Chapter 186 - 181: The Last Dragon
The roar faded slowly.
The chamber remained silent long after it was gone.
John could still feel the vibration in the stone beneath his boots.
The injured man against the wall was trembling.
Lythriel kept her sword drawn, but she wasn’t looking at him anymore.
She was staring into the darkness behind them.
Darius was doing the same.
John finally spoke.
"The last dragon?"
The injured man swallowed.
"Yes."
"You’re sure?"
"I heard it."
His voice shook.
"We all heard it."
John glanced toward the two unconscious people.
"What happened to them?"
"The guardian."
The man lowered his head.
"We came here two days ago."
"We found the outer ruins."
"Then we found the entrance."
John and the others exchanged glances.
"The entrance opened for you?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"We opened it."
"How?"
The man looked toward John.
"We had a key."
John immediately thought of the circular object in the chamber above.
"You had one of those?"
The man nodded.
"We found it in an old ruin farther south."
Darius’s eyes widened.
"Where?"
The man gave him a confused look.
"Why?"
"Where did you find it?"
"In a ruined watchtower."
Darius became thoughtful.
John interrupted.
"What happened after you entered?"
The man took a breath.
"We followed the corridors."
"We found the chamber with the statues."
"Then we heard the voice."
"What did it say?"
The man hesitated.
"It told us to leave."
Lythriel frowned.
"And you didn’t."
"We thought it was a mechanism."
He gave a bitter laugh.
"We thought we had discovered something valuable."
John couldn’t blame him.
"Then?"
"The doors opened."
"And we saw it."
He looked toward the darkness.
"The guardian."
"What did it look like?"
The man closed his eyes.
"I don’t know."
"You don’t know?"
"It was too dark."
"But I saw its eyes."
"Golden."
John felt a strange sensation in his chest.
Golden eyes.
He didn’t know why that detail bothered him.
"Was it hostile?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"It warned us."
"Then something happened."
"What?"
"The floor collapsed."
He looked at his injured companions.
"My friends fell."
"I tried to reach them."
"And then..."
He stopped.
John waited.
"The guardian appeared again."
"It looked at us."
"Then it said something."
"What?"
The man looked directly at John.
"’The blood has returned.’"
John’s expression changed.
The same words.
The same phrase the temple had spoken.
"But that happened before we arrived."
The man nodded.
"We heard it."
"It wasn’t speaking to us."
"It was speaking about you."
---
Nobody spoke.
John slowly looked at his hands.
He still didn’t understand.
He had never been here.
He had never met the dragon.
At least, as far as he knew.
So why would something that had been waiting beneath these mountains for centuries recognize him?
Darius finally broke the silence.
"How long have you been trapped?"
"Since yesterday."
"Why didn’t you leave?"
The man pointed toward the corridor.
"Because the passages changed."
John frowned.
"Changed?"
"Yes."
"The walls moved."
"The paths we came through disappeared."
"We tried finding another way."
His expression became grim.
"That’s when the guardian spoke again."
"What did it say?"
The man lowered his voice.
"’The descendant must come willingly.’"
John felt a chill.
Lythriel looked at him.
"That’s not exactly reassuring."
"No."
John looked toward the corridor.
"It sounds like it won’t let anyone reach whatever is deeper until I arrive."
Darius nodded slowly.
"That appears to be the case."
---
John crouched beside one of the unconscious explorers.
"Are they alive?"
The injured man nodded.
"Yes."
John examined them.
One had a badly bruised leg.
The other had several cuts across his shoulder.
Nothing appeared immediately fatal.
Sylvara knelt beside them.
"They need proper treatment."
"We should take them back."
John nodded.
"Agreed."
The injured man looked alarmed.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"If we leave now..."
"What?"
He pointed toward the corridor.
"The temple won’t let us."
John frowned.
"How do you know?"
"Because we tried."
"We found the way back."
"But every time we reached the upper halls, the corridor changed."
"Then we ended up here again."
Darius looked toward the darkness.
"So we’re trapped."
"For now."
John stood.
"Then we need to find another exit."
The man stared at him.
"You aren’t afraid?"
John gave a small smile.
"Of course I am."
"But that doesn’t help us."
---
They spent the next several minutes preparing the injured explorers.
Aerion helped carry one.
Lythriel supported the other.
The injured man refused assistance until he nearly collapsed.
John caught him.
"You’re not walking by yourself."
"I’m fine."
"You’re bleeding."
"I’ve had worse."
John raised an eyebrow.
"You can argue later."
The man finally gave in.
"Fine."
---
They returned to the chamber with the dragon statues.
The route was different.
John noticed it immediately.
The corridor they had entered through seemed shorter than before.
Darius stopped.
"This isn’t the same."
John looked around.
"What changed?"
"The wall."
Darius pointed.
A section of carvings that hadn’t been there earlier now covered the left side.
John approached.
There were dozens of images.
Dragons.
Humans.
Dragonkin.
And a large circular symbol.
But this time, there was something else.
