Asterion found it impossible not to feel a surge of nerves.
How far had the Xeno'jiiva developed? Would it emerge from its cocoon and trigger a massive battle the moment it was discovered, just as it had for the hunters? Did it possess some hidden combat potential? Would it attempt a desperate, self-detonating counterattack in its final moments?
And if he were to consume the Xeno'jiiva, would the Safi'jiiva that had laid the cocoon here sense its destruction or the death of its offspring? Would it hunt him across a thousand miles to exact its revenge?
Questions swirled in his mind, but Asterion knew these frantic thoughts were merely a product of his anxiety. After all, what was about to happen was undoubtedly the greatest opportunity he had encountered since his reincarnation.
It was comparable to the tropes in wuxia novels where a protagonist falls off a cliff only to encounter an ancient master who grants them incredible power, or stumbles upon a cave filled with celestial treasures and peerless martial arts murals. To be honest, the resemblance was striking.
Unbeknownst to him, the environment had shifted. He no longer required the thermal waves from Kulve Taroth's breath for illumination, nor did he need the golden-red glow of melting energy crystals to see his surroundings.
Looking around, Asterion could no longer see the dark grey rock walls. In their place were dense thickets of energy crystals, layered one over another. Some were perfectly formed into hexagonal columns, while others were sharp and jagged, thrusting outward like a cluster of lethal blades. The closer their color transitioned to pure white, the more concentrated the energy within them became.
Crunch, crunch. Snap, snap.
Amidst the sound of splashing water came a strange, crisp chewing noise. Asterion had been snacking incessantly as he walked.
Each bite was incredibly crisp. The bioenergy released during mastication and the sensation of it sliding down his esophagus was intoxicating, even before it reached his stomach. To obtain bioenergy directly without the exertion of a violent struggle—could there be anything more enjoyable?
The answer was yes.
Gazing at the colossal cocoon in the distance, Asterion's pupils were saturated by the blue light radiating from the area. That was his goal: the Xeno'jiiva cocoon.
It was impossible to tell just how vast this subterranean cavern was, for the entire space was choked with countless blue-white energy crystals. They grew like the tangled trees and flora of a tropical rainforest, interlocking and crowding one another, yet leaving a massive void in the center, much like a spider's lair.
In the center of that void sat a gargantuan, blue-white cocoon. It was surrounded by countless energy crystals, like knights guarding their king. Occasionally, light would pulse from within the cocoon, flickering rhythmically as if it were breathing.
"(Is that your target?)"
Kulve Taroth had entered a combat-ready stance; she appeared visibly tense.
"(Yes,)" Asterion replied.
Asterion eyed the cocoon greedily. He wondered if the Xeno'jiiva inside had already gained self-awareness. Did it realize that danger had arrived?
"(I can feel the energy of the Bioenergy surging toward that cocoon,)" Kulve Taroth rumbled. "(To think such a dragon exists in a place like this...)"
"(Of course it does,)" Asterion replied. "(Nurtured by the bioenergy of the entire New World and the life force of countless Elder Dragons who came before it... if it manages to hatch and reach adulthood, few dragons in this world would be its match.)"
"(I agree,)" Kulve Taroth noted, though her gaze toward Asterion was laced with concern. "(But you intend to eat it, don't you?)"
As a dragon who had seen her fair share of turmoil, the concept of a dragon eating another dragon didn't surprise her. She was simply worried for him.
"(Is there no guardian?)"
Generally, few monsters would leave their offspring completely unattended. Even a Glavenus, known for its cold temperament, would have the female tend to the young for at least a year until they developed basic hunting capabilities.
Only a brute like the Deviljho would completely abandon its young. Kulve Taroth's concern was logical, but as a "Glavenus of intelligence," Asterion knew this was one thing he didn't need to worry about.
He was indeed somewhat concerned that a Safi'jiiva, which could freely manipulate bioenergy, might sense the death or disappearance of this cocoon at the heart of the Leylines. However, he wasn't worried about a Safi'jiiva standing guard over it year-round—because Safi'jiiva were, in fact, asexual Elder Dragons.
Without gender, and with no need for a father or mother, they reproduced by combining pure energy with their own dragon blood. Naturally, there was no such thing as parental protective instinct.
Asterion's only real fear was that the Safi'jiiva might notice its "offspring" had vanished and come to investigate. But as long as he didn't linger after killing the Xeno'jiiva, he wouldn't be caught by the "police" arriving after the fact.
"(It's fine. Do you want to join me?)"
It wasn't convenient to explain the specifics to Kulve Taroth, so Asterion simply extended an invitation to his... well, partner? Regardless, he didn't mind sharing this rare feast with her.
All he truly needed was the Xeno'jiiva's most vital organs. Everything else, including the massive amount of bioenergy within its body, could be shared. Besides, Kulve Taroth didn't have a Great Stomach, so she couldn't eat that much anyway.
"(No,)" Kulve Taroth shook her head, preparing to turn back. "(I like who I am now. You go ahead and eat.)"
She swayed her elegant frame back toward the path they had come from.
"(I'll wait for you outside. Don't forget your promise to take me to see the Fanged Beasts.)"
"(No problem.)"
Watching Kulve Taroth's graceful gait disappear into the tunnel, Asterion cleared his mind and refocused his attention on the cocoon.
Dinner time, baby.
He approached the massive cocoon step by step. Only at this proximity did he truly feel the presence of the King of the Elder Dragons. The cocoon was as large as his entire body. Inside, the Xeno'jiiva was curled into a ball, meaning that once hatched, it would already be larger than Asterion—possibly even rivaling Kulve Taroth in size, or perhaps even larger.
Around the cocoon were web-like energy crystals clinging to the surrounding formations, acting like straws to draw bioenergy from the crystals into the cocoon.
