My Dragon King System-Chapter 362: Prelude To The HolyGrail War (II): A City Of Shadows

Chapter 362: Prelude To The HolyGrail War (II): A City Of Shadows

The field had gone quiet in the way large crowds go quiet when someone important is still speaking.

Adam had finished his address to the champions of all eight continents. He had just laid out the rules of the engagement and the structure.

What remained now was the matter of transport as the Holy Grail War would not be fought on any ground belonging to this world. The gods had prepared a separate dimension for it entirely.

Adam tilted his head back toward Thera, who hovered just behind him. "Will the King of Dragons or his family not be joining us?"

He did not phrase it as a complaint. But the event had been hosted at this Dragon King’s request, and beginning without him felt like an oversight worth clarifying.

Thera leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I have no idea, Father. We’ve received no word from them."

Adam nodded and was about to turn back when the sky answered the question on their behalf. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The roar came first, rolling across the heavens like thunder, and then the dragons appeared, descending in formation from above with their wings spread wide.

They were enormous and as they dropped lower, the sight of them coming down all at once was the kind of thing that removed the ability to speak from most people who witnessed it.

The champions below did not hold formation. Murmurs broke out across every continental block as people pressed backward or shifted away. More than a few trembled outright.

Katherine’s dragon descended toward the Valaross line, lowering just enough for her and Piers to leap clear.

They dropped and landed cleanly within Dragonhold’s section. Their arrival was undisturbed, as the surrounding warriors gave them enough space to touch down.

Innis, Rin, and Aeris came down just after, each dismounting with so much ease and flare.

At the sight of Innis, Kayden’s heart skipped a beat, forcing him to turn away.

Oberon watched from his position with a smile forming on his face the moment he saw Katherine land among Dragonhold’s line.

This meant that she had made her choice to represent Dragonhold instead.

Across the Valaross line, at Zahka’s section, Selene saw it too. She had this disappointed smile on her face as she shook her head.

The dragons that had carried their riders settled at a far corner near the gates, folding their wings as they touched down and releasing one last roar each before going still.

Laela and Arianna had not descended with the others.

With Tristan secured in the strap across Laela’s back and Andrea nestled against Arianna’s side, both women floated upward from the backs of their dragons, which had just landed, rising steadily toward where the gods were gathered in the air.

Uriel had also just circled in nearby.

Laela drew near to Adam and inclined her head slightly. "I’m sorry All-father. Aiden may be running a little late."

Adam looked at her for a moment, then nodded in understanding without pressing further.

Laela then turned and drifted back to where Arianna and Uriel waited. The three of them took up a quiet position alongside the other gods still hovering at an elevated point midair.

Adam turned back to the assembled champions below and then glanced to his other side.

"Umgadi."

She gave a nod and moved forward, hovering out over the crowd below before addressing them in a voice that carried the full length of the field.

"Everyone, please prepare yourselves. We will be leaving now."

The champions who had scattered slightly during the dragons’ arrival moved quickly back into their positions.

The Archon stretched one hand downward, and a vast light-blue magic circle formed beneath the feet of those assembled.

It was large enough to encompass every champion standing upon it at once. A glow surged through the intricate lines of the formation.

Instantly every champion on the ground vanished in flashes of blue light

——

Back In The Universe Of Shadows...

The street was wide in both directions, lined with what could only be described as city blocks built entirely from darkness. There were even shadow vehicles moving steadily along the tarred road

Shadow people walked the pavements in every direction. Some were in pairs. Some alone. There were also street lights given up a purple glow to the whole scene.

This was literally a busy city area made of things and people who were shadows.

Aiden walked beside Lord Shadow with his eyes moving slowly from one side of the street to the other. The tarred roads and the vehicles were not part of what he’d ever imagine.

Lord Shadow raised a hand in acknowledgment toward a pair of shadow figures who waved at him from across the street. They waved back immediately and continued on their way.

"I will ask this, Lord Shadow," Aiden said, keeping his eyes forward as they walked. "Why are you helping the Seventh Universe?"

"Do not mistake this for help, False Ruler." Lord Shadow said. "I merely owe an old friend a favor."

"The one before me?" Aiden followed.

Lord Shadow then stopped walking. He turned to look at Aiden with a frown, held it for a moment, then exhaled slowly.

"Make no mistake, Usurper. I agree with the others on one thing. I do not see you as one of us. As a Ruler, No. You became what you are by chance, nothing more."

Aiden scoffed and turned to face him. He had already reached that conclusion long before this conversation, given how many times Lord Shadow had called him Usurper or False Ruler since he arrived.

"I do not care for the acknowledgement, Lord Shadow," Aiden said. "My family and the people of my world. That is all I care for."

"Hm." Lord Shadow turned and continued walking.

Aiden fell into step beside him again.

"There is nothing I would possibly gain from your universe that I do not already have," Lord Shadow continued. "But for the others, it is a different matter."

He clasped his hands behind his back as they walked.

"When the others became Rulers, most of that power went into the creation of the universes they govern. They built worlds. Entire civilizations and powerful sentient life forms."

He paused briefly. "Do you know the Ruler of the Third Universe went on to split himself into a fat fellow with six hands and an ape?"

Lord Shadow stopped walking again, this time to sigh at the memory with what could only be described as genuine exhaustion before moving again.

"By doing all of these things, splitting themselves, creating new life, the other Rulers drained the overwhelming majority of their energy. And none of them has ever returned to what they truly once were."

He let that sit for a moment, before adding;

"Which is why they want the vacant universe. Any Ruler who absorbs its energy would return to what they once were."​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Aiden didn’t seem surprised hearing any of that. He turned toward the crowd of shadow persons moving past them along the pavement and said, "It seems you were the only one who took a different path."

He gestured forward at the street filled with shadow people.

"The shadow people, this entire world. They are all figments of your power. An extension of you as a whole."

Lord Shadow grinned. "Precisely. I am not governed by the same level of irrationality as the others. Why create sentient life forms that offer you nothing in return?"