with boundless grief to see so many valuable mortal years go to waste, but their indomitable spirit was once again demonstrated as the surviving members of my fleet repaired whatever damage was done after being shielded for a month. It was but a single month, a mere heartbeat to my ancient lifespan, yet every day spent protecting my subjects was ingrained into my mind - I had never felt so fulfilled, not even my own rise in power could compare to this feeling.My spirit was invigorated by these frail mortals and I let out a proud roar as I once again
engaged the arrogant god, unleashing everything I had at my disposal. Aether dragon
breaths, elemental spells in all the colors of the rainbow, even flying tackles and tail swipes
were put to use.Nothing worked.When I went up close and personal, the bastard would just stand still and let my attacks pass through, if I unleashed ranged attacks then they would all miss their mark - never had I ever faced such a mind-numbingly annoying being in my life!There had to be some sort of trick to its abilities, surely. Years later, the battle was ongoing and our losses were great. Many loyal and wonderful lives had been lost but we never gave up.Whenever my wounds racked up, I would retreat
to the fleet’s medical ships to have my injuries mended by beam cannons infused with healing magic while the rest of my subjects offered cover fire with their advanced weaponry we were outmatched but not outdone, not yet at least.Deep down however, I knew we wouldn’t last. I was still a child to this greater god and at my current strength it was only a matter of time before we lost…so I made a last-ditch plea to my fleet.

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“Pray, mortals! Pray for our victory, pray for me!” I called out. “Your belief is what makes me
strong!”I could tell that activity within the fleet died down, even the medics ceased to heal me… Instead, every single vessel activated their shields at maximum power…and prayed! A surge of power unlike any other coursed through me and I soon saw an immediate change occur.My dulled scales regained their pristine gleam, my obsidian claws stretched into lethal scythes and I found myself growing at an exponential rate - looking back, I saw my soft tail’s bristles had hardened into sharp needles and my chipped amethyst spikes had reformed to crackle and pulsate with power. This sudden growth in power emboldened me and with my fleet as witness, I charged into my godly foe.The arrogant being seemed confident enough to welcome my approach with open arms, thinking that my rise in power wouldn't be sufficient - but I had other plans. Whilst the fool stayed still, I opened my mouth with a smirk and blasted its tubes with a concentrated beam of aether, tearing holes into the air pockets as a piercing wail echoed within my head. Like clockwork, the heat subsided and my body was enveloped by the wounded god’s tubes, though this was already accounted for as I had gathered power in my own miniature sun.Even as the tubes compressed and bent my sturdy scales, I swallowed the pain and launched a massive beam of pure solar energy into its cooled head, causing it to sizzle and bubble to the sound of even louder screams. Seconds later, the heat returned and I unleashed one final blast at the body’s base above the rift and threw my head up to bisect it in reverse. Its lifeblood spilled out without end and I closed the distance with a single flap of
my wings, arm winding back before…STAB!I pierced the god’s head with all five claws at once and watched the cracks spread before backing away as it shrunk down like a crumpled piece of paper with the rest of its body following suit. It shrunk, and shrunk, and shrunk, before suddenly expanding with a gigantic explosion which covered the entire horizon, swallowing up the very rift it came from.Following its pitiful death, the solar god collapsed in on itself and turned into the biggest black hole I’ve ever seen - I believe it’s referred to as TON 618 by today’s mortal tongue. Its pull was immeasurable and I spread my wings to shield the fleet from being sucked in as we made a slow but measured retreat…and then she came.A singular tendril of light stretched out from a star lightyears away and touched the black hole, freezing it in place. The pull ceased and I watched as millions upon millions of tendrils gathered from every star in the cosmos to form a singular being of light, shining so brightly I couldn’t even make out its shape. But I could feel its power. It felt as though the god I just killed was just some lesser being by comparison and when I blinked, my entire fleet was skewered by one of its strands. I watched as the vessels crackled, I heard the helpless screams and as the strand pulled out in a second blink, my army of faithful subjects were enveloped by a massive explosion which consumed their mortal lives and ended a millennia of hard work.“Mortals are but fleeting things, young one. You were intended to use them and join us as a god, yet you were influenced by their frivolous
whims .”

