Chapter 460: His Prison

"Yes."It was the same voice Riley had heard earlier, carrying the same ancient weight that had nearly scared the living daylights out of him when those enormous eyes first appeared in the darkness.

But after everything he’d just seen, after being dragged through memories so personal that Riley honestly felt like he’d witnessed things he probably had no right to see, it simply didn’t have the same effect anymore.

Hell, even if the guy growled at him now, Riley doubted he’d be able to look at him the same way.

Because at this point, it was impossible not to understand the Wyvern King.

And as fucked up as that probably was, Riley couldn’t even bring himself to be that angry at the guy anymore.

If there was anyone who’d had the least involvement in creating this entire mess, it would probably be the one who’d nearly died in the beginning, only to wake up inside someone else’s body and eventually be told he needed to fight a war that had technically been started by other people.

Of course, that didn’t mean Riley suddenly felt completely comfortable standing in front of this ancient being.

How could he?

Even if the Wyvern King hadn’t started any of this, his existence had still become the center of a war that stretched across generations, ultimately driving Riley’s entire ancestral clan to sacrifice themselves and leaving him with a family he’d only ever been able to meet through memories.

But really, the more Riley learned, the more this entire situation felt like tragedy piled on top of tragedy.

Everyone had kept pushing.

Kept insisting.

Kept trying to fix something that had already gone horribly wrong until their attempts to hold on only dragged more and more people into the same disaster.

The black dragon could only sigh.

It was a long, exhausted exhale that somehow felt like it wasn’t entirely his own, as though he were doing it for everyone involved. Maybe even for all those ancestors of his who’d unfairly died because one white Dragon Lord from an absurdly long time ago seriously deserved a beating.

Riley’s gaze eventually shifted toward the bloodied captive hanging against the wall.

His brows immediately furrowed.

Understanding the Wyvern King was one thing, but he still had no idea what would happen to that person if they proceeded with whatever the ancient being wanted him to do.

As if sensing exactly where Riley’s reservations had gone, the colossal being spoke.

"I’ve blocked the transfer of blood for now. The runes are not ones you would want to interfere with at this moment, unless you wish to further alert her to what we’re doing. But once the mana destabilizes after we are done, you should be able to free the captive naturally."

Well.

That was at least some good news.

Not exactly the sort Riley wanted to celebrate when someone was still hanging bloodied against a wall, but it was considerably better than standing there worrying that the poor person was continuously being pumped full of tainted blood that would probably be too much for anyone to withstand.

Riley looked back toward the ancient being.

There really weren’t many choices left here.

"Okay."

His grip around his weapon finally loosened somewhat.

"I’ll do it."

Then, after a moment, Riley narrowed his eyes.

"And I’m guessing there’s a reason you couldn’t have done it on your own?"

Sure enough, there was.

And it wasn’t as though he hadn’t tried several times already.

Unfortunately, for all the power the Wyvern King possessed while wearing the Primordial Dragon’s body, that same body had also become his prison.

He couldn’t simply destroy himself when even its original owner had needed the heavens’ permission to cease existing. The ancient shell was simply too powerful and resilient for its own good even when worn by a fake.

Worse, as long as his deteriorating core remained trapped inside it, Rhazira could repair whatever damage was inflicted and replace whatever failed. It didn’t matter if those fixes were only temporary. She’d willingly sacrifice whatever and whoever was necessary to keep dragging out his existence.

So without someone capable of taking down the Primordial Dragon’s body itself, there would be no end.

Only an endless cycle of deterioration, repair, and being forced to live all over again.

The black dragon grimaced at the truth that even he couldn’t deny.

"Not that I’m hesitating or anything, but if you can’t do it yourself, then how could you possibly be certain I can?"

"I’m not."

Riley’s brows rose at those words that were uttered without any sort of hesitation.

Wow.

Well, that was reassuring.

"But if not you, the last black dragon descendant of the proud Iltherans, then who else?" the Wyvern King continued. "Even the current Dragon Lord would have to bow before the ancient source of his authority."

Riley’s hands slowly clenched for several reasons.

Damn it.

For one, he hadn’t exactly expected to hide his identity from someone like this forever, but he certainly hadn’t thought the guy would figure it out before Riley could even do anything substantial.

Worse, as for that part about the Dragon Lord...

He’d actually suspected as much.

Kael was undoubtedly powerful, probably more powerful than anyone else currently alive in Eryndra under ordinary circumstances. But the body standing before Riley was anything but ordinary.

It was the Primordial Dragon.

The very being from which the authority of every Dragon Lord had descended.

And hearing his suspicion confirmed only reminded Riley how much he hated those moments when he ended up being right about something he really didn’t want to be right about.

He drew another breath before looking straight at the ancient being.

"Then how do you propose we do this?"

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then the Wyvern King finally gave Riley the answer he’d come all the way to Wyrmfall looking for, although certainly not in the manner he’d ever imagined receiving it.

"I will tell you where to find my core."

Riley stilled.

The ancient being held his gaze.

"Burn it with your mana."