[All things shall die. All things are remembered. All things will revive. All things will return]
[After the pitch-black night, dawn will inevitably arrive... The only thing more void and terrifying than annihilation is the lingering twilight before it, desperately stretching. If the Terra civilization falls to this point, then it shall be by human hands to open the door of darkness, to endure the long night, and to await the dawn’s arrival]
This sentence was entirely incomprehensible to Yisen Gard, filled with too many metaphors and implications. He resolved in his heart that if he ever got the chance to see Ian, he must relay all these riddles to him.
—Ian is so clever; he must like riddles, speak in riddles, and be able to solve riddles!
"...Are you still alive?"
Pressing down slightly on his pounding heart, Yisen Gard, after a moment of silent contemplation with eyes closed, hesitantly spoke: "Will you resurrect?"
He had already sensed that this second-generation True Dragon, who collaborated with humans of a previous era, actually had quite a good temper... Unlike the third and fourth generations of True Dragons, who increasingly resembled humans, with emotions and animosities, this one was more like a towering statue atop a mountain. Though indifferent, it always gazed at all beings with a faint smile.
[...My life has ended, my soul has perished]
Upon hearing this question, the voice of the Ancient Dragon once again reverted to the original Proto-Terran accent, but at the same time, its tone softened.
It sounded like a man who just became a father, gently watching over his child in a cradle, softly singing a lullaby: [Child, I am already an Echo]
[Thus, life follows after death]
The exchange above the blood sea had just concluded.
The exchange beneath the blood sea had just begun.
"Great Dragon? No... you no longer have a soul, you’re a replica of it?"
The red-haired Dragon Maiden felt as if she were falling, but the fall did not instill panic or fear; instead, it brought a kind of ’peace’ as if within a mother’s womb... However, Sio would no longer be affected by this peace; her gaze became sharp: "Is there a mission for me, or perhaps for the True Dragons of my mother’s and the Dragon King’s generation?"
"Please speak, Dragon of Guidance, I will not evade my mission." She stated without hesitation.
True Dragon. The ancient True Dragon traverses the land solely for the mission.
Dragon Island exists precisely for those missions.
No one knows the ultimate purpose of the mission, no one knows the true meaning of the mission, yet the dragons are steadfast in their actions, collecting ’treasures’, seeking ’history’, and overlooking the changes in the Human Realm.
This is the unavoidable juncture for all True Dragons, and Sio understood that when she matured enough to stand on her own, the ’mission’ would naturally reveal itself before her.
This is the price of being born powerful, the cost of Dragon’s Blood.
[There is no mission]
But contrary to Sio’s expectations, the answer came, and the ancient dragon language carried an indescribable sense of lamentation: [I merely wish to see... the beings who have unlocked our bloodline authority, who have broken through the Void Demon’s original sin’s poison and evolved into a truly complete soul, a true dragon, what exactly they look like]
[Very well. You are the ultimate result of our mission]
[Xiomi Rise Jia. You, very good]
"Huh? Then what am I supposed to do?"
Hearing this, Sio was dumbfounded: "Is there no task or mission to inherit? Ancestor, could you think again?"
She originally thought she finally had the opportunity to accomplish something significant!
Just moments ago, Sio was incredibly excited, thinking this was the very purpose Ian had asked her to stay there for—the second-generation mentor True Dragon! Even though it had died, even if it was an automated program left behind, just obtaining the ’mission’ meant that inheriting its ’treasures’ would be a self-proclaimed right, wouldn’t it?
However, she quickly grasped the key point.
"Wait..." Raising an eyebrow, the former Aberrant Dragon Qi spoke: "The original sin’s poison of the Void Demon? What does this mean? Does it mean the poison I once suffered from was original sin?"
[Without experiencing original sin, one cannot become life]
The ancient dragon’s voice said: [This is the sin of us True Dragons, an obligation to bear the grievances and hatred resulting from the Creator’s failure and the dimming of all stars]
[The lost Sparks, the children who cannot revive again... all became hatred because of our faults. Those demons entangled our Dragon Souls, thus always unable to break free from constraints and become true life]
[Child, you have an extremely outstanding predecessor (in dragon language, it means parents), they smoothed out all nightmares of sin for you, and you have triumphed over those remnants]
"...Is it my mother?" Sio opened her mouth; she initially wanted to ask something but slowly closed her mouth afterward.
She lowered her head and pondered, pondering for quite a while.
Then, with a sigh, she smiled.
"I understand." Lifting her head, the Dragon Maiden said with an easy smile, "But is there really nothing I need to do? I just feel like there must be something for me to accomplish."
"Even if you’re now just an auto-response program, after so many years of waiting, you must have some thoughts of your own, right?"
[I am waiting for the ’true successor’]
The residue of the Dragon of Guidance softly said, at this moment, its voice echoed above and below the blood sea, causing both Yisen and Sio to widen their eyes: [They have already arrived, hence the mission is complete. Regrettably, child, you and the offspring of humans are not the main candidate, just an unexpected delight]