I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1195: Old Scar

The sight tore something open inside them.

There had been a time when the Elf Palace had been devastated under betrayal.

Years ago, before they arrived at this point where they entered the Dungeon World, before these trials, the Elf Palace had suffered a catastrophe that none of them could forget.

The traitor had been Laston, King Gulben’s own brother, Aurdis and Aerchon’ uncle. He had sought the power hidden deep within the city, power meant to protect their people, not be wielded by ambition and greed.

When he failed to seize it outright and was found by Aerchon and Saeldir, Laston had chosen cruelty instead.

Before escaping to another world and becoming a Cyber-Mage who fused Magic with machines, he had unleashed a cursed spell upon the Elf Palace.

It had not been a spell meant to destroy buildings or walls. It had been designed to break the Elves themselves.

The curse twisted flesh and soul, killing its victims and dragging them back as undead mockeries of who they once were.

Hundreds of Elves had fallen that day.

King Gulben had not been there when it happened. Depression had drawn him away beyond the city and by the time he returned, the damage had already been done. He had learned the truth through Aurdis and Aerchon, through fractured explanations spoken with shaking voices and eyes hollowed by grief.

He had known that curse before. His wife. Aurdis’s and Aerchon’s mother had been among the first victims of the same curse, long before the full attack happened.

The spell had taken her life and defiled it, turning her into something that should never have existed. She had been laid to rest only after unspeakable pain and sacrifice.

King Gulben had memorized every detail they told him. Every word and description. He had carried it with him ever since.

And now, standing in this ruined world, he saw it with his own eyes.

The way the black veins crawled across Elven skin. The stiffness of their movements. And the empty, clouded gaze that held no life, just corruption.

It was the same curse.

Aurdis felt her breath stop as the memories slammed into her without mercy. The image of the Elves’s twisted and unrecognizable face flashed before her eyes. Her grip shook for just a heartbeat.

Aerchon swallowed hard, his jaw tightening as rage and grief tangled together inside his chest. He had sworn never to see this again.

Saeldir’s fingers trembled around his own weapon.

"Not again..." the thought echoed silently in his mind.

For them, it was not just an enemy.

It was trauma given form. It was the past clawing its way back into the present.

King Gulben’s eyes burned as he stared at the advancing figures. Now he understood fully. Now he saw what his children had been forced to face alone all those years ago.

His grip on his sword tightened until it steadied.

"This is the same curse," he said, his voice low but unwavering, "This looks like Laston’s legacy."

The corrupted Elves advanced, hollow cries scraping through the air.

King Gulben raised his blade, grief hardening into unbreakable resolve. He has no idea how these undead Elves were here, but it doesn’t matter. Maybe this was just how the trial was supposed to happen.

"We end it here," he said. "Let’s kill them."

"Father," Aerchon said, gripping King Gulben’s arm before he could step forward. His fingers tightened, showing the strain he tried to hide.

"Why are they here?" His eyes did not leave the advancing figures. "I know those clothes. Those are the robes of the Elf Palace. They were residents. How is this place able to call them?"

His voice cracked at the end.

King Gulben turned to him, really looked at him, and for a moment the battlefield faded from his gaze.

Aerchon’s face was pale, his breath shallow, old wounds torn open without mercy.

"I do not know," Gulben said honestly. "This Dungeon World does not follow the rules of our world."

Aerchon shook his head, disbelief and anger mixing together.

"Then... is this what the trial is?" he asked. "Is it forcing us to face what we lost? It will drag our worst memory out and make us fight it?"

The corrupted Elves drew closer, their hollow cries growing louder.

King Gulben’s grip on his sword did not waver.

"Perhaps," he said. "Or perhaps it is a coincidence dressed as cruelty." He glanced back at the enemies before them. "Either way, the reason does not matter right now."

Aerchon stared at him. "How can it not matter?"

Gulben met his son’s gaze, steady and unbroken.

"Because if this level truly exists to make us face our trauma," he said, "then so be it. We will face it." His voice hardened with certainty. "We do not surrender to grief. We move forward, boy."

Aerchon swallowed, his grip loosening slowly. He did not look convinced, but he nodded.

Around them, the others exchanged uneasy glances. What Aerchon had said lingered heavily in their minds. The possibility that this was not just a battle, but a deliberate attempt to reopen their deepest scars, sent a chill through the group.

Fear crept in.

King Gulben stepped forward. His posture was somehow able to remain calm and resolute.

"The king is right," Adrien said. His eyes hardened as he stared at the advancing figures. "Let’s join them and kill these monsters. They are not Elves anymore. They’re no different from what we’ve faced in the levels before."

He was also speaking to the Elves about his mindset, and that he will not hesitate to help them.

Billy nodded firmly beside him. "Right. If we hesitate now, they’ll tear us apart!"

One by one, the others voiced their agreement. They took their positions, weapons raised and shoulders squared.

Then the undead Elves charged.

Their movements exploded into sudden ferocity, far faster than before. Cracked stone shattered beneath their feet as they surged forward, twisted limbs pumping with unnatural strength. Hollow screams tore from their throats as claws and blades swung with killing intent.

"Brace!" King Gulben shouted.

Steel rang as the first clash erupted.

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