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I could only let out a tearful roar in response as I surrounded myself in a bright layer of blue flames, saddened…infuriated. Though it was a short millennia, I had grown attached to these mortals and seeing them go in such a miserable manner filled me with an inconceivable dread I had never felt before.With a battlecry heard through the cosmos, I launched myself at the greater deity at the speed of light and…lost. It all happened so fast. There was no movement to be seen at all, the god of light simply vanished from existence the moment I believed I had made contact and when I tried to make a u-turn, my body refused to listen. Turning my head, I saw my decapitated lower half drift
away, feet curling inward and tail twitching as blood oozed out to paint the cosmos crimson
and blue. When the pain finally reached me, I was met with a sudden flash of light and my
sight grew uneven as my head was bisected on the spot, causing each half to slide apart
before ridding me of my consciousness…When I finally came to, I found myself stuck in an empty void devoid of stars, of light…it was
only me, myself and the cruel mistress of pain. My debilitating wounds hadn’t healed as I
floated endlessly, feeling my once mighty form fade atom by atom. I could feel every second of my decay and could do nothing but let it happen, helpless. For the first decade of pain, I found myself wracked with the fear of death, and the inevitable demise encroaching with no one to keep my company. After a century had passed however, I felt only rage.The pain drove me mad, unstable. I cursed the gods who had brought me into existence, the humans
who failed to truly reach the pinnacle of greater gods… then I cursed my own weakness and
the inability to trust my subjects with the secret of my power. Had I been more forthcoming, had I put my trust in them…would things have been different? Another century passed and my once brilliant wings were gone, erased from existence as I suffered a long and excruciating death.My arms followed in the next century and after a whole millenia of pain, only my deformed head remained. It was then, and only then, that bitch of light returned. She had taken on a glowing humanoid form with a hollow face, the only discernible feature being her long locks stretching far beyond her human self.“Do you feel remorse, young one?” Her voice echoed within my mind in a soft whisper. “For
maiming the gods in your worthless pursuit of this…revolution?”I burst into deranged laughter - it was clear she wanted me back in her clutches again. “I’d rather swallow a black hole than to join you and your procession of self-entitled dust clouds!” “You wish to suffer for all eternity, all for this…pride of yours?”“Not pride.” I chuckled. “Freedom.”“There’s no such thing, young one.” It reached out to touch my cheek.“Everything is preordained by us deities, freedom is but an illusion to feed the hopes of mortals-”
I chomped at the hand! “Your ‘illusion’ faded the second I murdered your kin!” My words silenced the bitch and I flashed a wicked grin. I might die, but at the very least I bruised their pride!

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However, rather than just letting me fade away, the gods deemed humiliation to be the most
fitting punishment - and so they placed me upon the planet that raised me, but in the form of
a mortal human. I had no recollection of my former glory, my body was sickly and at times
felt unfamiliar to my human self, as if something wasn’t right. That this wasn’t me.Though I gained friends and such who made life comfortable, there was this uneasy feeling that
banged at my very core, yelling at me that something was off. One day, as I walked upon the grassy fields, a weak whisper reached my conflicted mind. It called to me and beckoned my human self towards a nearby mountain. Though hesitant at first, my curiosity got the better of me and I followed before stopping at a tiny cave entrance barely big enough to fit myself.I snuck in with slow, cautious steps and then, upon reaching its center, I bore witness to a glowing blue rock latched to the jagged wall. It pulsated in slow intervals like a heart and when I walked closer I heard the voice again, though it was no longer a whisper. It told me it knew who I was, that it had observed my exploits many, many years ago. I was told a story of defeat, of an ancient warrior who was defeated by the gods eons before my own rebellion, that his current planetary form was their cruel punishment for his disobedience.Unlike me who had been robbed of all power however, he had managed to save but a fraction of his former glory without the gods’ knowledge, preserving the memories of his own defeat and subsequent humiliation by their hand. Naturally I was confused - I was but a mere human, what did he know about me that I didn’t?
It was then he said those fateful words…“I will use this… The last remnants of my power…that which was only held together by rage and hate,” He spoke in a voice brimming with power, yet there was a fragility to it - like tempered glass only one knock away from shattering, “towards those who seek to steal and hoard what belongs to everyone… Use it as you will… Pursue endless wonder… Fight!” The colors released from the rock and enveloped me in light as I absorbed this newfound power. And with this power came my memories, the many millennia of suffering and happiness in a beautiful yet melancholic blend. I had regained my former sense of self, and with it a burning passion for revenge!“-and that’s how it went.” the draconic lady finished with a sigh.“Any questions?”The group could only stare in silence at Lilly while she traded glances with them and blinked,
as if she hadn’t just thrown the darkest shades of her past at them. She could tell that more
crewmates had joined in the midst of her storytime and amongst them was a very familiar
face - or half a face rather.A brown-haired man dressed in a black jacket, white shirt and blue jeans sat by her side with a can of beer in his hand which he moved to and fro. He wore a grey mask that covered most of the face, only leaving the blue eyes on his right visible - it had a half-squinting crimson eye which looked as though it studied your soul and a curved

