The sun above the knight was hidden behind thick bronze metal and ticking gears. The world beneath his feet he thought had been agricultural: he’d passed a few ruined farms and broken down tractors and combine harvesters on his trek across it. Unfortunately, the loss of its sun has ruined that. Most plant life was withered, and every surface was either ice or stone. Most buildings had been reduced to ruins, and he’d just walked through a town that had been almost obliterated by…something he didn’t want to know. It wouldn’t take long for the whole plant to become uninhabitable.

  But not yet.

  A small orb of light floated above his head, the only light for miles around. The cloak he wore was as much for effect as it was to keep the chill off. It certainly didn’t keep him warm, he wasn’t sure anything could, but it made him a little more comfortable under the frost bitten armour plates. The fluttering cloak also made him look more mysterious and threatening to any travelers he might meet…which had been none. Not even an animal had crossed his path. This world was almost empty.

  But not yet.

  The knight looked up to the dark void above him. Something moved against the darkness of the sky, silhouetted by the few weak rays of sunlight that broke through the metal sky. The knight halted, hoping to finally find what he was looking for. He received something that was, in many ways, more interesting.

  The mechanical being crashed into the ground in front of him, slowly rising to its feet to tower above him. Its long, slender neck lifted up a bronze head easily as big as the knight was, with rows of organic teeth and bright blue eyes. Its wings rose high as it growled, its metallic tail swishing behind it, clanging against the ground. Despite being almost entirely robotic, it growled and breathed like a real animal, one that was ravenously hungry.

  A dragon stood before him. The knight did not even flinch.

  “I apologise for startling you,” the knight said, calmly. “I am not familiar with this universe, and I have travelled alone for quite some time. Would you wish to be my squire?”

  The dragon howled with a long metallic drone. It opened its mouth, parts of its mouth clanking and whirring, a warm glow resonating from deep within. The knight moved to the side as a laser beam flew past him, singing his cloak, the ice on the ground beginning to melt from the heat.

  “I’m sorry to have disturbed you. If you’re not going to let me pass, then you leave me no choice.”

  The knight reached into his cloak and drew his sword, dragging it along the ground. Inhaling deeply, the blade started to crackle with electricity, sparks flying off and touching his armour. Magic thrummed through his body, the way it always had.

  Then he felt it fade. The well of energy he drew from was there, but he was out of step with it, not quite understanding where he was going wrong. He looked down at his sword arm as the lightning began to fade, becoming a few light jolts along the blade. For the first time since he had begun his training, the knight’s power rejected him. He was just a man.

  “Oh, this is going to suck.”

  The dragon leapt forward, howling, and the knight rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the creature’s claws. Ice and snow flew into the air as it landed on the ground. Doing his best to find purchase on the icy ground and using the spray as a cover, the knight ran forward and tried to strike the creature’s neck. His sword bounced against the metal, only leaving a scratch on its bronze hide. The dragon lifted its head, another energy beam building up within it.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  The knight ran under the base of the creature’s neck, under the assumption it wouldn't shoot itself. This close to the creature, underneath its chest, he could hear its internal mechanisms. The creature sounded like it was based on clockwork, mechanisms ticking and gears turning slowly. While the back and neck seemed to be completely armoured, the underbelly had a few gaps between the metal. They were thin slots, but luckily, the knight carried the perfect thing for that.

  The knight raised his sword again and stabbed it between the metal plates of the chest. He felt it scrape against metal and jam gears, but also found its purchase on something soft in its core. He could also hear something humming within its chest, which subsided when the dragon’s laser breath was deactivated. Instead, it lifted up one of its massive claws and sideswiped him.

  The knight struggled against the talloned grip, but soon he felt other metallic hands reaching out from within the base of the claw, holding down his limbs. The dragon lifted him up, snarling with glee, before slamming him straight into the cold earth below. Ribs cracked, blood filled his mouth and splattered into the inside of his helmet. All he could do was struggle in vain as the dragon’s head was lowered towards his, contorting into a snarl.

  Teleport. He thought to himself. I just need to use my magic once. Come on, new world. Work with me here.

  The knight vanished in a flash of light, a thin string of lightning leaving the creature’s claws and reforming into a human body a few feet away. The knight stood defiantly against the dragon, who looked at him with eyes that had transitioned from hunger to hatred. The knight tried to raise his sword, a defiant challenge against the dragon, but soon realised he simply couldn’t lift it.

  Everything felt heavy. His limbs ached like they’d all been contorted and changed. The world swam in and out, and he almost thought he’d collapse on the spot. Casting magic drained him physically, that was true, but never to this extent, especially after using a single short range teleport. His enemy looked at him, confused, before realising what was happening. Its look of hatred turned back to a smile and it prepared another laser beam, one that would destroy him completely.

  But not yet.

  “Why do you want to blow me up?” The knight asked, unable to speak louder than a whisper. “I mean, you need to eat right? I won’t be around to eat if you disintegrate me? I…”

  Slowly, he began to remember where he was. His vision came together for a single split second. Forgetting all about the pain or the limits of this reality, he acted on instinct. His blade thrummed with lightning before the laser beam flew straight at him. A second before it hit him, there was a flash of lightning. The knight appeared on the dragon’s snout, electricity dancing across his armour and sending jolts onto the monster.

  As the creature’s beam subsided, his sword turned into a bolt of pure lightning and he stabbed it into the monster. As it began to howl in agony, the knight turned into lightning again. His blade ran the entire length of the monster, slicing its thin tail clean off and tearing a massive gash into its back. He reappeared on the ground, crouched down, blade over his opposite shoulder, cape fluttering behind him. This was how his magic should work. This was his true strength.

  The dragon howled in agony, stomping hard against the ice. Parts of its body tensed up as the shock ran through it, gears grinding and stopping as its internal mechanisms randomly gave out and reactivated. One gear broke free of the system, damaged by the massive slash, and it snapped, flying out of the hole in its back. Weakened and angry for the first time in its existence, the dragon beat its massive wings, activated jet engines that rested just above its claws, and took flight, leaving the knight alone once more.

  He rose to his feet, sliding his sword back into the holster and looking over his shoulder to see the dragon flee. He checked the direction of its movement, making sure he’d be able to track it, trying his best to look as strong as that slash made him look. It seemed to be following the curve of the horizon, so it would still be on the planet, even though there were no landmarks as far as they could see. That was good. He was certain he’d want a rematch.

  Once he was sure the dragon was gone, he finally collapsed. This universe’s magic could work the way he wanted it to, but he had to contort it. Like all contortions, it hurt like hell. One day he’d figure out how this universe worked. He’d become accustomed to its magic, and maybe find a way to make his own work properly, as it did back home. He’d find his squire, and he’d travel to the root cause of all this. He’d understand what had caused such an apocalypse.

  But not yet.

  Finally giving into his wounds, the knight drifted off into unconsciousness.