The moment Dorian's hands touched the fireball, a near invisible layer of energy seemed to coat the front of the massive meteor.

The intangible Ability Ifrits held. Fire Sense, the Ability to manipulate and sense fire. It was a stronger version of the power Fire Imps and the Fire Aspected creatures held.

It allowed Dorian to latch onto the meteor of flame as if it were a solid object. The energy wasn't something Dorian could absorb, it was directed and powerful, unlike the remnant energy on the female vampire's body.

Dorian's arms trembled as he leaned forward, muscles bulging. His legs dug into the ground, sinking an entire foot into the rocky earth. The stone beneath him cracked and shattered, stone and debris flying into the air.

WHOOOSH

In a single second, Dorian's body smashed backwards 50 meters. His legs were firmly dug into the earth, and as a result, he left two 50 meter long gouges in the ground. He pulled up every iota of strength he had as he pushed back against the meteor, the unforgiving heat searing forth.

'It's heavy.' Dorian's mind was hazy as he was pushed back another 50 meters. In his Condensed form, his body was far stronger and far more resilient, allowing him to survive the burden he was holding, at least for now.

This giant meteor had an incredible amount of force behind it, as well as the searing heat infused with the Power of Law. A regular creature would be incinerated merely by touching it. Even in his Condensed form, the only reason Dorian was able to handle it was because of his unique race, as an Ifrit.

"ARRRGH!"

Dorian yelled out loud as he was thrown back another hundred meters, the gouges in the earth expanding. His arms had grown numb, as had his legs. His bones were starting to creak, dangerously close to breaking. Blood began to seep out of a few small cracks on his skin, vaporizing instantly in the heat.

'It's too much.' He thought, panting. His eyes were beginning to cloud over, his mind close to collapsing. The awe-inspiring heat and pressure was far too much for him to bear.

'I can't stop this.' The realization dawned on him.

The attack was simply too strong.

'Everyone in the city is going to die because of me.'

His body was pushed back another hundred meters.

And then another hundred meters.

Halfway to the city wall.

Fire blazed out of his arms and legs, a physical sign of exertion as he struggled and strained, to no avail.

'No…' He refused to give up.

His mind raced ahead of him, analyzing everything. His hazy mental state made thinking difficult, fogging up his head. As he struggled to stop the meteor, a stray thought popped up.

A vision of one of his first Physics lessons.

The memory was blurry, but one point stood out in particular to Dorian.

'An object in motion will remain in motion, unless acted upon by an external force.'

Newton's First Law of Motion.

This massive meteor was heading straight for the city.

If Dorian wanted to stop it, he would have to create an equal amount of force. A sheer impossibility for him.

But what if he didn't try to stop it at all?

Stopping it may be impossible for him…

But what about simply changing the direction it was moving in, just slightly? The motion of the fireball was purely forward, with no downward impetus. Any downward force it had had been neutralized when it collided with the ground and began blazing forward.

His consciousness latched onto the idea like a lost man at sea grasped onto a lifeboat, refusing to let go.

His legs still dug into the ground, steam escaping out of them due to exertion.

However, instead of trying to forcibly stop the fireball, he began to focus his entire strength on blasting it upwards.

The momentum of the meteor was focused straight towards the city.

Dorian's sank deeper into the ground as he lifted with all his might, willing his body to pull out his every last reserve. His lungs heaved and his vision went completely black, blinded from the effort as he raised the enormous, gaping fireball above him, and physically threw it upward.

The earth below him had transformed into a massive, twenty meter wide crater, the entire weight of the meteor resting on Dorian's shoulders for the briefest moment.

WHOOSH

He collapsed, falling to the ground. His vision remained black, his body trembling from exertion.

A ringing noise echoed in his hears as his vision gradually returned. He coughed up blood as he forced himself to stand, maintaining his Condensed state.

As his sight restored itself, he turned himself around, his heart in his throat as he looked at the city behind him.

The colossal meteor of flame that had threatened to annihilate the city, and everyone in it, was blazing through just barely a hundred meters above the city. The distance was expanding as it moved higher and higher, redirected because of Dorian's efforts.

The powerful heat it sent off injured some, but due to the distance, and because the attack was weakened, the number of casualties was drastically low.

A few palace towers exploded, destroyed in the blaze, but the majority of the city was left unscathed.

'Hah!' Dorian mentally cheered, a rush of happiness buzzing into his mind.

He put a serious face on, however, as he turned around, looking towards the direction where the fireball had come from.

At a large dragon covered in brilliant orange flames.

"Brother, what is this? You stopped my attack?"

"My perfection for them, you have taken it back?"

The Eleventhborn's voice was strangely calm as it flew down and landed, ignoring the vampires. It still gave off a mighty, arrogant Aura, one that was completely unperturbed. The injuries it had taken had already fully healed, not a trace of blood on it.

Dorian stepped forward towards the great, blazing drake, his voice calm and collected. His body's condition was anything but good, suffering several cracked bones and torn muscles. He ignored all of that, however, putting on a facade of confidence.

Words seemed to flow from his tongue as he responded to the dragon, replying in kind, using the same harsh Draconic language the Eleventhborn used when it addressed him.

"My brother, we journey for perfection, yes, it is true.

But what is perfection if it's shared with just a few?

Spreading pain and death, the sins we accrue.

