The True Dragon that accompanies this civilization is naturally comparable to the ’Spark’, yet distinct—an existence that is relatively independent.
Typically, a Dragon of the Stars like the Terra Dragon of Terra’s civilization will step forward to defend against calamities when disaster strikes... If a disaster truly has the power to annihilate an entire civilization along with the True Dragon, then the True Dragon generally perishes with the civilization.
But... there are exceptions.
Some True Dragons are entrusted by the civilization they protect, tasked not with guarding their soon-to-perish world, but to become an ’Eternal Guardian’, safeguarding the ’Spark’.
In this way, to the civilization that has already vanished, the True Dragon guarding the Spark becomes, in the true sense, a divine protector... Even if all souls have dissipated, the eternal blessings and expectations forever linger around it.
Suppose the Spark perishes while the True Dragon lives on?
Then, the hope and blessings it once carried will turn into curses and despair.
—Why are you still alive?
—Why have you not perished? Follow current novᴇls on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
—We established a covenant to protect our last Spark, did we not...
—Why... do you still exist?
The power of the True Dragon will not be truly affected by these intangible resentments, but when such boundless curses spread into the Domain of Void, they will continuously generate a vast amount of ’demons’, akin to a civilization fallen into the Abyss.
These demons may not be able to affect the True Dragon itself, but when the True Dragon dies, those who inherit the Dragon’s Blood and power essentially continue its life—and so too do the curses.
Humans who inherit the True Dragon’s power will not possess the unyielding body and soul of a True Dragon, and thus will slowly be corroded by these curses, leading to ill omens in their later years, or even have their souls completely corrupted into Void Demons.
This is the truth of the Dragon Blood Curse... Thus it also explains why Dragon Island always has to repel the invasions of Void Demons.
After all, due to the Calamity of Heavenly Fall, it wasn’t just the Terra Humans who suffered; many Sparks gathered on Terra were also destroyed... The True Dragons charged with guarding these Sparks naturally bore the collective curse of their demise.
They indeed feel ashamed and remorseful for this, and it is this guilt that further catalyzed the formation of demons.
Yet, Ian truly did not expect... that the Blazing Suspended Star Dragon would have the curses of more than a dozen civilizations!
"So... the longer a dragon lives, the more civilizations it experiences, and the more curses it collects from those civilizations?!"
Fortunately, Ian has the Silver Chip and the Soul of Origin, and his own soul has been altered by the Meditation Technique, otherwise, he might have immediately transformed into a ’demon’—haha, speaking of which, his Blood River Armament is still intact, and with a little encouragement, he might directly turn into a Void Blood Demon!
Struggling to maintain his sanity, Ian staggered and sat back down on the pilot seat he had fashioned earlier, issuing a command with labored breaths: "Get us out of here... Let’s head deeper!"
"Go!" The others could also see something was wrong with Ian, so they didn’t hesitate, collectively maneuvering the Dark Gold Colossus Dragon deeper into the Labyrinth.
But Ian suddenly stopped them. He controlled the Dark Gold Colossus Dragon to fly back to the Ancient Dragon’s Corpse, collected some Source of Dragon Blood, and then returned: "We are already cursed anyway, so collecting a bit more would be wise... Keep moving!"
"...I thought you’d take more, but I didn’t expect you’d want to leave so soon." Sio observed this scene, blinked, and teased: "But now I’m relieved that you’re alright."
"It’s not a big problem, just a buzzing in my head that will pass soon."
Ian shook his head: "The Source of Dragon Blood is a wondrous object that all the strongest beings in this world are most concerned about; everything else is somewhat inferior, and I don’t want to become a target for other Fifth Energy Level beings."
"As for why we’re in a hurry to leave..."
Ian lifted his head, looking around at everyone present, smiling wryly: "Naturally, it’s because each of you is emanating a red glow, indicating that everyone is facing a life-threatening crisis."
"And whatever can create such a deadly crisis would either be the aftermath of battles among Fourth Energy Level powerhouses, or in a scarier scenario..."
"The aftermath of battles between Fifth Energy Level powerhouses."
"No way? Are they fighting near Half Moon Lake?" the crowd was startled, and Anfa shook his head in disbelief: "Averlyn could change vectors with her wind, even if her compatibility with Domain Blood isn’t great, she should still be able to stall Campari!"
"Indeed, they aren’t likely fighting right by Half Moon Lake, but you’re underestimating Campari." Ian shook his head: "Spatial attacks don’t require vectors in the same way... He will definitely find an opportunity to launch an attack."
"Anyway, let’s find a safe place to hide first."
Under Ian’s command, the Dark Gold Colossus Dragon continued to dive into the deepest part of the Subspace Labyrinth... But contrary to what everyone imagined, the deepest part of the Labyrinth is actually the ’exit’ to clearing the maze.
And where might the real-world exit of this large Subspace Labyrinth, the Exotic Species Research Institute, be?
The answer, of course, is on the next level!
Exotic Species Research Institute Fourth Level · ???
The Dark Gold Colossus Dragon, returning to the long-lost real space-time, wobbled and fell from the sky, crashing onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. This was because the controller, Ian, was now practically inoperative, using all his computational ability to construct a firewall against the curse contained within the ’Divine Marrow of the Dragon’.