Reborn as an Extra Chapter 571: The Grand Seal Of The Final Gamble. Part-1.

After taking a brief rest, Rio concentrated his mind and began delving into the memories inherited from the shadow dragon king.

For the whole previous week, Rio had been fleeing nonstop, without even a moment to catch his breath in peace, thanks to the furious rampage of the dragon tree.

At last, he found a real opportunity to settle down and properly sift through those memories.

’Luckily, the cube of possibilities had already reset itself and guided me in the right direction; if not, my whole week of evasion would’ve been for nothing...’

During his flight, Rio had followed the path indicated by the cube of possibilities, and it had already figured out the necessary route the instant he acquired these memories.

There was no need for it to wait until Rio examined the memories, since it could foresee outcomes based purely on potential scenarios.

This spared Rio considerable time, because otherwise he’d have needed to study the memories before fleeing in the correct direction, leaving him vulnerable to assaults from the berserk dragon tree.

’Whew... time to dive in...’

Wasting no more moments, Rio employed his soul manipulation and memory-reading skill to absorb the last pure soul shards and recollections bestowed by the shadow dragon king.

...

"My king... I-I don’t believe it’s wise for you to take all the fault upon yourself!"

"We all desired that result... now that defeat has come... we should all share the responsibility together..."

A mature shadow dragon gazed at his king with worry; the shadow dragon king was gently stroking a tiny slumbering dragon whelp. That little whelp was none other than Elisia.

The surroundings felt strangely recognizable; it appeared to be deep within the spirit realm, indicating this recollection dated from after the shadow dragons' exile from the spirit realm.

Gazing at the gloomy, miasma-choked sky, the dragon king grinned as he formed a massive seal across the region.

This seal served as his technique to shield his kind from the taint of miasmic corruption.

"Indeed, we all envisioned a future of abundance, we all battled for a brighter tomorrow for our race, we yearned for shadow dragons to escape the dominance of dragon valley..."

"We craved superior power so the dragons who’ve ridiculed us since ancient times would finally fall silent and cease their taunts..."

Shadow dragons weren’t fools who would turn against the world alliance without cause.

They possessed their own justifications and ambitions.

Among the dragons of the dragon valley, shadow dragons ranked as the feeblest, and prior to the birth of the shadow dragon king who ascended to rank SS, none had ever surpassed rank S, rendering them the most inferior of all dragon breeds.

They faced constant mockery for their frailty, and dragons as a species revered only the mighty; the feeble were viewed as lesser than mere trash in their sight.

The bulk of the shadow dragon clan consisted of mere weak S-rank individuals unskilled in warfare.

Shadow dragons excelled primarily in stealth and shadow magic. Combat wasn’t their forte; in human equivalents, they’d be deemed support-type awakeners!

This fundamental trait explained their lack of esteem in the dragon valley.

Centuries of such prejudice fueled the shadow dragons' drive for a superior destiny once their inaugural SS-ranker emerged.

Their objective was straightforward: they struck a pact with the demons and miasma; aiding demons against the world alliance and wounding King Allen.

In exchange, demons and miasma would provide them a finer habitat along with boosted aptitude and prestige!

It was a high-stakes wager, with the fate of their entire species on the line; a single error could unravel everything, and that’s precisely what transpired.

Astra, the world’s premier healer, restored King Allen to peak condition and preserved his life, in turn making him surpass his prior might!

His newfound power allowed him to crush numerous demon SS-rankers alongside the full might of the shadow dragon race!

At that juncture, the shadow dragons realized their bet had failed.

One lone woman, one mere healer, reshaped the world’s destiny through her actions; not only did she rescue King Allen with her extraordinary healing arts, but she also preserved the world’s very survival!

The shadow dragons were seized, and demons eradicated; the world alliance held tribunals for them and imposed the harshest penalty imaginable.

Exile to the spirit realm, forever barred from the material world!

Defeated and shattered, the shadow dragon king led his followers to the spirit realm and erected a barrier to channel the bulk of miasmic corruption toward himself, safeguarding the rest.

Through this, he aimed to protect the younger generation and ensure their prolonged safety.

"I may not endure it for much longer, but I trust another will step up after me once I’m no more..."

As he uttered those words, the shadow dragon king turned his gaze to his daughter, Elisia!

The shadow dragon king understood that, despite being a pinnacle SS-ranker, he couldn’t resist miasma indefinitely.

At best, a few centuries before madness claimed him. A successor was essential to eventually take over and secure the race’s protection.

"B-but... my king, you shouldn’t burden yourself for us... this... we..."

The shadow dragon king shook his head and replied.

"I was the one who proposed allying with miasma to end our racial scorn... I was the one who guided you all into the crime of betraying the world..."

"Therefore, it’s just that I... your king and guardian... should carry the weight of my transgressions alone..."

"Maybe someday, our atonement will conclude and earn us forgiveness... I wish for at least one shadow dragon to witness that moment..."

A serene smile graced the shadow dragon king’s face as he stared at the heavens, envisioning redemption.

...

Centuries elapsed, and even with the shadow dragon king repressing miasmic corruption to his utmost, the other shadow dragons couldn’t endure.

The majority succumbed to the miasmic taint, while survivors began descending into lunacy.

The shadow dragon king’s form twisted under the miasmic onslaught, and the deceased dragons were compelled by miasma to fuse into his being, amplifying his torment and agony!

Each day brought fresh horrors and trials.

Helplessly, the shadow dragon king witnessed his kin perish, and the most heartbreaking part was that his own daughter suffered the same curse of being a shadow dragon.

Every shadow dragon pinned hopes on the shadow dragon king’s offspring to rise as another SS-ranker and serve as the next bastion for their survival.

Yet harsh truth dashed those dreams; Ellie failed to attain rank SS despite all efforts, remaining trapped at rank S+.

Furthermore, miasma and corruption blocked her from fully claiming the shadow dragons' bloodline magic.

Rather than a cornerstone, she turned into another burden on the race.

The remaining S-rank adult shadow dragons, driven mad by miasmic corruption, openly branded Ellie as the utmost disgrace to their lineage.

She was meant to be their redeemer, yet she fell short of their hopes! She wasn’t the prodigious heir they craved from their king.

Merely an ordinary, frail shadow dragon suited only for auxiliary roles.

Time dwindled, with no room for delay; their king teetered on the brink from the relentless miasmic assault, prompting a final, desperate choice.

The choice to voluntarily blend their souls and forms with their king, bolstering his resolve and power against the miasmic corruption.

Death loomed for them regardless; at minimum, their king could persist longer with their aid.

At the demon extinction war’s close, King Allen visited them and, moved by their plight, vowed to liberate them upon his triumph in his ultimate wager.

But that promise remained unfulfilled, only deepening their woes day by day.

Consequently, they all chose self-sacrifice, merging their souls with their king, though one shadow dragon rejected this folly.

That was Ellie; she declined to unite with that grotesque, corrupted horror of a tree.

From birth in a miasma-saturated world, unlike her kin, she cultivated exceptional resistance to miasma as her innate dragon physiology adjusted to the perilous conditions during maturation.

Sanity preserved, she ignored their labels of cowardice or as the shadow dragon race’s ultimate shame.

She intended to forge her path independently.

Thus, after proclaiming her defiance, Ellie departed her father’s protective barrier.

"I will not yield to miasma so soon!"

With that declaration, she ventured toward the path King Allen had once taken!