Her body seemed to have slipped beyond her control, leaving her unable to move.
Her mind had grown hazy as well. Only endless darkness, confusion, and unbearable agony remained, yet she could not escape.
Her Soul seemed lost in an endless, lightless corridor, slowly advancing toward the true Abyss.
Like someone drowning, the overwhelming suffocation and utter helplessness before absolute power filled her with despair.
Within that darkness, the only thing she could perceive was the majestic presence in the void.
Its indistinct whisper rang clearly and loudly, echoing directly within her mind.
"Contract!"
The sleeping dragon abruptly sat up in bed, gripped by such terror that she nearly screamed.
"Was it a dream...?"
The five-headed dragon known as the Primordial Mother slowly rose.
Five dragon heads towered above her massive body. Moving clockwise, they were a Black Dragon, a Green Dragon, a Red Dragon, a Blue Dragon, and a White Dragon.
Each head radiated an ancient and powerful aura, bearing the weight of countless years.
The Black Dragon head spoke first.
"Even now, are you still trying to deceive yourself?"
"Dreams are omens of reality. For you, who connects worlds, they are also glimpses of the future," the Green Dragon head added.
"It is drawing closer to this world," the Blue Dragon head said.
"We have no other choice."
The White Dragon head sighed softly, her expression pessimistic.
The Primordial Mother's conversation with herself echoed through the dim cave.
Though the five heads appeared to possess separate wills, they were all controlled by the same consciousness.
She acted this way simply to ease her fear.
After all, even within a dream, that helplessness and despair had felt completely real.
■■■■■■■
The mere thought of that unspeakable, taboo name made the Primordial Mother tremble.
How foolish and ignorant she had been back then.
She gave a bitter laugh, her body shaking slightly.
Only after her fear had subsided somewhat did the Primordial Mother spread her enormous wings and fly out of the cave.
This isolated little world was a creation of Wild Magic.
Like an independent satellite, it traveled along an extraordinarily complex orbit around the Great River of all beings within this world.
The laws here were completely different from those outside.
All teleportation magic was rendered useless. Both Tier Magic and Wild Magic were suppressed.
Above, dense darkness rolled like storm clouds, constantly pressing and surging against itself.
Countless phantom dragons drifted within it. They resembled lifeless Souls, slowly carried along by the currents of darkness.
Their forms appeared blurred and distorted, lending the entire scene an eerie atmosphere.
As she gazed upon it, sorrow flickered in the eyes of all five of the Primordial Mother's heads.
The once glorious Dragon Race had been reduced to dust in the pages of history.
Undying Dragon Souls had sunk into this place, left with nothing to do but endure the passage of time. They had become kindling, silently awaiting the moment they would be set ablaze.
When she reached the center of the world, an ancient blood-red altar appeared before her.
As she approached, she saw that its surface was covered in fragments of bone and shredded flesh, remains torn apart by agony.
At that moment, a greeting came from within.
"You've come..."
The voice was strangely discordant, as though two separate voices had been forcibly joined together.
"What happened to Deep Darkness?"
As the Primordial Mother asked, she moved around the altar and carefully inspected the giant dragon statues standing nearby.
These statues resembled Golems. They were powerful guardians possessing the abilities of both elemental creatures and the Dragon Race, created from the remains of Dragon Lords who had died in battle five hundred years ago.
"He lost, in the most miserable way possible."
"He had finally forged a path of his own, yet fortune abandoned him. What a pity."
All living beings traveled along their paths like passengers in small boats crossing the water, leaving winding trails behind them and sending ripples through countless possibilities.
Unfortunately, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's boat had been overturned by a towering wave.
The boat belonging to him, however, continued struggling forward despite being battered almost beyond repair.
"And what about Tsa?"
"He was willing to bargain with 'himself' merely to wield that power. What answer did he ultimately find, Dragon Emperor?"
The Primordial Mother enunciated every word.
At the center of an impenetrable blood mist, a giant dragon bound in chains slowly opened his mismatched eyes. A complicated emotion flashed within them.
"He... has made me proud."
The Dragon Emperor raised his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through endless space and time.
"When he was young, he clung to unrealistic hopes. Perhaps it was what he experienced recently, or perhaps having descendants changed him."
"He has become steadier and is no longer as stubborn as he once was. He has learned to weigh gains against losses and understands the importance of compromise."
No dragon's life could remain smooth forever. Every dragon would eventually encounter setbacks and hardship.
Anyone who charged blindly ahead without learning to adapt would only bring about his own destruction.
Even if survival required abandoning one's dignity, one must still choose to live.
Only the living could hope to see a better future.
The Eternal Night Dragon Lord, born from the division, had certainly met that standard. He had lowered his proud head and submitted to the Players.
Unfortunately, it had already been too late.
"...I see. How absurd. I never imagined the Dragon Race would one day stand on the same side as the Players."
The Primordial Mother had no interest in judging which choice was better.
Perhaps submitting to the Players was the Dragon Race's only path to avoiding extinction and achieving revival.
"It is merely another possibility."
"The aftershock that comes once every hundred years has brought the final group. We have no time left. Should the plan fail, this entire world will become food."
The Dragon Emperor's voice was grave.
Though he had hidden within this small world and delayed matters for as long as possible, he had already reached his limit.
Within a century at most, that being would inevitably descend.
"Dragon Emperor... do you regret it?"
After hesitating for a moment, the Primordial Mother suddenly asked. Uncertainty flickered in her eyes.
"Regret? No, I do not."
"If the dice of fate had always been weighted, and this was the destiny imposed upon us, would we have calmly accepted it back then?"
Would we?
Of course not.
The Primordial Mother sighed softly. She already knew the answer.
"Then there is no need to feel lost or hesitate. We possess both the right and the power to fly toward a vaster world."
The universe held infinite possibilities.
To unravel those possibilities one layer at a time, find the correct path, and follow it until reaching the desired destination.
That was the Dragon Emperor's choice.
"Prepare yourself. Its messenger will soon descend. As part of our agreement, I will not stop it, nor do I wish to."
The Dragon Emperor's voice wavered as his pupils repeatedly shifted between gold and red.
Another powerful consciousness was gradually awakening within him.
Even with the [Possibility] granted by the Eight Greed Kings, who were Players, supporting him, he was still at a disadvantage.
Yggdrasil... the game... the developers... the Players... the transformation of illusion into reality... truth and falsehood...
The words flowed through the Dragon Emperor's mind like water.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Nazarick time, 20:45.
Deep within the Cherry Blossom Sanctuary, a vast hot spring lay shrouded in hazy mist.
Dense vegetation surrounded the spring. Lush green leaves and brilliant cherry blossoms formed a beautiful landscape.
Whenever the breeze stirred, petals drifted down like a gentle shower of flowers, adding a touch of romance to the surroundings.
A thin veil of mist hung over the surface of the hot spring, enveloping the entire area like translucent gauze.
Through it, faint lights shimmered within the crystal-clear water like scattered stars.
A small Demon statue floated in midair.
The phantom of the World Boss, the Seven Deadly Sins Demon, appeared. Invisible threads descended from it and connected to Naohara and the others below.
***
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