Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 473: The Jester (1)

Dragon Raja 3

Red well.

This is the eye of the storm, yet it remains so calm. Huge raindrops fall into the pool of blood, rippling across the crimson surface like a red lake.

Chisei and Ruri walk slowly in a circle, as if this is their stage and the actors are speaking lines long written. Ruri moves silently, his robe fluttering like a delicate willow in the wind, while Chisei, whose body has turned into a skeletal form, makes the heavy sound of an armored warrior.

“I remember that year,” Ruri began in a quiet voice, like a ghost recounting its life, “you saw in the newspaper that the Leonid meteor shower was coming, and Japan was supposed to be the best place to observe it. You were so excited, and your enthusiasm rubbed off on me. I started to believe the meteor shower would be the most beautiful thing in the world. We spent a long time preparing. We stole blankets from the gym, a telescope from the astronomy classroom, and with the money we saved, we bought a compass and hiking boots from a small shop. We didn’t eat our plum rice lunch, but packed it up instead. We climbed for three hours to reach the highest mountain nearby, set up the telescope, and waited for the sun to set. But then, fog suddenly rolled in, and the clear sky turned cloudy. I was upset, but you encouraged me, saying the clouds would soon clear, and we’d definitely see the meteor shower. You said we were Leos, so we were destined to see the Leonid meteor shower—the grandest of them all, a spectacle for all Leos. At the time, I truly believed you. You gave me half of your plum rice, saying once we finished eating, the clouds would clear. That’s how it always was in the mountains, you said. Once we ate the plum rice, we’d see the meteors.”

Ruri had always been an extraordinary performer. A simple phrase from him could stir emotions, let alone when he was recounting his life story.

But the only listener had no expression on his face. Chisei’s features were covered by a white exoskeleton, like a mask carved from ivory. With such a hardened face, there was no room for expressions, neither crying nor laughing.

Everyone else was dead. The priest and the engineering crew fought to their last breath, some even trying to bite through their opponents’ throats with their teeth.

“But we never finished the plum rice… No, I misspoke. I never finished because I ate so slowly. To me, that plum rice was a way to measure time. I was afraid that as I counted, time would run out and the most beautiful thing I hoped for would never come. Then it started to rain, pouring rain. I stood there in the rain, looking up at the sky, feeling so tired, so exhausted. My brother and I had prepared for so long, but it rained, and we couldn’t see the meteor shower. Suddenly, I cried. I was so sad.” Rain trickled down Ruri’s face. He looked like a wandering soul, but the tears still evoked a strange sympathy.

“You were always so sensitive when you were younger. Sometimes, I found you quite annoying,” Chisei’s voice rumbled like distant thunder.

“Because, back then, you were the most important person to me. As long as you were there, every day was happy. But then I thought, everyone’s happiness is limited. Once I ran out of happiness, I would have to be separated from you. But you comforted me, saying you would always be by my side. If anyone bullied me, you’d always be behind me. I just needed to be brave and punch forward, and if I couldn’t win, you would step in to protect me,” Ruri said.

“Stop. I don’t want to hear it,” Chisei said.

“Isn’t it funny, though? The world always seems to work this way. One person desperately wants to talk, while the other doesn’t want to listen. You never wanted to hear what I had to say. It was always you talking to me. You were the older brother, always lecturing me.”

“If we can’t go back, why talk about the past?” Chisei stood still, but his gaze followed Ruri’s every move.

He had already revealed his final card, but he didn’t know what Ruri had. Ruri had never shown his Yanling to anyone, and in battles between dragons and hybrids, Yanling could change everything.

“Brother, why are we enemies? Long ago, there were only the two of us in this world, depending on each other. We couldn’t live without each other.” Ruri tilted his head slightly, unintentionally exuding a hint of allure.

“No one in this world is indispensable. You’re always stuck in your childhood memories, but one day, you’ll have to grow up.”

“You’re right, Brother. See? You’re lecturing me again. Between the two of us, you’re always the one who’s right. I’ve grown up now, and after leaving you, I finally saw the world for what it truly is.”

“The truth of this world?”

