Chương 391: a Name No other can Hear

Vale stared up at the serpent looming over them. Its scales shimmered beneath the sunlight, each one reflecting a deep aqua-blue that made its enormous body almost indistinguishable from the lake beneath it. Dark blue, slitted eyes studied the group with an unreadable expression. Strangely, there was no hostility in its gaze, no hunger, no bloodlust, not even the slightest hint that it wanted them dead. It simply watched them, almost as though it were trying to understand why they had entered its territory.

Then its eyes settled on Vale.

'Why is it always me?' He resisted the urge to sigh. The serpent suddenly opened its enormous mouth.

"Rushia malista revesh." Vale's eyes widened. He recognized the language. Without hesitation, he dropped to one knee and lowered his head.

"Ishra morda." The serpent stared at him for several seconds. Something shifted in its expression as it recognized his response, and Eskar immediately followed Vale's example. Realizing the others didn't understand what was happening, Vale quickly motioned for them to do the same. The creature's eyes narrowed.

"Malista morda." It began moving closer. Vale remained perfectly still as the pressure radiating from it became increasingly difficult to ignore. Whatever stood before them was far beyond the category-six beasts they had encountered earlier. Even the forest drake behind them, unusual as it was for a category-four, couldn't compare. Eskar seemed to realize the same thing. This wasn't merely a category-six beast. It was at least category ten, and even that estimate might have been far too low. Vale swallowed quietly.

The creature understood ancient Draconic. That alone told him what it really was. It wasn't a serpent. It was a dragon. A true dragon. Just like the Bloodscales. Pure dragons were extraordinarily rare, and adult specimens were rarer still. Their strength was the obvious reason. A sufficiently powerful true dragon could tear apart entire worlds with frightening ease, which was why so many remained dormant within the secluded world created for their kind.

And now, standing directly in front of one, Vale was beginning to understand what that actually meant. The Tower of Ruin. The legendary sanctuary he had heard about within Kealix's domain.

'Could this entire world really have been created as a sanctuary for dragons?' The thought made him glance around at the surrounding forest. For the first time, the strange isolation of the place seemed to make a little more sense. The dragon continued studying him before slowly lowering its head until its enormous eyes were almost level with his own. Its expression remained impossible to read, but there was something else in its gaze. Confusion. Enjoying this book?

Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. It couldn't sense him. Just like every other powerful creature that had encountered Vale. For several tense seconds, neither side moved. Vale wasn't even sure whether he should breathe. Then, slowly, the dragon began to retreat.

"Mistalish morda." Vale exhaled, only then realizing he had been holding his breath. The dragon slipped beneath the surface, its enormous body disappearing into the lake until only a few ripples remained. Apparently, whatever judgment it had made, they had been deemed harmless enough to stay. Only after the dragon had completely disappeared did Vale and Eskar finally rise.

"That went well," Vale muttered, obvious relief in his voice. Eskar let out a breath of his own before laughing.

"Thank the Creator most dragons are reasonable!" Nova cautiously raised a hand.

"Sorry, but what exactly did it say? Is it going to leave us alone?" Eskar turned toward her with a warm smile.

"It basically welcomed us into its territory. Most beasts won't come here, especially the aggressive ones. That dragon is the guardian of this region, much like the Goliath in Irea." Nova's eyes widened.

"Wait, that cute snake is potentially as strong as the Goliath of the Reef?"

"It might be," Eskar admitted with a chuckle.

"We haven't seen it fight, so I can't say for certain. Besides, it's probably using a weaker form. Some dragons can completely change their appearance, and taking the form of a serpent isn't unusual for them." Vale tilted his head.

"Speaking of that, how do you suddenly know so much about dragons?" Eskar paused, seemingly considering how much he actually wanted to explain. After a moment, he simply shrugged.

"To put it simply, when I died, I fell into Hell. My dragon became its guardian and eventually merged with me, becoming my spirit. Somewhere during that process, it passed its instinctive knowledge of dragons down to me." The group fell quiet. Nova stared at him.

"You... died?" Eskar nodded.

"Yes. That's why I have a new heart." His expression darkened slightly. Whatever memory had surfaced clearly wasn't a pleasant one. After a moment, however, he looked back toward Vale.

"Actually, when I received the heart, I fell into a memory. There was a man there wearing the same mask you had before it merged with you." Vale's expression changed instantly.

"Kealix." Nym frowned.

"What did you just say?"

"Kealix." She stared at him for a moment.

"Wait... what? I can't hear anything." Vale's eyes widened. For a brief moment, he simply stared at her before the memory of the Seven Sages came rushing back.

'Gods. That's how they knew.' But how could they know a name that nobody else could hear? Korin stepped closer, clearly just as confused as everyone else.

"Vale, you're going to have to explain that one." Vale sighed.

"Apparently, only people who hear his name directly from his own lips can actually hear it. Everyone else just... can't. I don't understand it either." He shook his head and looked back toward Eskar.

"Forget that for now. What was the memory about?" Eskar's expression became serious.

"I believe your Enigma was the one who sealed the Founders. Either that... or he himself was sealed by them. I'm not entirely certain which." Vale rolled his eyes.

"I'd put my money on the first. That bastard killed an Unhallowed with a single attack while using only a fraction of his actual power." Nym let out a low whistle.

"That's one hell of a powerhouse. Probably stronger than most gods." Vale glanced at her.

"You don't seem particularly surprised."

"Wasn't your Enigma a mystery to me too?" Nym shrugged.

"The only other person I've encountered whose system behaves in a remotely similar way is Barbatos. So I figured your Enigma was probably somewhere around his level, despite those seemingly useless abilities of yours. Barbatos's Enigma holds all the conceptual planes together, after all." Vale gave her a skeptical look before snorting.

"Fair enough. You're a real smart-ass, huh?" Nym smiled.

"Oh, you have no idea." Korin let out a long, exhausted sigh. He looked between them as though he had already decided he didn't want to hear another word about enigmas, gods, or ancient dragons.

"Regardless of how powerful Vale's Enigma might be, we can't do anything about it right now. Let's set up camp. We can wait until nightfall before continuing, then discuss all of this properly." Nobody objected. The group slowly dispersed to handle their respective tasks. Nova and Nym gathered supplies while Korin searched for suitable ground. Eskar settled down to recover from his earlier ordeal, and Vale finally allowed himself a moment to rest.

The forest drake remained nearby, lowering herself onto the soft grass and curling her enormous body around her young. She watched the group with half-lidded eyes, no longer showing any trace of fear. Vale eventually wandered toward the edge of the lake and sat down, staring across its perfectly still surface. The reflection of the trees barely moved with the gentle breeze. His mind, however, was anything but still. The dragon. The Founders. The Seven Sages. And finally, the man whose name nobody else could hear.

'So... you sealed the Founders, huh, Kealix?' Vale's expression hardened as he stared into the water. There were still far too many questions surrounding that name. Who was Kealix? Why had he created the mask? Why could almost nobody perceive his name? And most importantly, what connection did he have to the Founders? Vale slowly clenched his hand.

'Just what the hell were you?'