Chapter 306: The Most Important Question

"Finally… I… reached… the end…" With great difficulties and sheer willpower, Drake eventually reached the end of the downwards slope, reaching the entrance of what seemed to be a large, and completely dark cave. 

He was struggling to keep himself standing at this point. The air was hard to breathe, according to Mort there was an unknown type of energy, something even he couldn't process. Permeating, lingering in the atmosphere around them. He didn't doubt that, as although the only reliable source of lighting came from the strange bioluminescent moss on the walls and from Mort who at this point only flashed dimly, every now and then. It was clear that his reserves were close to being depleted, the soul living inside the majestic, ornate sword wouldn't be able to keep up much longer.

A faint, hollow flash signaled another message being transmitted to Drake's mind, who upon receiving it sighed with a saddened, pained expression.

"Don't worry about me... friend. I know you are tired... I am too... But!... Our goal should be just ahead… Could… could you… che-" Suddenly he felt darkness seeping into the forefront of his mind, his consciousness struggled to resist against the ever-present pressure found all around him. His eyes traveled upwards, Drake fell forward, face-first onto the hard, sturdy cavern ground. 

With a loud thud, he kicked off a sizable cloud of dust in the air. As his eyelids slowly closed down, his mind ultimately gave in to the void, he fainted at the entrance, just a couple of rooms away from the boy he desperately wanted to rescue…

The boy in question, Aiden was sitting in front of the stone altar in the golden room. His eyes closed, his mind was still in the midst of processing all the memories of this ancient and eternal being that seemed to be fusing with him. 

He was witnessing the very same battle that was shown on the pillars just before… The last struggle, the last roar of Lord Aiden Voragon, the last Grand Protector of the Primals...

---

"NO! WE WILL FIGHT TO THE END! FOR OUR BELOVED, FOR LORD AIDEN VORAGON!"

Fervent shouts, powerful roars, and bold exclamations blustered throughout under the vermillion-colored ominous sky.

Facing the crowd, the man in question, Lord Aiden Voragon, the last surviving member of House Voragon, the current and probably last Grand Protector of his people stood still, watching the determined cries of the last remnants of his once populous race.

These were the last survivors, those that stoically resisted this unsurmountable opponent. 

Taking a deep breath, Lord Voragon slightly puffed his chest, and with a booming voice he thundered across the battlefield, addressing the small militia that was his army.

He pointed towards the approaching cloud of dust in the distance as he spoke coldly and with undisguised disgust.

"They call us monsters, abominations of nature! Abhorrent evil entities… These are the titles that you all wear!" 

He lowered his obsidian sword as he went on.

"I will say: They do not know the meaning of monsters! They are the monsters, the evil demons that culled our numbers, that pushed us to this point!"

With a decisive, sudden strike, he planted his sword into the ground once again, slowly raising his arms in the air at his sides. His eyes kept glowing, radiating that fearsome golden luster. At the next moment, a powerful aura unfolded from within his body, descending the clearing.

Feeling the energy, the power that descended into the area, Aiden was stunned upon the revelation. This aura… This power… was the same that his Innate Skill, the Draconic Heritage, the [Dragon's Wrath] ability provided to him, just on a much higher level…

The lord's wings unfolded, stretching wide across the sky, whilst his thick lizard-like tail vehemently slapped the ground causing the ground around it to cave in.

The fingertips of his gauntlets slid open, revealing several inch long thick, curved ebony claws, something that was also familiar to Aiden himself, however, these had a strange, multicolored glint traversing through their spines.

However, unlike with how Aiden's transformation went the lord didn't stop there. The dragon head shaped helmet's visor shut close, it began to glow similar to a metal being superheated it radiated a deep orange-colored hue.

Although he couldn't confirm it, Aiden felt that the helmet's change was somehow related to the lord's complete transformation. The glowing eyes under the cover of the visor slightly changed shape, turning into thinner slits than they were before.

In a much deeper tone, he exclaimed, asking his brethren if they were willing to follow along.

"MY BRETHREN! I SAY: LET'S SHOW THEM WHAT REAL MONSTERS LOOK LIKE! LET'S GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WERE ASKING FOR! LET THIS LAST MARCH BE OUR GREATEST, GLORIEST OF THEM ALL!" He yelled, roared with fervent passion in his much deeper tone of voice.

And the small crowd didn't disappoint in the slightest. Raising their hands in the air, they cheered at their lord's exclamation, roaring into the sky just like he did.

One by one, the crowd slowly transformed, into various shapes of humanoid-shaped monstrous entities. Some had glossy, silvery fur, others had a large golden-brown mane or feathers even quills and scales. 

Monsters of all shapes and sizes appeared as the crowd transformed one by one, releasing their own versions of auras from their bodies. Some grow in sizes, their muscles bulged, whilst others grew multiple limbs, a few even sporting beautiful, colorful wings. 

Whilst their shapes differed from person to person, monster to monster, one thing, one fact remained the same. They all had the same determined, cold look in their eyes. They were all gathered for one single reason: They were going to stop the incoming army of racists, or they will die trying. Their heads will not be used as trophies of conquest, they will not be remembered as slaves to a corrupted race…

The scene reaching its completion, the world began to fade for Aiden once again. This time, however, he wasn't ejected from the memory, he didn't return to the 'outside world'. No, he remained in a state of limbo, floating as an intangible presence in the void.

Confused by what was happening, he tried looking around and even sending out pulses of energy in hope of making sense of what was happening. Still, no matter what he did, or how he tried, he couldn't make heads or tails, he couldn't understand what was going on.

Is he still in a memory? Did he maybe faint, and got stuck in this weird in-between? 

'Enya, can you hear me? What is going on?' He even tried calling out for his system guide, sadly to no avail. There was no response, he couldn't even sense her presence anymore. It was as if he wasn't even in his own body and mind, but somewhere else…

Before his confusion could turn to despair, a warm, masculine and familiar voice from the memories he had just processed echoed through the void of space.

"Don't be afraid child, you are safe."

In front of Aiden, the figure of the same armored leader, the general of the primal army, Lord Aiden Voragon's transparent, white silhouette appeared floating. Due to being just a silhouette, a vision of a long-forgotten past, his distinct features weren't clear, just his vague outline. Still, Aiden was certain that this person was the same as the one addressing the crowd just a moment ago.

"Who… who are you?! Where am I, what is this?" After a moment of thinking, Aiden fired the three most important questions of the moment with a still-startled, confused expression on his ghostly face.

"Although those questions are important, there's a much more important, more pressing one that you should be starting with, little one." The figure of the leader responded, from his tone it was clear that he was smiling even if that was unclear from his blurry and helmet-covered face.

"A more important one? What could be more important than these three?! Anyway... What kinda response is that? Just who are you? If you are a memory, how are you talking to me?!" With an incredulous look, Aiden didn't falter, he continued firing even more questions, inquiries towards the strange apparition.

Seeing the confusion on Aiden's face, and hearing it behind his flurry of questions, the lord didn't mind, instead, he erupted into a hearty boisterous laughter. His guffaw kept ringing, echoing in the void.

It took him quite a while before he managed to calm down and collect himself enough to return his focus on the visage of the boy's spirit.

"As I said, there is a much more pressing, crucial question you should be asking before anything else…" He spoke with a friendly, warm tone, much different from what Aiden saw and heard in the memory. He could feel an unknown love and care behind his speech, present in each of the words he spoke. This fact greatly puzzled him, adding to his already great state of confusion even further.

"The question you should have started with, young one is the 'WHEN'. Tell me, do you know just exactly, WHEN are we?"