August's body disappeared from where he stood, but he was still in the exact same place. To make it absolutely impossible for him to escape, Noctum separated him from the true reality and placed him inside of a realm of Eternal Darkness.
That was a place where mana did not exist outside of Noctum's own control, and nothing aside from darkness itself could survive. August would not be directly harmed by the environment, but it was uncertain if he'd still be the same person when he once again saw the light of day.
The nature of that space that refused to change was somewhat similar to the outside environment as well.
Though the majority of them were too far away to actually witness what happened, every single genius in the vicinity heard the booming voices of those ancient Holy Dragons clearly announcing why they'd arrived.
They heard that August was an Azure Dragon. To most, this meant nothing. Even most of the nobles and Holy Clan geniuses didn't know why it was such a big deal. The most they could do was question the secrets August hid within his body.
Qinglong's legacy had been ruined in quite an orderly manner. First came the era in which Zenith was born. At that time, the ancient dragon's identity was being smeared at every possible opportunity.
Any records of his existence were burned and replaced by a false narrative. It went against everything that the scholars and sages among the dragon clans stood for, but the decisions of the ancients could not be challenged.
During that era, Qinglong turned from a respected hero of the dragons to the worst to ever live. Only after that did the era begin when his existence was completely phased out of history.
The Holy Dragons were thorough. They refused to allow anyone to find an ancient record that told the truth of their forgotten history. For the current generation of geniuses, the name Qinglong meant close to nothing at all.
Eris was different.
There had been many questionable changes in the ranks of Holy Dragons in the past. They actually weren't the same dragons that existed in Qinglong's era if one looked at their physical bodies alone. Instead, a unique method had been employed to ensure that the status of "Holy Dragon" was not given to anyone other than them.
Noctum was the only one who never changed from then to now. His physical form and his soul were the exact same as they were when he first rose to power in ancient times, and as Eris was his most prized successor, he'd told her stories of that time.
Eris didn't have any preconceived notions about the Azure Dragon. The way that Noctum described him was as such:
"A dragon with such power that it threatened draconic society as a whole."
It seemed like his opinion of the past's transgressions was different from most, but that was not something to be explored when Noctum wasn't present.
The only thing Eris knew about the Azure Dragon was that he was unreasonably powerful to the point where even the most powerful dragons ever to exist were threatened by his mere existence.
To hear that August was his successor and direct descendant…
Really, what she felt was confusion. She didn't quite understand how it was possible, nor did she quite understand why it was so significant.
Nevertheless, the real reaction to witness in this vicinity belonged to Wilhelm Liqua.
At least, that would have been the case if Wilhelm had the chance to react.
Their clan was the only one that refused to forget the Azure Dragon. The elders who knew the true history viewed him as a stain to their reputations, and the young ones who were raised by propaganda saw him as a traitor and a weakling who had to die in order for their clan to uphold their righteousness and dignity.
The battles all across the two territories naturally came to an end when the time array's energy wave spread through Arulion, which gave Wilhelm more than enough space to react to the ongoing situation.
The problem was elsewhere.
Right, even with everything that had happened thus far, it wasn't enough to call it chaos, was it?
Rose stole everything that the Holy Dragons held valuable, but she was already gone. They had no chance of regaining the things they'd lost.
In this climate, they'd eventually return and take their rage out on August, which by no means would be something he enjoyed.
There had to be something more, right?
If one had that thought while watching the situation unfold, then they were absolutely correct.
And as if to prove that point, destruction soon wrought the land.
It happened both close and far away. It wasn't close enough to perfectly perceive what was happening, but every single genius in the stage sensed the same thing.
Blood.
A gargantuan wave of blood with a stench that clouded one's nose was spreading through the closest settlements to them.
See, Serena kept evil in mind when she led the Heavenly World in their preparation for the array's activation. Prisons and asylums were specially cared for so that nobody dangerous enough to cause chaos in the world would be released by the event.
Arulion did not have prisoners. Not in prison systems, anyway.
For the most part, anyone who committed enough crime to be deemed a criminal in Arulion would either die or join a large group to have their actions justified.
But there was another group that had been hiding in the shadows for eons.
In the ancient days, when Qinglong was killed, there was heavy opposition from anyone and everyone. Dragons at the time had become used to the freedom of opportunity that he provided, and the entrance of an oppressive regime was not widely accepted.