A figure stood at the center.
A humanoid dragon.
Unlike the other carvings, this one wore no armor.
No crown.
No weapon.
Just simple clothing.
One hand was placed over its chest.
The other was extended toward a dragon.
John stared at it.
Something about the figure’s posture felt familiar.
Darius slowly translated the inscription beneath it.
"’Blood and oath.’"
He moved to the next line.
"’Dragon and descendant.’"
Then the third.
"’Two branches of one legacy.’"
John’s expression changed.
"Two branches?"
Darius continued reading.
"’When the dragons leave the world, the blood shall remain among mankind.’"
The chamber fell silent.
John stared at the carving.
"Dragons..."
"They left?"
Darius nodded.
"According to this."
"When?"
"We don’t know."
"Why?"
"The inscription is incomplete."
John looked toward the injured man.
"Did you know about this?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"I didn’t know any of this."
---
Lythriel looked at John.
"So..."
"Your ancestors may have been connected to dragons."
John nodded slowly.
"Looks like it."
"Does that mean you’re related to dragons?"
John gave her a strange look.
"I’m dragonkin."
"That’s not what I meant."
John smiled.
"I know."
She looked frustrated.
"I’m trying to understand this."
"So am I."
Sylvara quietly examined the carving.
"Maybe the people here were descendants of dragons."
John nodded.
"That’s possible."
"But if dragons disappeared..."
"Then the blood survived through them."
Darius looked at John.
"That would explain why the temple recognized you."
John stared at the carving.
It would explain the symbol.
The reaction.
The voice.
The wooden dragon.
But it still left one major question.
"If the dragons left..."
"Why is one still here?"
Nobody answered.
---
Then the chamber trembled again.
This time, the statues began glowing.
One after another.
Golden light spread across the floor.
The circular platform in the center opened.
The same metal object appeared.
John looked at it.
The key.
The injured man immediately backed away.
"No."
John looked at him.
"What?"
"Don’t touch that."
"Why?"
"That’s what opened the inner chamber."
Darius frowned.
"You said you had a key."
The man nodded.
"That was different."
"The one we found opened the outer entrance."
"But this..."
He stared at the object.
"This one was already here."
John approached carefully.
The warmth in his chest intensified.
The metal object began to vibrate.
Then it slowly rose from the pedestal.
It floated in the air.
Everyone stepped back.
John didn’t.
The object moved toward him.
Lythriel reached for his arm.
"John."
He stopped.
The object hovered directly in front of him.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a voice filled the chamber.
Not from the walls.
Not from the temple.
It came from the object itself.
A deep voice.
Calm.
Ancient.
**"Blood recognized."**
John’s heart stopped for a moment.
The object rotated.
The symbol on its surface turned toward him.
**"Lineage confirmed."**
Darius stared.
"That’s some kind of identification mechanism."
The voice continued.
**"Bearer of the remaining blood."**
John swallowed.
"What do you want from me?"
Silence.
Then—
**"Nothing."**
John blinked.
"Nothing?"
**"The choice is yours."**
The golden light faded slightly.
**"The seal is failing."**
John’s expression became serious.
"What seal?"
The object remained silent.
Then another voice came from deeper beneath the ruins.
A roar.
This time much louder.
The entire chamber shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The injured explorers shouted.
Lythriel grabbed John’s arm.
"That was closer."
John looked toward the floor.
A crack appeared across the central platform.
Then another.
The metal object dropped into John’s hand.
It was warm.
Very warm.
The moment he touched it, images flooded his mind.
A dragon flying over endless mountains.
A vast city built beneath its wings.
Humans and dragonkin standing together.
Then darkness.
A massive creature beneath the earth.
Chains wrapped around its body.
A dragon standing before it.
Blood dripping from its claws.
A seal being created.
And finally...
The same dragon turning toward someone.
Someone John couldn’t see.
A voice echoed.
**"If I fail, wait for the descendant."**
The vision vanished.
John staggered.
Lythriel caught him.
"John!"
He breathed heavily.
"What did you see?"
John looked at the metal object in his hand.
His face had become serious.
"A seal."
Darius stepped closer.
"What kind?"
John looked toward the floor.
"Something is trapped beneath us."
The injured man went pale.
"The guardian?"
John shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward the darkness below.
"The guardian is the one keeping it trapped."
Another tremor shook the chamber.
This time, cracks spread across the walls.
John tightened his grip around the strange metal object.
"And whatever is beneath this mountain..."
He looked at the others.
"...the seal is starting to break."
Far beneath them, something moved.
A massive chain snapped.
**BOOM.**
The entire mountain shook.
And from somewhere deep beneath the ancient ruins came a voice that was not the dragon’s.
It was colder.
Older.
And full of hatred.
**"The blood has returned."**
John stared into the darkness.
The voice continued.
**"Then let the world open its eyes."**
---
100 ps = 1 extra Chapter
200 ps = 2 Extra Chapter
1 Golden ticket = 3 Extra Chapter