At that mont, the Dragonkin Soldier from Nokstella finally began to calm down.
Once its fury subsided, it was as if all strength had abandoned it, and it collapsed into the pool of water.
The wounds it had sustained while facing Astel alone had reached a critical point, too severe for even a bio-weapon to ignore.
In fact, it was incredible that it had managed to keep fighting for so long.
The Dragonkin Soldier's head was severely damaged, one of its eyeballs completely exposed and unprotected.
The eye swiveled, locking onto Bai Shi’s position.
Bai Shi leaped down from the giant throne and walked toward the Dragonkin Soldier step by step.
The two phantom soldiers bowed their heads on either side, welcoming Bai Shi.
Bai Shi ca to a stop before the Dragonkin Soldier from Nokstella, eting the gaze of an eye half as large as his entire body.
Bai Shi’s reflection appeared in the Dragonkin Soldier’s eye, and the image of this man was seared into its mory.
Bai Shi extended a hand toward the Dragonkin Soldier and spoke softly.
"You possess a will of your own, don't you?"
"If not, then I won't waste my breath."
The Dragonkin Soldier stared intently at Bai Shi. It opened its massive jaws and let out a low, guttural growl.
Blood flowed from its mouth, quickly staining the pool beneath it red.
Though it could not speak, the Dragonkin Soldier had responded.
Bai Shi nodded and said to the creature,
"Your vengeance is complete, and that which you were sworn to protect is gone."
"I will give you an opportunity."
"You can choose to follow
and leave Nokstella, the Eternal City."
"I will grant you the ability to survive on the surface, to witness a true sky and real lightning, to soar through the air like a true dragon..."
He paused, giving the Dragonkin Soldier enough ti to comprehend his words.
"If you do not choose this path, that is also fine."
"I will heal you, and you may remain here to fulfill the orders you were given."
"Make the decision by your will alone."
"Do so, and I will acknowledge your individuality and treat you as a true living being."
The Dragonkin Soldier from Nokstella drew a deep, shuddering breath, as if lost in thought.
Its eye shifted, looking toward the two spectral forms of its kin beside it.
Had Bai Shi not summoned them, it likely would never have achieved its vengeance.
This was an imasurable debt, one that must be repaid...
Bai Shi instantly saw through the creature's simple values and said,
"Do not concern yourself with their aid in your revenge. They acted of their own accord, not on my command."
"What I demand is absolute loyalty—a devotion that will follow
no matter the cost."
"It is not sothing I would secure with such a paltry favor."
"Simply follow your heart's true desire."
The Dragonkin Soldier was lost.
It was rely a tool for battle; it had no need for its own thoughts.
Seeing this, Bai Shi shook his head.
"You don't even have thoughts of your own?"
"So many years have passed. Surely you should have made so progress?"
"Even a Mimic Tear, which can only imitate others, has done better than you—and two of them, at that."
The Dragonkin Soldier fell silent.
It knew of Mimic Tears, but it couldn't comprehend the aning behind Bai Shi's words.
Ashmi’s core began to spin.
'Hm?'
'Is he praising
for being so amazing?'
'Mmm... let's just assu so!'
The Dragonkin Soldier's eye looked vacant, as if it were searching for itself in the void.
Its gaze drifted, landing on the unchanging corpse on the throne.
Even bound by its orders, forced to witness the ruin of Nokstella, it had never taken a single step away from this place.
It didn't matter if it went against its own heart... but they had left.
They were never coming back.
It was a born soldier, created for battle and to defend the Lord of Night—
But now, it could do neither.
Now, it had long since strayed from its purpose.
Finally, as if in release, the Dragonkin Soldier threw its head back and let out a great roar.
"ROAR—!"
The Dragonkin Soldier from Nokstella chose to follow its heart's desire.
Just as it had chosen to follow its hatred and fight Astel.
It no longer wished to remain here, to grow old in this pathetic, dragon-like form.
Bai Shi smiled and gestured to the two phantom soldiers at its side.
They flanked the Dragonkin Soldier, pried open its massive jaws, and forcibly tore out Astel's broken stinger.
The barbed stinger tore out a mangled, pulpy half of its tongue with it.
