Chapter 312: Something More Terrifying Than the Abyss

Chapter 312: Something More Terrifying Than the Abyss

Eve's amethyst eyes darkened slightly as Franca spoke.

Setting down her teacup, she turned her gaze from Franca to the emerald branches swaying gently in the breeze outside the window.

"Franca..."

Her voice was barely a whisper, like feathers brushing across water's surface.

"You've never been a mere appendage. At least, not to me."

Franca's body trembled faintly.

She said nothing, only lowering her head.

But Luo En keenly noticed the half-dragon maid's tightly clenched fists gradually loosening.

"When I was a child, every time my 'mana corruption' symptoms flared up with unbearable pain, it was always you by my side."

Eve continued, her tone soft with reminiscence:

"You'd sing me old lullabies, and secretly prepare herbal teas to ease my suffering..."

Turning her head, her violet gaze locked onto Franca's face:

"Back then, your eyes held no sense of 'duty' or 'obligation'—only genuine care."

Franca lifted her head. The usually stern expression on her face had softened considerably.

A faint smile tugged at her lips: "You still remember those lullabies, Prince..."

Her voice carried unmistakable warmth.

"Of course I do."

Eve's light chuckle rang like silver bells:

"Especially that song about 'the grass flute and the seed turtle.' You always sang it during my most agonizing nights. Though I never understood the dragon tongue lyrics, that melody accompanied me through growing up."

"The song's lyrics..."

Franca's voice wavered slightly, but quickly steadied:

"They speak of tree spirits playing grass flutes to guide lost seed turtles through darkness, leading them safely back to their kin."

Eve's eyes glistened faintly, though she maintained her poised demeanor: "Thank you."

After a moment, the girl composed herself with a delicate cough:

"Well then, let's return to business..."

"Yes, Prince."

The half-dragon maid had already regained her usual composure, steering the conversation back on track:

"The Preservation Clan's selection criteria are far harsher than they outwardly appear."

Eve rose and walked to a special counter in one corner of the room, where a peculiar device stood—one Luo En had never seen before.

The contraption featured a complex geometric arrangement of dozens of differently colored crystals, each pulsing faintly like living things breathing in unison.

"This is the 'Historical Projection Device,' co-developed by Grandfather Uther and the 'Observer's Eye.' It's one of the Crown Clan's treasures."

Eve carefully adjusted the crystal modules on the device:

"It captures residual imprints of significant historical events, allowing us to witness the past more directly."

As she worked, the device began emitting a soft silver glow.

The air in the room thickened, as if time itself had slowed its flow.

Luo En felt an ancient, profound energy fluctuation gathering—akin to the strange sensation he'd experienced when connecting with the 'Hermit Star,' where visions enveloped his entire being.

"Let us begin from the very start."

Franca took over the explanation:

"During the final days of the Second Era, as the Abyss erosion reached its peak, the entire world quaked."

The silver light condensed into form, creating a massive three-dimensional projection in the room's center.

The scene was deeply unsettling—an ancient vista where the sky bled a sickly deep purple, the land littered with countless bizarre architectural ruins.

More horrifying still, the broken city remnants teemed with twisted, grotesque remains of once-living beings.

These were former mighty Dragon Kind specimens, now nothing but horrifying remnants of their Abyss-corrupted forms.

"See those ruins?"

Eve pointed to a half-collapsed colossal structure in the projection:

"That was one of the Second Era's most glorious dragon cities, home to various dragon races and their retainers."

The projection shifted, like an invisible observer gliding through the ruins.

Luo En saw hair-raising details—the once-golden palace walls scarred by desperate claw marks; streets strewn with gigantic bones, some clearly belonging to adult dragons, now grotesquely contorted by some nameless force.

"This level of destruction..." Luo En murmured, his eyes widening in shock.

"The true horror of Abyss erosion lies not in its destructive power", Franca's voice sounded especially heavy against the backdrop of the projection, "but in its 'vitality.'"

"It doesn't simply destroy everything—it transforms everything into part of itself."

Eve adjusted the projection, revealing an even more grandiose and terrifying scene:

Numerous colossal figures moved through the void—majestic in form, but their eyes filled with despair and terror.

Chasing them was something indescribable, not matter nor mana, but a pure 'nothingness' consuming all in its path, even annihilating space itself.

"They knew forcibly crossing realms would bring instability and slow decay to their existence", Eve's voice dropped to an unusually low register.

"But they made this choice anyway, because what invaded their world was more terrifying than Abyss erosion itself."

In the projection, the Dragon Kind began showing clear signs of decay the moment they crossed realm boundaries.

Their once-perfect scales lost luster, their powerful mana began leaking like precision instruments forcibly transplanted into incompatible environments.

"This is what's known as 'foreignness.'"

Franca added:

"Any existence crossing realm boundaries faces this fundamental issue. Their very nature conflicts with this world's basic laws, causing continuous decay and instability."

Luo En mentally processed this information.

If the Dragon Kind were indeed interdimensional refugees, their bloodline instability wasn't simply genetic, but a fundamental existential flaw.

This explained why even the mightiest Dragon Kind were so vulnerable to Abyss erosion.

"From what I've learned, the earliest breathing techniques originated from dragons before being adapted by mages and Bloodline Knights for human use. So did the dragons create these techniques to solve this problem?" he asked.

"Partly correct, though ultimately a futile attempt. The breathing techniques weren't created by the most powerful dragon kings, but rather by weaker yet wiser dragon scholars." Eve explained:

"They realized raw power couldn't resolve existential flaws—only meticulous self-regulation could slow the decay."

