After two hours of recovery, aided by divine elixirs and recovery pills that soothed even broken bones to a manageable ache, Charles rolled his shoulders, stretched each limb carefully, and cracked his knuckles with audible satisfaction.
"Alright," he said, hopping off the stone outcrop. "Dragon lair to loot."
Nimbus, the newly subdued Azure Tempest Dragon, lay coiled just outside the crater, one eye half-lidded in exhaustion and the other warily tracking every movement. A faint rumble pulsed from her throat—not hostile, but definitely judgmental.
"Don't worry, big girl," Charles said, patting her claw. "Just a peek. We're not savages."
"Right," Kael muttered. "We assaulted her, soulbound her, and now we're ransacking her house. Not savage at all."
"Hey," Charles grinned. "We're sophisticated savages. Now let's move."
They descended into the mountain fissure—a huge wound of cracked obsidian and shiny silver rock—navigating carefully as concentrated mana swirled around them. The tunnels pulsed with raw, ancient elemental energy, as if the gods themselves breathed below.
Charles heard SIGMA's voice in his head like a crystal bell.
[The amount of mana in this room is more than 920%. Be careful. There is significant magnetic distortion in some of the sub-tunnels. Oh, and... we found signs of life.]
Charles stopped. "Explain what 'life signatures' are."
"Nothing aggressive." Probably in the early stages. Two of them.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" he muttered, picking up his pace.
As they rounded a bend, the group abruptly halted at the sight before them.
Nestled in a crater-like hollow, deep within the mountain, a nest of storm-scoured branches, crystalline vines, and fused stone cradled two enormous dragon eggs. Each egg, nearly man-height, pulsed with a luminous blue glow. Lightning arced across their fractured shells like strands of celestial fire, the surfaces etched in wild storm-whorls—glass forged from the breath of tempests. Wind curled protectively around them, and the air thrummed with thunder, suspended and expectant.
Kael whistled low. "Those are some oversized poultry."
Wendy slapped his arm. "Shut up, idiot. Those are sacred."
Nimbus rumbled louder now, her tail twitching.
Charles raised his hands. "Relax, Mama Nimbus. We're not here to snatch and run. The kids stay with you."
That seemed to calm the dragon down. A small cloud-like puff of breath came out of her nose, and she turned her head a little to the side. She was still watching, but no longer angry.
Charles approached the eggs, moving slowly and respectfully until he stood close enough to reach out. He extended his palm, gently pressing it to the shell of one egg. The egg vibrated, and a jolt of static shocked his fingertips.
"Storm energy... stable," he said softly. "SIGMA?"
[Confirmed. These eggs have been hatching for about 196 years. The projected hatch window is between now and the next two years with an accelerated incubation protocol. If nothing else got in the way, the normal hatching time would take another 5 to 20 years. Otherwise, normal hatching would take more than 200 years from day one.]
Charles's eyes gleamed.
"Oh-ho-ho," he chuckled. "We've hit the jackpot."
"Do we… keep them?" Wendy asked hesitantly.
"Not leaving baby dragons on a death mountain during a civil war," Charles said. "They're coming."
Nimbus let out a resigned huff.
Charles turned to her. "You're coming too. Fancy incubation chamber. Soundproof, heated—a mana-fed palace."
The big dragon blinked once. Slowly.
"I'll take that as agreement."
With utmost care, Charles summoned his dimensional storage array—a glowing tear in space lined with runes and reinforced through SIGMA's protocols. He guided the eggs to levitate, encased in wind and lightning, controlling their movement until they vanished safely into the crystal vault.
"We just collected dragon eggs like farm produce," Karel muttered.
Charles smirked. "Storm dragons of celestial lineage. Not chickens."
They exited the chamber and gathered on a high ledge overlooking the crater.
Charles's eyes gleamed. "Phase two: set up an incubation site—for these eggs and more investments."
Donald frowned. "Investments?"
"Show investors high-grade mana stones after I claim the deed. Offer beast-egg incubation, alchemy, and enchantment contracts."