The Dragonkin Soldier endured it silently, as if it felt no pain at all, its gaze fixed steadfastly on Bai Shi.
Once they had removed the barbed stinger, Bai Shi finally reached out his hand to the Dragonkin Soldier.
Looking at the unyielding creature before him, Bai Shi's smile widened.
"I admire you."
"You are a natural-born warrior, a great work of the Nox dynasty."
"Your body may be that of a flawed half-dragon, but your will is whole."
"Allow
to complete you—join the glorious evolution!"
A ray of sunlight spilled from Bai Shi’s hand, bathing the Dragonkin Soldier’s scarred body.
Under the sun's healing light, its ravaged form began to grow and nd at a rapid pace.
Flesh knitted together madly, and the majority of its wounds were soon repaired.
However, the scales that had been destroyed and knocked loose during the battle showed no signs of returning.
Suddenly, the Dragonkin Soldier let out a scream of agony.
The central Great Rune had already manifested on Bai Shi's body, and its power was now at work.
Evolution is always painful.
Bai Shi had long since analyzed the power of the ancient dragons from Senessax.
Now he was attempting to replicate that power and manifest it in the Dragonkin Soldier's body.
This was also a trial run for healing the Nun.
After coming into contact with the Crucible through Aeperia, Bai Shi had gained a deeper understanding of life’s essence.
The Crucible was the principal force that differentiated all life, and within it lay the most crucial laws of vitality.
One by one, hard, gravel stone scales began to appear on the Dragonkin Soldier's flesh, pushing off the few remaining patches of its original scales.
A thick tailbone extended from the end of its spine, gradually being covered by flesh and sinew.
The heavy, stone scales did not appear from thin air. The Dragonkin Soldier itself was created through the fusion of other creatures with the power of ancient dragons.
Bai Shi was simply finding the parts of its body that belonged to the ancient dragons.
Then, by injecting the sa kind of power, he guided the draconic energy to fully manifest within its body.
Were it not for such a unique subject, this procedure would have been much more difficult for Bai Shi to control.
True stone scales slowly covered the Dragonkin Soldier's entire body, replacing the crude imitations it once had.
Its original scales were not only imitations, they didn't even provide full coverage. They were utterly pathetic.
The Dragonkin Soldier’s entire body drew closer and closer to the form of an ancient dragon.
However, Bai Shi intentionally altered its head.
Following Bai Shi's design, the heavy stone scales reshaped the Dragonkin Soldier's head, making it more ferocious and rugged.
An ancient dragon's head and neck were far too elegant. The Dragonkin Soldier was a warrior; it ought to look the part.
When the stone scales finally covered its head completely, the transformation was truly finished.
The Dragonkin Soldier roared at the sky, its more terrifying maw looking as if it could swallow the firmant itself.
It pushed itself up, and its once-feeble hind legs now firmly supported its body.
As it stood, its new, larger form was put on full display.
The Dragonkin Soldier beat its wings and shot into the air with incredible speed.
Its wings had now beco complete and whole, just like those of an ancient dragon.
However, due to the limitations of the other fused creatures, the underside of its wings was not the gold of a true ancient dragon, but an icy blue.
The Dragonkin Soldier soared freely through the air, and as it did, lightning of red and blue, two opposing forces, crackled in the pool below.
Bai Shi nodded, thoroughly satisfied.
His efforts hadn't been in vain; the extre makeover was a complete success.
The Dragonkin Soldier landed back on the ground, knelt before Bai Shi on one knee, and lowered its head.
The Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella had pledged its loyalty to Bai Shi.
From now on, it was no longer a cold tool bound by orders, but a warrior filled with honor.
With the Dragonkin Soldier’s fealty, another entry lit up on Bai Shi’s achievent panel: ‘Nokstella's Dragonkin Soldier’.
Before his fight with Mohg, Bai Shi had four uses of his system, a comfortable surplus.
But the battle against Mohg had consud two uses, and victory only granted a single achievent, replenishing one use.
Later, he used it once more to ‘remove abnormal status,’ breaking free from Miquella's charm.
Now, with another achievent completed, Bai Shi's Fengling Yueying uses returned to three.
A reasonably safe number.
Bai Shi closed the achievent panel and looked at the completely transford Dragonkin Soldier.
