Chapter 14 Awake

The cold wind screamed violently in my ears as we fell from the dark sky. Gravity pulled us down like heavy stones dropped into a deep ocean. The jagged mountain peaks rushed up to meet us at a terrifying speed. My vision was completely white. The magical System text hovered squarely in the center of my failing mind, repeating the exact same horrifying message over and over again.

Final Death Protocol. Shutting down host body permanently.

My heart had stopped beating entirely. The bloody and open hole in my chest where Elara had carved out the corrupted demon core was completely numb. I was just an empty and broken shell plummeting toward the solid rock below. I could feel my organs turning cold. My blood stopped flowing completely.

I turned my head slightly in the freezing night air. I saw Elara falling just a few feet away from me. Her dark cloak flapped wildly around her small body. She closed her bright purple eyes quietly, accepting her brutal fate. She had sacrificed absolutely everything to save me from the black poison, and now we were both going to die crushed on the side of the freezing mountain.

No. I completely refused to let it end this way.

I closed my eyes and searched the absolute bottom of my empty soul. I had zero human lifespan left to give. I had no demon core to power my magic. But there was something else buried deep inside me. I remembered a glowing light from the underground arena. I remembered the massive ancient beast with the golden eyes.

The Shard of the Golden Dragon Core.

The First Dragon Ancestor had given me a small piece of his own ancient power to suppress the poison weeks ago. It had been hiding quietly inside my body this entire time, completely overshadowed by the loud and violent energy of the shadow demon.

"System!" I screamed inside my own mind. My physical lips could not move anymore. "Scan the host soul immediately! Locate the Golden Shard!"

The blinding white screen flickered violently in my vision. The freezing air rushed past my face. We were only ten seconds away from hitting the sharp rocks below.

[Scanning host soul.]

[Ancient Golden Dragon Shard located. Purity level is absolute maximum.]

"Override the Final Death Protocol!" I ordered with every single ounce of my fading willpower. "Use the Golden Shard as the primary power source. Do it right now before we hit the ground!"

[Override accepted. Connecting directly to the Golden Dragon Shard.]

[Final Death Protocol canceled.]

[Warning. Host lifespan is now permanently bound to the ancient golden magic. You are no longer human.]

A massive explosion of pure golden light erupted from my bleeding chest. It was brighter than the noon sun. The freezing cold of the night air vanished instantly, replaced by a roaring and incredible heat. My stopped heart suddenly beat once with a sound like a massive war drum.

The deep wound in my chest closed completely in a single second. New skin pulled tightly over the muscle. The dark green dragon scales on my arms shifted and changed color entirely. They turned into a shimmering and unbreakable solid gold. I opened my eyes wide. My vision was sharper than ever before. I could see every single falling snowflake and every sharp edge of the rocks rushing up to kill us.

I reached out my golden hand. I did not need to cast a spell through the parasite anymore. I did not need to ask the digital screen for permission. The ancient magic belonged fully to me now.

A massive pair of golden dragon wings ripped out of my back. They were not made of heavy flesh and bone. They were made of pure and solid magical light. I flapped them once with all my new strength. The sheer physical force stopped my fall instantly. I hovered effortlessly in the cold night air, a golden god reborn in the absolute darkness.

I dove straight down toward the ground like a glowing lightning bolt. Elara was only fifty feet away from the deadly rocks. She was falling much too fast. I pushed my new golden wings to their absolute limit. The air cracked like wild thunder around my body.

I caught her small frame perfectly in my arms just ten feet above the jagged mountain peak. The force of my sudden stop kicked up a massive cloud of white snow and loose grey rocks. Elara opened her eyes slowly. She looked at my glowing golden wings and my shimmering golden scales in pure disbelief.

"You are actually alive," Elara whispered softly, touching her hand against my solid chest. "You are completely glowing."

"I told you I was not dying today," I smiled warmly at her. I lowered us gently onto a flat and snowy ridge on the side of the tall mountain. I folded my wings of light safely back into my body.

We stood quietly together on the freezing mountain. The dark night sky was completely silent once again. I looked at the magical screen floating in the air. It was no longer a terrifying red or a cold blue. It was a beautiful and calm gold color.

[Host Status: Golden Dragon King.]

[Remaining Lifespan: Infinite.]

The heavy curse was finally broken. I no longer had to pay for my power with my own precious life. I had absolute and unlimited magic at my fingertips.

Suddenly, a massive dark shadow blocked out the pale moon above us. The giant red dragon that had thrown us from the sky was circling back around. It let out a deafening roar that shook the trees and landed heavily on the snowy ridge right in front of us. The heavy impact cracked the solid stone beneath its claws. It folded its massive crimson wings and lowered its terrible head to look at me.

I stepped quickly in front of Elara to protect her. I raised my hands and let the bright golden fire gather in my palms. I was completely ready to burn the giant beast to ashes.

But the red dragon did not breathe fire at all. It did not attack us.

Instead, the massive crimson beast began to glow with a very dark red light. Its giant body shrank and twisted violently. The heavy scales melted away into the air, replaced by dark royal obsidian armor. Within just a few seconds, the terrifying monster had transformed completely into a very tall man holding a heavy black sword.

He wore a cruel and wicked smile. He had cold golden eyes that lacked any mercy.

"You survived the poison, little brother," Malakor said in a deep and mocking voice. "But you will never survive me."