[Vol. 8] Chapter 210: The Lost Secret and the Dragon of the Deep Abyss
"Hmm?"
On the vast, wild plains, a young woman with snow-white hair, golden eyes, and a simple white dress paused for a moment. She seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up at the dark sky, which was full of cracks.
A mark, like smooth platinum-colored scales, quietly appeared on her forehead between her two horns. It gave off a soft, holy glow that pulsed like breathing. Guided by that mark, the girl narrowed her eyes and focused carefully. A moment later, a surprised expression appeared on her face.
"What’s wrong?"
At almost the same time, the same kind of puzzled look appeared on the faces of several others traveling with her. But clearly, they were just confused by her strange reaction.
The white-haired girl said nothing at first. She looked at the middle-aged man beside her, who was wearing strong armor and had short, dark yellow hair. His whole presence gave off a heavy feeling, like the earth. When he asked, she finally shook her head and replied softly.
"It's nothing… I just suddenly felt a strange kind of connection. It’s hard to explain. It felt like something from the same origin as me, but stronger… What could it be...?"
"Huh?"
Hearing her say this, another woman nearby couldn’t help but laugh a little. She had bright red hair like fire, a stunningly beautiful face, and wore short clothes that showed off her perfect figure. She gave a teasing smile, as if she had just heard a joke.
"What, are you trying to say you sensed the presence of a holy white dragon even higher than yourself? Cielru, you have the blood of the Dragon Emperor, and now you’ve officially reached the level of Dragon King. You’re also the head of your clan, the one that has fully connected with the Dragon Pillar. Among the white dragons, even your mother, the previous Dragon Queen, probably couldn’t beat you in terms of bloodline."
"How could there be a holy white dragon that’s even stronger than a Dragon King in this world?"
Although it sounded like a question, every dragon could hear that the Red Dragon Queen was clearly doubting and denying what the White Dragon Queen had felt. She seemed to think Cielru had simply made a mistake.
It wasn’t because they had a bad relationship. Red dragons were naturally blunt and straightforward, and as their queen, she showed that trait even more strongly. So even though her words were a bit harsh, none of the Dragon Kings took it too seriously.
A tall, muscular dragon man, who wore only simple shorts and showed off his granite-like muscles, frowned slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke in a deep voice.
"…Well, even though I’m not as sensitive as the white dragons, I did feel a sudden presence just now. It was ancient, noble… and clearly stronger than a Dragon King. Maybe the White Dragon Queen didn’t make a mistake after all."
"?“
Seeing that even the Diamond Crystal Dragon King, who rarely spoke unless something important happened, had stepped in to support her, the other dragons, who had just thought it was a casual topic, were surprised. Their expressions became more serious. But what followed was even more confusion.
At that moment, the elegant Blue Dragon Queen, who looked like a graceful noblewoman from a royal court, spoke up gently.
"We’re currently near the Sealing Stone, and the seal has been growing more unstable lately. Some spaces have started to connect with the real world. So, it’s not impossible that the White Dragon Queen and the Crystal Dragon King sensed something from the outside world..."
"But the Red Dragon Queen also made a good point. Both of you are at the top of your clans, the strongest bloodlines. Even if something strange is happening in the world, how could two dragons appear at once that go beyond the limits of our kind?"
The other Dragon Kings nodded at her words. They all felt it sounded too unbelievable. Even though dragon history tells of a few great dragons who became gods through their own strength, the so-called "Dragon Gods" were higher beings only in terms of ideas and power. They weren’t really that far above Dragon Kings by bloodline alone.
At this point, the White Dragon Queen, Cielru, seemed to remember something. She suddenly spoke in a soft voice.
"Everyone… do you remember the old legend about the Ancestor of Dragons?"
"The story says that a long, long time ago, so far back that no real history remains, our dragon kind was once made up of nine bloodlines. Each one was connected to one of the powers left behind by the Dragon Ancestor."
"But for some unknown reason, a great disaster happened. The Ancestor Dragon disappeared, and two of the nine bloodlines vanished with no trace."
"And now, after all this time, we, the remaining seven dragon bloodlines, don’t even know what the missing two were. Only vague, passed-down stories remain. Maybe… I mean, maybe..."
