Chapter 376

Chapter 376
## Chapter 376

Dragon’s Child (4)

Beijing, only a brief period prior, had served as the theater for a conflict that decided the destiny of existence.

Presently, positioned amidst the shattered remains and rubble, a colossal structure reared upward, a vivid reminder of the ruinous breath weapon that had obliterated the metropolis.

The soaring monument was assembled in cascading tiers resembling an ancient ziggurat, spanning hundreds of meters along its flanks.

It was an engineering feat of unimaginable dimensions, a project that defied completion within a mere matter of days… yet for the entity currently occupying its peak, such a feat was utterly elementary.

‘Indeed, this possesses adequate stability. Although it is merely an altar intended for a solitary occasion, it would not be a terrible outcome for it to endure as a permanent… monument.’

Horus, a colossal dragon wrapped in radiant golden scales, paced across the platform to evaluate its structural integrity, offering a contented nod.

This very platform was designated as the site where the revitalization of the Dragon Heart would occur.

It was destined to transform into a historical relic, protected through the eras, which would ensure a continuous harvest of Karma for its architect.

‘…Even if such returns are trivial in contrast to the wealth I have already claimed, and what lies ahead for me to gather.’

A faint grin touched his features as the morning rays splintered and gleamed across his metallic armor,

[“Our preparations are complete.”]

…and immediately afterward, the resonant tones of White Dragon reverberated within his consciousness.

[“Are you entirely certain of this path? I harbor no skepticism regarding your talents, Horus, but this represents our maiden attempt at such a methodology.”]

[“The youth will survive. His command of sorcery already outmatches the greater part of practitioners, and regarding the mystical arts native to his birthplace… I found myself unable to comprehend even a fraction of it.”]

The expressions of Azure Dragon and Red Dragon chimed in succession, though Horus remained the sole entity physically occupying the space.

His compatriots maintained their positions within the Dragon God’s Temple located in the concealed domain, projecting their thoughts across the distance.

[“This departs significantly from our mandated protocols… yet circumstances leave us no alternative. We have instituted fail-safes, ensuring that should a failure manifest, the baseline strategy remains available for restoration.”]

Horus offered a soft, ironic chuckle at the complaints of Black Dragon.

She had initially voiced resistance to his proposed course of action.

What purpose was served by gambling on an unverified technique when an absolute certainty was already within their grasp?

The lives of the mortal offerings, the Dragon’s Children, held no value to her, making her initial hesitation perfectly logical.

‘…Fixing that disagreement required very little persuasion, however.’

The individuals known as the Dragon’s Children were far from commonplace mortals.

They served as the chosen emissaries of the Dragon God, select entities dispatched to this realm.

In a sense, they shared a lineage with the Five Dragons, who proclaimed themselves the authentic bloodline of the deity.

By stressing this connection, he had swayed Black Dragon, who maintained an unexpected tolerance for those deemed part of her inner circle despite her general disdain for humanity, prompting her reluctant concession.

[“We likewise stand prepared. The invocation shall commence in a handful of hours, precisely as the sun achieves its peak.”]

Horus, tracking the trajectory of the sun above, redirected his attention.

Looking toward the southwestern horizon.

A procession of individuals was making its way forward.

‘The moment has arrived.’

The Dragon’s Children, critical components for the upcoming mystery, accompanied by the masters of the Murim Alliance guarding their path.

Positioned among the ranks was a towering outlander, bearing an ominous dark vault upon his shoulders.

Every required element had successfully converged.

—

The sun, blazing fiercely within the unclouded firmament,

…attained its highest point.

“Huu…”

Zhuge Hyemi, ascending the stone tiers of the monument, released a measured breath.

Inspiration came far more readily at this altitude, isolated from the suffocating pressure of the corrupted domain, as though she had stepped across the threshold of an entirely different realm… yet the frantic pulsing of her heart refused to subside.

‘I never imagined such an outcome could be realized… Is it truly possible that… ’

A tomorrow she had never dared envision was now resting within arm’s reach.

She had long considered joy to be an unattainable extravagance, believing herself fated to be traded away and erased from memory…

Yet in this moment, she was permitted to actually… envision a life?

Existing within a tranquil domain untroubled by strife, her physical form restored to vigor, encircled by those she held dear…

‘…To enter into wedlock, to nurture offspring… ’

A crimson flush crept across her features at the notion, altering her pale complexion to a soft rose hue.

‘No, absolute foolishness! Such thoughts are entirely premature! We have not even…!’

She jerked her head side to side, striving to banish the visage of a particular individual that had unexpectedly seized her thoughts, inhaling deeply to master her racing pulse.

Her customary poise had deserted her, leaving her internal reflections in utter disarray.

It was a departure from her standard demeanor, exposing the severe turbulence of her spirit.

However, no observer in the vicinity spared her state any notice.

“Ahem!”

