"The Third Fleet, meow?" Sparky asked.
"Yes. They were comrades who arrived in the New World over a decade ago," the Commander explained. "To investigate the deeper reaches of the continent, they modified their ship into an airship. However, we lost all contact shortly after they set out."
That ship had been filled with scholars—even the Master of the Third Fleet was on board. Yet, there were only eight hunters—two small squads—assigned to ensure their safety.
"That is definitely something to worry about, meow," Sparky said, nodding. "We only dared to leave the underground of the Wildspire Waste because we had the Boss's protection, meow. You guys were really brave to explore the depths without a Boss of your own, meow."
"After all, we left the Old World specifically to unravel the mysteries of the Elder Dragons," the Admiral added with a booming laugh. "If we shrank back at the first sign of danger, we'd never find anything, would we? Besides, I have faith in their skills. They must be conducting research somewhere at this very moment. Perhaps their ship just broke down."
"It must be, meow!" Sparky gave a feline thumbs-up.
"In any case, let's focus our efforts on overcoming the current crisis," the Commander said, nodding. "The blizzards and cold snaps are barely tolerable, but the real issue is the severe ecological disturbance. A massive influx of invasive monsters is wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem, and the intensity of the territorial disputes is escalating constantly."
"The Glavenus Tribe under the dragon's protection might not feel it as keenly, but Astera is already in an investigative deadlock," Hara sighed from the side. "Monsters have even breached our defenses and charged straight into the base. Fortunately, there wasn't much damage."
In the original timeline of the games, Velkhana migrated to the Elder's Recess because of the activities of Shara Ishvalda, causing severe frost damage and ecological chaos that nearly forced the Research Commission to evacuate the New World.
In this reality, Velkhana had indeed gone to the Elder's Recess. After all, only the Recess had the magma it needed to forge its icy "armor." However, the Velkhana here couldn't withstand the current combat intensity of the Recess. Driven by the desire for a peaceful place to rest, it had come to a corner of the Ancient Forest instead.
Consequently, compared to the original world, the source of the frost disaster had shifted from the Elder's Recess to the Ancient Forest, making the climate anomaly even more severe.
As for the ecological disturbance... well, from a god's-eye view, Velkhana's reckless release of power to terraform its surroundings certainly contributed. However, the chaos across the New World had actually begun long before it ever left the Hoarfrost Reach.
The true culprit behind this mess? It goes without saying—those who know, know.
The meeting for the Arch-tempered Velkhana subjugation op proceeded in an orderly fashion. The Commander was meticulous, ensuring every detail from pre-battle logistics to combat tactics was assigned to specific personnel. This was especially crucial since the Grimalkynes of the Glavenus Tribe were participating.
These Felyne-kin weren't professionally trained soldiers. To prevent the Grimalkynes from panicking or causing a plan to fail due to an accident, their specific roles and backup plans had to be finalized now.
With a common goal, both the Hunters and the Grimalkynes were full of drive. Even Mirrorblade wasn't idle; he was currently testing his strength against his mother in a clearing. The sound of two Glavenus clashing their tail-blades rang out like thunder. Neither held back, every swing intended to "kill" the other.
Pre-battle training!
It was truly a scene brimming with vitality.
Meanwhile, far away in the Elder's Recess—or more accurately, within the golden depths of El Dorado, right next to the Bio-energy flow of the Confluence of Fates—Asterion finally opened his eyes.
He was awake.
To be precise, Asterion had never truly been asleep. Unlike other dormant Elder Dragons who simply rested, he had been in a half-dream state, quietly sensing and subtly influencing the direction of his evolution.
He wasn't consciously "remodeling" his organs, but rather letting his body change freely—a lesson learned from the "side effects" of his last forced evolution. Asterion was curious to see how his body would optimize itself naturally after gaining a completely new organ and mastering a new form of energy.
Asterion no longer lacked the bio-energy required for evolution; he only lacked the specific, massive amount needed to fully develop his internal heat organs. That requirement was astronomical and couldn't be rushed.
