Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 332 - 331 - Perspective

Lind felt so tired and weak.  He could not remember the last time he woke up feeling so weak.  He just wanted to curl back up to sleep but he wanted to wake up.  He had to wake up.

"You are quite stubborn, little dragon."  A female voice pulled his vision up and it cleared up a bit.  He was not in a bed but in some kind of murky dark space.  It was not uncomfortable but things felt off.

His eyes began to droop but he shook his head to fight it.

He had slept enough!

A giggle had him look up to see a massive shadow looking down at him.  It looked familiar but his thoughts were so sluggish.  Why was it so hard to stay awake?

"I suppose you can feel them even as deep asleep as you have been.  Your worry for your roost is commendable but even the mightiest Divine Dragon must rest when needed.  Your friends are safe."  A relief flooded him but curiosity burned while Lind felt amusement flow into his mind.

"A truly stubborn child, but I like that side of you.  You endured where many would fall because you would not yield.  The Heavens rewarded you greatly but at a cost.  You need to rest after this."  Lind suddenly felt lighter as the world changed around him.

Light blinded him as he found himself in a somewhat familiar room.

It was a well lit tower room with the afternoon sun blazing between open white curtains.  The plush black carpets covered white marble with a table and couches in the middle of the room.

There was a rather large bed that held only a single body.  Lind looked closely and was stunned to see himself!

His dirty blonde hair was very shiny and now almost down to his hips!  His face was without blemish but his body was the greatest change.  He had mostly been fairly slender but well muscled.  Now, his body had filled out and he looked taller than before.

A stone dral happily snored in the crook of his arm he recognized as Tal!  She looked content and a smile tugged on his face as he felt relaxed.  He saw no sign of Kora at first but then the flutter of wings made him look towards the top of the room.

The wooden beams revealed he was in the highest room of a tower as the cross section supported the roof where Kora was currently perched sleeping away herself.

Still, he had many questions yet it was not over.

Figures came into the room and he recognized the white robes of the Heavenly Maidens but none of the faces were known to him.  He had met many over his tenure as Sect Master but most of those were from the upper echelons.

The silver emblems showed these were inner disciples.  They swiftly swapped out the pitcher, incense, and glasses while some checked on him.  He felt their hands while still looking down.

What was going on?

He had no time to study as he seemed to float out the door and rose into the sky.  He saw the now very familiar fortress of the Heavenly Maidens in Cimmeria.  The sprawling city invoked feelings of nostalgia in him.

The world swirled as the floating buildings stayed above the ground as always.  The soldiers in blue robes and leather armor stood out in the streets as artifacts flew through the air with them as well.

It was only when a familiar alleyway came into view that he realized where he was going.

The rush suddenly slowed as he entered Mistress Delenn's home.  The change was stark compared to the city.

It was just buildings and cultivators out there, but in the shard of Immortal space, he could now feel the strain of the world.  It was being regulated but he could not feel the pulse of it unlike before.

"Interesting.  You told me about her, but this is truly a tragedy waiting to happen.  This is a grave crime to commit as well."  Lind was startled to learn that as Delenn had never said anything before.

"Unexpected.  What are dead Immortals doing here?"  Lind was confused as he heard Delenn's question.  She emerged from her shop looking coldly at them but her face changed to confusion only a moment later.

"Lind?"  He wanted to speak but nothing came out.  He even began to really worry about what was going on.

"I beg your forgiveness, Senior, but he was concerned about the world as he slept.  I am capable of showing him current events but this shard pulled on my aura."  Delenn's eyes narrowed as she summoned an artifact that gave weight to Lind's being.

He actually felt closer to normal at long last.

"Soul weakness.  Extreme fatigue due to refinement of the Diamond Tier under duress.  So Cain was telling the truth."  Lind did not know if he was visible but at those words he suddenly remembered.

He remembered the unending lightning trying to rip him apart that he desperately controlled to refine and increase his cultivation.  He had no other choice to survive.  He had kept a close eye on Tal and Kora.

Their survival had been his goal and golden karmic Qi had flowed around them thankfully.  He was unsure how it was interpreted but his wish was fulfilled at that moment.

Rather than fear, he felt the echo of his unyielding power.  He would not bend nor would he allow harm to pass by him.  He was the shield and he would do anything to survive.

He remembered when the emerald gold had filled his dantian to bursting.  He recalled the change in the lightning around him.  It was no longer punishing but his tribulation all over again.

He had to advance!  He had to continue!  He would die otherwise.

At that moment his talents and comprehension seemed to merge as he saw his dantian as weak.  The lightning danced in his meridians but now it was just fuel.  It flowed through his body to his dantian when a roar filled the black clouds above.

If the Gold Tier was about taking the qualitative leap to the top of the world, the Diamond Tier was about perfecting the grasp of elements and Dao to rule it.  He had to go beyond, to begin to understand he was a king of the world.

The lightning dragon of elements slammed into his body was a thousand times more powerful compared to the Gold Tier but after the storm it was easy to channel it into his fonts.  The gold designs were refined into sparkling diamonds with each eye the color of the font.

The elemental force sparkled as it pushed on the emerald gold.  It not only compressed but was refined.  It was not only about a qualitative leap, but molding it for the future.  The Diamond Tier would build the foundation for his step into the Sky Realm.

If he burned all his potential, he would have power but he would no longer advance after that tier.

Lind refused.

He refused to die at that moment as the horrifying progenitor dragon tribulation formed.  As the memory took hold, both Delenn and senior dragon soul were stunned.

Lind was currently being carried by senior dragon soul to see the world outside his body but the sky above the alley was suddenly full of the pressure of the Heavens.  What was going on?

The emerald dragon was almost physical as it had stared down at him from the boiling black clouds and anger actually rose in Lind's mind.  It wanted him to pay the price for merging with his soul.

Lind incorporated his dragon soul but ruled over it.  He tamed his dragon soul and the tribulation seemed angry.

In the memory and the present a roar sounded out that shook the world.  The emerald dragon slammed into Lind but he only felt his muscles bulge as the lightning ravaged his body.  The smell of burnt flesh filled his nostrils but he would not bow to it!

At the moment of the greatest pain the light was lit in his dantian.  The emerald gold was already gone and a sparkling gem was at the center.  It was shining with emerald light as a dragon was pulled down into it unwillingly.

In the alley, the weaving suddenly began to stabilize as an emerald dragon made solely of Qi flowed into it.  The one fraying sigils were complemented and the strain faded from the world.

Delenn and senior dragon soul looked at the flickering image of Lind Frey in awe.

"That should not be possible!  He is only a Diamond Tier!"  Delenn's voice cracked as she understood her lease on life had been extended.

"I think I was mistaken.  I think Lord Skinwalker gave him a gift he could now convey.  He was a Divine Realm cultivator.  Their power is not to be underestimated but I am unsure how he tapped into it."  The senior dragon soul had felt a glimmer of it for a moment.

She had felt the desire to bow that only one being could possibly invoke.  Her hopes rose but the flickering nature of the feeling was not enough.  Her time was running out but she felt truly glad her final days had been not in vain.

Delenn slowly nodded as she had heard the legend of Divine cultivators.  They were legendary beings far beyond any of the Immortals.

The world returned to normal but all of Cimmeria was terrified of the aura that had echoed across their city.  The peak powers sent out immediate requests for information but none saw the 2 souls flying back across the skies to the Heavenly Maiden Sect.

Only the 2 beasts in that room had woken up in hope only to see Lind asleep.  He was paler than before but he was still alive.  Kora rubbed her beak against him gently while Tal nudged him as well.

It was the last image Lind saw before darkness reclaimed him.