The ornate daggers effects were unknown to him, yet as he carried it he felt a sense of strength flow through his veins. Golden eyes darted through the labyrinth as he walked, the paths sloping downwards growing dangerously steep. While proving to be a minor issue as the claws adorning his draconic feet stabbed into the rocky ground, out of instinct his hands grasped the rocks protruding from the jagged walls to prevent himself falling, despite the wings at his back.
After an eternity of walking, a frigid coldness flooded the air as he reached what he presumed to be the bottom of the labyrinth. Yet the cold temperature did not appear to be from the damp environment, but the work of a foul magic. An eldritch coldness. Shivers dripped down his spine, the mere intensity of the frigid air forming a cold void within the depths of his draconic heart. His scales shivered and tensed up in what he could believe was innate fear.
'...We are close, my champion. It's power grows so strong it pollutes the very air…'
The dragon's wings pressed closer against himself with the words of the progenitor, fangs pressing together in defiance of the cold as he continued on his journey.
Darkness flooded the catacombs as he trudged on, the few wisps of energy flowing through the air growing thinner with each step, before the few that remained flickered in and out of reality at a rapid rate. Shadows of stalagmites and stalactites looked like monstrous jaws, the clicks of his toeclaws echoing throughout the caverns without end. Even as a sense of duty and courage flooded him, the draconic paladin felt an increasing sense of dread as he drew closer to what was no doubt the source of the corruption.
His grip on the dagger intensified, claws digits on his free hand flexing as he prepared to strike at whatever dared to come his way. His silver scales tightened as the air suddenly grew still, the wisps of light halting their drifting.
All motion coming to a sudden halt, the abrupt sound of swift, running footsteps flooded his ears, the draconic paladin spinning around with a roar as he slashed at his unknown assailant with the thorn-like blade of the dagger, receiving a pained, demonic whine. A deep growl slipping past his gritted fangs, the dragon's maw parted with a roar as he forced the creature back, the beast tumbling onto it's back with an unrestrained grunt, a deep gash across its abdomen.
A wisp of light drifting past, the paladin examined the growling figure with interest as it was revealed to him. A lupine face, fangs bared and eyes filled with a primal, feral rage. Covered in black fur, the beast held a rather humanoid shape; the sharp jagged claws on its hands and feet incredibly similar to the claws on his own. The large canine knot between its legs stood at full mast even as blood trickled from the wound, causing Isaac to step back with a growl of revulsion.
Thankfully, it seemed the rose dagger had paralyzed the canine beast, only able to wince in pain and growl back in a pitiful attempt at defiance. Yet as his golden eyes narrowed, the desperate growls halted, becoming mere whines as the dragon drew closer.
While ready to end the beast's foul life with a stab to the chest, Isaac paused as his golden eyes drifted downwards to the gash, eyes widening as the bloodstained fur around it appeared to steadily receded.
"What in…?"
Not limited to the gash, the black fur began to steadily receded all across the beast's body, monstrously muscled form shrinking as the large fluffy tail slipped back into its body with a sickening crack. With pained grunts and spasms, the canine's muzzle pushed back into its face, wolfish features receding and sharp fangs growing dull. With spurts of black ooze, the receding beast's canine knot was the final attribute to revert, balls shrinking with pained growls as it was emptied of the foul black essence, the base of its member becoming more human.
Stepping back in silent shock, Isaac's golden eyes could only stare as where the former shape of the black werewolf lay a human, the gash across his stomach continued to leak copious amounts of crimson. Unable to move, blood flew from the man's mouth, face growing pale and sweaty as his bloodshot eyes shifted to the dragonman in a silent plea.
The man let out a sharp whimper as Isaac's scaled form kneeled next to him, the draconic paladin's head tilting in curiosity, before realizing he had misinterpreted the man's terror as him begging for salvation. Withdrawing his claws from the man's body and placing the dagger at his side, he could only sigh at his stupidity.
Clearly, any human would be terrified by an overtly muscled dragonman, as the man so clearly proved.
"Human…" Isaac whispered, voice a low growl as his golden eyes locked with the man's own. "I am not your enemy."
Gently placing his hands across the man's stomach, circular runes formed outside his scaled palms, ending at the tips of his claws.
"Comfervo." He chanted, golden energy flowing from his palms and flooding over the man's injuries. Skin coated in the light, the man's teeth clenched in a pained grunt as his flesh slowly knitted back together, his eyes wide in a mix of terror and awe.
The glow faded as the light finished healing the gash, the man's chest rising and falling as he promptly fell asleep.
Sighing in relief, Isaac readjusted himself to a sitting position, protectively curling his tail around the man to provide some form of warmth. His eyes drifted downwards to the serrated blade of the rose dagger, the lavender jewel embedded into its hilt now a dull black.
'The dagger absorbed his corruption, sealing it within the jewel…'
A claw shot up to his head as bells quietly echoed through his mind, scales tensing. Out of curiosity, Isaac took the dagger within his hand, flinching as his scales grew numb as he experimentally twirled it.
'...And due to our seal, it seems that you are unable to be influenced by its power.'
His golden eyes stared into the black jewel curiously, narrowing into slits. "Are you saying this rose dagger has some sort of… Err... 'Equivalent exchange' ability?"
The progenitor fell silent on thought, before it spoke with an unusual sense of excitement. 'In a sense. The dagger transfers corruption…'
'And were it not for our merging and your acquired resistance to the foul essence, the lupine form this man took would have spread to you, while he would become human… Your assumption was not far off.'
"I suppose that means I can't let him use it as a weapon lest he become a beast again..." Isaac muttered flatly, the serrated thorn-like blade glinting as it reflected the faint glow of his eyes. With a sigh he set the dagger to his side once again, gaze shifting to the man's unconscious form.
