Chapter 1073 Kingdom of Wrath
As the battle raged both inside the island and outside the lakes, the dungeon hidden underneath remained undisturbed. Inside a blue palace, a man with an excited expression sat, having just created the seventh seal.
"After the seals, you can begin your training to master wrath," said the miniature Azkahar, who had guided Arthur through the sealing process. "I must warn you that the process may take days, months, or even years."
"I have only a few days," Arthur replied, rising from the ground and stretching with a grin. "I finally feel relieved now that the voices are gone."
"Enjoy the short break, because after you unleash the first seal, it will get even worse," said the tiny dragon, floating beside him. "To wield wrath, you must coexist with it. Therefore, after you release the first seal, never use your golden mana to restrain it."
"...How will I be able to think, then?" Arthur muttered, looking confused. Until now, his golden mana had been the switch controlling his wrath. Without it, wrath would take over, no matter how small. "Dorian almost lost his life because he didn"t have my golden mana."
"A normal human wouldn"t withstand wrath even for a second, but you"re not a normal human," the blue dragon said as it landed on Arthur"s shoulder. "I believe there"s a reason you possess two conflicting powers within the same body."
"Isn"t that the entire issue here?" Arthur asked, tugging gently on the dragon"s wing, raising it high. "You know something about me, don"t you?"
"I know everything there is to know, but I can"t reveal what my father forbids," said the tiny dragon, gazing at Arthur with its big blue eyes. "According to my father"s calculations, you must uncover that truth on your own."
"Your father is Azkahar?" Arthur inquired with interest, tossing the dragon into the air and watching it float before him. "That means you need a name of your own, don"t you, little dragon?"
For a moment, Arthur felt a sense of déjà vu as the dragon looked at him with confusion. Lilo was his first dragon, with whom he had formed a strong bond. Lilo also resided within his sea of consciousness, similar to Eragon, but he couldn"t release Lilo within this tower.
In a sudden wave of regret, Arthur realized he had kept his dragon imprisoned for far too long. Lilo had a.s.sisted him in countless battles, particularly against Amelio, but Arthur had treated him as a tool, only to be used when necessary.
"I can sense your sadness," said the tiny dragon, floating before him. "Tell me what you need to understand, and I"ll help you. That"s the only thing I can do."
"My dragon companion, Lilo, is one I"ve failed. It"s remained dormant in my body for months, except on rare occasions."
"Is it the Illusive Dragon?" the tiny creature asked, to which Arthur nodded. "An ethereal creature requires time to mature. Unlike me, a physical creature, ethereal dragons typically sleep for thousands of years."
"Lilo has always been awake except for his early childhood," Arthur explained with a frown and his hands on his hips. "He"s a lively one."
"From my records of this timeline, it seems that you gave the dragon to a summoner named Hazel, who could handle ethereal creatures due to her legacy. You did so because Lilo was sick."
"Sick?" Arthur questioned.
"A dragon needs to feed on mana similar to its own, so familial bonds are crucial," the blue dragon explained as it hovered. "The Illusive Dragon must have fallen ill because it couldn"t exist in the physical world for long."
"That makes sense," Arthur said with a frown. "I went against Miko because Hazel was the only person who could help Lilo. That"s what made her hate me."
"Trivial matters," said the blue dragon as it flew toward Arthur, landing in his palm. "Name me."
"Naming is my greatest weakness."
"Anything will do," the blue dragon replied, looking at him with wise eyes. "My father never had the chance to name me before he chose to sacrifice his life. You must carry out that task."
"Fine," Arthur sighed and thought for a moment. "Your name will be Nova, the Blue Dragon of Wisdom. In honor of your father, who sacrificed his life like a dying star, lighting our path for years to come."
"Not bad," Nova said with a nod as it rose toward Arthur"s shoulder. "I will be your guide as you master wrath. You will hear my voice in your mind, but it may be a long time before you manage to locate me."
Arthur glanced at the dragon and observed it sinking into his body until half of its body remained. After nodding, he sat on the ground and closed his eyes, entering the sea of consciousness where Eragon was sealed atop a mountain. The mountain had been almost flattened by wrath, but Arthur had created an entire array of chains to seal it. This way, he no longer needed to hold it back, and instead, Eragon was chained to the brim.
"I see you have company now," said the creature made of black lightning, grinning at him. Arthur noticed that Nova had appeared at its side. "What else are you going to do to me after sealing me so tightly?"
"I will release you," Arthur replied with a smile as Nova landed on his shoulder. "Furthermore, I won"t hold back anymore. I will let all the wrath out at the same time, not reining it in."
"I see that you"ve lost your mind," said Eragon with glee. "Release me, then, and let me take over your body. I will use it well, don"t worry!"
"I will release only the first seal," Arthur said as he raised his hand. "This way, I can divide and conquer the wrathful voices instead of letting them consume me."
"Conquer?" murmured Wrath, amused. "Do you think that these voices will listen to you, puny human? I am Eragon, the Calamity of Destruction and Ageless Breaker."
"Cry me a river, Eragon," said Arthur as he tugged on the outermost chains, his eyes glowing golden. "What you failed to achieve does not define what I can do."
As he pulled the chains, they shattered, and black light exploded from the mountain. Eragon howled in rage as wrath filled the world. Arthur could no longer see anything, and the voices returned. Though he wished to keep them silent, he knew he needed to confront them one day.
As the dark world filled his view, Arthur began to hear cries of injustice. This time, instead of billions of voices that almost drove him insane, Arthur could distinguish what these voices were saying.
"Kill them...!"
"Revenge...!"
"Kill the G.o.ds...!"
Arthur stood in the dark world, staring at the sky where faces of injustice began to form. Like souls rising from the underworld, the voices transformed into faces that screamed for justice. The entire world began to fill with these faces, each one screaming its desire.
His golden eyes dimmed, replaced by darkness swirling within them. Arthur felt his feet land on darkened soil, which scorched his skin. Slowly, a land appeared before him.
"Kingdom of Wrath, where all injustice goes," Arthur muttered as he stared at the countless souls seeking to drive him insane. "If I want to control wrath, I must make each of them submit without using golden mana."
Arthur felt that this was an impossible task. Though not as numerous as before, these souls were many, each with different demands. Some wanted revenge against others, while many desired suffering for the world.
If Arthur used his golden mana, he would never learn to control them himself. The moment his mana disappeared, the voices would return, seeking to kill him.
Closing his eyes, Arthur tried to focus on each voice. He was searching for the faint voice calling his name. Nova was calling to him, and after ignoring all other voices, Arthur found it.
"I hear you, Nova," Arthur said as he opened his eyes. "How can I make these voices listen to me?"
"There are many ways to do it, each more demanding than the last," Nova explained in his mind. "The easiest but most time-consuming is to hear their stories one by one. As for the hardest and most unlikely..."
"What is it?"
"You must make them submit to you not through understanding, but by awakening the Will of Kings. It is similar to your Art of Creator, Submission, which you lost in the alternate timeline. You must make them bow to you."
"In this time, I don"t have the art?" Arthur asked, confused, as his legacy still had the art registered.
"In this timeline, you never received the art. Your legacy is a spiritual artifact that has accompanied you when you merged the timelines. However, if you want to make these voices submit, you must awaken the art yourself."
"How about I use the legacy to retrieve it?" muttered Arthur as he tried to summon his legacy, but the tower interfered. "It seems that I cannot use it inside the tower."