Chapter 301: Chapter 301: Meeting The Dragons - 1
The Golden Dragon Palace stood upon the land where several mountains had once existed.
Those towering peaks had been transformed into a single magnificent structure that stretched for several kilometers in every direction.
It was as though an entire city had been forged into one colossal palace.
Its golden walls and towering spires rose endlessly toward the heavens, radiating an aura of majesty that left all who saw it speechless.
"I-It’s... there aren’t even words to describe this..." Avenya muttered in awe. "Is this city actually made of gold?"
"It’s not," Grace replied, tapping one of the massive pillars engraved with intricate scale-like patterns. A metallic sound echoed through the hall. "It only looks like gold. I’m pretty sure it’s made from another material. I believe it’s called Scaleiron."
"Scaleiron? What’s that?" Avenya asked, unfamiliar with the strange term.
"Oh, I know what that is," Hela said, joining the conversation. "Scaleiron is a special metal created by melting down and reforging dragon scales. Since every dragon’s scales have a different composition, the metal produced from them varies as well."
She gently ran her hand across the golden pillar.
"If I remember correctly, the Golden Dragon Palace was built using the scales of the founder of the dragon race, the Golden Dragon Emperor himself."
Avenya stared at the seemingly endless palace with widened eyes.
A structure made entirely from the scales of a single dragon sounded unbelievable, yet the overwhelming grandeur before her made it difficult to doubt.
As they continued their exploration, Hela, Avenya, Grace, and Tiana chatted casually about various insignificant topics while admiring the palace’s breathtaking architecture.
Damian wasn’t with them.
At the moment, he was exploring another part of the Golden Dragon Palace on his own.
"So, guys, tell me about the dragons. What should I expect?" Avenya asked.
"Well, the dragons are probably already on their way here. The awakening of the Golden Dragon Palace isn’t something they could possibly miss," Hela replied. "In fact, you can see for yourself—"
She suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
A look of annoyance crossed her face as she remembered someone. Someone she would have preferred not to deal with.
"...There is this woman."
"What woman?" Tiana asked immediately.
Avenya, Tiana, and Grace all turned toward Hela with puzzled expressions.
Hela let out a sigh. "Besides me and Lilith, Master had several other disciples. Most of them weren’t particularly close to him, but among them was a noble dragon of royal lineage. A woman."
The irritation in Hela’s voice deepened. "She was completely obsessed with Master."
The moment those words left her mouth, Grace’s eyes widened in realization.
"Oh, hell..." she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "You’re talking about that white-haired bitch, aren’t you?"
Hela’s eye twitched. "Unfortunately."
Avenya and Tiana exchanged confused looks before turning back toward them.
"Can you two stop speaking in riddles and tell us who this white-haired bitch is?" Avenya asked, her patience running thin.
Before either Hela or Grace could answer, an unfamiliar presence suddenly descended upon the area.
The air grew heavy.
An overwhelming pressure swept over them like a thunderstorm crashing down from the heavens, carrying with it an icy, irritated voice.
"White-haired bitch, huh? Is that what you call me now?"
The voice was so familiar that Grace and Hela immediately rolled their eyes.
Of course.
The one person they had hoped wouldn’t show up had arrived anyway.
Everyone instinctively looked upward.
Hovering high above them was a lone figure.
A woman.
She floated effortlessly in the sky, her posture elegant and imposing, arms crossed beneath her chest as she gazed down at them.
She wore a stunning white-and-blue gothic dress that seemed almost ethereal in the sunlight.
Her eyes were a deep silvery white, cold and piercing enough to make even powerful cultivators uneasy.
Long white hair flowed behind her like a river of snow, accented by faint streaks of blue.
Emerging from her head was a magnificent pair of draconic horns, pure white in color, curving proudly toward the heavens.
Behind her stretched a pair of enormous white dragon wings.
Each wing spanned several meters, their gleaming scales reflecting the sunlight.
Sharp talons protruded from the joints of the wings, enhancing the aura of majesty and danger that surrounded her.
She looked less like a mortal woman and more like a divine dragon queen descended from the skies.
And judging from the look on Grace and Hela’s faces, she was every bit as troublesome as they remembered.
"Tiana, Avenya... this is the white-haired bitch I mentioned."
Hela grinned smugly as she casually pointed toward the newly arrived woman.
"This is Nivara Zharkrin, Queen of the Kingdom of Zharkrin."
"Like me and Lilith, she’s one of Master’s disciples."
As Hela finished her introduction, the woman floating high above gracefully descended from the sky.
The moment her feet touched the ground, her gaze swept across Tiana and Avenya in silent observation.
She was already familiar with Grace and Hela.
Hela was her fellow disciple, while Grace was Master’s cousin. There was no need for introductions between them.
