Chapter 564 - Return 8! (Part 1)

In the stagnant void, time froze as if it were held in place by an invisible hand. Lu Ran struggled to breathe while listening in on the Divine Dragons' conversations and withstanding their gaze.

He really wanted to ask Limitless City for an explanation on what exactly was happening. It wasn’t the first time someone in an ascension or secret realm became self-aware.

In every other case, it only happened because the realm was in the process of shutting down. It was only in the process of being dismantled that they realized the world around them was false.

The Divine Dragons, on the other hand, discovered it shortly after they came into existence, about a week into the ascension realm. It even forced the ascension realm to finish prematurely. Lu Ran was at a complete loss when it came to his next step.

The crazier thing was that the Divine Dragons were actually able to stop the realm from shutting down and pulled him into a separate dimension. Lu Ran’s heart rate began to accelerate. His familiars had been forcibly returned to their contract cards, so he was left to deal with the pressure by himself.

“Limitless City won’t count this as failing the ascension realm, right? At least I’m able to confirm that Limitless City isn’t solely responsible for ascension realms. It should be like #18’s Hall of Heroic Spirits. That’s why the Divine Dragons’ projections were able to break free.”

At this point, all Lu Ran could do was take a deep breath to calm himself down.

“As expected of the four Divine Dragons.”

The Divine Dragons carried on with their conversation without paying him any attention.

“Our current form should merely be projections from a moment in history,” said the Time Dragon.

“Whoever it is is using the Time attribute to manipulate the world and pull this fragment of time out of the past and into the present. It then simulates new variables to create alternative outcomes. The variable in this particular situation is that human. He should be someone from the future. From what I can tell, he should be related to you two.” The Time Dragon gestured toward the Life and Death Dragons.

“Indeed. His soul carries an imprint of my power. He also holds an item related to me, but I have no recollection of him. The only plausible explanation is that he is from the future,” the Death Dragon agreed.

“He carries an artifact tied to my power as well, and introduced himself as my messenger. Technically, he appears to be the messenger of a subordinate that I will recruit one day,” the Life Dragon added.

After a few brief exchanges, the Divine Dragons saw straight through Lu Ran.

Is this a bug? Am I going to make it out of this? Limitless City owes me some major compensation for this. Well, I’ll take anything as long as it’s not something stupid like 500 crystal coins.

“All right, our time is short. I have a general idea of why this human came to find us,” the Space Dragon said. “Speak. Be as concise as possible.”

“Lord Divine Dragons, you’ve already figured out most of it. In the original version of history, you suppressed the Elemental Gods after they revolted. After that, the world’s animals quickly rose to power, and from them, you selected a few to become your kin to maintain the world’s stability on your behalf.

“Everything was going well until the four of you mysteriously disappeared one day. The kin began to slowly lose control without your support.

“I am a messenger chosen by the Life Dragon’s kin, the Divine Deer. One of my missions is to find traces of the missing Divine Dragons and investigate why you disappeared.

“I got here by using an advanced facility from the future called ‘Limitless City.’ Those who are chosen can enter and train using these historical projections. I am here to uncover the deeper truths.

“Your kin believed that the four of you created Limitless City at first, I’m not so sure.”

“We understand,” the four Divine Dragons replied in unison. “We cannot determine if we are the ones who created Limitless City in the future, but we can tell you why we disappeared.”

Lu Ran took a deep breath in anticipation. He would finally uncover this mystery after so much investigation. To be honest, Lu Ran already had a vague idea of what the truth was. If that piece of bark parchment was to be trusted...

“We are not native beings of this world. We were born in the center of the universe and are of a species known as ‘Genesis Dragons.’ We transcend all life on this planet. The very world you inhabit was born from our bodies. We were originally of one flesh that later separated into the four separate beings you see before you.

“Eons ago, an unknown disaster began to brew at the center of the universe that devoured countless civilizations. The more advanced a civilization, the faster it fell.

“We split apart as a way to escape this disaster. On top of that, we extracted this world from our bodies, which further weakened us. We imposed limits on lifeforms born in this world to prevent it from drawing in the disaster.

“We were forced out of the center of the universe and into these fringes. This may be one of the only, if not

the

only, advanced civilizations to survive. After we escaped, we learned that the disaster was continuing to spread, so we hibernated to run simulations on how to overcome the disaster.

“If one day we disappear and the world doesn’t get destroyed, it must mean that the disaster is upon you and we have gone to stop it.”

“It’s just like I thought!” Lu Ran exclaimed after hearing the Divine Dragons’ explanation. “Not long ago, I found a piece of bark parchment floating in the void. It was left behind by a powerhouse from a cultivating civilization who stated that his world was destroyed by an unknown disaster.”

“Many worlds have suffered the same fate.” The Divine Dragons lamented.

“Then is there anything I can do to help?” Lu Ran asked. “In my time, the four of you are still missing. Does that mean the disaster is not yet averted?”

“There is,” the Four Divine Dragons answered. “Regardless of whether the Limitless City is created by our future selves or some other being, it presents a unique opportunity. Investigate its origins. With that information, you may become qualified to help us.”

As they spoke, Lu Ran discovered that they were beginning to fade away. The Limitless City announcements resumed once more.

[Ascension realm Legendary mission: Early Completion.]

[Congratulations, you have completed the ascension mission.]

[Score: SSS]

[Congratulations, you have received 160 million crystal coins.]

[Congratulations, you have received a contract card (bound).]

[Congratulations, you have received a Legendary resource: Elemental Heart (Can be transplanted into various lifeforms to evolve them into an elemental lifeform with Legendary potential. They will acquire longer lifespans and undergo a physical metamorphosis.)]

[Congratulations, you have obtained a Legendary resource: World Curse Stone (Consumable; The user can use the power of rules within the stone to cast a curse. The subject of the curse will be rejected by the world’s will and frequently encounter Legendary-grade disasters.)]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the trait crystal, Elemental Law (Allows the user to better control the natural rules of the world. As long as the rules are not otherwise being manipulated, the user will be able to utilize the power of rules against enemies.)]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the beastmaster skill, Sacred Elemental Physique (A special skill that transforms the beastmaster’s physique into the legendary Sacred Elemental Physique, granting them extraordinary affinity with elemental lifeforms. The beastmaster’s blood will also transform into a top-tier resource for nurturing and evolving elemental lifeforms.)] ... [Congratulations, you have completed the Legendary mission.] ...

“It looks like our time is up. Limitless City has been continuously trying to erase this projection, and we can’t resist it for much longer. We will be completely gone very soon.”

As Limitless City continued its efforts, the four Divine Dragons were no longer able to keep up. Just as the ascension realm was about to close, the Death Dragon’s eyes let up as it intensely stared at the stone in Lu Ran’s hand.

Buzz...

An unknown power surged from it, and Lu Ran felt something change inside of himself, as if he acquired some sort of new power.

The Stone of the Other Shore! I can use it now!

The stone had originally been a gift from the Death Dragon to the God of the Other Shore. According to Ghost Mother, only the God of the Other Shore had the authority to use it, but now so could Lu Ran!

[Name: Stone of the Other Shore]

[Grade: Legendary]

[Description: Boosts the user’s soul power to the Superior-Legendary rank. Once the user dies, their soul will be sent to the other shore. Activating this item requires powerful Death energy and special authority.]

“Thank you. I will definitely do my best to find a way to repay you.”