Chapter 7.19 - Lala - The Seven Ancient Dragon

The sound of a rattling chain was the only noise that I kept on hearing. As I slowly opened my eyes, I witnessed what seems to be a hall filled with altars all around it. I tried to move but then the rattling chain caught my ears once again. I looked at myself and found out that I am in chains. I was chained on some kind of pillar. The chain wasn't as tight as I would have expected it to be. I could probably walked for at least...3 steps forward before the chain begins to resist itself. So I could stand up, sit or lie down if I wanted to.

But what's important at the time was that I found I wasn't the only who was chained inside this hall. I look at one of the other altar and I saw what seemed to be Azreal Azmuth. It looks like he's already awake. He was closing his eye but he was sitting down. If I have to take a guess, he might be meditating.

I tried to call him despite that, "Psst. Azreal...psst. Azreal...!"

Azreal slowly opens his eyes and looked at me, "Lala Magnetite, isn't it?"

"Yes." I nodded, "Where are we? What's going on?"

"We're inside Nova's fortress. The one that we're supposed to go and save White..." so he says.

I quickly understood what happened to me as soon as he said that. So, the two of us were kidnapped and brought into this weird hall of altars.

"What is this place supposed to be...?" I wondered.

Then, an ominous voice spoke, "It's where I will be God."

It was the Dragon of Space-Time himself. While he does look like White, he was indeed Nova himself. Still controlling my classmates, Cyclone White.

Nova continued, "This will be the resting place for all of the Seven Ancient Dragons. That also includes me as well..." He walked toward me. "But...my conscience won't die with me. As this place will also be the rebirth of my true form."

"Is that your goal?" Azreal asked. "Becoming God? The Great Will won't like this at all."

Nova replied to him, "Who's to say that The Great Will won't like this at all? Besides, there hasn't been any prior knowledge that tells us the miracle of your so called Great Will. It is merely a false God that you are believing in, young one."

"The Great Will is the aspects that makes this all works. The Great Will is incomprehensible than a concept like that becoming god. The Great Will is creation itself. And as you said, he does not interrupt. He only watches." explained Azreal.

"Then that means, I'm allowed to this regardless. Your Great Will won't do anything but watch." Nova shrugs it off. "All aspects of The Seven Ancient Dragons will become one. The ultimate life form that was once whole."

"What do you mean by aspects?" I asked.

Nova explained it to me, "The very nature of an ultimate life form itself. The Dragon of Space-Time, overseeing the nature of reality. The Dragon of Hell, overseeing the horrendous world of the damned. The Dragon of Life, overseeing the beginning and end of the living. The Dragon of Spirits, overseeing the souls not in the living realm. The Dragon of Knowledge, overseeing all of the knowledge available in this reality. The Dragon of Heaven, overseeing the illustrious world of the fallen. And of course...The Dragon of Chaos, overseeing the unnatural behavior of everything."

"Seven dragons..." Azreal asked him, "What have you caught?"

Nova politely answered, "Four of them if we include me, Space-Time. You, Life, and the girl, Spirits. And of course, Heaven for that boy from Team Stardust."

I think I can understand a little bit of what makes an ultimate life form as according to the rules of The Seven Ancient Dragons. These seven aspects, when united into one will ultimately create what Nova wanted. Ultimate power. Is that really all he wanted though? And the way he said it, Space-Time, Knowledge, Life, Spirits, Heaven, Hell, and Chaos. I didn't realize the aspects works like that. But now I'm definitely sure this isn't just an elaborate joke.

So I asked out of curiosity, "Let's say you have a high chance of succeeding...Who do you think will make you have a hard time?"

"That's obvious." Nova grumbled. "The Dragon of Chaos. That wretched dragon have always been a thorn to my side. I figured that the plan would only be six of us. But this one in particular does not play by the rules of natural. She is unnatural..."

"She..." I think I have a feeling on who could do this mean given the evidence that we have so far. Then I whispered to myself, "Why her though...?"

Nova then admitted, "To be honest. I never knew the existence of a seventh dragon before this. It was always been six of us. I guess...I forgotten about this one in particular. It is...unnatural. Even to my knowledge."

Azreal then told him, "Well, you are not The Dragon of Knowledge. Of course you don't know there was a seventh dragon."

"Our discussion ends here!" Nova was fumed.

"Master Nova." A soft yet trembling voice ushers the hall.

Nova turned his back and answered his call, "What is it...young samurai?

The Chaos Shogun, Lord Kitsuneki himself have appeared. His samurai armor was glistening beautifully through the reflecting lights of the hall.

"I am a shogun. Higher than a samurai, master. I bring news..." He kneel down before Nova, "I have completed my mission."

"You look different than the last time we met, Shogun." smiled Nova. He then asked, "Where is your friend?"

"Everyone have regrouped as well. They are ready to greet our guests downstairs." so he says.

Nova nodded, "Splendid. Then I'll be returning back to my studies as I await for their arrival. Be sure to make it interesting for us all, Shogun." Nova left the hall.

"Yes...Nova." Kitsuneki gets up.

He then approached me and asked, "Do you know what will happen if the plan proceeds?"

"I do..." I answered, "Nova will become the ultimate life form. But that won't happen. Zenith and the others will fix this."

Kitsuneki laughed, "So you don't know it, huh? Let me tell you the side effects for you guys..." He began to briefly explain, "The process of creating the ultimate life form...is to give away all of the Infinitum available in the vessel. Which means..."

Azreal finished it for us, "We won't have our magic anymore..."

"Precisely." Kitsuneki chuckled. "So I ask you once again...do you know what will happen if the plan proceeds?"

I looked down to the ground and said, "Terrible things will happen...but...there is hope. It's not just Zenith. Even me and Azreal. Even all of us can be a small light that shines the brightest."

"The smallest light that shines the brightest..." Kitsuneki parroted what I said. "Perhaps...Perhaps the universe may have a chance to see that bright stardust...if...this works."

"The universe? Bright stardust?" Azreal was curious.

Kitsuneki leaves the hall after that. That felt a bit weird. I thought a Champion of Chaos would be much more...menacing. But compared to what I know and what I just witnessed, Kitsuneki strikes me as a different kind of Champions of Chaos. He has a different outlook on life. I guess, whatever happened during Nihon Island was something that he had to do. And he did it not for himself, but for a lot of people. For the good of the Yokais of Nihon Island.

"It's so confusing..." I talked to myself.

Azreal wondered, "What do you mean, Lala?"

"Kitsuneki talked to us as if...we have some sort of healthy connection. I thought most of them would only be filled with malice."

Azreal then summarized, "I guess this is what Nova meant about The Dragon of Chaos. The unnatural of things. How it disturbs the balance. It looks like even The Chaos Champions follows that aspect in their own unique way."

"Just what the hell is going on right now...I don't understand..." I shake my head in disbelief.

I continued to dawdle around as my head spins around in circle with the mysterious surrounding the very nature of chaos itself. It makes me wonder, how does The Champion of Chaos was even created. It might have something to do with whatever Kitsuneki said to us. About that light. The light that will shine the brightest...

TO BE CONTINUED