Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 288 - 287 - Remnant

Lind did not really have a plan.  Mostly, he had simply exhausted what was possible in the 3 continents.  Rakathi was a box of mystery no one could really explain.

Ancient records agreed that one of the supreme powers once existed there, but then a cataclysm had wiped it and other powers from the face of Indelia forever.  The reason he came was because that power had a lot of 6 elementals that reached the World Realm and were powerful.

The secrets had been kept close and when it fell, the hope of 6 elementals died with it.

Maps disagreed where it was too so he would have some exploration to do, assuming anything was left.  What he did not expect was the moment he crossed the border, his instincts pulled him to the west directly.

There was a stretch of medium black stone mountains on the horizon but Lind had to progress slowly due to dodging or trying to comprehend the Qi in the tribulation lightning.  After a few days, he realized it was punishment tribulation lightning, not the kind that left a way forward.

It did not target him, but it also did not spare him.

The feeling pulling him was odd.  He had still not been able to figure out what had happened to his body.  The effect on Ethry and Kalen told him it was powerful, but neither could tell him anything about it.  Race memory had no reference in either of them.

The thought of Ethry made him smile.  She had left reluctantly with his mother on a journey of cultivation.

She had long since firmed up her foundation and simply held back to spend more time with him.  Lind told her she had to forge her own path and he would catch up as soon as he could!

Mira also was an unstoppable force to Ethry.  A mother was a power she respected, at least so far as Lind's mother went.

Lind did find it lonely without his wives, Fey, and his friends.  He had become quite happy at his sect, but he had to find solutions for 6 elementals to progress.  Iron Tier was not bad for the mortal realm, but he did not want to stop.

Several months of dodging lightning finally let up as he came near the dark mountain range.  It was odd.  The mountains seemed wrong to him.  It was like they did not belong but the pull was near the center.

He found a rocky path and once he entered, the bolts of tribulation stopped striking around him.  He looked around and realized what it reminded him of.

"A Ruin distortion but it seems very weak."  Compared to the profound feeling he had at the Lotus Academy, there was barely a difference between the wastes and the mountains.

He was about to progress when a terrifyingly powerful aura washed over him.  It was an Immortal aura!

An onyx dragon appeared and stared down at him with bright yellow eyes.  Its wings were easily larger than any airplane he had ever flown in on Earth.  It had 4 limbs with silver claws at the end of each 4 fingered foot.  The tail was covered in a black mane but the head had silver like its claws.

Rage was in the yellow eyes but then followed by confusion.  It swooped down but Lind felt no threat anymore.

The dragon landed and it was massive.  A simple jaw snap would swallow Lind whole without issue.  Still, Lind felt a familiarity with the dragon in front of him he could not explain.

"What are you?  You look human but you feel like a divine dragon."  Lind was about to answer the first question when shock flooded his veins.  A divine dragon?  Him?!  How?!

His confusion was clear so the dragon began to blur before a gorgeous woman appeared.  She had a form fitting armor on her voluptuous form but the power in her movements were the same as the massive dragon form earlier.

She could snap him like a twig without an ounce of effort.

Her golden eyes were still reptilian but her skin was very pale for some reason rather than being black as her scales.  The armor was like the scales though.  Lind could not perceive any details from it at all.

"You are human but I feel a dragon.  Did you refine one?"  The dark tone made the implication clear but Lind's own rage flared.  Emerald light flared and the woman blanched suddenly.

"I WILL NEVER REFINE A LIVING BEING!"  The woman felt like kneeling in front of the man but she should not be able to be intimidated by any being in that realm.  Lind blink and only then did she notice the emerald glow to his skin.

"Dragon Soul!"  Her shock broke Lind from his anger as he hoped he would finally have answers but then a new aura washed over them both.

"Bring him to me, Little One."  The woman looked frustrated but bowed to the voice.  Lind wanted clarity but instead was forced to follow the woman down the rocky path until a blank wall of stone was in front of them.

The woman was about to reach forward when Lind's body moved on its own.  He placed a hand at a spot that looked the same as the rest but the warmth of Qi flowed up his arm as a tunnel opened.

Lind did not like it.  His body was doing things on instinct he did not understand.  He did not like that.

The woman, on the other hand, seemed to relax after he did that.

"You are a good man, human.  You saved one of our kind at the risk of your life freely."  Lind whirled at her words in understanding.  Ethry!  He had restored Ethry from her sacrificial attempt.

His understanding led to the woman bowing to him.

"Thank you, for whatever you did for our kind."  Lind waved it off as the pull was very strong now that the passage was open.  He followed her inside and the illusion was restored behind them.  He looked at it and saw the path but the illusion was on par with Annabelle's!

