Bai Shi was astonished when he saw the ancient dragon’s pupils tremble.
This ancient dragon had been completely sealed within a thick layer of ice for who knew how many years, yet it was still alive?
Inside the ice, there was no food and no air.
Could it still live under such harsh conditions? Was this truly a living creature?
Ancient dragons were far too wondrous.
Bai Shi began to try and thaw it out.
The ice capable of sealing an ancient dragon was certainly no ordinary ice.
However, the flames of the sun were exceedingly hot, and Bai Shi worried he might overestimate the ice's strength and injure the dragon within.
So, he started by using Black Flame to test the ice's durability.
But the ice layer still exceeded Bai Shi’s imagination.The Black Flame burned against it without showing any sign of melting, and instead, it quickly extinguished itself.
Bai Shi tried again, this time with sunlight. The ice showed slight signs of melting, but the process was extremely slow.
Seeing how tough the ice was, Bai Shi held back no longer and unleashed a scorching solar flame.
The ice layer immediately began to melt at a visible rate.
The sun's flames were remarkably effective.
Bai Shi leaped directly onto the ancient dragon's head, starting the thawing process from there.
The ancient dragon's body was immense, like a mountain range. Standing on it, Bai Shi seemed almost insignificant.
For the first time, Bai Shi used the full power gifted by the sun. An orange-yellow fireball rose from his hand into the air.
In mid-air, the fireball began to expand, turning into a miniature sun.
A dazzling light enveloped the frozen underground chamber.
Bai Shi raised his hands high in a gesture of praising the sun, igniting the kindling within him and slightly burning his own body.
As his flesh burned, the blazing sun grew even more brilliant, so bright that it was difficult to look at directly.
The scorching temperature caused the surrounding ice to melt rapidly. The dragon's head, closest to the sun, was soon completely freed from the ice.
As the magic receded, cracks appeared in the thick ice, revealing a hard, rocky dragon's body.
Sunlight shone on the gravelstone scales, dispelling the 'mysterious' silver and restoring color to the eternal scales.
"Haaa—!"
The moment it broke free from the ice, the ancient dragon opened its massive maw and greedily devoured the air.
Its breath was like a hurricane, sweeping up the ice shards and moisture from the snowy ground.
The wind howled. In an instant, a gale raged through the entire room as air was continuously sucked into the dragon's mouth.
Each of the dragon's breaths seemed as if it would swallow the entire world, stirring the air currents. Its craving for oxygen was so intense that the surrounding environment trembled at its revival.
This single breath lasted for several minutes before the ancient dragon was satisfied.
The air filled its lungs, and its heart began to beat vigorously. What a long-forgotten feeling.
The ancient dragon twisted its body, and the ice shattered and broke apart.
It stretched its weary limbs, its four sky-blotting wings unfurling to their full extent, instantly covering more than half of the vast underground space.
The ancient dragon stretched its body in satisfaction, letting the warm sunlight wash over every inch of it. The scorching heat was a stark contrast to the previous cold.
Finally, as the ancient dragon's breathing gradually calmed, the surroundings returned to tranquility.
Bai Shi had been standing on the ancient dragon's head the whole time. Only when it had calmed down from the excitement of being freed did he land in front of it.
The ancient dragon lowered its head, gazing at the human who had rescued it.
A roar of unknown meaning came from its mouth, which after a moment, transformed into somewhat slurred speech.
"Th... thank... thank you."
A muffled voice, difficult to identify as male or female, emerged from the dragon's throat, which had likely not been used for several thousand years.
The great gust of air it exhaled as it spoke tousled Bai Shi's hair.
Bai Shi nodded. It was a good thing this ancient dragon could still communicate normally.
Although ancient dragons had nearly endless lifespans, and such beings generally wouldn't go mad over long periods of time, living a long life outside was completely different from being sealed in ice.
Even a long-lived species would probably find such an experience to be a great trial for their mind.
Bai Shi met the gaze of the newly freed ancient dragon.
"I have many things I want to ask you."
"Since you can speak now, could you answer a few of my questions?"
The ancient dragon nodded gently, then found a comfortable position to lie down.
"Please ask. For my benefactor, I will tell you everything I know."
Bai Shi thought for a moment.
"First, what is your name?"
"My name is Senessax."
"Why were you in this secret chamber of the Nox, and frozen at that? Were you captured and brought here by them?"