As Asterion drew closer, the light emanating from the cocoon grew brighter, and the frequency of its flickering increased. It was as if the Xeno'jiiva inside had realized a dangerous, ill-intentioned entity was now by its side.
"(I don't know if you can hear me, and if you can, I don't know if you can understand,)" Asterion muttered.
"(If you can fight back, then fight as hard as you can! If you can't, then just stay quiet and become the source of my evolution. I will inherit everything you are and become a Forbidden Species standing at the peak of this world!)"
With those words, Asterion curved his blade-tail. Amidst a dense, crisp clattering, the blade-scales acting as the edge snapped open. With a piercing hum, he thrust the tail mercilessly into the giant cocoon!
A hit!
However, the sensation of the strike was unexpectedly thin. Visually, the cocoon appeared to be wrapped in a mesh of filament-like energy crystals, but the shell was not nearly as hard as the crystals surrounding it. Instead, it felt soft, like slicing through a layer of cloth.
Effortless.
It wasn't until Asterion's high-frequency vibrating tail landed on the flesh of the creature inside that he felt resistance. His tail, which could easily slice through solid rock and steel—even sparking against the metallic shell of a Kushala Daora—felt like a common knife cutting into rubber.
Pliant. That was the only word Asterion could use to describe the sensation. Simultaneously, a sharp, high-pitched, yet rugged and long-drawn-out shriek erupted.
Because of this sudden pain, the Xeno'jiiva had awakened.
No, it would be more accurate to say it had been awake for some time; now, its consciousness had simply become clear.
The creature stretched its body out of the cocoon in a reclining posture. At the same time, several beams of pure energy shot out from the cocoon like high-heat lasers, easily slicing the surrounding crystals into fragments.
The earth shook, and massive chunks of energy crystals disintegrated and fell. It looked as though the subterranean space would be buried the next second, but this apocalyptic scene was merely the Xeno'jiiva masking its own weakness.
Asterion had already retreated quickly as the Xeno'jiiva stretched. Being the instinctive target of the hatchling's aggression, those scattered energy beams were undoubtedly aimed at where he had just been standing.
He felt no fear. Everything was going according to his plan. This Xeno'jiiva was still "premature." It couldn't even control its energy precisely; rather, the energy was uncontrollably leaking from its body at this very moment!
However, Asterion suddenly realized he had miscalculated one thing. Even though it had been forced to hatch over a decade early, the Xeno'jiiva wasn't some underdeveloped "balut"—it was a fully formed dragon. It had its basic skeletal structure, skin, and organs.
It made sense, Asterion thought. The lifespan of an Elder Dragon is measured in centuries. A decade or two might have an impact on an unborn Xeno'jiiva, but not a debilitating one. It certainly wasn't going to crawl out of its cocoon without bones just because it was a few years early.
A mass of living, moving energy crystals. That was Asterion's deepest impression of the Xeno'jiiva. It was far more oppressive than the cinematic portrayals in the game—a formless pressure born of an over-concentration of bioenergy that transcended the essence of life itself.
The entire Xeno'jiiva looked like a colossal, living energy crystal. Its body was a shimmering, translucent blue, like a beautiful statue brought to life. Asterion could even see the internal structures beneath its semi-transparent skin.
He saw the clearly defined muscles, the thick and long bones, and the shimmering blue-white liquid flowing through its body as it stretched. Was that its blood?
From appearance alone, it was a masterpiece of a dragon. Asterion had always liked shiny, self-illuminating things, and every movement the Xeno'jiiva made triggered bursts of crystalline blue energy and blue flames. Even the visual effects were exactly his style.
Sharing the same four-legged, two-winged skeleton as Asterion, the newborn Xeno'jiiva already boasted a staggering body length of over forty-five meters. It was slightly longer than the adult Kulve Taroth. With its massive, cloak-like wings, the Xeno'jiiva's frame was significantly larger than Asterion's—a massive advantage in draconic society.
Its semi-transparent skull housed a pair of orange pupils and two black horns. Beneath the horns were three pairs of glowing orange circular organs that looked remarkably like eyes. Without careful observation, one might think the Xeno'jiiva was born with four pairs of eyes, but those six circular organs were actually used to detect bioenergy within the Leylines.
Two rows of black spines, similar to the horns on its head, ran down its long, broad back. But the most striking feature was its pair of feathered wings, which looked like a semi-transparent canopy radiating a faint blue light. Its tail wasn't standard either, ending in several feather-like bifurcations.
It was incredibly cool. The blue-white light it emitted illuminated the entire underground world as brightly as day.
Unfortunately, even now, Asterion didn't feel much pressure from the Xeno'jiiva. The reason was simple: the creature looked like it was going to kill itself even if Asterion didn't lift a claw.
While its body was deep blue, its chest glowed with a brilliant red light, like molten steel. Energy beams constantly shot out from its skin. This wasn't just bioenergy; it was a unique, blue energy exclusive to its species.
As a "Glavenus of intelligence," Asterion knew that the red glow on the Xeno'jiiva's chest wasn't its heart. Even if he stabbed it, he would only damage the creature's internal thermal organs—the tools it used to regulate its internal energy.
Currently, it didn't seem to be regulating much of anything. The Xeno'jiiva's skin was constantly rupturing under the pressure of the energy, and blue-white pillars of light appeared sporadically, destroying the surrounding crystals. It quickly cleared a wide area, the ground now a chaotic mix of melted crystals and golden-red lava.
But this wasn't the Xeno'jiiva wielding its power or displaying its majesty. It was simply a result of the dragon being unable to contain the energy within its own body. Asterion had no reason to fear a dragon that couldn't even control its own strength.
Being a juvenile is great. I love a target that hasn't reached maturity!
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