Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 693 - 692 - Redemption

Zerod pushed his dantian harder than any time he could ever recall.  The fear of death loomed so strongly the moment that damned overgrown turkey initiated her tribulation that he felt like an illusion shattered over his eyes.

He still had the protection of the Great One but Heaven and Earth still ruled supreme in the one place he could not touch.  Cultivators advancing!

[Did we get any of our targets?]  He called out to Widow and Mycea but the deafening silence told him all he needed to know.  They had them!  All the carefully planned moves to drive them to be in one place for certain had come to nothing!

In fact, they had lost more Fiends attacking the camp of healing than when they took out the 2 powers with the most Immortals!  He knew it was because they could not simply wipe them out.  Their goal was to break the spirit of their enemy but that greed led the attack to have weaknesses that could not be avoided.

A bright bolt of lighting made Zerod jump as it slammed into the ground not 5 meters away!  He had just barely gotten out of range but many Fiends were killed at that moment!  It was nearly a third of their force.

Even if the damn bird died, he could not take advantage to even go back!

He could sense more Immortals coming and Valkyrie was with them!

[Retreat back to our lines.  We will regroup.]  Zerod looked at the terrifying strikes happening and remembered the screamed words of that human welp.  He sneered as Immortal Tribulation was not kind to the unprepared.

"You might slip away, but I will get the rest, I promise that!"  Another bolt slammed down in front of him so he flew away.  He consoled himself that at least one of the damned wives was going to die today.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

Kora could not recall where she was.  She only knew pain.  Pain was in every feather, every cell of her body!  She kept trying to leave but then the clouds would send another bolt of lightning down on her.

She didn't want to die!  She wanted to see him again!  She could not quite recall his name, but his face, his face was right there smiling at her gently.  She recalled when he stole her heart.

She had been about to die and suddenly a human came and saved her.  He smiled at her and asked if she was ok and her heart thudded in her chest for very different reasons.  She was too young then to know what it meant but then she smelled dragon on him!

He was a dragon!

Despite that, her mother never dismissed him nor rebuked him.  In fact, she saw how hard he worked and the little stone dral that was just as precious to her was right there with him.  He never treated anyone differently either.

He only had a bottomline and if you crossed that, he was a fearsome foe.  Her heart did not give up and she prayed he could see how she felt.

Pain lanced through her body once more and she knew she was dying.  She knew she had chosen it too.  Tears tried to leave but she no longer had eyes.  She could barely feel her body at all!

[I love you, Lind.]

She sent that thought out with all the strength she had left but the next strike never came.  A feeling washed over her as a very familiar set of arms pulled her into an embrace she could suddenly feel.

"I indulged you too much, you know.  I wanted you to have more freedom than I did but I came to regret that."  A voice she had not heard in so long suddenly could be heard.  Kora slowly opened her eyes and saw a gigantic roc looking down at her but then it changed to a voluptuous woman.

"M–mother?"  Kora mumbled as a smile she never thought to see outside of memory looked down at her and nodded.

"Oh my child, I never thought to see you again either, but Lord Skinwalker gave me a miracle.  He gave you back to me, yet I could not change anything.  Only that boy did what I could not."  Dierdra was radiant as she held Kora gently.

The space around them was strange, yet Kora no longer felt afraid.

"So we are both dead then, but why are you not reincarnated?"  A gentle smack on the head actually made Kora giggle as being scolded by her mother had become a precious memory to her.

"Of course I am dead, but you are not, idiot!  We are all connected by our bloodlines.  The race memory is a gift of Heaven and Earth, but in it we are still alive through our descendants."  Kora knew that but to the best of her knowledge, such a moment as this was impossible.

"Then how–"  Dierdra then held her close as wet tears fell on Kora's shoulders.

"No time for much more than this, but a regret I had can now be taken care of.  I was not there when you died so long ago.  After this, I have no doubt you will have a long journey but never give up!  I love you!"  Kora felt the sensation fading but she was no longer afraid.

"I LOVE YOU MOM!"  A bright smile spread on the fading figure before Kora fell into blackness.

