Primordial Soul's Rebirth

The sky had cleared, and the battlefield, which was filled with the huge carcasses of the dragons, was now clear.

The empire's barrier was functioning again, and the people who had fought against the dragons rested in the empire.

Everyone other than one person—Alex.

After sending everyone back, ensuring that they were resting, he returned to chat with the only surviving dragon.

The white Part-dragon, now bound and disarmed, lay kneeling in the middle of a shallow crater.

It was left here by Alex, bound in a way that it couldn't run away. Its mana was sealed and its body bound.

Now, as Alex stood before it, he observed it.

Barbara had said it was a chimera, but it didn't look like one.

"You are a dragon, right?"

The dragon didn't answer; it looked away.

"Ho?"

Alex raised a brow at that reaction before he raised his hand.

Crackle!

The air crackled as he summoned a ball of destruction in his palm.

"You see this?" He pointed at the ball. "This killed three dragons in one shot, not even leaving their bones. Do you want to see how it feels?"

The dragon trembled, its head shaking violently.

"Good."

Alex nodded, dissipating the ball of destruction before he ordered, "Transform into your human form."

The dragon nodded, and the next second, its scaled form shimmered briefly before vanishing in a flicker of light.

When the glow faded, a woman knelt in her place.

She was tall and beautiful.

Snow-white hair cascaded down her back, and golden horns curled delicately over her ears.

Her eyes—golden like molten sunlight—stared defiantly at Alex, though the tremble in her clenched fists betrayed her fear.

She wore a silver-white robe, ethereal and elegant, marred with burn marks and blood.

Her breathing was slow but steady, and from one look in her eyes, Alex could tell pride hadn't left her, even in defeat.

He approached her silently.

She raised her head slowly, eyes narrowing. "So? What now, Demon Lord? Are you going to r*pe me? Is that why you wanted me to transform?"

Alex paused, tilting his head, confused if he heard it right.

But looking at her face, he knew he had heard it right.

'Even dragons see Demon Lords as some kind of perv, huh?'

But then, an idea formed in his head, and he smirked. "That's the first thing that came to your head? Are you really that horny?"

Her cheeks flushed at those words, her eyes wide, but she held his gaze, not wanting to look like she admitted her defeat.

Alex crouched before her, resting his forearm on one bent knee. His crimson eyes bore into hers.

"I want information," he said softly.

"I have nothing to tell you," she snapped.

"That's a lie."

She didn't respond.

He tilted his head slightly. "You Part-dragons were made from other races, weren't you? What were you before Antares got to you?"

The woman looked away. "A knight. I served the Sapphire Kingdom in the east. I was human... once."

"And then he turned you into a tool."

She bit her lip but nodded. Her pride didn't allow her to lie, only to resist.

"Why attack me?" Alex asked.

"Antares wanted to gauge your power," she replied bitterly. "He suspected the rumors were true... that you'd surpassed the previous Demon Lords. So he sent us. If we killed you, he'd know you were weaker than they said. If we died..."

She looked at the corpses of her comrades scattered far away. "Then he'd know you're a threat."

Alex nodded, already knowing most of that. But there was something deeper here. He leaned in closer, his voice dropping.

"Why send you—Part-dragons? Why not come himself?"

That struck a nerve. She flinched, and Alex knew he hit the mark.

"He's... changing," she murmured. "Becoming paranoid. Ever since the fall of the Phoenix Empire, he's begun... experimenting. Trying to push past natural limits. He realized that if the original phoenix could die, he also could."

Looking at her hands, she sighed. "The Part-dragons were just a beginning. He's been fusing divine artifacts, old gods' relics, remnants of fallen worlds…"

She stopped, realizing she'd said too much.

Alex's eyes sharpened. "He's preparing for something. What is it?"

The woman hesitated, golden eyes flickering with fear now, not of Alex, but of something else. "He's trying to break the chain."

Alex frowned. "What chain?"

She clenched her jaw, reluctant.

"He thinks fate is rigged," she whispered finally. "That no matter how powerful one becomes, some outside force always resets the world. Ends it. Restarts the cycle. He wants to kill the system itself—whatever lies behind fate."

