Bond of Fate

Jody had nearly considered himself a god when he heard how many twilight stars he had now. However, after hearing about the cost of upgrading the Twilight store, he nearly fainted. If he chose to upgrade, wouldn't that leave him with a mere thirty-five twilight stars?

What was the point of having all this power if he wouldn't be able to use it?

Performing labors was different from using arcana, and he would need to use twilight stars to do so efficiently until he had more astral force. Unfortunately, if he didn't take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade the Twilight store, who knew when he would have this chance again?

Jody smiled wryly as he felt copious amounts of twilight rapidly being drained from him and into the twilight imp on his little throne.

As the gate before him melted away, the twilight imp shot out of his head and into the Mighty Ankh.

Apparently, he was destined not to see what the Twilight proxy was doing.

The next thing Jody saw was enough to shock him utterly.

He drifted in a seemingly endless expanse, his gaze transfixed on the incredible creature looming above him. Its head was so large it completely blocked out the sky, and its forward-facing mouth opened to reveal thousands of menacingly sharp teeth. Its scaled body had vicious spikes like those of a dangerous dinosaur, and four long smoke-like whiskers trailed gracefully down its back.

As he looked up, he felt utterly insignificant, for the creature was more than three kilometers tall and hundreds of kilometers long.

Jody felt like a speck of dust before this horrendous creature.

Its shining platinum scales looked like jewels, with scarlet-golden scale patterns shaped like thunderbolts. Its immense body with four legs that each possessed five claws and four majestic wings made Jody want to kneel to its majesty. One pair of wings looked like pterodactyl wings with a single claw on the bridge of each, and the other pair looked like angelic wings with platinum-shining feathers that sparkled with purple and silver electricity.

On the creature's forehead and nose were three huge platinum runic horns, like triceratops, that sparkled with light and electric energies. It floated there, eyes closed, slowly drifting with its long body coiled, emitting an ancient and desolate pressure. This pressure actually made the obstinate and proud Jody want to drop to his knees immediately and start worshiping this creature.

"Dragon..."

As he floated there in a daze, the pressure suddenly exploded, increasing dramatically, as an aura of supernatural suppression started to bear down on Jody's soul.

He started screaming at the pain he felt, which was the most excruciating pain he had ever felt in two lives. Even his real body started to suddenly scream maniacally as he twisted and turned in agony. His elders and father panicked, ordering their subordinates to transport the boy to a healing pod quickly.

Jody was sweating profusely, terrifying his family.

All except his mother, who reacted with a startling calm.

Lady Isis had long since figured that if Jody had Fallen, then he would have a hard time subduing the true main soul on the destiny platform.

This was why she never considered how to deal with this issue of Jody being a Fallen One. If he could survive the Platform of Destiny, then he deserved to live as a Sage, plain and simple. Unfortunately, Jody was currently unaware of all of this, as he was fully engaged in resisting this torturous power invading his mind and soul.

This power aimed to shred his soul to pieces and assimilate him without mercy. Just when he felt like he would no longer be able to resist, he felt a strange ripple of power come from deep within. His spiritual body emitted a bright platinum light and produced pressure and presence not inferior to the one assaulting him.

Suddenly, the dragon's eyes snapped open, letting out a realm-shattering mighty roar. The space around them cracked and fragmented like funhouse mirrors. The pressure surrounding him increased by more than tenfold!

Jody now realized he was utterly doomed.

What a pathetic way for a young Sage to go, eaten by his own combat soul. However, Jody didn't cower, even though this fusion process was nothing like how the books had described.

"What's the damn use of books anyway?" Jody shouted at the top of his lungs while feeling disgruntled.

Those surrounding his real body were completely flabbergasted by his words.

The young master was clearly unconscious, so was he having a nightmare about books? Could his source artifact be some kind of book?

Meanwhile, Jody's mind in the platform of destiny's space was whirling. According to the information recorded, fusions could go one of two ways: either the combat soul is easy to cooperate with and the fusion proceeds naturally, or the combat soul doesn't want to give up its eternity, and thus, must be suppressed by infinite soul force.

However, even if the latter option occurred, the worst that should have happened is a backlash from fusion failure. This was definitely different, as Jody had no doubts that if he relaxed for even an instant, he would cease to exist forever. This was a type of instinct that came from transcending death once.

He felt that if he didn't resist, then his consciousness would be erased entirely and absorbed by this terrible monster above him. The fusion would succeed, but he would be the one assimilated. There would never again be a Jody Trill. This, then, was a true dance with death.

One of them had to submit and disappear.

The two souls could never co-exist now that he had chosen this fusion class artifact.

Jody gritted his teeth, determined to survive this ordeal. He could sense the dragon's immense power, and he knew that even with the full power of his soul, he wouldn't be able to defeat it. But he refused to submit, to disappear into oblivion.

