The throne of the Ancient Dragon King was empty. All around it lay in silence, without even the faintest sound of the storm.
Time seemed to have stopped here. Everything had returned to Farum Azula's most glorious moment, majestic, solemn, and sublime.
Nolan stood at a distance, gazing at the enormous "rock" in the sky. Unlike those Tarnished Ones who killed everything wherever they went, he did not charge straight in and start shouting for battle.
He was not a born killer. Besides, judging from the current situation, the Ancient Dragons had treated him fairly well, giving him Smithing Stones and even sending him a subordinate afterward.
Placidusax floated silently at the center of the giant colosseum. From far away, it was easy to mistake him for a lifeless statue.
But he was moving, though very slowly, like an old machine driven by gears. And the voice from earlier had indeed come from this seemingly lifeless rock.
After a long while, the two-headed old dragon finally began to slowly stretch out his body.
The Ancient Dragon Lord's meteor-like body slowly descended, then struck the ground heavily with a dull thud.
There was no roar, no raging golden or red dragon lightning. Everything was strangely calm.
Perhaps because the meeting time had been arranged in advance, the old dragon did not show the terrifying temper he had displayed when the Tarnished disturbed his sleep.
Nolan stood where he was, his gaze fixed on Placidusax after he landed.
His wings beat lightly, and his sharp claws struck the ground with a sound, as if displaying the power of the Ancient Dragon Lord.
Yet all Nolan saw was exhaustion.
This old dragon was tired, as if something were pressing down on him, something he could not put down.
Placidusax was also looking at Nolan.
This Ancient Dragon Lord still had two heads, and his body was larger than that of other Ancient Dragons, yet it was covered in dense wounds.
His tail had been severed, and the right wing among his smaller dragon wings was incomplete. Only the great pair of dragon wings remained mostly intact.
The scar-covered Dragonlord gave off a pressure similar to Gwyn's. That pressure did not come from his size or strength, but from his soul, weathered by endless years.
True Kings were always so alike. Their very existence inspired awe and made one unable to stop wondering how powerful they must have been in their prime.
"Young dragon, your eyes are truly beautiful. Are you pitying me?"
Placidusax suddenly spoke. His voice was deep and magnetic, carrying the endless stories and wisdom of thousands of years.
Nolan really wanted to turn around and leave. If Florissax or Sethlinsax were the ones standing here praising him, he would definitely be very happy.
But judging from the voice, this old dragon was clearly male, which made him wonder whether the other party had some special preferences.
Gwyn was not a good thing. Maybe this old fellow was about the same.
Nolan muttered inwardly, but his expression did not change. He merely nodded casually.
"Yes, I pity you," Nolan said. "I was thinking how satisfying it would be to fight you at your peak."
Placidusax fell silent for a moment. Then one of his heads shook, while the other revealed a faint smile.
"You wish to fight? You truly are a dragon."
"Just how much do you dragons love calling other people dragons?" Nolan said helplessly.
Placidusax froze for a moment, but soon recovered and smiled faintly as he explained,
"This is how my clan acknowledges outsiders. But you should know that when I call you a dragon, I do not mean it that way."
Of course Nolan understood what Placidusax meant, because he really could transform into a dragon.
However, he did not want to waste time chatting with this old dragon who might drop dead after a few more sentences, so he asked directly,
"Time is precious to you too, isn't it? So why did you want to meet me?"
"Well, truthfully, I never expected that I would actually be able to see you!"
Placidusax slowly shook his head, as if the scene before him was somewhat unbelievable.
"In fact, I should not even know your name."
Hearing this, Nolan raised an eyebrow. He sensed something strange in Placidusax's words.
"What do you mean?"
Was Placidusax not the one who had called him here? Why would he not have expected to see him? And what did he mean, he should not know Nolan's name?
Could his name be some unknowable taboo, where the moment someone learned it, someone would cross time and space to smash Placidusax's remaining two dragon heads?
But Placidusax was still perfectly fine right here, was he not?
"The god we worship possesses the power of time and space. What is time and space? Time and space are time and space!"
Placidusax looked at Nolan and explained. This was the most fundamental reason, almost an outright hint. He was showing goodwill to this young dragon.
Time? The World (Za Warudo)? King Crimson? If it could foresee the future, then it should be King Crimson, right?
Nolan's memories of his past life suddenly stirred in an absurd direction again. Of course, he also knew that "King Crimson is the god of the Ancient Dragons" was a ridiculous idea, so he continued asking,
"You can foresee the future."
Both of Placidusax's heads looked at Nolan at the same time. One of them answered, "Not me. The god of my clan."
"Then your god is quite impressive. So what did you see?" Nolan was not too surprised.
Old Man Gwyn, who possessed the Lord Soul of Light, could actually do something similar. That old fellow had long known the First Flame would go out. He simply refused to accept the destruction of the Age of Light he had created, yet he had no other way.
Strictly speaking, Nolan, as the current incarnation of the First Flame, should also be able to play with time and space. Unfortunately, this was the Lands Between. Otherwise, the first thing he would do would be to drag over all those people who looked at him crying or with worshipful faces.
Placidusax's two heads exchanged a glance. Then the head on the right slowly said, "The future does not belong to the Ancient Dragons, and the Ancient Dragons will have no future. The immortal dream can only turn to dust in the end."
As he spoke, Placidusax's two heads suddenly leaned closer to Nolan, nearly pressing against his face.
"I am the beginning of the Ancient Dragons, and I am also their end. At the end, I will meet a Tarnished One and die by his hand. But that Tarnished One is not you. I have never seen you."
"If you can foresee the future, why do you and your god not think of a way to change all of this?" Nolan asked. Gwyn had tried. He had simply been powerless.
"We are powerless. That is why our god left us," Placidusax answered with a bitter smile.
Powerless. Truly, every tragedy in the world seemed tied to that word.
"If they can't do it, they just run away. The gods of the Lands Between really are all scum."
Nolan thought of the gods he had encountered in the Lands Between. Those fellows were either madmen or perverts. It seemed only the Gloam-Eyed Queen was relatively decent.
"So you called me here..."
Before Nolan could finish, he had already realized what burden the Ancient Dragon King was carrying.
Placidusax merely raised his head. As his wings spread, red lightning flashed and linked with the sky. In that moment, the old dragon seemed once again filled with power from head to toe.
"Young dragon! Before the throne of the Lord of Ten Thousand Dragons, bite, fight, and then... become the Lord!"
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