Episode 677
“Bahamuth?”
Zeke couldn’t help but be taken aback by the sight of the massive dragon with scales as black as night standing before him.
Bahamuth’s heart had once been inside him, and its fangs had become his sword.
It was hard to believe that Bahamuth, who had been reduced to just a heart and fangs by Terracan Draker’s sword, now stood whole on this forsaken continent.
A low, threatening growl rumbled from Bahamuth as it fixed its yellow eyes on Zeke, who was still trying to make sense of the situation.
Zeke realized something as he met Bahamuth’s gaze.
“Has it lost its mind?”
Dragons were revered as beings of immense power and wisdom, surpassing any creature in the physical realm. Among them, the shadow dragon Bahamuth was known to be the mightiest and most exceptional.
Yet, here was Bahamuth, showing only signs of caution without any attempt to communicate or convey its intentions.
Zeke recalled the past recordings left in the Ark, where Terracan Draker had planned to cross the dark sea to this abandoned continent to revive the deceased Bahamuth.
“Could it be that Terracan Draker actually resurrected Bahamuth’s body here?”
Zeke silently observed Bahamuth, bound in chains.
Suddenly, Bahamuth lifted its head and opened its mouth wide towards Zeke.
A deafening roar erupted, shaking the cavern as if it might collapse.
The chains binding Bahamuth began to glow, restraining the agitated dragon.
Despite its attempts to rise, Bahamuth was forced back down by the tightening chains.
Zeke recognized the chains’ origin.
“Solomon’s Chains.”
They were identical to the chains he had inherited from Terracan Draker.
This confirmed Zeke’s suspicion that Terracan Draker had indeed come here to resurrect and imprison Bahamuth.
“If Terracan Draker was truly here… then where did he go?”
Bahamuth, subdued by the chains, glared fiercely, its claws scratching the ground. Yet, the ground miraculously restored itself, revealing the extraordinary power of the space.
“Who created this place? Was it Terracan? Or perhaps another celestial being?”
Questions swirled in Zeke’s mind, but the answers lay with the resurrected Bahamuth before him.
After a moment of contemplation, Zeke cautiously approached Bahamuth.
“Master of the Dusk, Bahamuth.”
He addressed the dragon, which remained chained to the ground, seemingly unable to comprehend his words, only responding with a menacing glare.
Zeke spoke again, “I am the one who inherited your heart. I mean no harm to the great shadow dragon, so do not fear and accept me.”
With those words, Zeke slowly extended his hand towards Bahamuth.
Sparks of plasma crackled from Zeke’s hand as he attempted to connect with Bahamuth’s mind, only to be repelled by a formidable mental barrier.
“This won’t be easy.”
Even for Zeke, penetrating the mental defenses of Bahamuth, a being stronger than a divine dragon, was no simple task.
He pushed forward, intensifying his divine power.
Again, plasma sparked between them, and Bahamuth roared defiantly, resisting Zeke’s intrusion into its mind.
But Zeke needed to uncover what had happened to Bahamuth and the events that transpired on this forsaken continent.
He activated Overclock, amplifying his divine power further.
The divine power of the “One Who Surpasses the Wall” was fully unleashed, allowing Zeke to breach Bahamuth’s mental defenses and enter its mind.
[Connecting to the mental realm of Bahamuth, Master of the Dusk.]
Inside Bahamuth’s mind, Zeke was astounded by the vast expanse that unfolded before him, resembling a boundless universe.
“This is Bahamuth’s mental realm? It’s incredibly vast.”
Realizing the potential danger of getting lost in this mental abyss, Zeke decided to use the Akashic Code to navigate Bahamuth’s expansive mind.
He linked the Akashic Code to Bahamuth’s mental realm, intending to find the necessary information with the Eye of the Sage.
As he prepared to act, a light began to emanate from the mark on his chest.
The heart of Bahamuth, absorbed into Zeke’s core, was reacting.
Simultaneously, the Levatein in his inventory materialized before him.
Remarkably, the Levatein had reverted to its original form, the black sword Bahamuth, before the Great Sage had altered it.
The black claymore Bahamuth synchronized with the mark on Zeke’s chest, and unfamiliar symbols began to glow on the sword’s surface.
“What is this…?”
Zeke was taken aback by the new symbols appearing on the black sword Bahamuth.
Then, to his further surprise, the sword shifted direction, pointing like a compass.
A beam of light shot from the sword’s tip, extending into the vast mental realm.
Zeke realized that the black sword Bahamuth was guiding him somewhere.
“Is Bahamuth calling me?”
