Book 5: Chapter 40 — Zaxius vs…
Zaxius was angry. He was also afraid. And that combination... Well, he couldn't remember when he'd last felt so alive.
He knew how to fight Ascendants. There were two strategies: either overwhelming surprise or patient attrition. It all depended on what the specific individuals' strengths and weaknesses were. With the overconfident phase-user he'd faced back at Drakonias, catching him off guard and hitting hard before he could gather himself was the answer. With a prepared ambush trio, ready and able to support one another to hold him at bay? Patience.
After all, what would be less characteristic of a dragon? Were they not known for their fury and recklessness? So Zax played the part. He did not check his anger as he would have preferred, nor did he engage in conversation for either informative or banter purposes. He clawed and bit and lashed his tail, he sparked his storm and roared in proper time.
And underneath it all, he held his fear and his anger and his need to protect, fused into a scalpel. He chipped away at the central lock that held his power in check, gently enough it didn't react, steadily enough that it would inevitably succeed.
This was a method he'd considered using many times, but until now, had never seen a reason to undertake. The backlash of this particular release method would be painful and, at least temporarily, crippling. But there was no time. He'd been found sooner than he expected, and his understudies were not ready to survive this level of opposition.
If he failed to survive, Noah and Aurelia would die.
If he failed to hold the ascendants' attention, Noah and Aurelia would die.
If he failed to break free before he was worn down, Noah and Aurelia would die.
And... it turned out he quite liked his little human companions. Cared for them to the extent that he could readily bear the indignity and discomfort of playing the mindless beast while slowly carving his soul into something that the chains could no longer contain.