Pov: Vik
Soon, he received a reply, and thousands of chains around him were released. The thundercloud in the sky began to disperse while the world's will only said, "Don't forget your promise."
At this moment, Chakor realized he had been betrayed. The world's will had used him to defeat the dragon and now had made a deal with Gullnor, leaving him alone.
Chakor had to figure out how to save himself from Gullnor, who was growing stronger before his eyes. After the acknowledgement of the world's will, all restraints on Gullnor were lifted. His aura surpassed the Transcendence realm, reaching the legendary immortal realm whispered about in tales.
Before Gullnor, Chakor felt like a flickering candle flame in a storm. However, fear would not help him now; his only option was to fight this dragon and hope for a miracle.
Soon, Gullnor's aura stabilized as he regained his original strength. Chakor could not even determine which realm he was in. Looking at Chakor, Gullnor smiled maliciously and said, "YOU INSECT! BECAUSE OF YOU, I HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER WORLD FOR CULTIVATION. JUST BECAUSE OF YOU. BUT DON'T WORRY, I WILL ENJOY KILLING YOU FIRST. I WILL TORTURE YOU."
Saying this, he roared at the sky, and, as if by magic, thousands of birds appeared as if teleported by some force. These were the remaining birds of Chakor's species. Seeing them filled Chakor with sorrow, but before he could act, Gullnor opened his mouth and commanded, "KILL EACH OTHER."
Under some kind of mind control, every bird began attacking one another. Partners severed each other's wings, and parents killed their own children. Chakor rushed toward that group, trying to save the last of his species, but a single look from Gullnor stunned him in place.
Then Gullnor laughed and said, "DON'T WORRY LITTLE BIRD. I WILL ENJOY KILLING YOU. YOUR SPECIES HAS A HOBBY OF FLYING TO THE MOON, RIGHT? LET'S KILL ALL OF YOU BY SENDING YOU TO THE MOON."
He flicked his tail, and as the birds stopped fighting, they began to fly straight up toward the moon. Finally, Chakor managed to break free from that pressure and flew to catch them, but it was already too late. Using the laws of space, the dragon had sent them to outer space in just a few minutes.
But Chakor refused to accept defeat. He flew with all his might, reaching several times the speed of sound. After half an hour, he reached the boundary of Earth's atmosphere and saw the lifeless bodies of hundreds of birds, perhaps his last relatives, floating in the vacuum of space, still drifting toward the moon.
Overwhelmed with grief, he cried out in pain. Broken, he mourned at the graves of his clan. Then, with a melodic laughter, Gullnor appeared, covering all that distance in seconds. He flew effortlessly in the vacuum while Chakor struggled to breathe.
In front of him, Gullnor said, "LITTLE INSECT, I WILL NOT KILL YOU SO EASILY. NOW, STAY HERE TO SEE THE GRAVES OF YOUR KIN WHILE I STAY IN YOUR MOUNTAIN. THE HEAVENLY DAO USED YOU TO DEFEAT ME. NOW I WILL PLAY THE SAME GAME. I WILL NOT DEVOUR THIS WORLD, BUT I WILL NOT LEAVE IT EITHER. ACCORDING TO MY OATH, I CANNOT LEAVE UNTIL I KILL. YOU WILL STAY ALIVE, SUFFERING EVERY DAY IN THE COLD VOID OF SPACE WHILE I ENJOY MY LIFE IN YOUR HOME."
Saying this, he used a Heavenly bead to place restrictions on Chakor. He no longer faced difficulties in surviving in space, but thousands of tiny chains bound his body, keeping him trapped between the moon and Earth. There, he watched as the dragon left, unable to do anything.
Days passed while he remained trapped in outer space. He saw Gullnor living peacefully in the Azure mountains, creating new creatures with dragon bloodlines, mating with nearly every species on Earth. The Azure mountains, which had once been his home, were now merely a breeding ground for Gullnor. He became a legend among humans, the god of Azure mountain, while Chakor was just a name forgotten by all. No one remained to tell the story of the bird who flew to the moon and returned.
As he waited in outer space, he reflected on his life. How did this happen? He had believed the world's voice and now felt betrayed. First, the moon, which he thought was heaven, betrayed him. Then the very world he was born in had let him down. But then he realized that neither the moon nor the world ever told him to follow them; he had chosen to believe them. He was wrong, but not anymore.
He once again looked at the sky, feeling the same feeling that he felt when returning from the moon to earth. He prayed for a miracle using his life force to fuel his body, generating a force that is more powerful than any spiritual or immortal energy. It was the energy of his life, something that he called Prana energy, the foundation of his different cultivation system.
Regaining all his strength, against Gullnor's expectations, he broke the chains. Now looking at Earth again, he chirped. He almost used all of his life force for this moment, and now he could die anytime. But before that, he needed to do one last thing. He looked straight at Earth, aiming at the Azure mountains where Gullnor slept. The dragon suddenly woke and looked at the sky, sensing Chakor's threat for the first time in his life. He felt fear.
Chakor dove back toward Earth, feeling nostalgic. A few years ago, when the cataclysm had not yet occurred, he reached the moon. Devastated by the truth of the moon, he wanted nothing more than to return to Earth. Remembering that feeling, he knew he would not be as lucky as before, but he dove down anyway. In just seconds, he reached an unimaginable speed while targeting Gullnor's head.
The dragon had no chance to react before Chakor was upon him. In that moment, time slowed down as Chakor said, "Gullnor, you wanted to claim my home. Now, I will ensure you are buried in my backyard."
With that, he pierced straight through Gullnor's head, unstoppable. The Heavenly bead, feared even by the Heavenly Dao of this world, split into two parts, and with it, the dragon Gullnor fell. After his death, something strange happened. The Heavenly bead, as if commanded by Chakor's will, buried the dragon deep beneath the Azure mountains and altered the laws around the mountains for several thousand meters, restoring that place to the era before the cataclysm.
That was Chakor's final wish: to bring peace back to the Azure mountains. That was the purpose of the Heaven suppressing zone and realm.
With that, Chakor's story ended, and the screen in front of Vik vanished. Now, standing in the white space, he contemplated Chakor's story. Unlike the tale, the dragon did not truly die and was reborn due to the Heavenly bead. Reflecting on this, he exited the space.
Now standing before Chakor's skeleton, he thought, "I don't know if you are still here, but someone dared to disturb the peace of your mountain. I will kill them all as a form of respect for you."
He said this while moving away from the skeleton, not wanting to disturb the legend anymore. Then he decided to give Chakor a proper cremation. He summoned his strange fire to burn the skeleton. However, for the first time, that fire could not burn it. Instead, upon contact, the skeleton began to glow, and ancient words appeared on it. To his surprise, Vik could read them.
Seeing those ancient signs, only one word came to his lips: "Vajra."