[You dare to presu over a Divine Realm cultivator?!] The dragon seed to find a second wind despite the previous results but it told Lind all he needed to know by that point.
"As the True Lord of the dragon race, I find you in violation of the leadership of the Temple of Fire Inheritance. Do you have anything to say before judgnt is passed?" The Fire Lord beca wide eyed and tried to snap out his tail but ti ca to a standstill.
The battle between plasma and frozen stone also stopped.
Lind was the only being unaffected but he felt a familiar presence. He slowly turned around to find a glowing amorphous flickering pool of light.
Nothing erged but he simply quietly waited.
[How did you know you have such authority?] The sound of many voices reached him. Unlike last ti, they were much more coordinated.
[Junior greets the spirits. To answer your question, I did not. However, I felt that any guardian that tried to exert their personal will over reality would be under so kind of conditions that only needed to be invoked.] The special realms he had visited had similar conditions.
The spirits could not normally interfere but if the rules were violated the power of the spirits was not to be trifled with. In reverse, if a spirit violated the rules of the space they were in command of, they could be removed from their post if the person building it was wise.
The 3 Inheritances were made not to leave a legacy but to find, test, and approve of the True Lord candidate. Such expectations ca with rules and responsibilities. That led to the conclusion that there were consequences for shirking one's duty.
The glowing object flattened a bit before becoming as tall as Lind.
[Wise, young True Lord. You are correct. The True Fire Divine Realm has violated his oaths but only in front of a witness like you could punishnt be enacted. Your actions are completed.]
Ti began to move forward but the world of fire vanished. Lind was left in a stone temple with profound inscriptions all around him.
An ancient wyrm was coiled beneath a shaft of sunlight. She had titanium scales but they were cracked and dried with blood. Still, she lived.
Her aura was also stunningly heavy to him. He bowed low with his massive fra and waited.
[That brat was always foolish. He valued the pride of his clan over his duty. You are not exactly different either, but at least you are honest.] A gray orb opened and Lind felt nearly crushed by that glance alone.
He had only felt sothing similar once before.
The instant he thought of it, the wyrm snarled.
[So, you have t that monstrosity. You are lucky to be alive. It is wiser not to compare Divine Realms to him. We kill most people that think of him as impressive. He is just a coward.] Lind nodded vigorously to her words.
[Regardless, that is not why you are here. Though you are True Lord and the spirits acknowledge you, we do not yet. It is ti to test you.]
The temple did not change but Lind suddenly was mortal again!
It had been like a switch was flipped and he was just a man once more! He had no Qi, no harmony, and no resilience.
Now, in front of the wyrm, his bones cracked and his blood could barely move. Taking a breath was impossible and his mind ground to a halt. What was the point of such a test?!
He felt like his body was getting farther away and that could not be good. He had to do sothing but what?
That gray orb was still looking at him but Lind had no ti for her. It was supposed to be a trial yet how could it not be anything but a death sentence?
The mont he thought of that it was like all the pain fell away. He suddenly stood back in the Realm Refiner. He was forcing the vitality to co back down on top of the 3 orbs of destruction and there was a mont that he knew he was going to die.
He was suddenly back facing the Immortal Artificer. His soul was on the brink of being destroyed and only a fingernail width of connection remained between him and his body.
He was back in the Rakathi Wastes and the Wrath of Heaven was tearing him apart but 2 lives were being shielded by him.
He was facing his heart demons once more and it was so easy to let go but 3 faces sprung into his mind at that exact mont.
His blood was flowing like a river as the mobile suit obeyed his commands. His dantian and ridians ripped apart as he reconstructed Ethry in the sa Inheritance.
How many tis had he co face to face with death?
How many tis had his life been coming to a certain end that he welcod or did not even consider the next step? How often had he been saved?
It was only right then, as his mortal life was being crushed by the wyrm in front of him, that he truly recalled each of those tis.
He was nothing! He was a tiny life in the vast cosmos of existence and he understood in those monts his death would have little to no impact on the grand sche.
His friends and family would mourn but they would survive. How many friends had he outlived? How much family had he lost?
It hurt, and maybe it changed him, but he survived. He moved on.
How arrogant was he to believe he was important? How narcissistic did one have to be to think the universe saved him for a purpose?
Dumb luck, reaping what he worked hard for, and maybe a little help did not an much of anything in front of the vast misery of reality.
He should be more humble and grateful. He should not be so prideful to not acknowledge that he was just lucky to be alive.
He had died once completely but his soul had been given a second chance. He had railed against the unfairness of his life but had simply accepted surviving what would have killed anyone else 99.999999999 tis out of 100!
"I am just a man." The words flowed from him before he realized he was an Immortal again. He was covered in sweat and blood but his body was healing quickly.
His sliver that had been so close to the peak was now showing signs of cracks. It was a good thing. It ant he was about to ascend!
[Impressive. I have tested far more snot nosed brats than you can imagine and many break at facing how insignificant they are. The trial of your soul is far easier to face as it deals with how to live, but here, you face how little your death ans.] The wyrm shimred as a gorgeous woman in pale robes appeared.
She had a blind eye but the other was gray looking at him. She had fine titanium hair and a narrow face. Her body was very voluptuous for how serpentine her natural body was.
"I took it for granted that I survived. Facing death is not easy or simple." Lind felt a shiver as all his near death experiences ca flooding back.
She nodded at his words with a smirk.
"If that brat had done his job properly, you would have faced death from near incineration rather than my thod, but I prefer mine." Lind nodded but then had a question form in his mind.
"Will the Temple of Fire suffer? They were innocent." A wider smile crossed her face. She then began to shake as laughter rose out of her.
"You are a strange one. Dragon souls are always a mixed bag of instinct and humanity but you are far out from even those. Most would punish the ignorant regardless of innocence." Lind frowned but could not refute how most cultivators acted.
"What happens now?" The woman smiled before a feeling washed over him. His connection to the dragons sharpened until he realized where he was in shock!
"You have faced a trial that breaks many but you are still only a True Lord. If you reach this place again, I look forward to you joining the tournant. Good luck, junior." Lind was suddenly back in his human form once more and flying through the air!
He had no control as the volcano ca back into his senses and he crashed head first into the lava!
His robes were instantly incinerated but he was fine. His body flared erald in his skin as he quickly got control and erged to find Ilyria staring at him.
He looked down and sighed as while covered by so lava, he was stark naked!
"How long was I gone?" He simply pushed past his embarrassnt and turned around as he sloughed off the lava. A new set of robes covered him before she answered.
"You have been gone for 7 months." He froze as that was far longer than he expected. He wondered what took up so much ti as his confrontation with the Fire Lord was nowhere near that long.
"Ahem, sorry about the delay but I am done here." She nodded as they went to leave but both jumped as the doors cracked and collapsed behind them. The lava reclaid the space before the feeling of a Divine Inheritance faded.
It seed the True Fire Clan had suffered a loss of face completely. Lind bowed to the spirits in his heart before proceeding to head down from the summit.
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