The man was… Rather average, skin.pale in the darkness, most likely due to a severe lack of sunlight. The man's hair was disheveled and unkempt, the same shade of black as his fur when he had been nothing more than a primal canine beast. His limp member did not even reach past the length of his draconic index finger as he shamelessly compared.
Growling to himself, Isaac sighed as he reclined against a wall, knowing that the man would not awaken for some time. The stress of the reverting changes was not without its consequences, not to mention the man had nearly bled to death from his wound.
Such a long wait would be incredibly time-consuming, and mentally draining given how close he seemed to be to the source of the corruption. That also meant the catacombs were anything but safe, yet he could not risk carrying the man back to the warded room due to how steep the paths had grown when he had traversed them earlier. A massive waste of time and energy.
Time and energy he could not afford to lose when he had gotten so close.
Not wishing to disturb the slumbering man at the same time, a hefty yawn escaped from the dragon's jaws, wings pressing up against the cold stone wall. Golden eyes stared at the man absentmindedly as he strained his ears for any signs of noise aside from the man's breathing and his own rumbling chest. All that he received was the ambient flow of groundwater, the draconic paladin wondering how deep underground he had made it, considering he had entered the crypt not too long ago.
. . .
Isaac jolted awake with an annoyed growl, teeth grit as his golden claws massaged his head tiredly, the dagger clenched tightly between his fingers. Scales stinging ever so slightly, golden eyes shot down to his side, a small rock being the source of his irritation. His gaze drifted upwards, falling to the now awakened form of the man, who stood by a pile of rocks.
Forming the connection, a small sigh slipped from his maw, sluggishly sitting up and drawing his draconic tail inwards. The human flinched at every motion. His expression held an ounce of confliction, no doubt realizing that the dragonman had both saved and healed him.
"P-Please, don't e-eat me!" The man pleaded pitifully, the sight almost comical to Isaac given how old the man appeared to be.
"I will bring no harm upon you, human." Isaac whispered, allowing his both his expression and voice to remain stoic and stern. "I--"
The man recoiled further, his naked form shivering as it was exposed to the frigid air.
A loud exhale blared throughout the dragonman's mind, belonging to none other than the progenitor. 'Your attempts at acting are valiant, but severely lacking, my champion. Repeat after me.'
Clearing his nonphysical throat, bells rang.
'I promise you, I am anything but a corrupted monster. I am merely searching for the source of the corruption.'
"I promise you, I am anything but a corrupted monster." Isaac echoed, golden eyes locking with the confused man's gaze. "I am merely searching for the source of the corruption."
He sighed quietly as the progenitor chuckled in amusement, thankfully it did not comment any further.
"T-The… The 'source?'" The man's hands rose to grip at his head, eyes shutting. "Corruption… W-Why does my mind feels so foggy…?"
"You're mind must have broken when you were corrupted. Don't overexert yourself." Isaac advised as he refocused his gaze on the human, the man heeding his caution as he slowly sat down. His hands continued to clasp his head, confusion and exhaustion induced as a result of the purged corruption.
The man's hands left his head a few moments later, his eyes brightening as faint memories were recalled. "I… I remember. I was a paladin, serving under King Astrite…"
"King Astrite?" Isaac's head tilted, narrowly suppressing his shock. He brought a claw to his chin in confusion.
'How long has this man been down here?'
"...Pardon me, but what season and year is it? If I remember, I entered during the Summer of the Third Year of Astrite's reign… It hasn't been that long I believe…"
"...Spring of the Fourteenth Year under King Vernus' reign." Isaac answered hesitantly, his golden eyes drifting down to his feet. "King Vernus inherited the throne after Astrite's untimely death."
"W-What?!" The human gasped, eyes wide in shock. "It's been… Gods, how long has it been?!"
The man rose to his feet in haste, hands grasping his head in anxiousness. "I need to get back… My family… The Order…!"
Isaac sighed, knowing full well he didn't have it in him to leave the man alone while he went to destroy the corruption. Bringing the man along, even if he was a paladin, would most likely be more trouble than it was worth. He'd either be dead weight, or incredibly helpful. With such low probably of the latter, he could not risk it.
He cursed internally, not showing emotion as his maw parted to catch the man's attention. "We'll have to venture back through the labyrinth to reach the exit.."
Gazing up to the ceiling, a thoughtful grin spread across his draconic features, neck craning to glance at his large leathery wings. Flapping them experimentally, his teeth glinted as he managed to lift himself off the ground by a few feet, the knowledge of flight embedded into his mind by the progenitor. "Yet… Perhaps I can fly us through the passages instead."
The man froze at his statement, naked form continuing to shiver. His hands lay clasped around his member in an attempt to retain some form of modesty.
"We have no time to waste. Come on." Isaac beckoned, outstretching an arm. The black haired man hesitated, only breaking as an impatient growl rumbled from the dragon's throat.
Muscled arm wrapping around the naked paladin's waist, with a flap of his wings the dragon's wings flapped, spreading outwards to accommodate the added weight. It was frightening at how easy he had learned to control them despite only now using them. With a gust of cold air, the dragon soared upwards to the ceiling, the man in his arm shamelessly burying his face into the side of his scaled pectoral.
Just as the tip of a slope came into his sight, a shocked roar slipped from his open jaws, his world spinning as a gust of harsh wind smacked against him. Flailing throughout the darkness of the cave, the draconic scion could do nothing but allow gravity to run its course.
The man's helpless screams joined his roars as they spun together, their mutual cries fading away as they fell into an endless void of darkness, consumed by the labyrinth.