Chapter 3: The Oracle’s Revelation

Theodore glanced at Theresia, now completely buried in the sand beneath the old man’s feet. He then looked at the old man himself.

Deciding to back down, he spoke respectfully, “Patriarch, you’ve arrived.”

With these words, Theodore stepped forward and helped the muscular old man dismount from Theresia’s back.

“Calling me ‘Patriarch’ already? You’re quite astute.”

This formidable old man, with his robust physique, fierce disposition, and power seemingly at the apex of this world, was indeed the leader of the entire Dragon Race—and Theresia’s greatest adversary.

“Come, come, let me see how well you’ve developed.”

The Patriarch then began to thoroughly examine Theodore, patting him up and down.

Freed from the Patriarch’s oppressive hold, Theresia burst from the sand, her face contorted in fury.

Her massive dragon claw shot out without hesitation, striking towards the Patriarch. “You old fossil, what are you doing to my Theodore? You’ll leave him with deep psychological trauma!”

“Don’t interrupt me while I’m giving this boy a physical!” The Patriarch clenched his fist, swinging his muscular arm to meet Theresia’s colossal dragon claw with a resounding crash.

His figure appeared minuscule, yet Theresia’s attack failed to move the Patriarch an inch.

The powerful gust generated by their collision nearly sent Theodore flying. Fortunately, the Patriarch still held onto him with his other hand.

“Off you go!”

The Patriarch bellowed, catching the terrifying claw with one hand. He then spun Theresia around twice by her claw before flinging her towards the distant sea.

Pulled by an irresistible force, Theresia could only watch helplessly as the island dwindled in her sight. With her last vestiges of strength, she roared out her defiance and stubbornness: “I’ll be back!”

****

“The troublesome fellow is finally gone. It’s been a year, and it seems you haven’t slacked off on your training.”

After confirming that Theodore’s bones and muscles were as robust as he had hoped, the Patriarch nodded in satisfaction. He patted Theodore’s shoulder and asked, “So? Are you confident you’ll pass the upcoming trial?”

“Uh, probably,” Theodore replied, sounding uncertain.

“‘Probably’? How can you say ‘probably’?” the Patriarch said, clearly displeased. “This matter cannot be taken lightly; your life is at stake. That’s a black dragon we’re talking about—you have no idea how vigorous they can be.”

Completely missing the Patriarch’s underlying meaning, Theodore said helplessly, “The problem is, Theresia only told me there’s a very important and dangerous trial, but she won’t tell me its content. I’ve just been diligently training as you and Theresia instructed. Now you ask if I’m confident? How am I supposed to answer that?”

The Patriarch’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Only three days left, and she still hasn’t told you anything?”

Theodore shook his head. “No.”

“How dramatic!” The Patriarch sighed deeply, then prepared to reveal the truth to Theodore.

“Actually, what you need to do is quite simple: you just have to—”

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed from the sky. “Taste my Palm from the Heavens!”

The Patriarch and Theodore simultaneously looked up, spotting a black silhouette rapidly growing larger as it descended from afar.

Immediately after, a colossal dragon’s palm slammed down towards the Patriarch.

This time, Theodore wasn’t lucky enough to remain in place. The powerful airflow propelled him into the sky, where he soared for a moment before descending in a parabolic arc into the rainforest behind them.

Meanwhile, Theresia and the Patriarch entered a brief standoff.

“You old geezer, always running your mouth when I’m not around! Is it because you’re about to kick the bucket that you’ve become so sentimental? Just lie down and die! The Dragon Island always produces new talents, each reigning for four hundred years. The coming era of Dragon Island belongs to the great Black Dragon King, Theresia!”

The Patriarch assumed a horse stance, propping up the colossal object above his head with both hands. He shouted, “Heh heh, this little thing just doesn’t know its place. You’re calling yourself a King just because you’re the last black dragon? It’s understandable for youngsters to want to make a name for themselves, but first, go lay a few dragon eggs!”

Boom!

The clear skies over the island instantly turned dark, filled with ominous clouds and raging thunder.

Hearing the roar from the heavens above, Theresia broke out in a cold sweat and cried out, “You rotten old man, you’re not playing fair! We were supposed to be brawling… Aaaah!”

A massive lightning bolt struck from the sky, engulfing Theresia entirely.

As the white light dissipated, the electrocuted Theresia lay twitching on the ground.

The Patriarch showed no sign of tenderness. He nudged Theresia with his foot. “Stop playing dead. Why haven’t you told that boy what you plan for him? Is this supposed to be a surprise? Don’t let it turn into a fright.”

“Of course I haven’t told him! I’m approaching this ritual with an absolute determination to win!”

Theresia’s massive black dragon form rapidly shrank, transforming back into her human shape, appearing even more unconventional. Her typically flowing black hair now stood upright, like the quills of a hedgehog.

However, Theresia paid it no mind. She pulled out a massive, ancient, and weighty tome, slamming it heavily before the Patriarch. “Look! This is the research record compiled by our Dragon Ancestors. To overcome the Dragon God’s curse, they spent countless days and nights, poured in endless effort and wisdom, and never ceased their research until their very last breath!”

