84 Dragon Breath Ring (2/2)

”Yezi, surrender!” Charles screamed. ”Surrender!”

But the room had become soundproof and his voice resonated outside but could not enter the ring. Charles blanched. He turned toward the judge, saying, ”Hey, stop, we surrender…”

But there was no response.

Brian twiddled his thumb as if he had not heard anything at all.

--

”Hey, I think they’re telling you to surrender,” Edmund laughed coldly. ”I’ll give you one last chance. Kneel and apologize for what you did. I’ll let you go.”

”Why do you think that I’ll surrender? Just because you have Dragon Breath Ring?” Ye Qingxuan studied the ring on his finger. ”Listen, Edmund. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You can’t handle that…”

”Haha, scared?” Edmund cackled. ”It’s so rare to see you scared! But sadly, I have to tell you something…” Smirking, he clenched his fist. The Dragon Breath Ring shone faintly with fire. ”You’ve missed your last chance!”

He began chanting quietly. The dancing flames in the black amber grew wild, turning into the head of a dragon roaring soundlessly. Terrifying heat emanated from his ring. Despite his efforts to control it, Edmund’s eyebrows and hair started sizzling from the heat too. The air before the ring started wavering. Catastrophic fire began brewing inside the ring.

Seeing Edmund entirely focused, Ye Qingxuan suddenly spoke up in his hoarse voice, ”Actually, I have something to tell you too.”

Edmund’s head shot up. Ye Qingxuan dug into his pocket and clenched his fist, as if he were pulling something out. Before Edmund’s shocked eyes, Ye Qingxuan slowly opened his hand revealing a small glass bottle. He had shattered the bottle and silver liquid flowed out. It hovered in the air, slowly melting into the aether.

”I know instantaneous runes too.”

--

In the wild rippling of the aether, the mercury on his palm tossed like boiling water before disappearing. Silver light from who-knows-where illuminated their faces. It made Edmund’s face pale too.

Edmund glared angrily at Ye Qingxuan, and sped up his chanting. He would do whatever it took to completely obliterate Ye Qingxuan!

But across from him, a crisp voice sounded. It was like the ticking of a clock’s minute hand.

The pocket watch decorated with two snakes lit up from Ye Qingxuan’s hand. He began chanting quietly, ”All is dark, only the Tree of Life is forever green.” Mysterious light ignited in his eyes.

As if Ye Qingxuan had been pulled out of the shell of his body, his vision started climbing in altitude. He looked down upon the tight space.

Was this the pocket watch’s power? It did not do anything to him, but his communication with the aether was tighter than ever. The aether had become an extension of him. Even the smallest change was reflected in his heart.

He could smell the rotting scent blown in from the underground palace. He could see the beads of sweat on Bai Xi’s cheek. He could touch the carved snake-man’s twisted face. He could hear everyone’s breathing, like wind in the catacombs. It was as if he had returned to that night.

Ye closed his eyes, and the changing rune appeared in his mind again. The ever-changing rune worked in favor of his tenacity, reflecting it like a river. When he sensed the rune, the rune also sensed him. It was an unprecedented connection. Was this the state of instantaneous runes?

Opening his eyes, he chanted, guiding the waiting aether to gather in the front. The mercury in the aether lit up in all directions. The sound of ice cracking came out of thin air. It was the sound of countless aether crashing, changing, and crystallizing. The crystals appeared from out of the air. They bonded with each other and transformed into something solid. They shone with metallic light, solidifying into the object from the youth’s memory.

In the end, the broken pieces fell into their spot with a slight metallic tremor. The mighty matrix had appeared once again in this world.

Outside the ring, everyone held their breath.

Someone murmured, ”What is this?”