Current Language: English
Read this chapter in:
Traces of Forbidden Power
Ken stood tranquilly near the edge of the fracturing Voidgate Rune formation. His gaze, as flat as the surface of a mirror, pierced the violently swirling freezing mist around him. Before him, the Ancient Ice Dragon Drakthar raised its head high. The Emperor-Tier monster’s eyes blazed blue, resembling cold embers ready to annihilate everything. The dragon’s breath exhaled a rolling ice tempest, as if preparing to swallow the entire courtyard into the belly of eternal winter.
Ken did not blink in the slightest. His eyes reflected the visage of the primordial monster that had been imprisoned by chains and sealing magic for two centuries. Its roars shattered the heavens, its footfalls shook the foundations of the earth, yet Ken’s silhouette stood as immovable as a coastal cliff, as though the apocalyptic rampage was merely a passing breeze.
”Calm yourself, Old Friend,” Ken murmured softly. Yet, the resonance of his voice cleaved through the chaos and echoed with absolute clarity, stunning Diyah, who stood petrified behind him.
”Brother Ken…” Diyah’s voice trembled. Her breath caught in her throat, not purely due to the bone-piercing chill, but because of the absolute gaze radiating from the youth—an absolute dominion she had never witnessed before.
Drakthar roared again. The luminous chains restraining it vibrated violently, groaning on the precipice of destruction. One by one, fresh fractures snaked across the surface of the colossal Rune. Generals Tegra, Hameng, and Lamarr were nearly dragged away; their muscles were forced to their knees, enduring the devastating pull of the primordial beast.
”Lord Ken! Do something immediately!” General Tegra cried out, his voice strained by the burden of the chains that threatened to sever his arms.
Ken turned his head slowly with an innocent visage, his gaze profoundly frigid. “You may release those chains now, Generals,” he stated softly, yet carrying an absolute authority.
”What?!” the three generals exclaimed almost synchronously, their eyes widening in absolute disbelief.
”Yes… your ears do not deceive you. Simply release its restraints, then immediately back away from its reach,” Ken continued with a casual tone, as if unleashing an Emperor-Tier monster was the most mundane occurrence in the realm.
General Lamarr snorted harshly, the veins on his neck bulging as he suppressed his wrath and terror. “You absolute lunatic! Very well, if this monster levels the palace, you alone shall bear the lethal consequences!” Lamarr spat. He released his chain, then turned and sprinted backward without awaiting a response.
You bastard, Lamarr! Coward! General Hameng cursed inwardly, his jaw clenching in fury witnessing his comrade flee at such a critical juncture.
”Very well… we surrender our remaining lives into your hands, Lord Ken,” General Tegra finally stated. His tone was incredibly heavy, saturated with absolute resignation.
Tegra and Hameng released the remaining chains and dispersed the sealing Rune’s vortex. The moment its restraints were unshackled, Drakthar violently flapped its colossal wings. The monster tilted its head back and fired a concentrated beam of pure ice energy into the heavens, piercing the ashen clouds, accompanied by a roar that thundered across every corner of the capital. The sheer pressure of that roar choked the throats of all who witnessed it with sheer horror.
However, amidst the dragon’s euphoria of freedom, Ken merely raised a single hand, projecting a pacifying telepathic signal. Miraculously, the colossal monster halted its rampage. It lowered its head, which was the size of a house, staring directly at Ken. Its feral instincts were instantaneously tamed the moment Ken’s palm grazed the scales upon its forehead with profound gentleness. The atmosphere in the courtyard shifted drastically—the lethal terror evaporated, supplanted by a silence brimming with absolute disbelief.
”Are you famished after your long slumber?” Ken asked tranquilly. He rotated his Spatial Ring, extracting a colossal Star Tree Fruit radiating a heavenly energy luminescence, and offered it toward the ice dragon’s maw.
Every soldier and member of the royal family stood paralyzed. Without utilizing forceful violence or subjugation magic, the youth had successfully tamed a continent-destroying beast with a mere gaze and a peaceful demeanor!
”What… what kind of magic did he just perform?” General Tegra murmured softly, still unable to trust his own eyes.
”Wah… Lord Ken is truly a god! He tamed a monster of that magnitude so effortlessly!” Andin exclaimed from afar, her eyes sparkling with unadulterated awe.