In the projection, some dragons began showing visible changes—their chaotic energy fluctuations stabilizing, their dulled scales regaining faint luster.

“The fact that every complete Breathing Technique corresponds precisely to a specific Stellar Ring Bloodline is no coincidence.”

Franca took up the explanation:

“These Breathing Technique Essences are intricate biological regulation systems. Through carefully orchestrated breathing rhythms, muscular control, and Spiritual Energy guidance, they suppress the unruly, uncontrollable factors within Bloodlines while simultaneously activating and stabilizing beneficial genetic traits.”

Luo En recalled his own cultivation of the Solar Corona Breathing Technique.
That complex and precise method of mana control truly felt like it had been designed to address some fundamental issue.

“This also explains why cultivating Breathing Techniques is so difficult.”

Eve continued:
“It requires not just immense willpower and precise control, but also a perfect match with a specific Bloodline. Mismatches don’t just fail—they can cause the Bloodline itself to collapse.”

“But even these efforts ultimately failed.”

Eve’s tone grew heavy:
“When Abyss Erosion reached its critical threshold, even the most refined Breathing Techniques couldn’t fully resist that fundamental Contamination.”

The projection shifted to the final moments of the Second Era:
The sky was torn open by countless cracks, pouring forth not light, but a deeper, more profound darkness.

One by one, the mighty Dragon Kings fell to the Erosion.
Their Bloodline advantages, so formidable in other circumstances, proved utterly powerless against this contamination that defied comprehension.

“In this desperate situation, human mages proposed the ‘Preservation Clan’ plan.”

Franca’s voice carried complex emotions:
“Rather than watching all Dragon Kin Bloodlines vanish, they chose to preserve the most promising fragments through artificial protection.”

The projection shifted to a disturbing scene:
A vast laboratory. Dozens of black-cloaked mages worked in unison around a complex mana array.

At its center, a Dragon Kin was bound to a specialized platform, its body pierced by countless tubes and probes.

Its eyes brimmed with Despair—but it could make no sound.

“The selection process was brutal.”

Eve’s voice turned icy:
“Mages analyzed each candidate family’s Bloodline—genetic stability, hereditary purity, reproductive viability. Those failing standards were executed outright or used as experimental material.”

Luo En watched, his stomach churning.
Though he’d grown accustomed to the mage world’s cruelty, this systematic species selection felt chillingly absolute.

“Even worse, this screening wasn’t a one-time event.”

Franca added:
“Every few generations, mages reevaluated each Preservation Clan family’s value. Those with declining Bloodlines or reduced fertility were mercilessly eliminated.”

The projection showed another scene:
A once-thriving Dragon Kin settlement reduced to smoldering ruins, scorch marks from mage spells still fresh on collapsed buildings.

Scattered bones littered the ground—unmistakably Dragon Kin remains.

“Early in the Fourth Epoch, the ‘Masked Clan’ was eradicated by the Crown Clan’s orders after failing to produce a Bloodline Awakened for three consecutive generations.”

Eve’s voice held no warmth:
“The entire family—elders, children—all executed. Their Bloodline samples were harvested for final research value.”

Luo En grasped the cold logic behind these acts, yet still felt shaken by the chilling efficiency of their elimination.

“All surviving Preservation Clan families exist only through this bloody selection.”

Franca’s voice turned bitter:
“We must maintain Bloodline purity and stability while constantly proving our worth. Lose our value, and we share the Masked Clan’s Fate.”

Luo En quickly calculated this system’s scale and implications:
“Where does the Kadu Clan fit among existing Preservation Clans?”

“We’re mid-tier.” Franca admitted honestly:
“The Preservation Clans aren’t just our lineage. Across the Abyssal Continent Cluster, at least seven or eight similar Bloodline lineages persist, each preserving different Stellar Ring Bloodlines. But the Dragon Kin dominate.”

The projection displayed a detailed map of Preservation Clan distributions:
The entire Abyssal Continent Cluster was divided into colored regions, each representing a different Preservation Clan.

“The Frostscale Clan in the northern tundra preserves Frost Dragon Bloodlines. Their people withstand minus sixty degrees and briefly resist Abyss Frost Curses.”

“The Deep Tide Family of the Endless Sea Archipelago inherited Deep Diver Dragon traits. They navigate the abyssal depths freely and command marine life.”

“The Blazing Sun Bloodline in the desert interior rivals the Falu Ke Family’s positive mana affinity—but chose a divergent path, merging with desert elementals for symbiosis.”

With each family introduction, the projection displayed vivid scenes:
Frostscale warriors gliding effortlessly through blizzards, natural ice armor coating their bodies;
Deep Tide members elegantly swimming through underwater palaces, surrounded by obedient sea creatures;
Blazing Sun members dancing with desert fire spirits, their bodies wreathed in searing mana auras.

“These families’ relationships are delicate.”

Eve explained:
“We’re publicly allies, sharing the duty of Bloodline Preservation. But secretly, we’re rivals competing for limited resources and patronage.”

“Every thirty years, the secret summit—ostensibly for technical exchange—is actually a veiled contest.”

Franca sighed:
“Each family showcases Bloodline advancements while secretly evaluating rivals. Poor performers often ‘vanish’ before the next summit.”

Even protected Preservation Clans must fight for survival continuously.

“Then why wasn’t the Falu Ke Clan selected? From what I know, their Bloodline origins are equally powerful.”

Luo En posed the crucial question.
“Precisely my next point,” Eve replied, adjusting the projection to a new scene:
A towering armored figure stood alone on the battlefield.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end