Eternal Emerald Dragon

Chapter 1788 - 1787 - Desperate Gamble

Lind awoke to the sounds of nature. Roars, twittering, and even the hum of insects filled his ears. A rather warm figure was curled up against him far larger than his current human frame. The azure and dark fur told him Ryl was by his side.

He smiled warmly and patted their head. The wolf’s head moved slightly but only enough to adjust to his hand! Even in sleep, Ryl enjoyed being patted on the head by him!

He sat up and found a kind of blanket made from leaves and brush. It was not unpleasant. He quickly scanned the area and felt the world was fine.

It could not have happened so quickly so he had to be passed out for at least 6 months or more. The act of unifying the soul back into its body had been far more taxing than he realized.

Just what had they done?

As if his thoughts summoned them, 4 Master Tiers appeared in the sky. He recognized the 3 from before, though the snow dragon man seemed more in awe of him.

The 2 women were also more respectful. A Divine Lord was worthy of caution but if not of their race, respect was limited.

The final woman was in a dark fur vest with well muscled arms and deeply tanned skin. Her midnight black hair and pants marked her as the bear!

Her eyes were like rubies but she smiled wide before he was nearly slammed back into the soil by her back slap!

"Finally awake! I thought you dragons were of tougher stuff!" His bones rattled but he was unharmed. His instincts, however, were screaming at him as they had not in a long time.

He had to get away. The bear was a battle maniac!

No more! He wanted nothing more to do with them! There were far too many in his life already!

Just as he turned to leave he felt it. A tremor in the bear’s foundation and aura. No one else reacted but he saw her eyes flicker briefly. His aura flared to the shock of all.

Emerald flames engulfed the well muscled woman but she gave no resistance. Lind saw her condition completely and found there was nothing else he could do. Her fate was sealed.

His face must have revealed as she cracked a smile as she scratched the back of her head. Her hands were human shaped but he now noticed they ended in sharp claws, not fingers.

"I lost, didn’t I?" Her words were odd but he slowly nodded.

"You have a fatal Qi deviation starting. It is small now but it is irreversible. I am sorry." Lind could repair fractured or damaged foundations in a variety of ways, but Qi deviation was always an internal matter. If it became too severe, nothing could stop it.

"Lady Luxor, what did you do?!" The small hawkish woman suddenly became animated far more than any time on their journey to the valley. The gentle look in Luxor’s face told him they were friends from long ago.

"I have been feeling it lately, the fading. It is getting closer all the time and I did not want to go. I took a gamble, and I lost. I was dying anyway but at least I tried." Confusion filled Lind at her words. Fading was not an irresistible force but a choice.

A Divine Realm could live nigh forever so long as they had the will. Billions upon billions of years could pass and they could never grow tired of life, yet that was not true of all. The will to live was essential and if lost, the Divine Realm existence would fade away.

He had seen it happen a few times naturally and a few times when they were injured beyond any hope of healing. Living in constant pain was not something anyone would embrace without a damned good reason.

Yet, it remained that if the cultivator did not want to go, they would not fade. So why was she speaking as if she had no choice?

He reviewed all he had seen when he examined her. Physically, nothing was wrong, the Qi deviation was noted, but her cultivation was also perfectly fine otherwise.

If there had been an issue before, he could not find it now. The stout woman now had watery eyes. Her dark feathers dropped somewhat making her look almost childlike.

Ryl suddenly picked her up out of nowhere and took her away!

"PUT ME DOWN YOU STUPID WORLD REALM PUP! I AM NOT–" Ryl paid no attention as they hopped away and jumped towards the snow.

Luxor smirked before she started to giggle.

"I like that one." Lind sighed but knew Ryl was likely responding to his own desires to comfort those in pain. He turned serious as he looked up at Luxor.

She towered over him in their human forms.

"What is going on? If you did not want to fade, it was up to you to find a reason to live." He had heard of Divine Realm cultivators feeling like fading was creeping up on them but then an event or choice could scatter it to the wind.