It cheapens perfection, for me and for you.

You could burn your flames, and spread them anew.

Or stop, and consider, the things we might do.

Perhaps perfection can be found in fire, a blaze askew.

But what of Ice? Earth? Light? Other elements in lieu.

Consider this, then, before you blaze your debut.

Seek perfection without killing, a simple breakthrough."

As the last words left his mouth, Dorian felt a twisting sensation spread over him.

Reality began to distort, for just the briefest moment before his eyes. Dorian felt his soul seem to shake, a feeling he had felt once before.

The feeling vanished as quickly as it came, almost completely undetectable.

The giant dragon stood facing Dorian. It was silent for a few moments, its gaze boring into Dorian as if it could see his very soul.

The crackles of the various fires spread out, echoing in the still air. In the background, Dorian could make out screams and yells inside the city as people cowered in terror, the massive fireball that had just passed shocking many.

The mighty Aura that surrounded the Eleventhborn abruptly began to fade.

"Your words… I must consider. You have given me thought."

"A battle was had, one that was hard fought."

"A journey, I shall take, to seek for perfection."

"Other elements I shall seek, the peak I shall threaten."

The enormous dragon flushed its wings out as its voice thundered, shaking the air itself. Streams of orange fire blasted off its wings behind it in a hundred meter wide pillar.

"Younger brother, stay strong, and may your journey hold true."

"To a world of ice I shall travel, I bid you adieu."

The Eleventhborn leapt up into the air, its wings blazing behind it. A small tornado of fire scattered around the air below it, buffeting Dorian slightly.

WHOOSH

He forced himself to hold his footing as he watched the great dragon take off, his confident visage never cracking.

Internally, he wasn't panicking either. He was simply too tired to care anymore.

The massive drake flew high into the sky and began to turn, its body shimmering as it left the area, heading off towards another City State, towards a distant World Bridge.

Dorian watched the drake fly off, slowly turning into a dot in the distance.

He smiled, looking down at his fists.

He'd won.

Fatigue and exhaustion began to crash down upon him. A few mental alerts went off in his head as Ausra informed him he was about to fall unconscious, partly due to a backlash from his forced Evolution growth. There was no risk of death from this, but falling unconscious in this form outside the city wasn't exactly an ideal situation.

His body twisted back toward the city as he began to collapse, unconsciousness sweeping over him.

The last thing he saw before darkness took over was an image of that female vampire he had saved rushing towards him, blood spurting out of her mouth as she ignored her injuries to catch him before he hit the ground.

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

On a world far from Taprisha…

Tens of thousands of stone towers rose into the sky, several dozen meters thick, and hundreds of meters high. Each tower was built out of a pure, black rock, worn down by the passage of time and the ever-present wind that blew on this world.

Fog covered the base of these stone towers, enshrouding them in mystery. Many of the towers were hollow inside, carved and used, in the past, as dwelling places. Mysterious symbols covered the hollow towers, from a language long since lost to the 30,000 Worlds.

The ruins of a civilization from long ago.

Perched on the top of one of these stone towers, a small, diminutive figure could be seen. A black skinned humanoid, with long, pointed ears, and bright blue hair. A calm, peaceful air rose around this creature as it looked out at the towers that stretched all the way to the horizon.

"Ahh. I see you finally found your way to me." The black skinned humanoid sighed and stood up, stretching its body as it turned around.

On another stone tower, just a few dozen meters away, a second figure shimmered into existence.

A vampire wearing a smooth pair of black leather pants, and a relaxed grey vest with a white undershirt. A smooth jawline and piercing green eyes complemented his handsome face, one that was currently cold and merciless. His long white hair was wrapped up, atop his head in a bun, with an ornamental needle keeping it in place.

"Highlord Marcus, I presume. Leader of the Aurelius Family of vampires." The black skinned humanoid said, nodding his head.

The vampire's face twitched, an uncontrolled hint of fury instantly buried.

Highlord Marcus spoke aloud,

"Give me a single reason why I shouldn't bury your soul here and now, cretin. The chaos and death you have spread in my realm is unacceptable." His voice boomed out as he spoke, shimmering forth with such force that the air around him visible distorted.

As he spoke, a pure, glowing red halo appeared above his head. This halo gave off no aura or air of its own, yet the simple appearance of it held a feeling of solidness and power that could not be ignored.

The black skinned humanoid smiled, unfazed by the raw power and fury the vampire was releasing.

"Because, dear Highlord, you cannot." The creature continued,

"I have thousands of clones. My true form could be any single one, to track them all would be a sheer impossibility." The black skinned humanoid shook his head,

"The chaos and death your realm has experienced certainly has been horrid." He gave the vampire a sympathetic look,

"Neither of us want that to continue."

"Therefore, dear Highlord, I was hoping you and I could come to an arrangement."

The black skinned humanoid was silent as it looked at the Highlord patiently. Its eyes gleamed with an unknown light.

Highlord Marcus' fist shook for an instant with rage before he regained control of his emotions. His voice raged out as he demanded,

"Who are you?"

The black skinned humanoid smiled once more,

"My name is Mello."

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

The End of Book 2

– Stats –

Number of Chapters: 29

Word count: ~65,000 Words

Avg. Word/Chapter – ~2,150

Total Views – 2,540,000

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