Episode 445
The Elder Dragon.
A being known as both the beginning and the end of all dragons.
It was the relic of the Elder Dragon that both the Mad Emperor and Arthur Draker sought so desperately.
It was also the power of the Elder Dragon that allowed Zeke to rewrite his tragic past and return to a new one.
In the end, the Elder Dragon was at the heart of everything that had happened.
At that moment, something appeared on the empty throne.
A low hum filled the air as a black dragon statue, which Zeke had once summoned, materialized atop the throne.
The statue began to vibrate, and the voice of the Elder Dragon echoed in Zeke’s mind.
“Zeke Draker, the one who defied fate.”
Zeke lifted his head and addressed the dragon statue on the throne.
“Elder Dragon, we finally meet.”
“Fate-defier, I have watched you for a long time…”
Zeke raised a hand, interrupting the Elder Dragon, and glared at the statue.
“Why did you do it?”
He clenched his teeth and spoke again.
“Why did you send me back?”
Returning to the past.
It could be seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relive a life filled with regret.
Indeed, after his return, Zeke had grown far stronger than in his previous life, inching ever closer to the complete freedom he desired.
Yet, there were times when Zeke couldn’t help but wonder.
‘If I had died in the Ice Mountains, wouldn’t I have been free already?’
Returning to the past had revealed truths he hadn’t known before, and somehow, he found himself destined to stop the resurrection of the Demon King as a knight of salvation.
It wasn’t by choice but rather a consequence of his struggle to survive.
With the power of the immortal, Zeke never tired, never got hurt, and his spirit never broke.
Yet, the fatigue and doubt that occasionally crept in were inescapable.
The weight of destiny bore down on him, feeling unbearably heavy.
For anyone else, this return might have felt more like a curse than a blessing.
Zeke looked at the dragon statue and spoke.
“Why me? Was it because I found this relic? Or is there something special about my lineage? What is the reason?”
He shouted, pouring out the frustration he had held back for so long.
The Elder Dragon’s voice pierced his mind once more.
“You are the only one with the potential to defy fate.”
Zeke frowned at the Elder Dragon’s words.
“What do you mean? Are you saying no one else could return?”
Suddenly, the scenery changed, and the surroundings turned as dark as night.
A massive clock symbol appeared near the throne.
“Chronos and I have made many attempts to change the unchanging fate of destruction.”
A screen appeared before Zeke, displaying an unbelievable scene.
“Who’s going to kill him?”
“Let’s decide with a coin toss, as usual.”
On the snowy field, the past Zeke, with his arms severed, writhed as hunters tossed a coin.
Soon, Zeke healed his severed arm, picked up a sword, and swiftly beheaded one of the knights.
Blood splattered across the white snow.
The hunters charged at Zeke.
Unlike now, the past Zeke’s face was covered in scars, and his nose was crushed.
Zeke watched his past self on the screen.
“Ugh!”
Eventually, the past Zeke lay gasping, with numerous swords embedded in his body.
Around him lay the decapitated bodies of the hunters.
Zeke crawled through the snow, reaching for the Elder Dragon’s statue.
With a final effort, his fingertips touched the statue.
A blinding light erupted from the statue, and the screen vanished.
Though the screen disappeared, Zeke could recall the next scene.
When he opened his eyes again, he was back to being twelve years old.
With his middle dantian and memories of the future intact.
As Zeke was lost in his memories, the Elder Dragon’s voice invaded his mind once more.
“At Chronos’s request, I created a statue imbued with my power, containing the ‘irreversible promise.’ Yet, even then, I doubted it would truly activate.”
Returning was an act of defying predetermined fate, something even the Elder Dragon couldn’t be sure of.
“But the power did activate, and Zeke Draker, you stand here now. You asked why you were sent back. The reason is clear. You desired it, and that will allowed you to defy fate.”
Even the Elder Dragon or the god of time couldn’t arbitrarily send someone back.
It was only possible because of a strong desire that awakened the ancient will and activated the ‘irreversible promise.’
Zeke looked at the dragon statue and spoke slowly.
“So, you’re saying… I wanted all of this?”
“Zeke Draker, we cannot know what kind of new life you desired. But what is certain is that by defying fate, you have gained the possibility to change the inevitable end of the world.”
A small change can eventually lead to a significant difference.
The end of the world, as seen by the Elder Dragon and Chronos across the timeline, was always the same.
No matter the arrangements, the result was always destruction.
But now, there was a single possibility for a different outcome.
That possibility was Zeke Draker. His return was creating ever-growing ripples.
“Fate-defier, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“It concerns the Kabbalah system you possess.”
