"Hm—"
###
As the Secret Realm ritual came to a complete end, the barrier that had originally shrouded the sky above the island shattered. The Azure beam that had pierced straight into the heavens rapidly contracted before vanishing into nothingness.
###
"Crack!"
###
The heavy figure in a cloak fell from midair and slammed hard into the ground.
###
With his nearly Transcendent physical constitution, a fall from that height should not have caused him any harm. Yet the unprecedented weakness sweeping through his entire body made him let out a pained whimper upon landing.
###
He was not a pureblood Dragonborn. Every aspect of his body still retained obvious human traits.
###
As if he had just gone through an intense workout, "Algae Scale" Dodd gasped heavily. Supporting himself with trembling arms, he sat on the cold ground.
###
Beneath the fine platinum scales, his amber vertical pupils stared at the small pavilion woven from Water Ironwood ahead. His face was already pale and bloodless, and under the Azure Runes in the pavilion that had dimmed and faded with the ritual's end, he looked even weaker and more helpless.
###
"It failed..."
###
He had prepared for years, poured in an enormous amount of time and effort, invested nearly everything he had accumulated in his life, and willingly antagonized most of the forces in the Southern Islands to conduct this advancement ritual—
###
At this moment, it had all been reduced to nothing.
###
If he had never seen hope of success, perhaps he would have felt somewhat better now.
###
But the ritual had been on the verge of success, and the entire Secret Realm had been reduced to only the final—
###
It was difficult to describe Dodd's feelings at this moment.
###
Rage, regret, confusion—the complex