The Red Dragon Queen frowned slightly, looking unsure.
"Cielru, that’s just an old story. The history of the dragon race is too ancient to trace. If there really were nine great dragon bloodlines, why is there only this one vague legend left, without any real details?"
"...I don’t know," Cielru replied softly. "But if a higher-level dragon truly does appear, wouldn’t that actually be a good thing for our kind? What do you all think?"
The Dragon Kings looked at each other in silence.
As the highest leaders of the dragon race, they had each heard old stories passed down from elders. But honestly, the idea that the seven dragon bloodlines were the only ones left had been accepted for so long, it was hard for them to imagine what would happen if two more suddenly appeared. And a dragon more powerful than a Dragon King... what could that even be?
Still, if it wasn’t just a one-in-a-million chance, how could they explain the powerful presence both the White Dragon Queen and the Diamond Crystal Dragon King felt?
As the discussion dragged on without a clear answer, the elder of the Cloud Dragon Clan, Yaniels, who was also acting as their leader, gently cleared his throat to stop the conversation.
"Alright, everyone. No matter what’s going on in the outside world, or whether the old legend is true or not, none of that changes what we need to do right now. It’s almost time, let’s begin."
Although Cielru White was the current leader of the dragon race in name, acting as the Dragon Empress, she was still only at the Dragon King level, not yet a true Dragon Emperor.
With no Dragon Emperor in power, all major decisions had to be made by the seven Dragon Kings together. And while Yaniels was only the acting leader of the Cloud Dragons, he had the deepest experience and strength among them all. So when he spoke to ease the tension, none of the other dragons were offended.
Even Cielru nodded slightly, showing her agreement.
Since they noticed signs that the sealing stone was becoming unstable, the dragons had sent people to monitor it and began contacting other mythical races. In just two or three months, the disturbances had become more obvious to the naked eye.
Especially about half a month ago, some invisible force from the outside world slammed into the seal, causing it to break down even faster. If the dragons hadn’t noticed in time and rushed to fix it, the damage would have been much worse than just a few broken connections between this place and the outside world.
But even with all their efforts, the outcome was already set.
In as little as one month, or at most half a year, the seal which had been built three hundred years ago by many heroic dragons and other mythical beings, would completely fail. When that happens, the evil god will be released, and the remains of the serpent will return to the world. A new war will begin.
Right now, the only thing the dragon race could do was to gather strength, prepare for battle, and try to delay that day as long as possible.
Thinking of this, the White Dragon Queen, Cielru White, looked toward a giant stone monument in the distance. Her beautiful face showed a hint of worry that she could not hide.
That stone stood tall in the middle of the wilderness, stretching from the ground almost into the sky. It looked less like a monument and more like a giant pillar holding up the entire world. Even as a true dragon, standing beneath it made Cielru feel incredibly small.
This was the Sealing Stone. It had been created at the end of the war by Cielru’s mother, Yolandal White, who gathered the full power of the dragon race and paid a heavy price to cast a powerful ancient forbidden spell.
The seal didn’t just suppress the evil gods who had appeared in the world at that time, it forced them into a deep sleep. Using the ruins as a base, the spell expanded the area into a vast pocket world, completely cutting off the sleeping place of the "Serpent" from the outside. This created the world the dragons and other mythical races now lived in.
To create a world and make it follow its own laws, that was no doubt the power of gods. It showed the true strength of the dragons. But even though the knowledge had been lost, the forbidden spell couldn’t last forever and had many flaws. The cost of casting it had been unimaginably high.
Even though the seal worked, the process used up the life force of hundreds of dragons who took part. Many of them died in the following years from exhaustion, including Cielru’s mother, who was just one step away from becoming a true Dragon God, and who had served as the White Dragon Clan’s leader.
Because of this great loss, most dragons alive now were born and grew up during the three hundred years since then. Even many of the current Dragon Kings were from this newer generation.
That’s also why, although Yaniels wasn’t the official clan leader, he could still lead and earn the respect of the other Dragon Kings.
