A silence had permeated the air at the death of the king. Even the unruly dragons were silent at the death of their king. It was an outcome no one could've predicted, yet Meera should've seen it coming. Ignis had said that he did not wish to do this.

Tigris looked at his brother as if nothing else mattered in the world. She could tell what was going through him. He wished to take it all back. To go back and exchange places with him. That is what she would've wished for, had she been in his place.

In a way, Meera felt responsible as well. After all, she was the one who needed an archdragon, and she had come here knowing full well that this would happen. But it still made her realize that her search for her brother was exacting a great cost, not just for her.

Finally, Tigris heaved a sigh. "Now, I must eat his heart…"

He said it more as a statement than a question, but Meera still answered. "Yes… I'm sorry."

He looked at her, and for a moment, Meera thought he was going to attack, but he didn't say anything and turned to his brother. He touched his forehead to his and readied himself with a deep breath.

His claws glowed red-hot. Meera moved back, and the heat was unbearable. She could only imagine what getting stabbed by them would be like.

Tigris plunged the claws into Ignis's chest. The smell of burning meat filled the air as smoke fizzled out of the dead dragon's chest. With a strong yank, Tigris ripped his brother's heart out of his chest. He stared at it a moment, then took a bite, then another, and another.

With a start, Meera realized that Ignis would blow up soon. That was what usually happened when a dragon died, and given Ignis's size, he would create a massive crater.

She was about to fly away when something dawned on her.

Please work.

She had merged the two skills, but the new skill had retained the effects of both. Meera flew down to touch Ignis, but she remembered that Dara had never touched the animals he had reanimated. She was about to activate The Great Renewal to resurrect the dead king when she noticed something. Mana still swirled around him. At first, she thought it was just the raw essence that was leaking out into the air, as it usually did when someone died. This meant there was a part of him that was still alive, but his life was ebbing fast.

Maybe I can regrow his heart, but I need to work fast.

She prayed that the goddess Vashira would consider dragons part of nature, not something akin to humans, given their intelligence.

For a haltingly long moment, nothing happened. Ignis's eyes stayed glassy, his wounds didn't seal themselves, and the blood kept dripping from his many wounds.

All the while, Tigris kept gorging on his brother's heart.

Then she heard it. It was more like she felt it. The last drop of blood that dripped from Ignis's chest. It made a resounding sound, even against the noise of the world.

Then the blood started to reverse, slow at first, but it was there. No one else noticed. Meera wanted to shout in excitement, but she didn't want to interrupt whatever she was doing. She poured her Mana into the skill, hoping to speed up the process, as Tigris was nearly done with the heart, and then she would have to bless him.

The dragons had started roaring and spewing flames, not knowing why Tigris was doing this or why Meera was allowed to stand so close to their dead king. Some had even taken to the air, but they didn't dare interrupt their new king.

"Girl, it's done," Tigris said.

Fuck! Meera cursed inwardly, but there was no two ways about it. She kept her healing skill on full blast while she flew to Tigris and hoped he wouldn't swat her out of the sky for what she was about to do next.

She flew to his forehead while taking out her Level 3 chakram. Even the dragon's eyes widened at seeing the glowing chakram.

"Don't worry, I won't harm you with this," Meera said. "But it might sting a little."

She made a small cut on her palm with her chakram. She had to force her chakram to do this, as they couldn't hurt her otherwise. Then she made a small cut on Tigris's forehead. The dragon didn't react at all.

She drew a deep sigh, as the next part was the hardest. For if she failed, then Tigris wouldn't even give her enough time to resurrect her brother.

She drew a deep breath and hoped she didn't get the incantation wrong.

"I, Ascendant Meera Singh, bless the dragon Recstrakh with my blood. Mortal no longer, cast off your ashen scales. Destiny itself has whispered your name. Through wrath and ruin, divinity is won. Rise, Archdragon Tigris Granbreath, born of flame and sun."

Contrary to what she had thought, the words took hold immediately.

