Matteo and Cupcake were walking on a clear path toward the Helogan empire, having successfully warned all three kingdoms about Eldric. Matteo, being the caring husband that he is, reminded Cupcake to be mindful of the people in the Helogan empire and refrain from being aggressive towards them. He explained that the people there might be unfamiliar with the sight of wendigos in their territory, and they will give her strange looks. Cupcake grunted in response, but she knew that Matteo's words came from a place of love.
As they walked, Matteo couldn't help but express his excitement about trying the delicious food in the Helogan empire. He also reminded Cupcake about paying respects to Alexandra. Cupcake listened to her talkative husband, but she couldn't deny that his annoying charm was what made her fall for him in the first place.
As they walked, Matteo suddenly stopped in his tracks. Cupcake, who was ahead of him, turned around and looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "I sense he has found me. Go hide in the trees, my love. I don't want you to be caught in this," he said gently to Cupcake. Though hesitant, Matteo's pleading eyes convinced her to hide in the trees. Matteo then cast a spell on her hiding spot so she wouldn't be detected.
Matteo stood there patiently waiting, and suddenly, the black dragon descended in front of him, causing the ground to shake. However, Matteo remained calm and stood his ground. The black dragon then transformed into Eldric. "So, you are the draconic priest? Hmph, you don't even look like one. You look like some homeless priest," he sneered. But Matteo paid no mind to Eldric's insult and instead responded with a witty remark, "Is that so? Well, that was the look I was going for."
Eldric was growing increasingly impatient with Matteo, demanding his magic. "Enough of this," he snapped. "Bless my body with your power."
Matteo held his hands behind his back, sighing softly. "And why would I do that?" he asked.
Eldric's eyes glowed with anger. "Are you questioning your ruler?" he challenged.
Matteo's response was dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, I'm so sorry. How rude of me to question the once-respected former king of the Helogan Empire."
Eldric's temper flared. "You either bless my body, or I will kill that wendigo that you seem to care so much about," he threatened.
Matteo remained calm. "As much as I know that you will, it won't solve anything. I cannot bless your body because I do not worship the black dragon," he explained.
Eldric was confused. "Why does that even matter? Bless me now or-"
Matteo cut him off, "Allow me to educate you; it seems that the black dragon hasn't told you," he began. "Dragon priests can bless a person who possesses the power of a dragon, but it has to be a priest who worships that specific dragon. If a dragon priest blesses a dragon they don't worship, there will be consequences. It could even end up killing you. And since I do not worship the black dragon, I am not able to help you. Furthermore, the black dragon never had any dragon priests worshipping him whatsoever."
Eldric frowned; you could practically see the vein popping out from his forehead. "You lied to me, black dragon." Eldric said with anger; after he said that, black mist appeared beside him and formed into the black dragon humanoid form, "I did not lie." The black dragon said; his deep voice was calm, and he shifted his soulless eyes to Matteo.
Eldric: "He can not bless my body because you have no priests that worship you at all!! You knew all of this, did you not?!" He said angrily.
Black dragon: "I did." He said calmly.
Eldric: "So what made you think that your little plan of yours was going to work?!"
The black dragon looks at Eldric, "Use your eyes; he does not worship any dragon; he doesn't have a smell of any dragon on him. Which means he can bless you with no consequence." After he said that, both Eldric and the black dragon looked at Matteo, "You little deviant."
Matteo shrugged his shoulders and smiled innocently, "It was worth a shot." As soon as he said this, Matteo raised his hands up, and his body multiplied into a hundred copies of him; they all, except for one, attacked Eldric at once, while the black dragon attacked Matteo.
Cupcake watched as Matteo's copies overwhelmed Eldric while the black dragon was focused on Matteo, which looked like Matteo was doing nothing but dodging his attacks while keeping his hands behind him. She felt proud that her husband was doing well.
Black dragon: "You won't keep this up forever." he said to Matteo calmly.
Matteo: "It doesn't hurt to try." He said as he continued to dodge his attacks.
As the intense fight unfolded, Cupcake watched anxiously from her hidden vantage point in the trees. She knew she had to trust in Matteo's abilities, but her heart raced with worry for him. With each dodge and strike, Matteo demonstrated his skill and cunning, proving himself a formidable opponent against both Eldric and the black dragon.
Meanwhile, Eldric's frustration grew as Matteo's copies seemed to outmaneuver him at every turn. Even the black dragon found himself unable to land any blow on Matteo himself, only getting his clothes to tear.
