"Wait… what happened to you? Why are you so scared of ?" rlin asked hesitantly.
Calystron shook his head and stamred, "You… you… Are you that person?"
rlin frowned in surprise. "That person? What do you an?"
"Don't play dumb! Your face looks exactly like his! You're the one who appeared in my nightmare!"
rlin fell silent, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. He didn't understand what the Golden Dragon ant.
'That person? A nightmare? What does all this an?' he wondered.
"[Master, I think I've found the crux of the matter.]" The system's voice echoed in his mind.
"Oh? Please explain."
"[You may not know this, but it's possible your actions in the past have affected the reality of the future. Do you rember what happened in the final battle between Gabriel Solayne and your future self?]"
"My future self?" rlin thought hard. "No… I don't know. My mory is very vague. As far as I rember, I was in a dark place, with no one else but ."
Before waking from his coma, he rembered nothing else—only that endless darkness.
The place felt similar to when he had fainted after drinking a potion that pushed his physical limits during training with Linda.
"[That's understandable. I'll explain it to you.]"
After that, the system began describing in detail what had happened when future rlin defeated Gabriel and Calystron so decisively.
rlin felt his heart begin to race.
"Am I really that strong in the future?" He swallowed hard.
"[Yes, you are, Master. That's why you can't afford to be careless. Otherwise, the future self who appeared at that ti may never beco your true future. After all, the future is mysterious—every action you take can change its course.]" the system reminded him.
rlin took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
"You're right. Don't worry. I'll do my best to make sure that person truly becos my future," he said confidently.
If his future self was that strong, what level had he reached?
Beyond the first stage of the spirit core? But wasn't the first stage the peak of this world?
No matter how much rlin thought about it, he still couldn't imagine it.
"In that case, System, do you think I can control this Dragon of Light?" rlin asked half-jokingly, glancing at Calystron, who was floating about twenty ters away.
"[Control him? What do you an?]" the system asked, sounding confused.
"Simple. I'll make him do whatever I want. If he resists… well, I'll just threaten him. What do you think?"
"[Wow! Master, you're clever and ruthless! It wasn't for nothing that I accompanied you for these two years!]" The system praised him excitedly.
rlin rubbed his nose, feeling a little embarrassed. "Don't praise like that. Alright, let's begin."
Suddenly, his expression turned cold, indifference flashing in his eyes.
"Hehehe… So, you're Calystron, huh? Long ti no see," he said coldly.
Calystron grew even more frightened. "Wait! Don't kill ! I didn't do anything wrong! That stupid Gabriel did it, not ! I was just following his orders! Believe !"
His voice trembled, filled with horror and trauma he could barely conceal.
More than a month ago, while he had been fast asleep, he experienced the worst nightmare of his life in this world.
In the dream, he and Gabriel fought a mysterious man with white hair and a handso face.
The man was incredibly strong—no, the word "strong" barely scratched the surface of how terrifying he truly was.
He was the embodint of a god, a being that should not exist in this world.
Even Gabriel, who had reached the First Stage of the Spirit Core and was assisted by him in physical form, was completely unable to leave even a scratch on the man's robe.
More terrifying still, the mysterious man possessed a red dragon with a bloodline far purer than his own.
Calystron was utterly crushed by that red dragon until he finally t a miserable death.
His body was devoured, and his power was absorbed by the red dragon.
The next mont, he woke from the nightmare, his face pale with fear.
Although it was only a dream, it had been deeply etched into his mind and was impossible to erase.
And now, that sa mysterious man stood before him in a smaller form, instantly awakening the mories he had tried so desperately to bury.
"Why are you afraid of ? Haven't we t before?" rlin smiled playfully as he stepped closer.
Calystron backed away again, his massive head shaking violently.
"Wait! Don't co any closer! I-I'll grant all your wishes! Just don't hurt again!"
rlin stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath.
'Is the trauma really that severe? Just how strong am I in that future?' rlin chuckled softly.
If Vargan and the rest of the royal family saw this scene, they would be utterly shocked.
Just imagining it made rlin feel excited.
"I won't co any closer, so don't worry. However, you have to help ," rlin said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Help?" Calystron looked surprised. "What kind of help?"
At the sa ti, he studied rlin closely. Co to think of it, his appearance was slightly different from the one in his dream.