In fact, Yaniels was already more than ten thousand years old, probably older than all the current Dragon Kings put together. He was truly an elder among elders in the dragon race.
Living beings grow old over time, and so do all things in the world. Nothing under the heavens can truly stand against the passing of time.
Cielru could clearly see that the ancient, dark-gray stone monument, once towering like a pillar holding up the sky, was now covered in more than a dozen terrifying cracks, large and small. The countless dragon-language runes that once glowed with mysterious light had become very dim. In the areas where the cracks spread, the symbols were already blurry and hard to read.
Just like the dark sky above them, which was also full of cracks.
Noticing where the White Dragon Queen Cielru was looking, the other Dragon Kings also turned their attention to the monument. Their expressions gradually turned serious.
All of them had taken part in the war three hundred years ago. While most of them had been protected somewhat by their clans and parents because they were still young, they had also fought on the battlefield and knew very well what kind of terrible disaster would come if this seal failed.
The evil gods of the Twilight Council, the remains of the Serpent, and even other arrogant and power-hungry mythical beings... any one of those threats alone would be difficult to face. But to face all of them at the same time, or even more unknown enemies, was almost too much, even for dragons.
The Rock Dragon King, dressed in earth-colored armor, spoke in a low voice.
"As you can all see, the seal is breaking down even faster than we expected. I personally checked and repaired it just a few days ago, but now it’s already damaged again, worse than before..."
"This is the way of the world now. The invisible rules of heaven and earth are guiding the future in a certain direction. I… can faintly feel that power."
The Rock Dragons are known for their strength in defense and endurance, and they are masters of forging and crafting. This Rock Dragon King, leader of the Yellow Rock Dragons, had survived the great war of the mythical races due to his strong life force, making him the only one of the original Dragon Kings still alive. Because of that, he was also the only one now able to repair the seal that all seven Dragon Kings had created together back then.
When the Sealing Stone first started showing signs of damage, the Rock Dragon King personally led a group of skilled elders from his clan to the wilderness to begin repairs. But now, it was clear the situation was beyond what they could stop.
That’s why he had called all seven Dragon Kings together today, hoping they could copy what the former White Empress had done and use their combined power to restore the ancient forbidden spell.
Even though they weren’t as strong as their elders back then, and didn’t have the full support of their entire clans, this time they weren’t building the seal from scratch. They were only trying to repair it using the existing Sealing Stone as the base, so it should be easier.
"Let’s begin."
The seven Dragon Kings, each of them at the level of a demigod, looked at each other. Then, with a flash, they shifted into their true dragon forms, rising into the sky and flying to the marked support points around the Sealing Stone.
A deep and difficult dragon-language chant began to rise. Seven powerful energies flowed into the seal through the lines of the ancient magic circle, slowly filling the cracks and repairing the damage.
As the leader of the holy White Dragons and acting Dragon Empress, Cielru White took her position at the very center, the core of the entire formation. It was her first time personally taking part in maintaining the Sealing Stone, but with the help of inherited memory in her bloodline and guidance from the Rock Dragon King, it wasn’t as hard as she had feared.
The more she worked, the more Cielru came to understand why this divine seal held such incredible power. How it had allowed her mother and the other ancestors to turn the tide even in the darkest moments of the war. Even when faced with multiple true gods acting together, they still managed to seal them beneath this stone.
The power and laws flowing within the Sealing Stone were so deep and complex that Cielru couldn’t even understand a tenth of them. It was likely that even the Dragon Kings who first used this spell had only known how to use it, but not what it really was.
This wasn’t magic. It was a true divine art, a kind of ancient power that only dragons could use, activated through the key of ancient dragon language.
What kind of being could create such a godly technique from nothing? Was it connected to the old legend about the Ancestor of Dragons...?
For some reason, Cielru suddenly thought again of the powerful presence she had sensed days ago, the new Dragon God whose identity was still unknown. All the signs were pointing to one thing, the true strength and heritage of the dragon race might be far greater than what they currently knew. It was just hidden from her view, beyond her reach.
And yet, one strange thing after another kept happening lately. It was as if something was telling Cielru.
—That ancient glory, that lost heritage... was slowly returning.
But why?
What in the world is going on?