“Alright, stop overthinking things. In the coming days, it will be your turn to guard the Dragon Nest. I have already taught you how to use the Dragon God’s Heart; if any problems arise, remember to notify us immediately.”
The young Gold Flame Dragon King sighed softly, his golden cloak billowing in the heat waves, casting a long, thin shadow on the ground as he turned.
Salenzo remained where he was, his gaze instinctively drifting back to the churning lava.
It wasn't until he heard his brother's footsteps fade into the distance that he quickly hurried to catch up.
...
The memory fragments suddenly fluctuated violently, and when the scene coalesced again, the landscape by the lava lake had changed.
However, this time, only Salenzo appeared in the image.
The youthful rashness and impetuousness from the previous memory were gone from Salenzo’s human form, replaced by the majesty bestowed by the passing years.
He slowly pulled a heart flowing with golden radiance from his robes, the pulsing light casting flickering shadows across his profile.
That was the Dragon God’s Heart, the sacred artifact that only the Dragon King responsible for guarding the Dragon Nest could possess.
Salenzo toyed with the Dragon God’s Heart in his hand, looking at the constantly churning lava with a playful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“What a dull and long time this is. I don’t know how my brother and the ancestors endured it. Fortunately, my shift is almost over. I’m quite curious to see what kind of expression that brat Yserazor will have when he arrives.”
His fingertips lightly tapped the surface of the sacred artifact, producing crisp echoes of resonance.
But suddenly, a voice that shouldn't have existed in the underground space reached Salenzo’s ears.
“You are quite good...”
This sudden voice startled Salenzo. He tucked the Dragon God’s Heart back into his robes with a backhand motion and looked around in confusion.
“Who’s there?! Stop hiding and show yourself!”
He was absolutely certain that the whisper just now was not an illusion. Someone had actually appeared in the Dragon forbidden grounds? And as the guardian, he hadn't detected even a trace of them?
His body suddenly expanded, instantly transforming into his original black dragon form as he prepared to attack at any moment.
A deathly silence spread through the lava cavern, with only the sound of the churning magma echoing against the rock walls. Gradually, Salenzo’s brow unfurled.
“Could I really have been mistaken?”
Salenzo looked around and slowly retracted his head, but as his gaze swept across the magma below, he discovered that a vortex had appeared in the very center of it at some unknown point.
The center of that vortex was not the color of fire, but pitch-black.
Deep within the vortex, a massive vertical pupil slowly opened. The cold pupil was like a clear mirror, reflecting Salenzo’s figure.
Seeing this, Starlight’s heart couldn't help but tighten. Wasn't this the same giant eyeball he had seen in the illusion before?
The Salenzo in the image did not show any particular emotion. Instead, he quietly narrowed his eyes, staring back at the giant eyeball.
“Explain your purpose,” Salenzo broke the silence after a few moments. “You should be well aware of the price for trespassing into the Dragon forbidden grounds.”
The eye in the lava vortex turned slightly, and a low resonance echoed: “Oh? You don’t seem surprised? Young Dragon King.”
“No, I am indeed very surprised—surprised at how bold you are to dare sneak in here. As long as I borrow even a bit of the Dragon Nest’s power, this lava can incinerate you into nothingness in an instant.”
Salenzo snorted coldly, and a wisp of golden flame ignited on his chest. Immediately, the entire lava lake began to boil.
“Hehehe, don’t waste your effort. With the power you currently possess, you aren't strong enough to kill me. After all, you are not your brother...” The laughter from the eye carried a slimy echo.
“You... are provoking me!” A blast of white steam erupted from Salenzo’s mouth, and under his control, the wisp of golden flame immediately pierced toward the center of the vortex like a sharp sword.
The moment the black vortex came into contact with the golden flame, it instantly erupted into raging fires.
The golden flames were extremely destructive, even evaporating a hollow circle in the surrounding lava.
However, when the firelight dissipated, that vertical pupil still hovered in the center of the re-coalesced lava, without even a single scorch mark left behind.
It quietly watched the Obsidian Dragon King, its pupil filled with mockery.
“Finished venting? Then how about listening to my purpose? I believe you will be interested.”
“...”
Salenzo remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to its intent.
“Hehe, it seems I did not misjudge you. Don’t you feel that, with your ability and talent, you should take another step forward in terms of power?”
“Don’t you feel that your brother was only able to reach that realm because his bloodline is purer, and that if it were you, you would do better than him?”
