The wind over the Grasslands had changed. It no longer carried the scent of dust and wild reeds.
Kiaria walked back to his quarters after meeting the Elder. His steps were slow, deliberate, his thoughts heavy. The words "You are our heir" still echoed through his mind.
He closed the tent's flap behind him and exhaled. The space was dim, lit by a single spirit lantern. Diala's fox cub slept curled on the rug. For a long time, Kiaria just stood there, the ring on his finger glinting faintly in the quiet.
"Grandfathers," he whispered within his consciousness, "I have something to show you."
Within his spiritual sea, ripples spread like golden ink across the water. Two immense shadows coiled within the mist–golden and azure dragons.
"You've summoned us," said the Azure Dragon, his voice calm as the tide.
Kiaria raised his hand. Between his palms, two orbs of faint light materialized–the Twin Dragon Pearls. "These… maybe what you meant."
The dragons' eyes widened. Their auras pulsed with recognition.
[Twin Dragon Pearls…]
The Golden Dragon's deep voice resonated through the space. "You already possess them. Hah! Fate truly has chosen you. Let me see your core."
A warm surge of power extended from the dragon's gaze into Kiaria's abdomen. The spiritual core within him flared like a galaxy.
[Impressive…] murmured the Azure Dragon. "The cauldron chose well. This vessel is boundless. A mortal body with this kind of resilience is rare even among those old ones."
Golden Dragon nodded. "Do you know what dwells within those pearls, child?"
Kiaria shook his head.
"There was something more than our memories in it," the Azure Dragon continued. "When we sealed the meteor and sacrificed ourselves, our spiritual cores–the essence of our lives–merged into these pearls. They carry our spiritual energy and blood essence. Once refined, they will awaken cauldron's true form–and remake your body into something far beyond human."
Golden Dragon's gaze softened slightly. "If you are ready, we will guide you."
Kiaria opened his eyes, heart racing. He rose from his mat and called softly, "Diala."
She peeked in. "You called?"
"I need to cultivate," he said. "Ask Chief Staley where the Imperial Sanctum is. I'll need a chamber there."
Within minutes, Staley himself appeared at the entrance, wiping his hands. "Imperial Sanctum? You've got something big planned, haven't you?" His tone was half amusement, half concern.
Kiaria smiled faintly. "Something like that."
"Follow me," said Staley, his grin fading into seriousness.
They walked toward the central heart of the Grasslands, where ancient stone towers coiled like serpents beneath the soil. At the Sanctum's entrance, he handed Kiaria a glowing jade token. "Seventh floor down. That one's yours. And… be careful."
Kiaria nodded. "Thank you, Chief."
The door to the chamber opened with a whisper of light.
He stepped inside–the air dense with sacred energy of the fallen Immortal. The walls shimmered with layered runes; six arrays glowed softly on the floor, their sigils pulsing like heartbeats. Two major formations spiraled in the ceiling, weaving endless loops of containment.
"This will do," he murmured.
He sat cross-legged on the center cushion, placing one Dragon Pearl in each hand. Room concealed itself by the token.
Inside his sea of consciousness, the Twin Dragon Pearls floated. The Azure and Golden Dragons appeared once more, their forms immense, circling around the Coiled Twin Dragon Cauldron.
"Step inside the cauldron," the Azure Dragon instructed.
Kiaria climbed in without hesitation. The surface was cold at first–but warmth spread immediately, wrapping around him like molten silk. The space inside the cauldron was unimaginable. Walls are not visible within the cauldron space.
The pearls began to orbit his body.
Golden Dragon roared softly, and from his maw erupted a stream of Flame Essence–pure, radiant, untamed. The Azure Dragon followed, his fire cooler, azure-white, harmonizing with its twin. Together, they forged a spiral of divine heat that engulfed the cauldron.
The Twin Pearls glowed brighter and brighter, melting slowly, until their liquid essence seeped into the cauldron's metal. Then it sank into Kiaria's body.
Pain followed.
It wasn't like fire–it was like being rewritten. His blood screamed. His nerves burned. Every breath came with the taste of pain. Golden light poured from his skin pores, and blood drops trickled from his nose and ears.
He clenched his teeth, refusing to collapse. One day passed. Only one-third of the pearls were refined.
When he opened his eyes, the pain had receded–but something had changed.
He looked younger–his body lean but radiant, his skin glowing faintly with golden hue. Behind his left ear, a golden dragon mark coiled. Behind his right, an azure dragon shimmered faintly like mist.
Outside, Diala gasped when he emerged. "Your ears… they have dragons!"
Kiaria smiled weakly. "It's fine. I'm still me. Just age turned to five."
She didn't scold him this time. She knew. The two beings watching over him were beyond comprehension–and he was under their protection.
The dragons' voices echoed faintly through the tattoos behind his ears.
[Rest for now. The refinement continues later.]
He slept for half a day.
When he woke, the dragons' command returned, firm but calm.
[Now test your mortal limits. Carry weight upon your back–run three laps to the mountain and back. No techniques, no spiritual energy, no food.]
"What? That's easy. I can do it within the night comes." Kiaria muttered aloud.
He obeyed.
