Well, it would definitely cause problems, but Damien never planned on actually killing the Dragon Emperor.
Still, he wasn't going to let the man go if he was truly a disappointment. In that case, there were far worse things he could do besides just killing.
At the end of the day, the Dragon Emperor was too important of an entity to all dragons. Even if he was just a figurehead, his life was still valuable. Even if all of the Holy Clans fell, the dragons wouldn't lose hope until their Emperor was taken as well.
Damien had a certain level of respect for anyone who held the title. It wasn't an easy one to bear, especially for the more recent Dragon Emperors.
At the very least, the heir wars proved that he was still trying to influence the kingdom.
Or, he had given up and was looking for someone to take the burden off of his shoulders.
The current Dragon Emperor was a so-called "Aura Dragon."
He was a dragon without an element, a dragon born to control the skies themselves. When the current Dragon Emperor rose to the throne, the heavens sang and celestial phenomena decorated the skies for eighteen days and nights.
'Or, well, that's what people say.'
Damien didn't necessarily believe it all, but since he was here to meet the man, he didn't have to waste time making assumptions.
This search had taken such a long time precisely because Damien moved with those rumors in mind.
A person with that kind of ability would likely be hiding in the skies somewhere nobody else could reach.
As he searched both the overworld and the heavens and found nothing at all, Damien began to doubt everything he'd heard.
However, he also thought that perhaps the fact that he was in a cavern hundreds of thousands of kilometers underground was a testament to just how desperate the Dragon Emperor truly was.
'It might be true. At least, to some extent.'
He sensed that being's aura, and he allowed that being to sense his as well.
He could confirm that the Dragon Emperor's physique and mana did not adhere to any of the elements.
It was more of a combination.
Damien was able to use many elements as one because he trained for years and had the Void's support. He was able to use them in their base forms with enough skill to merge them easily.
The Dragon Emperor was different. He couldn't use his elements in their base forms. They were fused since birth and manifested into a power that others couldn't understand.
He was one of several Aura Dragons, but he was the only Sky Dragon to ever exist in the world.
And yet, he was here.
This location was more than just hard to find. It was nigh impossible.
Even the Dragon Emperor himself didn't believe he could find it a second time.
He arrived here through pure luck. It was so far removed from anything he stood for and anything the Holy Clans could expect. Its special properties allowed him to communicate with and witness the outside world without it doing the same to him.
The fact that anyone had found him…
No, the fact that he could only feel that being's presence because he'd been given express permission was enough to make him resign to his fate.
He didn't show any hostility.
There was no point.
He instinctively knew that his fate was in that being's hands.
It was an emotion he'd forgotten since the last time he felt it was several tens of thousands of years ago at the very least.
But, oddly enough, it didn't feel strange.
Perhaps this was always how it was going to end.
"Why have you found me?"
His voice echoed through the cavern. It was deep and rumbling, but the weariness and exhaustion of thousands of years of isolation rang clear tones within its structure.
He was in his original form, curled up as if he hadn't moved in ages, but he raised his head to look at Damien.
That was also when Damien properly entered the tavern and saw that being.
He had ashen-grey scales and a wizened face. His horns were long and dark, and though his wings were in tatters, their span alone was enough to impress anyone who saw them.
Damien glanced over his form.
The damage didn't end with his wings. He was covered in old wounds and scars. He was missing many scales, and the sharpness that he clearly used to have was worn and dull.
'He doesn't have the aura of an emperor at all.'
It had been too long since he could properly call himself one. He had lost everything that once made him great.
"I came simply to have a conversation," Damien responded, sitting down on a chair that appeared to catch him.
"A conversation? What could a being like you learn from me?"
The question was valid. The Dragon Emperor felt inferior, which allowed him to infer what kind of power his visitor had. And he was somewhat correct in his assumptions.
Damien definitely could just read his soul and learn everything for himself. In fact, that was always in his itinerary.
"I just wanted to hear what you have to say first."
It didn't make much sense to the Dragon Emperor, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"What would you like to hear?"
"Everything," Damien responded immediately.
It was a scary word.
The Dragon Emperor was far past his prime. He had lost all of his motivation and will, but he clung to life for only a single reason.
He wanted to at least maintain a modicum of stability within the Dragon Kingdom.
He couldn't fix it, but he could stop it from getting worse.
The problem was that a non-draconic being had entered this place for the first time in many, many years. If he wanted to claim this kingdom for himself and use it for whatever purpose he had in mind…
Even if he knew he would die, he still had to stand up and fight.
That was his mentality. It was a good mentality too. The Dragon Emperor wasn't even wrong. Damien did indeed plan to seize Arulion and use it as a fighting force to protect the Heavenly World from the Sacred Abyss.
But, he didn't have any plans to do it by force.
Mostly, at least.
"I'm here to learn your story, so tell it as you please."
Those were the words that surprised the Dragon Emperor.
Rather than Arulion, he wanted to know about the emperor himself?
About his life story, his experiences?
'As expected, the thoughts of a true supreme cannot be understood.'
Still, it somewhat put his mind at ease.
The sheer helplessness he felt in Damien's presence collided with the subtle desire that existed in the depths of his heart that begged him to let at least one person know what he'd been through and provoked his voice.
He started to speak without even knowing it, and eventually, he gave in.
Even if it was a being who didn't care at all, one who had arrived on curiosity alone, as long as that being was willing to listen, then he was more than willing to tell.
