Chapter 28: Into the Ether
Fully satiated aored, Cassius returo the imposing stone door.
He didn’t push it open immediately but instead prepared himself with spells:
【Bear’s Endurance】
【Cat’s Grace】
【Owl’s Wisdom】
Bear’s Endurance made his body more resilient, Cat’s Grahanced his agility, and Owl’s Wisdom heightened his perception, giving the red dragon an all-around boost.
After yering himself with what he jokingly called the “zoo suite,” Cassius still felt a bit uneasy, knowing this was the legacy of a legendary druid and could tain uable surprises.
【Gilded Sheath】
The accumuted gold elements within him gathered on his scales, giving them a metallic goldehat, at a gnce, could make him look like a gold dragon.
【Prote from Lightning Damage】
With a low growl, an invisible field formed around his body, proteg him from lightning attacks.
"Being a spellcaster, of course, means we have to go all out with spells."
"Got to put on a proper show."
After all these preparations, Cassius gnced down at his spell-lit body, feeling much more fident.
The red dragon fixed his gaze oone door, took a deep breath, and stepped forward resolutely.
【Knock】
His cws shimmered with magical energy as they touched the stone door.
"Boom..."
With a resounding echo, the heavy stone door rumbled and slowly began to lift.
The view beyond opened up.
And what y before him was astonishing, even for a red dragon.
A vast, open space y ahead, rge enough to hold aire mountain.
But directly in front of him was only a narrow stone bridge, while the rest of the ground was sunken dozens of meters below.
The cliffs oher side were perfectly straight, as if sliced down with a sharp bde.
Looking down from the stone bridge uhe glow of the eternal blue nterns, he saw piles of objects below: shattered giant statues, broken remains of grand buildings, obscure inscriptions, all sorts of old, broken ons, and even colossal giant skeletons.
Looking up, the high ceiling was covered with murals—not intricate but filled with a primal power.
He could see ses of a wars between giants and dragons, the sprawling empire of the giants, the t forms of giant gods, and the tragic fall of their empire.
This wasn’t just a mural—it was a history book.
"This must be the legacy he collected from the Giant Empire."
Cassius marveled as he cautiously walked across the stone bridge.
His wings spread slightly, his steps light, ever alert to his surroundings and ready for any sudden danger.
The red dragon focused on the end of the stone bridge.
There stood a throne.
Made of sto over twenty meters high.
It arsely decorated, with only a and mysterious carvings.
And upon it sat the lifeless body of a Stiant, its purple-gray skin covered in thick dust, as if it had beeing here in silence for thousands of years, watg the arrival of visitors.
Strangely, it had not decayed into bones.
"The st Stiant Sage..."
"Is this Randta?"
The red dragon was curious about this Stiant.
How did he, alone, create su impressive tomb? The sheer magnitude hi the giant’s formidable power in life.
Cassius tinued along the stone bridge, stopping a few dozeers from the giant’s remains.
Suddenly, a ge occurred.
One of the giant’s eyes snapped open!
In that eye swirled an endless string at the intruding visitor!
Unknown crystals in the surroundings began to pulse with violent elemental energy.
These raging elements quickly gathered together.
"Not good!"
Cassius sensed a horrifying magical force rapidly expanding.
"This power..."
The red dragon raised his head slightly.
A ing, seething storm cloud formed around the giant’s body, spreading wildly like a ravenous beast, threatening to e everything in the cavern.
It was filled with thunder, lightning, and howling winds.
"The Storm of Vengeance!"
Thunder roared!
It rimal roar from aimes.
"Boom!"
Eveershock of this thunder made stones on the cave ceiling crad fall.
"Buzz—"
The thunder’s boom left Cassius’s ears ringing, as if struck by a hammer, rendering him temporarily deaf.
The bck cloud spread rapidly, about to engulf him.
Sensing the peril, the red dragon ignored his pounding head and summoned a spell through the pain.
"Quick Cast Blink!"
Cassius activated the spell with all his will, silently hoping it would work; this “destru” from the druid far exceeded his expectations.
Blink had only a 50% ce of shifting him to the Ethereal Pne, avoiding the storm’s devastation. If he failed, he’d have to withstand the storm head-on.
"It worked!"
Cassius felt a surge of relief as he sensed himself slipping beyond the boundary of reality.
[You have cast 【Blink】]
[Special Status "Into the Ether" acquired]
The Ethereal Pne is a duit betweeerial Pne and inner poug the Material Pne’s void in parallel. One see the Material Pne from the Ethereal, though all appears in bd white.
He now hovered at the edge of this pne.
Instantly, everything before Cassius turned monoe, with chaoties twisting in his vision.
In his ethereal state, he couldn’t move freely and could only drift in this void.
In the moment, he watched his former position swallowed by the raging storm clouds.
Acid rain poured down first, pog the stone bridge with tless holes.
Then hail crashed from the cloud, pelting the stoh sharp ks.
Powerful bolts of lightning desded, gouging deep craters in the ground and spawning a lightning storm that tore through where Cassius had just stood.
Thunder and lightning filled the sky.
A crisscrossing prison of lightning formed, iing all caught within.
"Boom!"
"Boom! Boom!"
Several bolts struck, shattering parts of the stone bridge and causing massive rocks to plummet below. Had such strikes hit the dragon, survival would’ve been slim.
Relentless wind and icy rain battered the area, turning it into a plete ruin.
From his vantage ihereal Pne, Cassius saw the once-impressive tomb reduced to a bd-white graveyard.
Narrowly avoiding the storm with Blink, Cassius still felt lingering fear.
If he’d remaihere, not even his protective spells would’ve shielded him from the relentless lightning and freezing rain.
"This..."
Cassius sensed a powerful force trying to pull him bato the Material Pne, mending the gap he’d opened.
Despite resisting with all his might, Cassius was too weak to oppose the pnar ws, forced to yield.
[Lost special status "Into the Ether"]
The red dragon reappeared in his inal spot, utterly stunned.
"What the hell—"
The elements surged again.
Endless wind and icy rain whipped against his body, and lightning ar the ground surged up his limbs.
In the clouds above, thunder rumbled as lightning gathered once more, sounding like a low, pent-up growl.
The worst of the spell had passed, but even these lingering aftershocks were formidable.
