Chapter 127: Chapter 122: The Heir They Waited For (Part 2)
The memory faded.
The laughter of children beneath the World Tree became nothing more than a distant echo before disappearing entirely.
Silence reclaimed the battlefield.
John continued staring at the place where the vision had vanished.
He didn’t know any of those children.
He had never lived in that ancient age.
Yet...
The happiness in their smiles had felt real.
It wasn’t an illusion meant to deceive them.
It was a memory that had refused to disappear.
---
The False Heart slowly lowered its head.
"...Strange."
Its voice had become quieter.
"I had forgotten..."
"...that they laughed."
No one answered.
The Soul Raven looked at Asterion’s face.
There was no hatred in its golden eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
"So..."
"You still remembered."
The False Heart remained silent.
---
Caelis stepped forward.
"You’ve spent thousands of years preserving memories."
"But you forgot your own."
The black eyes slowly turned toward him.
"I discarded them."
"No."
Caelis corrected gently.
"You buried them."
"There is a difference."
The old mage sighed.
"Pain cannot be carried forever."
"So you convinced yourself that only suffering remained."
The False Heart closed its eyes.
"...Perhaps."
---
John listened carefully.
He noticed something important.
The dark tendrils wrapped around the World Tree had stopped spreading.
Not retreating.
Simply...
Stopped.
The heartbeat beneath the roots had also slowed.
He quietly reached out with **Nature’s Resonance**.
The World Tree’s emotions were still filled with pain.
But another feeling had appeared.
Hope.
Small.
Fragile.
Yet unmistakable.
John frowned.
"It reacted..."
Sylvara followed his gaze.
"The Tree?"
He nodded.
"It can feel this conversation."
Caelis smiled.
"Of course."
"It has listened to every conversation beneath its branches for countless ages."
---
Aerion folded his arms.
"I’ll admit..."
"This isn’t how I expected today’s battle to go."
Lythriel smirked.
"You expected more punching?"
"I always expect more punching."
"You usually are the punching."
Aerion looked at her with an offended expression.
"I dislike how accurate that was."
John laughed.
The Soul Raven let out what almost sounded like an amused chirp.
Even Sylvara covered a small smile with one hand.
The brief laughter echoed beneath the ancient branches.
For just a moment...
The battlefield no longer felt like a battlefield.
---
The False Heart watched them.
"...Again."
John looked over.
"What?"
"You continue laughing."
The being sounded genuinely puzzled.
"You know you may die."
John shrugged.
"We do."
"Then why?"
Lythriel answered before anyone else could.
"Because we’re still alive."
The False Heart tilted its head.
"I fail to understand."
"That’s because you’ve forgotten what living actually means."
Her reply was immediate.
No hesitation.
No fear.
The being fell silent again.
---
John found himself thinking about Lythriel’s words.
**Living.**
His previous life had ended unexpectedly.
He had been reborn as a dragon.
At first...
Everything had been about survival.
Hunt.
Grow stronger.
Evolve.
Survive another day.
Only after meeting others had he begun to realize he wasn’t merely surviving anymore.
He was...
Living.
There was a difference.
One kept you breathing.
The other gave breathing a purpose.
---
His thoughts were interrupted by a quiet voice beside him.
"You’re smiling again."
John turned.
Sylvara stood beside him, her staff resting lightly against her shoulder.
"Am I?"
"You are."
She smiled softly.
"You’ve changed."
John blinked.
"Changed?"
"The first time we met..."
"You looked at everyone as though they might become enemies."
She looked toward Aerion and Lythriel, who were still quietly arguing over whose swordsmanship was worse.
"Now..."
"You look at everyone as though they’re companions."
John remained quiet.
She was right.
Without realizing it...
His way of thinking had changed.
---
"I suppose..."
John scratched the back of his neck with one claw.
"...I did."
Sylvara laughed gently.
"I prefer this version."
Before John could respond—
Lythriel suddenly shouted from a distance.
"HEY!"
Both turned.
Lythriel pointed accusingly at them.
"What are you two whispering about?"
Sylvara smiled innocently.
"Nothing."
"That’s suspicious."
Aerion sighed.
"Everything is suspicious to you."
"It usually is."
John chuckled.
For the first time in what felt like forever...
The group simply talked.
No strategy.
No life-or-death decisions.
Just conversation.
Even if only for a few minutes.
---
Caelis quietly observed them.
The old man’s expression softened.
The Soul Raven noticed.
"You planned this."
Caelis didn’t deny it.
"I needed him to understand."
"The Dragon King’s Legacy cannot be inherited through strength alone."
The guardian nodded slowly.
"The Tree agrees."
John overheard the last sentence.
"What do you mean?"
The Soul Raven looked toward the enormous trunk.
"The World Tree isn’t increasing your Legacy because you’ve become stronger."
"It is responding to your heart."
John instinctively looked toward the faint System notification that had long since disappeared.
Every increase...
Three percent.
Five percent.
Six percent.
None had come after defeating an enemy.
Every one had appeared after making a choice.
After growing as a person.
He finally understood.
The Ancient Dragon King’s Legacy wasn’t simply power.
It was a responsibility.
Power would come later.
Character had to come first.
---
Far beneath the roots...
The heartbeat echoed once more.
**Thump.**
Everyone instinctively looked downward.
This time...
It sounded different.
Less stable.
Almost...
Uneven.
Caelis’ smile faded.
"The conversation has bought us time."
John immediately became serious.
"But not much."
The old mage nodded.
"The True Heart is weakening."
The Soul Raven spread its wings slightly.
"I can feel it."
"The False Heart is still feeding."
Even while speaking peacefully...
The corruption had never stopped.
It had merely slowed.
---
The False Heart opened its eyes once more.
The moment of uncertainty vanished.
Its voice returned to its calm, emotionless tone.
"...Enough."
John immediately sensed the change.
The doubt remained somewhere deep inside...
But it had been buried once more.
"I remember now."
The being looked toward John.
"And that is precisely why I cannot stop."
Silence fell.
"The more I remember..."
"...the more unbearable those memories become."
Its gaze drifted toward the dying World Tree.
"If life continues..."
"Those memories will repeat forever."
Another civilization.
Another war.
Another child crying beneath these branches.
Another friend lost.
Another age forgotten.
"I will end the cycle."
John stepped forward.
"No."
The False Heart looked at him.
"You’ve mistaken pain..."
"...for the whole of life."
For the first time, John’s voice carried absolute conviction.
"Pain exists."
"So does joy."
"Loss exists."
"So do new beginnings."
"You’ve remembered the laughter."
"But you’re still refusing to believe it can happen again."
The black eyes met his golden ones.
Neither looked away.
For several long seconds...
The hidden realm became perfectly still.
Then the False Heart slowly raised one hand.
Darkness gathered around its fingertips.
Not in preparation for a devastating attack...
But as if making a decision.
Its voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Very well, Heir of the Dragon Kings."
"If you truly believe this world deserves another tomorrow..."
"...then prove it to me."
The ancient champions behind it slowly stepped aside, opening a path toward the roots of the World Tree.
Caelis’ eyes narrowed.
"A trial..."
John looked at him.
"What kind of trial?"
The old mage’s expression grew solemn.
"I don’t know."
"But whatever awaits beneath those roots..."
"...it has decided to judge you."
The path into the heart of the World Tree slowly opened.
And for the first time since the battle began...
The False Heart invited John to walk forward alone.
---
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