Hovering above the enigmatic location, Dream marveled at the sheer expanse of what lay before him. The place seemed as vast as a middle-sized city in the central continent, stretching out beneath the azure sky. But what truly captivated him was the city's character.
It was unlike any city he had ever seen. This was not a thriving metropolis with bustling streets and towering buildings. Instead, it was an ancient relic of a forgotten era, a place where time had slowed to a crawl. The walls surrounding the city were not the imposing structures of a grand capital; they were worn and weathered, covered in a tapestry of mosses and vines.
Nature had reclaimed this place with a relentless grip, weaving its tendrils through every nook and cranny of the ancient city. The buildings, though undoubtedly architectural marvels of their time, now stood as crumbling edifices, their once-majestic facades obscured by the passage of centuries.
While the sprawling location had the appearance of a city at first glance, Dream quickly picked up on clues that suggested it couldn't be a city in the truest sense—there were no people.
While he did notice scattered threads here and there, hinting at the presence of living beings within the ancient city-like expanse, they were predominantly those of monsters, hatchlings, and lower-rank enlightened beasts. There was no trace of arbian or humanoid inhabitants, despite the place's clearly man-made origins.
Furthermore, it became evident that this place lacked the hallmark features of a city. There were no individual dwellings, no homes or residences like one would expect to find in a populated city. Instead, the city-like location consisted of towering, crumbling walls and dilapidated towers, devoid of any common dwellings or signs of human habitation. It was as if the city had been designed for a purpose other than being a bustling urban center, and time had eroded its original function into the enigmatic ruins that Dream now beheld.
As he and his Battle Maiden hovered above the lost and fake city, Dream couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. Not because he had stumbled upon an ancient world hidden away from the modern age, nor because he felt like he had discovered a forgotten chapter of history, a city abandoned by time. Instead, it was because, being a Lord of Old, he knew exactly what both this city and its designated purpose was
As Dream and his Battle Maiden continued their flight southward, they soared above the sprawling, abandoned fake city. The towers they passed grew taller and taller, or at least what remained of them. Many neighboring towers lay in ruins, crumbling and fallen. However, among the remnants, some structures still stood proudly, although surrounded by the desolation that characterized the area.
As they flew deeper into the heart of the fake city, Dream began to sense that he was nearing the answer to the mystery of what had befallen this place.
Everything around them was in ruins, but it seemed as though time hadn't been the sole culprit. There was an eerie sense of devastation that Dream couldn't quite put into words, but he felt he was on the verge of understanding.
And then, they reached the heart of it all. Lying amidst the rubble of a crumbling tower, surrounded by the remains of the ancient city, was a colossal skeletal structure. White bones, gigantic in size, formed the skeleton of a massive creature. A shattered, horned, mansion-sized skull, four massive limbs, and a wing-like skeletal structure left no doubt in Dream's mind—this was the corpse of a dragon.
This... even though it's been a long time since its death, I can tell. This wasn't just a dragon... it was an awakened beast, most likely a titan, if not outright an apex threat ranked one.
Dream and the Battle Maiden descended from the sky, landing upon the partially buried remains of the dragon's colossal skeleton, with their feet resting upon the shattered skull. The ground beneath them was a mix of stone and rubble, with traces of moss and creeping vines reclaiming the once-mighty creature's bones.
As they stood upon the immense skull, Dream couldn't help but marvel at the sheer scale of this ancient beast. It was a humbling experience to be in the presence of something so grand and powerful, even in its lifeless state. "From the look of it, this dragon fell from the sky," he mumbled to himself, his mind racing to piece together the puzzle of the fallen dragon. He surveyed the surrounding ruins, his thoughts deepening as he considered the possibilities.
Alexei, too, had been quietly observing the scene.
"It's quite likely that this dragon was responsible for all the chaos we've encountered," Dream speculated. "It must have thrashed this city, leaving nothing but ruins in its wake."
But then, a realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. His eyes widened slightly as he looked down at the shattered skull beneath his feet. "Wait," he said aloud, "I see, I was wrong. That dragon didn't just fall from the sky; it was brought down." He carefully examined the damage to the skull, noting the signs of forceful impact. "Something took it down from the sky, causing it to plummet here."
As Dream stood atop the dragon's shattered skull, surrounded by the remnants of the ancient city, his mind raced with newfound clarity. He wasn't plagued by uncertainty regarding what had brought down the gigantic and most-likely-once-formidable dragon. The evidence was clear, and he had a solid conviction. A quick glance at the collapsing structures around him confirmed his suspicion—it was unmistakably the work of an Arbian. But not just any Arbian; Dream knew this was the deed of a DragonBane Knight.
Throughout his journey, Dream might have often seemed to be traveling aimlessly with vague and unclear goals. However, deep within him, a clear objective had been etched into his consciousness. As he ventured further south, his purpose became crystal clear: he aimed to find and defeat the three lords of old who had preceded him.
Izzan the Kineater, Agna the Elden, and Ailward the Prodigal Son—these names served as markers on his path, guiding him along illusory threads to his final destination. Suraxai had warned Dream extensively about Ailward, the Prodigal Son. Therefore, from the moment he embarked on this journey, which included finding and defeating these lords as one of its primary quests, he knew his path was destined to intersect with traces of their presence.
Just like the fake and ancient city now before him, in ruins yet bearing the unmistakable mark of their passage, was a testament to their existence, or even an indication of intersecting with "their" paths—DragonBane Knights.
