Chapter 122: Chapter 117: Echoes of the Dragon King (Part 3)
A heavy silence settled over the battlefield.
No one spoke.
No one dared to.
Caelis’ words continued echoing in everyone’s minds.
> *Perhaps the False Heart had been controlling Asterion for thousands of years.*
John’s golden eyes remained fixed on Asterion.
He carefully observed every subtle movement.
Every breath.
Every shift in expression.
Then...
He noticed something.
Asterion’s right eye—the brilliant golden one—was focused on Caelis.
Calm.
Clear.
His left eye—the pitch-black one—never looked away from John.
The two eyes weren’t moving together.
Almost...
As if two different wills shared the same body.
John’s heartbeat quickened.
"So that’s why..."
Lythriel glanced toward him.
"What is it?"
John didn’t take his eyes off Asterion.
"His eyes..."
"They aren’t synchronized."
Sylvara immediately focused her mana-enhanced vision.
Several moments later...
Her face paled.
"He’s right."
"The mana flow inside his body..."
"It splits into two completely different currents."
Aerion frowned.
"I can’t sense mana that precisely."
Sylvara nodded.
"Normally, neither can I."
"But..."
She looked toward the glowing leaves still circling John.
"The World Tree’s blessing is affecting all of us."
"It has strengthened my perception."
Caelis smiled faintly.
"You noticed."
---
Across the battlefield...
Asterion sighed.
"I had hoped..."
"...to keep that hidden a little longer."
His golden eye slowly closed.
Only the black eye remained open.
Darkness immediately spread across half of his face.
The temperature throughout the hidden realm dropped.
John instinctively took one step forward.
The pressure had changed.
It was no longer merely overwhelming.
It felt...
Hungry.
The black eye turned toward Caelis.
**"You always ruin everything."**
The voice had changed.
It no longer belonged to Asterion.
Gone was the calm, weary tone.
Instead...
It echoed unnaturally.
As though countless voices were speaking simultaneously.
The sound sent chills through everyone present.
Lythriel unconsciously tightened her grip on her spear.
"...That wasn’t him."
"No."
Caelis’ expression hardened.
"That..."
"...is the False Heart."
---
For the first time...
The ancient army reacted.
Every champion simultaneously raised their heads.
Their crimson eyes brightened.
Several dragons roared toward the heavens.
The crystal giants gripped their enormous weapons.
The False Heart had finally spoken through its vessel.
John’s Dragon Core throbbed violently.
His instincts screamed.
Not because the enemy had become stronger.
Because the thing before him...
Was no longer entirely Asterion.
---
The golden eye suddenly reopened.
Asterion inhaled sharply.
For several seconds...
He seemed confused.
As though waking from a nightmare.
He looked around.
Then lowered his head.
"...You see?"
His voice sounded exhausted.
"I told you..."
"...I cannot hold it forever."
Silence.
John stared.
"You knew?"
Asterion laughed bitterly.
"From the very beginning."
"I created it."
"I awakened it."
"So..."
"...its burden is mine."
---
Caelis slowly approached.
Stopping several dozen meters away.
"No."
"You made a mistake."
Asterion smiled sadly.
"Is there a difference?"
"There is."
"You chose hope."
"It chose despair."
Asterion closed his eyes.
"And yet..."
"...my hope created its despair."
Neither argued further.
Some truths required no debate.
---
John remained quiet.
Everything he had believed about Asterion was changing.
He wasn’t fighting because he desired destruction.
He wasn’t driven by hatred.
He had simply...
Spent thousands of years containing something beyond his ability.
Alone.
Without anyone left to help him.
John suddenly remembered something from his previous life.
*"Even the strongest people eventually break if they carry every burden alone."*
Perhaps...
That was exactly what had happened here.
---
The Soul Raven lowered its enormous head.
"I should have seen it sooner."
Asterion smiled faintly.
"I made certain you wouldn’t."
"What?"
"The corruption feeding upon your memories..."
"I redirected it."
The guardian froze.
"So that was..."
Asterion nodded.
"If it consumed your memories..."
"...it left mine untouched."
Everyone stared.
"You protected me."
The Soul Raven’s voice trembled.
Asterion looked away.
"I owed you that much."
The great guardian remained silent.
For thousands of years...
It had believed Asterion abandoned everyone.
Now...
It learned the truth.
Even while losing himself...
He had still protected his oldest companion.
---
Lythriel quietly wiped at her eyes before anyone noticed.
Aerion glanced sideways.
"You crying?"
She immediately glared at him.
"No."
"It’s dust."
"There isn’t any dust."
"There is now."
Sylvara couldn’t help letting out a small laugh.
Even John smiled slightly.
The brief exchange eased the suffocating tension.
For just a moment.
They weren’t legendary warriors.
They were simply companions standing together.
---
Caelis noticed the smiles.
A quiet satisfaction crossed his face.
"Good."
John looked toward him.
"What?"
"Never lose moments like those."
"They’re worth protecting."
John slowly nodded.
He understood.
This...
Was exactly what Asterion had wanted to preserve.
A world where people could laugh.
Unfortunately...
His attempt to save that world had created the opposite.
---
The World Tree rustled.
Thousands of glowing leaves drifted downward once again.
One landed upon Asterion’s shoulder.
He stared at it quietly.
"I remember..."
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"The children."
The Soul Raven looked at him.
"The children who climbed onto your back."
Asterion smiled.
"They always laughed..."
"...because they thought dragons looked frightening."
John blinked.
"What?"
Asterion nodded.
"The Great Dragon King would pretend to roar."
"They would scream..."
"...then immediately ask him to do it again."
Even Aerion chuckled.
"I can actually imagine that."
The atmosphere softened.
Only slightly.
Yet enough for everyone to remember...
These legends had once simply been people.
---
Then...
The leaf on Asterion’s shoulder turned black.
His smile disappeared.
The black eye widened.
A guttural voice burst from his mouth.
**"Enough."**
The hidden realm shook violently.
The army roared in unison.
Dark tendrils erupted from beneath the World Tree, spreading through the battlefield like enormous serpents.
Several ancient roots were pierced instantly.
Golden sap spilled onto the crystal earth.
The World Tree cried out.
Not with a voice.
But with its soul.
John felt it through **Nature’s Resonance**.
Pain.
Agony.
Fear.
His Dragon Core flared instinctively.
"No..."
He whispered.
"It’s attacking the Tree itself."
Caelis slammed his staff into the ground.
A vast silver barrier expanded around their group.
"Everyone!"
His voice rang with authority unlike before.
"The False Heart has stopped hiding."
"It intends to consume the True Heart completely!"
Sylvara immediately began weaving dozens of magic circles.
"Aerion!"
"I know!"
The elf drew his sword, silver mana blazing around the blade.
Lythriel spun her crimson spear, flames dancing along its edge.
The Soul Raven spread its restored wings despite the pain coursing through its body.
John stepped forward.
His obsidian scales reflected both golden and black light.
He looked toward Asterion.
The ancient mage’s golden eye met his.
For the briefest instant...
Asterion mouthed two silent words.
**Save... them.**
Then the darkness swallowed his face completely.
His black eye expanded until it consumed both irises.
A terrifying smile slowly spread across his lips.
The False Heart had finally taken complete control of its vessel.
The true battle for the World Tree had begun.
---
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