When I looked around, I found myself in a pure white space where nothing existed. It felt as if I had been transported to another dimension; I could not sense even the slightest trace of life around me.
Just as my mind struggled to grasp what had happened, Prome’s voice reached me.
『It seems someone has drawn you into a dimensional rift.』
A dimensional rift? Who in the world would do such a thing...
Right then, a voice echoed through the void.
“What is life? Aging, dying... these are the beauties of living beings, things that can only be felt because one is alive. Because they grow old, because they must die, they become unbearably lovely and precious. This applies to all life that enriches this small world.”
“You are...”
Before me, a thought-form in the shape of a dragon slowly revealed itself. Even calling it a thought-form felt like an understatement; the presence it radiated was so overwhelming and noble that I understood instinctively. This dragon was Veldanava, the Sacred Dragon and the Creator God who had fashioned this world.
“The Sacred Dragon... Veldanava.”
“So you know me, dragonkind with a noble soul. You have splendidly shattered the laws of the world, which dictate that only four True Dragons may exist.”
“I have something I want to ask about that. Why was I reborn as part of the draconic lineage? All I wanted was to be a dragon.”
“That is because your will was strong. The soul is the very essence that defines one's existence. At that moment, deep in your heart, you desired the form of a dragon with an intensity that surpassed all else. Your powerful will and the sheer size of your soul were simply too vast to be contained within the vessel of a mere dragon.”
Veldanava continued his explanation.
“I was surprised. I never imagined there would be a being with such an indomitable will and soul.”
“Then why haven't you revived? If you are a True Dragon, you should be an immortal being.”
At my question, Veldanava narrowed his eyes.
“Perhaps it is because I loved Lucia. No... perhaps it is because I loved *only* Lucia.”
Veldanava’s eyes grew sorrowful as he spoke.
The god who was meant to love every existence in this world had, as a man, fallen in love with a single woman. He had abandoned his power as the Creator God just to share his love with her, and that love bore fruit in the form of Milim. However, in doing so, he lost the vast majority of his tremendous power.
“No, perhaps I am the one refusing to revive.”
Veldanava mused that because he loved Lucia so deeply, he felt no lingering attachment to a world where she no longer existed, and thus, he chose not to return.
The grief and sense of loss that come from losing a loved one are beyond words. Vertis, too, had lost the will to live on the day his son died.
“Then, why did you call me here?”
As I asked, Veldanava immediately shifted the atmosphere.
“O seeker with a strong soul and will, I no longer possess power. However, I still have my remaining energy. I have summoned you here to give this energy to you.”
“Your energy... to me?”
“Yes. Your body may be torn asunder. But if you possess the will to endure it all, my power shall become yours, and you will evolve to a higher plane of existence. If you refuse, I shall release you from this space immediately.”
“There is no reason to refuse an opportunity to become stronger.”
“Is that so? Then feel the power. Evolve. Transform. Transcend.”
With those words, Veldanava’s thought-form vanished, leaving behind a massive core radiating a brilliant, blinding light.
That was the essence of Veldanava’s energy.
I wrapped my wings around the core, attempting to absorb the power. Immediately, a violent rejection reaction erupted, followed by agonizing, searing pain.
Just as it felt as if my entire body was about to rupture, a voice flickered before my eyes and echoed in my ears.
“...pa.”
That voice!
The voice belonged to none other than my son. Seeing the image of the child who had left my side so long ago, I reached out to him, but he only smiled and said,
“Dad, hang in there!”
With those words, my son dissolved into particles of light and vanished. However, his voice set my soul ablaze.
That’s right. I cannot die in a place like this!!
“GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!”
I stopped resisting and accepted every shred of Veldanava’s power, absorbing the energy greedily. As I did, the core began to diminish.
Watching this, Veldanava felt a sense of profound awe.
In all his long existence, he had never seen anything like it. A will that refused to be extinguished, a mental fortitude of iron, and a truly noble soul.
《Confirmed. By absorbing Veldanava’s energy, individual: Vertis has successfully evolved into the True Thunder God Dragon.》
My form grew even more massive than before, and the amount of magicules within me expanded to an unfathomable degree. Two new forms emerged: Dragon Form and Dragon Knight Mode. While Dragon Form was similar to my usual appearance, Dragon Knight Mode transformed my enormous scales into armor of crimson, gold, and white. The wings that once covered the sky split into two pairs of even more colossal wings. I took on the appearance of a dragonman rather than a beast, possessing four magnificent wings, two pairs of horns rising proudly from my head, and a single horn jutting from my forehead. With a lean, powerful physique and an exalted aura, I looked like a silver dragon knight.
Unable to contain the sheer mystery and power of this form, a violent vortex of dragonic plasma swirled above my head. The skill [Zeus] was renamed [Shiva], the Prideful King of Destruction. Furthermore, the creation magic [The Creator] and the death-dealing [Soul Reaper] fused into a single skill: [Uranus], the God of Creation.
Through the authority of Shiva, I inherited all the powers Zeus once held, while gaining new authorities: Space-Time Destruction and Dimensional Collapse.
While Shiva was a skill specialized in absolute destruction, Uranus inherited Prome’s [Spatial Dominion], [Storage], Creation/Imitation, and Deconstruction/Extraction. Additionally, it integrated Soul Absorption and Soul Predation from Martiel, while gaining new abilities: Soul Creation and Soul Fusion.
Soul Creation allowed me to manifest entirely new souls, while Soul Fusion enabled me to merge two souls to rebirth them into a far more powerful existence.
Thus, alongside the power of Chaos, I had obtained the dual powers of Creation and Destruction.
As I exited the dimensional rift and returned to reality, Prome spoke to me.
Using the authority of Prometheus, I could perceive the events unfolding across the world, and the news Prome delivered was shocking.
One of the True Dragons, the Storm Dragon Veldora, had been annihilated.
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