⬧⬧⬧⬧

"NOOO!"  Fey was weeping into Annabelle's robes as they saw the tribulation turn into a death sentence.  Kora had not been ready, she had been close, but not ready to take on the Immortal Tribulation in her current state.

They were all looking on as one of their family was about ot die when a blinding light flared.

SCCCCCRRRRRRREEEEEAAAAACCCCCHHHH!!!

The call of a bird filled the air as the Heavens suddenly seemed to get really angry.  All looked on in shock as between Kora and the tribulation, a massive golden roc appeared.  It was not just any roc either, but a roc that felt far above any cultivation realm they had known!

Tal suddenly wept as she tried to step forward.

"Auntie Dierdra.  It's Auntie Dierdra!"  Stunned looks swept the group as they knew that name.  Illyria looked on in awe as she recalled a gift Lind had given her long ago.

He had told her that a mother's love never gave up and she had been fortunate enough to have an uncle let her experience it.  Now, she realized he had been taught by others as well how far a mother would go for their child.

Lighting blazed onto the giant roc but it would not yield as it was torn apart only to rebuild once more.  Shoti grabbed Tal to stop her from flying out to help but none were prepared when Ethry and Illyria flew off!

The golden roc glanced at them as if to warn them off but Ethry transformed to her full 50 meter length as Illyria became partially transformed into her natural shape as well.  She would have towered over them all but she could not take a single bolt alone.

[You should not have come, I will not let her die so take her and go!]  Both Illyria and Ethry knew the futility of moving a cultivator from a tribulation that was ongoing.

"You came back for her, and my mother would do the same!  Lind would do it for us all!  I will not abandon my family!"  Ethry roared in agreement as a chuckle came from Dierdra.

[I am only a race memory ghost at best with a quirk of Divine interference letting me watch over her all these centuries.  Still, Kora had a good family, so don't die.]

Both felt their heads throb when the word 'Divine' was used but their bloodlines protected them.

The Heavens grew very angry as more cultivators interfered and it released its displeasure on them fully!  Lighting flared like a sheet rather than single bolts.  Illyria felt pain lance her entire body but her black shell held most of the damage.

Ethry roared in pain but her scales were nothing to laugh at.  Also, it seemed even in its anger, Heaven was reluctant to kill them.  Still, it had its limits!

The black clouds suddenly became tinged with red which was not good at all.

It was not a fire attributed lighting but execution lighting!

[You need to go, it will let you go due to your bloodlines.]  Dierdra tried to warn them off but one glance at the barely alive Kora made their decision.

Suddenly, the skies filled with familiar faces.  Cyntilla, QIng, Shoti, Reya, Annabelle, Fey, and all the rest were with them.

"If you want to take one of our family from us, you have to go through all of us as well!"  Cyntilla roared at the skies as she held her shortswords at the ready.  The clouds rumbled in clear rage.

The crimson lighting was building to a terrifying height when suddenly a golden streak lanced through everything.  A wisp of pure gold floated up from Kora and touched the clouds.  Dierdra's massive form flickered but her dark eyes sparkled.

[That boy never ceases to amaze me.]  Her words confused them all until the clouds suddenly dispersed!  The certain death they all chose to try and fight vanished like it never existed.

Dierdra slowly began to fade but before she was totally gone she saw all of the women around her glow golden.

[That insane man gave you all his karmic restitution as a last resort!  It just needed enough strength to rise up and you all did that!  Truly, my daughter is blessed.  Thank you all for my final act succeeding!]  Dierdra vanished into sparkles of Qi as the others stared in awe at golden karmic Qi around them all.

Tears flowed as they quickly descended to Kora.  She was still severely wounded but alive!

A long dead Divine Realm cultivator had a redemption to save her daughter at last.  The memory touched by Lord Skinwalker now just became like all the rest in the flows of time.  The shining sun absorbed the last pieces of the phantom of Dierdra as she looked at the group of women hugging each other and smiling as Kora slowly recovered.

None could see the wide smile but all felt the love she had given her daughter at the end.