Ken placed several more Star Fruits upon the icy floor. “Here… eat,” he told the dragon. He then stepped back, retrieving a medical Crystal Capsule Tube from his spatial belt, and began weaving a healing formation around it.
The generals could only exchange bewildered glances, their minds flooded with colossal questions.
Ken turned his head toward Diyah. “Princess… bring the Little Prince here.”
Diyah swallowed hard, suppressing the pounding in her chest. “Mm-hmm… understood, Brother Ken,” she replied. She turned to face her mother. “Queen Mother, allow me to carry my little brother there.”
”Yes, Child… tread carefully,” the Queen handed the fragile body of the toddler into Diyah’s embrace with trembling hands.
Diyah’s footsteps felt phenomenally heavy as she approached the center of the courtyard. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a war drum. Her gaze could not tear away from the silhouette of the colossal dragon currently resting tranquilly, chewing on the fruits beside Ken.
”Brother Ken… will… will this creature truly not attack?” she asked hesitantly, her voice dropping to a whisper.
”Yes… it is absolutely safe. Come here,” Ken answered gently, turning to flash a faint, pacifying smile that quelled the maiden’s terrors.
Diyah drew a deep breath. She extended Prince Nakula’s body into Ken’s embrace. With exceedingly cautious movements, Ken removed the infant’s garments and laid him inside the essence liquid filling half of the Crystal Capsule Tube.
While weaving seals upon the tube, Ken glanced at Diyah, who remained frozen in place. “Princess… are you still terrified?” he asked, his tone laced with a hint of teasing.
Diyah could not deny it; she merely offered a small nod.
”Come…” Ken extended his large hand, gently grasping Diyah’s cold fingers, guiding the maiden’s steps until she stood directly before the dragon’s snout. “Touch him. I guarantee, he will not dare to harm a single hair on your head.”
Drakthar slowly lowered its head, snorting softly with a cool exhalation, deliberately lowering itself so Diyah could reach its scales. Diyah drew a long breath, fortifying her courage, then slowly ran her palm over the monster’s crown. The scales felt as hard as diamonds yet radiated a bizarre, life-giving warmth.
Hah… this… am I truly petting a primordial dragon?! Diyah’s soul trembled with awe.
”A-ah… Hello, Big Fellow…” she murmured stiffly, attempting to greet the dragon with an awkward smile. Miraculously, alongside that touch, the dread at the bottom of her heart vanished entirely without a trace.
Seeing his disciple had calmed down, Ken refocused his concentration upon the Crystal Capsule Tube. “Now… it is time I begin dragging the Little Prince back from the gates of death.”
”Mm-hmm… please proceed, Brother Ken,” Diyah stated. She stepped backward slowly, then hurried back to join the security perimeter alongside her family.
Ken stared straight at the King. “Your Majesty… I shall commence the ritual now. I demand one absolute condition: not a single soul is permitted to disrupt this process! If my concentration is severed and this ritual fails… the Prince’s life will absolutely not be salvaged. This is the sole path to salvation, and its probability of success… is merely ten percent.”
King Bawigan drew an incredibly deep breath, swallowing the burden of despair. “Very well. We surrender everything into your hands. Please… save my son,” the King decreed with a hoarse voice. He then turned to face his legions. “Soldiers! Form a full shield barricade! Do not allow even a falling leaf to graze Lord Ken’s perimeter!” the King roared.
”Understood, Your Majesty!” hundreds of vanguard troops answered in unison, slamming their shields into the earth.
”Brother Ken! Rest assured, Kirin and I will stand guard at the vanguard to protect you!” Elisha shouted from afar. The little girl’s visage appeared incredibly resolute, radiating an extraordinary valor.
”Yes… I entrust my back to you, Little Princess,” Ken replied with a fleeting, proud smile.
Ken rotated the valve upon the Capsule Tube, allowing the specialized Spiritual Essence Liquid to completely fill the chamber until the Prince’s tiny body was submerged, appearing as though he had returned to a peaceful slumber within the womb. Once the protective parameters stabilized, Ken turned to the dragon.
”Old Friend… are you ready to pay the price for your freedom?”
The draconian monster stared at Ken, then flapped its wings slowly. Its roar once again shook the earth, but this time it was no roar of fury; it was a declaration of absolute surrender. A beam of blue energy erupted into the heavens from its maw, detonating the last remnants of its power in an exponentially more devastating display. Having expelled the final vestiges of its resistance, Drakthar lowered itself tranquilly, resting its head upon the ice, prepared to surrender everything.
