The Sinner's Story

"Oh?"

Keosius showed no panic. He simply kept his head up and met Beatrice's gaze without flinching. He raised his powerful talons and spread his smooth, shiny wings.

"Is this how you, a stranger of the Eternal Order Realm, treat your guests? Did you invite me here to make an enemy of me?"

Beatrice flapped her wings, creating gusts of wind, her voice exceptionally cold. "Before His Landis Your Majesty's sacred relic, only justice and order prevail. All those who deceive and cover up will become our enemies!"

In those two pairs of pupils, like pools of molten gold, were reflected the other's similar majestic face. Two powerful dragon auras instantly spread out, clashing and pressing Contend Against each other, as if the air was about to freeze into ice.

As a result of the collision, the Golden Dragon in the hall opened their eyes, awoke from their meditation, and flew to the back of their familiar teacher, Beatrice, solemnly gazing at the unfamiliar Ancient Gold Dragon.

Aurora flapped her wings and flew wobbly between the two ancient dragons. She first raised her head and looked at Beatrice with pleading eyes.

"Teacher, you must have misunderstood! Senior Titus is the benefactor who saved the High Mountain Kingdom, and is revered by mortals as the ' Dawn Dragon.' How could he be an enemy?"

Beatrice, however, ignored her explanation and instead ordered without hesitation, "Step back, Aurora! This is none of your business."

"Teacher, it's definitely not what you think."

"Enough! This is too dangerous. You've learned the secret history of my race. Those evil dragons often covet our power. Who can guarantee that the creature behind you isn't a Blue Dragon or Green Dragon skilled in cunning and disguise?"

"But."

"There are no buts. Stop fooling around, Aurora. You are too young and do not have the ability to distinguish between good and evil." Beatrice's cold gaze passed over Aurora and landed on "Titus".

"But I already..."

Seeing that he could not refute his teacher, the young Golden Dragon turned his head and looked at the Dawn Dragon who had been invited by him with a guilty look in his eyes.

"Senior Titus, I'm sorry, I didn't want this to happen either. My teacher just misunderstood something; she doesn't really consider you an enemy."

Aurora back and forth, looking up and down, her voice unusually anxious, as if she had swallowed a mouthful of lava.

However, neither side was affected by her. In this battle at the level of an ancient dragon, Aurora even felt dizzy and was about to fall.

"As expected, you are the one who bestowed the Eternal Order Realm. Nothing can escape your eyes."

Keosius lowered his head and spoke in a low voice. His face, which had been quite angry just moments before, gradually became peaceful, relaxed, and even showed a helpless expression.

Finally, he slowly folded his wings, like a giant golden moth folding them over his back, and the powerful dragon might dissipated.

Feeling the Contend Against in the air disappear, Aurora breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her paws, and obediently landed on the ground.

But Beatrice remained suspended in mid-air, scrutinizing the unfamiliar Ancient Gold Dragon with a critical eye. She slowly opened her mouth, and a dozen long whiskers fluttered around her lips.

"Titus, what are you hiding? In any case, it is my duty as the guardian of Landis's Scale to keep all suspicious persons away." Her voice was as stern as a judge in a courtroom, echoing in the monastery's hall.

Keosius gave a wry smile, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered his voice to say, "Concealment and deception are sometimes not out of malice, but simply a habitual self-defense mechanism and a way to protect those around us."

He raised his head again, looking at the majestic female Ancient Gold Dragon in mid-air, whose body was engraved with exquisite runes. "Beatrice Your Excellency, I have no intention of being your enemy, but... we may need to find a more secluded place to talk more slowly."

"Okay, come with me." Beatrice's response was crisp and concise.

Seeing this, the other Golden Dragon retreated and returned to their respective positions to continue their cultivation. Aurora glanced at them worriedly and had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

However, she firmly believed in her heart that this "Senior Titus" she had invited could not be a bad person. Perhaps it was intuition, Aurora always felt that this mysterious senior was exceptionally reliable, giving her a strange sense of security.

Beatrice flapped her wings and flew lightly and gracefully out of the monastery, heading towards the deep valley in the mountains, while Keosius, transformed into Ancient Gold Dragon, followed closely behind without saying a word.

