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"Ah, Nifl? Ha, ha, she was a crybaby..." Helâs tone softened with affection. "Whenever her sisters teased her, she cried. If she disliked her meat, she cried. If we were even a minute late feeding her, she cried. A slight scare, and she would wail endlessly. Her cries were sharp and loud, freezing everything around her. Her tears turned to tiny ice crystals... She made quite the mess. Yet she was my adorable little sister. We loved her despite it all, and we helped her grow into the wonderful dragon she is now."
"W-Was she really such a crybaby? Wait... it doesnât surprise me that much. She does cry a lot even now..." Drake sighed, recalling Niflâs tears during their confrontations or when she met his brother. "Mom..."
"You miss her?" Hel asked gently.
"She and the others are coming to help. You wonât be alone anymore, Dragon King. Weâll face this togetherâas family."
"I see... Thank you, Hel," Drake said softly, taking her hand. "I mean it."
"Hm... Your hand is so warm, my king," Hel murmured. "Iâve only known the warmth of my sisters and mother before... But I grew faster than them, and itâs been so long since I felt something like this. I had almost forgotten..."
"Youâve stayed here all this time?" Drake asked.
"Not confinedâit was my duty and my choice," Hel replied. "But yes... Helheim was the only Realm left untouched. Little changed for us here while my sisters had to relocate. I remained with my children, who share my cold touch. We exist between life and death. No other beings are quite like us Death Dragons. We crave the warmth of the living, but we can never truly have it. At least the souls we guide will one day be reborn and feel lifeâs warmth again."
"...I see," Drake said quietly. "It must have been lonely."
"No... not really. It is my life," Hel smiled faintly. "But sometimes... I dream of the surface, just once. My presence alone radiates Death. Anything fragileâlike innocent mortalsâwould perish instantly, causing disaster. Thatâs why I stay in Helheim."
"Maybe I can help with that. Iâll find a way," Drake promised. "Donât you want to feel the sunâs warmth? See the colors of forests, rivers, the sea? Iâll even cook you something delicious. How about it?"
"Is this... my king, are you inviting me on a date?" Hel sighed, a mix of amusement and melancholy in her voice. "Are you unaware of my age? Please... stop teasing. It might amuse you, but itâs not funny to me..."
"Iâm not teasing, Hel," Drake said earnestly. "I owe you so much already. Iâd feel terrible if I never repaid you. So how about it?"
"Y-You truly mean it?" Hel asked, blushing in shock. "I... I donât know what to say..."
"Think about it," Drake said gently. "No pressure."
"Hm... I will," Hel murmured. "I... havenât tasted food in eons."
"You donât eat?" Drake asked.
"At our level, we donât need to," Hel explained. "You donât either, you know? We sustain ourselves on raw environmental energy. We only ate when young and growing. At my age... food is a distant memory."
"Iâll prepare something wonderful," Drake insisted. "I even have a Divinity of Cooking, remember?"
"Yes, I know. I saw it," Hel smiled faintly, almost chucklingâthough expressing emotion was difficult for her. "You are the most peculiar dragon ever born."
"Ah, come on. Maybe one day thereâll be Cooking Dragons or Chef Dragonsâan entire bloodline and family. Imagine it," Drake said, drawing another near-chuckle from her.
"Youâre good with words..." Hel said softly. "Now, letâs continue."
"All right..."
Drake grew serious, stepping into the ninth worldâthe realm of the Immortal Soul Blade.
Unlike the others, this world was empty. Nothing but endless white void.
"Thereâs nothing here? Why? Hel?"
Drake called for her, but Hel had mysteriously vanished.
This whiteness.
This void...
Drake quickly understood its meaning.
The Concept of Swordsmanship he had lostâthis white void was the emptiness it left behind.
Hel must have known. She wouldnât create an unsolvable trial to trap his mind forever.
No...
This was the challenge: to fill this white space.
And to find what remained, hidden somewhere.
"Muramasa... I can sense your traces. Celestia too... my swords."
Drake walked through the white voidâfor days, weeks, then months.
Finally, his journey ended when he spotted something.
A small wound in the white voidâa sharp slashing mark at its center.
"...A slash wound."
Drake approached and touched it. Beyond the crack, a world of endless, shifting colors flickered.
He placed his hands on each side and tore it open with all his strength.
"I know what I must do. What I learned was never just about the blade. It was about my ascension, my understanding of my abilities, my soul, and my body."
FLAAASH!
Vibrant colors flooded everywhere as the wound widened into a massive rift, filling the white void with endless hues, forms, and shapesâdragons, claws, scales, tails, wings, horns, eyes.
His greatest weapons had always been with him. His claws would be as sharp as his strongest swords, his scales as tough as his most durable shields, his tail as swift and powerful as a whip, his wings both blades and shields, his horns like piercing spears, and his eyes like magic wands unleashing devastating spells.
Immortal Soul Blade Arts evolved into...
Immortal Dragon Soul and Body Arts.
The new world took shape. Countless twisted draconic monsters assaulted him. Drake tested his abilities: scales enhanced in toughness, claws sharp and swiftâall his sword attacks now claw strikes. His tail became spear and whip, powerful and unpredictable.
His wings served as both shields and blades, complementing everything. His horns impaled foes like spears, and his eyes conjured endless magic effortlessly.
FLUOSH!
Then, a new portal appeared, leading to the final two worldsâwhich had merged with this one.
"Drake, itâs time. The next two Worlds have fused with this one. Youâve created a fusion between laws."
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