Beneath the Red Dragon

The citizens of the Empire worship the Dragon Group, follow their will, and offer their faith, while the Dragon Group rules over earthly creatures, providing sanctuary to the citizens.

Stories about the Divine Hall circulate among the empire’s communities, tales where the beacon towers on either side of the hall signify the covenant between the Dragon Group and the citizens.

If, one day, the loyal citizens of the Empire face an irresistible danger, as long as they are in a place with a dragon’s divine hall, ignite the beacon within the hall.

The dragons in the sky will descend, spreading their vast wings to shield their people from the storm, repelling the darkness.

The origins of the story are untraceable; after all, there are numerous minstrels and propagandists serving the Empire, that even the Emperor Karon Gogomola would have to exert some effort to trace the story’s source.

However, in the eyes of Silver Dragon Chris, the widespread dissemination of this story quietly cloaks the ruling Dragon Group with a veil of divinity.

In the tale, the dragons already possess certain divine-like abilities and concepts through the recitations.

Furthermore, in Silver Dragon Chris’s heritage, she knows that some once-mortals became heroes of stories, their deeds widely circulated.

Those heroic mortals could thereby embark on the path of Ascension to Divinity, becoming strong demigods possessing divinity.

But such means are not achievable simply through circulation; the believers in the story must truly convince themselves.

The existence behind the scenes can then utilize such reputation and faith-like power to acquire ancient Divine-like Power.

Though Silver Dragon Chris doesn’t know who is spreading the tales in the shadows, the not-so-foolish Silver Dragon has long had a target in mind.

She bypassed the Dragon-man Guard; the emblem on her chest enabled Silver Dragon Chris to enter the divine hall directly.

The statues of the Dragon Group are so vivid in Silver Dragon Chris’s eyes that the statue of the wise and visionary Ancestral Red Dragon feels like it’s perched dominantly upon the throne - reserved and collected yet remains the center and the sole focus of the space.

All dragons keep their wings folded, only the Ancestral Red Dragon stands high, with gemstone-carved eyes appearing real, gentle yet profound, as if watching over, as if gazing.

Its slightly opened wings shield the surrounding dragons underneath.

In Silver Dragon Chris’s eyes, this symbolizes both the supreme status of Ancestral Red Dragon among dragons and its role in shielding the Dragon Group from the fiercest storms.

Indeed, though reluctant to admit, Silver Dragon Chris increasingly respects that extraordinary dragon with deeper understanding.

Like the divine hall before her, although the current power and rank of the Dragon Group are not yet sufficient to touch the true purpose behind the scenes, the Ancestral Red Dragon has already prepared everything in advance for his companions.

Chris’s gentle eyes swept across the statues of the Dragon Group, finally resting on the statue of the Ancestral Red Dragon with a gentle sigh.

Facing the Ancestral Red Dragon now, she surprisingly feels a sense akin to apprehension when nearing home. She doesn’t know what this feeling is, but it makes the proud Silver Dragon fear yet yearn intensely.

She fears approaching the Ancestral Red Dragon, yet desires fiercely to come closer to that red dragon, a feeling dragons almost never experience in their lifetime.

Because of this, she even develops an indescribable dark jealousy towards those giant dragons who can freely approach the Ancestral Red Dragon.

But the Silver Dragon, who always prides herself on being noble, refuses to acknowledge having such dark emotions. At such times, only in front of the emblem of the Platinum Dragon God can she find enough tranquility and peace, able to discard the myriad thoughts in her mind that bring her shame.

Chris bypassed the statue of the Ancestral Red Dragon, aiming to reach the emblem imprint, almost ornamental to other creatures but highly conspicuous to the Dragon Race.

Yet her fleeting glance made her discover that, without knowing when, there was an additional statue of a Giant Dragon among the Dragon Group’s statues.

This statue of the Giant Dragon looks similar to the Dragon Group, but the gemstone used to carve the dragon’s eyes is quite special.

Viewing from different angles, the dragon’s eyes present different colors, under the sunlight from the dome, resembling a colorful rainbow swirling around the dragon’s eyes, beautiful and peculiar.

”Huh, has a new Giant Dragon joined the Dragon Group these past days,”

Silver Dragon Chris exclaims in surprise and mutters to herself: ”But even if it joins the Dragon Group, it shouldn’t be placed equally among the Dragon Group; even Fog Dragon Deniro has yet to reach such a status.”

Silver Dragon Chris rarely furrowed her lovely brows; being ranked among the group has become one of her minor goals. Seeing a stranger dragon surpass her makes Silver Dragon Chris feel indescribable emotions.

Only when standing in front of the emblem imprint representing Platinum Dragon God Bahamut, like a star on the Galaxy Nebula, did her unspeakable emotions calm down.

Silver Dragon Chris, much like when she first saw the divine hall as a young Brass Dragon Holister, always finds it hard to fathom the purpose of placing multiple dragon god emblems in the divine hall by the Ancestral Red Dragon.

This Silver Dragon now treats speculating the Ancestral Red Dragon’s thoughts and discerning some intentions as a playful game. If successful, it would bring Chris an indescribable satisfaction, yet she remains unable to guess the Red Dragon’s thoughts in this regard.