Following the beam of light, Zeke moved through the seemingly endless expanse of the mental universe.
After a long journey, he discovered something at the end of the light.
“A portal?”
Astonishingly, Bahamuth had opened a portal leading somewhere.
Zeke cautiously stepped towards the portal, and a dark veil enveloped his vision.
“Bahamuth.”
Zeke awoke to a voice calling out, and he was startled by the presence before him.
“Chronos?”
The dragon of time, Chronos, stood before him.
But instead of speaking, a different voice emerged from his lips.
“Claudia Luvern. I’ve told you, that’s my name now.”
Zeke realized he was hearing a woman’s voice, not his own, and understood the situation.
“Claudia Luvern? That’s Bahamuth’s name when she polymorphed into a human. So, I’m in her past now…”
Zeke found himself in the body of Claudia Luvern, Bahamuth’s human form.
As he assessed the situation, Chronos gazed at Claudia with a look of pity, her eyes fixed on Claudia’s swollen belly.
“So, it has come to this.”
Chronos’s gaze lingered on Claudia’s belly, which was noticeably round.
Claudia caressed her belly and spoke to Chronos.
“If you’re here to spout nonsense again, just leave. My decision won’t change.”
Chronos furrowed her brow and replied, “Bahamuth, this isn’t something you can change by being stubborn.”
Claudia’s expression hardened, and she raised her voice.
“If you’re going to talk about that cursed fate and prophecy again, save it!”
She had tried every means to escape the damned fate, but the wheel of destiny was inescapable.
In the end, she had fallen in love with the human Siegfried, naming him Terracan and forming a pact with him.
Now, the fruit of that love was growing inside her.
Chronos, seeing Claudia’s refusal to listen, spoke again.
“The being growing inside you. That child stands at the center of all this destiny.”
Claudia’s eyes flashed with defiance.
“If you think you can take my child, leave now. Not even you, Chronos, will be forgiven for that.”
Electricity crackled around Claudia, her power surging.
Chronos looked at her with a mix of sadness and understanding.
“Poor Bahamuth. Once the mighty Master of the Dusk, now reduced to the power of a mere human mage.”
Claudia’s power flared even more intensely at Chronos’s words.
“Ha, look who’s talking! Chronos, you can’t even wield your power properly anymore, yet you come here to boast? Go back to your tower! Now!”
Sparks flew as Claudia’s power surged, a testament to her unyielding spirit.
A surge of electricity shot from her excited body, hurtling toward Chronos.
Crackle!
But with a mere wave of his hand, Chronos reversed the flow of time, sending the electricity back into Claudia’s body.
Claudia’s golden eyes widened in shock. “How?”
Since the disappearance of the Hero King, she had exhausted all her karma to seal the soul of the treacherous king who had summoned the Demon Lord. Though she managed to maintain her form in the physical realm, her once formidable powers were beyond her reach.
Chronos, having wielded the power of time, looked at Bahamut and spoke. “It took a while, but I’ve regained some of my strength. We must prepare for the approaching ‘final act.’”
Claudia glared at Chronos. “I’m sick of your doomsday prophecies. The demons may be crawling up from the underworld, but the Demon Lord will never rise again. His soul is perfectly sealed.”
Chronos shook his head. “Perfection is an illusion.”
With a sorrowful gaze, she continued, “Sometimes, a noble love can be the beginning of a tragedy.”
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Claudia slowly rose to her feet, her golden eyes flashing with determination. “Step back. I won’t allow you to interfere in my life any further. Even if I can’t manifest as a dragon…”
Shadows began to rise from beneath her feet, reaching out to seize Chronos. But astonishingly, the shadowy hands halted just before touching him.
Claudia, surprised, looked at Chronos as she spoke slowly. “The power of your time and my shadows both originate from the God of Chaos. You and I are bound by chaos, and you know that power cannot harm me.”
Before the Goddess Theia sealed the God of Chaos, he left fragments of his power in the physical realm. These powers manifested as the strongest beings in existence, creating the Time Dragon, Chronos, and the Shadow Dragon, Bahamut. They were akin to the children of the God of Chaos.
Though Claudia knew this, the realization that she truly had no means to stop her filled her with rage, and she unleashed another powerful surge of electricity.
Crackle!
Just as the electricity was about to engulf Chronos, it vanished in an instant.
At that moment, the door swung open, and a man with dragon-like eyes entered. Sieg realized that the magical field emanating from the man was nullifying Claudia’s magic.
Chronos turned to him and spoke. “It’s been a while, Terracan.”
The legendary dragonslayer, Terracan Draker, had made his entrance.