He carried two massive stones in a bag on his shoulders and began to run across the uneven terrain of the Grasslands. At first, confidence carried him forward. The wind rushed past; the earth thudded beneath his feet.
After a few minutes, his muscles screamed. His vision blurred. The stones felt heavier with every breath. Sweat poured down his face. He stumbled, fell to his knees.
Staley and Ellein, watching from afar, ran toward him. "Kid! You'll kill yourself!"
Kiaria could barely hear them–only the pounding of his own heart. The world rang with buzzing silence. He rested for a moment, then forced himself up again.
He tried again, slower this time. Walk, run, rest, repeat. He didn't choose an easier path–he still faced the steepest peak.
By the third lap, his legs shook uncontrollably. His throat burned with dryness. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything for days, yet he didn't starve. The liquid essence from the pearls nourished him from within, like invisible veins of sunlight sustaining life.
Five days passed.
By the fifth dawn, Kiaria no longer stumbled. His breath was calm, his steps lighter. The pain no longer controlled him–he controlled it.
Deep within his consciousness, the Dragons watched from afar.
"He has adapted," murmured the Azure Dragon. "His mortal vessel now harmonizes with the pearl's rhythm."
"Then the final refinement begins," said the Golden Dragon.
The tattoos behind Kiaria's ears glowed faintly.
[Return to the Sanctum, child. The cauldron awaits.]
Inside the sanctum chamber, he once again took his seat within the cauldron.
Seven days passed within.
Each hour burned away the mortal frailty in his body.
On the seventh day, the cauldron blazed like a miniature sun. The melted essence coiled through him, nurtured his spiritual core, shaping his bones, sharpening his senses, hardening his skin, additionally scales shimmered faintly on his forearms like gloves.
When he stepped out of the cauldron, his reflection stared back–no longer that of a boy. He looked older, his bearing regal. His eyes gleamed gold and blue, his attire transformed into a robe interwoven with draconic seal. His aura rippled like an emperor's.
The Golden Dragon's voice resounded proudly.
[You have achieved the Immortal Dragon Body.]
The Azure Dragon's voice followed.
[Now complete the binding.]
They instructed him to pierce his thumb. Two drops of blood–one for each dragon mouth on the cauldron's surface. He obeyed, pressing his bleeding hand to the metal. Then came the final order.
[Strike the emerald at the cauldron's heart until it glows molten red.]
He drew his fist back and struck. Once. Twice. Again.
Each impact thundered like storm against mountain.
The emerald deep within the cauldron glowed–first faint, then bright, then red hot.
The cauldron trembled. Kiaria stepped back.
Suddenly, gray smoke poured from its mouth–dense and corrosive. The air turned bitter; the light dimmed. The smoke clung to the ground, crawling upward like sentient fog.
"What is this?" Kiaria gasped, covering his mouth. The smoke touched his skin–and pain exploded across his nerves. His body began to corrode; his veins flared open.
Within his consciousness, the dragons' roars split the silence.
[Hold on!]
Their massive forms materialized around him. Both unleashed torrents of flame essence–not to burn him, but for condensing.
The twin flames collided over the cauldron, sealing its eruption. Within the inferno, the smoke condensed, hardened, and finally–shimmered.
When the flame faded, a new pearl hovered above the emerald. Gray and silver intertwined, its surface reflecting both dragons' power.
The Golden Dragon's eyes softened. "It is done. The impurity has been refined."
The Azure Dragon nodded solemnly. "We have tempered corruption into essence–chaos into creation. This pearl will serve as the heart of the cauldron. It bears our legacy."
The new pearl drifted downward, merging seamlessly with the emerald at the cauldron's center. The metal around it reshaped itself, carving a seal that mirrored the dragons' coiling forms.
Light burst across the spiritual sea. A Dragon Seal imprinted itself on the back of Kiaria's robe, its shape glowing faintly before sinking into his skin.
At that moment, the divine robe gifted by the Emperor within Kiaria's spatial ring resonated violently. It flew out on its own, merging with the seal and wrapping around him in layers of light. The fabrics fused–divine and draconic energy overlapping until they melted into his very flesh.
Kiaria screamed as the pain surged through him again. His body trembled, the last traces of mortality burning away.
But then–silence.
Grey-Black Divine Silk robe with draconic patterns. Azure dragon scales embedded in the chest and back, golden dragon scales designed the edges.
The cauldron's light faded to a steady glow. The dragons' colossal forms dissolved into mist, their voices echoing gently one last time.
[You have done well, Dragon Heir.]
The spiritual sea stilled.
In its center, the Coiled Twin Dragon Cauldron floated in serenity, gold and azure light coiling around it like living streams.
Kiaria stood within the silence, his pulse calm, his breath slow. The pain was gone. In its place was strength–immeasurable, ancient, calm. He placed cauldron in one of his floating island.
He bowed deeply towards Dragon Emperors. "Thank you, Grandfathers."
Outside the sanctum, the dawn broke over the Grasslands.
From the horizon, twin beams of gold and blue light shot upward into the sky, merging for a heartbeat–then vanishing.
And deep within the seventh floor of the Imperial Sanctum, the boy who conquered Dragon Cauldron and pearls sighed out by thinking exhausting refining.