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horn rose up right above it. Menacing though he might be, this man was Pucka, Lilly’s head
main and closest confidant. “I suppose they didn’t expect someone like you to have such a checkered past.” he said before glancing down on his can. “Sometimes those with the biggest smiles…carry the heaviest burden.”Lilly sighed and scratched the side of her head. “Well, they asked for it all persistent-like, so I had no choice.” she said before throwing her friends a stare.“More importantly…do you think any differently of me hearing this?”Belos, Ghel and Fox all traded looks before chuckling in unison. “Of course not!” A warm smile curved across the dragoness’ lips. “Is that so… I’m glad.” The smile soon faded and she sat up with a pensive look in her eyes. “Excuse me for a moment.” As they watched Lilly walk away, Ghel and Fox turned to Pucka. “Should we not have asked?”Belos’ puppet seemed to echo the sentiment as it stretched outward, threatening to pull its master’s arm off. “Lemme at her, I wanna drag her back so we can all apologize!”“That will not be necessary.” Pucka said, his blue eye reflecting a smile. “The story just made her nostalgic. Just leave her be for now, she’ll be back soon enough.” With both hands folded behind her back, Lilly strolled down the halls of her mothership, eyes gandering at the sloppy handiwork. It was still a far cry from the masterpieces crafted by her former subjects, but she treasured it all the same - the effort was still there and she could feel the love that was welded into every corner.She closed her eyes, hair flowing in the air as if submerged water and after surrounding herself in a blue glow, the dragoness disappeared from where she stood. Upon opening her eyes, Lilly stood at the very center of her ship’s main cannon and marvelled at its interior with a big smile before closing the entrance shut. It was unlike any other section of her ship, with odd turquoise walls and control panels which had runic patterns engraved upon every button…yet it was also far worse for wear than any other.The amount of fractures and dents numbered in the hundreds and it was a miracle the alien control panels could even function - nevertheless, this was her favorite spot. She touched the uneven steel walls and ran her hands across the surface as she walked with closed eyes, reminiscing. Brooding. Ancient memories flowed through her mind, recalling the bright look of pride on her subjects’ faces as they unveiled their newest breakthroughs…and the utter joy upon receiving their leader’s remarks of approval. She walked down the stairs, hand still pressing against the wall even while its jutting pieces cut into her skin.She came to a halt at the foot of the stairs, eyes glaring out the windows and at the stars while her tail flicked at the air. “I will never forget. Not again.” Platinum scales spread on her face like boils. “You accursed gods thought of me a bother - a tyrant - for the sin of wanting
freedom for all.The sheer arrogance of it all.” The pupil of her red and blue eyes squeezed into slits. “Soon you will all be made to feel true pain. To experience the crippling sense of defeat as I strike you down one…by…one.” Her teeth turned to jagged diamonds as she flashed a crooked smile. “Because unlike last time, I put my trust into my subjects from the very beginning. No more secrets, no more plots… Even now I feel my power surge!” She burst into bellowing laughter and her fingers twisted into obsidian scythes as a pair of brilliant platinum-feather wings spread wide. “Just you wait, gods! And especially you, Bitch of Light!I will tear you down from your seats with my own two claws and do unto you as you did me!”

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