Chapter 914: Only Lose To One (Ch.915)
Neveah exhaled a trembling breath, "I won’t die, Garron."
"You don’t know that." He muttered, busying himself with his tos. "I’ve watched our kin charge straight into danger, n I believed were untouchable, yet a single well aid adamatium spear took the life right out of their eyes."
"No one is untouchable, Neveah." Garron’s tone was pained, "No one."
She knew insisting on it wasn’t fair to Garron, but she just had to. "The last ti I was here, you asked , if you had ever been wrong about anything. There was no arguing with facts."
"So now, I’m asking you, have I ever been wrong about anything?"
Garron pressed his lips together. "No. You’re a genius if I’ve ever known one. Sohow, you always make the right call."
Neveah nodded, "I’m asking you to trust , Garron. Blindly, yes. Still, I ask it of you."
"To trust that I have too much to live for to give in to death. And if the shadow dragon cos for , I will grab him by the horns and make it clear, that my life is mine alone...no one gets to take it."
She took the hand of the scribe dragon, her heart aching as it trembled in hers. A rare occurrence. "And if the shadow dragon refuses to listen, I will make him listen. Do you doubt that I can defy death?"
Garron’s lips twitched slightly, despite the tension between them. "I’ve watched you do it enough tis to know, death should be terrified of you by now."
She returned his smile, "I won’t die, Garron. I might be in pain, or be hurt...but I will heal. And I will be stronger for it."
"I won’t ever let you carry the burden of making the decision that does
in."
Garron heaved a sigh, "It’s not that I don’t trust you. If anyone can survive binding the rune, then it’s you. If anyone can put the shadow dragon in his place, it’s also you." He patted her hand tenderly, before heading over to a to.
"But the witch rune is a control rune, Veah. And what is the most important thing about a control rune?" He says, gesticulating, "It inflicts itself on the mind."
"And it doesn’t do it gently, no. It barges in, breaks through, tears down all your walls with no rcy. Why do you think the witches kept it as an accessory artifact to tap into and channel when needed, but never took it further?" His expression was serious,
Neveah’s fists clenched. "We have no witches. The rune can only be channeled by their kind. If we want to utilise it, we must rge it to a host. It’s no use to us as an accessory. You said that yourself."
Garron nodded grimly, "And believe
Veah, I know you will rise to the challenge. But that is precisely the problem."
"I do not know how binding this rune to you will affect your body, but I have a decent idea how it will affect your mind." He tapped the desk, "Your mind will resist it. Fiercely."
"If there’s one thing I’ve discovered in the next few days, it is that the stronger your mind is, the more impossible the procedure will be. And Neveah..." He paused, "You have the strongest mind of anyone I know. You will suppress the rune like you did with Devirld. Weaken it."
Her brows furrowed in dismay.
"But that isn’t what we need. We need it to rge seamlessly. It’s full strength intact."
"Neveah, I may not know much about this rune, but I do know you are the host with the least possibility of success. Not because you are weak, but because of the opposite."
She retreated a few steps, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
Garron watched her sympathetically, "I know you want to bear the risk yourself, and it must be devastating that your strength of mind which is your greatest attribute is a drawback this ti, but we must accept the situation for what it is."
"If you want
to throw caution to the wind and perform the binding, find
a suitable host...that isn’t you." He finished severely.
The wheels turned in Neveah’s head. The academy of magic had a multitude of magic wielders, but how many could survive this? How many would she push to death to find the right host?
And how much ti would it all take? Ti... the one luxury they couldn’t afford.
"Why look?" A familiar voice interrupted.
Neveah glanced up, wincing as Xenon ca into view around the corner of a shelf, walking over to them.
"I knew I would find you here." He said, stopping beside Neveah. He lifted a hand, smoothening her ssy hair from repeatedly running her hands through it.
"I just...wanted you to sleep so more." She explained guiltily.
He smiled gently, "I know."
Then his attention shifted to Garron, "I’ll do it. The binding."
Neveah shook her head quickly, "Xenon, no..."
He interrupted her, "The wild haze tore through my mind. My barriers haven’t recovered. I have the weakest mind of all the dragon lords... and I’ve been exposed to the influence of the control rune before. It will recognise ."
"I might not be able to overco it, but it won’t get the better of
either. The wild haze didn’t. That’s the balance you need, right? A seamless rging.’" He recounted,
"I have dark magic in my veins. Stronger than any mage in the academy can hope to have even after decades of training."
"My pain tolerance is unrivalled, even by Veah. I survived five decades of ntal torture." His eyes returned to Neveah’s, "There is no better host, that fits all the requirents. You know it. I know it."
"If soone has to do it. Then it will be ."
Neveah’s hands trembled, the hesitation was nearly overwhelming. "Jian would never consent to this."
Xenon quirked a brow. She read the question in his eyes without him saying it.
If she was worried about Jian’s consent, she wouldn’t have co here herself.
She had co because she knew, just as Xenon did, that despite Jian’s countless reassurance, this war was unlike any other.
They needed an advantage. This advantage... desperately. Even if it ant a dragon lord would be rged to the one thing the dragon kind loathed the most... magic.
Just like Agardan had been to the arcane, birthing the indomitable Devirld.
"I do not doubt Jian will win this war." Xenon said to her, "I know you do not either. The golden scaled dragon is undefeated in battle... I would know, history has it, I’m the only person he’s lost to." He smiled slightly, eyes thick with emotions, "And scales, I know that was no win. That was rcy. He let
win...let
live."
"So to hell with history. The Dragon King has never been defeated. He doesn’t know the aning of defeat. He won’t give in to the Forlorn, ever." He paused for a mont,
"But victory will require a great sacrifice of him. We cannot let him face it alone."
The tears she’d been holding back slipped out, a quiet sob escaping her. "Oh, Xenon... Why must we always face the most difficult choices?"
He smiled sadly, "To whom much is given, much is expected. We are the pillars of this stronghold...we carry the will of our predecessors to protect the dynasty they paid for in blood."
"We are dragon born. The fire in our blood was ant to light the path for the world."
"I will not die, Neveah. If you will make the Shadow dragon listen, in order to co back to us... I will slay him, and return to you."
He pressed his forehead against hers, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
"I am Xenon, the last of my clan. Lord of Onyx Scales. The Black Fiend. The Wild One. The King’s Brother. The Queen’s Man."
Neveah smiled through her tears, and he smiled back.
"I... will only lose to Our Liege. No one else. Not even death."
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