The ancient Spirit of Knowledge's pleas echoed in Kai's mind, clear and agonizing. The Unmarked Shrine was engulfed in a bone-chilling cold, and the True Dragon Eye shimmered within the massive ice block, a promise of immense power, yet utterly sealed away.
"I have to free it," Kai stated, looking at the imprisoned soul. "It's the key to obtaining the True Dragon Eye and understanding the broken prophecy."
Arthur and Elara stood beside him, their faces etched with worry. "But how?" Arthur asked. "This ice... it's not normal ice. My attacks do nothing."
Elara touched the ice block, then immediately pulled her hand back. "It's draining energy. The more we try to break it, the stronger it gets."
Kai recalled the words of the Heart of the Forest spirit: "Corrupted souls... can only be purified by pure energy... or severed from their source." This spirit wasn't corrupted, but it was held captive by a power that was draining it. Perhaps, pure energy was the answer.
He possessed "Crystal Energy Manipulation" and "Soul Guiding" – both skills related to pure energy and souls.
Kai stepped closer to the ice block, sensing the malevolent energy coiling around the imprisoned spirit. This energy wasn't from the Shadow Cult, but a form of captivity designed to keep a secret. He focused his pure crystal energy, not to melt the ice, but to break the energetic binding that held the spirit captive.
"Crystal Energy Manipulation: Seal Dissipation!"
A stream of silvery-blue light shot from Kai's hand, enveloping the ice block. Instead of shattering it, the light pierced through the ice and directly attacked the magical runes that bound the Ancient Spirit of Knowledge. Simultaneously, Kai used "Soul Guiding" to gently pull the entity's soul from its imprisonment.
Attempting to release 'Ancient Spirit of Knowledge' from its seal.
The seal is resisting! Your energy is being drained!
[-20 Mana per second!]
The cold in the cavern intensified abruptly. The runes on the ice glowed fiercely, resisting Kai's efforts. The spirit within shrieked in pain, both from its confinement and from the release process. Kai gritted his teeth, pushing harder. He felt his mana draining rapidly, but he couldn't stop.
"Kai! You can't hold out much longer!" Arthur shouted, worried.
"Keep going!" Elara encouraged.
Finally, with a loud "CRACK!", not from the ice block, but from the magical runes surrounding it. The runes shattered, and a burst of dark, oppressive energy escaped, then vanished into nothingness. The ice block remained intact, but the binding energy was gone.
'Ancient Spirit of Knowledge' has been freed!
[-100 Mana from you!]
Immediately, the Ancient Spirit of Knowledge emerged from the ice block. It had no fixed form, but was a shimmering, silvery-white mist, with brightly glowing eyes. There was no hostility, only a profound sadness.
"You... have freed me..." Its voice echoed in Kai's mind, clearer than ever, yet still imbued with sorrow. "I am Echo of Lore, a fragment of the memories of those who cast this seal. I was imprisoned to guard a secret... a devastating secret."
Echo of Lore floated around the True Dragon Eye within the ice block, then turned back to Kai. "You wish to know the truth? You wish to activate the True Dragon Eye?"
"Yes," Kai said, despite his depleted mana, he felt a strong urge.
"If I reveal the truth... it will be a great burden. A new prophecy... a difficult choice..." Echo of Lore hesitated. "The prophecy of the Devourer... is not the only one. There is an older prophecy, sealed with me... The prophecy of 'The False Rebirth'."
Echo of Lore began to transmit memories into Kai's mind, not just knowledge, but images, intense emotions.
You have received 'The Prophecy of The False Rebirth' (Complete)!
You have received 'Ancient Dragon Lore: Source of Destruction and Liberation'!
Kai was stunned. This new prophecy was more terrifying than anything Zane or the Progenitor Dragon had told him.
The World Devourer was not a demon from the void, but the corrupted soul of a great Ancient Dragon, who had sacrificed itself to seal another cosmic threat long ago. But the dark energy from that threat clung to the Ancient Dragon's soul, transforming it into the Devourer. The Shadow Seal was a curse, not a prison. It was slowly eroding the soul of that Ancient Dragon, turning it into a pure instrument of destruction for the Shadow Cult.
And more importantly, The True Dragon Eye was not the key to sealing the Devourer. It was the key to liberating it, to purifying the corrupted Ancient Dragon soul, but the price... was the sacrifice of the purest spiritual energy: the very soul of the Ancient Soul Emblem's bearer, or in other words, Kai.
Condition to purify 'The World Devourer': The Bearer of the Ancient Soul Emblem must willingly sacrifice their soul.
"No way..." Kai whispered, his body trembling.
Arthur and Elara didn't fully comprehend what Kai was experiencing, but they felt the intense dread radiating from him.
"This is the secret I had to guard," Echo of Lore said, its voice filled with tragedy. "The Council of Ancient Dragons sealed me to keep this truth hidden, for they did not wish anyone to bear such a fate. But now... with the rise of the Shadow Cult... you are the only hope."
Echo of Lore floated to the ice block containing the True Dragon Eye. "To activate it, you must touch it with an awakened soul and an unwavering will."
Kai looked at the True Dragon Eye shimmering in the ice block, then glanced at the unconscious Zane. He had arrived in Aethel by accident, and now, the fate of an entire world, and his own life, hung in the balance. Would he accept that price?