Chapter 816: Dragons of Old
|Right... Since when did Progenitors start becoming Candidates? And seeing as you possess two Aspects...the selection must be in the second phase.|
With just a glance, the dragon had identified Arthur as a Progenitor, and having seen through his existence earlier, they knew he possessed two Aspects.
Arthur wasn’t even surprised.
Because of his Progenitor nature, Arthur could identify the Race and Breed of any being he looked at, and from the moment the head appeared, he already knew what he was facing.
’Ancient-Breed...’
|How long has it been since we were last outside for things to change this much?|
Raikis spoke to themselves, and one word they uttered caused both Arthur and Lostvayne, who was inspecting Arthur for any lingering damage, to freeze.
"[’We’?]"
Master and Weapon echoed in unison.
Until now, the dragon had spoken in the singular ’I,’ but suddenly shifted to ’We.’
Arthur and Lostvayne’s gazes immediately turned to the left, where five other massive mountains of gold stood.
’No...fucking...way.’
Raikis proceeded to immediately shatter Arthur’s denial by swinging their long tail through the air toward the second mountain of gold.
|Wake up, Eldest.|
Before the tail could strike, another tail burst out from behind, snapping Raikis’ tail away and then striking Raikis in the face...both at light speed.
Arthur didn’t even see it happen. He blinked once, and Raikis’ head was suddenly flung back, crashing into several stalactites as it flew through the air.
|Have some common sense for once, you fool.|
A second, more feminine voice echoed from the gold mountain where Celestia’s fragment lay. The mountain began to shake, crumbling as a dragon identical to Raikis emerged, except this one was covered in black scales.
"Oh...fuck."
The enormous grey-eyed dragon swept their gaze across the area, surveying the other gold mountains before turning to Arthur’s Ego Weapons.
|Lostvayne. You seem weaker.|
Then the dragon’s head shifted to Arthur.
|I suppose that’s expected, given your contractor’s level.|
Finally, their eyes narrowed slightly as they fixed on Celestia, speaking after a brief silence.
|Progenitor, where did you find this weapon?|
The mountain of gold that still covered half their body began to tremble, chunks falling away as their right hand rose high into the air.
|And why does it emit the same energy signature as this piece I hold?|
Between the dragon’s index and thumb claws hovered a fragmented piece of metal, one that made Arthur’s eyes narrow slightly.
There was something distinctly different about it compared to the last one.
Before he or Lostvayne could respond, Celestia spoke up,
[Master did not find me. I am his soul-bound weapon, with him since birth, and that piece emits the same energy as me because it is a fragment of my existence.]
Hearing this, the black dragon glanced briefly at Arthur, then back at Celestia, and said,
|The Progenitor has barely lived three decades. This place, however, has remained untouched for hundreds of millions of years at least.
How did your fragment end up here, if you claim to be a soul weapon bound to him from birth?|
[That is a question I can only answer if I acquire that fragment you hold.]
Celestia’s tone was cold and detached, lacking her usual vibrancy.
Noticing the change, Lostvayne silently clicked his tongue.
’Since she’s already affected from a distance, it’s definitely a memory fragment. But the way she speaks...it sounds like it’s one of her earlier memories.’
Frowning slightly, he glanced at Arthur.
’This could get... complicated.’
Just as Lostvayne had that thought, the black dragon lowered their hand, their body suddenly surrounded by a bright light.
The golden pile beneath shifted with a loud crashing sound as the light began to shrink, shrinking the dragon’s body along with it.
The light then shot down to the ground and faded, revealing a tall woman with long black hair nearly brushing the floor and faintly glowing grey eyes with black slit pupils.
Arthur blinked, then quickly looked away as he said, "Please, do you mind covering up?"
He definitely didn’t want to get into trouble with another dragon just because he happened to see them naked.
The woman paused at his words, glanced down at herself, and replied, "Ah, that’s right. Humanoids wear clothes."
Cosmic energy swirled around her, forming a simple black one-piece dress.
She then approached Celestia and said, "The fact that your Ego remains strong, despite your fragmented existence, has piqued my curiosity."
At the word ’curiosity’, Lostvayne’s eyes widened, and he quickly stepped between Celestia and the woman to block her advance.
[Do not direct your ’curiosity’ toward Lady Celestia, Berlal.]
The dragon, now revealed to be named Berlal, raised an eyebrow at Lostvayne’s words. "Lady?"
Her stoic expression shifted into an amused smile. "You do realise that addressing her with honorifics only makes me more curious, don’t you?"
Lostvayne met her gaze silently, and after a moment, Berlal shrugged and shifted her gaze to Celestia’s fragment in her right hand.
As she examined it, a magic circle with fifteen rings appeared before her eyes, with several smaller circles forming above it, zooming in like a camera lens onto the fragment.
She then looked up at Lostvayne and began,
|The same material, but alloyed with something else. Is—|
[Stop right there,] Lostvayne interrupted immediately.
Before he could say more, another voice interjected.
[Step aside, Lostvayne.]