He had expected a carved out tunnel with inscriptions or rooms, but the rough cave seemed fairly natural if not for the concealed entrance.  There was no sign of artificial creation nor any kind of profound Ruin, yet Lind trusted his instincts.

He was in a Ruin on the brink of collapse.

A wide open cavern opened up and the first artificial structure was revealed.  It was a shrine!  It was not profound compared to what he had experienced but a feeling washed over Lind of melancholy.

He slowly stepped forward and traced the intricate inscriptions with the shrine being fairly simple.  It was far beyond him to comprehend but he had come to the source of the pull.

"What is this place?"  Lind turned back to his guide, but he found her kneeling towards the shrine.  He did not want to disturb her but the feeling of a tomb came over him.

"This is the last piece of an ancient Inheritance of my clan.  A Ruin about to die after millions of years of existence."  Lind was confused.  Her claim of what it was had no issue, but how was she there, then?

"An Immortal of the bloodline can come to a Ruin if called.  We can reclaim our clan treasures if needed at the end."  Lind had never heard of such a thing, but the Immortal dragon was in front of him.

"Tell me about it."  Lind felt his curiosity flare and focused on the kneeling woman.  She seemed surprised by his question and reluctant to answer.  Even so, she stood up and then motioned to 2 small boulders to sit at.

"Long ago, 3 clans of dragons made a set of Inheritances.  They were not for passing on a legacy but to nurture the future of our race.  It was in the hope that candidates would be selected to make the dragons stronger."  Her face lit up speaking about the past but then she looked devastated around her.

"Sadly, the future did not unfold as we wished.  The Devastation came and we all lost.  Inheritances were ravaged and ours were no exception.  Some were protected but they all could have fallen to Ruin by now."  Lind felt a tug in his heart and knew her claim of dragons being in him was likely true.

"What was this shrine for, if you can tell me?"  Lind was invested but could not explain why.  He felt it was important.  Still, he refused to be controlled by his bloodline.  He was the master of his life.

"I cannot say what the specific piece was for, but our great ancestor infused her Daos into the Inheritance to test the next generations as well as guide them.  She loved to teach and it was said she loved children."  Lind smiled as he felt a kinship.

A shift occurred and the pulling feeling faded.

He wondered what caused it but he stood up and moved in front of the shrine.  It was cracked and faded but still maintained its majesty in his eyes.

"I cannot explain what I am, but I have a very close companion that tried to die to save my life.  I refused to let her do that.  I love her and would never accept such a sacrifice for me."  Lind spoke from his heart as he bowed in front of the shrine.  "I, too, have hoped to guide the future generations.  I am Lind Frey, elixir master, Forger, and 6 elemental."

The dragon's golden eyes bulged at his words.

Even in the Celestial Fields, such a rare combination was unheard of!  How had he come that far?

"If there is anything I can do, please let me know."  Lind knelt then and a feeling of pressure arrived.  He did not move as it seemed to delve deeply into him.  It was a bit painful but he felt no danger from it.

"Would you be willing to save the legacy of this Ruin?  Would you be willing to carry on my mission despite your other goals?"  Lind considered for a moment but then shook his head.

"I would wish to if I could, but I follow my own path.  If you wish, I have a dragon companion that would benefit far more than I.  Her name is Ethry and she is a divine dragon."  his words caused shock from the dark garbed woman, but the Ruin Spirit did not seem to care.

"Generous, but your attitude is acceptable.  Please accept our legacy.  Do not bend to the whims of fate and fight for your place in Heaven and Earth."  Lind was surprised but then knowledge flooded his mind and he suddenly understood.

He had a dragon soul.  He had saved a dragon with no selfish intent.  He had died for it and been judged worthy.  The soul was slowly changing his body and when he broke through, more signs would show!

His lifespan was drastically increased compared to a human.  He would have to learn to master his bloodline or he would suffer as Kalen might have without proper training.  The difference was a dragon soul was defined by the cultivator.

No 2 dragon souls were identical but they were heavily honored in the dragon clans.

Lind assumed a lotus position to digest what he learned as the living dragon shivered to look at him.  She knew what he could become, but why a human?!  Why was a human chosen and not one of their own?!

She did nothing and watched over him as days turned to months and the distortion of the Ruin thinned even more.  She could not stay if it collapsed.  She would have to go soon.

She moved to retrieve the jade heart but then froze.  It was gone.  The Ruin Spirit was gone!  Where did the ancestor go?!

She then slowly turned and her eyes glowed while looking at Lind.  It was there!  Why was the Ruin Spirit within him?!

She did not reveal it and collected what she needed to.  The revelation confirmed her suspicion.

The human was the future of the dragon race.