I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 1219: Clear Hope

Erend, Eccar, and Aesa stood in silence for several seconds. They simply watched the emptying battlefield.

A few minutes before there had been endless movement, noise, and corruption. But now there was only stillness.

Ash drifted lightly across the blackened ground. The blood rain thinned, then stopped entirely within the pale field that still lingered around Khepra-Ankh.

Aesa was the first to speak, her voice quiet with awe.

"That wasn’t a spell or an attack, wasn’t it?"

Erend nodded slowly. His eyes never left Khepra-Ankh. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"No. It felt like he just spread his authority over the dead souls," Erend said.

"I’ve fought necromancers, liches, gods, and things pretending to be gods. This is the first time I’ve seen undead gone without screaming,"Eccar said, then let out a low sigh and rubbing the back of his neck.

Khepra-Ankh turned back toward them as the last traces of his pale Magic receded.

His expression remained calm, almost embarrassed by their attention.

"This is simply what I am meant to do. Nothing more. Necromancy violates the boundary and I correct it." He paused, then added, "You can rest assured. Against forces like Zerathul, my authority will function the same."

That settled something unseen between them.

Aesa’s shoulders eased. Erend felt a knot in his chest loosen, one he hadn’t realized was still there.

For the first time since the Grave Bringer had revealed his true scale, a certainty of hope replaced the gravity of dread looming over them.

Eccar gave a short, humorless chuckle. Then said, "This is really good. Because we could really use additional power right now after we lost our friends."

Khepra-Ankh tilted his head slightly. "You speak as if someone has already been lost."

Eccar’s expression darkened. He sighed and nodded before answering.

"We indeed had lost someone. He was a Dragonborn who’s been with us for a long time."

Khepra-Ankh’s eyes sharpened. "Who?"

"Krono," Eccar said. "The Time Dragon."

For the first time since they had met him, Khepra-Ankh showed clear surprise. His eyes widened slightly and his breath paused.

"Krono?" he repeated quietly. "So the Time Dragon truly walked alongside you."

"You knew him?" Aesa asked.

"I knew of him," Khepra-Ankh replied. "Only once did I sense his presence across realms. I had hoped we would meet someday." His gaze lowered. "What happened?"

Eccar clenched his fist. "Zerathul set a trap. We fell into it." His jaw tightened. "Krono was absorbed and taken into him."

Silence followed.

Khepra-Ankh closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "Then that is indeed... an unfortunate fate."

Erend hesitated, then stepped forward. "Your power... the way you release souls. Is there any chance—"

Khepra-Ankh opened his eyes and gently shook his head.

"No," he said calmly. "My authority does not restore what has already passed beyond its natural course. I can free what is bound by necromancy but I cannot revive what has been consumed or dead."

The words landed heavily.

Aesa looked down. Eccar’s shoulders slumped just slightly.

Erend felt the weight press down on him, sharp and familiar. He clenched his jaw, then took a deep breath and forced himself to straighten.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I figured."

He shook his head once, as if physically casting the grief aside.

"Come on. We can’t stop here. Krono wouldn’t want us to mourn him too much like this."

Eccar looked up at him. Aesa did the same.

"We have to move forward and finish all of this. Zerathul, his corruption, and everything connected to it. That’s how we honor Krono."

Khepra-Ankh inclined his head in agreement. "A fitting resolve."

The silence that followed was no longer heavy with despair. It was steady and focused.

They turned their attention deeper into Level 60, toward the heart of the corruption. It was not over yet.

—

On the other side of the world, Thar’Zul-Vekar remained suspended high above the land. Their gaze fixed on the shadow in the sky that continued to sink closer with every passing moment.

The sky above them no longer resembled anything natural. Vast sheets of darkness folded inward, threaded with red lightning that crawled like veins across a dying organ. Each pulse sent waves of oppressive, heavy, and malignant aura crashing down into the world below, carrying the unmistakable presence of something advancing from beyond.

Even as their power as an ancient forest god surged toward its peak, dread tightened around Thar’Zul-Vekar’s heart.

They swallowed slowly.

Fear was not unfamiliar to them, but this was different. This was the instinctive terror of something recognizing a predator far higher on the chain.

Their roots of power spread wide, drinking deeply from the restored land, yet the fear and anxiety did not fade.

However, retreat was not an option.

Thar’Zul-Vekar lifted higher, their body now fully floating, ancient bark and verdant light wrapped around an androgynous silhouette carved from divinity itself.

Their eyes remained locked on the descending sky.

They had to stop it.

At least until Erend and the others returned.

The clouds pressed lower and within them shapes began to emerge more clearly.

Countless figures were trapped inside the roiling darkness, suspended as if frozen in the middle of their fall. Humans, beasts, monsters, forms twisted beyond recognition.

Their mouths stretched open in silent screams, their eyes were hollow and empty, and their bodies contorted in eternal agony as red lightning stitched through them again and again.

The sky was not merely falling. It showed them thousands of tortured souls.

Thar’Zul-Vekar’s expression twisted with fury and revulsion. Their hands clenched, vines and roots spiraling outward from their arms as their aura flared violently.

"This should not exist!" they said aloud, their voice echoing through an endless sky.

An abomination on this scale violated every cycle they governed. This thing respected none of it.

They could not allow it to advance further.

Drawing in a deep breath, Thar’Zul-Vekar surged upward.

His ancient forest god power erupted fully now. Emerald and gold light burst from their body, roots of light spearing into the sky itself, branches of force spreading outward as if trying to hold the sky apart.

The air screamed as divine pressure collided with the descending corruption.

Leaves of pure energy spiraled around them like a storm. The land far below them answered. Forests awakening and lifeforce roaring upward to reinforce their stand.

After seeing that form, for the god, this was no longer just restraint. This was defiance.

Thar’Zul-Vekar advanced toward the collapsing sky, every fragment of their being committed to slowing the impossible descent.

They would hold the line here no matter the cost.

—