[Lady Celestia, it would be better for you to—]
[Step. Aside.]
Celestia’s cold tone cut him off, and despite his reluctance, Lostvayne stepped back.
The sight of Lostvayne obeying so readily left both Berlal and Raikis, who had been busy counting the cosmic weapons in his pile of gold, wide-eyed.
Celestia’s voice then brought them back to focus.
[Berlal, was it? Since you say you’re curious, I will answer your curiosities to the best of my ability.
But please, do return my fragment so I can recover what is contained within.]
Berlal blinked once, then looked at the fragment in her hands.
"No problem."
Before Celestia could respond, Berlal added,
"But not now."
Then she turned away, looking up at Raikis and saying,
"Wake our siblings."
|Hmm? If all of us awaken, our concealment will start to fade.|
"It’s fine. We’ve been asleep far too long already," Berlal replied. She then glanced toward the cave entrance and asked,
"How long has it been?"
Arthur followed her gaze and saw a familiar dwarf stepping into the hollow space.
"1,063,789,424 years," Mofil answered, walking inside with his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
Raikis looked toward Mofil, about to speak, but changed their mind and turned their attention back to the other gold mountains.
’Berlal would handle him anyway.’
As for Arthur, the revelation that these dragons had been asleep for over a billion years, something that would normally grab his attention, simply went in one ear and out the other as he glared at Mofil.
"You... you knew I’d end up here, didn’t you? You wanted me to."
Mofil, without hesitation, calmly admitted it.
"Yes. I did. I assumed you would come here immediately after being warned not to, but I misjudged your personality.
I certainly didn’t expect you to head in the opposite direction and only stumble upon this place by accident."
It turned out Mofil’s warning had been designed to take advantage of Arthur’s psychological reactance, the natural urge to rebel when one’s freedom to choose is perceived to be threatened, making one want to do the forbidden thing just to assert autonomy.
But Arthur hadn’t acted as expected, spending over nine months exploring the rest of the planet before arriving here by accident.
Still, that didn’t change the fact that he had ended up here in the end.
"What are you playing at?"
"I’ll explain when it becomes necessary. I have important matters to attend to."
No sooner had Mofil said this than loud rumbling echoed, the mountain range shook again, and the other four mountains of gold collapsed as enormous dragons emerged from within.
Of the four, one had blue scales, another grey scales, a third had green scales, and the last was white-scaled.
While their dragon forms were nearly identical, when they quickly polymorphed, since the space was too cramped for all four in full dragon form with wings extended and bodies uncurled, their humanoid appearances revealed clear and distinct differences.
"Raiiikiss...Berlallll...why’re you waking us up...I was just getting to the best part..." The white dragon mumbled between yawns, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She wore a plain, oversized t-shirt and trousers, both fabrics in muted brown tones. Apart from her black slit pupils, she had no visible draconic features.
"Best part of what?" the grey dragon asked, raising an eyebrow at the white-haired one while supporting the sleepy blue dragon, who rested half-asleep on her shoulder.
The grey dragon had smooth, pale skin, long grey hair, and small, elegant horns curling back from the top of her head. A slender tail extended from her lower back, swaying gently. She wore a plain, flowing dress in soft cream tones.
The blue dragon, in contrast, appeared entirely human, with short hair framing the top of his lean face that had a mole under his right eye. He was wearing a woollen, long-sleeved cardigan and plain, similarly coloured trousers.
"My dreams, obviously? What else happens when you sleep?" The white-haired dragon replied, now a little more awake, her voice carrying a hint of incredulity.
Her words drew a reaction from the green dragon, who immediately posed a question, "Dream? You guys can still dream?"
The green dragon’s voice held surprise, as did his expression. He was tall and lean, with olive skin, green hair pulled back, and no visible dragon features. He wore a plain black shirt and loose trousers, simple and functional.
The others looked at him, puzzled, but Raikis, now in his humanoid form, stepped forward to answer.
He was clad in flashy robes of bright red and gold, his presence demanding attention. His lively face bore his trademark scar over the left eye, and red horns curved from his forehead above hair of the same vivid shade.
"Did you all forget that Gervod sacrificed his Dreams?"
"Oh..."
"Right..."
"..."
They all responded with half-hearted replies, clearly indifferent, while the blue dragon remained asleep on the grey one’s shoulder.
The Green Dragon, Gervod, didn’t seem to care. He simply looked away and approached the others who were not his siblings.
"Mofil."
"It’s been a long time, Sir Gervod."
Mofil greeted the dragon respectfully, and Gervod acknowledged with a nod before asking,
"How long?"
"1.063 billion years."
Upon hearing Mofil’s reply, the grey-haired dragon raised an eyebrow. "Only that long?"
Raikis responded, "I bet that old man is fuming."
The grey-haired dragon blinked several times, then her eyes widened.
"Wait, all of us are awake! The concealment will fade."
"Barda’s still sleeping," Raikis pointed out, nodding toward the blue-haired man asleep on her shoulder, but she just rolled her eyes.