“Yes, it’s a long food chain. The strong devour the weak, and the weak devour the weaker. Everyone has blood in their teeth.” Ruri glanced at the corpse of Osho. “It was this man who taught me the real rules of the world, despite being so despicable and pathetic. But what he said was a cruel truth, and everything you and the others said was just a beautiful lie. No one is innocent, which is why no one can achieve eternal life. If you don’t want to be eaten, the only choice is to climb the food chain and become the top predator. This man wanted to consume me as his food, but in the end, he died first, becoming my food. If I want, I can now become the host of the Sacred Remains and become invincible, right?”

Ruri slowly lifted the box in his hand. Chisei had killed Osho, but the box had fallen into Ruri’s hands, and inside it lay the remains of a god—the Sacred Remains, a parasitic entity.

He opened the box and held the quartz containment chamber in his hand. The Sacred Remains continued to squirm, but as a parasite, it was perhaps the strongest in existence. However, it could not break through the tough quartz walls on its own. Ruri tightened his grip, shattering the quartz containment chamber.

“No one can evolve into a pureblood dragon king through the Sacred Remains! It’s the trap left behind by the White Empress! All it will do is consume your flesh and blood. Once it parasitizes you, it won’t be you living in this world anymore—it will be the reborn White Empress!” Chisei roared, his voice booming.

“Oh? Is that so?” Ruri grabbed the writhing Sacred Remains in his hand. The Sacred Remains had sharp mandibles, capable of easily piercing any creature’s body to burrow inside and control their nervous system, but under Ruri’s grip, it struggled desperately, yet its mandibles couldn’t even touch his skin.

Ruri extended his hand and pierced through the single “eye” of the Sacred Remains. Through its translucent body, it was clear to see his fingertip touch the thin spinal column inside. The Sacred Remains convulsed violently, twisting and writhing in agony, though it couldn’t make a sound. Anyone watching could easily understand the pain it was experiencing, as if its spine was being forcefully extracted from its fragile body.

Ruri really did pull out that spinal column. Without even glancing at the remaining transparent flesh, he casually threw it to the ground and then stepped on it, crushing it into a puddle of liquid. The spinal column twitched a few times in his hand, like a dying insect, before finally going still.

He had killed a god! This inheritance of the White Empress, revered as both a god and a demon by generations of her descendants, the evolution pathway awaited for thousands of years by the Oni Clan, was destroyed by him as effortlessly as tearing apart a fast-food wrapper.

Ruri tossed the spinal column onto the ground between him and Chisei. “A ridiculous dried-up bone. It thought it could enslave me?”

“Some people seek power to control the world. Those people are drawn to the Sacred Remains. I’m different,” he smiled, “I want to destroy the world, and never rebuild it again.”

“You’re truly insane.”

“I am insane, but so are you. We’re both mad, just in different ways. We were born as each other’s mirrors—you, the madman of righteousness, and I, the madman of evil.” Ruri bent down and picked up the cherry-red long sword. “Come now, brother, let’s settle our score. I’m truly delighted that we can finish this on the stage where the world is about to end, with no one to interrupt us. Isn’t that wonderful?”

He began to laugh softly, the sound growing louder and more resonant until the entire well echoed with his uninhibited, triumphant laughter, as though this truly was something that brought him immense joy.

Chisei slowly moved his arms, lowering his body into a stance—his Heart Shape Sword Style, Rasetsu Demon Bone. This was the same stance he had used in Takamagahara, but at that time, he couldn’t even get his sword out under Ruri’s fierce attack. Now it was different. Dragon blood boiled within his veins, the ancient dragon blood activating every cell in his body, with power flowing through his bones like water. His senses became a hundred times sharper, and time itself seemed to slow down. It was as if he were standing in a slow-motion film. No matter how fast or complex Ruri’s attacks were, Chisei could break them down and respond with precise counterattacks at just the right moment.

Back when he was the Emperor, he was powerless against Ruri. Now, as a ghost, he held the upper hand. What a bitter irony.

The only uncertainty was Ruri’s Yanling.

“Brother, you must be dying to know what my Yanling is. You possess Kingship, but what about me?” Ruri smiled silently. “I’ll tell you, of course. After all, there are no secrets between us.”

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