The Elder Dragon paused before continuing.
“The one who first created the Kabbalah system was none other than Solomon.”
Zeke was taken aback by the Elder Dragon’s words.
“Solomon, the King of Carcosa, the Godslayer… and the King of the Fallen?”
“Indeed.”
Zeke had speculated that the Elder Dragon might have created the system, so the revelation left him confused.
“Are you saying the Demon King created the Kabbalah system?”
“He created it before the Godslaying, to save mortals from the constellations.”
“Is that possible with the Kabbalah system?”
“The Kabbalah system allows mortals to handle karma, which only constellations could manipulate through their powers.”
Zeke recalled something as he listened to the Elder Dragon.
The reason he could wield the powers of the constellations was ultimately due to the Kabbalah system.
No matter how advanced a human became, directly using a constellation’s power was impossible.
Only by becoming a constellation’s servant and incarnate could one wield such power.
Yet, Zeke defied that rule, using the absorbed powers of the constellations without restriction.
Zeke looked at the Elder Dragon and asked.
“How was King Solomon able to do that? He was a mortal too, wasn’t he? Did he have the help of a dragon?”
The Elder Dragon continued.
“He was the first dragonkin, aided by the God of Chaos.”
“King Solomon was the first dragonkin? Not Siemens Apollyon, who forcibly implanted a dragon’s heart into himself?”
Zeke pondered the Elder Dragon’s words with curiosity.
After organizing his thoughts, he addressed the Elder Dragon.
“Are you saying the God of Chaos created the first dragonkin?”
The Elder Dragon’s voice continued.
“The God of Chaos is the cosmic origin that, along with the primordial light, brought this world into existence. Chaos exists because there is order, and order exists because there is chaos.”
“I don’t care for such abstract talk. Why did the God of Chaos create dragonkin?”
In response to Zeke’s question, the scenery changed once more.
The entire space transformed into a screen, replaying memories of the distant past.
Zeke watched the ancient city within those memories.
Humans and various unfamiliar races mingled, mythical beasts soared through the skies, and the constellations watched in delight.
It was an idyllic utopia, like a painting.
“It was an era of abundance. Unlike now, the continent was one. The primordial light cherished its creations, providing everything they needed. But…”
The screen began to change.
The beings of the world, bored with their prosperous lives, began to quarrel and fight, stealing from one another and committing atrocities.
They hunted mythical beasts, captured spirits, and enslaved other races.
At first, the constellations tried to stop them, but over time, they began to assimilate.
Some constellations started siding with different races, and the world descended into chaos.
The primordial light, witnessing the horrific transformation of the world, attempted various methods to start anew.
It caused great floods and incinerated everything with a massive light.
The constellations lamented the swift disappearance of their playthings at the hands of the primordial light.
Eventually, the constellations reached a consensus to strip the primordial light of its power.
However, since all constellations originated from the primordial light, they couldn’t oppose it with their powers.
Thus, they sought the only being capable of resisting the primordial light—the God of Chaos.
In their quest to find the god of chaos slumbering in the depths of the abyss, they sought to harness its power to challenge the primordial light.
Ultimately, the primordial light was torn apart by the very constellations that were its own extensions, leaving it powerless.
Fearing the return of the primordial light, the constellations decided to diminish its divine status.
Thus, the primordial light was sealed under the name of the Sun God, and the god of chaos was confined as the Moon Goddess.
While the primordial light was reduced to merely a name, the Sun God, the god of chaos was different.
Over the ages, as the Moon Goddess, she sought to reclaim her original divinity through various legends and names.
Then, someone came seeking the god of chaos trapped under the guise of the Moon Goddess.
“It was Solomon and me. We aimed to free the god of chaos from the goddess’s constraints and restore the primordial light. It was to stop the constellations from recklessly using karma to disrupt the world.”
Zeke knew how Solomon, the god-slayer, had become a fallen constellation after battling the others.
The Elder Dragon continued, “But our power was insufficient to free the god of chaos. Moreover, reviving the primordial light, whose power had already been scattered and absorbed by other constellations, was impossible. That’s when the god of chaos made us an offer.”
“What kind of offer?”
“He proposed to grant Solomon the power to defy the stagnant wheel of order created by the constellations.”
“Is that how King Solomon became a dragon?”
“Solomon becoming a dragon was merely a part of destiny’s path. The power bestowed by the god of chaos was something entirely different.”
The Elder Dragon paused, then continued to speak directly into Zeke’s mind.
“The god of chaos created a small rift, a deviation from the world’s rules. Those who received this power are known in the world as ‘Irregulars.’”