Chapter 957: The Eternal Cradle

For a moment, Gawain didn’t quite know how to react.

He stood quietly before the incubation chamber, gazing at the young dragon nestled inside the transparent pod. To his eyes, the hatchling was plain—almost ugly. Yet here was this tiny creature, newly arrived in the world, beginning to flap its fragile wings, tentatively exploring its surroundings. Dragons truly were creatures of immense vitality; their newborns could walk under their own power moments after hatching, open their eyes to the world, and perhaps—just perhaps—already possessed some innate magical ability.

Gawain noticed faint streams of light, like glowing runes, shimmering along the edges of the hatchling’s wings.

But such extraordinary gifts held little significance here in Tal’Rath.

“Is it watching us?” Amber asked curiously from beside him. “Do you think this little one might think we’re its parents? I heard that—”

“No,” Noretta shook her head. “The incubation pods are made from special materials. The view from inside is filtered and processed to ensure the hatchlings don’t mistake the machines or anything else here for their parents.”

“We should leave now,” Melita took a step back. “The hatchling’s real parents are probably already waiting on the landing platform. They’ll come to claim it soon. This is an important moment—we shouldn’t disturb them.”

The group quickly left the “Incubation Corridor” and entered a softly lit hallway. The passage was vast and empty—no people or dragons in sight—only the occasional mechanical device darting swiftly along rails embedded in the walls and floor, breaking the silence. Just as Melita had said, this was a highly automated factory, almost entirely run by machines under Omega’s control. These machines were the true starting point for Tal’Rath’s dragons.

After walking in silence for several minutes, Amber finally broke the quiet. “Those machines just cut open the skin on the back of the hatchling’s neck and seemed to insert something inside… what was that?”

“It’s an enhancement implant—a complex device that slowly influences and reshapes the brain’s neural system,” Melita explained slowly. “It’s the foundation for a newborn dragon’s survival in Tal’Rath society, the starting point for everything. This implant gradually guides and strengthens the hatchling’s nervous system until it can withstand the pressures of further implants and ‘stereoscopic signal interaction.’ This process takes about ten years. Eventually, the implant grows into a ‘slot’ at the base of the skull, allowing the dragon to receive its first official implant.”

Amber struggled to repeat the unfamiliar terms. “The first… official implant?”

“The Resonance Core,” Melita said. “An intracranial device that stays with a dragon for life. Only through it can we connect directly to Omega. It also serves as identification, location tracking, and protects individual property rights. In other words, a hatchling only truly becomes a member of Tal’Rath once it’s implanted with the Resonance Core. Only then can it survive in this vast, bustling—and terrifyingly complex—realm.”

“Do all dragons have to get that implant?” Amber’s eyes widened. “Do you have one too?”

“Of course,” Melita laughed, tapping her head. “Well, not exactly in this head, but yes, I have a Resonance Core.”

“Omega controls everything on this continent, and the Resonance Core is its farthest extension,” Noretta added. “Even far from Tal’Rath, Omega can track a dragon’s location and health through the Core, maintaining contact between travelers and the homeland. You can imagine how vital it is to us.”

“What happens if—say—a dragon’s Resonance Core is damaged or loses contact with Omega?” Gawain couldn’t help but ask. “Has that ever happened? Are there dragons who’ve broken away from Omega for some reason?”

“We can’t even imagine what that would be like,” Melita said, shaking her head with a strange expression. “As far as I know, no dragon has ever truly broken away. Damage can happen, but Omega immediately issues warnings and dispatches emergency teams to repair the connection and bring the ‘accidental disconnect’ back into the network. Within Tal’Rath, this process never takes longer than twelve hours.”

She suddenly smiled, as if recalling something. “Though I have read some old horror stories and plays where the unlucky protagonist’s Resonance Core was damaged, and for various reasons, Omega never detected the ‘accidental disconnect.’ That dragon became a ‘transparent dragon’ in Tal’Rath society—no identity, no property, unable to leave or even open their own door. Even cleaning machines wouldn’t yield to them on the street… It’s terrifying. Just thinking about it gives me nightmares.”

“You watched too many weird old stories as a kid,” Noretta muttered. “That’s why you’re so gloomy now.”

“That has nothing to do with it!” Melita shot back, glaring. “You’re just jealous of my classical charm!”

Gawain remained silent.

He hadn’t been paying much attention to their bickering anyway; what he’d seen and heard here had plunged him into deep thought.

So this was why the dragon goddess Enya insisted he tour Tal’Rath first. This was what she wanted him to see.

Lost in thought, Gawain exhaled softly and shook his head. The softly lit, cavernous corridor seemed to end ahead, where a trapezoidal door stood at the passage’s terminus.

The tour of the incubation factory was coming to a close, but before leaving, he couldn’t help but ask Melita, “By the way, were you hatched here too?”

“No, I was hatched in another city’s incubation factory nearby,” Melita shook her head, then gestured toward Noretta. “But she was hatched here.”

“So you’re part of ‘Upper Tal’Rath’?” Gawain asked. “Are your parents members of the Council or the Mithril Treasury?”

Melita shrugged, giving an answer that surprised him. “I don’t have parents. Neither Noretta nor I do. Council employees like us don’t have parents. Upper Tal’Rath is divided into many parts, and members of the Council, the Elders, and the Temples are special. We weren’t ‘claimed’ by parents from ordinary dragon eggs—we were ‘custom ordered’ directly from the factory by the Council, with genetic material from certain large life science corporations. These companies serve Upper Tal’Rath exclusively.”

