Page 26 of 3013: Hellion

That was a whole lot easier said than done.

Xian was trying to do that, but he was still having a hard time tapping into the well of magic inside of him. He tried to compare it to when he shifted into his Krytos beast form or when he released his wings. Those things were so ingrained in him that he didn’t even really need to think about it to make it happen. Becoming a dragon should essentially be the same.

As soon as he thought of that, he felt the change begin.

Already having that basic understanding about shifting made things much easier. His dragon spirit wasn’t a separate being, just like his wings weren’t. They were simply a part of him. At first, it felt like the same sort of intense pressure he felt whenever he used the transporters to travel to the different gaming sites. That pressure kept squeezing him until he felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“Relax, mate. Your dragon spirit cannot harm you.”

The moment Jaya’s words registered in his confused brain, the pressure lifted. Instead of fighting it, he embraced it.Suddenly, a bomb of pure white light exploded inside of him. It took over everything, completely consuming him until he was filled with that light.

Then, time seemed to stop.

That blinding white light was soaking into him, merging with him until he was filled with ancient power. It was a magic so old it seemed to come from the very beginning of all things. His mind was flooded with the knowledge of the ages, giving him access to everything at once. The onslaught of information should have been overwhelming, but he welcomed it.

With that knowledge came a new identity.

He was now Dragon Warrior Xian Renn, true mate to Jaya Tesera and guardian of all.

As Jaya watched her mate shift for the first time, her heart swelled with pride. He was a natural, taking to the transformation with an ease that was to be envied. When the shift was complete, she wasn’t surprised to see Xian’s dragon form was pure black. When they called forth their dragon spirit, the dragon became the color that most accurately represented the individual.

Since his wings had turned black it made sense for his dragon to be black as well.

His massive dragon head swiveled so he was staring right at her with one glowing blue eye and one red. Walking up to him, she ran her hands over his dark scales.

“Are you ready to fly, mate?”

“I feel like I weigh more than a cargo freighter. Are you sure I can get this big body off the ground?”

She laughed. “Easily. Watch and learn.”

Stepping away from him, she ran across the rooftop and shifted into her dragon form with little effort. The scales of her dragon were several shades ranging from a pale gray to black. As she flapped her wings and soared into the sky, she made suretheir bond was open so she could share exactly what she was doing with her mate.

A few seconds later, he launched himself into the air and joined her. She felt his joy through their bond and sent back her own.

“This is amazing! It’s so much easier than I thought it would be.”

“I am pleased you think so.”Jaya playfully flew over him, then dipped below him. “We should fly toward the pier.”

“Lead the way, mate.”

The two dragons soared through the sky toward the coast. When they got closer to the pier, what Jaya saw confused her.

The trap was working. That was evident enough by the number of zombies falling into the fire trenches. But at the rate they were being destroyed, there should have been only a few left on the island by now.

That wasn’t the case.

From the massive horde of zombies shuffling down the streets toward the pier, it almost looked like they hadn’t destroyed any of them.

“Why are there so many?”he asked, just as confused as she was.“It’s clearly working. I thought they would all be destroyed by now. Where the fuck are they coming from?”

“You would know better than I.”

“The zombie game is one of the sections I haven’t played yet.”

“We must find the source,”she declared.“It is the only way to stop them.”

But that wasn’t the only problem they had.