Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 578 - 577 - Nightmare or Dream?

There were 9 demons and 1 aether child blinked at their surroundings.  Their minds were a mess but slowly they realized they were in a dungeon, a clean one, but still a dungeon.

Yet they were not restrained and they noticed some soldiers locked up but well taken care of.

The aether child looked down to see the passed out man and felt he was familiar.  He was about to move when he sensed something he had not felt in a long time.

Qi was flowing in his body freely!

He still felt the collar at his neck and resistance throughout his body but no resistance.

"I can cultivate.  I can cultivate!"  A demon with bright red eyes wept as demonic Qi faintly swirled around his well refined body!  The aether child noted they were all in gray robes and a memory came back to him.

He was not alone as 3 demons began to scream in terror as the inscribing process came back to him.  The silver needles had burned as profound Qi was infused into them.  Blood flowed like rivers but they never allowed them to die.

The bones and flesh beneath had been next and it was far worse than anything he could imagine until the next part.

The formations flared and he felt like he was being pulled up a small tube before the darkness closed in and he saw flashes of corpses.

There were orders, beatings, eviscerations.  It was a hellish landscape but before they could injure themselves, an emerald glow covered them all.

They all saw a faint sinuous dragon with piercing reptilian eyes looking down at them gently.  No words were spoken but the hellish images stopped dominating their minds.

Very slowly, they calmed themselves and the vision vanished.

"W-what was that?"  A lithe demoness spoke with tears falling from her eyes.

"His name is Lind Frey."  A voice came from one of the cages.  He was a noble and the aether child recognized him.

"Logan Olver.  A minor noble from Perot currently assigned to the scouting forces.  Missing in action for ten years."  The aether child was stunned at the amount of knowledge he had but Logan seemed pleased to be known.

"He is a Soulmancer but unlike anyone we know.  He is the one that did something to all of you.  He also built this place all on his own.  I cannot betray Perot but I will swear to Heaven and Earth he is a good man."  The 10 people stared as they felt the slight tremor after the oath.

They looked around the dungeon and saw all the prisoners nod.

"Does–does anyone remember their names?"  A slim demon suddenly spoke up but they all looked at each other in shock as their names were missing.

The aether child realized he only remembered the procedure and then flashes of his life as a tool of Dar.

A part of him, however, suspected he was simply never given a name.

"Ugh, did someone leave an elephant on my head?"  All swiveled to the voice as the man with tanned skin and black hair with emerald streaks slowly stood up.  His emerald eyes instantly confirmed something for them.

"You are a dragon?"  Another demoness spoke up.  The man, Lind, looked up in surprise but then a smile spread on his face.

Any doubts the aether child had about his intentions were wiped away.  It was a smile of kindness and joy that could not be faked.  His eyes became misty as he realized it was really over.

The long nightmare of centuries was finally over!

The demons had mixed reactions of similar tears to stoic satisfaction, but all of them knelt down at that moment.

"Thank you for freeing us all!"  Lind felt shocked but then his head throbbed.  As he finally woke up.

Memories that were not his flashed through his mind and he felt his blood drain from his face.  If he was still a Sky Realm, he would have gone insane as he had 10 lifetimes of memories inside his mind!

He saw it all and felt his rage return in force!

Dar Empire was hell.  Humans were in charge but even the majority of other humans lived little better than kept pets!  It was better than the fate of demons and the rare aether child.  He did not know where they came from, but he could see that the aether child ascended!

He distinctly saw the silvery liquid of the ascension pool as it had been in his own Mortal Realm.

The demons had been raised like animals!  They were kept in cages or used as playthings for the elites of Dar!  The females were tormented by young masters and mistresses while the males were used for arena fights to the death!

All of it was to feed the gluttonous appetite of the elites that ruled.  He saw their laughter and platters of food piled high while children starved!

He also saw the Soulless.  He saw how they watched others made into those creatures before it was their turn!

The memories cut off but he realized he had mixed his soul with theirs.  It was a problem but one that could be fixed.

His eyes glowed as he saw slivers of emerald Qi in each of them and confirmed they were still connected to him.

"I have your memories.  I can return them as I think I passed out before I could finish."  His words made them all jump but only one demoness who looked like she would blend into the shadows at any moment asked a question.

"What were our names?"  Lind tilted his head but closed his eyes and rifled through the memories.  The more he picked them apart, the more his blood boiled!

They had no names!  They were called other names depending on who spoke to them!

The cracking of stone snapped his mind back to the present as he looked down and saw his feet had turned into dragon claws to shatter the foundation of the floor!  His body was nearly a fourth of the way through transformation so he calmed down and turned back to human.

"There–there were no names.  The vast majority of the memories are not good but they are what made you who you are.  Do you want them back?"  He realized why they did not want to die.

They had the instincts and a feel of themselves but not the history to go with it.  They had no context.

The only memories they had were whatever survived their lives as the Soulless.

The 10 stared at him but said nothing.  He felt like they did not understand.

"You have a choice.  I can return your memories or you can simply start again.  There is still a lot to remove from your bodies, but it is far easier to do than what has already passed."  All of them shivered as they recalled that moment very clearly.

"I want mine back."  The aether child spoke and Lind nodded.  A thin line of emerald Qi became visible before the male aether child fell down screaming.  He wept and raged but did not ask for anything else.

Lind quickly held his hands and became an anchor for the man to cling to.

"I am here, I am right here with you!  I saw it!"  The aether child clung to him like a baby desperate for comfort but no one sneered nor thought him weak.  The demons all looked at each other and nodded.

"Return ours as well."  Lind sighed and did as they asked.  Their reactions were very different.

Some had cold fire flare or purple lightning snake around them in rage while others simply slammed the ground as if hitting a particular target.

Lind only put the shield up around the cages again but no one really attacked the soldiers.  They all eventually quieted down.

"The choice is yours.  An army is coming so I have to go and fight it.  Live or die, I will not judge or stop you.  I just wanted to give that choice back to you.  The brands are gone so if you do die, you will enter samsara."  Lind bowed and turned to leave but felt a hand cling to him.

It was the aether child.

"Dizhen is my name.  I remember my name and what I can do.  I want to make them pay!"  The firm look in his eyes was clear but Lind saw the ghosts of pain and trauma.  Still, healing started with the choice to do so.

"Very well, come with me."  He turned again to leave but felt all the demons focus on him.  Lind easily gathered up their Qi and left all stunned as he used it as easily as breathing.

"How are you able to do that?"  A demoness with dark pink eyes was shocked but he shrugged at her question.

"A lot of hard work.  Have you all already chosen?"  The demons looked enraged but none of them were more than peak Star Tier at the moment and very shallow at that.

"We will have vengeance first, then we can decide how to live."  A demon that was broader in the body than the rest spoke.  His eyes were bright yellow, much like Yor's hair color but they were clear.

"Then you will all need some names."  Lind smiled at them and a rarely seen look of awe passed over all 9 demons.  "When you decide on them, tell me."

All the demons were at first confused but then realized he was telling them they had the freedom to choose.

"One last thing."  Lind snapped his fingers and every collar shattered into powder like it never existed.  "Now, prepare to fight!"