"Where is Master?" Nivara’s voice was calm, but her eyes sharpened. "I can smell his scent on all of you... quite intimately."
Her gaze landed on Hela.
For a brief moment, her expression froze.
Then her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You bitch." She pointed at Hela accusingly.
"You’ve been intimate with Master."
Hela immediately spread her arms with an infuriatingly smug smile.
"Of course I have." Her grin widened.
"Master loves me. He gets intimate with me every single night."
Silence.
Then the temperature throughout the Golden Dragon Palace began to plummet.
Everyone present felt it instantly.
The air itself seemed to freeze.
Snowflakes began drifting through the palace as an overwhelming cold seeped into existence.
Dark clouds gathered overhead, rapidly spreading across the heavens for hundreds of kilometers.
The once-clear sky disappeared beneath a blanket of darkness.
Blue lightning crackled violently among the storm clouds.
The divine presence of the Storm Frost Dragon descended upon the world.
"What the fuck did you just say, you Norse bitch?"
Nivara’s eyes shone with divine light.
"Hoh?" Hela blinked before looking her up and down. "Look at that. You’ve actually achieved godhood."
She sounded genuinely surprised. "Here I thought you’d never manage it."
Then her smile vanished.
A cold grin replaced it.
The atmosphere around her shifted instantly.
An immense divine presence erupted from her body.
The temperature dropped even further.
At the same time, a dark and dreadful aura spread through the surroundings.
The concept of Death itself seemed to emerge behind her, threatening to cast its shadow over everything.
Nivara narrowed her eyes.
"Look at you, bitch. You’ve finally gained complete control over your divinities."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"And you’ve grown much stronger than before."
"Of course." Hela lifted her chin proudly.
"Master eliminated the problems caused by the Divine Concept of End within me."
Her grin became wider.
"Now I’m free."
A pulse of dark power rolled from her body.
"And more powerful than ever."
She pointed directly at Nivara. "In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m strong enough to kick that dragon ass of yours."
Nivara smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"You can certainly try."
Frost-covered lightning crackled around her fingers.
"But it’ll be my claws tearing apart your disgusting throat."
The two women stared at one another.
Neither willing to back down.
Neither willing to blink.
The surrounding space groaned beneath the pressure generated by two high-level goddesses.
"These women never change, do they?"
Grace simply shook her head.
No matter the era.
No matter the circumstances.
Whenever Damian’s women met, it always ended up like this.
Obsessive. Possessive. Impulsive.
And occasionally so insane that Grace genuinely wondered if they were all completely batshit crazy.
"...Though I’m not exactly any better." Grace sighed inwardly.
"At least I’m more controlled than they are."
That alone was enough for her to consider herself superior.
Turning her attention back to the confrontation, she remained completely relaxed.
The terrifying pressure filling the palace didn’t affect her in the slightest.
After all, she was confident she was stronger than both of them.
Tiana and Avenya, however, weren’t doing nearly as well.
Both women struggled to breathe.
The pressure radiating from two opposing goddesses was simply too much.
Without the protective barrier Grace had placed around them, they would have collapsed unconscious already.
Just as Hela and Nivara looked ready to tear each other apart—
"Okay. That’s enough."
A calm voice echoed throughout the palace.
Instantly, both women froze.
Their attention snapped away from one another.
Then something impossible happened.
Their auras vanished.
Not weakened.
Not suppressed.
Gone.
The divine presences they were releasing disappeared completely.
At the same moment, every snowflake within the palace dissolved into nothingness.
The dark clouds overhead vanished.
The lightning ceased.
Warm sunlight returned.
Blue skies replaced the storm.
It was as though everything that had happened moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.
Nivara’s eyes widened.
Shock filled her face.
She was the Queen of Zharkrin.
A Goddess.
The Goddess of Storms, Ice, Endurance, and Collapse.
Moments ago, she had been releasing an enormous amount of divine power.
Yet in a single instant, she had felt her connection to her divinities, authorities, and energy severed.
As though someone had casually cut the threads connecting her to them.
The feat was beyond imagination.
There was only one person she knew capable of such a thing.
The man who had once called her his disciple.
The being who wielded the power of the universe itself.
The Heavenly Son.
Her master.
A figure slowly entered her field of vision.
A man whose beauty transcended words.
A man wearing the same gentle smile she remembered from countless ages ago.
For a moment, Nivara simply stared.
Then her lips trembled. "Master...?"
Damian stopped before her.
A warm smile appeared on his face. "It’s been a while, my beloved disciple."
He gently lifted her chin.
His eyes carried unmistakable pride.
"I see you’ve achieved godhood."
Nivara felt her heart tremble.
Then Damian softly smiled.
"You did great."
