Chapter 9: The Fall of Navalon & The Elder’s Vow of Fidelity

Khaos rubbed the back of his head with his obsidian claw after waking up inside a massive crater made by his egg.

On impact, it shattered, releasing dense waves of silver ki.

Khaos stepped out with uncoordinated movements, covered in gray blood and a parasitic substance. Then, he dug his claws into the ground and shook his body to dry himself. He took the form of a Western dragon but could freely transform into an Eastern dragon if he so desired.

Khaos's silver dragon scales absorbed the sun's rays as he looked up toward the sky. Then he let out a draconic alpha call, alerting the Royal family, the Elders of Navalon, and the Wyvern and Dragonborn tribes, residents of the massive forest nearby.

Khaos leaned down, scooping up the remains of the shell in his claws, and tossed his massive head and maw back to consume them entirely, using {Victim of Chaos} to drain the mythical egg of all its nutrients and energy.

[Leviathan]: 'Essence signature has increased by five billion.'

As Khaos stumbled back and forth, it was evident that he had not suffered any severe damage from the 30,000-meter descent. However, the denizens of Navalon, who were once enjoying the dragon god festival, now lay lifelessly around their God.

Yet, Khaos did not show any emotion. He only stood there, observing his surroundings, before sensing some essence signatures approaching.

"Use the skill you gained after I named you." Khaos used telepathy to communicate with Leviathan while comically shaking off the dizziness.

"Lord Khaos. Boundless regeneration is a forbidden world skill. I won't be able to use it for at least another decade. However, if that's what you desire, it will be done," said Leviathan, transferring golden orbs containing life essence from his soul dimension to Khaos's soul realm.

'I don't feel any emotions of my own. But... I can sense and understand the emotions of every lifeform nearby.' Khaos jumped vertically from a standstill and still reached 13 meters into the air before finally stretching out his massive wingspan of around 111 meters long to help him glide through the air.

The Royal Family and the six elders of Navalon had shielded themselves inside a protective barrier made from seven elements but released it when the smoke and debris finally cleared.

As they braced for what they were about to see, they felt the essence of the three heirs of the Lightmourne Royal Family manifest simultaneously, and it soon became clear why that was.

Nova Lightmourne, the Princess of Navalon, stood frozen in her 40-meter-tall dragon form. Tears fell from her blue eyes, and her white body trembled in fear.

Princess Nova wasn't young or naive; she was quite the opposite. But considering she had never witnessed such a tragedy before, this reaction was expected, even for a predator race like dragons.

In front of her, Nova saw countless dragons sinking into the planet's embrace, their blood dying the barren wasteland crimson red. She also heard the final incoherent words belonging to draconic soldiers lying beside vulnerable dragons as if carrying out their responsibility to the end.

Nova wanted to save every dragon possible, but even if her family combined their essence and element of light, they still wouldn't have enough to heal the citizens of Navalon.

Nova and Nolan, the middle and youngest children, were the most affected, but the eldest, Night, also wore a ghastly expression.

King Novex, Queen Novelia, and the elder dragons had experience in war, but even they weren't able to come to terms with the shocking events over the past few minutes.

Before they could process the fact that they were the only survivors, a massive shadow loomed over them, blocking out the sun and making the temperature drop significantly, as an oppressive aura enveloped the entire continent.

The Royal family and the elder dragons initially tried to resist it, but they understood their circumstances. For the first time, in a foreign land, with the entire population of Navalon killed in the blink of an eye, they had no choice but to submit.

"Listen, everyone." The essence immediately felt familiar to King Novex. "This presence... it's like before. That is our God. Do not show aggression or fear." He alerted the others using telepathy, an ability all dragons can use from birth.

"Father! Could his awakening be the cause of all this?!" Nova asked, witnessing the natural disasters around her, still struggling to breathe in the presence of her god.

"I... would assume so," Novex replied.

"I know dragon gods are superior to us dragons, but Novex has the latent potential of Lumiere running through his veins and essence core. Are we truly so inferior?" Novelia had a blank expression while her energy remained calm, showcasing her precise control over mana and chakra.

"W-Wow! God and I are adolescent dragons, but he's way bigger and stronger! And his silver scales are so cool!" Said Nolan, stars forming in his eyes as he peeked out from under his parent's wings, shielding him from their God's oppressive energy.

"The chaos element is neutralizing Solblaze's gamma rays. However, it should be impossible to extinguish them entirely. Our lord's essence will soon reign supreme. Hmm… life may be worth living, after all." said Night, smirking madly while still struggling to lift his head under the immense pressure.

The surviving dragons of Navalon smiled with pride. Although the elders had lost their families and friends, they knew they still needed to uphold their title as the strongest dragons in the universe.

The elders followed the draconic customs as their ancestors did long ago. So they instinctively bowed down to the Dragon God candidate hovering above them without hatred or indifference.

This pleased Khaos. He had managed to secure their loyalty without fighting them, although he felt slightly disappointed since it could've helped him grow stronger. However, he assumed they may have schemes to test his power and authority in the future, and he certainly hoped so.

