My world-tree system-Chapter 73 - 72: Revelation

Foster froze, his breath suspended.

He could hardly comprehend what was happening to him. All around him was this white nothingness, an ocean of emptiness, infinite and silent. The air itself seemed motionless, barely disturbed by the ghostly breeze caressing his hair. But what froze him was not the strangeness of the place.

It was the creature standing before him.

A dragon.

A real dragon.

Foster had never seen one in his life. Not even in the legends he’d heard, not even in the tales whispered by the ancients. Because dragons were a myth. They were no longer supposed to exist. Yet there it was, this jade colossus, unfurling its immensity before him, every scale reflecting an ethereal glow, as if the creature itself were but a mirage fashioned in light.

Her emerald gaze was upon him, piercing, unfathomable.

Foster felt a shiver run down his spine. His instincts were screaming that he was facing an entity far beyond his comprehension.

But he wasn’t one to let fear overwhelm him.

He swallowed and gathered his courage.

- Who... who are you?

His voice echoed in the void, almost insignificant in the face of the dragon’s presence.

The creature didn’t answer immediately. She was still watching him, her long, sinuous neck moving with unreal fluidity.

Then, in a deep, vibrant voice, it finally replied: 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

- You’re here at last, Foster.

A shiver ran down the young man’s spine.

He opened his eyes wide.

- How... how do you know my name?

But the dragon didn’t answer his question. He ignored it, as if it didn’t matter. As if it were obvious.

Foster frowned.

- Please answer me. Who are you?

There was silence. Then, at last, the creature slowly raised his head, his eyes shining with an ancient glow.

- I am Xel’tharion. Last guardian of the tomb.

Foster tensed.

- The... tomb?

The name echoed in his mind, heavy with mystery.

- Where exactly am I?

Xel’tharion folded his immense jade wings slightly, and a dull rumble, akin to the roll of thunder, emanated from his chest.

- You’re on the threshold of oblivion. At the border between what was... and what should have been.

Foster clenched his fists.

- Speak more clearly! Why am I here?

This time, the dragon tilted his head slightly, as if weighing his words. Then, in an even more serious tone, he declared:

- Because the past cannot remain sealed forever.

The young man felt an icy tension creep into his muscles.

- What past?

Xel’tharion let a heavy silence hang over him. Then he spoke.

- That of my people. Of the dragons.

Foster held his breath.

- Dragons... You disappeared centuries ago...

The dragon slowly closed his eyes, as if plunging back into distant memories.

- Yes. Annihilated, hunted... and finally, forgotten.

Foster could feel his heart beating faster.

- How did this happen?

The dragon reopened his flaming eyes.

- Because of the Kaizen.

The name echoed in the void, laden with hatred and pain.

Foster frowned.

- Kaizen? I’ve never heard of them.

A dull roar escaped from the dragon’s throat, like a contained storm.

- And yet, their shadow still hangs over this world.

Foster gritted his teeth.

- Who were they?

Xel’tharion squinted his eyelids, and suddenly images appeared in the air around them, like shards of memory frozen in time.

- Kaizen are a species born of pure chaos. An abomination that knows neither pity nor self-will. Their only instinct is to consume and corrupt everything.

The images showed indistinct, shifting forms, dark silhouettes with an elusive appearance, as if refusing to be defined.

- They weren’t looking for conquest. Only annihilation.

Foster watched these visions with growing anguish.

- And you... you fought them?

The dragon nodded slowly.

- For centuries. Every battle weakened us. Every victory brought us closer to our own demise.

Foster felt a chill run up his spine.

- So, they’re the ones who wiped you out?

- No, they didn’t.

The dragon’s gaze intensified, burning with emerald light.

- We have chosen our own end.

Foster froze.

- How’s that?

Xel’tharion let out a deep sigh, and the images around them changed. They showed dragons surrounding an immense black rift, channeling colossal energy.

- We couldn’t destroy them. Their very essence defied the laws of this world.

The images then showed an explosion of blinding light, a wall of energy closing in like a seal.

- So we made the only choice we could. We locked the Kaizen in this tomb... at the cost of our own existence.

Foster felt a cold sweat run down the back of his neck.

- You sacrificed yourselves?

The dragon nodded slowly.

- Our race became extinct to prevent their return.

A crushing silence fell.

Foster inhaled slowly, trying to assimilate these revelations.

- But then... why am I here?

The dragon stared at him, and this time a strange gleam crossed his eyes.

- Because the prison is weakening.

Foster felt his breath catch.

- What...?

- The Kaizens are looking to break free. And you, Foster...

The dragon lowered his head slightly, and his voice became almost a whisper.

- ... you may be the last line of defense.

Foster listened silently, absorbing the dragon’s every word. The immensity of what he had just learned weighed heavily on his shoulders, but he was not out of surprises.

