IMPERIUM INSECTUM

A few days prior….

“visualise….. that the key to all magic!”

“im….trying”

I held a rift of black mana, undulating and moving in my palms. Images of a trident formed in my mind. I focused the image, my will, onto the rift. Reacting to my will. The rift solidified and lengthened into a rod.

“I know you can do that much. Keep going.”

I focused harder on the image of the trident in my head. The end of the trident started to split.

“Good, a bit more power” Mana surged into the pitch black rod, making it thrum with power; however, something felt wrong. The image I had started to get fuzzy and vague. Suddenly, the rod bent and buckled, and mana started spewing into the surroundings.

“Shit!” I  cried as I tried to refocus on the image of the trident, but no matter how much I tried, the image wouldn’t come back.

I glared at the rod when it spontaneously collapsed with a bright flash. My mind raced as I suddenly found myself several feet in the air, hurtling towards the ground. My wings tried to orient me, but my brain struggled to communicate with the rest of me. crap this isn't good. I need to-

*THUD*

Pain ravaged my body as I lay flat like a pancake on the ground.

“You got distracted, didn’t you, insect…”

*groan* “Is it that obvious?” My body felt like it had been run over by a train. I rolled onto my back and stared into the white void.

“Have you given up, insect?” the dragon boomed. I shook my head. “No. its just frustrating.” I let out a sigh and raised my arm. Black scorch marks stained my armour. Everyone is a mark of my failure. I shook my head. This thinking isn't good for me. I need a distraction,

“Hey, dragon”, I shouted. The dragon glanced towards me, “Yes, insect.”

“Why doesn’t this Null mana kill me. You said this stuff basically erases anything it touches.”

“Not entirely true, but let me answer your question first. Because you wield this mana, your body is resistant to it. Doesn’t make sense for your own mana to hurt you. However, that doesn’t mean you can't get hurt with it. If the magical is powerful enough, then you can inflict damage. However, the resistance will drastically reduce the effect.”

“I see”

“Also, insect don’t forget that powerful enough magic can block null mana. To succeed with null mana, raw power is the key; you have to be the strongest in the room, or else you will suffer. From what you’ve told me, you’ve experienced this problem before.”

I nodded. My mind flashed back to the time I fought those assassins. That brute with the axe. His lightning magic was strong enough to push through my mana. Asshole nearly killed me….

“I guess it all boils down to my original goal.” I let out an annoyed sigh as I remembered the dying breath of my old life. I made one promise and one promise only. If I ever got a second chance, I would do anything to obtain power, no matter how depraved and messed up that power was, my ultimate goal. However, since coming here, I've been distracted. Visiting towns, underground politics, etc., etc., what the fuck does any of that have to do with my goal?

My body creaked and groaned as I stood up to my feet.

“Looks like our insect has found her second wind….”

I shook my head. “No, I've just remembered why I'm here…” I held my hands out and watched as mana crackled between my hands

Present day

The flies charged forward, and I did the same. Mana rushed through my arms and turned into a pair of gauntlets. The flies rushed up to his face, blocking his vision. The dragon tried to shake them off, but my children were too fast for him to shake off.

“How annoying!”

The dragon reared onto its back legs and then, with the force of a speeding train. Swung down towards me. Sweeping its clawed hands across the ground and kicking up another cloud of dust. However, that didn’t stop me, I pushed through the dust and leapt into the air towards the dragon's body. Mana surged into my gauntlets as I landed a blow into the dragon's soft underbelly. The dragon groaned in pain as a wave of null mana shot into him.

“Not enough”, I followed up with several more blows, all of them pushing null man into its body. Still no reaction, I shouldn’t be surprised.

“Obsidian spike”

The air thrummed with magic as a trident materialised in my hand. I raised the trident upwards and brought it down, slashing through the dragon's stomach. The dragon roared in pain as it lashed and swung wildly.

<Now, Children!> I yelled, jumping backwards away from the dragon. A portion of the flies split from the swarm and dove into the dragon's open wound and started biting, releasing their poison into his body. Immediately, green veins began to appear on its soft underbelly.

I called the flies back to me and waited for the poison to do its work. If it kills him, great; however, the poison weakening him isn't a bad outcome either. This is a formidable enemy. I must stay alert and keep my expectations realistic.

And as if he was reading my mind. Black mana surged out and surrounded his body. Mana raced around my body as I prepared a denial rift spell. Whatever he's got planned, I need to be able to counter it. However, as quick as the mana came, it slowly disappeared, or rather, he absorbed it. The thick black shroud he had before slowly disappeared until nothing was left.

“What did you do, dragon…”

He didn’t respond, only glaring at me with the anger of an ancient being that has seen too much. I looked closer at its body and noticed the green veins had disappeared. Did he purge the poison out of his body? You can do that?!

Before I could ask any more questions, the dragon launched forward at incredible speed. Barely giving me enough time to jump to the side for safety.

“Void piercer” mana crackled from my hands as a bow and arrow appeared in my hands. I turned to the dragon whilst drawing my bow. As soon as my eyes landed on him. I fired a dark arrow towards him, nailing his wings. The dragon roared again, but I wasn’t done. I fired a volley of arrows towards its body. Aiming for any soft targets I could find. All of them landed and caused the dragon to wince and fall back. This is good. But all I'm doing is just pissing him off. I need a more permenant-

*SCREEEEEEEEECHHHHHH….*

I winced at the high-pitched scream from the dragon. My eyes glanced as the dragon roared into the sky. I notched another arrow and fired at its head, but as soon as it got loose, the dragon screamed again, blowing it away.

