Chapter 457

Chapter 457

“Did you say Krasias killed you?”

―That’s right. He coveted the authority I had built over ten thousand years and took my life for it.

“He coveted your authority? You mean he can absorb another’s power?”

―It’s impossible for anyone else. Only Krasias can do that. That’s why we called him by another name, the Devourer of Authority.

“He was a dragon too, wasn’t he?”

―He merely wore the shell of a dragon. In truth, he is no dragon. It would be more accurate to call him a god in the form of a dragon. Since the dawn of Kurayan, whenever he found a power or ability he fancied, he killed the owner and took it for himself. He already possessed strength beyond measure, yet he never knew satisfaction. Krasias is a monster born of pure greed.

Akaid had lived long enough to be called an Ancient Dragon. A being said to be the master of all magic, who had survived ten thousand years. The authority he had accumulated in that time was beyond imagination.

Akaid was particularly versed in alchemy.

He found fascination in the art of creating something from nothing, transforming the essence of matter to bring out its utmost potential.

A dragon who spent ten thousand years studying nothing but alchemy—that was Akaid.

Naturally, the depth of his learning and insight was unparalleled.

Then one day, Akaid realized it.

The secret of life transmutation.

The method to create a living being from nothingness.

The moment he grasped it, a shiver ran through him.

He had stepped into a forbidden domain, one not even permitted to the gods.

―When I first set foot in that realm, I felt fear. I could not predict what consequences it would bring upon Kurayan if I created life itself.

The world is not built upon a single law.

Countless laws interlock like precise gears, forming harmony and balance.

If one law stands out or collapses, the gears slip out of alignment, and chaos descends upon the world.

The moment Akaid uncovered the secret of life transmutation, he also came to understand the laws that governed the world.

―I had two choices. To delve deeper into the secret of life transmutation regardless, or to stop and turn away. What do you think I chose?

“I believe it’s the latter.”

―Why do you think so?

“It’s just a feeling.”

―A feeling? You have sharp instincts. Yes, I chose to stop there.

“Weren’t you regretful?”

―I was. Yet I believed it was the right choice. If I went any deeper, the laws of the world would certainly break, and I couldn’t even imagine how far the backlash might spread.

The ancient dragon Akaid was wise.

The moment he realized he had opened the forbidden door, he shut it again.

The problem was Krasias.

Krasias knew the exact moment Akaid had opened that door, and he came for him.

For Krasias, who had collected every power in existence, the forbidden door Akaid had opened was irresistible.

Akaid ran.

Even as an ancient dragon of ten thousand years, even as the first to open the forbidden path, he could not contend with Krasias.

Krasias was the embodiment of greed.

True to his name as the Devourer of Authority, he had gathered every form of power into his immense body.

Akaid had no chance of defeating such a monster.

In the end, flight was his only choice. But even he could not escape Krasias’s relentless pursuit.

―Eventually, he caught me.

“You were defeated without a fight?”

―I resisted in my own way. But it was futile. He overpowered me and stripped me of my authority in disgrace.

Not even the might of an ancient dragon could wound Krasias.

In the end, Akaid was robbed of his power and fell.

He returned to his lair, but his wounds never healed, and soon, he returned to nature’s embrace.

That was the last memory Akaid retained.

―When I awoke again, I found myself revived as a mere illusion within this dimensional rift.

“You believe you’re an illusion?”

―I exist, yet I do not. So illusion is the only word for it. Lesser beings and monsters may think themselves real, but a dragon who has lived as long as I can sense instinctively when something is wrong. That is why I never leave this dungeon. I cannot know what harm my existence might cause the outside world.

“I see.”

―I’ve said all I wished to say. Now, I would hear your story.

“What story would you like to hear?”

―All of it.

At Akaid’s firm tone, Zeon looked up at him briefly.

The dragon’s expression was filled with genuine curiosity for the world outside.

After organizing his thoughts, Zeon spoke.

“I’ll tell you everything I know. But before that, there’s something I want to ask.”

―What is it?

“When will the others who entered with me arrive here?”

―You need not worry for them. They are each facing trials of appropriate difficulty in their own passageways.

“Their lives aren’t in danger?”

―If their strength is lacking, they will die. But I haven’t made their paths overly difficult, so they should pass in due time.

“I understand.”

―The only problem is the reward. Well, I suppose I can give them the last item that remains.

“So you don’t intend to meet them yourself?”

―If they were to see me, it would only bring confusion. There’s no reason to show myself. Of all who have entered this dungeon, you are the first and the last to face me directly. Only you are worthy of this meeting. Now, tell me everything you know of the world beyond.

At Akaid’s urging, Zeon began his tale—from the day Krasias first appeared on Earth.