In a moment of desperation, Eldric unleashed a powerful blast of dark energy, aiming directly at Matteo's copies. As the fight raged on, Cupcake felt a surge of determination welling up within her. Unable to remain a mere spectator, she leaped from her hiding spot and joined the fight, using her strength and agility to fight Eldric before he could fight Matteo, who was busy with the black dragon.
Eldric: "So the vermin shows itself." Eldric said with an evil tone.
Seeing his wife fighting Eldric, Matteo's heart swelled with concern. "Cupcake, stay back! It's too dangerous!" he shouted; when he got distracted warning Cupcake, the black dragon wasted no time to hit Matteo directly on the stomach, cashing the air out of him, his body thrown, his back hitting the tree harshly, you could hear his back literally cracking.
Cupcake heard this due to her good hearing; she turned her body to rush over to save her husband, and Matteo looked up; he couldn't move due to his back being broken. "Get the vermin," Eldric said; the black dragon stopped Cupcake from reaching Matteo by jumping on her back and stepping on her back to hold her still.
Cupcake tried using her strength to get up or crawl to Matteo, but she couldn't; she screeched loudly to Matteo. Eldric walked to Matteo and crouched in front of him, "Don't hurt her." Matteo said, his voice calm, but Eldric could tell that he didn't want that specific Wendigo to die.
Eldric: "Then bless my body." Eldric said, clearly enjoying the moment, Matteo stayed silent; he watched as Cupcake kept struggling, clearly trying to crawl to him; her loud screech clearly hurt his heart; he didn't want his beloved Wendigo to be in distress; he would rather see her getting annoyed at him for the smallest things. "You're taking too long." Eldric said, and he looked back to the black dragon, "Break her." Eldric ordered.
The black dragon grabbed one of Cupcake's arms and broke it in half; Cupcake screeched in pain. Matteo's eyes twitched, "Stop, I'll do it." Matteo said calmly; Eldric was clearly smirking under his veil. "But let me heal her first," Matteo said.
Eldric: "Hah! No, bless my body first, or she will die."
Matteo sighed, "Alright." Matteo closed his eyes and healed his back; he stood up and dusted himself off. "Once I bless your body, you will be able to switch between yourself or the black dragon; whoever is stronger is able to take over the body easily, basically."
Eldric: "What?!" he frowns angrily.
Matteo: "Eldric, You absorbed not only the black dragon's powers but also his soul, so he is living within you. Come on, you should've known this. Magic is a mysterious, funny little thing, isn't it?" Matteo says cheerfully, even in a tense situation.
Eldric's anger grew; he never suspected this to even happen. "Let's just get this over with." Eldric clearly didn't heed Matteo's words, all he was thinking about was his goals, and to him, he is stronger than anybody...well, we'll see how that goes. Matteo then closed his eyes and clapped his hands together; the clap echoed throughout the trees; his eyes glowed yellow, and his hands glowed yellowed as well; in fact, his entire body glowed yellow. Then, a yellow magical sphere appeared on his left hand, "Go on, grab my hand." his voice echoed as he looked at Eldric with a smirk on his face. Eldric doesn't care about his smug look; he wants to live forever and claim what he thought was his, so he grabs Matteo's hand.
As Eldric's hand made contact with Matteo's, a surge of energy pulsed between them, causing Eldric to recoil slightly in surprise. The golden sphere on Matteo's hand began to pulsate with increasing intensity, its brilliance casting a warm glow over the surrounding area.
With a knowing smile, Matteo locked eyes with Eldric, his gaze unwavering. "You see, Eldric, power isn't just about raw strength. It's about understanding the intricacies of magic and the connections it forges," he explained calmly, his voice carrying a hint of wisdom.
As the energy continued to flow between them, Eldric's expression shifted from arrogance to uncertainty. He could feel a strange sensation stirring within him as if something dormant had been awakened..
Suddenly, a blinding flash of light erupted from Matteo's hand, engulfing both him and Eldric in its radiant glow. For a brief moment, everything seemed to stand still as the energy surged around them, weaving intricate patterns in the air.
When the light finally subsided, Matteo and Eldric stood facing each other, their hands still clasped together. But something had changed. Eldric could feel a presence within him, a flicker of consciousness that was not his own.
"What have you done?!" Eldric demanded, his voice tinged with a mixture of fear and anger.