“Such power”

The roar got louder and louder, and something else was happening as well. Waves of mana were coming from the dragon's roar. The waves grew stronger, ripping up the ground and trees around us. Suddenly, a black rift started to open above the dragon.

<children, ready yourselves. I don’t know what he's got planned, but it's not gonna be good for us.>

The void suddenly ripped open, revealing a dark twinkling void. I stared in awe for a moment when, suddenly, something moved in the void. Not just one thing. Loads of somethings. The rift stretched open as suddenly a dark black meteor flew towards me.

“denial rift!” I yelled. A second rift exploded into life in the path of the meteor, stopping it and absorbing it into nothing.

<Mother ANOTHER!>

A second meteor appeared. I created another rift, and another, and another. Dozens of meteors hurled at me. My mind is strained, focusing on so many rifts at the same time, but I have no choice. I have to hold firm. I stilled my mind and focused on the rifts. The dragon hurled more of them at me, trying to overwhelm me, but I stayed focused. Removing as much as I can as fast as I can. Slowly, more and more of the captured meteors started to disappear. I kept up the pace. Slowly improving the spell. Aa little bit larger here, more suction there. smal changes that soon added up. One meteor disappeared, then another, and another. Sonni was able to match the speed he threw them at me, then surpass him.

“Give up, dragon! This isn't working anymore”

The dragon's eyes glared at me with annoyance but understanding. He shut his maw and focused his attention on me.

“Your growth is astounding, insect. But it's not enough. Your story ends here…” The dragon leapt backwards, putting loads of space between me and him. I got ready, preparing another rift as he opened his maw. I expected another roar, but instead, nothing. Silence. Then mana started collecting in his mouth. Incredible amounts of mana.  The mana coalesced into one point in his mouth and started rotating faster and faster. So fast that even I couldn’t keep up. Soon, I felt the wind pick up around me. This isn't good. I dropped the rift spell and made my void piercer. I aimed into his jaw and fired. The arrow flew fast. unchartaristically fast. That isn't- My instincts suddenly ignited like a flame screaming at me to move.  I listened. I turned around to run, but my body struggled to move. The pull was incredible. Pulling everything. The first thing to enter oblivion was my children. The pull was too strong for their tiny wings. Soon, trees and rocks were being drawn into the devouring maw, and soon I felt myself start to move back towards doom.

“DAMNmiT, DRAGON JUST KEEL OVER AND DIE ALREADY!”

I summoned my trident and jabbed it into the ground. At the same time, 4 pincers launched out of my back and jabbed themselves into the earth. My body stopped moving, but now I was trapped with 2 of my arms holding onto the trident for dear life, and my pincers were otherwise preoccupied.

A high-pitched whine pierced my ears. I turned to look at the dragon. The orb's power was steadily increasing. Black lightning arched from the orb and streaked towards the nearby trees. I tried to think of a solution, but nothing came to mind. Damn this dragon. He truly is impressive. Did I ever stand a chance of beating him? I shook my head no! I won't die here. If he's going all out, then I'll do the same. I clasped my 2 free hands together and channelled all my mana into them. The air around me trembled as the mana surged towards my hands, faster and faster like a stampeding bull chasing a red flag. I could barely contain it. This was something I had been working on in secret. I haven’t yet succeeded in pulling it off. But it’s now or never. I opened my hands to reveal a miniature rotating hole with a glowing white event horizon. I released the orb, letting it fall. Pulled in by the dragon's magic, we watched as it closed.

 The timing had to be perfect I watched as the orb got closer and closer to the dragon and just when it was about to make contact with his orb I snapped my finger.  The air ruptured around us. The orb suddenly expanded, dwarfing the dragon in size. The dragon roared with surprise as its body was enveloped.

< It's not done yet>

I stretched towards the sphere and started to close my hand as I imagined it getting smaller. The orb reacted, sending out waves of pressure as the orb shrank. The waves of pressure got stronger and stronger as the orb shrank, then suddenly, like it had hit a roadblock, it stopped. My hand strained as I struggled to close it entirely.

“Damn you, dragon” Suddenly, the waves of pressure started again; however, this time they were more powerful and chaotic as two forces met. Mana rushed to my hand as I focused on the sphere. Our two forces collided with each other, destroying what was left of the forest. Black bolts of lightning arched into the ground as I tried to shrink the orb even more, but it didn’t budge. The dragon refused to give up. DAMN HIM!

“IS THIS ALL YOU HAVE INSECT? I'M DISAPPOINTED!”

A blast of extreme wind shot from the orb as it started to grow. Curse this dragon! Curse him, curse him, curse him.  I will not fail here! I reached down, pulling all my reserves and forcing all my remaining mana towards the orb. The orb shook as a large white crack appeared on its side. But I ignored it and kept pushing, forcing more and more of my mana into the orb. Slowly, it started to shrink again, getting smaller and smaller. As it did, the world around us started to react. Black tears opened up in the   sky and ground, and what was left of this world started to fall away. But I ignored it and kept pushing. No tricks, no strategies to survive. I need to give my all. I pulled up any scraps of mana I had left and sent all of it to the orb. The orb shrank one last time, shrinking into a tiny dot before disappearing into nothing.

Silence.  That was what filled what remained of this land; the forest and sky were all gone, only the barren, dirty ground was left. I took one step forward onto the ground, and as I did, everything faded away, and before I knew it, I was falling.

Falling towards an unknown fate. Powerless to do anything. Curse that dragon…

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