Chapter 959
Lilian felt great.
She followed Rhode and gazed at his familiar back in high spirits. She still remembered how baffled she was when she became one of the Creator Dragon Souls. She was at her wits’ end. Even though Nalea was by her side, she was just a stranger. Lilian was completely stiff when walking on this dark passage and on the verge of bursting into tears. She couldn’t remember how she passed the ceremony because her head was completely blank. She just did what others told her to. That ceremony left a relatively huge psychological trauma in her. In fact, even though she gained a lot of knowledge and learned about etiquette as a dragon soul heir, she was still a child with the title of the ‘Light Dragon’, which meant nothing to her. She wouldn’t attend any other ceremony and owned no power in the Country of Light’s affairs. She had also never seen anyone worshiping or respecting her. She didn’t think that being the Light Dragon had any benefits at all.
It was due to these reasons that the previous ceremony was the first ever, official ceremony that she had attended. Back then she was so scared that her legs were shivering. She was alone, clueless, and the people around her weren’t friendly at all, especially the Dark Dragon with his strong, mighty presence. She didn’t know exactly how she hung on and when she finally regained her consciousness, she was in Lydia’s arms, weeping.
Thereafter, Lilian opposed showing up for public ceremonies unless it was the Dragon Soul Ceremony.
If it were in the past, she would rather not attend this Order Ceremony. Even though she was an innocent child, she wasn’t a foolish one. She knew that she couldn’t compete with Ion, Siena, or Nalea in any aspect. Although she was also one of the dragon soul heirs, she didn’t possess a level of authority or reputation like theirs and was only an ordinary child. This brought immense pressure to her shoulders. There was no common language between them. Ion, Siena, and Nalea were all high and mighty figures, but she couldn’t even make a decision without the Light Parliament’s approval.
But after learning that Rhode became the dragon soul heir, she was incomparably excited for the Order Ceremony. She wasn’t dubious about his identity nor curious as to how he became a dragon soul heir. On the contrary, she accepted this fact quicker than anyone else. Or perhaps, she hoped that this was the truth because she had been lonely for too long.
She had no supporters in the entire Country of Light. Although Lydia treated her well, they were still in a master-subordinate relationship, after all. On the contrary, she didn’t feel the same kind of care from Rhode. Instead, it was as though they were in an interrelated relationship which she never had with Lydia. This particular feeling became stronger after he became a dragon soul heir.
This was why she came here and her wish had finally come true. The person she missed was right before her eyes and just looking at him gave her a feeling of satisfaction, where not even the Dark Dragon was intimidating anymore. She was also rather envious that if it were possible, she would rather not have the identity of the Light Dragon and become one of those younger sisters who was always by his side. But… she knew that this was just a beautiful dream.
The door opened.
Radiance from behind the door escaped through the opening, merging with the dim passage into one. Rhode witnessed a study-room-sized circular space behind the door with small circles of mysterious floral patterns engraved on the floor, as well as five black circles on the enormous magic ritual.
Rhode didn’t realize that while he was focused on the system prompts, the expressions of the other four dragon soul heirs changed slightly. As dragon soul heirs who underwent this ceremony, they were all familiar with the process. In this process, all the dragon soul heirs would sense one another’s powers. From a certain aspect, this was also considered a way to figure out each other’s strength because the dragon soul powers represented the strength of the dragon soul heir and his or her territory. Not only that, but strong dragon soul power also provided benefits to the corresponding territory, such as increasing the number of talents who would appear, strengthening the devoted worshipers of the dragon soul heir, or improving the abilities to domesticate unique and precious magic monster nests. A huge reason why the Country of Darkness was so powerful was that the strength of undead creatures under the Dark Dragon’s dragon soul protection was enhanced, which in turn, sped up their growth. On the other hand, the reason why the Country of Light remained so weak was mainly because the Light Dragon had trouble taking care of herself, not to mention providing strength to others. Besides, in the Country of Light, the only ones who truly had faith for the Light Dragon were… Yes, everyone knew that they didn’t exist.
It could also be said that sensing one another’s dragon soul powers was as though probing their overall strength, which not only included the dragon soul heirs, but also their people and subjects. This was also one of the main reasons why the Dark Dragon attacked the Country of Light.
The moment Rhode detected their spiritual powers, the other four dragon soul heirs also sensed his.
And they were flabbergasted.
“This is…”
Siena widened her eyes in shock as she turned to her elder sister. Rhode’s dragon soul power was neither as overbearing as the Dark Dragon’s nor as dazzling as the Light Dragon’s. On the contrary, his dragon soul power was extremely serene like the land and sky. It existed and appeared exceedingly normal. But if one were to look closely, one would discover that this still force was endless like the world itself!
Ion twitched his brow. His dark eyes glinted with complicated emotions but only for a split second. On the other hand, Lilian didn’t seem mindful about it. Even though she was surprised that Rhode’s dragon soul power was so strong, she wasn’t aware of the benefits in having dragon soul power, so she didn’t know what to expect of it. But even so, she instinctively leaned toward Rhode as though hoping that the massive, peaceful power from him could counteract the Dark Dragon’s.
[… First, Second, Third, Fourth Interfaces Activated. Order Network Connected. Transmission Stable… Power Synchronization Rate 85%. Activating Network Original Terminal…]
Rhode’s heart skipped a beat.
Just as he expected, there was indeed a problem!
“———!”
Suddenly, the light circles underneath the feet of the four dragon soul heirs flickered. Not only that, but the instant the light circles flickered, they also sensed that their dragon soul powers were being absorbed!
“This is…?!”
Before Siena finished her sentence, the four light beams burst into the sky and enveloped all five of the dragon soul heirs completely.
[Begin Network Terminal Activation———Connecting———Signaling———Zeroth Node———Order Network Structure Reset. Original Signal Activated. Commence Connection———]
The invisible dragon soul powers exploded, blasting strong, destructive airflows to the surroundings. If they were in any other place, the area would have been demolished by now. But now, the dragon soul powers were slowly being absorbed. The complicated magic ritual underneath their feet gradually shone brighter and after a few moments, the five light beams vanished into nothingness, revealing the five dragon soul heirs once again.
But unlike before, everyone was drenched in sweat. Lilian instantly sat on the ground while Ion turned pale with beads of sweat collecting on his forehead. Rhode was no exception, but fortunately for him, he was mentally prepared for this third time after having two encounters with the system going berserk. He gazed at the final line of system prompt.
[———Plane of Existence Signal Activated———Order Network Terminal Reboot Complete. Link with Main System Successful]
[Code Conversion Completed———Deepest Labyrinth Signal Port Connection Complete. Outside World Synchronous Information Transfer Function Available]
Rhode knitted his brows.
It seems like I’ll need to make a trip to the Deepest Labyrinth.