Chapter 633: Harvest and the Wounded Gold Dragon
"But... that's not even all I got this time."
Cassius snorted, blowing out a puff of sulfurous white smoke, feeling the surges through his body, sensing the energy flowing in his primal veins.
Now, the red dragon's body was like a vast ocean. The bloodline of the progenitor dragons, chaos fire, the power of order, the authority of the fire elemental plane—all these wildly different powers churned and crashed within him, forming a massive, complex system.
Cassius, using the power of truesight, peered into his own body and finally located the two powers he'd just stolen—Heaven's essence and solar divinity—both of which had become special items inside the red dragon's body.
A delicate, translucent sphere floated in the dragon's blood, slowly spinning—that was a portion of Mount Heaven's essence, making up two percent of the entire Silver Heaven, full of immense power of law.
[Heart of Lucia]
Wonder item, Mythic
Domains: Order, Justice, Good, Law, Light
Effects: Unknown
Description: Heaven is home to many good creatures, like asimars, astral apostles, otherworldly saints, and seraphim.
Seven martyrs blessed for order and good appeared on this young plane with great and unique faces—appointed by Heaven itself as its immortal rulers to serve the Seven Heavens, each holding a share of Heaven's power.
"So this is Heaven's authority? Just looking at it, you can feel order, justice, and pure good." Cassius thought to himself.
This time, Balachiel had only brought down five percent of Silver Heaven's essence, yet could match Cassius blow for blow, while Lucia was only the weakest of the seven heavens—it showed just how terrifying Mount Heaven really was.
And as for Zaphkiel, ruler of Radiant Heaven, even Cassius had to look up in awe.
Heaven's essence was the power nurtured by the outer planes over countless ages—even for Cassius, it was hard to absorb and master in a short time; he'd need to take it slow.
The other object was a tiny sun, floating above his heart, constantly shedding light and heat, illuminating the space around it—that was the divine power from the sun god Amanata.
Over the past days, he'd not only taken the divine power of Walter and Karen, but also rounded up all the divine-blooded angels in North Aether, brutally stripping them of their power.
[Blood of Amanata]
Wonder item, Mythic
Domains: Law, Order, Sun, Light, Fire
Description: A hundred years ago, the Holy Fadlan Emperor, the great "Sun King" Aragon I, held a grand ritual to worship the sun god Amanata.
In that brilliant ceremony, the nobles chosen by the emperor were blessed by Amanata, becoming "divine-blooded," with great power and long lifespans.
"So this is the so-called power of the sun? Pretty interesting."
Staring at the mini-sun, Cassius couldn't help but lick his lips—he was no stranger to divinity now.
Divine power, as the name implies, is the primal energy of a god, the concrete form of their power, and what lets them work miracles or unleash their might.
For mortals, just a whiff of divinity is enough to make them "divine-blooded," live for a thousand years, and have power ordinary folk can only dream of.
But only beings who ignite divine fire can produce true divine power, and Cassius wasn't there yet. For him, the solar divinity in his body was like water without roots—just a resource to be used up.
As a god of law and the sun, Amanata's divinity contained law, order, sun, light, and fire—all perfectly aligned with Cassius's attributes, letting him use them especially smoothly.
[You absorbed the divine power of the Law and Sun God—Amanata, gaining special abilities: [Solar Breath][Sun Sphere]]
[Solar Breath]
Enhanced by the sun god's power, your breath weapon now has the destructive force of a starburst, like an angry sun destroying everything before you.
[Sun Sphere]
You can create an illusory sun in the sky, making the area hot and dry, changing the climate for a thousand kilometers around.
Both of these special powers have force above ninth-circle spells, rivaling legendary magic, but with Cassius's limited stash of solar divinity, he can only use them a few times.
Cassius wasn't unhappy with this—on the contrary, he nodded in satisfaction, mumbling to himself:
"Don't the Fadlans all worship the sun god? If I work a 'miracle' like this in public, what'll they think?
Duke Walter, thanks for bringing me this power. I'll fulfill your wish to restore Fadlan glory—just not in the way you pictured."
He walked out of the cave, his towering back arching like a mountain, spreading wide his wings.
"Kassander, Thrace, Seleucia—what do those puppet kingdoms have to do with Fadlan? The Ember Empire is the true Fadlan successor!"
The red dragon grinned, that fierce, awe-inspiring face twisted into another savage smile.
In the previous life, because of kings squabbling over the emperor's crown, Kassander, Thrace, and Seleucia were nicknamed East, North, and West Fadlan by the players.
But now, Cassius wanted everyone on Feiansuo to know—only "Dragon Fadlan" was the real, sacred Fadlan!
Eternal Order Realm, White Monastery.
"Huff, huff—"
The massive ancient gold dragon was covered in wounds, even his wings were ragged. He lay sideways in the holy water of the monastery, panting heavily.
The Scales of Randis atop the monastery shed a gentle light over the gold dragon, slowly healing his injuries.
Titus struggled to lift his head, voice trembling: "Lord Crassus, as fellow gold dragons, why do you let that monster get away with this?