He was thinking of a solution.

Within the Eternal Order Realm, Demiplane specifically designed for the Golden Dragon Skin Carving, the power of Keosius's avatar alone is probably no match for Beatrice, the ancient guardian.

However, when dealing with such a highly intelligent ancient dragon, vague riddles are usually not enough to fool it.

A half-truth is more deadly than pure deception; perhaps we could work on that, Keosius thought to himself.

However, he was not worried. Even if he perished here, he would only lose an avatar, and at most give up this power, the connections of the High Mountain Kingdom, and the reputation he had built.

"Aww—"

The moment he entered the deep valley, Keosius heard a series of shrill howls and roars, the sounds chaotic and disordered, but blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to escape the valley.

Keosius looked into the depths of the valley and saw scratches and cracks everywhere, stained with blood, like a dilapidated prison. A cold wind blew from time to time, which was out of place with the peaceful and orderly environment of the Eternal Order Realm.

On the rock walls on both sides, there are still densely engraved runes, but these symbols give people a strong sense of oppression, like a cage.

At the same time, an intense pressure descended, causing Keosius to feel a heaviness on his shoulders. Even flapping his wings and maintaining flight became difficult, let alone casting spells. Beatrice, however, was completely unaffected and continued to fly nimbly ahead.

Keosius looked around and couldn't help but exclaim, "Ha, I never expected that there would be such a place in this seemingly peaceful and beautiful Eternal Order Realm. It's like Screaming Void Tunnel. Is this your prison?"

"This is the Unforgiven Valley, the only place in the Eternal Order Realm that cannot be touched by sunlight." Beatrice's voice remained cold, and even against the backdrop of howling wind and wailing cries, her words were clear.

"In a sense, you're right. This is where my father, Ferdinand, imprisoned the most heinous criminals, or rather, the sinners." She slowly flapped her wings and landed lightly on the protruding cliff before folding them back.

"Sinner?"

Keosius lowered his head instinctively, a helpless, bitter smile on his face, even the beard at the corner of his mouth trembled slightly. "Sinner, it's been a long time since I've heard that familiar title. Perhaps... you're right."

Beatrice gave him a meaningful look, but didn't say anything more. She simply followed the cliff edge into a cave.

In that deep cave, luminous stones illuminated the path ahead, while the rock walls on both sides were still covered with complex runes, exuding a kind of oppressive power.

Looking at the extremely oppressive, iron-barrel-like patterns, Keosius asked softly, "Is this the Dead Magic Zone?"

Beatrice tucked her wings behind her back and strode ahead without turning her head, saying, "Yes, Father used exquisite runes to carve out a vast Dead Magic Zone and Good and Evil Barrier. This is the Confinement Area he meticulously built, specifically to imprison those self-righteous wizards."

As Keosius felt the power surging from all directions that suppressed the primal magic within his body, he chuckled and said, "You actually used something so extravagant; you really think highly of me."

"A suspicious outsider. This is just a necessary precaution. The power of the runes allows me to see through the essence of all things. Although you are shrouded in mist, I can sense that you are far more powerful than you appear."

"Thank you for the compliment, although I don't want to receive it in your prison."

Beatrice said seriously, "This is not a compliment, Titus. Before we understand your purpose and position, the stronger you are, the greater the threat you pose to the Eternal Order Realm."

Under immense pressure, Keosius shook his claws to relieve the pain and to raise his questions.

"This doesn't make sense. If I really had the power to break through the Eternal Order Realm, I would have already turned against you and confronted you. Why would I have followed you here? Beatrice Your Excellency, you're being a bit too tense."

"This is just a necessary precaution." Beatrice neither confirmed nor denied, simply shaking her head as she continued deeper into the cave.

"This is it, come with me."

"Boom--"

With a thunderous roar, the heavy stone door in front slowly opened, its surface patterns shimmering with light, clearly filled with many supernatural effects.

Finally, they entered the cave one after the other, and what came into view was a spherical chamber, with complex runes covering almost every corner of the surrounding walls, and—a black gem floating in the center.