Under his intentional guidance, after several years, Asterion was surprised to find that a second Gem had naturally formed within his body.
Though he hadn't cut himself open to check its shape or color, he guessed it was definitely azure... or perhaps a ghostly deep blue. Since this new Gem resided within the internal heat organ—which was now dominated by the unique energy signature of Xeno'jiiva and Safi'jiiva—a Gem condensed from such energy could only be one color.
The appearance of this Dragon Gem pushed Asterion into uncharted territory. According to his original plan, after consuming Xeno'jiiva, he would discard his inferior Fire energy in favor of the nearly infinite "Safi Energy" he was destined to possess.
His original Flame Sac would have reverted from a specialized organ to a state of "primordial chaos"—basically returning to non-elemental bio-energy before being converted into the special attribute.
Asterion had even thought of cool new names for himself after the conversion: Val-Glavenus, Meteor Blade Dragon, Abyssal Comet Blade... whatever sounded the flashiest.
But the Flame Sac still existed. This meant his body's instinct felt it was better to keep it.
He was a bit puzzled, but having tasted the benefits of natural optimization before, Asterion chose not to interfere. He'd keep it for now and see how it worked.
Turning the nozzle at the end of one of his wing-bones toward his head, Asterion focused his mind. A burst of brilliant white fire erupted. Then, with another thought, the flame turned into a pale, ghostly blue. No—the latter wasn't fire at all, but a pure discharge of energy. However, it allowed Asterion to clearly feel a powerful thrusting force against his wing-bone.
"I see. So this is what it feels like to be a Valstrax?" Asterion thought reflectively.
"The Dragon Element gas Valstrax ejects is likely this kind of energy-gas mixture, rather than the thrust generated by burning and expanding gas... The former is definitely stronger."
His wing-bones could now vent two types of energy. Ejecting Fire energy worked just as it always had. To eject the special energy obtained from Xeno'jiiva, he simply had to stop the Fire energy from entering the internal organs.
It was a bit wordy, so he decided to just call this special power "Safi Energy."
In short, even without Fire energy, the heat organs could continue to compress and discharge air. This compressed air would travel along the channels to the wing-bones as usual. However, as it passed through the internal heat organs near Asterion's back, the Safi Energy would mix in, transforming the air into high-energy "Safi-Gas."
With his new toy in hand, Asterion continued to experiment. He tried ejecting pure Safi Energy versus Safi Energy mixed with air, eventually confirming the latter provided more thrust.
It was like the difference between burning liquid fuel and vaporizing it first. Although the Safi Energy didn't "burn" the air in a traditional sense, the explosive force it produced was significantly higher.
Of course, these conclusions were based on the fact that his internal heat organs weren't fully mature yet. Once he absorbed enough bio-energy from the Leylines to turn the organ into a perpetual motion machine, Asterion would conduct further tests. That would be the time to decide whether to evolve or regress certain organs.
"Roar?" (You're awake?)
Perhaps because Asterion's tinkering with his new toys was too loud, the voice of Kulve Taroth drifted in from outside the cave.
"Roar." (I'm awake.)
Asterion didn't stay huddled in the cave. He stretched his stiff bones and crawled out. Everywhere his eyes landed, he saw nothing but shimmering gold.
Kulve Taroth was as beautiful as ever. Spending all day underground hadn't flattened or damaged the thin, fragile gold scales, floral patterns, or vine-like filigree on her body in the slightest. Nowadays, she even breathed more heavily when breaking through walls just to make sure the hole was large enough to avoid snagging her "pretty clothes."
Looking around, even this part of El Dorado seemed much brighter than when they had first arrived. It wasn't surprising; El Dorado was only truly El Dorado when Kulve Taroth was there. Every movement of this female dragon caused the wealth of this place to proliferate.
It goes without saying.
When two beings who have shared... "intimacy" wake up, and there is no conflict between them, nature takes its course.
El Dorado trembled. Gold chunks falling from the ceiling sent the small creatures living there scurrying back into their nests in terror.
