The Villain's Story - Chapter 731 731: Dreams.
It has been ages since I last dreamt, even during the centuries I spent asleep I could hardly ever recall something that could be called a dream. Even before my will to live withered, I could hardly dream.
Sleep was a rare luxury back then, and most dragons functioned without it. Using mana to calm their minds and ease their suffering. I too, was the same. We could only sleep in our citadels back on our home world, The only place where there was peace.
Regardless, I struggle to call what I experienced a dream, I have heard of them from others many times, But what I heard could not be a dream. It was too vivid, too real, and caused fear to bloom in my dead heart once more.
It was so annoying as well, I wanted to sleep, I wanted to rest, for rest was the only thing that would remind me of death, the final end of those that follow Ariel, to be protected by her and rest for as long as wanted. A luxury I was denied once.
I knew I had to get up, But I wanted not too. Nevertheless, I struggled inside that… Nightmare.
There I was, clad in my glorious scales and towering above the plains of Lanekia, like the greatest mountain, an ironclad wall. My icy eyes watched as the home of ice, the place where the river of frost flowed, the place where there was nothing but eternal frost wreathed in black flame.
Vile smoke rose from the ends of my vision, And even though it was so far away, I could feel the mana within, the chaos that it brought as the frost of Lanekia fought against it. It was a war of elements.
There, I stood alone, silently glaring at the entity hidden behind the smoke, hidden behind the chaos it ensued, like a coward. A set of green eyes reminiscent of emerald. But they were not the eyes of a dragon, or even a god beast. At first, I had thought one of them had managed to escape, but his majesty Valus would not allow it.
It was a serpent, The eyes belonged to that of a serpent that seemed like a dragon but was far, far from it. We continued to stare at one another, I held back the chaos and black flames with my might, and it struggled to make them advance.
But I knew I could not let this go on for long, I wondered where all my brothers and sisters were, I could sense none of them at that time. I only hoped they were somewhere safe, and if this thing had done something to them.
I would make sure it begged for death.
Finally, I had enough and marched towards the clouds of vile smoke and black flame, with but a glance they disappeared from my sight, and the elements native to Lanekia surged, gaining an overwhelming advantage. Of course, they would, I was with them.
When an Ancient as old as I am on your side, Only a High supreme would be able to contest my might. And this creature was no such thing.
It had reached divinity, or profanity by the looks of it, but it was not Supreme. I laid eyes on it for the first time, and was honestly surprised.
It was a Soara, It was a dragon. I had thought this might be the case, but I had expected it to be one of the lost dragons of chaos. Our brothers and sisters lost to a vile curse, turned insane by the schemes of the Abyssal Conscience.
But I was wrong, that was one of us. That was a dragon who reigned over frost.
I was taken aback at first, and perhaps that was my first mistake. I had tried to initiate a conversation, I wanted to know why it was doing this, why it was using the element of chaos, illusion, and poison. The dragon was serpentine in nature.
Its scales were like polished crystal, There were no spikes, there were no hair, there was nothing on his body but polished scales that shone with an ominous might.
He opened his mouth, which I found to be quite a surprise, Most dragons did not communicate with words but with mind magic. I soon found out the reason why he chose to do so.
“******”
There was an insidious power in his words, which failed to work on me, but as a precaution I took up some defenses against it.
He tried to converse with me again, But I made any attempt to do so futile, I put out an ultimatum.
Leave, or die.
Perhaps I had been infected with the peace that had reigned. I wouldn’t have made such an offer at all in my prime. But Alas, He was a dragon, perhaps he had been led astray, maybe some part of my dead being had some empathy for him.
He chose to fight, and rushed in weaving illusions, inserting false inputs and utilizing poison and green ice, which most likely held poison as well. But it was useless. It would not defeat me with such tricks.
It was cunning, But I had faced creatures more dreadful than it, It was tricky, But I had even fought against the Shape Shifter of the Divine, Trickster of the Profane.
Furthermore, it was not my match, no matter how much it tried. When its insidious power was made useless…
It was simply easy prey. I closed in on the beast amidst our battle and pinned it down with my claws, and I promptly slit its throat, killing it on the spot.
It’s emerald green eyes were surprised as they lost their light, but not as afraid of death. It was the only thing about the creature that earned my respect.
A dragon should not fear death, especially us. I had attained victory with only meager wounds, the creature was not a fighter, that much I could tell.
However, as I gazed down at its corpse, everything changed when those eyes seemed to come back alive once more.
But this time, they were an abyssal black.
