Divine Beast Ascension

Chapter 513: Is This Oli?

Half nodding, Zelsh replied, “A dragon skeleton, right?”

“But not just any dragon skeleton...” Eeole teased, wagging his finger. “This belonged to a Glacial Dragon.”

Oli was impressed to hear that. But Zelsh, on the other hand, looked back at the stone with awe in his eyes. Zelsh asked, “... Didn’t those go extinct before-”

“Yes. Glacial Dragons were one of the many species to go extinct during those old, bloody times of my youth. It was only after Dominus took charge that fewer and fewer species stopped disappearing,” Eeole stated, bringing Oli up to speed. “Personally, I wasn’t a friend of the Glacial Dragons. If I’m not mistaken, I think it was Azar that annihilated them in revenge. It was one of the earlier events that cemented Azar’s status as the most feared beast throughout the world.”

“... Was that a common occurrence for Azar?” Oli asked.

Shrugging, Eeole sighed, “Yes, but no... I’ll put it this way. Times were different and morals were darker. Killing was far more frequent during that era than it is now. Back then, without any global structure to maintain some level of order and peace, anyone could do anything so long as they were strong enough. That was the only rule that the world respected. I’m not sure why Azar killed the Glacial Dragons specifically, but he’s hailed as the greatest killer in the world’s history.

“He was known for two achievements before being hidden in history as the Demon Ape. As the god killer, for being the first king to ever kill a god and killing more gods than everyone else in history combined. And as the butcher of dragons, for single-handedly wiping out more than half a dozen dragon clans and serving their meat to any number of guests during victory feasts.”

.....

Both Oli and Zelsh felt their tongues crawl to the back of their mouths, forcing them to remain speechless.

Eeole then added, “As you can guess, Azar held a grudge against dragons. After all, they were the ones that slaughtered his clan in preparation for a grand feast of dragonkind, feasting on their bones and flesh along with other slaughtered ape and mammal clans. So Azar just said he was returning the favor every time he feasted on his slaughtered enemies.”

“Then how did he get along with Dominus, the king of dragons?” questioned Oli.

“Because that title was conferred only after Dominus took over the world. But Dominus wasn’t a part of traditional dragon society,” Eeole gave a quick answer. “To put it simply, Dominus was an outcast among the dragons, a mutant runt they thought would die in exile. Instead, Dominus struggled and struggled to live while never forgetting his own grudge against the majority of dragonkind. Even when Dominus’s dwindling clan was killed and eaten by the other dragons, he didn’t do a thing or shed a single tear. He just laughed and said, ‘Those bastards beat me to it...’. And that’s why they got along so well, both being mutants of their kind and sharing a similar, insurmountable goal.

“Either way, this is a spectacular find!” Eeole returned his attention to the fossil. “I guess I’ll have to make do with bringing this thing back as a new ally, rather than an old enemy.”

Zelsh freaked out and stepped forward, utterly perplexed, “What do you mean ‘bring it back’? You can revive this thing!!?”

“Not exactly. But I can reconstruct the body, given time. Then I’ll just need to find a soul to enliven it,” Eeole stated as if the process was simple.

Oli caught on to what Eeole meant. “Oh... You’ll reincarnate someone else?”

Nodding, Eeole silently reexamined the exposed fossil in exhausting detail. “... Yeah... I’ll have to use most of my remaining resources, but it will be worth it. This should give Oli another powerful companion to grow alongside in the future, and we’ll need as many of those as possible.”

“But I’ve never heard of anything like this. How can-”

“This world doesn’t have the means to pull it off. But who said all of my resources came from this world?” Eeole replied with a question. “Don’t forget, my powers go beyond the knowledge of this world. And I have the means to get what I need without being detected by our enemies.”

A palm-sized black crystal appeared in Eeole’s hand, something entirely foreign to Zelsh and Oli. As Eeole sent a strand of essence into it, tiny veins of deep purple energy lit up at the core of the crystal.

“We’ve found something unexpected but monumentally valuable,” Eeole started speaking as if Zelsh and Oli weren’t there while he continued staring at the fossil. “I’ll need everything necessary to restore a complete Glacial Dragon fossil...

“No, I have enough left for one more soul. I just need materials for the body. Also, I’ll restore it to a younger form so we don’t need so much...

“Great...

“That’s okay. We have a little more than nine moons till the exhibition, so I won’t be able to start until then anyway...

“That’s perfect. Is there anything else you need from me?”

Oli and Zelsh were left without any context or explanation. All they could infer was that Eeole was somehow communicating with someone far, far away, someone likely off-world.

“... Oh yeah. This time we’ll be successful. We’re a bit ahead of schedule actually,” continued Eeole.

“... Yes. He’s the best one by far... You- ... Okay. I’ll pass him the contact crystal.”

Smiling and laughing, Eeole walked over to Oli and held out the strange crystal. “Here. He wants to speak with you.”

“Me? ... Who wants to?”

“Go on. Take it. It won’t hurt you or anything.”

Oli hesitated but accepted the crystal.

“... Go ahead, Oli. You can talk,” jested Eeole.

“... Hello?”

“Is this Oli?” an unknown voice clearly reverberated through Oli’s mind.

Oli replied, “Yes...”

“It’s a pleasure to finally speak with you. I’m Dominus, the man who proposed our partnership with Eeole acting as my proxy.

“I-I... WHAT!!?” Oli shouted, almost tripping over his feet and dropping the crystal in shock.