Chapter 95
Eryke looked at the baby dragon, stunned for a moment:
“Do you really want to follow me? It’ll be dangerous from here on out. You’ll likely face terrible conditions, and your life may be in danger.”
The baby dragon simply blinked, its eyes full of innocent curiosity.
“I see,” Eryke murmured, closing his eyes.
“Let’s go, Whale.”
“Alright.”
The whale slowly moved its massive body through the sky, tearing the air apart as it soared.
“Are we finally going to fight that Leviathan?” the dragon asked, a grin spreading across its face and excitement flashing in its eyes.
“Let’s follow along. Sigh…”
The turtle let out a long, weary breath like an old man, then rose into the sky, levitating mid-air.
The dragon spread its enormous wings and launched into the air, whipping up a powerful gust of wind.
***
“Damn it, I don’t have much time. I’ve sacrificed everything for this moment, and I must live for it. No matter what, I have to reach the Fourth Stage. Once I do, I’ll crush those three damn insects and become the sole ruler of this world.”
The Leviathan’s maddened laughter echoed through the air, laced with mockery.
“Just a bit more… a few hours.”
***
The sky was calm, and the scorching heat of the sun poured down onto the forest below.
At first glance, everything seemed peaceful and quiet. However, as the saying goes—peace is merely a prelude to war.
Three colossal creatures soared through the sky: the whale, the tallest and most massive, led at the front, while the dragon and the turtle followed closely behind.
Standing atop the whale’s broad back was Eryke, arms folded, the baby dragon perched on his shoulder with a cheerful smile.
As they traveled, Eryke suddenly turned to the dragon, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“I almost forgot, Eryke the Third is still inside you.”
The dragon’s wings nearly froze mid-flight as it plunged downward in sheer shock, barely regaining control nearly crashing into the ground. With a powerful flap, it steadied itself and soared back up, meeting Eryke’s gaze with a flustered expression.
“So it was something that entered me because of you?”
“Yeah,” Eryke replied nonchalantly. “What did you think it was?”
“You destroyed one of my cores!”
The dragon roared in fury with rage.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Eryke asked with a sneer.
“Didn’t you attack me first?”
“This…” The dragon faltered, unable to find a suitable retort. With a frustrated huff, smoke puffed from its nostrils.
“Fine. You win, for now.”
“I always win.”
Eryke spoke casually, locking eyes with the dragon.
From within the dragon’s body, Eryke the Third began to phase outward, emerging through its stomach in a translucent shimmer before fully materializing beside Eryke. He cast a mocking snicker at the dragon.
The dragon clenched its claws tightly, a mix of frustration and relief washing over it.
“Finally free…”
Eryke chuckled. “Haha, how many cores do you even have? Eryke the Third could only find sixty of them. You’re lucky he didn’t decide to destroy them all.”
“You…” the dragon growled, fury burning in its eyes as red veins flared.
Then, with a sudden softness, its slitted pupils shifted toward Eryke’s shoulder.
“What do you think, my little princess?” the dragon asked with a gentle smile. “Will you follow this man?”
The little baby dragon looked at the larger dragon for a moment, then turned its head toward Eryke, then back again, before giving a firm nod.
“You brat, what kind of magic have you fed my child?”
“Nothing,” Eryke replied flatly.
“You—”
Just as the dragon was about to snap back, the whale spoke in a deep voice:
“We’ve arrived. You two should stop arguing now.”
The dragon fell silent immediately, and Eryke turned his gaze forward.
There it was, the two familiar twin mountains.
But something was strange. The serpents that had once been slain had regrown, their massive bodies coiled around the peaks. From their mouths, they continuously spewed water, forming a steady river that flowed below.
Watching the scene, a strange feeling stirred in Eryke’s heart.
It was as if time itself had reversed, restoring the mountain to its former state, exactly as it had been.
“Wasn’t this mountain destroyed by the Leviathan just recently?”
Eryke’s pupils dilated.
Something was fishy.
“Human, are you shocked?”
The whale’s voice echoed with quiet amusement.
“Yes,” Eryke replied, looking down at the whale with a face full of confusion.
“Do you know what’s going on here?”
“This is the Core of the World,” the whale rumbled.
“This place cannot be changed. No matter what happens, it will always return to what it once was. Even when the rest of the world became a desert, this land remained untouched, beautiful, eternal.”
“As for the Leviathan… it is weak, but immortal because of this.”
“How do we kill it, then?” Eryke asked the most important question.
“We won’t kill it, you will,” the whale replied.
“As guardians of this world, we cannot destroy its core. But you… you are different.”
“So you’ll suppress it, and I’ll destroy the core?”
“That’s right.” The whale paused, then added gravely, “We don’t know how deeply the Leviathan has merged with the world’s core. If it has reached the Fourth Step… it may be impossible to trap.”
Eryke’s mind filled with questions, but one stood out above the rest:
“It has… different stages?”
“That’s right,” the whale said. “There are five stages the Leviathan must pass through to fully compete with the core.”
“In the first stage, it is rooted in place, completely immobile. It must remain still to begin the merge.”
“The second stage grants it limited movement, but its power remains severely restricted.”
“By the third stage, it can move freely, and its influence extends across a terrifying distance.”
“The fourth stage allows it to roam the world at will and draw directly from the world’s power.”
“And the fifth… it becomes the world. The world is him.”
The whale fell silent for a moment, then added, “Our lives depend on whether it has already reached the fourth stage. If it can draw power from the world… then it may already be too late.”