A suffocating, ecstatic pleasure and a numbing blur rushed up her spinal nerves directly to her brain's central nervous system. A fatal pleasure, as if her soul was being devoured along with her blood, spread throughout Rin's body. Rin's consciousness gradually dissipated, her pupils dilated and unfocused, and her body involuntarily slumped into Altrouge's embrace.
Through her lifeless pupils, reaching deep into her soul, several crimson soul chains emerged from the endless dark soul space, coiling and binding Rin's soul consciousness. Rin's soul body subconsciously tugged, then followed the chains to see that the other end of the chains binding Rin was wrapped around Altrouge's jade arm, which also came from this space.
Altrouge smiled faintly at Rin. Rin sighed softly, no longer struggling, allowing the thin chains to gradually tighten around her soul, her arms, legs, slender waist, and torso. Her white, jade-like soul body was tightly entwined by the thin chains, like red bamboo snakes, pressing into the surface of her spiritual body.
After the binding was complete, the chains binding her soul began to glow with a crimson spiritual light, and magical energy flowed. A palm-sized, blood-red magic brand was seared just below Rin's soul body's collarbone.
Contract complete!
Altrouge, whose consciousness had returned to her body, smiled genuinely. She gently placed the unconscious Rin onto a smooth, large rock nearby. When Rin had lost sixty percent of her blood and was in a critical state, the delicate, sharp fangs switched from drawing blood to transfusing it. Simply drawing blood was just feeding; transfusing blood was the 980 key to developing blood descendants.
The Dead Apostle's blood, containing the essence of gaia, was once again injected into Rin's body, replenishing the missing blood.
As the Dead Apostle's blood was injected, it merged with Rin's body, which was already mixed with dragon blood—
Boom!
A heartbeat, as if echoing from ancient times, startled the black and white knights and the White Beast guarding nearby! Altrouge, who was transfusing blood to Rin, seemed oblivious, as if she, like Rin, had lost consciousness.
Boom!
It was as if an ancient giant beast that had slept for countless ages was awakening! The dormant ancient heart began to beat again, spanning vast eras.
The White Knight, Finna Blood, nervously drew his rapier. "Should we separate them? The Princess seems to have lost consciousness, and if she continues to transfuse blood unrestrainedly, the Princess will be in danger!"
He was about to act against Rin, but the Black Knight stopped him. "Don't act rashly yet. The contract is complete; this girl cannot do anything to harm the Princess. The blood transfusion itself takes three to five hours. It's not too late to stop after that limit. However, even the Princess's gaia blood couldn't activate it immediately. It seems the dragon blood transplanted into this girl's body is extraordinary, definitely not an ordinary pure dragon species. It's too ancient; even the Princess's gaia blood couldn't awaken it immediately."
Meanwhile, in the depths of Rin's consciousness, she found herself in another world.
A cloudless, blood-red twilight, hills piled with bones, broken swords—Rin was in a battlefield that had come to an end.
The carcasses of giant beasts as large as mountains, and broken battle swords that still shone with light, all proved that this was not a human war—
This was the battlefield of the gods! Rin stood on a hill made of the bones of gods.
Rin, in this consciousness space, roughly understood that this should be the residual memory brought by the awakening of her transplanted dragon blood. Although it felt like she was physically there, it was actually no different from watching a 3D movie; she was merely an observer.
At this moment, all light was suddenly obscured, and the world seemed to plunge into night instantly. Rin looked up at the sky, where a black dragon, like a floating continent, flew from the direction where the setting sun was about to fall, covering the entire sky. Its sky-obscuring wings were laden with the corpses of gods!
From the direction the black dragon flew, illuminated by the blood-red setting sun, Rin also saw the shadow of a fallen tree, covering half the sun.
The black dragon carrying the corpses of the gods, flying over the battlefield, the collapsed World Tree, the ancient battlefield at twilight, Norse mythology—this was—
Ragnarök!