Those who rebelled were destroyed without hesitation by the Holy Dragons and the influences they raised. Qinglong's plans weren't given enough time to properly eliminate the already existing status gaps in draconic society, so it was difficult for those rebellions to make any real progress.
Still, they caused damage. The forces of that time humiliated the Holy Dragons and left permanent stains on their histories.
As such, the Holy Dragons decided that death was too easy of a punishment.
They placed a seal on their bloodlines that would carry from generation to generation. The seal cursed them and turned them into mutilated beasts that could not exist in the sun, and forced them to endure great pain to live at all.
One would be led to believe that they'd give up on survival. The most rational thing was to end their bloodlines in that generation so that nobody else had to feel their pain.
However, they were far too vengeful to pursue such an outcome.
The ten thousand of them who didn't die in the first few days led an exodus into the subterranean world. They, along with their families, forsook the outside world for the sake of only a single goal.
Through all of their pain and suffering, they bred generation after generation. Each generation felt the pain of the curse, and every single one of them harbored the same vengeful spirit as if it was passed down by blood.
In that era, it would have been a miracle if their population didn't decline rapidly. They never would have expected that their descendants would continue to populate, creating an entire society in the underworld that maintained their original goal of destroying the existing hierarchy of the kingdom.
Only, the passing of what was millions of years at the very least diluted their values and amplified the vengeful spirit flowing through their lineage.
It was not a grudge held against the dictators who oppressed the common people any more.
No, it was a grudge against anyone who was able to live on the surface in peace while they quietly suffered in the shadows.
They would have moved regardless. They, like many others, took the heir wars as a chance to create a stage for themselves in the kingdom.
It would have already been chaotic if they had done so.
The problem once again came back to the time array, didn't it?
As its energy seeped into the ground and stole the world's mana, it detected the vile and plentiful energy hidden within their souls and siphoned it all away to be repurposed.
For the first time in eons, that population was able to breathe without feeling excruciating pain in their lungs, walk without their legs shivering and breaking, and exist without pain.
The skills they practiced were no longer just for decoration.
And the goals they had were no longer unattainable.
With not a single extraneous thought in their minds, they charged to the surface to see the sun for the first time in their lives.
And, if it truly did not kill them upon first contact…
…then the surface world would finally feel their age-old wrath.
August's body disappeared from where he stood, but he was still in the exact same place. To make it absolutely impossible for him to escape, Noctum separated him from the true reality and placed him inside of a realm of Eternal Darkness.
That was a place where mana did not exist outside of Noctum's own control, and nothing aside from darkness itself could survive. August would not be directly harmed by the environment, but it was uncertain if he'd still be the same person when he once again saw the light of day.
The nature of that space that refused to change was somewhat similar to the outside environment as well.
Though the majority of them were too far away to actually witness what happened, every single genius in the vicinity heard the booming voices of those ancient Holy Dragons clearly announcing why they'd arrived.
They heard that August was an Azure Dragon. To most, this meant nothing. Even most of the nobles and Holy Clan geniuses didn't know why it was such a big deal. The most they could do was question the secrets August hid within his body.
Qinglong's legacy had been ruined in quite an orderly manner. First came the era in which Zenith was born. At that time, the ancient dragon's identity was being smeared at every possible opportunity.
Any records of his existence were burned and replaced by a false narrative. It went against everything that the scholars and sages among the dragon clans stood for, but the decisions of the ancients could not be challenged.
During that era, Qinglong turned from a respected hero of the dragons to the worst to ever live. Only after that did the era begin when his existence was completely phased out of history.
The Holy Dragons were thorough. They refused to allow anyone to find an ancient record that told the truth of their forgotten history. For the current generation of geniuses, the name Qinglong meant close to nothing at all.
Eris was different.
There had been many questionable changes in the ranks of Holy Dragons in the past. They actually weren't the same dragons that existed in Qinglong's era if one looked at their physical bodies alone. Instead, a unique method had been employed to ensure that the status of "Holy Dragon" was not given to anyone other than them.
Noctum was the only one who never changed from then to now. His physical form and his soul were the exact same as they were when he first rose to power in ancient times, and as Eris was his most prized successor, he'd told her stories of that time.
Eris didn't have any preconceived notions about the Azure Dragon. The way that Noctum described him was as such:
"A dragon with such power that it threatened draconic society as a whole."
It seemed like his opinion of the past's transgressions was different from most, but that was not something to be explored when Noctum wasn't present.