He summoned all the strength he had left and launched a mental attack at the dragon's soul. The dragon roared in pain and surprise, taken aback by Jody's sudden assault. An assault the latter wasn't even aware he had achieved. It retaliated with a burst of energy that hit Jody's soul like a freight train, sending him flying backward.

Jody screamed as he felt his soul being torn apart by the dragon's power. He could feel his consciousness slipping away, his memories fading into nothingness. But he refused to give up. He refused to disappear.

Jody gritted his teeth and plunged into the battle for his soul with everything he had. He called upon every ounce of strength he had and every technique he had ever learned. He poured everything into this struggle, pressing forward with a determination that even he didn't know he had.

As he fought, he began to feel something shift within him. It was as though his soul was being pulled apart and put back together with every passing moment. The pain was excruciating, but he refused to give up. He would not let the dragon win, even if it meant his own destruction.

And then, just when he thought he couldn't take any more, something inside him snapped. There was a sudden explosion of power, and everything around him was blown away instantly. The dragon let out a fierce roar as the sudden burst of energy pushed it back.

Jody stumbled back, gasping for breath as he looked around in a daze. The dragon was still there, its eyes locked on him fiercely. But now, there was something different about it. It seemed to be...smiling?

It was as though the dragon had gained a newfound respect for him or maybe even a sense of admiration.

Jody desperately held on to the last piece of his consciousness, a small light inside that seemed like it would never be destroyed. He continued to produce incredible soul force. Meanwhile, the dragon tried to suppress him with all its might. He could feel the extreme rage and hostility this guy had, but it didn't seem to be targeting him.

Suddenly, Jody had an idea.

"Evil dragon, stay your hand!! My name is Jody Trill! I don't want to fight you! Or use you!" As Jody shouted, the dragon snorted and began flapping its insanely broad wings, sending chaotic gales everywhere. Jody's words had clearly enraged it even more.

"I don't know who you are," shouted Jody, both in his mind and out loud. As he spoke, a bizarre platinum aura radiated around his body in House Trillwolf.

At this point, it had been several days since he first entered his awakening, and now he was already in a healing pod.

Only Lady Isis, Omotolani, Kamila, Lylian and Vivian Barong, and Ke Si were present when he started to shout, "I will never yield! In my last life, I was born with nothing! Abandoned before I was even old enough to remember anything and then adopted into absolute poverty. My entire life was spent pursuing my freedom.

"Everything I've ever cherished has always been taken away from me. I have been violated in the worst ways known to man from an early age. I fear nothing… Especially not you!

"I was unable to protect the only one I ever loved. She was taken away from me over and over again. The humans of my time experimented on me and manipulated me. They turned me into a living weapon, a tool for war! I died understanding nothing! I died pursuing nothing! Achieving nothing worthy of honor!" Jody was screaming as if he had gone mad.

Imperceptible to Jody at this moment, the gales slowed a little as he screamed on. The dragon was genuinely stunned that this brat managed to subconsciously reconnect with his body to reinforce the might of his soul. Such instincts were excessive.

"I don't give a damn who you were or how you got here! I don't care if you're a dragon and I'm a human, or a hero, or a god, or some lost stream of consciousness, or what the fuck ever! In this life, there is only one thing I want!" screamed Jody as if possessed. "I want to be strong! Strong enough to tear through the limits of this universe and pull her back to my side! For this strength, I will do whatever it takes!"

This time, when Jody finished talking, the entire space started to tremble as a royal blue headdress with gold stripes materialized to cover the crown and back of his head. The bizarre aura billowed into the void, wrapping the dragon within.

The two sides of the nemes headdress hung in heavy swaths down either side of his face, spilling across his shoulders and nearly touching the floor. In the back, a long braid of fabric was secured with golden rings that were inscribed with runic hieroglyphs. Atop his head sat an impressive crown made of Heavenly Saint Gold, topped with a Uraeus and a platinum wolf's head with wings spread wide. Pharaoh's Law had been invoked!

However, just as Jody was about to haphazardly make his attempt at turning the tables on this dragon in a fantastic flare with some unknown, dazzling, and magical occurrence, the pressure vanished entirely.

As Jody watched, the dragon began to shrink down, its massive form folding in on itself until it was the size of a man.

Jody's body in the real world suddenly calmed down, floating mutely once more in the medical pod's liquid. The entire room exchanged confused glances, not at all understanding what had just occurred.

"Eh?" Jody was stunned as he could no longer see the colossal form of the dragon.

Instead, there was a tall and incredibly handsome caramel-brown-skinned man floating silently above him and only a mere twelve meters away.

Jody suddenly didn't feel safe.

However, looking at this man, he was stunned. Jody was only attracted to women, but even so, he couldn't help but praise this immaculate creature. The man had an extraordinary bearing and was wearing stunningly beautiful platinum diamond armor that almost looked to be a part of him, yet so fashionable.