Senessax rested her head on one of her claws.
"This... is a long story."
Senessax gritted her teeth, making a grinding sound.
"A long time ago, I was spreading the faith of the ancient dragons in the Nox Dynasty and was active in Nokron for a considerable time."
"The ancient dragon faith did not spread particularly well here. The people here worshipped the moon, which they called the Black Moon."
"Although spreading the faith was not successful, I got along with them quite well later on."
"They were very interested in the physical structure of ancient dragons, and I was quite curious about the various strange life forms they studied."
"So, they paid a price and obtained my help."
"The lightning that wreathes those Silver Tears was taught to them by me."
Bai Shi was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Senessax to have voluntarily helped them with their research at first.
But it wasn't entirely incomprehensible. Long-lived species sometimes thought differently.
Especially when it came to their own kind; rather than clinging to their companions like social creatures, they might prefer to do what they liked until the end of time.
"Then what happened? Why did they lock you up here?"
Senessax recalled the scene, her anger palpable.
"At that time, I was observing their research on the Mimic Tears when a group of strange celestial beings suddenly appeared in Nokron."
"Those celestial beings were very powerful and numerous, and they were causing widespread destruction in Nokron."
Senessax paused.
"I was preparing to leave immediately."
"After all, I was only there to spread the ancient dragon faith; there was no need for me to face life and death with them."
"But all the escape routes were blocked by those bizarre creatures. Even if I forced my way through, it would have been difficult to escape."
"The researchers brought me here with them, saying this was a safe area and that they would also hide here."
"They said the ice and the high concentration of 'mystery' here could maintain a stable state of hibernation, and that once the crisis passed, someone would come and let us out."
"But no one ever came."
"Those Nox people... they all broke their promise."
Senessax didn't describe the process in detail. It was likely an inglorious part of her history she was unwilling to speak of.
Bai Shi raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know if they were lying to you back then, but now they and Nokron have likely been completely destroyed."
Upon hearing that Nokron had been destroyed, Senessax was visibly stunned.
"Nokron was completely destroyed?"
Bai Shi nodded.
"Just as you said, during the invasion of the celestial beings."
"The entire city of Nokron was destroyed. There are probably very few survivors. Now, only ruins remain."
Senessax sighed softly.
She looked back at the group of Numen and Nightfolk who had been frozen in this secret chamber with her.
"What a pity. It was such a powerful dynasty."
Senessax lowered her head in silence, as if in thought.
"May I ask what the situation is like outside now?"
Bai Shi thought for a moment. It seemed difficult to explain the current situation to her.
If Senessax was sealed during the era of Nokron, then the time gap was probably quite long.
"Now..."
"After the destruction of the Nox Dynasty, the Lands Between welcomed the age of the Erdtree."
"Although there was likely a long period between the Nox Dynasty and the Golden Dynasty, I'm not very clear on that part."
"In short, through the changing eras of the Lands Between, the forces of the Erdtree campaigned everywhere."
"They eliminated the Fire Giants on the snowy mountains, made peace with the Carian Royal Family of Liurnia through marriage, went to war with the ancient dragons only to eventually become friends, and defeated the Storm King's forces in Limgrave."
"Finally, Queen Marika revealed the Elden Ring of the Golden Order, and the law of the Erdtree was established across the Lands Between."
With the preface complete, Bai Shi glanced at the bewildered Senessax and continued:
"However, the Golden Dynasty now exists in name only."
"The Elden Ring of the Golden Order has also been shattered, but after a fierce war of Shattering, no victor emerged."
"The Lands Between are now in their darkest hour, with the Shardbearers who hold the fragments of the Ring each ruling their own domain."
Senessax listened with a dazed expression, but she managed to get a general idea of what had happened in the Lands Between.
Clearly, the Erdtree forces were the main players.
Senessax pondered the few factions Bai Shi had mentioned.
She knew about the Fire Giants on the snowy mountains; those fellows had lived in the Lands Between for a very long time.
And the storm forces in Limgrave, she had a faint impression of them as well.
It seemed to be a faction supported by her kin who promoted Dragon Communion and the ancient dragon faith.
They enjoyed spreading various ideas to the humans there, so there were many humans who worshipped dragons in that area.
But the fact that the ancient dragons went to war with the Erdtree forces and eventually became friends seemed somewhat unbelievable to Senessax.
What surprised Senessax was that the ancient dragons had collectively participated in the war as a unified force.
