Ashen Dragon

This demon had been sealed by the gods for ten thousand years, yet even so, the power of the Abyssal Lord was beyond his reach.

"Roar——"

The Dragon Crystal on Cassius's chest glowed with a dazzling light, white smoke spewed from the vents, and a scorching, white-hot pillar of flame shot from his mouth.

Immediately after, two rows of brilliant flames emerged from his neck and tail; the Dragon Crystal on his chest was filled with the glow of flames, and the white-hot pillar of flame advanced further, its outer edges tinged with a slight blue hue.

However, the high-temperature breath struck Karex's carcass but was deflected by the dark scales.

Even a body dead for ten thousand years, having long lost its source of power, was constructed so strongly that ordinary flames could not easily destroy it.

"Truly terrifying."

"Even an extremely effective spew feels like mere scratching."

Noticing the demonic shadow approaching from afar, Cassius gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.

Suddenly, the capillary vessels of the Red Dragon glowed slightly, even protruding through his body, revealing root-like formations on his skin.
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A continuous stream of energy was transferred to the Dragon Crystal. Brilliant, high-temperature white flames spewed from the vents in his neck and tail.

Accompanied by intense fluctuations, the Dragon Crystal underwent a violent magic fission reaction, chaotic spots and arc-like lines appeared within, and the sparks erupted, crashing in his chest, making the Dragon Crystal incomparably luminous, like a miniature star in the universe.

Intense gusts of wind emanated from the Red Dragon, spreading dust over the floating island. There was a brief calm in the void, then it unleashed a deafening explosion.

In the next moment, blue-white flames shot out of Cassius's mouth.

[Primordial Breath]

An extremely high-temperature flame column streaked toward the carcass.

This time, the breath finally cut through the dull scales, piercing the majestic dragon corpse, creating a massive crack.

"Huff, huff..."

Cassius closed his mouth, panting, his body becoming somewhat translucent, exuding scorching white smoke, showing signs of near overload.

Yet he did not relax nor did he have time to rest; he plunged into the crack without hesitation, using his sharp claws and fangs to continuously widen it.

"Sssh—"

Eventually, he tore apart the thick flesh at the front of the dragon carcass.

The heart, glowing with flickering flames and still trembling slightly, was exposed to the air.

This was the heart of Karex from ten thousand years ago, merely the heart itself had a diameter of nearly thirty meters, larger than most Red Dragons of this era.

"This is the Heart of Karex."

Cassius exhaled a puff of white smoke, fervor gleaming in his pale golden pupils.

"Cassius! You have betrayed my trust!"

"You shall suffer the wrath of the Abyssal Lord!"

He turned around; the demonic shadow had arrived, its body formed of Chaos Mist, extending a hideous giant hand to capture the Red Dragon.

[Agile as a Dragon] upon him, the incredibly agile Red Dragon evaded easily but still got tainted by the Chaotic Power, making his spells extremely unstable, causing his [All-Knowing Eye] to collapse directly under such infection.

"So this is the true power of the abyss..."

"I must leave quickly."

Cassius, feeling the chaos of the infection, thought with lingering fear.

The Red Dragon dove directly into the chest cavity of the dragon carcass, evading the attacks of the demonic shadow while tearing apart the inactive blood vessels with his claws and using the Scratch Technique.

Finally, the faintly glowing heart, containing the vast power of the Ancestral Dragon, lost its flesh and blood vessels, slowly detaching from the chest cavity.

Seeing this, the Dragon Sorcerer wasted no time in warping reality with his will, casting another spell.

[Bag of Greed]

A bag-shaped force field gradually formed behind him, allowing him to drag the enormously massive heart.

"Roar!"

Cassius flapped his wings vigorously, roaring as he astonishingly took flight, dragging the heart that was larger than his dragon body.

Fortunately, the gravity in the star realm was almost negligible; otherwise, even with the Red Dragon's strength, it would have been impossible to bear such a heavy heart during flight.

The Red Dragon flapped its wings with all its might, surprisingly managing to fly a hundred meters into the air while dragging the heart.

"Ignorant mortal!"

"You do not understand the consequences of angering an Abyssal Lord!"

A black spear materialized in the hand of the demonic shadow, which he directly hurled at the Red Dragon in midair, difficult to evade.

But at the moment when the Chaotic Power was about to make fatal contact with the Red Dragon, a scale on his body abruptly shattered, and a golden film wrapped around his entire body. It turned out to be the [Undying Offender] that forcibly blocked this fatal strike.

Seizing this precious moment, Cassius ascended with all his might; he finally escaped the floating island completely, leaving the demonic shadow to roar powerlessly on the ground of the floating island.

"Farewell, no, goodbye forever—Jezarslack."

"I will remember your selfless sacrifice."

Cassius panted heavily.

The battered Red Dragon, dragging the "Heart of Karex," flew strenuously to the coordinates of the Stellar Prism, plummeting into the Star Realm Color Pond that led to the Prime Material Plane, and entered the luminous network of the star realm's conduits.

With the brilliance of the stars, the Red Dragon vanished without a trace.

...

In the star realm, on Karex's Floating Island.

The grandiose demonic shadow completely dissipated, leaving only the emaciated demon suspended in midair.

"Indeed, the smartest fish often bite the final bait without hesitation."

The demon muttered.

At this moment, Jezarslack was far from the fury he had displayed earlier; instead, he calmly raised his head.

"Heh, truly worthy of the greedy Red Dragon, it did surprise me a bit."

He gazed in the direction where the Red Dragon had vanished, as if staring into the endless chaos beyond the star realm, a strange and exceedingly sly smile appeared on his face.

"But... I have not finished speaking yet. Stupid mortals said Karex actually had a mania, resulting in the endless gales in the frenzied void."

"Isn't that the Aeons-long dream murmur of the Abyss?"

"Cassius, the mark of chaos will be deeply inscribed on every scale of yours, flowing in every one of your blood vessels. When you truly grow strong, that will be the time I harvest the fruits."

"I initially intended to let you degenerate in the dream of power and ultimately complete all this seamlessly. Only you chose a more rugged, more self-sacrificing path."

The imprisoned demon stretched a slender arm toward the void of the star realm, as if grasping something, squeezing tightly, the chains clanking.

"This is the fate traversing the universe, you cannot escape it."

"Giant dragons are ultimately ignorant mortals who do not understand the rules of the world; should I praise you for your cleverness or call you foolish?"

The endless void remained empty, silver streams floated everywhere, occasionally an undefined light flickered, and lonely floating islands drifted. Whether they were beasts of the star realm or remnants of another deity was unclear.