Xel’tharion straightened his immense body slightly, and his emerald eyes shone with a strange melancholy.

- When we locked the Kaizen in this tomb, we knew this seal wouldn’t last forever.

His voice was deep, almost solemn.

- We couldn’t survive our own sealing, but we could be sure that someone would watch over this prison...

Foster frowned slightly.

- Someone?

The dragon nodded slowly.

- A guard.

He paused before continuing.

- As our era drew to a close, a new race appeared on the lands of Lyréanor... A race born of nature itself, carrying within them the essence of forests and life.

Foster’s eyes widened slightly.

- Woodland elves...

Xel’tharion nodded slowly.

- Yes, they were young, innocent, untouched by the weight of history. But their link with the world, their affinity with primordial magic... We saw in them the hope of continuity.

The dragon then raised one of its claws and traced a circle in the void.

A new vision appeared before Foster: a verdant clearing, bathed in golden light. At its center, a young silver-haired elf knelt before a huge, glistening tree. Before him floated a luminescent stone, pulsing like a living heart.

- We have chosen one of their own, a pure being, and entrusted him with our most precious heritage...

Foster squinted, captivated by the scene.

- What legacy?

The dragon’s gaze grew more intense.

- The key to the tomb.

A silence hung in the air as Foster tried to assimilate this revelation.

- A key?

Xel’tharion inclined his head.

- No ordinary key. What we transmitted was a fragment of the power of the World Tree itself... A primordial seed, carrying an energy capable of maintaining balance.

Foster held his breath.

- A seed?

- The Seed of the World Tree," clarified the dragon. A fragment of the life force that has been flowing through Lyréanor since its creation.

Foster felt a chill run down his spine.

- And... what exactly does this seed do?

Xel’tharion let out a low growl, like an ancestral sigh.

- It’s the key and the lock. As long as it’s in the possession of the designated guardian, the seal of the tomb remains intact... But this key is also a burden.

The dragon looked into Foster’s eyes, and Foster felt his stomach knot.

- And this guardian... is he still alive?

Xel’tharion slowly closed his eyes.

- Bearers have come and gone through the ages. But today...

He reopened his emerald eyes, shining with an ominous glow.

- ... the Seed of the World Tree is in danger.

Foster felt an icy tension creep up his back.

- What’s that supposed to mean?

The dragon remained silent for a moment, as if weighing his every word.

- Someone or something is trying to upset the balance.

Foster felt his heart quicken.

- What if the key were to disappear...

Xel’tharion finished slowly, in a voice as heavy as thunder:

- ... then the tomb will open.

Foster felt a chill run down his spine.

- In great danger? he repeated, his voice more strained than he would have liked.

Xel’tharion stared at him with an almost oppressive intensity.

- You carry the Seed of the World Tree inside you, Foster. It has become an integral part of your being. And as long as it exists... the forces that seek to open this tomb will stop at nothing to wrest it from you.

Foster clenched his fists. He’d never asked for such a burden. He’d never sought to become the guardian of such an ancient secret. But the weight of responsibility was beginning to weigh on his shoulders, and he knew that refusing to face it was no longer an option.

- So... what am I supposed to do?" he asked after a silence.

The dragon tilted his head slightly.

- To survive. Avoid falling into their hands. Never let the Seed be tainted by Kaizen corruption.

Xel’tharion paused for a moment, then his gaze became more piercing.

- But we knew the task would be immense... that the bearer would need extra strength.

Foster frowned.

- Extra strength?

The dragon raised a claw and swung it through the air. Immediately, the white cloud surrounding them partially dissipated, revealing a scene buried in shadow: an immense jade egg, enclosed in a stone structure engraved with ancient runes.

Foster opened his eyes wide.

- What the...

- Our last hope," Xel’tharion declared solemnly.

The dragon turned his gaze to the egg, and a strange gentleness crossed his draconic expression.

- When we locked up the Kaizen, we knew we’d never escape. Our bodies were consumed in the process... but we preserved one last life.

Foster stepped forward, his eyes riveted on the egg. It exuded an indescribable aura, something powerful yet soothing.

- A dragon?

- The last of our kind. The sole survivor of our line.

Foster swallowed hard.

- And... you locked him in here?

- Not locked up. Preserved. This egg has been sealed for millennia, waiting for the bearer of the Seed to come to him.

Foster felt his heart miss a beat.

- Me?

- You, Foster. You’re the porter. You’re the one we’ve been waiting for.

Foster closed his eyes briefly. It was all too much. Too much information, too much responsibility, too many expectations.

But he couldn’t run away.

He opened his eyelids and stared into the dragon’s eyes.

- So... what should I do?

Xel’tharion inclined his head slightly.

- Approach. And accept.

Foster took a deep breath. Then, without further hesitation, he took a step forward.