Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1046 - 1045 - Cursed

Jur slowly woke up in a new place. It was stone but flickering firelight was enhanced by the glow of emerald light.

She perked her ears up but the only sounds she heard was a man's voice speaking in a language she did not know again. She knew the voice though.

It was the scary beast!

He looked like a man, but she saw it! The giant sinuous body and emerald scales gleaming behind those cold eyes! It had only been a flash but it was there!

She had been going to be with Mama when the sky fell. She recalled her body shivering before the roar of something passed not far overhead. Then the world was turned into a storm of death.

She had huddled and been tossed about until darkness closed in. She knew she wasn't dead though. The voices kept talking.

For as long as she was alive, they never stopped talking in her mind.

[Thief!]

[Vile human thieves! You are all scum!]

[The Ancestors will shatter your souls! You will never be reborn!]

[Karma will shred your very life apart!]

They were men and women with roars of beasts she could understand as well. They were all angry, always angry.

The only time they had gone silent was when she looked at the scary beast.

They had fled for some reason and for the first time in her life, blessed quiet filled her mind.

Still, she only had a vague recollection until waking up on one of the craggy steps of the village. She was not supposed to be in the village! She was being bad! She was supposed to go see Mama!

Her memory of her Mama was only 1 moment. Dark violet eyes looked at her as she took her first breath. Sympathy, love, and sadness had filled those eyes. Jur knew them.

Her name was the only word her Mama spoke and that was the last time she saw her.

Auntie Nana raised her after that. Jur was not sure for how long but it was her whole life so it had to be a long time!

The scary beast had been cultivating. She could feel power unlike anything she had known coming from him. Even the bad woman was not as strong as him!

Then he confronted the Elite Elders and they could do nothing to stop him! She was afraid he would hurt Auntie!

He looked at her and for a brief moment, he was not so scary.

Then she saw him look at the others in rage. Why was he angry?

The night passed and the bad woman came. She smelled Mama! Where was Mama?!

Auntie Nana blocked her eyes but she felt the crushing aura of the scary beast.

Something happened and Auntie covered her ears. It got quiet then the world went dark.

Now, she was in a cave as she slowly looked over to see Auntie sleeping with her arms around her! Jur felt safe for a moment but a flickering of emerald light drew her violet eyes.

She could see really well in the dim cave. She carefully got free and made sure her tail was not caught in anything.

Her straw yellow hair was clean! She was clean and so was Auntie!

She carefully moved to the entrance and found a passage to another, larger room. The rough stone hardly bothered her feet and hands. Jur was strong!

Auntie Nana said so, so it must be true. She felt afraid though. Powerful aura came from ahead but she carefully looked around the corner and nearly screamed.

Mama! Mama was hurt! She was so hurt!

Where were her hands?! Her tail?! Her ears?!!!

She was floating gently as a massive metal bed was enclosed by a projection of emerald light. She saw a square floating with what she knew to be text flowing like it was being written somehow yet no one was doing it.

A voice suddenly made her snap her head to see the scary beast at another square floating over Mama. He looked enraged and like he would kill Mama at any moment.

The light shifted as streams began to enter Mama's body. Don't eat Mama!

Please!

Tears began to flow but Jur knew she could do nothing. She was an ant to the scary beast. He could do what he liked.

[It is what you deserve! Thief! You will be punished for your sins!]

The voices returned suddenly. Jur curled up into a ball as she felt it finally. She was unclean and deserving of all suffering. She deserved to die!

It was like she knew how at that moment. It was so simple to just shatter her core and let the backlash rip her body apart. The knowledge was just there all of a sudden.

[Yes! Do it! End the theft! You deserve it!]

The chorus of voices began to get louder and more excited. Jur felt so cold as the Qi in her body began to shift dangerously. The elements of darkness, air, and earth began to throb as the fonts strained.

The bubbling sand at the heart of her core was no longer staying centered as it began to expand. Pain lanced her body but she did not stop.

An aura slammed into her suddenly and the Qi came to a complete standstill. Emerald light raced along her veins as her core was brought to heel.

[You are not guilty. You are just a child. An innocent child. Your mother is innocent. Your entire line is innocent. Only the humans are guilty.] A gentle voice suddenly filled her head. She recognized it!

The scary beast! Why was he stopping her?! She did not understand.

The voices were always there, always driving her.

As if the thought made him aware, she felt something shift in her blood and suddenly a massive panther with majestic wings appeared in her mind. It had dark velvet fur with eyes as dark as night to match!

[The thieves are punished as they deserve! You have no right to interfere!] Jur knew, on some level, she was seeing an ancestor.

A simple man also appeared in her mind but a ghost of a giant serpentine beast was around him. The panther sneered yet did not move.

[Since when are race memories weaponized? This child has done nothing! Being born is not a crime no matter the origin. Her mother was tortured in ways it will take me months to heal but I bet you are interfering there as well?] Mama was being healed? The scary beast was helping?

[You are not of my race! Do not interfere, little snake!] Jur shook her head. That was a very bad phrase to use!

The man stilled and then something shifted. Jur felt pain lance her mind until emerald light bathed it once more.

[Cease your curse, or face the consequences.] His voice had changed. Jur calmed down and knew she would obey. The panther's jewel-like violet eyes bulged and she was forced to kneel!

[T-t-t-true Lord?! I never meant–] A rumbling came from above. It was in the real world but Jur felt it in her mind too.

[What you meant was to hurt those that captured you and stole from you. What you meant was to avenge yourself on those who held no sin aside from being born with your blood. You are entitled to limit their benefits, but not to enact judgment on the generations that followed. Cease, or face the end.] Scary beast, he was definitely scary beast!

The panther strained but it was no longer as majestic or scary to Jur. It felt feeble.

[You would dare to let those filthy thieves into my bloodline?] The man tilted his head before shaking it.

[That is not up to me. They must strive in their own effort and face tribulation like all of us.] A rumble of agreement seemed to come from the boiling black clouds over them. The panther had its ears flip back as it hissed in anger.

[Do not overstep yourself! A True Lord of another race–] An emerald aura flared around the man and something shifted that made the panther's eyes go wide as saucers.

[D-d-d-dragon Soul?! Divine Dragon Progenitor?! HOW?!] The scary beast snorted and a wave washed out making the panther shatter into violet sparks of light before all went quiet.

He then looked at Jur and a small smile crossed his face.

[Go back to sleep. The voices will not bother you anymore until you are ready. Even then, it will be up to you what you do with them.] Jur suddenly felt the stone sharply on her skin as her sweat covered body slowly unfurled and looked over once more.

Mama was still floating and an emerald dome covered her as she turned slowly inside it. The dark metal beneath shimmered with power to her senses but the man was in the lotus position next to it.

Was it all a dream? Why did she feel so much better?

She slowly walked on all fours across the cavern until she was near the floating body of Mama. She curled up at it and closed her eyes.

Normally that was when the voices would surge into her mind and drag her into bad dreams but nothing came. Silence was all she found and she felt at peace. A smile stretched on her face as true sleep took her for the first time in her short life.

A hand gently stroked her head as someone hummed when the peace of sleep took her away. She was safe!