novelraw Chapter 483 - 482 - Compensation of Heaven
Chapter 483 - 482 - Compensation of Heaven
When Lind emerged from the Nautilus he felt a little uncomfortable due to the density of the Qi. Compared to the Floating Isles, he would guess the density in the cavern was easily 2 to 3 times as high.
Reaching Star Tier in less than 500 years was easily feasible. It also solved the mystery of why the World Realm wyverns did not occupy the lower third of the mountain. The Qi was too thin for them.
The mountain was a condensed equivalent of the Floating Isles. It was so massive it was hard to say which was bigger but it left many questions for him.
"Seniors, thank you for welcoming me." Lind bowed respectfully but the 3 Sky Realms seemed uncomfortable. Lind had forgotten that the beast's hierarchies were fairly rigid. A dragon, no matter their strength, would always be higher than any lesser bloodline.
They moved past the awkward greeting and Lind examined the cavern.
Unlike other wyvern nests, he noticed that the current location was barren. It was as if it was left empty intentionally. It could easily hold 50 of the massive wyverns at the Sky Realm wit room to spare.
"Was this once the lair of a dragon?" Lind felt a very faint pull on his soul. It was as if the mountain was calling him.
All 3 wyverns nodded.
"Our Lord once ruled the skies alongside his brothers. They took on the role of Compensation when Heaven asked it." Lind was confused. He had never heard of Heaven asking anything of anyone.
Striking them down, tribulations, and even rejoicing yes, but requests. The wyverns seemed to expect his confusion.
"Please understand, we can only pass down what our ancestors and our race memory teach us. A Barren Realm is fairly rare but it does happen. As Heaven and Earth are fair, a way is left for cultivators to ascend but it requires a sacrifice of one of the Divine Bloodlines." The leader of the 3, the water and air wyvern, spoke.
"What kind of sacrifice?" Lind had only met a few descendants and what he learned in the Divine Inheritance to go by but pride was a universal trait of all the Divine bloodlines.
"It varies depending on the mortal realm but the mountain we currently reside on is not native to this realm. It is from a higher place." Lind was now curious but first he was drawn to something in the back of the cavern.
The 3 wyverns watched with wonder as the human moved unhindered deeper into the place of their lost Lord.
Lind found a set of rooms hidden that called to his soul. He was about to enter when his harmony flared to break him out of the trance he was in!
He shook his head before he felt a deep sadness all around him. The mountain was aware!
"Junior greets Senior." He bowed low and waited.
A faint form coalesced out of Qi of a young girl. She could be no more than 10 or 11 years old but all 3 wyverns instantly laid their heads on the ground in fealty.
"Are you not here to help me?" Lind realized it was the spirit of the mountain. Just as beasts gained sentience as they progressed, so too did plants and even stone! It required immense special conditions to align for stone compared to all other aspects but one face remained for it to happen.
Immortal Realm!
The mountain was made of Immortal Realm stone!
"I am not here by intention but by fluke. Though I have a dragon soul, I am in transition. I am called Lind Frey, senior. Do you have a name?" She may not. Plants and earth constructs did not always have names as cultivators could understand.
The little girl started to cry at his words. She seemed so lonely.
"Was I bad? Did I do something to make him go away and leave me alone?" Lind grasped she was not only looking like a child but was a child. How long could a mountain live? Compared to anything else, a mountain could endure far beyond the lifespan of even the Black Shelled Tortoise!
Lind knelt down and was able to hug the spirit close.
"You did nothing wrong. A very bad thing happened to keep him away I am sure. You were not abandoned, but protected." Lind could only guess but he knew the pride of dragons. They would not abandon a friend and a mountain spirit would be a highly prized friend.
"He speaks the truth, Mother! The Great Lord went to fight the evil ones long ago and he…never returned." The crimson and black wyvern spoke up but the mountain spirit only cried harder. The other 2 looked at him in anger.
Lind held her and let her cry. He was reminded of when Tal was very small and afraid.
"Tell me about him, I want to know." His gentle voice calmed her as she became much more solid. Her skin was very pale but pleasing to look at as her chubby cheeks glowed with warmth.
Her eyes were glacial but vibrant.
