Chapter 18: Dawn of the Second Day
I...I don’t think it bowed to me out of respect. No, it was a Dragon. Not a Wyvern...or serpent, drake, hydra. No. An actual dragon. And to some degree, I was too.
But...there was no respect between us. I’ve never seen it before, and it’s never seen me.
So...the only thing I could’ve possibly drummed up in my mind, was recognition.
It closed its eyes and bowed, still. Out of recognition. Towards me. I looked around to see if there was anyone else there.
Nobody.
I looked back at the dragon, and coughed slightly. It’s eyes shot, and I flinched.
My dumbass smile and wave won’t work here. What do I do? Fight it? No, it’s bowing down. A Dragon’s sign of showing inferiority to the other. Does that me it believes it’s inferior?
The path was open, and I could’ve head into the building anytime soon, but...I decided against it. Not to.
Not while the Gray Dragon was still there.
So, I looked right back at it. Reformed from its bowing position.
I pointed at myself, chuckled once just to ease the tensions.
"Uh...have we met each other before?" I chuckle afterwards, but it dies down. The Gray Dragon doesn’t make any other expression, not that I could tell. Smoke released from its snout like a pressurized vent.
King of the Dawn.
I drew in a breath, but to be fair it was a gasp.
Did...
Did that thing just speak to me?
From of the Dark Age, you’ve arrived. I have patiently waited for you.
Waited...?
What is there to wait for? It’s just me? And what’s this about King of the Dawn? I’m not the king of anything. Anything at all!
One of the remaining Dragon Sovereigns, you’ve finally returned.
The voice, and the tone. Dark, all of it. Raspy as well. The Gray Dragon’s mouth didn’t move, no, I only heard his voice in my head. Telepathy somehow? I think so...
"W-woah, slow down. Dark Age? Dragon Sovereign? None of this makes sense." I tell it. The wings on his back fold, and he moves, past me, and into the building.
He turns his head, just for a moment.
Come. I must re-align the Dawn.
I look back, past the statue. Then back towards the building.
This is happening, isn’t it?
Yeah...most definitely is.
Well, I did want a dragon to help me out...but why do I only find one in the most out-of-touch, out of space, and seemingly weirdest place of most?
I glide over to the dragon, and the door slowly ascends. Now, were walking a hallway, a long one. The Gray Dragon took long, measured steps. The ground slightly shook when he did.
Inside the building, there were remnants of relics, destroyed. It looked more as a museum than anything. Paintings, statues. Most I recognized from the game, if not, all. It wasn’t until I realized what this place actually was...
...and who this Gray Dragon was specifically.
I looked over to him, he didn’t bother looking at me as we continued. Of course, sometimes I couldn’t help but forget everything. How I exactly got into the mess.
I used to think the game world had moved on, advanced further now that the game shut down. So technically speaking, I wouldn’t recognize any NPC. Maybe a few Dragons, but there was no telling how long I was in that Black Abyss for.
Not when I was fighting Kami Ryuu, and got hit by the broken skill. And when Guide lagged out, and was no longer responsive.
But I think I know why now.
Time, had passed. A lot of time has passed.
Sovereign Ryuuzen, you...do not look the same anymore as you do.
I could only scoff as we passed a painting, and of that, multiple dragons alike in there. It was titled, World’s Champion #540. Back in the game, they used to host tournaments for PvP players alike.
Craft the best meta build, and fight. The meta was so diverse at the time that running into the same build as your previous opponent, or as yours was difficult. Which meant that everything relied on game knowledge, pure skill, and sometimes luck.
They were held annually, and #540, was one of the last few tournaments held before the game announced departure.
I stopped, stayed behind. Getting closer, I wiped off the dust of the painting. It was clear it was just screenshotted and imported into the game...but it looked like an actual painting.
And there, in the middle?
Was me.
Black-haired, silver, appropriate armour and gear.
I sigh.
It seemed so long ago I was doing things greatly.
And then I wonder why I could never achieve [Dragon Sage].
It was impossible to. Not because of the games mechanics.
But directly because of the playerbase and the fans thereof.
I’ve mentioned it before, because I really do hate to paint my favorite game in such a bad light like this...but, it’s true.
They cheered my name when I won.
But...they never let me wear the crown that I desired for so much.
This building...this place. The statue.
It all makes sense now.
This wasn’t below the cave.
Whatever...brought me here, brought me to a different realm. That made sense for the skies. This place? Is a secret realm within the game, a different realm. How I got here is still a mystery to me.
But since the game closed and time moved on...nature, or pretty much, universal law took over. Or, I guess in this case, multi-universal law took over.
Now it made sense as to why I couldn’t sense Vaniti’s mana signature. It wasn’t the dense earth, no.
We are literally space-time apart.
Because I’m assuming Gaia already had it’s need, Ashlight Bastion was so big and and great that it literally just formed...outside the living universe.
I glide forward to catch up with the Dragon,
This used to be a bustling PvP player hub metropolis.
Now it’s resorted to dust, grime, and forgotten memories. If anything...it’s now a mausoleum.
The title of Dragon Sovereign, is gained after winning an World Champion Tournament. Nobody in the overworld seemed to recognize who I was...but only this dragon could.
Aarx, the Old.
But...he also said remaining.
Meaning, that there is more? More than just me?
Are...are there other players also trapped here?
We continued to another part of the forgotten temple, now that I recognized what it was. A desolated player hub for hardcore PvP players...outside PvP servers or other permadeath zones within the game.
Don’t get it twisted, it wasn’t as if any player could show up here. Only those who were hypercompetitive and hardcore could. Internally, your game rank would have to be higher than Exalted to come here.
If not...then I would assume the sheer pressure of this realm would squash you. But since this is no longer a game...then I would assume that how I’m surviving right now is thanks to the law of the game rules before.
If somehow you just quit one day in PvP, never touch it again, but managed to get the title of Sovereign, then you were always permitted to enter here. Either that, or I’m secretly Exalted when I’m not holding myself back.
This one happened to be the safest, but still had it’s fair share of toxicity. This...PvP realm was different. And peering over to the broken, and disconnected runes that would send me back to the overworld...
Let’s just say it would take roughly a couple of days to get them working.
And I’ve only been here for let’s say...half an hour.
Let that sink in.