Nameless King

A seed fell to the ground, near one of the crevices, and shone brightly.

Wain prepared for battle as he decided it was some kind of unusual attack. He put his sword out in front of him and a dense layer of darkness appeared on his hands.

Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.

The seed cracked in several places as it opened. A small flower with three yellow petals grew there.

"Hmm? Is that all...?" Wain muttered with a confused look.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Suddenly the ground trembled as massive vines burst out of it. However, they didn't attack Wain, they headed toward the broken trees. The vines gradually repaired the damage that had appeared during Wain's fight. The tree trunks fused as the vines connected the splits to each other as though stitching the wound with thread.

"Huh, looks like he wasn't really going to fight me. What a weird guy." Wain grinned while shaking his head.

'Well, it's for the best.' Gladius uttered, 'Come on, we need to find the shard and get out of here.'

'You talk like you're afraid of something, don't you?' Wain asked as he frowned.

'It's just that the longer we're here the more likely it is that some of the Dragons will figure out what kind of soul you have. I don't know how they'll react, but I don't want to find out. You're still not strong enough to fight them.' Gladius said in a serious voice.

'Yeah... You're right. By the way, aren't all the Dragons in the Fifth Chronicle? Osvald said he fought them and not all of them were at such a high level.' Wain asked as he put Gladius back in print.

'Sure. Dragons are born in Third Chronicle, but they watch over their children even better than they do the laws of the world. Most likely there is a special zone or hidden space somewhere where they develop and grow stronger.' Gladius uttered in a confident manner.

"I see... Well, I have no reason to fight the Dragons, so let's take your shard." Wain said with a slight nod before running forward.

The forest was quite far away as even a small part of Dragon World was huge, so Wain had to walk dozens of kilometers before getting there. Gladius' words alerted him, so he didn't use the Light Racer's power as it might draw unnecessary attention.

Gladius guided him as the closer they got the more distinct the energy pulses that emanated from the shard.

"Well... Looks like we're there." Wain muttered as he leaned his hand against a tree while looking ahead.

There were ancient ruins covered in moss and vines. It was unnaturally quiet in this part of the forest, making Wain feel a strange tension.

"I have a feeling this is a trap." Wain muttered with a frowned look.

'You think too much. I've been keeping a close eye on the situation around here, it's definitely safe. I can already clearly feel where my shard is. Gladius said in a serious voice.

"I hope you're right..." Wain uttered as his silhouette blurred.

He appeared next to the main building in the ruins. There was nothing on the surface, but a long staircase led down, with no end in sight.

"You don't even have to talk. I understand we have to go that way." Wain muttered before stepping forward.

'Huh, you have good instincts.' Gladius grinned.

Beneath the ruins were catacombs, a network of tunnels that Wain had been walking through for more than ten minutes.

"Damn, if it wasn't for your help I wouldn't be out of here anytime soon, it's a real maze." Wain said with a disgruntled look as he made the last turn.

He reached a spacious room in the center which was a stone altar. Above the altar hung a dark, palm-sized metal shard, from which purple energy emanated.

"Well, looks like I was wrong. We got here and nothing terrible happened." Wain smiled as he headed toward the shard.

Every step he took echoed as the sound bounced off the walls. Wain slowly approached the shard and held out his hand to it.

"Fine. You're finally going to be a lot stronger." Wain said with a smile on his face.

"Stop!" Gladius suddenly exclaimed.

However, it was too late as Wain touched the shard with his fingertip.

Crackle.

The shard suddenly morphed into a hideous monster head with a massive toothy jaw that instantly closed in an attempt to bite Wain's hands off.

Wain's pupils narrowed as he reacted instantly. An energy pulse was sent to his glove and a gray sphere appeared that with a powerful blast tore the monster apart.

"Fuck! That was fucking close! What's going on here?" Wain exclaimed with a wary look.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The whole place shuddered as the floor beneath Wain tumbled down.

"Shit!" Wain exclaimed as he tried to grab onto some debris.

His hand touched a part of the floor as Wain was about to jump away from it, but suddenly the speed of the fall increased considerably as though something was pulling from below.

Wain tilted his head and his eyes went wide.

Below was the bony head of some strange monster with glowing violet eyes. The monster's jaw was wide open, and above it was a massive dark sphere that was gradually increasing in size.

"What the fuck is that?" Wain exclaimed as he released his aura.

'Wain! I don't know what's going on here, but this creature is dangerous! This attack could actually kill you!' Gladius exclaimed in a serious manner.

"I fucking figured that out myself!" Wain spoke as his eyes grew deeper.

A dark crown with three eyes appeared on him as energy covered his arms.

At the same time, the monster closed its jaw, and the sphere with all its tremendous might headed straight for Wain as though a death star that was destroying everything in its path.

"Let's see how you can handle it!" Wain exclaimed as he swung his arm.

A massive jaw appeared beneath him with an eerie aura, and one detail immediately caught Wain's attention.

'Hmm? Is the jaw dark, not gray?' Wain inwardly muttered as he looked at his hands.

They were covered with a dense layer of darkness in the depths of which one could see horrible jaws and eyes as though monsters from the depths of the abyss.