Beneath the Red Dragon

The sun in the sky disappeared, and the moon once again claimed the firmament.

But the Valerian Islands disintegrated, with the islands splitting into many fragments drifting on the surface of the sea, while the main body of the remaining islands continued to erupt with flame and lava, dust and smoke once again clouding the sky.

Doom paused temporarily when the sun descended, but resumed once the sun set.

On the sea near the Smoke Sea, floating pale corpses covered the entire water’s surface, giving the illusion that one could walk over these densely packed bodies as if on land, to reach that place of destruction and rebirth.

Sakaro stood at the bow, quietly wiping the blood-coated dagger with the hem of his long robe.

Eight red-robed monks, priests of the King of Light, Red God R’hllor, excluding the two monks who had already sworn allegiance to him, the other monk priests had all been killed by him, their bodies thrown into the sea.

The red robes of the deceased monks floated on the water, concealing the faces of these pseudo-god believers.

”And you, Nalia, you have always been the High Priest adept at interpreting the intentions of pseudo-gods, but if you are willing to abandon the pseudo-gods, to renounce their faith, with your abilities, you could play a minor role in spreading the glory of the Dragon God.”

Sakaro stood silently, gazing at the Red-robed Witch Nalia, without much threat, but the continuous act of wiping the dagger imposed a silent pressure on the Red-robed Witch Nalia.

Heart energy, this kind of power, has great similarities with the powers of a Mind Mage, its strength deriving from the integration of the mind and will, arising from the flesh, with the differences in ability depending on the individual’s application.

Sakaro’s extreme transformation, from the faith of the Red God to the faith in the Dragon God, brought this former priest monk immense power of heart energy.

The more steadfast the faith in the Ancestral Red Dragon, the greater the feedback received; and the stronger the will, the quicker the transformation of spiritual power and will into the power of heart energy under the influence of the Ancestral Red Dragon.

And Sakaro, this red-robed monk, sensed the heart energy spring of the Ancestral Red Dragon the moment the sun descended and had already birthed his own heart energy seed, and now his power is growing robust.

Hence, the pressure inflicted upon Witch Nalia becomes increasingly intense.

Even the strength of the Red-robed Witch Nalia, originally outstanding, hesitates to rashly confront Sakaro at this moment.

Moreover, within Nalia’s heart, there has already been some resistance towards the actions of the Red God.

These followers of the Red God, aside from the initial voluntary converts, most of the rest were the children of slaves and peasants, sold and pawned in the temple of the Red God Church.

Other than the children born with talent, who could become warriors, monks, or priests of the temple, the remaining children would almost invariably offer up everything in service to the King of Light R’hllor.

The recompense was nothing more than elusive favor and a sense of liberation.

Women fared far worse than their male counterparts, with almost all women being groomed into temple courtesans for the amusement of temple cultivators. Nalia, a priestess one in a million, is a rarity seen only every few years.

Witch Nalia had personally witnessed how her companions, who entered the temple alongside her, gradually degraded into the playthings and courtesans of others over the years.

Yet, even if Witch Nalia intended to rescue her companions, she neither possessed the courage nor the capability.

Her own capabilities, no matter how excellent, could not contend against the entire framework and power of the church.

But now, there was another choice appearing before her.

”Alas,”

She sighed, ”But even you say the Dragon God, the Lord of Light, the Sun God, how can you ensure he does not share the same nature as the King of Light R’hllor.”

”Because of his benevolence and kindness, he possesses the power to destroy earth and mountains yet acts contrary to what the pseudo-god R’hllor does,”

Sakaro smiled and said: ”The Dragon God, soaring above the heavens, will also bow down and gaze upon his loyal people, hence why those outsiders are so loyal to their lord,”

Sakaro pointed to the re-ignited purgatory, where the Miracle City rose from within.

That place is now the center of this Land of the Apocalypse, a paradise in the hearts of those surviving beings of the apocalypse.

The massive Black Dragon, incarnated as the Earth Dragon, and rocks of steel bear the weight of the city, protecting the city from the ravages of flames and calamities.

The tremors of the earth at the feet of the Dragon, too, must cease, the erupting flames and lava before the Dragon, too, must halt.

Witch Nalia contemplated for a long while, opened her mouth to speak but ultimately nodded, saying: ”Perhaps, what you say is right, for in the mortal world, people always need to be more vile, more despicable, than others to survive better.”

”But these Divine Spirits need not be so, just as they do not necessarily have to act benevolent.”

Crack,

As Red-robed Witch Nalia’s words fell, the red ruby necklace on her fair neck fell, the large red gem shattering at that moment.

A surge of blood red flames burst forth, igniting the full head of luscious hair of the witch, dense flames erupted from every part of her body.

”Ah...”

Nalia screamed in pain, being burned by the flames, enduring torture and punishment identical yet more agonizing than the previous red-robed monks.

”Burn, burn, past false faith turns to ash in the fierce fire, a new will, will be reborn in flames,”