Her hair was as dark as the mountain around them.
"The Great Spirits awoke me. They told me I was chosen to help people! I was sleeping a long time until then but my sisters were still sleeping when I left. Delor and his brothers came with me!" Her tears were wiped away as she seemed to smile wide about her memories.
"I was so tiny back then that Delor could place me on one of his shining white scales and I barely took up any room!" Lind let her settle in his lap as she played with the hem of his robes.
"He was a Sky Dragon?" They were the only clan he knew of to have white scales and the spirit nodded.
"He was a Sky Dragon but his brothers were Metal and Sea Foam Dragons. They argued a lot but then would laugh after fighting hard." Lind could well imagine it. He also realized the level of power of the dragons had to be the same as the mountain.
Immortals in the Mortal Realm?!
"So the sacrifice was to become custodians of a Barren Realm to allow the cultivators a chance to advance but they would implement their own trials for it?" Lind could see how the Metal Dragon would regulate the cultivators on the continent while the Sea Foam Dragon would challenge the beasts of the waters.
The last stop before ascension would be the Sky Dragon, Delor.
"Oh it was an honor, Delor always said. He sang to me every night and told me stories! He would be challenged by silly people and they either got his respect or got squashed!" The tiny spirit made a clap with her hands as she giggled.
"In exchange for being deployed to a Mortal Realm, Heaven would not punish them nor reduce their power. They could never leave this realm but they would retain their Immortal Realm state." Lind nodded but wondered what tier they were at.
As if expecting the question, the azure wyvern continued his explanation.
"They were all Radiant Tier." Lind was shocked. That was one step away from the peak tier of the Immortal Realm!
For cultivators, it was not unusual to live for tens of millions of years but dragons had a much longer life span, especially if they awoke their ancestral bloodlines. It would not be unusual for such dragons to live for billions of years!
"Delor said we would be together forever!" The little spirit cried out happily but then began to cry again. "T-then he never came back!"
Lind held her close but then understood what had nearly happened to him.
The mountain was the key to ascending to the Heaven Realm. Heaven and Earth found 3 dragons and an awakened mountain to become the trial for the cultivators of that barren realm.
He suspected there was more to it than the supposed fairness many spoke of but he had no way to confirm or deny it for the moment.
"Please stay Mr Dragon Frey! Don't leave me alone!" Lind patted her head while giving comforting sounds. Even if he was inclined to stay, he doubted he could. He was nowhere near strong enough.
"It is not so easy, little senior. I am only a Sky Realm. I am far from the Immortal Realm. Besides, I think you should hear about how I got here." Lind began with his realm.
He described the 3 continents, the Floating Isles, and the various powers therein. He then told his story in short. He had all 6 elements dance to the wonder of the child spirit but then he got to the Fiend and all 3 wyverns shivered for some reason.
When he explained about what he believed would be his final moments, the spirit looked confused.
"What do you mean there was nothing?" Lind scratched his chin before a thought came to him. He opened a small tear in space but inside it was a black hole going nowhere. The little girl was afraid of it instantly but Lind dismissed the tear.
"The Void is a complete lack of everything. I was being ripped apart when my dragon soul got stubborn and by fluke I ended up in the oceans of this realm a little over a year ago." He still was not entirely clear what he did to not die but he was not regretting it.
"Did the bad monsters hurt Delor?" Lind looked at the wyverns but they only looked away. They only knew all 3 dragons were gone. Death was the most likely outcome.
"I would guess so but just to check, the Fiends have never come here?" The wyverns swiftly nodded but the little spirit looked cross too.
"If they come here, they die!" The mountain rumbled but Lind felt curious about something.
"If they die when they come here and the dragons are gone, how are they getting here in the first place and are they still able to ascend?" He looked around but no one had any answers. Lind looked to the horizon and knew he would have to venture back to the continent one day.
How many years would it take? How many would die in the inevitable conflict? He was not content to be trapped in the current realm forever. He would advance! He looked down at the crying little girl in his arms and also swore to help her.
He had a lot of training to do and maybe a little hope that he could go home if he learned how the Fiends got in and out of this realm. If it was the same as his, then he might be able to go back!