The Achievement Junkie

"Impossible! It's simply impossible!"

Roars and shouts echoed through the gargantuan chamber riddled with gold. The room was larger than Jack's personal courtyard and adorned with items far more luxurious than anything Lyrun would use.

"How could he be so powerful so soon?!" Halmut roared, shouting to himself.

The dragon was currently in his human form. He was stomping around the room and screaming at the top of his lungs. Being in a soundproof chamber allowed him to vent all frustration without the worry of being found out. Halmut's eyes were red and strained, as if he was constantly stewing in turbulent thoughts. No matter what he imagined and what he wanted to believe, Halmut couldn't accept Jack's new strength.

"IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!"

The Sun Dragon roared, accidentally reducing another futon to cinders and slamming his fist into a splintered table.

"If he's able to do this much, then what will he do in the future? Will Jack learn the truth? Does Jack already know the truth?! Aaaahhh!"

Knock! Knock!

Someone was at the door trying to get Halmut's attention but the infuriated dragon was too caught up in his own raging mind to hear the knocks at his door.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

The knocking grew louder but it wasn't enough, not until a voice shouted from the other side of the door.

"HALMUT! WE LOST KORTEN!"

"WHAAAAAAT?!?!" Unleashing an even larger fireball, Halmut left a third of his room doused in flames. He let it burn wildly as he stormed to the door and threw it wide open. "What do you mean we lost Korten?!"

Bowing immediately and averting his eyes, Tralbok replied, "Your excellency, excuse me for calling you--"

"Forget that! Explain your statement!"

"Of course!" Tralbok hurried into the chamber as Halmut slammed the door shut, shaking the room for a moment. "Your excellency, we watched as Jack visited Korten to directly discuss their assimilation into Trodar. Lyrun then broke protocol and rushed to--"

"So he did rush to protect it. Good!" bellowed Halmut. "What happened next?"

"They allowed Korten to decide for itself but the elves decided to turn on their gods and sided with Trodar."

"WHAAAT?!"

"Then, Lyrun and Jack faced each other briefly. Lyrun kept Jack at a distance, not giving Jack a chance to cheat as Jack did against you," explained Tralbok. "They then decided to test each other. Lyrun gave Jack his best attack but Jack managed to defend himself. With Jack proving capable to defend himself, Lyrun retreated and didn't push any further. It's a disgrace that--"

"Lyrun did well…" Halmut stated, calming himself and acting as he usually would in front of an audience. "It was wise to back out before Jack reverted to his tricks. Being Eedaj's brother, Lyrun is the most experienced facing mind magic, which kept him from succumbing to it in the beginning. But Jack's abilities in stealth would inevitably catch Lyrun unguarded. It was a good move to back away, not a disgrace."

"Right, your excellency…" Tralbok sighed, swallowing his words and thinking up something else. "But to allow Korten to secede was disastrous… Without the elves, what force can we muster that will keep the rest of Kartonia in check?"

"Hmmm… It is a problem, despite Lyrun's attempts to sway his people… Perhaps Eedaj and his mind games may be playing a hand in this…" deduced Halmut. "It's hard to say but we'll have to face the elves either way now. Just as I don't hold Lyrun responsible for losing the support of the elves, Lyrun won't hold me responsible for the elves' extinction should they be dumb enough to face us.

"As for military might, we do have a force much more powerful and fearful than the elves… have Lyrun mobilize the dragons. As punishment for losing control of his people, Lyrun will lead the dragons against Korten early tomorrow morning. Leave the Flood Dragons excluded though, as their efforts are needed by Kylon."

Surprised, Tralbok replied with a bow, "Of course, your excellence. But what about the gods of Trodar? Surely they won't sit around and let us demolish their newest ally."

"Have Grixor and Torian join Lyrun in leading all other gods, including those newly ascended. It's time we make our move and prove to Kartonia how powerful we truly are," stated Halmut.

"Will they be enough? Will you be joining us, your excellency?" asked Tralbok.

Halmut squinted and reinspected his destroyed room, something that Tralbok hadn't commented on but had surely noticed. "I won't be joining you. However, you'll take this."

As Tralbok receive the intricately designed amulet, his eyes widened. "Your excellency, is this--"

"Should Sterfen make a move, crush it. If he doesn't appear, then don't touch it," Halmut ordered, turning his back to Tralbok. "Torian and Grixor should be able to face Moranti now that they out level him. If there's nothing else, leave me to attend to my personal business."

"Your excellency, we've been worried about you ever since--"

"I'm fine!" roared Halmut. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine despite Jack's best efforts. Now leave, before I reduce you to ash like the futons."

"Yes, your excellency!"

After one last bow, Tralbok hurried away and shut the door behind him. The God of Time was terribly startled by the state of the destroyed room but Tralbok would never dare to offend Halmut while Tralbok was unable to guarantee his life.

"JAAAAACK!!!" Alone again, Halmut roared and scorched the ceiling with his flames. Luckily, the walls and ceiling wouldn't catch fire, but they would be burned and eventually damaged should Halmut keep up his tantrum.

"But how could he do this?! What tricks can he use?! His strength shouldn't be possible!"

Roars echoed through the great chamber and flames spread everywhere, even burning Halmut's bed. The Sun Dragon was livid and had no means to unleash his full, unadulterated rage. But Halmut was also truly puzzled. He continued to argue with himself, failing to grasp the source of Jack's strength and how Halmut could effectively guarantee his own success.

"But he can do that… And if we tried to stop him, then we'll only give him more opportunities to grow and show off for the world! How can he do this?! What can we do?! I…"

Suddenly, Halmut's rage and fury paused. The flames spewing from his gullet stopped abruptly and Halmut finally let loose a dragged-out sigh of relief.

"If you say so… Then I just need to keep using stimulants… That will calm me down…"

The Sun Dragon kept control of his breathing to calm down. A few small, multicolored crystals appeared in Halmut's hand as the dragon clenched them tightly. With each deep breath, a portion of multicolored energy seeped into his arm, allowing Halmut to relax more and more with each breath.