Chapter 74 — The Roar of Dragons
Meanwhile,
In the Hall of Frozen Time, the silence felt like more than just the absence of sound. It was something deeper. Something oppressive. As if this place had been completely severed from the rest of existence. The vast white dimension stretched endlessly, with no true horizon in sight. There was no sky, no sun, no natural shadows only an infinite white light that covered everything. Billions of gigantic clocks floated in the air at various heights. Some were completely still. Others turned slowly backwards. A few seemed entirely destroyed, yet their broken hands continued to move anyway. Even the luminous particles in the atmosphere remained suspended, never falling. As if time itself had been dissected and locked away here.
In the middle of this impossible vastness, Seth was breathing heavily.
His breaths were labored. Irregular. Every inhalation burned his lungs. His entire body was covered in fresh wounds. His arms trembled slightly from exhaustion, and several still-healing scars marked his skin. His black coat had practically disappeared after weeks of relentless fighting only a few torn pieces still clung to his shoulders. His long black hair now fell to the middle of his back, completely disheveled and stuck to his face by sweat and blood.
But despite his condition…
something had changed deeply within him.
His mana was nothing like what he had before entering this place.
At first, his power had been unstable. Violent. Chaotic. Even when he grew stronger, it always felt like his body struggled to contain its own energy.
Now…
it was slightly different.
His aura had become dense. Compact. Controlled.
Even the space around him vibrated slightly under the natural pressure of his mana.
Facing him, several hundred meters away, a silhouette stood motionless in the white void.
Obliranca.
Or more precisely…
the original version of Obliranca.
Not a mere illusion. Not a weak copy created by magic.
The Hall of Frozen Time perfectly recreated the spiritual, magical, and physical data of those recorded within it. What stood before Seth was literally a flawless reproduction of the Sacred Dragon of Spirits at the absolute peak of her power.
And that presence…
was monstrous.
Even while standing still, she gave the impression of crushing the entire dimension around her.
Then suddenly, she slowly raised her hand.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The entire world seemed to explode.
A monstrous pressure instantly swept through the entire white dimension. The giant clocks began vibrating violently as massive cracks appeared in space itself.
Seth disappeared instantly.
Then—
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK.
A gigantic shockwave tore through the dimension as he reappeared several kilometers away in an explosion of black and silver mana.
The white ground shattered beneath his feet.
Pieces of space fissured around him.
But this time…
he had blocked the attack.
His eyes widened slightly.
Because he finally understood something.
All this time…
Obliranca had barely been holding back.
And yet now, he could keep up with her movements.
Outside the dimension, in the temple corridors, the real Obliranca calmly watched the massive silver door of the Hall of Frozen Time. Reynard stood right beside her, arms crossed, unable to hide his worry. He had been anxious about Seth from the very beginning.
He slowly turned his head toward Obliranca.
— "Wait… seriously…"
He hesitated for a few seconds before continuing:
— "All this time… what exactly has Seth been fighting in there?"
Obliranca answered calmly without taking her eyes off the door.
— "My original version."
Silence fell immediately.
Reynard froze for a few seconds.
— "…Excuse me? You're letting him fight a version of you alone? That's not normal."
— "Hmm, you seem really worried about your friend. You wouldn't happen to be in love with him, would you?"
Reynard's face turned red with embarrassment while Obliranca laughed, clearly joking.
— "The truth is, this dimension perfectly reproduces the power I once possessed… so it's the best way for him to grow quickly."
She added calmly:
— "Seth has been fighting a full-powered Sacred Dragon since the start of his training. I intend to teach him how to channel his magic and use it more effectively."
Even Reynard remained speechless for several seconds.
Then he slowly frowned.
— "But… this is completely insane… this training is excessive for him."
He looked at the silver door with difficulty.
— "A normal human would have died after a few seconds…"
— "Yes."
— "Then how is Seth—"
Obliranca interrupted him immediately:
— "That boy is special. It's crazy how intriguing he is. He's one of the few humans whose future I cannot see."
Silence returned.
Then she added calmly:
— "And honestly… if I had to speak about this boy's magical potential…"
Her eyes rested on the door.
— "There's a strong chance he will surpass me one day… me and all the Sacred Dragons."
This time, Reynard couldn't believe it.
Surpass a Sacred Dragon?
Even for Seth…
it sounded ridiculous.
Suddenly, Obliranca's expression changed drastically.
Her gaze shot upward. The mana around her vibrated instantly. Reynard felt his heart race.
Something had just happened.
A strange presence had appeared on the continent.
Then Obliranca murmured slowly:
— "…Almadraco."
Reynard's face paled immediately. He knew that name too.
A forbidden magic. A magic capable of controlling dragons themselves—even superior dragons.
Obliranca began thinking out loud:
— "Alexander? No… impossible…"
— "Flora? She's far too weakened to use it on such a scale…"
— "Abraham… he is…"
Then her pupils suddenly contracted.