The only thing Eris knew about the Azure Dragon was that he was unreasonably powerful to the point where even the most powerful dragons ever to exist were threatened by his mere existence.
To hear that August was his successor and direct descendant…
Really, what she felt was confusion. She didn't quite understand how it was possible, nor did she quite understand why it was so significant.
Nevertheless, the real reaction to witness in this vicinity belonged to Wilhelm Liqua.
At least, that would have been the case if Wilhelm had the chance to react.
Their clan was the only one that refused to forget the Azure Dragon. The elders who knew the true history viewed him as a stain to their reputations, and the young ones who were raised by propaganda saw him as a traitor and a weakling who had to die in order for their clan to uphold their righteousness and dignity.
The battles all across the two territories naturally came to an end when the time array's energy wave spread through Arulion, which gave Wilhelm more than enough space to react to the ongoing situation.
The problem was elsewhere.
Right, even with everything that had happened thus far, it wasn't enough to call it chaos, was it?
Rose stole everything that the Holy Dragons held valuable, but she was already gone. They had no chance of regaining the things they'd lost.
In this climate, they'd eventually return and take their rage out on August, which by no means would be something he enjoyed.
There had to be something more, right?
If one had that thought while watching the situation unfold, then they were absolutely correct.
And as if to prove that point, destruction soon wrought the land.
It happened both close and far away. It wasn't close enough to perfectly perceive what was happening, but every single genius in the stage sensed the same thing.
Blood.
A gargantuan wave of blood with a stench that clouded one's nose was spreading through the closest settlements to them.
See, Serena kept evil in mind when she led the Heavenly World in their preparation for the array's activation. Prisons and asylums were specially cared for so that nobody dangerous enough to cause chaos in the world would be released by the event.
Arulion did not have prisoners. Not in prison systems, anyway.
For the most part, anyone who committed enough crime to be deemed a criminal in Arulion would either die or join a large group to have their actions justified.
But there was another group that had been hiding in the shadows for eons.
In the ancient days, when Qinglong was killed, there was heavy opposition from anyone and everyone. Dragons at the time had become used to the freedom of opportunity that he provided, and the entrance of an oppressive regime was not widely accepted.
Those who rebelled were destroyed without hesitation by the Holy Dragons and the influences they raised. Qinglong's plans weren't given enough time to properly eliminate the already existing status gaps in draconic society, so it was difficult for those rebellions to make any real progress.
Still, they caused damage. The forces of that time humiliated the Holy Dragons and left permanent stains on their histories.
As such, the Holy Dragons decided that death was too easy of a punishment.
They placed a seal on their bloodlines that would carry from generation to generation. The seal cursed them and turned them into mutilated beasts that could not exist in the sun, and forced them to endure great pain to live at all.
One would be led to believe that they'd give up on survival. The most rational thing was to end their bloodlines in that generation so that nobody else had to feel their pain.
However, they were far too vengeful to pursue such an outcome.
The ten thousand of them who didn't die in the first few days led an exodus into the subterranean world. They, along with their families, forsook the outside world for the sake of only a single goal.
Through all of their pain and suffering, they bred generation after generation. Each generation felt the pain of the curse, and every single one of them harbored the same vengeful spirit as if it was passed down by blood.
In that era, it would have been a miracle if their population didn't decline rapidly. They never would have expected that their descendants would continue to populate, creating an entire society in the underworld that maintained their original goal of destroying the existing hierarchy of the kingdom.
Only, the passing of what was millions of years at the very least diluted their values and amplified the vengeful spirit flowing through their lineage.
It was not a grudge held against the dictators who oppressed the common people any more.
No, it was a grudge against anyone who was able to live on the surface in peace while they quietly suffered in the shadows.
They would have moved regardless. They, like many others, took the heir wars as a chance to create a stage for themselves in the kingdom.
It would have already been chaotic if they had done so.
The problem once again came back to the time array, didn't it?
As its energy seeped into the ground and stole the world's mana, it detected the vile and plentiful energy hidden within their souls and siphoned it all away to be repurposed.
For the first time in eons, that population was able to breathe without feeling excruciating pain in their lungs, walk without their legs shivering and breaking, and exist without pain.
The skills they practiced were no longer just for decoration.
And the goals they had were no longer unattainable.
With not a single extraneous thought in their minds, they charged to the surface to see the sun for the first time in their lives.
And, if it truly did not kill them upon first contact…
…then the surface world would finally feel their age-old wrath.