He spoke of how terraforming had turned the planet to desert, how countless lives had perished.

Of how the alien races that crossed over had founded the city of El Harun.

Of how Jin Geumho and Dyoden had rebuilt Neo Seoul.

And of everything Zeon himself had endured.

―Ho… so they came to Earth.

―Such a thing happened, did it?

―How tragic that is.

―And what happened next?

Akaid listened intently, never missing a single word.

Zeon continued until he recounted everything, even his encounters with the Black Queen, Neria.

―So much has happened in just over a hundred years.

After hearing everything, Akaid sighed deeply.

The fall of Kurayan saddened him, but what pained him more was that Earth had been ruined because of it.

One world had perished so another could survive.

In the end, both met disaster.

It was the worst outcome imaginable.

What hurt most was knowing that the cause of it all was Kurayan, the world he had loved so deeply.

―On behalf of Kurayan, I offer my apology.

“It wasn’t your fault, Lord Akaid. You didn’t even exist when Kurayan brought this about.”

―That doesn’t erase my responsibility.

“What do you mean?”

―Don’t you find it strange?

“Strange?”

―For a world to perish, there must first be signs. Yet before I died, Kurayan showed none. If there had been, I would have known.

“Hmm.”

―From your story, it seems Kurayan was destroyed barely a thousand years after I returned to nature. For humans, a thousand years may seem an eternity, but for a world to fall, it’s far too short. The Kurayan I knew was too stable to collapse so quickly.

Short-lived beings could never sense it, but a being like Akaid, who had lived for ages, could perceive the laws that sustained Kurayan.

A world maintained by countless interwoven causes could never crumble in an instant.

―If it fell nonetheless, then an external force must have intervened. And to fracture a world’s law, an equally powerful law must have struck it. As far as I know, there is only one such force…

“The authority of life transmutation that you unlocked.”

―Precisely. Krasias must have used the authority he stole from me, shaking Kurayan’s laws to their core.

Akaid spoke with absolute certainty.

The insight of a dragon who had lived ten thousand years pierced the truth—that Krasias had played a part in Kurayan’s fall.

Whether it was his intention or an unforeseen consequence, that much was unclear.

“So Krasias destroyed Kurayan without even realizing it, then granted its people’s plea to live?”

―That is likely.

“And then, by terraforming Earth, he ruined this world as well?”

―Yes.

“In the end, he destroyed both worlds.”

―Yes.

“…”

Zeon was speechless.

Because of one deranged dragon, two worlds had perished, and all surviving life was suffering. Rage welled up inside him.

Zeon had never borne hatred toward other races or dragons before, but at that moment, his heart seethed with loathing for Krasias.

Akaid looked at him with an understanding gaze.

―Your hatred is justified. Do not think your anger shameful.

“Haa…”

―I am sorry. Deeply sorry. It was because of me that Krasias came to possess the art of life transmutation.

“Could the violet gem I saw be connected to that art?”

―Very likely. The fact that he embedded his lingering will into it shows it is no ordinary relic.

“Then we must find them all and destroy them.”

―I suspect Nigel has already begun that work.

“You know him?”

―Nigel is the wisest dragon I know. Though far younger than I, I hold deep respect for him.

Nigel was a Black Dragon.

Among dragons, the Black and Red were the most warlike and destructive.

Because of that, even young Black Dragons possessed overwhelming power.

Nigel was exceptional even among his kind.

He was bold, never backing away from a challenge.

In his youth, that caused no small amount of trouble, but as he grew, wisdom tempered his strength.

Eventually, he turned all his focus toward the pursuit of what he desired most.

―What fascinated Nigel was polymorph.

“You mean transformation?”

―We dragons can easily assume other forms through magic, but that is only changing the shell. The essence remains the same. Nigel sought more than that.

“He wanted to truly become another race?”

―Exactly. Nigel was a madman among madmen. But the world is always changed by such madmen.

Akaid had always liked Nigel’s eccentricity. He often gave him advice.

Because of that, the two shared a close bond.

“Then the form I saw of Lord Nigel wasn’t mere polymorph—it could be a true rebirth into another race.”

―That is what I suspect.

“Incredible.”

―If Nigel still lives, then I have no reason to concern myself with the world outside any longer.

“What do you mean?”

―I am already dead. Revived only by some unknown law, speaking now with you. But the longer I remain, the more harm I may cause this world.

“You mean… you intend to die?”

―The dungeon’s laws forbid me from taking my own life, so you must do it in my place.

“You want me to kill you?”

―Please. I am a spirit that should not exist. If I were to fall into corruption, the catastrophe I’d unleash would make Neria’s seem small. That is why you must end me.

“That’s…”

―Please.

Akaid bowed his great head deeply before Zeon.