Chapter 211 - 206: The Call of the Second Fragment
The ruins had finally fallen silent.
John stood among the remains of the battlefield, staring toward the place where the monster had fallen.
The creature that had nearly forced its way into Tier Eleven was dead.
There was no sudden movement from its corpse.
No hidden second phase.
No final attack.
Just silence.
John exhaled slowly.
He had fought powerful opponents before, but this battle had been different. The monster had pushed itself beyond its natural limits, and for several moments John had been forced to use everything he had simply to keep up.
Yet that wasn’t what occupied his thoughts now.
It was the feeling inside his chest.
The second fragment.
John placed a hand over his Dragon Core.
The strange resonance was still there.
A faint pulse.
Then another.
**Thump.**
His Dragon Core answered.
**Thump.**
John frowned.
"It really is reacting to me."
Lythriel approached carefully.
"Are you hurt?"
John looked at her.
"Nothing serious."
She glanced over his body.
"You call those scratches?"
John looked down.
Several scales were damaged, and even after returning to his humanoid form, his wounds were still visible.
"I’ve had worse."
"That doesn’t make it better."
"I know."
She sighed.
Darius walked toward them carrying the damaged monster core.
"At least you’re alive."
John smiled.
"That’s usually the goal."
Darius looked at the core in his hand.
"Something strange happened after you defeated it."
John’s expression became serious.
"What?"
"The core changed."
He held it out.
The crimson crystal had developed several thin black lines across its surface.
John didn’t touch it.
"Changed how?"
"The energy inside it became unstable for a few seconds."
Darius looked toward the ground.
"Then it stabilized."
John immediately understood.
"The fragment."
Darius nodded.
"I think so."
John looked beneath his feet.
The second piece of the Great Dragon’s Legacy was still somewhere below.
He could feel it.
But he couldn’t tell exactly where.
That was the problem.
He closed his eyes.
The world around him faded.
He ignored the broken buildings.
The dead monster.
The people standing behind him.
He focused only on the resonance.
At first, there was nothing.
Then—
A pulse.
John followed it.
The sensation traveled through his Dragon Core and spread throughout his body.
It wasn’t painful.
It felt strangely familiar.
Like remembering something he had never personally experienced.
John saw a brief image.
A vast mountain range.
Snow-covered peaks.
A dark forest stretching between them.
And beyond the forest, something glowing beneath the earth.
Then the vision vanished.
John opened his eyes.
Lythriel was watching him.
"What happened?"
"I saw something."
"What?"
"Mountains."
Darius immediately became interested.
"Which direction?"
John looked toward the horizon.
"Northwest."
Darius took out the map.
He spread it across a broken stone.
"There are several mountain ranges northwest of here."
John pointed at one.
"This one."
Darius studied the map.
"The Ashen Range."
Aerion walked closer.
"That’s a long way from here."
"How long?"
"At least two weeks by road."
John frowned.
"Two weeks."
Darius nodded.
"Longer if the weather turns bad."
John looked at the map again.
The resonance remained.
Faint.
But unmistakable.
The second fragment was calling him toward the Ashen Range.
He didn’t know why.
He didn’t know what waited there.
And he wasn’t going to pretend he did.
That was enough reason to investigate.
But not enough reason to rush.
John had learned that lesson.
---
The group spent the next hour checking the surrounding area.
There were no additional monsters.
Whatever had been attracted to the powerful creature had either fled during the battle or been destroyed by the shockwaves.
The city itself was almost completely ruined.
Darius examined several structures while Sylvara searched for survivors.
John stayed near the battlefield.
He wanted to make sure the second fragment wasn’t causing another reaction.
It wasn’t.
The ground had stopped shaking.
The golden light beneath the cracks had disappeared.
Everything looked normal again.
But John could still feel it.
The fragment was there.
Waiting.
He opened his status panel.
**[STATUS PANEL]**
**Name:** John
**Race:** Ancient Black Dragon
**Level:** 14
**Evolution:** Ancient Black Dragon
**Dragon Bloodline:** Awakened
**Dragon Core:** Stable
**Humanoid Form:** Active
**Mana:** 53%
**Vitality:** 82%
**Strength:** Extremely High
**Defense:** Extremely High
**Speed:** Extremely High
**Magic Power:** Extremely High
**Dragon Abilities:**
* Dragon Breath
* Black Flame
* Dragon Fear
* Mana Manipulation
* High-Speed Regeneration
* Flight
* Draconic Aura
* Elemental Resistance
* Physical Resistance
**Legacy Synchronization:** 9%
**Great Dragon Legacy:**
**Known Fragments Resonating: 2**
**Second Fragment:** Located
**Status:** Dormant
**Resonance:** Active
**Direction:** Northwest
John stared at the last few lines.
