Saruto slowly awoke, his eyelids heavy as if burdened by the battles he had fought. The soft light of the Ti Chamber spilled over him like a faint dawn after a long night. He felt a slight coolness on his skin, and little by little, his awareness returned to the world around him. He heard steady breathing nearby, and when he turned slowly, he found Ethan sitting beside him, watching him silently with concern.
Saruto sat up with difficulty, his hand touching his chest as if the pain still resided in his bones. Then, in a weary voice, he murmured, "Where... am I?"
Ethan closed a small book he was holding, looked at him with calm eyes, and said, "You are in the Ti Chamber. You were in a coma for three days. You weren’t treated sooner because the energy of the Fourth Founder affected your body, which delayed your recovery."
He continued, "Now tell what happened to you. Was the Fourth Founder different?"
Saruto sat silently for a mont, catching his breath, then raised his head toward Ethan. His voice was low but charged. "Yes," he said, "he was different from everyone else. His energy... it was overwhelming, like it was consuming the very air. I felt every fiber of my being want to escape him. I couldn’t move at first... just standing there was like facing the very disaster itself."
He paused, his voice deepening, as if recounting sothing etched in his soul. "If it weren’t for Void, he would have crushed him in no ti."
Ethan listened in complete silence, his eyes slowly lighting up as his disciple continued to describe what had happened to him against Adrian. "But that’s not what surprised , Ethan. I discovered sothing else... sothing I never expected."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Saruto looked at him, his voice filled with the astonishnt that had lingered since that mont. "He... he has a dragon inside him. Like Void."
The air in the room seed to tremble as if the words themselves were heavy. Ethan’s face froze for a mont, then he said very slowly, as if trying to confirm what he’d heard, "You’re saying that the Fourth Founder... also has a dragon?"
Saruto nodded in confirmation. "Yes. He also used the Consciousness Skill. I felt an imnse dragon energy erupt from within him. It was similar to Void’s... but different, stronger than Void’s energy."
Ethan fell silent, his face losing its usual color, then muttered heavily, "This information... I never knew it. If what you’re saying is true, it changes everything."
He stood up slowly and began pacing the room, thinking aloud, "Only the First Founder can bestow dragons upon worthy heirs. He created the bond between himself and the First Dragon. If Adrian has a dragon... then there must be sothing I don’t know."
Ethan raised his eyes to his disciple and said with a firmness bordering on a decision, "We must ask the First Founder himself. He’s the only one who knows the truth."
Saruto rose from the bed despite the pain, his features regaining their forr stoicism. "Then there’s no ti to waste," he said resolutely.
Saruto sat up and slowly closed his eyes, preparing to enter the world of the First Founder. He opened them to find himself in a world entirely different from the previous ones. He looked around until he saw a man walking, a black robe draped over his shoulders, his footsteps leaving a trail of dark energy sparks on the ground. Saruto approached him and said respectfully, "My master... the First Founder."
The man turned, his face serene, his eyes shining with a golden light. He smiled and said, "Saruto... you’ve been gone from my world for a long ti. What brings you here this ti?"
They sat together on a large rock overlooking a clear, gently flowing river. Saruto recounted in detail what had happened to him in the world of the Fourth Founder: the fighting, the dark energy, and the dragon that dwells within Adrian. The First Founder’s face remained unchanged, but he listened intently to every word. When Saruto finished speaking, the First Founder said calmly, "Yes... his power is imnse, and that’s no surprise. But he shouldn’t have possessed a dragon."
Saruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Weren’t you the one who gave it to him? Just like you did to ?"
The First Founder smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his smile. "No, Saruto. I didn’t give it to him. Adrian wasn’t among those who proved worthy of receiving the dragon’s soul. He was special, but... he chose another path."
Saruto’s heart trembled, and his voice filled with astonishnt. "Then how did he get it? A dragon can’t possibly incarnate within a single body!"
The First Founder replied in a deep voice, "There are two ways to possess a dragon: to be granted one by , as happened with you... or to make a pact with a dragon. I believe Adrian chose the second path. Either he made a deal with one of the dragons from the Dragon Kingdom... or he subdued one by force and compelled it to rge with him. In either case... he corrupted the sacred bond between man and dragon."
Saruto remained silent for a mont, gazing at the shimring river before him, as if the water reflected his own future. He murmured softly, "So... the Fourth Founder didn’t receive a dragon from you. He took another path."
The First Founder smiled, his voice as gentle as a warm breeze. "Every Founder chose their own path, Saruto. So choose yours... the one that will set you apart."
Saruto raised his head confidently. "Then this will be a test for , to see who is stronger, my dragon or his."
The First Founder nodded contentedly. "That’s what I wanted to hear from you."
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