Chapter 1008: Chapter 104 Terra Dragon and the Hatching Egg_2
However, the Terra Dragonâs efforts were not in vain.
Indeed, destruction, the end, and extinction came with the Apocalypse. The Terra civilization, which thought it had prepared for doomsday in every way, faced an unforeseen disaster in haste. Yet, the Terra Dragonâs perseverance allowed this planet to preserve a trace of the Spark.
The last thing Ian saw was the Terra Dragon, thoroughly burned out and exhausted, slowly falling to the ground.
Even so, in its final moments as it approached the ultimate conclusion, it bore a colonial city on its back, gently lowering it to the ground like a gravestone for itself.
[As an end befitting a dragon, this is not bad]
In this acceptance, the Retrospective Vision came to an end.
Ian fell into silence.
It was yet another retrospection related to the Calamity of Heavenly Fallâunsurprising, for within Terraâs lands, nearly everything, every origin and upheaval, stems from that calamity over 1,600 years ago.
And the great city that the Terra Dragon carried and ultimately landed upon the ground was undoubtedly the best-preserved colonial city. Over generations of change, it gradually became a center where natural Origin Quality gathered. Its still-smoldering Furnace Core even formed a massive Spirit Energy Field, nurturing countless lives.
Its labyrinthine urban structure, intricate streets, and districts became increasingly elusive and enigmatic to explore due to the lack of the maps and guidance of that era.
Thus, gradually... this city, which recorded the Terra Dragonâs final battle, transformed into a region that todayâs Beings of Terra call the âLabyrinth.â
Later, it evolved into a breeding ground used by The Empire for raising Magical Beasts.
[1,600 yearsâthe span of Terraâs civilization covering four dynasties and the complete cycles of chaos and order between them... neither long nor short, yet sufficient to witness the worldâs transformations, the loss and rebirth of civilizations]
In his juvenile dragon form, Ian let out a deep sigh. The Terra Dragonâs near-desperate resistance against the prophesied apocalypse showed that, clearly, no one could truly understand what the Prophecy represented or predict when it would occur before it actually happenedâand this uncertainty rendered over ninety percent of preparations meaningless.
Yet it did manage to preserve something... Had the Terra Dragon not fought with all its might and burned itself in struggle, Terra might still be stuck in the bloody massacres and chaos of the Lost Epoch. Instead of rebuilding civilization, it would have been impossible for Terra in just over 700 years to develop to its current state, with so many individuals reaching the Fifth Energy Level.
Of course, Ian still had many questions.
The existence of the Terra Dragon was fairly reasonable. After all, other civilizations had their Spark Dragons; there was no reason Terra wouldnât have one.
But the problem lay in what the Creatorâs mentions of the collapse of âHeavenâ and âParadiseâ signified.
The Creator was the maker of True Dragons, the creator of the Skyfall Spaceships, and possibly the architect of the cosmic civilizationâs safeguarding order led by True Dragons. Undoubtedly, they were an immensely powerful cosmic civilization, yet they evidently had adversaries as well.
The crash of the Skyfall Spaceship might also have been somewhat connected to the Terra True Dragonâs mentions of the âParadise Fallen.â
Regarding the rank of the Terra True Dragon, Ian speculated that it was likely below the Ancestral True Dragon, but still above the second generation of True Dragons.
Its strength mirrored that of the Terra civilizationâa newly emerging universal civilization-derived from the countless preserved Sparks. Although unable to venture into the external cosmos just yet, this did not mean its technological prowess was inferior... At the same time, the Terra True Dragon was clearly a veteran among True Dragonsâit might even be an ancient being that had lived for over 500 years and received âLife Extensionâ from the Creator.
It undoubtedly knew far more than Ian could imagine... but who knows where Terra Dragonâs âInherited Sparkâ residedâperhaps within this âAtlantian Megalopolis,â or perhaps it had been taken away long ago in the annals of history.
[Take me back]
With great insights gained, Ian was growing increasingly intrigued by the âbreeding groundsâ he was in.
Perhaps it was predestined, or maybe it was mere coincidenceâwhen Master Gossay chose to take those two Dragon Eggs and store them at the Atlantian Breeding Grounds, it essentially guaranteed that Ian would uncover the truth hereâand all of this was thanks to Ianâs adventures in another Labyrinth.
Everything converged with the Prophetâs decisions... Perhaps in the past, other Prophets had sought to reverse the apocalypse, doing what Ian was attempting now. But none of them were as strong as Ianâor perhaps none possessed Ianâs unique perspective and abilities to survey both the past and future, synthesizing all information.
"Alright."
As someone who had witnessed Ian using âRetrospective Vision,â Andor seemed to have realized something. Without hesitation, he escorted the young dragon back into the megacity.
It was at this moment that a group of Knights, led by a researcher, hurriedly approached Andor.
"Well done, D-73687, you actually managed to hatch the Crystalline Dragon Eggâour mentor said you alone were sufficient. I didnât believe it at first, but it seems I was wrong!"
The researcher, smiling brightly, revealed himself to be a former student of Master Gossay with his first words. He also inadvertently exposed Master Gossayâs true intentionâto leave Andor within the Atlantian Megalopolis to rot and die. Surely the old man could discern the poor state of those two Dragon Eggs, yet he insisted that Andor take care of them alone. Clearly, he intended to shift all the blame onto Andor and, at the right moment, eliminate this âinformed individualâ through ostensibly justified means.