章 46: Ice Drake
As Liam detected the faint bit of energy, he moved forward, and the snowstorm got worse as he did. 'The energy from the rift must be causing these intense snowstorms,' he thought, barely able to see in front of him as the snowstorm raged on. With the visibility gone down to about a meter, he relied completely on Eldritch Sight to bring him to the energy source.
Continuing forward, he suddenly stumbled, almost falling into a massive hole. Quickly stepping back, he realized he was at the edge of a canyon. "So, the energy is coming from down here," he muttered, sensing a far stronger concentration of energy at the bottom. 'This amount of energy is more intense than anything I've encountered before.'
Sure, the Ancient One and the masters at Kamar-Taj were strong, but they knew how to hide their energy. Compared to their restrained presence, this rift's energy felt about four times stronger than anything he'd ever sensed before.
He summoned Neontote and shifted it into dragon form, pouring energy into the weapon as flames erupted in front of him. This fire lighted up his surroundings for a short while, allowing him to see the size of the canyon. "It's at least 50 meters wide… who knows how long." He noticed that burning the falling snow created a temporary clearing, allowing him to see a few meters ahead.
Looking over the canyon's edge, he detected an energy source splitting off and rapidly moving upward in his Eldritch Sight. "Damn, did it sense me because I used energy?" he cursed himself, 'Mental note: don't use energy close to a tear next time.' He quickly backed away from the ledge and waited.
A roar tore through the snowstorm as he glimpsed a large shadow emerging from the canyon, flying into the sky. 'It's a flying creature?' he thought, tracking it with Eldritch Sight. In his mind, it appeared like a bright light in the snow—its energy visible, but what kind of creature it was couldn't be seen.
The creature flipped in midair and dove straight down towards Liam. Instantly, he shifted Incursio back into its normal form and readied his stance. 'Come on then,' he thought, preparing himself for to cleave it in two. But as it approached, he realized he had misjudged its size.
As it closed in, Liam tensed his muscles, prepared to strike with Neontote. Suddenly, the creature accelerated, and before he could react, he found himself caught in its jaws. 'Damn it!' he thought, teeth closing around him as he was lifted into the air, still gripping Neontote tightly. 'Dragon form,' he commanded mentally, clenching his spear. Flames burst from the weapon, going through the creature's mouth. Startled, it released him.
'Didn't hit it, but at least it dropped me,' he thought, relieved as he fell through the air. The creature had taken him away from the canyon and out of the densest part of the snowstorm. Looking up, he finally got a clear view of it: scaled all over, with a wingspan of about 20 feet, four short legs, and a long tail. From head to tail, it measured around 35 feet.
'A dragon?' he thought. 'No, too small and with four legs. Most dragons don't have that.' It hadn't used magic to attack, which pointed to it being a drake. 'But what's a drake doing in Antarctica?' He had read about them but knew they hadn't appeared for years.
Liam landed on the ground as the drake flew back towards the snowstorm. Focusing his Eldritch Sight, he quickly located it, drew his spear, and charged forward, launching flames toward it. Noticing the attack, the drake flew deeper into the storm. 'The flames aren't traveling as far as they should because of this freezing cold,' he observed, while chasing after it.
'Once I'm close enough, I should be able to burn right through it.' Liam closed the gap, preparing to strike. But then, he sensed another energy signature coming from the drake—this one going towards him a lot faster. He threw himself to the left, narrowly dodging the incoming blast. A blue energy struck the ground where he'd been, instantly forming an ice crystal above it. 'Thank god I dodged that,' he thought. 'It's using ice magic? Maybe it isn't a drake after all.'
The encounter had just become much more dangerous now that magic was in play.
Before he could collect himself, five more blasts were thrown towards him. Liam pointed Neontote forward, releasing a burst of blue flames that obliterated the ice bolts mid-air, then continued toward the drake, who was already retreating higher into the sky.
'I can't let it keep launching attacks from a distance.' The drake hovered, preparing more ice bolts. Liam thought about using his sling ring to create a portal and reach it, but he stopped himself—he wasn't sure if that might destabilize the rift.
The drake fired more ice bolts, each of which Liam dodged or burnt through with his flame blasts. They were locked in a stalemate: neither could get the upper hand. Growing impatient, the drake roared and dove straight for Liam.
Seeing the opportunity, Liam poured more energy into Neontote. 'You won't be able to dodge this lizard.' Liam thought, waiting until the drake closed in. As it neared, he released everything he'd charged. A massive wave of flame erupted, changing from orange to blue and finally to a dark purple color, spreading out over a wide area. The intense heat reduced the drake to ash mid-flight.
Exhausted, Liam dropped to one knee, gasping. 'That last attack had to be over 3000 degrees,' he thought, noticing that the snowstorm had vanished in a 50-meter radius infront of him.
He turned back to the canyon, slowly climbing down using his spear for support. Now at the bottom, he saw the rift's immense energy clear as day now and jumped the last few meters to reach it.
As he approached, he felt a shiver run down his spine. On the other side of the tear, he could see a massive eyelid. It blinked open, revealing a blue iris with a vertical black slit. The sheer size of the eye surpassed anything he'd seen before, and Incursio roared in his mind in response to the presence beyond the tear.
Suddenly, something struck Liam from the left, smashing him against the canyon wall. 'What the hell was that?' he thought, dazed, as he struggled to regain his balance. Looking to his side, he saw another drake, this one standing guard over what appeared to be a nest.
'Shit, the energy from the rift must have been hiding its presence from Eldritch Sights,' he realized, pushing himself free from the wall. He tightened his grip on Neontote as he stared at the new drake.
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