The Gloam-Eyed Queen followed Nolan back as cheerfully as a child, as though she had completely forgotten the unpleasantness of having her request refused.
The two Godskins also reached a reconciliation with the Ancient Dragons. After all, it had only been a misunderstanding, and both sides bore some responsibility.
That said, the Ancient Dragons' willingness to reconcile was largely out of consideration for Nolan.
If Nolan had not killed Maliketh first, then with the Ancient Dragons' overbearing nature, there was no way they would have let the two Godskins leave the temple intact after causing such a huge disaster.
But on second thought, this upheaval had been a gain for the Ancient Dragons from the beginning.
They had reclaimed the temple without the slightest effort and, in passing, eliminated a great enemy that threatened the safety of their clan.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Under Florissax's guidance, Nolan arrived at the terrace.
Standing there, he could clearly see the tornado storm that ran through Farum Azula right before his eyes. The wild wind howled past, bringing waves of cool air.
Ancient Dragons and Flying Dragons had settled on the buildings around the tornado, tightly surrounding the terrace.
They were packed together in dense numbers, far too many to count. It seemed as if every dragon in the clan had come.
All the dragons looked at Nolan. The bodies of dragons were practically the embodiment of violent beauty.
Their lines were smooth, their muscles sharply defined, and every scale shone with dazzling brilliance. Beneath the golden sunlight, they glittered like magnificent works of art.
Only three Ancient Dragons maintained human form. Florissax and Sethlinsax stood to Nolan's left and right, while Josdasax stood at the front, waiting for his arrival.
"It's just a meeting. Is all this really necessary?" Nolan asked, looking at the scene before him in some confusion.
He raised his head toward the sky. Dragons circled and danced overhead, their massive forms looking especially majestic beneath the sunlight, as though they were bearing witness to an epic that did not exist.
"After all, that old fellow Placidusax hasn't met an outsider in almost a thousand years."
Sethlinsax answered casually, without the slightest respect for the old King in her tone.
"Big Brother is the first human in a thousand years to have an audience with the Ancient Dragon Lord. Thinking of it that way, doesn't it make you excited?"
"It's a meeting, not an audience!" Nolan corrected her helplessly. "Who taught you your lessons?"
Who here was not a King? One King did not need to have an audience with another King.
"I taught myself." Sethlinsax raised her hand proudly, as if this were something worth showing off.
"No wonder you can't even speak properly. From now on, have Florissax teach you and give you some extra lessons." Nolan felt he had found the reason this little thing was always asking to be hit.
He thought Sethlinsax really needed to fix her bad habit of saying whatever came to mind. Otherwise, if she went outside, she would very easily get beaten to death.
"No wonder the future Tarnished didn't see this bright-red Ancient Dragon when they came to Farum Azula. Maybe someone slaughtered her early because of that foul mouth," Nolan muttered to himself.
The moment Sethlinsax heard there would be extra lessons, she wailed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Ah, extra lessons? No!"
Just then, they arrived before Josdasax, and the three of them stopped.
"Go on, Your Majesty," Florissax said softly to Nolan, the gentle smile never leaving her face. "I will wait here for your return."
Nolan looked at Florissax and smiled. "Could you not make it sound like a final farewell? No matter how I hear it, that sounds like you're saying I won't come back."
Only Nolan continued forward under Josdasax's guidance. Even when there was no longer any road ahead, he did not stop.
It was as if he were walking along an invisible path. The fierce wind no longer cut at his skin as it had before. Instead, it became a soft breeze, and that breeze did not seem to come from the storm just now.
The storm seemed to suddenly stop still. A moment later, however, it began to turn again, only this time in the exact opposite direction.
Nolan was wrapped tightly in that strange wind, as though lying in the embrace of a gentle Goddess, feeling endless warmth and calm.
Time seemed to flow backward in that moment. Collapsed stone pillars slowly returned to their original places, and shattered buildings joined back together.
Everything was returning to its former appearance. Stones scattered all around began to gather toward the city as if drawn by a magnet.
The scene was like a shattered mirror gradually becoming whole again, countless tiny fragments finally converging into one enormous whole.
The world seemed to have been recast. Not even the faintest crack could be found in Farum Azula.
And the storm continued to expand. Even after it completely swallowed Nolan, it kept growing.
When it expanded to its limit, it suddenly seemed to be emptied out and vanished into nothingness.
As his vision gradually cleared, Nolan slowly raised his head. What came into view was a grand and magnificent structure.
It looked like an enormous circular colosseum, with towering walls all around that carried an ancient artistic grace, as though they had been carefully carved by master craftsmen.
The building had no ceiling. The sky was still a deep blue, like an enormous sapphire set above his head.
Power and the sky. This building perfectly combined the elements beloved by the Dragon Clan.
At the very center of the colosseum, a massive rock floated silently in midair, defying the laws of gravity.
From that rock grew two long, slender necks, like two giant dragons raising their heads to the heavens, as if gazing up at something in the sky.
"The Ancient Dragons should thank you, Your Majesty Nolan," Josdasax's voice sounded softly beside Nolan's ear, carrying a trace of emotion and sorrow.
"The Dread Dragon wounded His Majesty Placidusax too deeply. Though that lowly Flying Dragon was defeated, His Majesty only won a bitter victory. Now he can only rely on slumber to ease his pain."
"That battle was indeed brutal," Nolan said with a slight nod, Bayle's form surfacing in his mind.
"Yes. His Majesty lost two heads, while Bayle's wings were maimed and one of his thighs was cut away. Countless dragons fell in that battle, and innumerable Flying Dragons cried out in grief, all because of the Dread Dragon's rebellion." Josdasax's voice remained calm.
He seemed to be admiring that rock, raising his head to gaze at it without blinking, a faint smile on his face.
"His Majesty is right there. I will remain here and witness it all." He lowered his head and looked at Nolan, that smile still on his face.
Witness what?
For some reason, Nolan felt that there was only indescribable sorrow in his smile.
A sorrow so deep... it looked as though he might cry.
Nolan stepped toward the throne of the Ancient Dragon King. He gazed at the rock-like giant dragon, as if time itself had frozen in that instant.
At last, the giant dragon began to move.
Its enormous body trembled slightly, then slowly unfolded the two pairs of wings, one large and one small, that had been guarding its body.
The larger dragon wings hung all the way down to the ground, like two long ladders extending upward, waiting for someone to climb them.
As the wings spread, a heavy, foul stench rushed into his nose. It was the smell of blood spreading through the air.
Nolan's gaze still did not leave the giant dragon.
"Young dragon, you have finally come."
An ancient voice came from the sky, like a bell ringing from the distant past.
***
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