Chapter 257: Reviving An Ancient Dragon, Gaining A Powerful New Ally

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"Wait, we’re cores?!" Vladimir asked, his voice rising in sudden alarm as the glowing runes of the formation pulsed beneath their feet.

"I guess that’s how we’re helping. We’re ingredients," Riven laughed lightly, though his eyes remained sharp and watchful.

"Wait, what?! So this was all your plan all along?!" Vladimir roared, already tensing as if ready to bolt from the circle. "And you’re content with that, Riven?!"

Riven simply shrugged. "Relax. It’s nothing too bad."

Ignias sighed, shaking her massive head as sparks of residual flame drifted from her nostrils. "Who do you think I am? Why would I trick you? Being the Cores means you’re going to fuel the formation with your Power and Inner Energies. That’s all. Just stand over on the two Cores within the Main Formation Frame. Hurry."

Riven nodded and grabbed Vladimir by the arm, dragging the reluctant man into position despite his muttered curses. Once both of them stood firmly on the designated glowing cores, Label moved with practiced efficiency. She carefully placed the materials she had brought along—high-grade Spirit Stones that hummed with stored energy, delicate Soul Flowers whose petals shimmered with faint silver light, and then... the corpses.

Two hundred of them was a truly massive amount. The piled bodies of fallen Yokai, cultists, and mutated beasts created a grim mountain of flesh and bone. Thankfully the entire throne room was utterly gigantic, large enough to have once housed a dragon of Ignias’s previous size even before her current, even greater form.

Riven nodded again and used his Shadow Self to dump all the corpses into the designated ritual area, filling nearly a third of the vast chamber. Label and Ignias moved together, adjusting the formation with precise gestures. Thousands of glowing runes lifted into the air and rearranged themselves like living constellations, weaving tighter and more complex patterns across the floor, walls, and ceiling.

"It’s done. All ready!" Label announced, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead as the final rune locked into place. "Let’s begin."

"Yes. Let’s perform a Synthesis together," Ignias said, her voice carrying both anticipation and ancient resolve. "One, two...!"

"Synthesis!"

Ignias and Label combined their Magical and Alchemical Power into a single massive, blazing formation that expanded outward like a living sun. The air itself grew heavy with the scent of burning ozone, molten metal, and something far more primal—raw life force being rewritten.

Riven and Vladimir immediately felt their energies being rapidly drained into the formation. The pull was intense, like having their very souls siphoned through invisible channels. The formation continued to spin faster and faster, showcasing thousands of intricate runes that danced and shifted in the air around them.

The runes gathered high above like a swirling galaxy and then descended like falling stars or meteors, slamming into Ignias one after another. Her entire skeletal body began cracking and shattering into countless pieces under the overwhelming force of the ritual.

As this happened, the two hundred corpses melted away into a living stew of molten flesh, bone, and residual spiritual energy. The grotesque mixture slowly burned down into a thick red liquid that vanished into the formation’s hungry lines.

In its place, new flesh, blood, and organs started to slowly manifest from thick tendrils that emerged out of the floor right beneath where Ignias stood. Her shattered bones were remade and fused back together even stronger than before, combining seamlessly with the fresh flesh to regenerate her bone marrow and internal structures.

The dungeon core at the heart of the ritual began to beat and pulse rapidly, growing layers of muscle tissue until it became a gigantic, blazing heart that thumped with thunderous power.

As this continued, more and more flesh grew over Ignias’s reforming frame. New eyes opened one by one, fresh skin stretched across muscle, gleaming red scales layered themselves across her body. Her wings gained thick, leathery membranes that crackled with residual heat. Her fingers filled out with powerful muscle and sharp claws. Her tail thickened and lengthened until it regained its former massive girth.

Her power continued climbing higher and higher. Behind her a swirling portal tore open, revealing the Noosphere beyond—a realm of pure psychic energy that began flooding into her as a suitable replacement for the Mana she had long been starved of.

"Nnnggh...! T-This is...! Pain...! I can feel it—the pain of the flesh... muscle and... blood! Cartilage and organs!" she muttered through gritted fangs, her voice thick with emotion. "Oh, how I’ve missed its warmth!" Tears of molten magma streamed down her reforming face as centuries of existence as a mere skeleton were finally undone.

"Now...! Ugh?!"

However, the portal behind her suddenly trembled violently. A massive pink cloud of pure aberration attempted to force its way through, countless screaming faces and grasping arms growing from its surface as it tried to widen the opening.

"GROOOOOHHHH...!"

The aberrant Memetic Creature strained to spawn into the real world. Riven and Vladimir could do nothing to stop it—they remained locked in place by the formation’s demands, their energies still being drawn to fuel the ritual. Only Ignias stood between them and the invading horror.

Yet Label’s eyes lit up with sudden inspiration.

"Perfect! Ignias, eat it!" she called out urgently. "This will give you sufficient energy for the entire body to completely revive!"

"Very well!" Ignias opened her regenerating jaws wide. Completely immune to the creature’s mind-altering powers, she bit down hard on the monstrosity and swallowed it whole in a single massive gulp.

"GULP."

BA-DUM.

BA-DUM.

BA-DUM!

Several consecutive pulses of pure power radiated outward from the formation. The entire castle trembled intensely for a brief, heart-stopping moment before everything suddenly came to a complete halt.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Riven stepped out of the formation looking completely fine, his energy reserves still largely intact thanks to the efficiency of his Shadow Self and multiple Authorities. Vladimir, however, collapsed onto the floor the moment the ritual released him, completely exhausted and cursing Ignias under his breath. Unlike Riven, he had been drained almost dry.

"It’s done, huh? Wow... you’re just like I saw in those memories," Riven said, staring up in awe.

Ignias stood before them in her fully restored glory—a gorgeous, majestic, and deeply intimidating dragoness. Her scales shone a deep, vibrant red. Her eyes glowed with warm orange-gold light. Golden horns curved proudly from her head while long streams of living flame ran from the crown of her skull all the way down her long, elegant neck, resembling flowing hair made of fire.

She possessed a surprisingly slim and elegant body for a dragon of her true age, appearing much younger as a result of the revival that had cost her a considerable portion of her former power. The Dungeon Core now rested hidden within her chest, perfectly fused with her true heart, beating in perfect harmony with her restored life force.

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