The soft green light faded from John's body as his wounds closed completely. His chest rose and fell, breath steady once more.
He didn't say anything at first.
He simply turned, eyes calm… and walked toward Eccaruss.
Each step echoed across the now-quiet battlefield, his boots tapping against the broken ground and bits of crystal and debris scattered across the floor.
Tony was still frozen, staring at the massive dragon that now lay in a pool of glowing golden blood.
Its chest rose and fell slowly. Its eyes were shut, but not unconscious—merely… defeated.
Tony blinked. "He really did it..."
The golden blood shimmered faintly in the cavern light.
"…My brother just beat a Primordial Dragon."
His voice was quiet. It wasn't disbelief anymore—it was awe.
He turned to Eccaruss, mouth still slightly open.
John stopped just a few feet in front of the old man.
Then, simply and coldly, he spoke.
"Explain yourself."
Eccaruss, who had been calmly brushing dust off his sleeve, paused. His eyes lifted, meeting John's.
"Oh? About what, exactly?"
John didn't blink.
His face was blank, but his aura pulsed slightly—tightly restrained pressure swirling around him like a storm waiting to be released.
Eccaruss sighed. "Tch… Should've known you wouldn't let this go."
He glanced over at the collapsed dragon.
Then back at John.
"…Fine. You earned it."
The old man crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling, gathering his thoughts.
"It all started when the Omniverse was born."
Tony blinked. "Wait, Omni-what?"
John's eyes narrowed.
Eccaruss continued.
"At that moment, when existence itself formed into the grand weave—59 Primordial Dragons were born with it. Each holding a unique attribute. Fire. Ice. Wind. Space. Darkness. Time. You name it."
His tone was quiet now, filled with a strange mixture of reverence and weariness.
"They were powerful. Too powerful. The kind of power that could erase entire universes with a sneeze. Their breath alone could tear stars apart."
Tony's mouth dropped open. "What?! That's insane!"
John remained silent, but his fingers twitched slightly. This… was a level of reality far above anything he'd been prepared for.
Eccaruss nodded.
"But there was more. They weren't just strong. They were immortal. Not completely unkillable—but close enough. Rebirth, regeneration… time didn't touch them the same way it does us."
He scratched his beard before continuing.
"At first, they were proud. No—arrogant. They looked down on every race. Every creature. They saw themselves as the rightful gods of existence."
John frowned. "At first?"
"Yes," Eccaruss said grimly. "Because eternity is… boring."
He looked at them, his eyes serious.
"As time passed, some of the dragons got sick of their own existence. Their lives were too long. Their battles too meaningless. They started to play with other races. Torture, enslave, experiment, dominate… whatever kept them amused."
John's expression turned darker.
Tony looked disturbed. "That's… twisted."
"But one among them—strongest of them all—the Golden Dragon—stood against it."
Eccaruss looked toward the grounded Black Dragon.
"He warned the others. Threatened them. Told them their actions would destroy everything. But…"
"…they didn't listen," John muttered.
Eccaruss nodded.
"In fact, they got angry. Called him a traitor. A coward. So, they revolted. The Primordial Dragons split into two camps. The Golden Dragon and its allies… and the rest."
He let out a long breath.
"And then came the war."
---
Tony was sitting down now, still looking like someone had slapped him with a dictionary.
"A war… between those monsters?"
"Half the Omniverse," Eccaruss said softly, "was destroyed. Galaxies shattered. Dimensions crumbled. Time… broke in places."
John felt his pulse quicken. This wasn't just cosmic myth anymore—this was real.
"What happened?" he asked.
"The Golden Dragon's side won," Eccaruss said with a faint smile. "Barely. But they did."
"And the others?" John pressed.
Eccaruss waved a hand.
"Sealed. Banished. Dispersed. Even though they revived later on, they were… diminished. Somehow, when they came back, they weren't the same. Weaker. Unstable."
He turned and looked at the Black Dragon again.
"We started finding them. Or rather—they started waking up. One by one. But they weren't strong enough to destroy reality anymore."
Tony raised a hand, still dazed. "Wait, we as in… humans?"
Eccaruss chuckled. "Some of us. Mostly old freaks like me."
"…Why not kill them?"
"They're still dragons," Eccaruss said, shaking his head. "You try killing something that eats universes for breakfast."
He sighed again. "So we sealed them. Like this one here. This Primordial Black Dragon. It was caught during an attempt to destroy a mid-tier world. I tried to stop it. Got beaten almost instantly."
John raised a brow. "You?"
"Oh yes," Eccaruss smirked. "I'm old, not suicidal. So I called in help. We sealed it here. Deep underground. It's been sleeping ever since."
John glanced back at the massive dragon. Its eyes were still closed.
"And now?"
Eccaruss gave him a wry grin.
"Well, now… thanks to thousands of years of erosion, draining seals, and being forgotten by history… it got weak. Weak enough for you—a kid who's not even third-tier yet—to cut its wings off and make it bow."
Eccaruss sighed.
---
John looked thoughtful for a long time.
"…You mentioned something about an Ice Dragon?"
Eccaruss's expression darkened slightly.
"One of the sealed dragons. After it revived… it vanished. Didn't join the others. Didn't cause chaos. Just… disappeared. For thousands of years. Then it reappeared."
"And?" John asked.
"It was powerful again," Eccaruss said softly. "As strong as before. Maybe stronger."
John's eyes sharpened.
"How?"
"No one knows," Eccaruss said seriously. "It refused to share its secrets. Said only one thing before vanishing again."
He paused.
"'Wait for your calling.'"
John and Tony were silent.
"…What does that mean?" Tony asked.
"No one knows," Eccaruss replied. "But whatever it meant… they're all waiting now. Some in deep sleep. Some wandering in neutral zones. And others…"
He glanced at the dragon again.
"…went back to their old ways."
---
A long silence stretched between them.
Then Tony said, "…I have so many questions."
To be continued…