Matteo released Eldric's hand and took a step back, his expression unreadable. "Exactly what you told me to do." He smiled, and he then walked to Cupcake; she was no longer being held by the black dragon. He had disappeared when Matteo blessed Eldric's body, yet she stayed on the ground. He looked at her with a smile on his face, "Are you okay, my love?" he said as he placed a hand on her cheek; she only looked at him; he then healed her broken arm and helped her stand, "Ah, you're quite heavy." Cupcake smacked Matteo back harshly, making her grunt a little.
Meanwhile, Eldric was fighting something within himself; he held his hands on his head; it looked like he was going insane, "No, you stupid dragon! This is my body! MY PoWER!." Matteo watched as Eldric was literally moving around insanely; he was screaming and yelling like an insane maniac. "NO! I WonT let you DO this to ME! I Am youR KIng! your RULER!" Suddenly, Eldric yelled from what seemed like pain; he then stopped, his hands falling beside him, and then Eldric's appearance turned into the black dragon.
Once the transformation was completed, he opened his eyes and looked at his hands; he clenched his fists and unclenched them; it seemed like he was taking a minute to make sure that this was real and not some trick. He then threw the veil off his face once he realized that he was still in Eldric's clothing; he then looked at Matteo with his soulless eyes. "You are a good deceiver."
Matteo: "Eh, well, I learned it through my years of living; gotta use it at some point." he said cheerily. "Anyways, you get going before the king's knights get here; go ahead and kill Helogan; rooting for you." Matteo held his thumbs up toward the black dragon.
The black dragon stared at the dragon priest, "You could've saved that girl; you could've stopped all of this from happening, yet here you are, the last of Helogan's dragon priests, telling me to go ahead and kill who you worship. Why?" He said as he walked toward Matteo. Cupcake, feeling defensive, stood in front of Matteo, but Matteo stopped her by holding his arm out beside him, signaling her to stand down.
Matteo: "You're right; I could've saved Alexandra, yet I didn't; I could've killed Eldric when he didn't die during the war, yet I didn't. I could've stopped everything, yet I decided not to. Now, why would I do all of this? Why would I play on with this lie? Well, gee, I don't know, it's not like Helogan did something quite horrific to me, and I want her gone, or perhaps I am giving you a chance to start your generation so I can stop being bored at how peaceful everything is. Take your pick." Matteo smiled.
Black dragon: "You planned all of this?"
Matteo: "Perhaps, or perhaps not. You should really get going now. The knights are approaching quickly, and they still think Eldric is still alive."
Black Dragon turned away from Matteo; he was about to go until Matteo stopped him, "By the way, you should really get a name for yourself; we can't keep calling you black dragon. Hmmmm, Drakon? Yeah! That'll be your name."
The black dragon...er, I mean, Drakon didn't say anything; he then turned into his dragon form and flew away.
Cupcake then screeched at Matteo, "Hm? Oh! Yeah, I'm sorry for not involving you in the plan, my sweet; if I did, though, you'd be terrible at acting normal." Cupcake crossed her arms.
Then suddenly, galloping could be heard coming towards them, it was Eleanor and Alendros, personal knights with her. They stopped after seeing Matteo in view. "Hey, you shouldn't be out here; there's a madman on the loose." A male knight said, his name is Aryn; Aryn is a large and imposing blond knight with green eyes. He wears heavy, imposing armor that is both polished and adorned with golden details. Aryn carries a massive, two-handed sword called "Starcutter," which exudes an otherworldly glow and hums with power. His broad shoulders and powerful frame make him a formidable presence on the battlefield, even in the face of overwhelming odds. Despite his fearsome appearance, Aryn loves his cute things. Now, once they saw Cupcake, they immediately grabbed their weapons, "Step away from the Wendigo citizen!" Another knight said his name was Zander; Zander was a lean and agile knight with a handsome face and blue eyes that twinkled like sapphires. His orange hair is styled in a fluffy, windswept way, giving him a playful and flirty look. Zander's armor is sleek and elegant, with an emphasis on mobility and agility rather than brute force. Despite his lean figure, Zander is still strong and capable in combat. Zander's weapons are razor-sharp rapier swords called "Kiss and Flee," perfectly fitting his playful and flirty nature.
Eleanor held her hand up, "Relax, the wendigo is not a threat; it's the priest's wife." Eleanor looked at Matteo with her serious and cold eyes, "Get out of here."
Matteo: "Will do." Matteo then walks away with Cupcake beside him.