Kael snorted. "You're monetizing dragon eggs?"
Charles shrugged. "I'm industrializing a miracle. Big difference."
At that, Wendy burst into laughter. "We're in the middle of nowhere with a dragon and two time bomb eggs, and your first thought is a business pitch?"
Charles shrugged. "You think Duke Alaric raised a fool?"
SIGMA chimed in. "Begin teleportation portal construction. Coordinates locked to East Wing Manor."
Charles snapped his fingers. "Twins, Andy, Borris—array duty."
Within the hour, flags were driven into the ground, runestones embedded in precise alignment, and circuits etched with silver thread. Kael, Karel, Andy, and Borris—all now stabilized at high Core Realm Ranks—poured their qi into the formation, sweat beading on their brows.
The array flared to life with a hum audible from miles away. A blue-white portal opened mid-air, shimmering with dimensional magic.
Charles crossed his arms, satisfied. "Now for the cherry on top."
He walked into the middle of the lair and called up an epic-level mana-gathering array that he had designed with SIGMA and charged with storm energy. There were glowing crystals that formed in a spiral and were held in place by magnets.
He said, "This is the incubator's heart. It'll speed egg growth, heal Nimbus, maybe open a training camp."
Everyone blinked.
"Training camp?" Wendy asked, not believing it.
Charles grinned. "Picture it—Tempest Dragon camp. Free flights, sword lessons in storms, live loyalty spell drills. Imagine the tuition."
Karel put his hand on his face. "You've gone crazy."
Charles replied, "On the contrary, I've found a profit margin the size of a kingdom."
The last message from SIGMA rang.
[Mana field is stable. Link for teleportation set up. The Dragon Incubation Module is now on. Well done, Master Charles. You are now a dragon dad.]
Charles turned, raised both arms to the heavens, and laughed like a madman.
"Call me Papa Tempest!"
Even Nimbus rolled her eyes at that.
And far above, the clouds parted—not with fury, but with approval—as if the heavens themselves found the whole thing equally ridiculous.
The Emberdrake's Rest
Charles led his team deeper into the mountain's veins, carefully weaving past the still-humming mana-gathering arrays and the dragon's nest, where the two legendary eggs pulsed faintly under Nimbus's vigilant watch. He motioned for the others to keep close as they navigated the winding path.
But now something else was calling to him—an echo that was older than the wind and older than mana itself. A whisper of a myth hidden in stone.
Nimbus followed behind, unusually quiet. Her massive wings folded as she slithered along the ridge like a creature born of storm and silence. Charles could sense it—something personal. Something sacred.
"SIGMA, deeper scan," he murmured.
A flicker of golden-blue light lit up the dark rift in front of them, and SIGMA's voice was filled with awe.
"Strange energy found." Ancient resonance signature. Not from mana stones. Life force left over. Size guess: huge. Suggest an immediate investigation.
Charles's lips curled up with that familiar mix of excitement, curiosity, and ruthless opportunity. "Take the lead."
They went down a narrow path lined with violet crystal and bioluminescent moss, and each step made a crackling sound as it released energy. The air got warmer, not because of fire, but because of respect. The kind of warmth that comes from old ruins and cathedrals that have been prayed in.
Then the tunnel opened into a colossal chamber.
Everyone froze.
The cavern before them was impossibly vast—vaulted like a divine throne room, glittering with mana-soaked stone and relics long petrified into the walls. But none of that mattered. Not compared to what lay at its center.
A mummified dragon.
"T-rex," Charles whispered in awe. "Jurassic Earth?"
Charles's heart skipped. The creature looked dinosaurian—except its skull stretched into a dragon's, hollowed teeth half-buried in priceless relics, wings folded in death's final posture.
The beast lay on a mountain of molten treasure, its huge body curled up like a sleeping god. Its huge body was still covered in scales of deep crimson and obsidian, with amber lava lines running through it that pulsed even after it died.
