Chapter 159: Dragon Orb
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"Impressive, my lord dug over fifty meters below ground, found an ancient Elder Dragon, and even convinced it to become his ally, to the extent of giving him his most precious item, the Dragon Orb…" said Nezhit.
"Master is indeed very good with words, or perhaps the dragon is too na?ve because he lacks experience in negotiations?" wondered Zero.
"It is indeed a very crazy course of events… But that is how our son seems to be, I can't say that I don't remember him being rather opportunistic like this," said Amelia's soul.
"Frank has… some talent… indeed… Maybe… he got it from… you, Amelia…" said Okita half-jokingly.
"Eh? W-What do you mean?" asked Amelia.
"Hah… nothing…" said Okita while averting his gaze from his wife.
Frank's Undead soldiers and parents were currently inside of his Shadow Storage discussing what had just happened recently, now that Aaronarra had left the Shadow and had arrived at the depths of the Dark Lair Dungeon, in the large hall that the Dungeon Chamber was shaped as by Orb.
Of course, Frank did not expect Orb to be so happy about him bringing a new friend here without asking her beforehand.
So he told her about it on the way, but she was still surprised when a giant dragon with the body of a comodo dragon and the head of a snake appeared out of a very tired Frank's shadow.
"U-UWAAAH! It is really a giant Elder Dragon! Master, what kind of bad luck do you have to find such a terrifying creature while digging the ground?!" asked Orb.
"Interesting. This Dungeon Core does indeed has a personality and mind of its own…" said Aaronarra, glaring at the little Orb.
"Honestly, I really do have terrible luck. But well, at least… it did not end on me getting killed," said Frank.
"Y-Yeah… At the very least… Mister Dragon here is… a nice person?" asked Orb, glancing at Aaronarra as the dragon glanced at her from above with its gleamy bright gold eyes.
"…I don't think I can consider myself a good person. Anyways, my name is Aaronarra. You are the Dungeon Core of this Dungeon, right? Frank has told me about your name… Is it Orb, right?" asked Aaronarra.
"Yes…" said Orb.
"Very well, now, let's perform the ritual…" said Aaronarra.
"R-Ritual?" asked Orb.
"We'll connect you with the Dragon Orb, which will also connect Frank with it through his connection with you," said Aaronarra.
"T-That's… Master, are you okay with that?" asked Orb.
"Yes. Dragon Orbs are special artifacts that give Dragons a lot of abilities, if I can connect my body and soul with it, I will be able to get a ton of special abilities, and you will also receive a substantial power boost through Aaronarra's energy as a Rank 5 Elder Dragon," said Frank.
"That's… I see… If Master says so… Well, let's do this then…!" said Orb.
"Hm, she's quite decided, very well then," said Aaronarra, as he touched his Dragon Orb with his claw and infused his intent and soul into it.
Flash!
A suddenly golden brilliance emerged from it, encompassing everything!
"Uwah, what is this?!" asked Orb.
"Let it slip through you a bit more," said Aaronarra.
"Calm down, Orb… It will be over soon… I am here with you," said Frank, petting Orb as she slowly calmed herself, accepting the bright light and absorbing it as part of herself.
Flash!
The light shined even brighter until it slowly dissipated and stopped.
"It's done," said Aaronarra.
"Phew… I thought I was going to die… Master hug me more!" said Orb, as Frank hugged the sphere of crystal that was Orb warmly as she wept like a spoiled girl.
"Have you done this before?" asked Frank.
"I did sometimes, we Dragons used to have Domains, certain Magic Territories that had many characteristics of Dungeons, but those places are non-existent now, destroyed by several circumstances, or dungeons popped over them and assimilated them," said Aaronarra.
"So you could have been even stronger than now…?" asked Frank.
"Yes, in fact, we Dragons had many territories and we separated each other within Families, naturally, I was an Earth Dragon, so my family was that of Earth Dragons, but there were Dragons for every other element," said Aaronarra.
"Are you still connected with any of those Domains?" asked Frank.
"Sadly, not anymore. As I said, they were either destroyed or absorbed into Dungeons… This Dungeon would be my first Domain added into my Dragon Orb- Oh, it seems that I can finally feel your soul connecting to the Dragon Orb," said Aaronarra.
"I am also… feeling a bit funny…" muttered Frank, as he suddenly fell unconscious.
"Eh?! Master!!!" cried Orb, hovering over Frank as she glanced at him fall asleep.