Alex blinked.

That... wasn't what he expected.

"Even gods can't escape that chain," she added. "That's why he's gathering forbidden knowledge. He's... losing it, Demon Lord. Slowly. But surely."

Alex stood up, silent for a moment. He gazed at the skies.

So the golden dragon wasn't just watching him.

He was preparing for war against existence itself.

It was foolish; Alex knew Antares was also aware of it, yet he was trying to do it.

'If such a force existed, there was no way a mere guardian of a planet would be able to defeat them.'

Alex's thoughts were read by Sophia, and although he didn't know it, she had a very serious expression on her face as she knew how close Antares was to finding the truth.

{But how?} She wondered.

How could Antares, a being on this mid-sized world, know about 'them'?

Meanwhile, a shadow of a grin touched Alex's lips.

"Interesting."

He turned back to the woman, who was now on her feet, still shackled by Alex's spiritual pressure.

"How do you know all this?" He asked, curious about it, as he was sure Antares didn't tell her those things.

"We Part-dragons were made from Antares's blood, giving him partial control over our bodies, but we also got his memories from that blood. These memories were from his blood."

Alex raised a brow, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Very interesting."

He did find it interesting. But that was all.

He had no intentions of making Part-Alex.

Then, he turned back to the part-dragon, looking into her eyes.

"You told me what I needed," he said.

She nodded. "So... now you'll kill me?"

Alex didn't answer immediately.

She met his gaze. "Do it. I'd rather die than be seen again by him after... that."

Her cheeks flushed again, remembering the princess illusion.

Alex sighed dramatically. "You Part-dragons. So dramatic."

With one step forward, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes widened slightly, expecting pain.

Instead, warmth spread through her body—briefly. For a moment, she felt like she was free again.

She looked into his eyes.

He looked into hers.

"I'll make it painless," he whispered.

Her lips parted to speak—but before a word could escape—

SHNK.

A jet-blue spike of water filled with life elements pierced her chest, directly through the heart.

She gasped. Her eyes widened, then softened.

"…Thank you…" She whispered before the light in her eyes disappeared.

Her body fell to the ground with a thud, and a faint smile lingered on her lips.

Alex stood still for a moment, then let out a quiet breath.

"You were strong," he said softly. "But loyalty to a madman will always lead to ruin."

The wind blew on his face, but he didn't show any reaction.

He was sure Antares must be watching all this. He was sure the golden dragon saw everything that went down.

He must've seen how the Part-dragon told him everything she knew.

He couldn't hear anything, but from Alex's expressions, he must've understood everything, and he must be furious.

But Alex again didn't care.

[Why did you not use destruction energy?]

Sophia's voice suddenly echoed in his head, and he finally smiled. 'Why do you think?'

[I guess you are going to unlock a new bloodline then.]

Yes, Alex would plunder her bloodline, a diluted version of a royal-ranked bloodline, to unlock one of his dragon bloodlines by force.

He just wished it were a good one and not just some random low-ranked bloodline.

After all, by forcefully absorbing low-quality dragon blood, it was possible to awaken a high-tier dragon blood.

The same could be said for low-tier ones.

So, Alex was taking a risk.

He was gambling with his luck.

Looking at the dead Part-dragon before him, he muttered, "Plunder."

Then it began.

A warmth bloomed in his chest—gentle at first, like a flickering ember nestled beneath his sternum.

It spread, slow and steady, threading its way through his veins, crawling under his skin like molten silk. His breath hitched.

A pulse echoed in his ears—not from his heart, but deeper, older.

A primordial rhythm, unfamiliar yet resonant, as if a second heartbeat had been awakened within him.

He staggered back half a step, clutching his chest.

The warmth became heat, and the heat became fire. But it wasn't painful. It was... exhilarating.

His crimson eyes flared faintly, catching the light of something unseen.

The world around him dulled, blurred at the edges, his senses consumed by the rising tide within.

It felt like the blood itself was rewriting him.

Then, when it settled, he quickly called out his status window, staring at the bloodline he had awakened, his eyes widened.

"What the..."

Was it surprise or disappointment? Only he knew, but one thing was sure: he hadn't expected this result.