'Absolute Telepathy' picked up on their conversation, but Khaos chose to tune it out, as there was no need to pry into their personal matters the first time they met.

"Dragon gods are truly beyond our understanding of essence and lineage potential. Can you believe this, Nautica?" (Aerion Stratos- Elder Dragon of The Wind Dragon Clan)

"Not at all. Just a few months ago, we had hoped our lord's birth would never happen. We were born with the four natural elements, so we were afraid of what could happen if a dragon god was born with the power to surpass the laws of nature. However, we need his strength to survive. Especially in our current circumstances." (Nautica Undine- Elder Dragon of The Water Dragon Clan)

"Mhm. His existence will alter the balance between the physical and spiritual dimensions. I wonder what the elemental spirits will think of our lord..." (Diamore Obsidius- Elder Dragon of The Earth Dragon Clan)

"Does it matter? He will stand above all lifeforms in existence. I alone will ensure his ascension to godhood." (Vekron Reaper- Elder Dragon of The Dark Dragon Clan)

"I'd expect no less of you, Vekron. You seem like you'd be loyal to a fault to the next dragon God. Even King Novex vowed to abdicate the throne if the candidate with the chaos element happened to be born. ~Fufufu, if you two agree on something, I have no choice but to help him reach his true potential however I can." (Zara Kavina- Elder Dragon of The Poison Dragon Clan)

"His essence is overwhelming, sure. But we must test his combat and political knowledge in the future. He's an adolescent, so he has no experience in life itself, let alone the wars and politics of the mortal world. I'm sure there is still much we can teach him as masters of the natural elements. From what I've researched, all past dragon gods only possessed seven elements at most. Usually, they'd consist of four natural elements, two superior elements, and one supreme element." (Kaizen Ashfallen- Elder Dragon of The Fire Dragon Clan)

"You forgot to mention how long it would take to learn and master seven elements. Our lord will need to start training as soon as possible." (Nautica Undine- Elder Dragon of The Water Dragon Clan)

"I agree. The other candidates have likely mastered their elements and recruited powerful subordinates already. He may be centuries behind them, but he has us as followers… something the other candidates probably long for." (Zara Kavina- Elder Dragon of The Poison Dragon Clan)

"No kidding. Fortunately, the number of elements he's born with won't determine his growth. As for the other dragon god candidates. They have no other option but to take humans and demi-humans as followers, considering we would never come down here willingly, let alone serve them." (Diamore Obsidius- Elder Dragon of The Earth Dragon Clan)

"One thing's for certain. I know they can feel our lord's energy as well. His presence alone will cause many gruesome wars and divine miracles. We'd better thank the ancestors that we just so happened to be at our peak to face this new era." (Aerion Stratos- Elder Dragon of The Wind Dragon Clan)

"A draconic civil war against the renegade dragons might actually have a chance of happening then, huh? I guess it was inevitable. I just pray we can save as many as we would have to kill." (Novex Lightmourne- Elder of The Light Dragon Clan)

"What?! A civil war! Why... Our lord could save them!" Nova's aura of light shone brighter because of her awakened essence.

Night, who was in his 80-meter-tall dragon form, held back Nova, who was starting to agitate the elders.

"It's not that simple, Nova. Our God was born in the dragon continent. So, we all believe he will become the next dragon god. But other candidates have worshippers who feel the same about them. Keep that in mind before you act."

Nova trusted her elder brother, so she could only nod in defeat. "I understand. I won't cause trouble for our lord," she said solemnly.

Novex and the six elder dragons of Navalon's Royal Council released the entirety of their auras, which matched their element.

They finally rose to their feet and stood beside each other, displaying stoic expressions before roaring in unison, creating shockwaves as their auras combined and clashed against Khaos's essence.

"Elder of The Light Dragon Clan, Novex Lightmourne!"

"Elder of The Fire Dragon Clan, Kaizen Ashfallen!"

"Elder of The Water Dragon Clan, Nautica Undine!"

"Elder of The Earth Dragon Clan, Diamore Obsidius!"

"Elder of The Wind Dragon Clan, Aerion Stratos!"

"Elder Of The Poison Dragon Clan, Zara Kavina!"

"Elder of The Dark Dragon Clan, Vekron Reaper!"

They were overpowering his aura at first, but the chaos element slowly negated their aspects of fire, water, earth, air, darkness, light, and poison. Khaos smirked slightly as he understood that this was their vow of fidelity.

The Royal family and the Elder dragons were mesmerized by the chaos element, but thousands of golden orbs emerged from their God's body before they could ingrain it into their minds and souls.

"Be not afraid. I vow to make life prosperous again for all dragonkind. For I am Khaos... free from the will of reality." He announced as he spread out his massive wings to guide the golden orbs toward the deceased dragons.

The golden orbs then intertwined with the white light that hovered over their bodies after acting as a magnetic force to their souls.

The Royal Family and the elders soon realized that their god was attempting to heal the citizens, which inadvertently planted a seed of unshakable loyalty and admiration within their souls, even if hatred or fear of their god once existed within them.