“Haa… Haa…”

The remaining Dragon’s Children mirrored her apprehension, their respirations coming in shallow, hurried gasps.

Upon finally conquering the summit of the platform, they raised their gazes to behold the immense golden dragon—a legend made flesh—their expressions displaying a mixture of profound wonder and terror.

[“Banish your apprehension. The process will conclude swiftly.”]

A manifestation of speech, profound and heavy with an irresistible authority, vibrated through their minds.

An anomalous tone, blending a sense of supreme arrogance with a childlike quality.

Though intended to offer solace…

Gulp—

…it produced quite the opposite reaction.

They had, after all, observed the magnitude of its capabilities with their own eyes.

The brilliant golden lance of illumination that had plummeted from the heavens like celestial judgment, the cataclysmic detonation, the rising cloud of ash…

Standing now upon the structure, the consequences lay bare before them.

‘The expanse where structures and battlements once stood… ’

…was now reduced to a barren wasteland, rolling outward to meet the horizon.

They had journeyed through the skies above Beijing during their flight from the ruin, and memory served them well.

An endless array of architecture and habitations had once populated this space, defining a dense and intricate metropolis.

Now, they stood before the architect of that erasure…

The sensation of being sacrificial beasts, rendered to an insatiable divinity, gripped them.

Regardless of the fact that the actual truth was entirely reversed.

[“Assume your positions. The remaining tasks fall to me. Permit yourselves to unwind and drift into slumber.”]

A dark vault rested upon an elevated block at the exact midpoint of the platform.

Encircling it, seats fashioned from stone had emerged from the floor, arranging themselves in a ring.

The accommodations were rigid, their construction clearly indifferent to ergonomics… yet offering resistance was out of the question.

They took their places with evident reluctance, and following a brief interlude,

[“The alignment is met. We commence.”]

…Horus, raising his vision toward the heavens, announced the initiation of the mystery.

—

The inception manifested within the Dragon God’s Temple.

Goooo—

As the corresponding dragons triggered the mechanism, the air currents enveloping Beijing began to churn and rotate.

The display was erratic and unpredictable, a consequence of the Five Dragons being separated, compounded by the fact that the Dragon’s Children remained unconsumed.

Should the pattern persist, the destabilization would inevitably intensify.

Wooong—!

Yet, the trajectory altered instantly as Horus, positioned at the epicenter in Beijing, assumed management of the flow.

The bizarre glyphs etched into the stone began to radiate, dragging the ambient vitality into themselves.

‘Let the work begin.’

The gaze of Horus ignited with a brilliant amber illumination.

The lore he had gathered across ages, the sorcery and mystical systems collected from a multitude of spheres, flowed together and integrated, giving rise to an intricate and devastating matrix.

An immense sigil materialized within the upper atmosphere, anchoring itself to the platform below.

Whoosh—

Rumble—

A violent tempest tore across the terrain, and the bedrock groaned.

「Ruler of All」 commanded the surrounding elements, 「Seeker of Mysteries」 purified and structured the essence, while 「Resistor of Fate」 canceled out any errant forces.

A massive torrent of vitality, surging through the seated forms, bound itself to the Karma Jiangshi—the Heavenly Demon—resting at the epicenter of the platform.

The Heavenly Demon, acting as a conduit, began to harvest the surrounding karma, drawing the essence directly into his vessel.

The accompanying Dragon’s Children, collapsing under the immense strain, surrendered to unconsciousness, leaving even Zhuge Hyemi clinging to the absolute precipice of her perception.

‘I have channeled the greater part of the ritual’s friction away from them, ensuring their physical vessels escape ruin. That is the fundamental utility of this architecture.’

Crack!

Hairline fractures materialized across the exterior of the resilient platform.

Horus, acknowledging the immense load pressing against his own form, creased his brow slightly while monitoring the status of the Heavenly Demon.

Pinpointing the exact moment of perfect equilibrium,

…he released the gathered karma down a meticulously established conduit.

Directly into the vessel situated beneath the structure, the remnants of Tam.

Twitch—

The monumental form shuddered violently as it integrated the cascading karma.

[“Kkuk kuk— His capacity for absorption is monstrous, is it not? A flawless instrument.”]

Hans, guiding the undercurrents of the mystery from the lower levels, offered an approving nod.

Tam, an entity whose entire identity revolved around consumption, represented the ultimate receptacle, even in this state of expiration.

[“Superb. The conclusion is at hand.”]

Tam, the Six-Headed Dragon, a monstrosity that had brushed against the fringes of godhood.

Bound together with the intent of the Dragon God, preserved within the vessels of the Dragon’s Children.

The unified endeavor linking a Gold Dragon and a sovereign from another realm approached its fulfillment.

Flash—

The massive shape of Tam dissolved entirely into radiance,

…and a magnificent column of blinding light, piercing upward from the core of the world, shattering through the monument and ascending into the heavens, erupted outward, its brilliance clear to observers across the absolute boundaries of the continent.