"W-What did you do to him?" asked Orb.
"I didn't do anything! Calm down, he is just processing the power we are sharing now… It might take him a few minutes… or hours…" said Aaronarra.
"H-Hours?" asked Orb.
"Well let's hope for him to adapt," said Aaronarra.
"Adapt to the power?" asked Orb.
"More than just the power… A Dragon Orb also carries my experiences and life, he will… most likely go through all of that, at least a bit of it," said Aaronarra.
"T-That's a bit too much though?!" asked Orb.
"Maybe…" said Aaronarra.
As Orb panicked, Frank felt like he fell into an abyss of darkness.
There, he opened his eyes, glancing at the darkness as many fragments of light emerged one by one like pieces of glass.
Each piece of glass showed different images, of different points of view, but coming from the same being.
Frank then realized that he was glancing at what this Dragon Orb was giving to him.
"Are these… part of the memories of what this Dragon has lived? So I guess things were indeed way more complicated than I thought…" sighed Frank.
He glanced at the glass pieces more and more.
There, he saw the birth of a little dragon, breaking through the shell of its egg and glancing at its parents, two enormous dragons of a similar appearance to Aaronarra.
"Such a healthy… what is it?" asked the father.
The mother used her tail to grab her child, as she checked its gender.
"Boy," she said.
"What a healthy boy!" said the father.
"His skin seems a bit metallic and like copper…" said the father.
"We'll name him… Aaronarra then," said the mother.
"Sounds good to me…" said the father, petting his newborn son with his partner.
The memories shift once more, as Aaronarra grows and develops his powers, devouring beasts and Mana Cores from monsters, while also living many adventures with his siblings and friends from other Dragon families.
They explore the world and enter other Dragon Domains, going through hardships and surviving together.
Sometimes even provoking a grumpy Dark Dragon only to be healed from the wounds they received from a gentle and motherly Life Dragoness within a forest.
Other times he explored the sea, fighting against an evil Water Dragon and devouring his Mana Core, acquiring new strength, and reaching Rank 5.
Having reached the power where he could finally be called an adult amongst his family, Aaronarra comes back home, only to find chaos and destruction…
The memories once more shift, as Aaronarra is cornered by many Humans and Elves, using magic and special spells and artifacts, they almost manage to defeat him, but Aaronarra rages like a berserker, tearing them apart on his last moment and devouring their bodies to regain energy alongside their Mana Cores to gain more power.
…However, although he finally managed to defeat those that took the lives of his parents and siblings, those he lost would not come back.
Alone, he walked away, and settled down on his former territory, living in a large cave.
Years passed as he submerged himself in sorrow and sleep until a small village settled around his domain.
These were not human nor elves, but beast-kin, which Aaronarra did not saw as a threat as much as those other two selfish and accursed races.
There was something within beast-kin that made them more connected to nature, which was something he was also connected with.
He used his powers to bless their ground and bring fruitful harvests, as the small village slowly began to get bigger and bigger, and people recognized him as a savior and called him the Dragon God of the Mountain.
Memories shifts once more, as Aaronarra is given countless offerings, and through his 'miracles' the people worship him and he begins to gain Divine Power, nourishing himself as he slowly grew to have something new to protect and take care of.
However, nothing remains the same for too long, especially in the long life of a Dragon.
Memories once more shift, as Aaronarra is betrayed by the descendants of the families that once worshiped him.
The church of Abraddon comes for his head, as large armies try to take him down, they only see him as a treasure, an item, a resource for them to grow stronger.
He unleashes his power, and divine judgment falls over the insolent mortals, he wipes out entire armies and even defeats a Rank 4 Magus which he promptly devours, afterward, he regrets what he did, and sworn to not trust mortals anymore, going to an underground shrine that once belonged to him, and sleeping there until a new era came.
Memories shift once again, as Aaronarra is awakened by a strange humanoid figure made of light, a mysterious human that has ruined his good sleep and brought him too many things to think about.
Somehow, he feels like this human might be someone worth trusting… despite what he had sworn before.
A slight hope is brought back to his heart as he believes that there might be a way for the original Dragons to rise once more if the boy could help him gather his surviving brethren…
"Aaronarra… You had it rough, didn't you?" sighed Frank, as a gigantic dragon made of golden-brown energy engulfed him.
"Roar!"
This was the power being shared from Aaronarra!
"This power… it feels as if it's… eating… me…"
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