He had never heard of them separating their souls and nearly wrecking a section of a continent!

Luxor smiled sheepishly before waving her hands and a table set with tea appeared. He sighed as they took a seat.

The 4 of them occasionally heard Ryl being cursed out but if the hawk wanted to leave, they were far stronger than them. The only reason they played along was likely because she found the distraction by the young beast helpful.

"Viera is so mule headed for a Steelbeak Hawk. She was exiled by her clan when she chose to follow me. We had such fun in those days." Lind realized why he was sought out now even more.

Viera knew something was wrong and desperately hoped Lind could either resolve it or lead them to the instigator.

He was about to sip the tea when he paused. A Steelbeak Hawk and a bear partner? He had heard of such a pair but the bear was–?!

"Nightmare Shadow Bear?!" Luxor smiled wide as she looked nearly vicious at that moment. Xuye and the snow dragon man sighed as Lind began to put pieces together.

"The Vicious Nightmare Bandits that vanished over 100,000 years before I ascended?!" They were so legendary on every continent due to their rather unique group.

A dragon, 2 birds, and a bear. They were not your typical bandits either as their targets were places like Glass Palace or other nefarious organizations. Even the Fiends suffered due to their actions.

Yet, they were not an altruistic group. They were not out rescuing people but making a profit!

There was another strange feature to the bandit group. They could be on a high or on the run, yet they would vanish from time to time for no known reason.

Several organizations tried to trap them yet they all failed or were found tied up with notes that would make a straight-laced person’s blood boil.

Sun must never meet them, ever!

"That will save some time, you do know the defining feature of the Nightmare Shadow Bears, right?" Lind calmed down and things fell into place. Distinct features of beasts endured even through the Divine Realm.

A phoenix could not avoid being reborn as part of their lifecycle. Aquatic life from various fish felt the call to return to their breeding grounds. So many more examples and more exotic situations came to be with every race.

A bear, of course, shared the need to hibernate. The reason, however, changed as they cultivated. It was no longer tied to the seasons but to needs.

Some bear races needed to store up energy for immense power and simply had to have a period of rest and recovery as Ryl had done after breaking through.

The vast majority, however, usually had something to do with transformation, advancement, or even simple survival.

The Nightmare Shadow Beast was a bit unique. They were incredibly powerful no matter what form they took physically. Even Cyntilla or Shoti, the best warriors he knew, would maybe fight to a draw against them in pure strength.

There was an issue however, they needed periodic periods of rest. Unlike other cultivators that shed the need for food, drink, or sleep in higher realms, the power the bears had demanded a cost.

The caveat was, however, unlike other bear races where a hibernation period might be a time of danger, the Nightmare Shadow Bear bared their fangs even more!

An aura was emitted that would plunge even a full realm above them into delusions and nightmares from which they may never wake. In that fashion, the bear would wake up and possibly find a lot of nutritious food ready to be consumed all around them!

The hibernation period, however, was unavoidable. It also came with a risk.

"You were struggling to stay alive in hibernation?" Luxor nodded. It was not a question of will power or intent. She literally was sleeping to death! "It was going to be the last time?"

She nodded again as she poured more tea for them.

"I fought it hard. I refused to die in my sleep! I have come so far but I could feel it! If I hibernated this time, I would never wake up." It would be frustrating if the very nature of your bloodline became a threat.

So, Luxor gambled. She gambled she could somehow stave off her hibernation by sheer will power and directly defying her bloodline. The result was nearly fading the entire area!

That was what he had been feeling. The essence of the desire to exist was being sucked away!

Nothing would have withered or curled up. It simply would have vanished!

"Now, I am dying on my own terms! Thank you for that!" Lind raised his tea cup for the strange toast. He could appreciate that, yet it would not be a kinder fate either. He was about to get up and leave when the next words made him drop his tea cup entirely. "So, can we fight to the death, Divine Lord?"