While not all of the creature's fused biological traits had been enhanced, its deficiencies had been completely remade.
Most importantly, the power of the ancient dragon within it had been guided in a positive direction.
The Dragonkin Soldier now possessed power rivaling that of a true ancient dragon.
Though it could only compete with the weakest of the ancient dragons, and couldn't hold a candle to Senessax, let alone the more famous ones.
But for the Dragonkin Soldiers, who were generally designed to be of heroic-tier strength, this was truly a tamorphosis.
Bai Shi beckoned to the Dragonkin Soldier and said,
"I still need to look for so things around here."
"You probably won't be much help, so just wait here for now."
"I'll bring you with
when I leave."
The Dragonkin Soldier understood Bai Shi's aning and obediently waited in place.
Bai Shi collected the ashes of the other two Dragonkin Soldiers and flew back up to the city of Nokstella on the cliff above.
This ti, Bai Shi headed straight for the most magnificent and resplendent structure.
The building was divided into two levels; the upper floor led directly to the final Black Moon Chapel.
That was the location of the ‘Moon of Nokstella’.
Bai Shi wasn't in a hurry to get there just yet. He planned to open every treasure chest in Nokstella first.
Thus, Bai Shi walked toward the doors of the first level, preparing to explore it.
It would be great if he could find a few chests.
Bai Shi pushed open the heavy doors and peered into the pitch-black room.
In the very center of the room, an extrely conspicuous chest rested before a statue surrounded by skeletons.
Bai Shi walked over without hesitation, ready to claim the precious treasure within.
However, just as Bai Shi reached the center of the room, a loud crash echoed from behind him.
A Mimic Tear fell from the ceiling, transforming into a massive "dark moon."
As soon as the iron ball hit the ground, it imdiately began rolling rapidly toward Bai Shi.
This was a Mimic Tear trap, deliberately waiting for soone to lower their guard before sealing their escape.
Unfortunately for it, it had chosen the wrong target to ambush.
Bai Shi glanced at the iron ball, threw a casual punch, and easily impaled it on his arm.
He lifted the entire ball and flung it out of the room. The Mimic Tear imdiately returned to its fluid state, splattering limply against a wall.
In Bai Shi’s hand, however, its core remained—a Larval Tear.
After stowing the Larval Tear, Bai Shi turned back to open the chest that had served as bait.
Fortunately, the item inside did not disappoint him.
In the chest was a Great Ghost Glovewort, the highest-tier item for upgrading spirits.
Bai Shi silently accepted the Great Ghost Glovewort.
Although he had obtained a precious item, he didn't feel particularly joyous.
Upgrading spirits was sowhat useless for him.
Forget the top-tier Great Ghost Glovewort; he had barely even used a common glovewort.
The vast majority of his Spirit Ashes already had high compatibility with him and could unleash most of their power without needing any upgrades.
He would choose a few of his most frequently used spirits to strengthen later so this wouldn't go to waste.
Putting away the Ghost Glovewort, Bai Shi left the room and headed toward the upper level.
Just then, Ashmi suddenly stirred within him.
Ashmi’s core wriggled in a certain direction, then she erged directly from Bai Shi's body.
After solidifying her form, Ashmi looked around before fixing her gaze in one direction.
"Host, I think I've found the location of the Teardrop Chalice."
"I'm going to go grab it for a bit. I'll et up with you later."
Without waiting for Bai Shi to reply, Ashmi flew off toward a separate building in Nokstella.
Bai Shi shrugged and continued on his way toward the 'Moon of Nokstella'.
It was great that Ashmi could find it on her own; it saved him an extra trip.
All he had to do was wait for Ashmi to bring back the Teardrop Chalice for him to drink.
He wondered if, after this enhancent, Ashmi would be able to reach a state of completion.
After sweeping through a few more rooms in the area, Bai Shi had two more Larval Tears in his possession.
At the sa ti, he also found two Somber Smithing Stone [7]s and one Somber Smithing Stone [8] in the rooms’ chests.
Gathering these miscellaneous items, Bai Shi entered the Black Moon Chapel where the ‘Moon of Nokstella’ was kept.
Inside the chapel, two Silver Tears had taken human form. They raised their weapons and turned to face Bai Shi.
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