As the dragon-spirit confirmed his suspicions, John felt his heart tighten for a brief instant. It was as if something had struck it for a moment before disappearing, and John instantly knew what it was, as he had felt something like this before.
‘Karma!'
Another thread of Karma had been attached to him once he learned the truth, linking him even closer to the truth of the past, and the events of the future. The dragon-spirit noticed John's reaction, and couldn't help but speak up.
"You noticed the thread of Karma? Impressive," the dragon-spirit said.
"I did, but I'm still not sure what exactly Karma does," John replied. His mysterious father had revealed to him the existence of Karma, but not much else.
"It's quite simple," the dragon-spirit replied. "Everything is linked by Karma to varying degrees. The more you know about something, or the more involved you are in something, the greater your Karmic link to that something. Karma is like an invisible attractor, silently drawing you into its clutches. As your Karmic link grows, so does your involvement in whatever that link is, and as a result, your Karmic link increases once more. Once you have established a Karmic link, it is very hard to sever it," the dragon-spirit explained.
"I think I understand," John said after musing over the dragon's words, slightly understanding what it was saying. "So, you're saying, the more I learn about the Asura's, the more I'll be drawn into events involving them, and with that, my Karma with the Asura's will increase…and this cycle will continue until…"
"It is exactly so," the dragon-spirit replied before changing the subject, going back to the events of the past.
"As I was saying, the appearance of the Asura's changed everything. I will keep the details sparse as to limit your Karmic linking, but after the Asura scourge was dealt with, all dragons suffered immense casualties, with us Jade Dragon's suffering the worst, as we were the vanguard in the fight against the Asuras," the dragon-spirit said.
Its face began to curl in anger and disgust, as if recalling a terrible memory. It did its best to suppress its anger, and began to speak once again, but with a cold undertone in its voice.
"It was at this time that the Ice and Fire Dragon's betrayed us Jade Dragons, fueled by the lust for greed and power. Their strength was still mostly intact due to their lesser involvement against the Asuras, and they took advantage of our weakness by slaughtering us Jade Dragons without impunity," the dragon-spirit roared, its anger and hatred returning once more to its booming voice.
It took a while to calm its rage once again, before explaining further.
"The Ice and Fire Dragons slaughtered any and all Jade Dragons they encountered, as they knew that with enough time, the Jade Dragons would return to power once more. With us Jade Dragon's slaughtered, they took the place of the Lords of all Dragons…
I was the only one able to escape their clutches, but my injuries from both the Asuras and the Ice and Fire Dragons were too severe. I fled to this remote world, and with the final remnants of my powers, I created this trial realm, in the slim hopes of finding an inheritor for the burden of us Jade Dragons," the dragon-spirit explained, staring intently at John the entire time.
"The burden…of reviving the Jade Dragon race," it concluded.
John remained silent for some time as he took in the shocking events the dragon-spirit had just described, and breathed out deeply, his deep sigh filling the silence of the room. His gaze locked onto the dragon egg for a moment and he frowned before gazing back at the dragon-spirit.
"I…I'm not sure how it works with dragons, but with most species…it requires two to revive a race," John said as he looked back at the egg. "And since you mentioned you were the last living Jade Dragon, and there's only one egg….I'm not sure how I'd be able to revive the dragon race?" John explained with a wry look on his face.
As if expecting his question, the dragon floated back over to the egg and beckoned John to approach. John did as instructed, and stood directly before the egg.
"What do you notice about this egg?" the dragon-spirit asked.
John inspected the egg for a moment, which was truly unique.
"I can sense the dragon fetus within…but can also feel something else…alot of something else…souls…hundreds of them!" John said as he inspected the egg.
"Indeed. This egg contains not only the last living dragon, but also the souls of hundreds of fallen Jade Dragons, infused within," the dragon-spirit explained.
"That's….amazing," John replied as he could feel the incredible draconic essence within, "but that still doesn't explain how I can revive the Jade Dragon race."
"The way is simple. You must take this egg to the Wellspring of Jade Origin, and place it within. If you do that, the Jade Dragon race will return to the world in full once more," the dragon replied.
"The Wellspring of Jade Origin? What is that? And also where?" John asked, having never heard of such a thing before.
"The what doesn't concern you, only the where," the dragon-spirit replied. "The Wellspring of Jade Origin is our Jade Dragon's most profound treasure, and is capable of reviving the Jade Dragon race should you do as instructed. As for its location, you are not ready to learn that yet," the dragon-spirit explained.
"Once you have achieved the necessary power to reach the Wellspring is when you will naturally learn of it. Until then, you are far too weak."
John fell silent upon hearing this, but nodded his head, confirming his understanding of his task, or his burden.
"Good, then with the inheritance and burden accepted, that concludes our transaction," the dragon-spirit said, its words becoming fainter and weaker, as its soul-form began to fade away. "Do take care…of Caelris…for…me."
The form completely faded away as it uttered its last word, and a sharp beam of white soul power from above the temple raced down onto the egg below, infusing into it before fading away.
John stared at the egg in silence, taking in everything that had just happened as it had almost been too much to come to terms with. The temple had fallen completely silent, while John stared at the egg for quite some time before reaching out and picking it up.
It felt as if he had just picked up the lives of hundreds, and he inspected the egg for some time before storing it away in his spatial realm.
"You received the full inheritance. I can't say I'm surprised," a weak-sounding voice drifted out from a dark corner of the temple, shocking John greatly as he had detected no one else within the temple.
He quickly turned around to the source of the voice, great axe in hand.
"Who are you?" he asked warily as a figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
John's face changed from guarded caution, to stunned surprise, as a figure he had seen once before in his life came into view. While he had never seen the figure's face, the build and presence was unmistakable.
"You…you're that man from the small cottage on the Yuan Continent!" John exclaimed.
Back then, the man's power and presence was like that of a God to John, so high that he couldn't even begin to imagine how powerful he was. The man was still much the same, with a power so high that John still couldn't see through it.
However, as this God-like being stepped into the light, John felt shock once more as he gazed at the miserable condition of the man, who seemed as though he could die at any moment. His body was torn, some bones and organs were visible under the thick coat of blood on his flesh, and he was teetering on the edge of collapse. Worst of all was the malevolent aura clinging to the man's wounds, an aura that was somewhat familiar to John. However even in this state, John could tell he was no match for the man.
"Who are you?" John asked again, as clearly this man was not so simple. He had run into him on the Yuan Continent, and now here. It was too unlikely to be a coincidence.
"My name is Kalen," the man replied, his voice deep yet tired, "but you might know me by another name. The Jade Dragon Emperor."