"SIGMA?" he whispered.
"Designation: Ignis Terrae, the Eternal Emberdrake. Estimated death: 314 years ago. Cause of death: internal ruptures—likely from a battle with another Transcendent-level entity. Power ranking at time of death: early Transcendent Realm."
Charles flinched.
A Transcendent.
A being that stood on the doorstep of godhood.
He stepped closer and laid his palm against a scale. The heat prickled his skin—not destructive, but sacred. His vision swam with echoes—earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, firestorms, kingdoms in awe.
Nimbus let out a low, mournful rumble behind him. She moved closer to the corpse, gently brushing her massive horn against the dragon's side.
Donald whispered, "You guys ever hear the stories…?"
Arthur nodded, his voice hushed. "The dragon god of Throm Vale. Worshipped for centuries. Whole towns feared the mountains and prayed to them during earthquakes. That must've been this beast."
Charles turned, eyes widening. "You're saying... the Dragon Festival?"
Arthur looked solemn. "Yeah. Human offerings, ceremonial treasure-giving, fire rituals. All to appease the 'god of fire and earth' who lived atop the Highlands."
Charles let out a low whistle. "So... it wasn't a legend at all."
He turned back to the dragon, marveling. No, he thought, this was a reality. A being that could shatter mountains with a roar. Whose breath alone could melt cities.
And now… it lay here. Dead, but undiminished. Preserved by time, mana, and perhaps—will.
He knelt at its side and rested a hand on one of the intact claws, still sharp, still massive. "SIGMA... can I salvage anything?"
"Affirmative. Emberdrake retains high-grade mythical properties. Scales: can be harvested for near-invulnerable armor. Horns and claws: suitable for forging mythic-tier weapons. Heart and Dragon Core: potential to create divine-grade artifacts or cultivation reactors."
Charles's mind ignited with plans. A full set of dragon-forged armor. Embersteel weapons reinforced with molten core. Battle gear for his elite team, enough to rival royal forces.
He stood, brow furrowed. "We'll harvest the core remains: scales, claws, horns, the fire-heart, and the Dragon Core. Carefully. Respectfully."
But as he turned toward his crew, he met Nimbus's eyes.
She growled—low, guttural.
"I know," Charles said, stepping forward. "He mattered to you."
Nimbus bowed her head, touching it to the fallen drake's once-mighty chest. The gesture was unmistakably mournful.
Charles sighed and dropped to one knee. "Nimbus, listen. I won't take everything. But this… this isn't just a tomb. It's legacy."
He rose and extended a hand toward the chamber. "Let me build something here. A shrine. No—a temple. A Dragon Temple in his name."
Nimbus's gaze narrowed.
"Ignis Terrae will be enshrined as a guardian spirit. His core remains—what we don't use—will be fused with special mana crystal arrays. It will become a haven. A sanctuary for dragonkin, cultivators, and believers."
He pointed to the walls. "We'll build layered prayer halls. Lava-basin sanctuaries. The heart chamber will sit above the Dragon Core altar. The entire temple will serve as a cultivation nexus—especially for fire and earth cultivators. No one will forget him."
Nimbus exhaled, then stepped aside—granting permission.
Charles turned to his crew. "Kael, Karel—start mapping the chamber for structural supports. Donald, Borris—start harvesting outer-armor fragments and isolating scales. Arthur, take a core resonance scan."
He turned back to Nimbus. "You'll guard the temple when it's built. You and your hatchlings. This will be your domain."
She dipped her head.
SIGMA buzzed in.
"Authorization received. Begin schematic: Dragon Temple of Ignis Terrae. Central array: Emberdrake core fusion. Estimated energy output: 1270% above average node. Cultivation boost: fire and earth affinity—+3 to +5 realm tiers depending on compatibility."
Charles grinned, eyes shining. "And here I thought we were just looking for treasure."
Wendy crossed her arms, smirking. "You're not just building a temple, are you?"
"Nope." He winked. "I'm building a brand."