Ken sat cross-legged atop the roof of the Capsule Tube. He chanted a god-tier incantation. A sacred Runic pattern glowing with golden light instantaneously manifested, cleaving the void between himself and the dragon, initiating the siphon of the primordial energy core from the legendary beast. Slowly, the dragon’s life energy flowed, entering Ken’s bodily meridians, where it was processed, channeled, and subsequently pumped into Prince Nakula’s Capsule Tube.
Witnessing this phenomenon of extreme energy transference, General Tegra was profoundly shocked. His eyes widened in absolute horror. “Hah! W-wait a minute…! This flow of magic… isn’t this a Sacrificial Technique?! Your Majesty…?!”
Princess Julia turned her head swiftly, her visage deathly pale. “A Sacrificial Technique?! Royal Father, what kind of lunatic magic is he actually executing?!”
The King remained silent for a heartbeat, squeezing his eyes shut tightly before answering with an exceedingly heavy voice. “From the very beginning… Ken laid bare everything to me. Nakula can only be saved through one absolute method. An ancient alchemical art… one that even Ken himself has never practiced in his entire life. The Sacrificial Technique—Heavenly Physique.”
”Hah?! What are the repercussions of that technique, Royal Father?!” Julia demanded, her panic cresting.
”This technique… demands an utterly ruthless equivalent exchange. Trading one’s own life force and cultivation essence… to manipulate destiny and salvage the life of another,” the King explained, his voice trembling.
”Wh-what?! Are you saying… Brother Ken is attempting to sacrifice his own life to die in my little brother’s stead?!” Diyah shrieked hysterically, her visage instantly turning as pale as parchment.
The King sighed, struggling to hold back his tears. “He assured me… if this ritual reaches flawless perfection, no lives will be lost. However… the absolute limits of Ken’s power and cultivation will undoubtedly plummet drastically, incinerating his vitality, which may require decades to recover. But… the collateral remains his own life should he fail to withstand the torrent of that dragon’s energy. Because the probability of success… is genuinely a mere ten percent.”
A heart-wrenching silence instantaneously swallowed the ranks of the royal family. Everyone stared at Ken’s back, which trembled under the crushing pressure as he continuously concentrated his power atop the tube.
”Hah… Brother Ken! Is there truly no other, safer path, Royal Father?” Elisha whimpered, her tear-filled eyes locked onto her hero.
”There is none, Child…” the King answered, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. “I vehemently forbade this suicidal endeavor. But, do you know what his response was? He merely looked at me and stated… ‘Rest assured, Your Majesty. I am undertaking this lethal risk not because I care for your throne… but purely to fulfill the two sincere wishes of the vow I forged with Elisha.'”
Hearing that, Elisha’s absolute defenses crumbled. The little girl fought to suppress her tears, yet her sobs escaped nonetheless. “Hhh… Brother Ken! Forgive me! Had I known this was the price… I would never have asked for it!” Elisha clenched her tiny fists fiercely, forcefully wiping away her tears. She pivoted her body to face the outer perimeter. “Very well! If a single fly dares to approach and disrupt Brother Ken’s concentration… Kirin and I swear to tear them to shreds! Kirin, Combat Mode!!”
Responding to its master’s iron resolve, Kirin roared savagely. Its mortal shell detonated and expanded, transmuting into its combat form coated in magma armor, standing tall like an absolute fortress of aegis at the vanguard.
At the epicenter of the ritual, the bluish-white energy from the ice dragon began to flow torrentially through the Runic pattern, spreading like a web of electrical currents shocking Ken’s nerves. Gradually, the savage aura of the dragon began to subside. Its colossal body shrank proportionally; the ice fins and steel scales that once thrashed wildly now levitated tranquilly, fading away, as if the primordial entity had discovered its eternal peace within this sacrifice.
Ken drew an incredibly heavy breath, his focus driven one hundred percent into the capsule. The Essence Liquid within began to glow softly. A cosmic blue luminescence enveloped Prince Nakula’s entire tiny frame. Utilizing Ken’s body as the intermediary vessel, the filtered, pure energy from the primordial dragon was injected straight through the prince’s pores, incinerating the poison and forcibly regenerating every single devastated cell.