“Don’t you feel that this world is inherently unfair...”
As the eyeball spoke each sentence, Salenzo’s breathing gradually became heavy.
“Who exactly are you? What do you want!” he roared in a low voice.
“Me? Who I am is not important. I am merely giving an eagle trapped in a cage a chance to spread its wings and fly high.”
The eyeball’s voice was filled with temptation, like an invisible finger constantly plucking at Salenzo’s heartstrings.
“I know you still have doubts, but after seeing this, your concerns should vanish.”
As the last syllable fell, the churning lava suddenly stilled, then slowly parted to both sides as if pushed by a pair of invisible giant hands.
A figure as pitch-black as ink and as massive as a mountain appeared before Salenzo’s eyes.
“This is...”
Salenzo’s pupils contracted. He knew all too well what was slumbering beneath this lava—the divine body of the Dragon God Versolion.
But why did the Dragon God, who was depicted as having a body of pure gold in ancient texts and myths, have a nearly pure black body now?
Moreover, the patterns of the dragon scales, the curve of the horns, and even the details on the wings bore a striking resemblance to his own true form.
“Do you feel it?” The eyeball’s voice echoed in his ear. “This is your true... bloodline root.”
The eyeball’s voice seeped into Salenzo’s consciousness like venom. “Why do you think Seranox is able to steadily suppress you?”
The pitch-black body of the Dragon God flickered in the lava, each dragon scale reflecting an unsettling, eerie light.
Salenzo found his breathing becoming uncontrollably rapid. The pressure emanating from that dragon body actually produced a bizarre resonance with the power inside him.
“Do you see clearly now?” The eyeball’s voice suddenly became sharp. “What your brother inherited is nothing more than the surface. And you are the one most suited to inherit the Dragon God’s origin.”
With that, the parted lava fell once more, re-submerging the Dragon God’s body at the bottom of the lake and blocking Salenzo’s view.
The eyeball in the center of the lake also formed again, and appearing along with it was a black-grey heart that was the exact opposite of the Dragon God’s Heart.
“Accept this gift... If you can successfully embrace this power, you will become the pinnacle of the entire continent, and everyone will kneel before your might.”
“If I cannot withstand this power...” Salenzo’s voice carried a hint of trembling.
“Then it proves you are nothing more than that.” The eyeball’s pupil contracted into a thin line. “Without even the qualification to be a pawn.”
“This...”
Although Salenzo’s tone was full of hesitation, his claws were still uncontrollably reaching forward.
The Dragon God’s Heart on his person was humming uneasily, seemingly trying to stop his actions, but Salenzo gripped the sacred artifact with a backhand, forcibly suppressing its agitation.
The moment he touched the black-grey heart, countless unfamiliar memory fragments surged into his consciousness like a tide—battles, slaughter, rule... and at the very depths, endless hunger and madness.
“Argh—!”
Salenzo slammed onto his knees, all four dragon claws sinking deep into the ground. Heart-wrenching roars erupted from his throat, and the scales all over his body constantly opened and closed in intense agony, seeping dark gold dragon blood.
But in this absolutely secret holy site, no one would notice his transformation, and he could only endure this pain alone.
After an unknown amount of time, Salenzo’s pupils turned completely pitch-black, but in an instant, they returned to normal.
He gasped for air, slowly rising from the ground. A type of indescribable pattern had already been added to his original black scales.
“So this is... true power...” He glanced at his claws and scales, which were faintly glowing with black light, then looked up toward the eyeball.
The eyeball’s pupil twisted bizarrely, letting out a delighted tremor: “Good... very good... I indeed did not misjudge you. Now, the key to the Supreme Realm is in your hands... From now on, I will no longer interfere with you.”
Having said this, its form began to crumble like grains of sand, turning into wisps of black mist that drifted away.
“Wait, who exactly are you?” Salenzo suddenly pressed.
“I am ■■■■■■...”
A burst of ear-piercing static suddenly tore through the memory image, and the scene before Starlight’s eyes shattered like a broken mirror.
The last thing he saw was Salenzo’s bewildered expression and the black mist completely dissipating in the air.
At the moment those images broke, Starlight felt a sharp, stabbing pain pierce deep into his soul—as if someone were stirring his brain with a red-hot iron poker.
He knelt powerlessly in the void of his consciousness space, his hands clutching his head tightly.
Rate on N.U.