He wore luxurious gold and black robes decorated with eight-clawed platinum dragons. His pupils were like two beautiful golden lights. He wore glasses under his three platinum horns and looked like a draconic scholar as he stared at the young man in front of him with his emotionless face.

"Hah..." Jody then heard a sigh that seemed like it came from some giant hiding in the void, startling him further.

"Bizarre energy ah…the true bizarre energy, who could contend in this form? Ah…perhaps…this is indeed my destiny," the Dragon Man let out a deep sigh that easily swept across the surrounding space. He gazed off into the void as if he was trying to find someone trillions of miles away. "To think that I, too, would one day be moved by this so-called destiny."

The Dragon Man's aura suddenly decreased as his horns and armor both faded mysteriously, leaving only his fancy clothes and devilishly handsome looks. His long and straight platinum-purple hair looked a bit like lightning-covered silk and hung down to his mid-back. The Dragon Man then turned back towards Jody and smiled gently.

It was a radiant and magnificent smile that seemed to inspire positivity across all lands in the world.

Jody was flabbergasted.

He felt this dragon was suddenly acting far too casual. How was this the terrifying draconic demon that just tried to erase his everything? The source of the soul-shredding pain that had nearly driven him insane?

"My name is Janair Mazi," the Dragon Man Janair Mazi stared Jody directly into his eyes, "In reality, I have no one left to fight for in this world. Maybe I envy your attachments. Perhaps I admire your persistence. This new life that was meant to be mine…would I even desire to reach the skies again? Did I not intend to live the leisurely life of a mortal man?"

Speaking up to here, Janair Mazi ruminated in silence for a full three breaths.

"I have also failed to protect the one closest to me. If fate commands, I will not see her in the next life. Why, then, should I live it?" Janair Mazi sighed and turned to stare into the void once more.

After a few minutes, Jody started counting in his head and got to seven thousand before the Dragon Man spoke again.

"Now then," Janair Mazi glanced at Jody, "what I've gathered from this garrulous rant of yours is that you wish for strength, yes? Peak power is something I can give to you.

"You are, honestly, not so bad to look at. A dormant infinity soul fragment unsealed… Doubtless, the little wolf-bird doesn't even realize what he's unleashed. Not only that, you should likely be more than half complete. As I am also a lesser infinity soul fragment, this is true compatibility. Thus, a fusion between us is not impossible.

"Fusing with the cunning wolf-bird may have been smarter, though. His capabilities are more than you can imagine, and not even I can compete with his ingenuity. At that point, you would possess nearly 70% of the infinite soul and no longer be considered a fragment. I could not have tried to eat you even if I desired.

"Of course, with the bizarre energy, I would still struggle to eat you even if I changed my mind right now." Janair Mazi's handsome face then turned solemn and fierce like a dragon as his voice deepened greatly. "However, you must promise me one thing. If I submit to you, you must aid me in accomplishing the final goal of my life. I will only submit once you have declared your destiny."

Jody stared at it in disbelief. What had just happened? Had he really just tamed a dragon?

"Indeed, I can not expect you to help me for nothing. I promise to help you with your request, or may my destiny fall to ruin!" said Jody in a hurry, excited that this fellow had suddenly become so much more reasonable and refined.

Even if Jody had no idea what nonsense infinity fragment this crazy guy was talking about, it was better than being eaten. All dragons should be this easy to speak with.

Of course, it would be many years before he realized just how rash he had been in this moment.

"It is good that you think this way. You are a decisive brat. We have a deal," said Janair Mazi with a deep frown on his face.

There was a distant look in his eyes as he lifted his left index finger, which suddenly appeared right in front of Jody's forehead. This instantly terrified him. Then Janair Mazi touched the Uraeus on Jody's crown and disappeared in a flash of light. That Uraeus changed from a winged wolf to a winged-were serpent with a magnificent horn on its head.

Jody could feel the dragon's power merging with his own, the two souls becoming one. He felt an overwhelming surge of power coursing through his body, making him feel invincible. As the fusion was completing, Jody opened his eyes, feeling different. He could perceive things he never could before, and his entire being felt stronger than ever.

The dragon's voice echoed in his mind, "You have proven yourself worthy, young Sage. I am now a part of you, and you are a part of me. Together, we will accomplish great things."

At this moment, everything surrounding Jody again melted away, as his spiritual form faded and his consciousness was ejected the way it came. As his consciousness was fading, a scarlet-golden light pierced his forehead once again. Janair Mazi's voice ringing through his mind was the last thing he heard as his consciousness faded into the void.

"One day, in the future, when you possess the supernatural strength that can slay gods, you must help me destroy my mortal enemy! You must subdue their entire race, down to the very last! This promise is a bond of fate! An irreversible oath! My destiny now belongs to you. We are one. One day, in my stead, you shall have no choice but to conquer the legion of pharaohs and eradicate the king of the Titans! YOU MUST STOP THE END!"

A thunderclap was in his mind, and Jody was left dumbstruck before all went black.