"So it’s confirmed."
Darius looked over.
"What?"
"The second fragment."
John turned the panel toward him.
Darius read it carefully.
"Two fragments."
"Yes."
"Do you know how many there are?"
John shook his head.
"No."
That was one of the biggest questions.
The first fragment had already changed his understanding of the Great Dragon’s Legacy.
Now there was a second.
If there were more, then the legacy wasn’t a single object that he could simply obtain.
It had been divided.
For some reason.
John closed the panel.
"We’ll find out eventually."
Lythriel looked at him.
"You’re going after it."
It wasn’t a question.
John nodded.
"I want to know what it is."
"And if it’s dangerous?"
"Then I’ll deal with it."
She stared at him.
"You say that way too casually."
John smiled.
"Would you prefer I panic?"
"No."
"Then we’re good."
She shook her head.
---
That evening, the group made camp outside the ruined city.
They didn’t stay inside the ruins.
There was no reason to.
The worst of the danger was gone, and everyone needed rest.
John sat beside the fire.
For once, he wasn’t training.
He was thinking.
The second fragment had responded to his Dragon Core.
It had increased his Legacy Synchronization from eight to nine percent.
That wasn’t a massive increase.
But it proved something important.
The fragments weren’t simply objects containing power.
They were connected to him.
And apparently, they could recognize him.
John looked at his hand.
"Why me?"
He had asked himself that question before.
He still didn’t have an answer.
The Great Dragon was older than almost anything he had encountered.
Whatever had caused its legacy to become fragmented had happened long before John arrived.
Perhaps even before the current civilizations existed.
Yet somehow, the pieces had begun responding to him.
There had to be a reason.
John didn’t like mysteries without answers.
But he had learned not to force them.
He needed information.
That was why the Ashen Range interested him.
If the second fragment had deliberately shown him its location, perhaps it wasn’t simply waiting for him.
Maybe something else was there.
Someone.
Or something.
John leaned back.
The fire crackled.
Aerion was already asleep.
Sylvara was speaking quietly with Lythriel.
Darius was checking the map one final time.
It was peaceful.
John appreciated the quiet.
Then he felt it.
A tiny pulse.
**Thump.**
His Dragon Core answered.
John opened his eyes.
The second fragment had resonated again.
But this time, he sensed something different.
Not a location.
A presence.
John slowly stood.
Darius noticed.
"What is it?"
John didn’t answer immediately.
He looked toward the northwest.
The night sky was clear.
Nothing seemed unusual.
But his instincts told him otherwise.
"Someone is there."
Darius frowned.
"At the Ashen Range?"
John shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the dark horizon.
"Closer."
Everyone became alert.
Lythriel stood.
"Another monster?"
"I don’t think so."
John closed his eyes.
He reached out with his senses.
Nothing.
Then—
A faint magical presence.
Human.
Or something close to human.
It disappeared almost immediately.
John opened his eyes.
"Whoever it was, they know we’re here."
Darius reached for his weapon.
"Are we being followed?"
"Maybe."
John wasn’t certain.
And that bothered him.
The second fragment had resonated at almost the exact same moment.
Coincidence?
Possibly.
But John didn’t believe in coincidences anymore.
He looked toward the ruins behind them.
Then toward the northwest.
The battle was over.
The next part of their journey had already been decided.
They would travel toward the Ashen Range.
But they wouldn’t rush.
First, they needed supplies.
Then information.
And if someone really was watching them, John wanted to know who before leaving.
He sat back down.
Lythriel looked at him.
"You’re not going after them?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because if they’re watching us, chasing them tells them we’re nervous."
Darius smiled.
"Good answer."
John looked into the fire.
"Besides, whoever they are..."
He glanced toward the northwest.
"...they’re probably going to make a move eventually."
The night continued quietly.
But far away, beyond the ruined city, a figure stood on a distant ridge.
They had watched the entire battle.
They had seen John’s transformation.
They had felt the second fragment awaken.
The figure turned toward the Ashen Range.
"So it has finally found him."
A second voice came from the darkness.
"Should we intervene?"
The figure shook their head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because he doesn’t know what the second fragment truly is."
The figure looked toward the sleeping camp.
"And when he reaches the Ashen Range..."
A faint smile appeared.
"...he’ll begin to understand."
The two figures disappeared into the darkness.
John remained unaware of their presence.
For now.
The road ahead had changed.
The second fragment had given him a direction.
And somewhere in the Ashen Range, another piece of the Great Dragon’s forgotten legacy was waiting.
But John didn’t yet know that someone else had been searching for it too.
---
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