Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Soulbound Beast, Heavenly Meteor's Descent
Within the misty valley, Sadius swiftly withdrew his spiritual energy, gathering it all into his mind.
Inside his consciousness, three interwoven types of spiritual energy roared within his sea of consciousness. A soul crystal, radiating strange hues, trembled violently. Ordinarily, as spiritual energy advanced, the sea of consciousness should shrink, but instead, Sadius' spiritual sea continued to expand while his spiritual power surged.
The three Dragon Crystals within his mind seemed to respond, continuously emanating energy that merged with his spiritual force. The soul crystal within his sea of consciousness was undergoing a constant metamorphosis.
Sadius knew his soul was beginning to take form.
What would it become?
A sword?
A miniature Armored Razorback Wyrm?
The first major breakthrough following a Triple-Element Soul Mutation could never be that simple.
Three completely different soul auras surged wildly within him, intertwining and clashing against one another.
Earth, Darkness, Destruction.
These three elements neither complemented nor countered one another, making it difficult to establish balance.
"Sadius, stabilize your soul essence immediately!" Doehring Cowart shouted in alarm.
But Sadius was powerless to do so.
He was merely a Saint-level magical beast, not a Deity with an indomitable soul. He could only endure the torment as his sea of consciousness underwent its violent transformation.
The three forces within him crashed against one another like raging waves, shaking the rapidly evolving soul crystal at their center.
Sadius had already undergone one Soul Mutation, so another transformation was impossible. Furthermore, his soul had not reached the point where another mutation could occur.
However, if he failed to stabilize these three forces, his soul would inevitably be shattered under their assault, leaving him a broken husk, forever insane.
Just as Sadius struggled helplessly, the Coiling Dragon Ring—wrapped tightly within his spikes—emitted a faint glimmer.
Drip. Drop.
Two nearly imperceptible sounds echoed within his spiritual sea, heard only by him.
One was a drop of Sovereign's Might.
The other, a drop of Azure Dragon's Essence Blood.
Sovereign's Might—the supreme power contained within a Sovereign Spark, capable of allowing even a mere mortal to slay a god.
Azure Dragon's Essence Blood—the sacred blood of a supreme divine beast, usable only by its descendants to awaken their lineage.
But Sadius was not of the Azure Dragon's lineage. He was merely an ordinary Armored Razorback Wyrm.
The only connection his blood had with Azure Dragons was its ability to help Dragonblood Warriors awaken their latent Azure Dragon lineage.
Thus, his body could not refine Azure Dragon Essence Blood.
However, his transmigrated soul was another matter entirely.
He was neither an Armored Razorback Wyrm by birth nor a Dragonblood Warrior by heritage.
He was an ordinary human.
At this moment, his situation bore a striking resemblance to the origins of the first generation Dragonblood Warrior.
The first four Supreme Warriors were created by Beirut using the essence blood of the Four Divine Beasts to transform ordinary humans into beings of unparalleled power.
Thus, in theory, an ordinary human could refine Azure Dragon Essence Blood—albeit with an incredibly slim chance of survival. Many had perished attempting, and only the first generation of Supreme Warriors had succeeded.
Now, the Azure Dragon's Essence Blood, accompanied by the Sovereign's Might, entered Sadius' spiritual sea.
As the two drops descended, his entire spiritual sea erupted with a terrifying azure radiance.
Inside the cave, Sadius collapsed into unconsciousness.
Yet within his soul, an entirely different scene unfolded.
One by one, ephemeral azure dragons, formed from pure spiritual energy, emerged from the sea before merging into his soul crystal.
Sadius' soul was transforming at a rapid pace.
A dragon-shaped soul slowly took form.
When the final three-colored Azure Dragon merged into his soul crystal, the ethereal dragon slowly opened its eyes.
"ROAR!"
A deafening dragon's cry reverberated through his soul.
In that moment, the very nature of Sadius' soul evolved.
Though he remained a Saint-level magical beast, his soul had ascended to that of a juvenile divine beast.
Unknown to the world, the first-ever Soulbound Beast—a creature whose soul alone possessed the essence of a divine beast—had been born.
A Triple-Element Soul Mutation, combined with the blood of a Supreme Divine Beast, infused with Sovereign's Might, alongside a soul that did not match its body...
Only through these fortuitous circumstances had Sadius narrowly succeeded in his breakthrough.
In this vast world, no second being like him would ever exist.
As the Azure Dragon within his soul opened its eyes, Sadius awakened in reality.
"Finally awake, you bastard! Are you alright?" Doehring Cowart asked with concern.
After all, if Sadius had died, he might have remained buried within the depths of The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts forever.
"I'm fine. In fact, I'm stronger than ever."
"They're waiting for us outside. Time to make a grand entrance."
Sadius stepped forward, transforming into a streak of darkness as he shot out of the cave.
With his newfound strength, he could now freely unleash Saint-level forbidden spells of both Darkness and Earth elements.
Unfortunately, he had no inheritance regarding the Laws of Destruction, but his comprehension of sword intent had grown immensely.
The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts
The forces of the Beast Alliance were being slaughtered.
More and more human Saint-level powerhouses had arrived on the battlefield.
Pope Heidens had personally intervened, wielding the unfathomable power of the Laws of Fate. Even the mighty Saint-level Tyrant Dragon was grievously wounded.
The other Saint-level magical beasts fared little better.
"Submit to the Radiant Sovereign, or be cast into the eternal darkness of the Netherworld. Life or death—this is your final chance."
Pope Heidens stood at the forefront of the angelic battle formation.
"Damn it!"
The five Saint-level magical beasts had no path of retreat.
On the battlefield below, the forces of the Radiant Church showed no mercy, slaughtering even the lesser magical beasts with abandon.
Among them, two massive violet-furred rodents fought desperately, leading a horde of lesser beasts in a final charge—yet it was all in vain.
"That bastard Sadius! If he doesn't emerge soon, I'm taking the surviving rodents and running!" Liyah snarled mid-battle, cursing Sadius.
She had told them that they could never defeat the Radiant Church.
Just then, the heavens rumbled.
One by one, meteors plummeted from the sky, hurtling toward the Radiant Church's ranks.
Not six. Not twelve. Twenty-four.
Four simultaneous casts of the Earth-element forbidden spell, Heavenly Meteor's Descent, unleashing cataclysmic devastation.
Everyone beheld the apocalyptic scene.
Terror spread like wildfire.
Humans who had once believed victory was certain now threw down their weapons and fled in sheer panic.
Enormous Magistone Cannons stood unmanned.
Even the Saint-level warriors trembled.
They fought desperately against the descending meteors, but there weren't enough of them to stop them all.
At that moment, every magical beast knew.
"It's Sadius. He's broken through!"
A resounding voice echoed through the heavens.
"Radiant Church... such audacity! Did you come to annihilate The Mountain Range of Magical Beasts?"
A colossal, thousand-meter-long shadow loomed over the sky.