— "…Vaeris?"
The silence grew heavy.
Even Reynard felt a shiver run down his spine.
The Sacred Dragon of the Moon.
Missing for over a hundred years.
Obliranca clenched her teeth slightly.
— "If it's really her…"
Her voice grew colder.
— "Then Flora is in great danger."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
She abruptly opened the door to the Hall of Frozen Time.
A massive wave of mana immediately surged through the corridor. Even Reynard stepped back from the pressure.
Inside,
the white dimension was still vibrating from the aftermath of the battle.
Then, slowly, a silhouette appeared in the distance.
Seth.
But Reynard had trouble recognizing him right away.
Because his aura had completely changed.
Even the way he walked felt different.
Heavier.
Calmer.
More dangerous.
Seth slightly raised his eyes.
— "Seriously… I was finally starting to gain the upper hand on the old lady."
Obliranca crossed her arms.
— "You were mostly about to pass out again."
Seth exhaled softly and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Reynard frowned.
— "Wait… how much time has passed outside?"
— "Six hours… since you entered."
Reynard's brain immediately calculated.
In this dimension, one full day equaled five minutes in the real world.
So if six hours had passed outside… Seth had just spent more than seventy-two full days training here.
Over two months.
Without any real break.
Reynard looked at Seth slowly.
Then murmured:
— "You're completely insane…"
Seth simply shrugged.
— "I'm mostly hungry…"
Obliranca suddenly looked at his hair. Seth looked even more handsome with long hair.
— "And cut that disaster off your head."
Even Reynard let out a nervous little laugh. But immediately after, Obliranca's expression became serious again. The mana around her vibrated slightly.
— "Prepare yourselves."
Her gaze turned cold.
— "We're leaving for Dragonil immediately."
Very far away, in the sky above the Kingdom of Dragons, Dominus laughed softly as the massive black dragon beneath her feet tore through the clouds at monstrous speed. The wind made her long pink hair flutter behind her while a huge smile remained plastered on her face.
She looked genuinely happy.
Like a child about to open a gift she had waited for a very long time.
— "Finally… Vaeris turned out to be far more useful than expected."
Behind her, Luppy calmly watched the landscape fly by below them. His short black hair partially covered his eyes as he kept his usual slightly tired expression.
He sighed.
— "Caster has already left to find Flora."
He raised his eyes slightly.
— "Honestly, we should focus on quickly retrieving the Draconic Stone before the other kingdoms intervene."
Dominus gently rested her cheek on her hand.
Then murmured slowly:
— "Maybe… or maybe not."
Her eyes gleamed slightly.
— "But there's something else I want even more."
Luppy immediately grimaced because he already knew where this conversation was going.
Dominus spoke calmly, almost moaning:
— "Alexander."
Silence fell for a few seconds.
Then she continued with an almost obsessive smile:
— "I want his body."
— "His soul."
— "Absolutely everything."
The black dragon let out a gigantic roar as she continued:
— "I'm going to keep him all to myself."
Luppy slightly looked away.
— "This again…"
But Dominus completely ignored him. Then her gaze suddenly turned cold.
— "And most importantly… don't touch his face."
Luppy immediately raised his hands.
— "I wasn't planning on fighting him anyway."
He exhaled lightly.
— "That monster is way too strong for me."
Then slowly,
he raised his hand toward the sky.
Hundreds of black flies with a nauseating stench immediately emerged from his fingers—insects filled with mana.
They scattered in every direction, searching for Flora.
At the same time,
in the royal palace,
Damian suddenly opened his eyes as a massive tremor shook the entire building. He had only taken a 20-minute nap.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Pieces of the ceiling immediately fell into his room.
Then a gigantic roar echoed across all of Dragonil.
The dragons.
They were going completely mad.
Damian immediately ran out of his room. In the corridors, there were no more guards.
— "The dragons have attacked the city?!"
— "What the hell is this?! Fuck, where is everyone?!"
Damian's heart raced violently. Then a thought instantly crossed his mind.
Flora!!!
He ran straight to her room and violently opened the door.
— "Flora!! I hope she's okay, damn it. After our conversation I went straight to sleep… I shouldn't have taken my eyes off her…"
But…
no one.
The bed was empty.
The room was completely silent.
Then suddenly, tension rose.
Heavy footsteps echoed behind him.
Damian turned around immediately and saw Vulcan slowly entering the corridor.
The Dragon of Volcanic Earth advanced calmly.
But something was clearly wrong.
His eyes.
They were red.
Completely empty.
As if someone was directly controlling his mind.
Damian's instincts exploded instantly.
He shouted:
— "HEY VULCAN!"
Too late.
Vulcan simply raised his hand.
A gigantic sphere of flames instantly appeared before him.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The explosion instantly destroyed several entire floors of the royal palace.
The walls were pulverized.
The ground cracked violently.
A massive column of fire shot through all of Dragonil.
And across the entire city of dragons…
To be continued…..