The ancient dragons were actually quite disorganized, especially after their king, Placidusax, was severely wounded.
Ever since they lost Placidusax's leadership, the ancient dragons mostly lived on their own and rarely gathered together.
Could it be...
Senessax became a little excited and hurriedly asked Bai Shi:
"The war against the Erdtree, was it commanded by His Majesty the Dragonlord?"
Bai Shi shook his head.
"Unfortunately."
"As far as I know, that war was initiated by the great ancient dragon Gransax."
"The famous ancient dragons who participated were the siblings Lansseax and Fortissax."
"As for the Dragonlord, he did not appear." Senessax was silent for a moment.
It seemed she couldn't hold out too much hope.
However, since the war was led by the great ancient dragon Gransax and the siblings Lansseax and Fortissax, it was no wonder the ancient dragons would collectively go to war against the Erdtree.
Whether it was the great ancient dragon or the two siblings, they were all powerful existences among the ancient dragons, and their influence was immense, completely different from an ordinary ancient dragon like her.
"It seems that during my slumber, the changes in the Lands Between have been more drastic than I imagined."
"May I ask if you know how much time has passed since the destruction of Nokron?"
Bai Shi shook his head.
"I don't know the exact time."
"Much of the history of the Lands Between has been lost. I only know that a very, very long time has passed."
"But whether it's been thousands or tens of thousands of years, I do not know."
Senessax looked at Bai Shi.
"Speaking of which, I still do not know my benefactor's name."
Bai Shi cleared his throat.
"My name is Bai Shi. I am the Lord of Stormveil who now rules Limgrave and Stormveil."
"And I am also one of the Shardbearers vying for the throne of Elden Lord."
Do you have any plans for what to do next?"
Senessax spoke with some hesitation:
"I... may I go to the surface and see the current situation?"
"To be honest, everything is a complete mess right now."
"If possible, I would also like to visit your Stormveil."
"If you don't mind, please allow me to serve by your side to repay your kindness."
Bai Shi nodded in agreement.
"Of course, you can."
"I would also like to learn about what happened in the Lands Between in the past."
"If you wish, you can also spread the ancient dragon faith within Stormveil."
Senessax lowered her enormous head.
"I am deeply grateful."
Bai Shi patted Senessax's massive, rocky head, a little curious.
"By the way, how did a body as massive as yours get in here?"
Senessax replied:
"We ancient dragons can take human form."
"Of course, it's usually just a temporary transformation."
"Permanently taking human form is a method that ancient dragons rarely choose."
With that said, Senessax stretched out her huge wings.
Only then did Bai Shi see that underneath the wings was resplendent golden flesh.
Senessax wrapped herself in her four wings, and a brilliant light shone from within the wrap.
A stunning figure emerged from it.
Bai Shi was shocked when he saw the figure.
He didn't expect it to be a dragon maiden?
And her looks, was that his Fire Keeper waifu?
Her pale golden hair was tied into a single braid behind her head, swaying gently with her movements.
Her skin was like snow, with an otherworldly luster. The white, sacred priestess robes she wore somehow accentuated her figure, the long skirt clinging tightly to her curves. On her back were four miniature wings and a tail that draped down to the floor.
Bai Shi couldn't help but exclaim: Giant chest ahead, even two-handing it with all my might would be a tough fight!
It had to be said, Senessax's appearance was remarkably similar to the Fire Keeper's, almost as if they were cast from the same mold.
Speaking of which, wasn't this a form of asset reuse?
Only, she wore white robes and had both of her eyes.
Right now, she was looking at Bai Shi with those golden, vertical pupils.
"This is my appearance when I take human form."
"In the past, I used this form to spread the faith everywhere."
"What do you think?"
Bai Shi was quite satisfied. This appearance was very pleasing to the eye.
"This is good."
The only drawback was that Bai Shi's gaze would sometimes uncontrollably drift towards the magnificent chest.
Bai Shi felt he couldn't let this continue. He had a bad feeling that things would go south if this kept up.
Bai Shi could feel that Melina seemed to be right behind him now.
So, Bai Shi looked around.
Under the melting power of the miniature sun, some other creatures were also gradually thawing from the ice.
Among them were various kinds of creatures.
There were Crystal Lizards that Bai Shi had seen before, and giants larger than Trolls, their bodies covered in Crucible horns.
