Ashen Dragon

Chapter 287: Chapter 210: Curse
 

Cassius lay sprawled in the palace, observing his chest with the “All-Knowing Eye.” The “Heart of Karex” pulsed rhythmically with his heartbeat, emitting a faint glow as it seemed to fully integrate with his body.

He looked at the panel, and the number representing the fusion progress was still increasing, though the speed had significantly slowed.

[Your absorption progress of the “Heart of Karex”: 1.57%]

Cassius’s expression grew somber.

Deities did not possess completely free will; their divine roles influenced their personalities to some extent. Even the third Mistrala was affected by the remnants of the original Goddess of Magic, her character becoming entirely different. A mere mortal like the Red Dragon stood no chance.

Facing an existence like Karex, whose status and bloodline far surpassed his own, it was almost inevitable that Cassius would be influenced.

If he hadn’t realized the changes in his own personality, he might have unwittingly become the incarnation of the Dragon God of Destruction.

“Jezarslack…”

He muttered the name once more.

Reflecting carefully on his experiences within the Stellar Prism, Cassius realized that the methods of this “Vengeful Demon” far exceeded his imagination.

At the moment when Karex’s relic returned to the world, his desire for power had reached its peak. He had even risked his life to steal the heart, driven by sheer greed for strength.

“This is… the influence of the Will of the Abyss.”

“Chaotic, frenzied, dominated by desire, willing to sacrifice anything.”

Cassius couldn’t help but feel a little afraid.

That Demon Lord had easily influenced his mind without his awareness. It seemed there was a reason the former “Cassius” had been deceived.

After all, that was a genuine newborn dragon. How could it possibly outplay an ancient Abyssal fox with tens of thousands of years of experience?

Cassius looked at his panel, focusing on the sub-occupation of the “Bloodscaled Fury.”

This “Barbarian” type among dragons was extremely compatible with the Red Dragon’s traits and perfectly suited Karex’s destructive power.

Each time he entered the “Bloodscale Frenzy” state, his heartbeat quickened drastically, a warm current surged within his body, and the fusion progress of the Heart of Karex sped up dramatically.

Once, he had been addicted to the pleasure of rapid power growth and found the feeling of raw, bloody combat somewhat intoxicating.

But now, his mood was extraordinarily heavy.

“Sure enough, another bait…”

Cassius let out a bitter laugh.

From the moment he killed Keman, he had fallen into the Vengeful Demon’s trap. All the great strength he gained might become a poison leading to his downfall.

He had once scoffed at Keman’s obsession with revenge, but now he found himself on a similar path.

The Red Dragon could still feel the chaotic and destructive power flowing through every vein, lying dormant in his strong draconic body, waiting for a chance to erupt and destroy everything.

This was the curse shared by Karex, trapped in the Screaming Void, and Jezarslack, imprisoned in the star realm.

Ordinary mortals had almost no resistance against such a level of curse.

If left unchecked, this situation would only worsen. When Karex’s blood flooded his torso, limbs, and even brain, the power of destruction would eventually consume him, turning him into a puppet controlled by the Will of the Abyss.

Right now, he could barely maintain his sanity, but when that time came, mere “willpower” would not be enough to control it.

Cassius exhaled a sulfurous white smoke, lowering his gaze to his slightly rising and falling chest, seeming to see the amber-like blood crystal inside. He murmured to himself:

“Damn… I must end this state as soon as possible.”

“At any cost.”

…

In a remote annex of the royal palace, the Silver Dragon lay limp on the ground, breathing weakly.

The Dragon Binding Array’s restraints had partially loosened. Although the outer restrictions she couldn’t break still existed, at least she had free space to move.

Reflecting on recent days’ experiences, she felt extremely absurd and infinitely aggrieved.

“Why exactly…”

Olivia’s eyes were filled with confusion as she let out a bitter laugh.

If that deception had never been revealed, she might not have felt this hopeless. At least, she would have had a sliver of illusory hope, barely lying to herself, indulging in a fabricated dream.

But with the brutal reality laid bare before her, she could no longer deceive herself.

The figure of the mighty King of Ashen gradually overlapped with that of the mysterious Gold Dragon Anhel, making her world seem more absurd, like a colossal joke from the God of Fate, driving her to the brink of sanity.

Strangely though, she didn’t feel the intense hatred she had expected towards the Red Dragon. Instead, she felt confusion and puzzlement, along with a very complex psychological dependence—what in some worlds was referred to as Stockholm syndrome.

Her attachment to “Anhel,” the bitterness of being deceived, the confusion and despair for the future interwove, ultimately forming this complex state of mind in the Silver Dragon’s consciousness.

“He could have killed me.”

“But his personality is as if… he became a different dragon.”

The image of the Red Dragon’s frenzied, all-destroying gaze resurfaced in Olivia’s mind.

This was entirely different from the rational, brilliant “King of Ashen” Cassius she remembered, let alone the kind and righteous Gold Dragon Anhel.

“Abyssal demons…”

Olivia recalled the other party’s repeated words.

Yes, Abyssal demons.

This chaotic, frenzied emotion, utterly dominated by desire, closely resembled that of the demons from the Abyss. Olivia had once visited Aphernas under the protection of an elder, witnessing the cruel and grand “Blood War,” and those frenzied demons.

“Perhaps… he truly has some untold suffering.”

“Or even being cursed by some Abyssal demon.”

Olivia couldn’t help but murmur, her blue-gray eyes gleaming with faint light.

After organizing her chaotic thoughts, Olivia suddenly sensed that the Red Dragon wasn’t as irredeemable as she initially thought, even feeling somewhat involuntary.

“Maybe I can save him.”

Olivia suddenly felt a strange sense of mission, believing that perhaps she could help him escape this chaotic, frenzied state, even guiding him towards righteousness and under the guidance of His Majesty Bahamut.

This was not only redemption for the Red Dragon but also protection for all life on the Prime Material Plane.

Turning such a powerful Red Dragon into an incarnation of the Abyss wouldn’t just be a disaster for the Anzeta Great Wilderness; it would be a nightmare for all living beings and even a catastrophe for the entire Material Plane.