====== IV. Oath-Breaking Rebel Against Fate ====== ---- ==== 4-1 ==== The Flame-Chasing heroes once scorned the Giant Dragon,\\ For they refused to crush any foe beneath their feet. //"A foolish earth-beast..."\\ "A heretic who refuses to serve the Flame-Chase!"// After staying for several days,\\ The Giant Dragon bids farewell to the Imperator,\\ //"The Flame-Chase... is a glory that belongs only to the children of humanity."//[(Spoken by Terravox.)] //"You are a benevolent beast,\\ I had no intention of keeping you captive."// //A decree to protect innocent lives is about to be issued...\\ All I ask is that you lend a hand to the Flame-Chase in the future."//[(Spoken by Cerydra.)] ---- ==== 4-2 ==== Losses are a constant on the Flame-Chase journey,\\ Yet the Giant Dragon remembers their creator's command. After leaving the Imperator's capital,\\ The Giant Dragon shelters small beasts upon its back,\\ Only to be hunted by city-states hungry for meat. Arrows pour down like rain, unable to pierce the Giant Dragon's skin,\\ Yet cause the creatures on their back to wail and fall. Until a mighty force of reinforcements\\ Brings this tragedy to an end — They raised the shield wall for the Giant Dragon,\\ Then marched forth and crushed that city-state. //"The Mountain Dwellers... are not a warlike people. Who are you?"//[(Spoken by Terravox.)] The leading knight answered loudly:\\ //"I am Mountainbreaker, Geocles."// ---- ==== 4-3 ==== {{ :readable:saga:soaring.dragon.without.restraint:dan-heng4-3.png?200|}} All the world knows,\\ That protecting all of Earth's creations\\ Is the creed of the Dromas Legion. The world also knows,\\ The Dromas Legion is ever-victorious —\\ The Giant Dragon under the "Mountainbreaker,"\\ Is silent... yet unstoppable. //"Endurance does not help with survival."//[(Spoken by Geocles.)]\\ Mountainbreaker always speaks of his friend this way,\\ While the Giant Dragon only responds with a low growl. Soon after, when word came that the Flame-Chasing Army targeted Earth,\\ The Dromas Riders set forth in full force,\\ All to protect their creator. On the eve of the march, the Giant Dragon receives a secret message. //"Your one and only Flame-Chase...\\ Must be to slay your creator, and then fight to survive."//[(Spoken by Cerydra.)] ---- ==== 4-4 ==== Records state: In the battle of the abyss,\\ The Dromas Riders were broken after Terravox's betrayal,\\ The Mountainbreaker shed his armor and fell from the cliffs to his end. Earth carved the memories of the betrayal into its strata,\\ Until "Evernight" would leaf through them. //"O Earth, Time is willing to wash away that pain of betrayal."//[(Spoken by Evernight.)] As a memosprite,\\ The mighty Mountainbreaker reunites with the Giant Dragon.\\ His voice trembles in a whisper:\\ //"... That couldn't have been your choice."//[(Spoken by Geocles.)] The Giant Dragon only responds with a low growl. ---- ==== 4-5 ==== {{ :readable:saga:soaring.dragon.without.restraint:dan-heng4-5.png?200|}} The Giant Dragon and their comrade dwell in the Abyss for a thousand years.\\ Until the Azure Dragon returns from among the stars,\\ Stirring up the dust of destiny. //"He is one of our kind..."//[(Spoken by Terravox.)]\\ The Giant Dragon lifts their eyelids, gazing at the azure-colored Long's Scion,\\ Knowing that dragon's body bears the sworn duty of protection. But in Mountainbreaker's eyes, there is only resolute determination.\\ //"That is the Permanence!"//[(Spoken by Geocles.)] The Permanence can heal the divine form of the Giant Dragon,\\ The Permanence can guide life past its end. At the edge of the world,\\ Watching their comrade's silhouette fade away,\\ The dying Giant Dragon shakes its head and sighs. //"The Permance is not a panacea...\\ But rather a bridge."//[(Spoken by Terravox.)]