And besides these creatures, there were also many Numen and Nightfolk.
They were probably the researchers Senessax mentioned earlier, who had brought her here.
The fact that they were frozen here themselves suggested that this place might have indeed been a refuge.
Or perhaps, it was a species preservation vault that also served as a temporary refuge.
Unfortunately, it seemed their backup plan had failed. No survivors had come to rescue them.
Even the key had fallen into the hands of the Cuckoos.
Although he didn't know how the Cuckoos had survived in the Eternal City, Bai Shi guessed the key wasn't given to them from the start.
Because of their smaller size, the ice layer covering the Numen and Nightfolk was the thinnest.
Thus, they were quickly freed from it.
But when Bai Shi went to check on their condition, he found that they were no longer breathing.
Senessax looked at these tiny beings who had once lived in the same era as her, feeling a tinge of sadness.
It seemed this freezing technology also had quite severe side effects.
Or perhaps, this wasn't a capability that could preserve living beings for a long time at all.
The reason Senessax had survived was due to the powerful life force she possessed as an ancient dragon.
Bai Shi glanced around, a little troubled.
Many species had thawed out and been released from the ice, but almost none of them were alive.
Corpse after corpse fell to the ground, and Bai Shi hadn't yet figured out how to deal with them.
However, Bai Shi also discovered that not all was lost in this frozen chamber; there were other survivors besides Senessax.
Among the corpses, there was one survivor.
It was an incredibly large giant wolf.
It stood at least three meters tall at the shoulder, its size was exaggeratedly huge. The giant dogs in Caelid would look like little teddies next to it.
Its body clearly showed characteristics of the Crucible.
On its head were four enormous spiral horns, and under its fur grew fine scales. Its entire body had a verdant color, like lapis lazuli.
This giant wolf seemed to be the only other survivor besides Senessax.
But clearly, its life force was not as strong as Senessax's; it was now at its last breath.
After breaking free from the ice, it collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
Bai Shi walked to its side, placed his hand on it, and released the healing power of sunlight.
The giant wolf's condition seemed to improve a little. It finally had some strength and shifted to a prone position on the ground.
It looked at Bai Shi, its eyes seemingly filled with gratitude.
Then, its entire body began to tremble violently.
The muscles in the wolf's abdomen contracted fiercely, and a low, pained growl escaped its mouth.
Bai Shi didn't know what was wrong with it, but it didn't look good.
If he could save it, Bai Shi felt he should. He increased the intensity of the sunlight to help it heal.
Soon, with the giant wolf's continuous effort, a blue-green egg was born from it.
After it was all over, the wolf didn't look at the egg it had laid, but instead gazed at Bai Shi.
In its eyes, Bai Shi saw a pleading look.
Bai Shi nodded at it and picked up the massive egg.
Seeing that Bai Shi seemed to agree, the giant wolf immediately took its last breath and collapsed on the ground.
Bai Shi held the wolf egg, which was half his size, and shook his head.
Although he had picked it up, he had no idea how to raise this thing.
No one had ever told him how to hatch a wolf that was born from an egg.
Bai Shi looked at Senessax. As her 'cellmate', he wondered if she knew anything.
"Senessax, do you know what kind of creature this is?"
Senessax had been standing quietly by Bai Shi's side since a moment ago.
Seeing Bai Shi look at her, she began to wrack her brain for any information about this creature.
"Hmm... I only have a vague impression of this creature. It seems to be a powerful and rare species of wolf."
"It is said that they have a very close origin to the Ancestor Spirits, being similar life forms."
"It seems that their relationship with the Ancestor Spirits is closer than with other wolves."
"However, although they are closely related by blood, they will fight and kill the Ancestor Spirits, competing for the right to become a mystical being that truly controls life and death."
Senessax reached out a hand and stroked the giant egg Bai Shi was holding.
"But I didn't expect its reproduction process to be like this."
"In my memory, it seems a Numen once mentioned to me that the reproduction of this species is very rare."
"It seems that once a new individual is born, the old one will immediately die."
"It is a unique life form where new life emerges from death."
"It is said they will choose someone they approve of to raise the newborn."
"That's all I know, and I can't be sure how much of it is true."
Bai Shi looked at the giant, bluish egg with strange patterns in his arms. It seemed he had no choice but to hatch it.
If it really hatched in the future, maybe he would just call it Shivr. It would save him the trouble of thinking of a name.