She paused, then added, “But neither Noretta nor I know which lab we came from. That information is classified—only the Speaker and Omega have access. Of course, we don’t really care.”

Amber’s eyes grew wide as she stared at Melita and Noretta, finally whispering, “That… is beyond anything I imagined.”

Gawain glanced at Amber, thinking she had no right to judge—her own birth was even stranger than these Tal’Rath dragons—but he kept the thought to himself.

What he’d seen and heard here was far beyond his expectations. There was so much to ponder that even witty remarks felt dull.

A few minutes later, they left the incubation factory and arrived at the landing platform outside.

Noretta led Amber and Veronica toward a nearby platform, while Melita transformed back into her dragon form and stood at the center of the landing pad. Gawain looked out at the vast night beyond—the city lights clustered like rivers of molten gold at the mountain’s base—and couldn’t help but ask, “Where to next?”

“I’ll take you to the lower city,” Melita said, folding her wings. “There’s a street I visit often. The environment there’s pretty nice. Come on, it’s getting late—we’ve spent too long at the incubation factory.”

Gawain approached Melita, but before climbing onto her back, he pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at the time. Then he looked up at the star-filled sky.

This small gesture piqued Melita’s curiosity. “What’s up? Do you have other plans?”

“No, nothing,” Gawain smiled, putting the watch away. “It’s just that, here, not only Amber but even my sense of time feels a little off.”

Melita didn’t question him. Once Gawain was settled on her back, she took a few steps forward and, with a surge of magic, soared into the sky. Nearby, the elegant white dragon Noretta also took flight.

The city lights of Tal’Rath blurred behind them.

It was a brief flight—from the towering incubation factory to the district Melita mentioned, just a short dive and glide away. Soon, a neighborhood expanded rapidly in Gawain’s view, filled with towering buildings unlike anything in the human world.

These were sturdy, exquisite structures—if placed in the world of Loren, even kings and dukes might envy such homes. The neighborhood was densely packed with refined residences, streets glittering with lights, holographic advertisements and art projections filling the air. It looked like the pinnacle of prosperity and advancement.

Yet Gawain already knew this was “Lower Tal’Rath.”

Spacious and grand to humans, but cramped and confining to dragons.

There were no dedicated landing platforms here. Melita and Noretta landed directly in a small plaza-like clearing. Nearby, many “people” moved about the streets.

As the dragons touched down, Gawain felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. He exhaled and prepared to step onto the ground—but at that moment, a sudden intuition pulled at him.

He instinctively looked around.

Countless faint, shadowy shapes drifted in his vision—like black chains suspended in the air.

Almost reflexively, Gawain looked up—but instead of the massive “Chaos Dragon” he expected, he saw only the polar night sky. The distant city lights glowed faintly at the edges of his sight, a haze of light pollution.

The indescribable “Chaos Dragon” did not appear.

Yet those countless black, translucent chains hovered in the air, drifting through the streets and alleys of the lower city.

Here in the lower tiers of Tal’Ranth, Gawain saw far more “black chains” than in the upper levels. These chains linked the bustling crowds around the square—the dragons of the lower city—and stretched straight up into the sky, reaching toward the unseen, chaotic dragon beyond…

…

“My lord, the guests have entered the lower levels of Tal’Ranth,” Hragor reported respectfully. “They are currently touring the streets of the lower district, accompanied by two young dragons named Melita and Noretta.”

There was no response from the throne bathed in radiant light; the great hall of the temple fell into a quiet stillness.

The Dragon God Enya sat silently in her ornate seat, her gaze distant and unfocused.

“My lord?” Hragor looked up curiously, unable to help but whisper.

At last, the deity on the throne turned her eyes and said softly, “I understand.”

“My lord,” Hragor hesitated before speaking, “Is this truly wise? The lower levels of Tal’Ranth are rather chaotic—perhaps not the best place to show our guests. The upper district offers more beautiful sights and would be more fitting for their visit.”

“It was my instruction,” the Dragon God replied calmly. “I asked Andal to arrange it so that our guests would see Tal’Ranth in its entirety.”

Hragor seemed about to ask more but finally bowed his head. “…Understood.”

…

A kindly-looking middle-aged “human” chatted with Melita, while a shy little girl—who looked about five or six by human standards—stood off to the side, eyeing Gawain and Amber with curious glances. Veronica tried to offer a warm, friendly smile to approach the child, but the girl skillfully avoided her.

The “Saint Princess,” who usually relied on her smile to create a welcoming image, looked a bit deflated but quickly recovered and returned to Gawain’s side.

The kindly middle-aged “human” was a resident of the lower district, running a “scale-polishing boutique” on a street corner. The shy little girl was his daughter, just turned one hundred and twenty years old—still a young dragon.

This father and daughter were among Melita’s few friends in the lower district and were also acquainted with Noretta. Their “business” was one of the few “industries” in the lower Tal’Ranth, a trade distinctly draconic in nature. But none of that mattered to Gawain.

What mattered was that he could clearly see a chain extending from above the middle-aged man’s head, stretching all the way into the sky. Even the little girl, who looked barely older than a child, was connected by a faint, almost invisible chain.

(End of chapter)