Rin's gaze once again turned to the black dragon circling tens of thousands of meters in the sky. Her transplanted dragon blood must have come from it—
The culprit who gnawed down the World Tree and initiated Ragnarök! The Black Dragon of the End and Despair: Níðhöggr!
The Black Dragon of the End and Despair: Níðhöggr!
Níðhöggr, in Norse mythology, is a black dragon that dwells at the bottom of the world tree, constantly gnawing at its roots. Its name means "Terrible Gnawer" or "Malice."
In Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, it is mentioned that the roots of the world tree are located by the Hvergelmir spring in Niflheim, where Níðhöggr gnaws at the world tree. When the roots of the world tree are completely devoured, "Ragnarök" will arrive.
When "Ragnarök" arrives, Níðhöggr will flap his wings, soaring over the battlefield, laden with the corpses of the gods. Níðhöggr is also one of the very few creatures to survive after "Ragnarök."
Níðhöggr's presence in Norse mythology is not high; his appearances are few and far between. However, even from the few mentions of him, his power is evident!
Firstly, the world tree is not something one can simply gnaw on. What exactly the world tree is remains uninvestigated to this day, but according to biblical legend, the Holy Lance: Longinus, was made from a branch of the world tree. Once pierced, its target would directly melt into pure life origin and return to the root, without even a chance for reincarnation!
The Norse Aesir gods, led by Odin, even though they knew Níðhöggr was gnawing at the world tree, which would eventually lead to Ragnarök, were still unable to stop him. They were completely helpless and chose to prepare for Ragnarök.
The Ragnarök of the Norse gods was the signal for the end of the Age of Gods. Subsequently, numerous terrestrial gods across the entire world successively perished as if by an irresistible trend. The world's mystery could no longer tolerate the presence of gods on Earth. The fundamental reason for such drastic changes in the world's environment was that the world tree had fallen.
The so-called Ragnarök does not refer only to the Norse, but to the entire world! Thus, Níðhöggr is the culprit that ultimately led to the demise of the Age of Gods in the world!
Boom!!!!
The earth trembled violently as the black dragon that ended the Age of Gods plummeted to the ground. Níðhöggr landed a hundred miles away from Rin, like a giant island falling from the sky! His outstretched dragon wings were boundless, and the corpses of the gods hung from them like exhibits. Níðhöggr was displaying his spoils to the entire world—the corpses of all the gods on Earth!
Looking at the boundless black dragon standing majestically on the battlefield of floating divine corpses, Rin couldn't help but feel perplexed, because in Norse mythology, Níðhöggr eventually died. Although he survived Ragnarök, he still died. The records state: Níðhöggr ultimately fell to the earth and died.
That's it... just like that, only the outcome, no process. How could a black dragon capable of burying the gods possibly die of old age? Yet, there is no record whatsoever of who killed him.
Roar, roar, roar...!!!!
Níðhöggr's dragon head roared towards the sky! The earth-shattering dragon roar caused spatial fluctuations!
"Crack! Crack, crack, crack..."
A dense rain-like sound of shattering echoed. The space centered around Níðhöggr cracked into pieces, then burst open into chaotic spatial rifts!
Just a single dragon roar could shatter the spatial barrier!
Along with the spreading dragon roar was a violent mental fluctuation: pride, satisfaction, joy, mixed with infinite helplessness and unwillingness, as if trying to resist something yet being powerless.
After the final dragon roar ceased, Níðhöggr remained in his pose, wings spread, standing upright, roaring at the sky, as if turned into a sculpture, displaying his divine power to the entire world.
At this moment, a gentle breeze swept across the entire battlefield. Both Níðhöggr, roaring at the sky, and the gods floating on the ground, began to decompose like weathered stone statues. Dreamlike dust, carried by the wind, danced across the sky.
Níðhöggr's massive dragon body, trailing black dust like thick smoke, drifted towards the sky. His boundless dragon wings broke off at the root, falling to the ground without a sound, instantly shattering into dust and merging with the heavens.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.