After an unknown amount of time, the deep, continuous tremors finally ceased. A metallic fragrance permeated the air of the cavern.
"Roar?" (You've become more beautiful.)
Lying on her side next to Asterion, Kulve Taroth took a moment to carefully inspect his body. She hadn't noticed earlier, but now that they were resting, she couldn't help but offer a compliment.
"Roar?" (Beautiful?)
Asterion blinked. Considering Kulve Taroth's aesthetic standards, he wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Then again, considering that males in nature are often more ornate than females for courtship purposes, maybe it was a good thing?
Seeing Asterion's confusion, Kulve Taroth simply melted a large patch of gold against her belly. She then lowered her body temperature, causing the gold to solidify into a smooth surface.
While the "mirror" wasn't perfectly clear, it was enough for Asterion to see his current appearance in the golden reflection.
His head and tail were mostly the same, but the biggest change was his back—the part he couldn't see.
He was glowing.
No, not that part—his back was emitting a golden-red light from within. Even his thick carapace and blade-scales couldn't fully contain it; slivers of light were leaking through the gaps. When Asterion consciously flared his back scales, the light became even more brilliant.
Without a doubt, just like the chest of a Xeno'jiiva, this was his internal heat organ glowing. He felt a bit like a giant firefly.
Beyond that, Asterion noticed that the gaps in his armor were now filled with crystallized energy—a blue-white hue. It was as if a thin, crystalline film had been glazed over his scales. Though it was subtle and thin, it refracted the light of the magma into a magnificent, iridescent spectrum.
It was multicolored, like a fine glaze. Even Asterion had to admit it looked quite striking.
"Roar? Roar-roar?" (How strange. You seem to have grown larger, and that light is very similar to that other dragon... Why is this happening?)
Kulve Taroth was genuinely puzzled. She was certain Asterion wasn't a growing juvenile; the form she had first seen should have been his adult state. Barring a miracle, he should have stayed that way until he died.
So why had he changed after one nap? And why did the glow match the chest of the dragon he had defeated and eaten before his slumber?
Elder Dragon wisdom, kid!
Kulve Taroth wasn't a simpleton like the Kulu-Ya-Ku brothers. she had her own understanding and views of the world. Her level of knowledge was sufficient to make such judgments.
Asterion scratched his belly, wondering if he should tell her the truth and whether the truth would scare her.
"Roar, roar. Roar-roar." (More or less. I ate him and absorbed his energy, so I ended up like this.)
Asterion kept it vague, but Kulve Taroth didn't mind. She understood the gist of it. As long as she was sure Asterion wasn't hostile toward her, she was content.
As a fellow Elder Dragon, her experience and the "rumor mill" of the Leylines told her how strange the dragons of this world could be. Creating wind and rain was minor; turning a thousand miles into a scorched wasteland was common. There were even those who could mold mountain ranges with a single thought. A strange new ability wasn't surprising.
Compared to such trivialities, there was something much more important—
"Roar!" (Make me new clothes!)
Kulve Taroth finally let out the demand she had been holding in her throat for years.
A girl can never have too many pretty clothes. Even by the time-scale of an Elder Dragon, the "outfit" she was wearing was still very new, and she liked it, but—why wouldn't she want more variety?
Besides, Asterion had promised her before he went to sleep!
"Roar, roar. Roar?" (Sure, no problem. Whatever style you want. But let me rest for a bit first... By the way, while I was asleep, did any particularly powerful dragons enter the Confluence of Fates?)
Don't let Kulve Taroth's "homebody" lifestyle fool you; her information network was vast, thanks to other Kulve Taroth moving through the Bio-energy corridors.
Asterion had no doubt that this beauty-obsessed dragon had spent his slumber seeking out her sisters to show off her "new clothes." There was no fundamental difference between a woman who loves fashion and a dragon who loves gold; if they have something good, they're going to flaunt it.
Especially if they have it and the others don't.
Through this social exchange, Kulve Taroth would learn about any strange happenings on the surface or any issues within the Leylines.
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