Life is truly wondrous, isn't it?
Take the graceful butterfly. Its life passes through four stages: egg, larva, chrysalis, and adult.
The egg stage is the first glimmer of life.
A female butterfly lays her eggs on a suitable host plant. After incubating for some time, the eggs hatch into larvae.
The larval stage is a time of growth and accumulation.
The larvae feed and molt repeatedly. With each molt, their bodies gradually grow until they reach their full size.
Like seedlings breaking through the soil, they constantly absorb nutrients from the world around them, growing and developing without pause.
The chrysalis stage is a cradle of hope.
As the larva grows, it forms a protective shell called a cocoon, within which it lies dormant and undergoes its final metamorphosis.
The adult stage marks the end of that transformation.
After a long wait and desperate struggle within the cocoon, the butterfly finally breaks free, spreads its beautiful wings, and flies into the open sky.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had once observed this phenomenon by chance and developed a profound interest in it.
Suppose the egg represented a dragon's time within its shell, while the larva represented its journey from a dragon hatchling to an Ancient Dragon, and the cocoon symbolized sublimation and transformation.
Would it not make perfect sense, then, for the butterfly to represent becoming a god?
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord knew perfectly well that one dragon could never replicate another dragon's path.
He was walking his own path through life. Though winding and fraught with difficulty, it belonged to him alone.
Blindly following another was foolish.
The Dragon Emperor was powerful, so powerful that he had been forced to seek a breakthrough from an external source.
But the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord was not the Dragon Emperor, and the Dragon Emperor's methods might not suit him.
Becoming a god through World-Class Items remained a viable option, but he could not place all his hopes on it. He needed another plan.
On the path to divinity, he had to forge a path of his own.
The life cycle of the butterfly had given him inspiration.
The wise seek strength from within.
By turning his body into a cocoon and recreating the repeated molting of a larva, he would continuously raise his attributes and magical power until he reached the limits of his current existence.
Then, once the time was right, he would break free from the cocoon and emerge as a butterfly. With one final leap, he would step into the elusive Realm of the Gods!
It was a beautiful idea.
Reality, however, was cruel.
…
The Sixth Floor.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord stared on, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.
A burst of crackling came from within the pitch black Gate, but it soon fell silent once more.
The worst possible outcome had come to pass.
Surrounded by the Floor Guardians, a massive dark red cocoon was slowly dragged out of the Gate.
The giant cocoon shimmered with a mysterious radiance, the power of Wild Magic. Through its surface, a familiar giant dragon could be seen curled up inside with his eyes tightly shut, like a sleeping infant.
His scales gleamed with a dark, eerie luster, and his wings were folded tightly against his sides. Even in his sleep, he seemed instinctively alert.
At first glance, he looked almost identical to the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord, though his body was considerably larger.
"Two Deep Darkness Dragon Lords!?"
Momonga froze for a moment, astonishment flashing in his eyes.
He was surprised that his intuition had been so accurate, but even more surprised that the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's fallback plan was another version of himself.
So... what exactly was this?
A clone, or a necessary step in some kind of Resurrection ritual?
Momonga searched through the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's memories in his mind, but found nothing. Just as he reached out to touch the giant cocoon, a furious roar stopped him.
"Don't touch him!"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's roar thundered through the area, shaking the entire space. Yet beneath his fury lay an uncontrollable terror and unease.
"Get away from him! All of you, get away!"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord instantly lost control. His Dragon Soul blazed fiercely, and madness filled his eyes.
No longer caring about his own safety, he attacked with reckless abandon, willing to suffer ten times the damage he inflicted.
At the cost of grievous injuries, he forcibly broke through the blockade formed by the Brightness Dragon Lord and the Vampiric Dragon Lord, then shot toward Naohara and the others like an arrow released from a bow.
"Please... don't get carried away."
Naohara smiled calmly.
By then, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had already charged right up to him with terrifying momentum. Naohara showed no trace of panic. He simply raised one hand and slapped the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord across the head.
The motion was so casual and natural that it looked as though he were merely swatting an annoying fly.
This was not some novel. Did he really expect to achieve a last minute breakthrough like one of those heroes?
The moment the slap landed, a deafening smack rang through the air.
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord was instantly sent flying by the tremendous force, tumbling uncontrollably through the air.
He spun like a top that had been struck, rolling helplessly in a thoroughly miserable state before crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
Despite the blow, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord still refused to give up.
He struggled back to his feet, defiance burning in his eyes.
Just then, several enormous dragon figures appeared before him and blocked his path.
"Heh heh heh. Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Let us play with you for a while."
The White Dragon Lord's eyes lit up at the sight of the battered Deep Darkness Dragon Lord, and he immediately stepped forward.
Woohoo. Time to kick a dragon while he was down.
At the same time, the Wyrm Dragon Lord, the Diamond Dragon Lord, and the Ancient Flame Dragon stepped forward without hesitation and immediately unleashed a Breath Attack.
"Cough... You bastards!"
The Deep Darkness Dragon Lord let out a furious roar, his voice low and hoarse.
His wings had already been torn to shreds, leaving him unable to fly. Scales fell from his body one after another, exposing crimson flesh and bone beneath.
His claws had also lost their strength and could no longer seize his enemies.
Even so, he fought on with the last of his power. Mustering everything he had, he lunged forward in a desperate attempt to grasp that final sliver of hope.
Elsewhere, Naohara lowered his hand.
"Tsa, any ideas?"
He paid little attention to the scene before him. Instead, he turned toward the Platinum Dragon Lord, the Brightness Dragon Lord who had hurried over, and the other True Dragon Lords.
Through the feedback from the Dragonslayer and the Dragon Destruction Sword, he could clearly sense that the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord inside the cocoon was a living being of flesh and blood, not a puppet or magical construct.
Moreover, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord within the cocoon was extraordinarily powerful. He was level 98, and his attributes far surpassed those of any True Dragon Lord at the same level.
"..."
"This is extremely strange. He does not seem to be an ordinary member of the Dragon Race. Both his power and his aura are exceptionally strong."
The Platinum Dragon Lord frowned deeply, his gaze moving repeatedly between the giant cocoon and the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord.
As he recalled the arrangements they had seen inside the cave, a wild possibility began to form in his mind.
Could Deep Darkness have used it on himself...?
"Um... You are aware that resurrection magic exists within Wild Magic, correct?"
After a moment of silence, the Platinum Dragon Lord suddenly spoke.
His tone remained calm, but a barely perceptible gravity showed in his eyes.
The Brightness Dragon Lord beside him froze, confusion briefly crossing his face.
A moment later, he seemed to realize something. Shock flashed in his eyes, and he could not stop himself from asking,
"Are you talking about [Self-Reincarnation]?"