The pressure intensified, and upon seeing the black gem, Keosius even felt an urge to spill everything and reveal everything.

Greater Geas Orb.

In this environment, even a powerful Great Wyrm Red Dragon could not unleash half of its strength, but Beatrice was completely unaffected.

Beatrice turned around, scrutinizing the Ancient Gold Dragon that Keosius had transformed into, and spoke again.

"This is Father's Interrogation Room, a place even the Great Wyrm Blue Dragon would have difficulty escaping from. This secret chamber is immune to all sound, spying, and even prophecy, which should fit your description of a 'secluded place,'"

"Certainly."

Ancient Gold Dragon stepped forward aggressively, his gaze piercing. "Then—tell me, what are you hiding? What is your true purpose?"

"Give me some time, okay? At least I'm still your guest, not your enemy." Keosius was prepared for this. He closed his eyes, seemingly recalling the past, or perhaps hesitating.

Suddenly, a somber and dejected aura emanated from him, the air itself seemed to freeze, and even the golden scales on his body dimmed considerably.

After a long silence, he opened his eyes and slowly extended his left forepaw.

"Laugh"

The sound of flames burning rang out, and mottled black and red flames suddenly appeared in his palm.

"The Chaos Fire? How dare you seek such power? It will drag you into Abyss!" Beatrice's voice trembled, her expression changed drastically, and she stared intently at the seemingly insignificant flame in Titus's hand.

A barely perceptible smile appeared in Keosius's eyes. Sure enough, as long as a shocking fact was presented—such as the Abyss —the other party would ignore the other pretenses.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the runes on the wall flashed rapidly, releasing various forces of order, and hundreds of silver chains surged from all directions, seemingly trying to imprison this evil, chaotic power.

But the frenzied, chaotic flames, like tentacles reaching out from the Abyss, danced wildly in mid-air, stubbornly resisting the power of the runes. Rolling black mist filled the secret chamber, and the stench of blood wafted out.

Keosius closed his claws, forcibly controlling the flame, but flames still leaked out, even scorching his own scales.

"I did not seek the power of the Abyss, but had no other choice." Keosius trembled, a look of pain on his face.

He forcibly suppressed the raging fire within him, raised his head, and smiled weakly, "Beatrice, would you like to hear a long-forgotten story of a sinner?"

Beatrice's eyes were serious, but she still nodded hesitantly.

She sensed that the Golden Dragon before her was not one to collude with the Abyss, but rather was forcibly suppressing the Chaos Power that she so deeply loathed. It must have some unspeakable secret, and even she could feel that sadness.

Such an Ancient Gold Dragon must have a painful past.

And so, Keosius lay wearily in the secret chamber, his voice hoarse and low. "I don't know how long ago... perhaps three thousand years? Perhaps four thousand years? In any case, back then, I was still a young dragon, wanting to uphold the justice and order of the world with my own strength. So I gathered many of my kind and established a close alliance." For some reason, before Titus had said much, pity, regret, sadness, and many other emotions welled up in her heart and lingered for a long time.

Following Keosius's words, she seemed to see an ambitious Golden Dragon, like her father, Ferdinand, eager to change the world. She could almost see hundreds of Golden Dragon soaring through the skies, patrolling and eradicating evil wherever they went.

Beatrice was unaware that this was due to the full activation of Keosius's "Eloquent Speaker" trait and his Charisma score of 36.

If you pass the [Deception] and [Persuasion] checks in the game, Keosius's Charisma and Skill Bonuses can reach at least +20, and even the Ancient Gold Dragon Skincarver with a will as firm as steel will be affected without realizing it.

"My companions roam the earth and soar through the skies; neither the evil Red Dragon that slaughter villages, nor the giants that plunder cities, nor the demons that deceive mortals into their souls, nor the liches that harvest souls, can escape our judgment."

Keosius continued speaking, gradually painting a magnificent story for Beatrice that perfectly aligned with the Golden Dragon's values.

Under the influence of the "Eloquent Speaker," the female Ancient Gold Dragon, who had lived in the Eternal Order Realm for many years and was detached from worldly affairs, became completely absorbed in his words and believed them without a doubt.