He—he killed our benefactor—Walter Graham! Cough, cough!" Maybe it was the emotion, but the gold dragon started coughing violently, spitting out blood.
The ancient gold dragon Crassus stood nearby, sighing deeply, and stepped forward to counsel him: "Don't work yourself up, Titus. For you, healing is what matters most now.
You're badly hurt, thirty-seven broken bones, a third of your blood gone—if it was any worse, you'd have to go see the Lord of Northwind."
"Lord Crassus, please answer me! Why do you let that monster run wild?"
Titus ignored his wounds, rasping out the question, his tone full of rage, confusion, and a deep sorrow.
"I can't beat him."
Crassus replied calmly, so blunt it was almost a joke.
"Even if you can't, could all the gold dragons together not beat him?"
Suddenly, Titus froze, his scarred dragon face turning blank, breathing quickening: "Wait—could this be Lord Bahamut's will?"
"…"
Crassus looked bitter, silent, not giving a direct answer—but that in itself was an answer.
At last, the venerable ancient gold dragon sighed again, and said slowly: "Titus, I admire your resolve and courage—it reminds me of myself when I was young. But the world isn't all black and white."
Crassus tapped his staff on the floor, making the monastery tiles ring, and a spectral vision appeared before Titus.
In the image was a grand palace, filled with black- and purple-robed worshipers, led by one in a golden five-headed dragon mask, all praying devoutly.
On the throne at the top, a crowned man sat—but his head was a fierce dragon's, deep blue-gray, shining like steel.
Titus heard the prayers—"Praise the Immortal Queen, the Dark Lady, Foe of the Gods…"
The ancient gold dragon's face changed, brow furrowing, voice dropping: "Are those prayers to the Dragon Queen?"
"Yes, the Dragon Queen's followers are taking over the Seleucia Kingdom—her cult is exploding there."
Crassus nodded slightly, stern: "Our intel says that wicked queen will descend again, wreaking havoc on Feiansuo.
That makes the Ember Emperor's stance important—we need him at least neutral, or things could get out of hand."
"But that red dragon—"
Titus tried to object, but Crassus's body began to shimmer, growing transparent, leaving only a last warning.
"Titus, take care—don't go provoking that red dragon again. I could barely save you this time—next time, maybe not."
As his words fell, the ancient gold dragon vanished, leaving Titus alone in the holy pool—Crassus was busy as the council's leader these days.
Titus lay there, trying to stretch his battered wings, his face still showing anger and frustration, but his mind spinning with thoughts.
"If this was the same as the last life, the 'Draconic Tyranny' plot wouldn't start until after the Wars of Kings. Didn't expect it to kick off early this time.
Looks like Tiamat's really confident—does she think I'll side with the chromatics? That old hag's dreaming." Titus—Cassius, really—scoffed in his heart.
The impact of the red dragon and Ember Empire was way beyond "butterfly effect"—it was a dragon's wings kicking up a damn hurricane.
The script from his memories was all scrambled—like that famous ranger who, instead of breaking out a captured elf maiden, got gunned down by city guards with rifles.
Not just the little details, even the flow of history had shifted. After the battle of North Aether, factions who'd once hated each other were now banding together to defend against the Empire.
"Titus! Titus!"
A clear, bell-like girl's voice snapped Titus out of his thoughts, dragging him back to reality.
Titus turned, and sure enough, there was the slender young gold dragon—Aurora.
Aurora, seeing the battered elder, looked anxious and pained: "Titus, sorry to bother you. Are your wounds…?"
"Just some scratches. I'll live." Titus shook his head, smoothing his beard, putting on a brave face.
But his trembling body and the blood pouring out spoke to the severity of the wounds, and Aurora's worry only deepened.
After hesitating, she said softly: "Titus, I heard about what happened the other day…
I just want to say, no matter what the elders think, your defiance of the Ember Emperor and quest for vengeance still inspires me and everyone. You're still our hero." Her voice was firm.
"Heh, what hero? Just a crazed loser."
Titus shook his head, a wry smile creasing his wise, scarred face, the wound giving him an even more weathered look.
"Like before, I couldn't protect anything—just watched friends die, watched people become a monster's slaves."
"No, Titus, you did all you could," Aurora said weakly.
But the ancient gold's face grew calm, and he asked, "Aurora, aside from the past, did you have something else?"
"Ah, I almost forgot—" Aurora remembered and nodded quickly. "Titus, King Ed Klayne of the Highland Kingdom wants to see you. From what I saw, he's not doing well—his life's flame is just a flicker."
"I know. You go on, I'll see him myself." Titus nodded, steady.
But no sooner had he finished than he coughed up blood, making Aurora jump and rush over: "Titus, are you okay?"
The ancient gold dragon stubbornly shoved the young dragon away, glaring, and waved a claw: "Aurora, I'm fine. Go on—don't worry about me."
Seeing the battered "Dawnwing" struggling to hold himself up, remembering how strong he'd once been, Aurora's eyes welled with tears.
She shook her head and choked out: "Titus, you can't keep casting like this—I'll come with you."
"…"
The ancient gold was silent, but under Aurora's pleading eyes, he finally nodded, unable to argue.