If the man in his dream looked mature, with a gentle yet deadly smile, the one before him looked far younger, with an almost innocent face.
'Could I have mistaken the boy in front of for that person? But then, why does he rember that incident?' Calystron wondered doubtfully.
"I want to obtain your dragon's blessing," rlin continued indifferently.
Hearing this, Calystron's doubts deepened.
'My blessing? That person was overwhelmingly powerful back then. Why would he need my blessing now?'
Suddenly, a realization struck him—the child before him was likely the past version of that man.
Most likely, the one he had fought in his dream was his future, fully grown self.
'Hahaha! I get it! No wonder he looks so much younger. If that's the case, I don't need to be afraid of him. I can kill him now and prevent him from growing stronger!'
With that thought, the fear on his face vanished, replaced by a creepy grin.
rlin was deeply confused by the sudden change. However, before he could react, a massive explosion erupted, and dazzling golden light flooded the hall.
rlin quickly covered his face with his arms. A few monts later, the light faded, and Calystron's figure appeared before him.
However, unlike before, Calystron had revealed his true form.
He stood forty ters tall, nearly reaching the ceiling of the hall. His two massive wings spread wide, while sharp claws extended from his four legs.
His golden eyes locked onto rlin, filled with murderous intent.
rlin froze, then stumbled back a few steps.
"S-System, what's going on? Why did the D-Dragon of Light reveal his true form? And… from the look of it, he wants to kill ." rlin swallowed hard.
Instead of answering, the system's chanical voice echoed in his mind, followed by the appearance of a red panel covered in exclamation marks.
"[WARNING! DANGER! DETECTED KILLING INTENT FROM THE DRAGON OF LIGHT, CALYSTRON! WARNING! ESCAPE IMDIATELY!]"
rlin stared at the red panel in shock. His heart pounded violently as cold sweat soaked his entire body.
"What's going on with the system? Why is everything turning out like this?"
"[There's no ti, Master! Run—now!]"
rlin didn't hesitate. He turned around and leaped off the altar.
Unfortunately, Calystron had already anticipated his move and swung his right claw at rlin's back.
Bang!
The blow struck him and sent him flying like a bullet, smashing him into the hall wall with a devastating explosion.
"Argh!" rlin vomited blood as his body slamd heavily onto the ground.
"It hurts so much..." he groaned, writhing in pain like a worm sprinkled with salt.
Blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, nose, ears, and even his eye sockets.
"[DING! DETECTED HOST SUSTAINING FATAL INJURIES! DAMAGE: INTERNAL ORGANS, BROKEN BONES, TORN FLESH, AND MULTIPLE OTHER INJURIES! INITIATING AUTOMATIC RECOVERY!]"
The system's voice echoed inside his head. Monts later, his body began to heal on its own.
His vision blurred, then slowly cleared as he regained full consciousness.
Gasping for breath, rlin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"System… System… Am I still alive?" His voice trembled.
The impact was so devastating that his life felt like it was hanging by a thread.
"[Don't worry, Master. You'll survive. The automatic healing chanism is active. However, I cannot guarantee your survival against the dragon.]" The system replied weakly.
rlin forced his head to turn to the left and saw Calystron opening his jaws wide.
Between them, a golden sphere of energy rapidly condensed.
"Damn it!"
Forcing his battered body to move, rlin poured what little strength he had into his legs and leaped backward.
Whoosh!
The golden energy shot toward the spot where he had been standing, reducing the wall behind him to ash.
Fortunately, the hall was built from extrely durable magical material, so the wall did not completely crumble and imdiately began repairing itself.
Unwilling to give up, Calystron launched more energy balls at rlin.
rlin managed to dodge them just in ti. Even so, his breathing grew ragged, and his vision blurred once again.
"I can't take it anymore," he muttered weakly.
The system's automatic healing was far too slow. He had no choice but to use his S-level healing potion.
To be honest, he was reluctant, but he knew that if he didn't use it, he would die.
Just as he prepared to dodge again and search for a safer position, the space around him suddenly froze.
rlin's body lifted into the air, completely unable to move.
'This is bad!' rlin cried out in terror within his mind.
"Die!" Calystron fired an energy ball from his mouth straight at him.
Whoosh!
It shot forward like lightning and slamd into him.
Boom!
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