An overwhelming and magnificent phenomenon.

The populace, staring with wide eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief, gazed toward the sky.

Even Zhuge Hyemi, fighting to retain a shred of awareness, alongside the apprehensive masters gathered beyond the perimeter, the various factions calculating their next maneuvers, and the common folk fighting for existence…

…all raised their eyes to the sky, moisture spilling down their cheeks.

Then, after a fleeting moment,

…as the blinding illumination receded,

…the manifestations residing within Ganghwange recognized a fundamental truth.

That the destiny of this reality, the twisted loops of cause and effect, the locked future…

…had been fundamentally rewritten.

[“Horus! Success is ours! The equilibrium…!”]

[“Remarkable! The objective has actually been attained! Now…!”]

[“To think the methodology yielded fruit…!”]

[“Excellently executed…”]

The ecstatic pronouncements of the dragons vibrated through Horus’s awareness.

They too had perceived the transformation from their station within the Dragon God’s Temple.

‘…It is finished.’

He harbored no anxiety regarding potential anomalies or the prospect of this being a fleeting shift.

The validation before him was absolute.

《Grand Accomplishment Realized! You have re-established equilibrium within a fracturing reality.》

《As compensation for stabilizing a dimension, you have unlocked the trait “Savior”. All operational limits within alternative realities are dissolved.》

《You have executed an act that redefines a world. Karma balance has expanded exponentially.》

This transcended a typical ‘achievement’.

It stood as a ‘grand accomplishment’, a milestone he had never previously reached, save for his journeys across the dimensional void.

—

Deep within an isolated reality adjacent to Earth.

Twitch—

A form, locked in a silent posture of meditation, its physical vessel as immobile as carved stone, suddenly shuddered.

Once, then twice… the vibrations intensified with each passing second.

Subsequently, the lids that had remained sealed for an age slowly parted.

“This sensation is…”

The Master of Heaven’s Turn Society, who had been locked in deep seclusion, tempering his celestial might, comprehended the reality in an instant.

A disruption of this magnitude could never stem from an insignificant event.

Tracing the origin required little effort.

“Ganghwange once more.”

The specific reality where one of his chosen instruments, the Heavenly Demon, had met his demise.

He had experienced irritation when his agent, the piece tasked with harvesting devotion and celestial energy within that domain, was abruptly eliminated… yet the current dilemma was of an entirely different nature.

“…By what means?”

The strings of cause and effect linking back to his being had shifted violently.

The sphere he had systematically dismantled, a reality he had written off as entirely unsalvageable… was undergoing restoration.

This was no mere byproduct of his agent’s expiration.

‘Did the Main God take direct action? Inconceivable, for even a Main God is bound by constraints. Furthermore, the deity governing Ganghwange is historically detached.’

A Main God, despite possessing vast authority, could not intervene in the minutiae of its domain.

It retained the capacity to obliterate and form anew, but to piece back together a shattered and defiled reality to its pristine state… such an action was practically impossible short of a miraculous anomaly.

‘I was certain I had guaranteed its annihilation… Evidently, an element escaped my notice.’

A Main God could do little more than provide portents and aspirations, leaving the physical execution to its mortal creations.

He had taken extensive measures, yet they had apparently fallen short.

‘A premonition of disaster gripped me the moment the Heavenly Demon fell.’

It appeared an extraordinary champion had emerged within that sphere.

An individual possessing the capacity to shatter even an immutable destiny.

“Tsk, the matter is beyond correction for now.”

No immediate countermeasure was available to him.

He had already harvested every scrap of value Ganghwange could provide. Remanifesting there would yield nothing but a waste of duration and focus, a meaningless exercise in vengeance.

Far greater returns awaited in the exploration of virgin domains.

“…Indeed, the time has arrived to shift focus.”

Within the silent, segregated void, separated from the cosmos,

…an ancient, dormant titan began to rouse itself.

Prepared to consume a fresh reality and appease its endless void.

—

“Excellent. Truly magnificent.”

I nodded my head in deep approval, balancing a cold brew in one grip and a seasoned poultry leg in the alternate.

Strenuous effort demanded proper compensation.

And the specific instance of reckoning, the hour designated to tally one’s compensation, stood as the most eagerly awaited point for any laborer.

Particularly following the execution of an immense undertaking.

“Now, let us observe…”

His prior examination of his status had occurred immediately following the consumption of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s primary redoubt, an action that required reinforcing 「Dimensional Barrier Weakening」 at the cost of 6 million Karma points.

That expenditure had thoroughly drained his accounts, leaving him with barely the necessary capital to acquire the “Growth Elixir (7 days)”…

『Accumulated Karma – 9,510,657』

“…The wealth is compounding…”

At present, his store of Karma was practically bursting at the seams.