Little Prince… I possess absolutely zero methods to extract the cursed roots of this poison from within your bones. Therefore… the only path is for me to override and transmute that poisonous miasma, forcing it to mutate into the foundation of your new power, Ken mused, grinding his teeth to endure the excruciating agony as he channeled the energy.
Ken closed his eyes for a moment, regulating his increasingly chaotic circulatory breathing. Cold sweat mingled with blood dripped profusely from his forehead, yet he forced his visage to remain as tranquil as a placid lake. He concentrated the absolute entirety of his remaining meridian capacity, completely siphoning the dragon’s soul essence bone-dry, and pumped it directly into the Little Prince’s heart, leaving not a single drop for himself.
Brother Ken, I beg of you, hold on… I believe with absolute certainty you can shatter this limit. Fight, Brother Ken! Diyah’s soul screamed in agony, clasping her hands together to offer prayers to the creator.
The Ice Dragon Monster finally reached its absolute terminus. Its physical form faded drastically until it became translucent, shrinking until its colossal energy was entirely siphoned into the Runic formation. The entirety of that primordial current had been flawlessly redirected into the Capsule Tube.
Ken lowered his head, his breaths severely ragged, his mortal shell appearing unimaginably frail. His muscles felt as if they had melted; his shoulders sagged. However, amidst the suffering gnawing at his life force, a faint smirk of absolute satisfaction remained etched upon his lips.
Concurrently, a tragic spectacle unveiled itself before everyone’s eyes. Ken’s reddish hair gradually faded from the roots to the tips, instantly mutating into a stark, deathly white—absolute proof that his vitality and lifespan had been completely incinerated by the Heavenly Physique Sacrificial Technique.
The spiritual water within the capsule ceased its churning. The blue luminescence gradually dimmed, signifying that the cosmic energy transplantation ritual had been flawlessly concluded.
General Tegra and Hameng could only stand paralyzed, their jaws hanging open, drowned in a profound concoction of awe and deep sympathy. “Hah… this… is authentic life-exchanging magic… A truly breathtaking sacrifice,” Tegra murmured softly, his eyes incapable of tearing away from Ken’s fragile silhouette.
Ken slowly parted his eyelids, which felt as heavy as lead. His body was exceptionally weak; every microscopic movement felt akin to thousands of daggers slicing into his muscles. He exhaled once more, his chest convulsing slightly—paying the backlash toll from the sheer volume of dragon energy he had just channeled. Despite hovering on the precipice of collapse, Ken’s gaze remained firmly blazing, as if deliberately intending to deceive and assure everyone that his condition was perfectly fine.
The healing fluid within the capsule hissed as it drained into the disposal vents. Thick white vapor billowed, enveloping the crystal glass tube until visibility was obstructed by the mist.
Slowly, the capsule door opened automatically with a soft hydraulic hiss. From behind the curtain of vapor, a young boy stepped out, now possessing the visage of a healthy five-year-old toddler. The child was barefoot, his skin flushed with health, radiating the exceedingly pure luminescence of a newborn life. Not a single trace of the lethal poison remained.
Every pair of eyes widened in sheer disbelief. The sound of stifled gasps swept across every corner of the courtyard.
”Prince… My son…,” the Queen whispered with a voice that was barely audible, tears streaming unstoppably from the corners of her eyes.
The little boy—Prince Nakula—stood tall on his tiny legs. His innocent eyes stared directly at Ken, who remained seated weakly atop the capsule’s roof. Even though he was barely breathing, Ken’s posture continued to exude the absolute authority of a protector.
With an exceptionally clear and endearing childish voice, Nakula tilted his head and asked, “Big Brother… are you alright?” He fell silent for a moment, processing the sacrifice, then flashed an incredibly genuine smile. “Thank you so much… for bringing me back and saving me, Great Big Brother.”
Ken stared at the boy with heavy eyelids, his pale lips curving faintly in response to the smile. “Yes… I am perfectly fine, Prince. But I believe… you should immediately ask your mother to find you some clothes,” Ken answered flatly, his voice hoarse yet maintaining its tranquil cadence.
Nakula furrowed his brow, then looked down at his own body, which was completely bare without a single thread. Instantaneously, the toddler’s visage flushed as red as a boiled tomato.