Well, it would definitely cause problems, but Damien never planned on actually killing the Dragon Emperor.
Still, he wasn't going to let the man go if he was truly a disappointment. In that case, there were far worse things he could do besides just killing.
At the end of the day, the Dragon Emperor was too important of an entity to all dragons. Even if he was just a figurehead, his life was still valuable. Even if all of the Holy Clans fell, the dragons wouldn't lose hope until their Emperor was taken as well.
Damien had a certain level of respect for anyone who held the title. It wasn't an easy one to bear, especially for the more recent Dragon Emperors.
At the very least, the heir wars proved that he was still trying to influence the kingdom.
Or, he had given up and was looking for someone to take the burden off of his shoulders.
The current Dragon Emperor was a so-called "Aura Dragon."
He was a dragon without an element, a dragon born to control the skies themselves. When the current Dragon Emperor rose to the throne, the heavens sang and celestial phenomena decorated the skies for eighteen days and nights.
'Or, well, that's what people say.'
Damien didn't necessarily believe it all, but since he was here to meet the man, he didn't have to waste time making assumptions.
This search had taken such a long time precisely because Damien moved with those rumors in mind.
A person with that kind of ability would likely be hiding in the skies somewhere nobody else could reach.
As he searched both the overworld and the heavens and found nothing at all, Damien began to doubt everything he'd heard.
However, he also thought that perhaps the fact that he was in a cavern hundreds of thousands of kilometers underground was a testament to just how desperate the Dragon Emperor truly was.
'It might be true. At least, to some extent.'
He sensed that being's aura, and he allowed that being to sense his as well.
He could confirm that the Dragon Emperor's physique and mana did not adhere to any of the elements.
It was more of a combination.
Damien was able to use many elements as one because he trained for years and had the Void's support. He was able to use them in their base forms with enough skill to merge them easily.
The Dragon Emperor was different. He couldn't use his elements in their base forms. They were fused since birth and manifested into a power that others couldn't understand.
He was one of several Aura Dragons, but he was the only Sky Dragon to ever exist in the world.
And yet, he was here.
This location was more than just hard to find. It was nigh impossible.
Even the Dragon Emperor himself didn't believe he could find it a second time.
He arrived here through pure luck. It was so far removed from anything he stood for and anything the Holy Clans could expect. Its special properties allowed him to communicate with and witness the outside world without it doing the same to him.
The fact that anyone had found him…
No, the fact that he could only feel that being's presence because he'd been given express permission was enough to make him resign to his fate.
He didn't show any hostility.
There was no point.
He instinctively knew that his fate was in that being's hands.
It was an emotion he'd forgotten since the last time he felt it was several tens of thousands of years ago at the very least.
But, oddly enough, it didn't feel strange.
Perhaps this was always how it was going to end.
"Why have you found me?"
His voice echoed through the cavern. It was deep and rumbling, but the weariness and exhaustion of thousands of years of isolation rang clear tones within its structure.
He was in his original form, curled up as if he hadn't moved in ages, but he raised his head to look at Damien.
That was also when Damien properly entered the tavern and saw that being.
He had ashen-grey scales and a wizened face. His horns were long and dark, and though his wings were in tatters, their span alone was enough to impress anyone who saw them.
Damien glanced over his form.
The damage didn't end with his wings. He was covered in old wounds and scars. He was missing many scales, and the sharpness that he clearly used to have was worn and dull.
'He doesn't have the aura of an emperor at all.'
It had been too long since he could properly call himself one. He had lost everything that once made him great.
"I came simply to have a conversation," Damien responded, sitting down on a chair that appeared to catch him.
"A conversation? What could a being like you learn from me?"
The question was valid. The Dragon Emperor felt inferior, which allowed him to infer what kind of power his visitor had. And he was somewhat correct in his assumptions.
Damien definitely could just read his soul and learn everything for himself. In fact, that was always in his itinerary.
"I just wanted to hear what you have to say first."
It didn't make much sense to the Dragon Emperor, but there was nothing he could do about it.
"What would you like to hear?"
"Everything," Damien responded immediately.
It was a scary word.
The Dragon Emperor was far past his prime. He had lost all of his motivation and will, but he clung to life for only a single reason.
He wanted to at least maintain a modicum of stability within the Dragon Kingdom.
He couldn't fix it, but he could stop it from getting worse.
The problem was that a non-draconic being had entered this place for the first time in many, many years. If he wanted to claim this kingdom for himself and use it for whatever purpose he had in mind…
Even if he knew he would die, he still had to stand up and fight.
That was his mentality. It was a good mentality too. The Dragon Emperor wasn't even wrong. Damien did indeed plan to seize Arulion and use it as a fighting force to protect the Heavenly World from the Sacred Abyss.
But, he didn't have any plans to do it by force.
Mostly, at least.
"I'm here to learn your story, so tell it as you please."
Those were the words that surprised the Dragon Emperor.
Rather than Arulion, he wanted to know about the emperor himself?
About his life story, his experiences?
'As expected, the thoughts of a true supreme cannot be understood.'
Still, it somewhat put his mind at ease.
The sheer helplessness he felt in Damien's presence collided with the subtle desire that existed in the depths of his heart that begged him to let at least one person know what he'd been through and provoked his voice.
He started to speak without even knowing it, and eventually, he gave in.
Even if it was a being who didn't care at all, one who had arrived on curiosity alone, as long as that being was willing to listen, then he was more than willing to tell.
