Legend Land: Tale of the Nameless God

Chapter 16.2: Cry of Death

Part 2

Author's Note: Please listen to the song while you read this chapter. It really fits the tone here, especially while you read about the death of a mighty beast who was just doing his job. Thank you.

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The spear embeds itself between one of Zargoth's teeth and his gums. Mutovinatum slinks along the spear and slips into the small wound. I hope I didn't just do something stupid.

The dragon swats at me and I duck behind a tree stump. He moves to crush me, but his paw halts in mid-air. It jerks forward and then comes down a few feet away from me. He roars and uses his wings to lift up into the air. As he flaps, one of his wings twists on itself and crunches, sending the dragon plummeting to the earth. I peek from around the stump to see Zargoth dragging his head along the ground. One paw comes up and he bites it savagely, digging into his own flesh. His tail whips around and he stomps in it, bones snapping. He lets out a pained scream that penetrates into my bones. Despite myself, I feel a chill down my spine, and I almost feel...bad?

One of his shoulders rotates and he slams his leg down, bone snapping through one of the joints. I wince at the grinding and crunching noise, rotating my shoulder subconsciously. Zargoth collapses forward, tearing off several of his claws with his teeth. He slams his head repeatedly into the earth, even as his hind legs try to drag him away.

We all watch with open mouths as the dragon tries to scream with a mouthful of earth, his single wing flapping weakly. Blood oozes from the cracks in his skull, teeth flying out with every impact. Zargoth catches my eye, huge tears rolling down his scaly cheeks. I rush forward to do something, anything, but it's too late.

With one last screech, Zargoth slams his head into the earth and snaps his own neck with a sickening crunch. Black goo pours out from between his scales, surrounding the dragon, enveloping it in inky darkness. After a few moments of pressure, the mighty beast suddenly collapses. Mutovinatum slowly rises, standing taller than before and emanating a wave of power. Gods, what have I done?

"The heart of Zargoth, an eternal heat source." He looks at me, revealing innumerable rows of sharp, triangular, teeth. "Bon appétit." Before I can think of anything else, I rush forward and snatch it from his grip, jumping back to avoid a save swipe. The power source wasn't one or both crystals, it was Zargoth's heart. It looks like a black rock with several veins of what appear to be pulsing lava intertwined through it.

"How's that portal coming along?" I shout behind me. Mutovinatum stalks closer, tendrils of shadow whipping and hissing around him like a wall of serpents.

"Something's keeping me here!" Donyoku shouts back frantically. No shit, Sherlock. I roll underneath several tendrils that shoot out towards me, slicing them apart with my kusarigama. Ghelly jumps into the fray, shooting several more that try to impale me. Sorry shadow snakes, I'm kind of the one who does the impaling around here.

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Inspired by: "The Empty Hourglass" by Architects

Oh, I'm sorry, did you think this was going to be a completely serious chapter? Couldn't resist letting a bit of sarcasm shine through in the end there. But, seriously, it was difficult to kill Zargoth. The bones snapping, the cry of a proud animal being brought down; his own body crunching down into nothingness while he fights a force he doesn't understand. I just felt really bad. What about you? R.I.P. Zargoth.

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Beta Readers/Editors:

Alyssa Clark

Elizabeth Foran

Mandy Barfield

Jordan Thacker

Raiden Jackson