”Ahh… Motherrrr! Please, where are my clothes?!” he shrieked bashfully, crossing his tiny arms to cover his mortal shell. He then snapped his head toward the ranks of guards and generals staring at him. “Ehh! Don’t any of you Uncles dare step closer and look at me right now!” he exclaimed with innocent, childish flair, causing everyone who had been engulfed in sobs to suddenly fall silent, oscillating between profound confusion and light chuckles that shattered the tension.
Julia shook her head slowly, still feeling as though she were trapped in a dream witnessing her brother’s miraculous transformation. “Heavens… look at him… is this energetic toddler truly our Nakula?” Julia murmured, her eyes incapable of breaking away from admiring the little prince who now radiated absolute vitality.
Ken shifted his body, attempting to descend slowly from the capsule’s roof. Every inch of his movement felt agonizingly torturous. He stepped down unsteadily. His strands of hair, now permanently silver-white, stood as a silent witness to the exorbitant price he had just paid.
Seeing the man nearly collapse, Diyah instantaneously darted forward to intercept him. She supported Ken’s arm and draped the youth’s arm over her shoulder, bearing the weight of Ken’s body with every ounce of her strength.
”Brother Ken… tell me honestly, are you truly alright?” she asked gently, her eyes conveying a concern that pierced to the bottom of her heart.
Ken offered a faint smile to pacify her. “Yes, Diyah… I am merely drained. I simply require a long slumber to restore the remnants of my strength,” he answered curtly, his voice weakening until it nearly resembled the whisper of the wind.
On the other side, the Queen sprinted closer, spreading her warm cloak wide to wrap around Nakula’s tiny frame. She pulled her only son tightly into her chest, tears spilling to soak the prince’s hair, entirely unable to hold them back any longer. “Nakula… oh, my precious Nakula… you have finally returned to Mother…,” she sobbed, overflowing with emotion.
Ken gazed at the spectacle of the reunited happy family for a moment, then struggled to stabilize his breathing. “Your Majesty the Queen, you no longer need to worry,” Ken stated with a tranquil voice, even though his body still trembled slightly from the agony. “The Little Prince is entirely cured. The condition of his meridians, his physical vessel, and his intellect now function flawlessly, perfectly matching a child his age… or perhaps his foundation even vastly eclipses the average. I utilized the absolute entirety of that dragon’s residual power to maximize his bodily potential.”
Hearing that, the Queen immediately released her embrace on Nakula, approached Ken, and hugged the youth without a microscopic sliver of hesitation—just like a mother embracing the sacred hero who had restored her world. “Child… Mother does not know how to ever repay this life debt… Thank you immeasurably… But, what of your own condition? Can your mortal shell truly bear this burden?” the Queen asked, her voice quivering violently, suppressing sobs of profound emotion.
”Discard your anxieties, Queen Mother… I genuinely only need to rest my meridians,” Ken replied, lightly and politely patting the Queen’s back with absolute tranquility.
The Queen nodded in understanding, slowly releasing her embrace. “Very well… return to your pavilion and rest immediately to recover your strength.”
Diyah tightened her grip on Ken’s arm and waist. “Brother Ken, I will not allow you to be alone. Permit me to support you and accompany your rest,” she declared with a tone of absolute finality, her eyes shining with an ironclad resolve that accepted no refusal.
Ken smiled in resignation, leaning a portion of his body weight upon the maiden. “Yes… very well, if you insist.”
With exceedingly slow, staggering steps, Ken and Diyah walked side-by-side, departing the clamor of the courtyard, making their way back toward Ken’s inn pavilion.
Behind them, King Bawigan stood petrified, staring at Ken’s broad back with a gaze overflowing with profound emotion. The voice of the supreme sovereign cracked under a tidal wave of emotions he could no longer dam. “Nakula… you have returned safely… all of these miracles are purely the fruit of your absolute sacrifice, Ken,” he murmured softly, yet its resonance was deep enough to touch the ears of everyone present, compelling every general and soldier in that courtyard to bow their heads in an absolute, respectful silence.
Ken continued walking further away, his shadow stretching long across the frozen marble floor of the palace. The strands of his hair, now permanently silver-white, reflected the twilight—an invisible crown serving as the eternal testament to the colossal sacrifice he had just executed.
And behind the door of the inn chamber that closed softly that evening, a brand-new chapter of life had commenced—no longer concerning the subjugation of ancient dragons, but rather calculating the exorbitant price he had to pay to alter destiny and salvage a single, pure life.