Chapter 18: Tale of my Father

That single sentence reverberated around the tranquil and peaceful cavern. I stared dumbly at my father, unable to respond to his words. Nearly lost his life? What on earth is he talking about? A somewhat silly memory surfaced in my mind—an old movie scene where a hero with a shady past turns a new leaf after meeting the heroine. The scene depicted him explaining everything he had done before meeting her and confessing his never-ending love.

My thoughts drifted to an absurd tangent. I knew my father and mother loved each other before getting married, but did he drag me all the way out here to tell me a love story? No way, right? It can’t be that, right?

If Lorvak could have heard these thoughts, he would have beaten me to a point of leaving me half a step from death. Fortunately, he couldn't hear them and simply looked at the lake with misty eyes.

After a long silence, he sighed deeply and turned towards me. I could see pain in his eyes, mingled with a deep-seated hatred. Whatever silly thoughts I had until then immediately disappeared when I saw those eyes. It seemed there was more to this than what could be understood from those few words.

“In order to understand what happened and why it happened, I have to tell you a long tale from a very long time ago. This is something I have kept deep in my heart. Even your mother did not know until a few days ago. But this tale is of great importance to you and even more to your existence.”

Instantly, my mind exploded with a flood of questions. My existence? Does he know I’m not from this world? That I am a reincarnated person? But how? He said it was a tale from a long time ago. Don’t tell me people from Earth came here before?

As my mind wandered off again, a hand landed on my shoulder. I gathered my thoughts and looked up at my father. He did not speak but guided me to a dark corner of the cavern. There, he once again took out that knife and this time, he inserted it into a small slit in the cavern wall.

A small part of the wall slightly vibrated before revealing a square stone slab about one meter long behind the section of the wall. It was fixed there, or rather, it felt like the section was built around it to protect it.

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The stone slab was violet in color, so thick it seemed almost black. It had various characters on it, different from those on the rock at the entrance. These characters gave off an ancient aura, as if they had existed since the beginning of time itself. My life felt meaningless in the presence of that ancient energy.

While I looked at the tablet, I heard my father’s voice again. I turned my head and listened intently to what he was saying.

“This tablet is the treasure of my clan. I was the last remaining member until you were born. Our ancestors had many enemies, and that enmity continued through the generations until I was the only one left. The life I am living is the result of countless sacrifices made to ensure that our bloodline would continue.”

He then turned towards me and once again shocked me with another startling revelation.

“We are the descendants of the Dragons, Azalon.”

I was dazed for a long time. He carried me back to the pile of stones, and we sat there once again. He gave me some time to gather my scattered thoughts. I took some deep breaths and looked at him to see he was still gazing in the direction of the tablet. As if sensing my gaze, he turned his eyes toward me. I nodded for him to continue.

“I will tell you what really happened with this continent, Azalon. This is the story passed down from generation to generation in our clan. Listen carefully, as I can only tell you this once.”

“The Dragons were the second living beings to be born in this world. The first were the Fiend Gods. The Fiend Gods were very powerful and ruled over this land for millennia. They were the first to utilize Spirit Energy to enhance their strengths. As their power grew, war broke out between different factions. The war was a natural disaster. The Fiend Gods’ strength was so great that entire continents were shattered under their powerful techniques. The war changed the very face of the land.”

“At the same time, the Dragons were beings completely different from the battle-thirsty Fiend Gods. Although they were strong, they could not match the tyrannical strength of the Fiend Gods. So they challenged individual strength with numbers. The Dragons lived as a single community with a hierarchy based on their lineage. The one with the purest lineage led them.”

“If you want to compare the Fiend Gods and Dragons, you could say Dragons were like Spirit Energy Cultivators, while the Fiend Gods were like Knights. Even though we say that Knights can never compare to a Spirit Powerhouse, the techniques used by the Fiend Gods were like stars compared to the almost dust-like techniques we use today. After all, they were the very first beings to exist in this world.”

“As time passed, the Fiend Gods became extinct due to their frequent wars. The younger generation never even saw their true potential before they were sacrificed in the wars. Consequently, the number of subsequent generations decreased, leading to their own extinction by their own hands.”

“This resulted in the Dragons becoming the true Overlords of the world, as there was nothing that could challenge their might. After a very long time, humans appeared in this world. With their high intelligence and exceptional aptitude for Spirit Energy, they quickly rose from bottom feeders to top predators.”

“Despite their powerful cultivation and martial arts, humans were still nowhere near challenging even the lower Dragons, let alone those at the pinnacle of Dragon existence. So they made a pact with the Dragons. The pact declared that they would never encroach on each other’s territory. The Dragons accepted, as they are a proud race that never goes out of their way if not provoked.”

“But this pact eventually led to a new situation. With the peace treaty in place, some Dragons became interested in human civilization’s progress. They transformed into human form and roamed freely throughout the human kingdoms. Some even settled in certain kingdoms and took human females as their mates. This resulted in the creation of a new race, different from both humans and Dragons.”

“The offspring of Humans and Dragons produced a new race known as Draconians. Draconians can be described as the essence of a Dragon in a human body. They were natural-born fighters with the strength of Dragons and the high affinity for Spirit Energy of humans.”

“Originally, they were restricted by the Dragons, but over time they grew strong enough to defy the Dragons and went on a rampage across the world. Initially, all races were unable to withstand the Draconians’ strength. Countless kingdoms were obliterated by them. This period lasted over 200 years and is referred to as the ‘Dark Age’ in the present age. But as time passed, humans began retaliating with the help of their own experts.”

“Even though Draconians were strong, their numbers were still small compared to the vast human population. Thus, the situation soon reversed in favor of the humans. However, they didn’t stop there. Religious institutions began a propaganda campaign, declaring that Draconians were the bane of their existence and needed to be completely eradicated.”

“This led to the Great War 10,000 years ago. The war lasted several hundred years, during which humans almost succeeded in completely eradicating the Draconians. Their hatred even extended to the Dragons, as they believed the Dragons were responsible for creating these abominations.”

“A small number of Dragons escaped the humans’ grasp, along with the younger generation of Draconians. Over time, the Draconian bloodline thinned out. They went into hiding, releasing their young children into human civilization, as they looked exactly like humans, albeit with strong physical capabilities and high affinity for Spirit Energy.”

“The church expanded its influence through the centuries-long war and is now considered second only to His Majesty, The Emperor. Even he has to think twice before contradicting this mammoth organization. The church never gave up on its hunt for the remaining Draconians.”

“Our family was living in a remote location, far from any prying eyes. We were a large family, living in peace without outside disturbance. I was about eight years old when it happened. I don’t know how they discovered us, but one day, the church’s forces suddenly showed up at our door. We fought back desperately, but their surprise attack had already put us at a disadvantage. My brother and I fled, bought time by our parents’ sacrifice.”

“He carried me in his arms, and we ran as far as possible. After traveling countless miles and crossing various kingdoms, we ended up in this cavern. However, an expert pursued us all the way from our home. He found us here, and my brother killed him at the cost of his own life. But before that expert died, he gravely injured me, and I thought I was going to die.”

“That’s when the elder found me. He saved me and treated my injuries. He became interested in my high cultivation talent and accepted me as his disciple. I was too scared back then and lived in his shadow. I swiftly rose in the Realms, and he used my strength to advance his own position. Even my becoming the Mayor of this city was due to him.”

“I never told anyone about my origins, not even your mother. But you, Azalon, are an existence that only existed in those ancient times.”

“Your body is not a Unique Physique. You, my son, are the first Draconian to be born after 1,000 years.”