***
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Dream continued his flight southward, leaving the dragon's colossal remains behind. The absence of any threads made it clear that there was simply no DragonBane Knight around or powerful monsters around, and yet nonetheless, he maintained his vigilant search for any signs related to the DragonBane Knights, particularly Ailward the Prodigal Son. This was a whole city built by them, so there were bound to be more intriguing things related to them lying around.
Dream was intrigued, so while remaining cautious, he allowed himself to entertain this intrigue. After all, he believed that this was what a journey was all about: discovering and deciphering things for himself. Flying high above the ancient city, cradled in the arms of Nox, his faithful battle maiden, Dream couldn't help but notice something peculiar.
Contrary to the earlier section of the city he had passed, which bore the scars of the dragon's destructive rampage, this particular area seemed relatively untouched. While it showed signs of age and nature's reclamation, it was far less chaotic and ruined.
Dream arrived at a unique part of the fake city that left him intrigued. It was a large plaza surrounded by towering circular pillars covered in moss and vines. At the center were statues, each representing a different person. These statues were not ordinary; they were grand monuments, each depicting a different Arabian figure with distinct features and characteristics.
As Dream descended from the sky with his Battle Maidens, he found himself standing in the midst of this intriguing scene. The statues were towering, easily twice the size and length of a man, with their presence filling the space with solemnity.
What caught Dream's attention even more were the plain rectangular structures at the feet of these statues. They contrasted starkly with the grand statues and hinted at a more somber purpose.
It didn’t take Dream long to realize that this place wasn't just a plaza; it was a burial ground. The tombstones at the statues' feet marked the final resting places of some DragonBane Knights.
Although Suraxai had never mentioned this location directly, Dream's intuition and the striking sight left no doubt. He stood in the midst of the DragonBane Knights' tombs, an unexpected and intriguing discovery on his journey, sparking his curiosity and raising questions in his mind.
As Dream stood amidst the DragonBane Knights' tombs, his eyes were drawn to an intriguing sight that caught his attention. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a statue that seemed different from the others. It was partially obscured by moss and vines, like the rest, but two distinct features set it apart.
First, this statue wasn't grandiose or towering; instead, it stood at an average, human-sized height. Secondly, unlike the other statues that gazed out over the graves at their feet, this one knelt beside a grave. The statue's only remaining hand reached out toward the grave, its left portion missing, as though it had been torn off by some unknown force. The statue's palm pressed against the grave, almost as if it was trying to communicate with the one laid to rest there.
Dream approached the kneeling statue with a sense of curiosity. The likeness of the young man on the statue's surface displayed closed eyes, as though he were grieving in front of the tombstone before him. Dream crouched down in front of the statue, feeling an inexplicable connection to this particular figure. He couldn’t quite explain what it was. With a playful grin, he extended his finger and gently booped the statue's nose, as if trying to cheer it up.
"I don't know who you are, but cheer up," Dream teased, speaking to the statue as if it could hear him. "You look silly with a sad face like that."
There was something about this statue that felt different from the others. It seemed almost lifelike, as if it could come to life at any moment. Curiosity got the better of him, and he reached out to touch the statue's face. To his surprise, a faint crack echoed through the air. Dozens of cracks began to spiderweb across the statue's surface.
"What the hell!" Dream exclaimed, jumping back in alarm as he witnessed something he hadn't expected. As the statue crumbled into pieces, a dusty cloud filled the air, obscuring his view. But when the dust settled, Dream saw something that left him utterly astounded.
Through the lingering fog, he glimpsed a silhouette, and as the dust cleared, he realized that the silhouette was a man. More precisely, it was the same man who had been a statue just moments ago.
"What the hell?!" Dream exclaimed once more, his voice a mixture of shock and disbelief.
The man's eyes, once solid stone, now gazed at Dream with a living expression. It was as if he had been awakened from a long slumber, and his eyes held a profound sense of bewilderment, just like Dream's own.
"It’s alive… What the hell?!" Dream muttered, his mind racing to comprehend the surreal situation unfolding before him.
Surprisingly, what truly baffled Dream wasn't just that the statue had turned into a man; that was astonishing, but he could accept it. What truly confounded him was that the man standing in front of him was undeniably alive, and yet, there was no thread connecting this man to Dream. The threads, which he had confidently relied on to detect any potential threats or surprises, seemed to have failed him completely in this case.
Name
H.P
P.P
A.P
DragonBane Knight Parch Ironweaver Lvl.15▼
0/126
0/1149
⥈
Dream couldn't believe his eyes. Although there had been instances when the threads failed him, mostly by failing to fully reveal the extent of an opponents' danger, such as it had been with the boomwinger simpletons which all had almost imperceptible thread, this was different. Here, the thread was completely absent, leading him to believe that the statue in front of him was just like the others.
Speaking of the other statues, a chilling thought crossed Dream's mind: What if they also contained people within them? The possibility left him utterly perplexed.
As if things weren't already strange enough, a halo of red, almost blood-like, began to form, hovering above the man's head. A sigil that reminded Dream of the one he had received from Men'ma, which he had lost upon her death, now formed on the man's left cheek.
Name
H.P
P.P
A.P
DragonBane Knight Parch Ironweaver Lvl.15▼
0▲/126▼
0▲/1149▼
⥈
The situation had taken a turn for the inexplicable, and Dream couldn't help but feel that he had stumbled upon something far beyond his understanding.
Name
H.P
P.P
A.P
DragonBane Knight Parch Ironweaver Lvl.15▼
97▲/126▼
942▲/1149▼
⥈
“What the hell?!”