“I have inherited their legacy and made thorough preparations! I am not alone! Behind me stand countless dragon heroes unwilling to submit to the Dragon God’s curse! My chances of successfully passing this trial are at least ninety-nine point nine percent!”

The Patriarch did not reply. Instead, he quietly began flipping through the so-called research record. After a long moment, he looked at the triumphant Theresia and asked, “Can you tell me where those ancestors, who are now enjoying their wives, children, and warm beds, gave you such delusional confidence?”

Theresia erupted in fury. “What wives, children, and warm beds?! Don’t insult my idols! They fought against the curse until their last breath! Do you know what a ‘legacy’ means? It’s an ambition left unfulfilled at the moment of death. Perhaps their graves are now as large as an island…”

Before Theresia could finish her torrent of imagined tales, the Patriarch snapped his fingers, and a massive magical projection appeared before the two dragons.

The image showed an adult White Dragon and an adult Green Dragon in an affectionate embrace, with a lively cluster of young dragons at their feet—a truly warm and harmonious scene.

“Who are they?” Theresia asked suspiciously.

The Patriarch pointed to two dragon names on the list of authors at the very end of the book. “There, those two. Oh, by the way, they recorded their failure experiences in the book, on pages 89 and 106, respectively.”

Theresia, utterly bewildered, flipped open to page 89, skimmed through it, then quickly turned to page 106.

Indeed, those were the names. ‘No, how is this old man more familiar with this than she is?! And!’

“They’re still alive?”

The Patriarch nodded matter-of-factly. “Didn’t you see all the children? They were initially distraught, but then they heard about the tribe’s foster care policy, along with island allocation, treasure distribution, and a ten-year paid leave.”

“Now they’re in a cycle of giving birth, then vacationing, then striving to give birth again. Alas, how decadent.”

“No, their final conclusions were so tragic!” Theresia asked, incredulous. “They sounded as if they were about to perish, saying that their successors must not forget their sacrifices, to shed blood and guts, to forge the Dragon Race’s unyielding path of resistance with their blood and backbone. Old man, it’s fake, right? You’re lying to me, right?!”

“Why would I lie about that? Everyone knows I don’t lie. You can just go see for yourself, if you want.” With that, the Patriarch inexplicably produced a thick notebook. “I even have the current home addresses of your ‘martyrs’. But if you visit, don’t forget to bring their children some gifts.”

“As for those grand words, well, writing them down doesn’t kill a dragon. It can even fool the younger dragons and give them a boost. Besides, don’t you always say things like ‘marriage is the grave of love’?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. They entered the grave; it’s just that dragons have thick skin, so they’re living quite well.”

*Whoosh!* Theresia’s faith collapsed, and in a fit of rage, she incinerated the ‘Ancestral Legacy’ into ashes with a blast of dragon fire.

“A bunch of traitors to the revolution! Once I succeed, I’ll kill all of you!”

“Honestly, young ones just have too much fire.” The Patriarch shook his head, then pulled out another book identical to Theresia’s.

“Here, keep this one safe this time.”

“How do you have one?!” Theresia asked, utterly bewildered. “Shouldn’t this be classified?”

“It is classified, which is why it’s been passed down through your stubborn lot,” the Patriarch said softly. “But truthfully, most dragons don’t value the transmission of knowledge much, so I’ve always been responsible for keeping these. Oh, and distributing them too.”

“You’re the Oracle!”

Theresia felt a wave of dizziness. The Oracle was the guide for these rebels, usually elusive, appearing only when an unyielding soul rose to defy the Dragon Race’s curse. The Oracle would then place the ‘Dragon Ancestral Legacy’ by their pillow.

The ‘Dragon Ancestral Legacy’ had suddenly appeared by Theresia’s bedside on her 100th birthday night, without any warning. The heavy tome, carrying a heavy responsibility, had materialized in her dragon’s nest. And the description of the Oracle above was precisely what was written on the book’s first page!

As Theresia stared in shock, the Patriarch continued, “Surprised, aren’t you? This so-called ‘Dragon Ancestral Legacy’ was my idea. I originally thought it would stop you from doing anything reckless, a way for you to vent.”

“It was also meant to make you stubborn dragons abandon unrealistic notions, but instead, it became your legacy of resistance. Let me be clear, the words on the first page weren’t written by me. The first dragon to write a ‘Dragon Ancestral Legacy’ heard my plan and suddenly went mad, writing that passage.”

“I thought it was absurd, but they thought it was cool and threatened me with their life not to delete it. You know, I’m a Patriarch who values their kin. An individual dragon’s reputation is insignificant compared to a living dragon’s life. Of course, I’m also an open-minded Patriarch, so I freely helped you engrave many copies.”

“If you accidentally destroy it again, you can always ask me for another. I haven’t added or removed a single thing from the content; it’s all written by your predecessors. Not one word has been changed. I swear by the Dragon God that everything I’ve said is true.”

The Dragon Patriarch patted Theresia’s shoulder, a warm smile gracing his lips.

Yet, in Theresia’s eyes, that smile appeared terrifying.

To kill a dragon, one must destroy their heart!

To kill a dragon, one must destroy their heart!!