There was a tremor that rippled through the air, originating from where Meera was touching his forehead. She was almost blasted away. She controlled her fall and glided down to Ignis's chest.

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Tigris cried out, clutching his head. He backpedalled, crying out, as his form began to glow, mirroring the sun's glow, which was peaking above the horizon. Something fell off Tigris's body, and Meera was sure it was his charred scales. They turned to ash before they even hit the ground. That was not all; he was growing in size with each breath. That was to be expected; all the archdragons she had seen so far were the size of small hills.

The dragons were getting concerned for their new king. They were clearly calling out to Tigris to see if he was okay. Others had taken to the air, roaring and cursing Meera, but she had other matters on her mind. Mainly, trying to resurrect Ignis. Why? He was the more reasonable of the two brothers, and she would need him to get his brother to keep his word.

Her Mana was dipping steadily, but that was because she was pouring it into her healing skill. Now that she was touching him, his body was mending itself much faster. So, this skill had retained that quality from Greater Vitalize. Ignis looked like he had healed mostly. Aside from the gaping hole in his chest, he looked fine.

Tigris continued to go through his clearly painful transformation. Meera figured the only reason the dragons hadn't assaulted her yet was that they were bewildered by his transformation.

By the time Ignis's chest closed, Tigris had stopped growing, and he stood more than ten times his original size. His head was higher than the cliff Meera had seen their fight from. He was now comparable in height to his parents. Was he taller or shorter than they were? That could only be determined when he was standing side by side with him. But his transformation still hadn't been complete. He was glowing brighter now. He wasn't shedding his scales anymore, so something must've been happening.

Despite the chaos of all that was happening, she heard someone snap their finger.

"Stop."

The dragons quieted. The smoke and flames they were breathing out stopped right there. The wind stopped blowing. The fire from the burning trees lit by the brothers' fight stopped in its tracks. Even Ignis's healing had stopped in its place. In essence, the whole world came to a halt. The only ones who were not frozen were Meera and Tigris.

It took her a second to realize she had seen this happen before. Where is he?

She found him hovering in the air, beside Tigris's head—a large man in brown armor with a lion skin coat.

Darthin had deigned to visit this world a second time, and she had a good idea why.

He glanced at her. "Come."

What do you want from me this time?

But there was no arguing with the god. So, she flew over to where he was. Meera usually hovered in place, but Darthin was standing on an invisible platform, totally unmoving.

Then a thought struck her. He better not ask me to hand over my Impure Crystal of Darthin.

She reached him, and he didn't look pleased to see her, or at least, that was what she read from his expressionless face.

Without wasting any time, he turned to the still struggling Tigris. The dragon quaked as if the glow was burning him. The heat around it was near unbearable.

"Call to him," Darthin said.

His voice was still as earth-shaking as ever. No greetings of any kind, the man or god, in this case, went straight to business.

Meera frowned. "Huh?"

"You've started the process of his evolution into an archdragon, and now you must finish it."

"How? Sorry, I haven't turned any dragon into an archdragon before."

Darthin gave her a side-eyed glance. "Repeat these words. Recstrakh, I call thee forth, unbound and unchained. By our bond unbroken, I set you free. By blood entwined and fate's command, rise, Archdragon, reborn and eternal."

"Just that? Oh, this should be easy."

"Then say it," said the god, missing the sarcasm by a long shot.

She sighed. "Recstrakh, I call thee forth, unbound and unchained. By our bond unbroken, I set you free. By blood entwined and fate's command, rise, Archdragon, reborn and eternal."

The glowing cocoon cracked, and Tigris's quaking stopped. The cracks started at the top and raced down the length of his body at a rapid pace.

"Call out his name and tell him to open his eyes."

Meera complied. "Recstrackh, open your eyes."

She backed up a little. For a moment, she thought it was Zerodra emerging from the cocoon. Tigris's amplified voice sounded so like his father's. Then the glowing cocoon exploded in a torrent of flames. Meera threw up her arms to cover her face, but it didn't matter. The flames washed over her and did nothing. There was a warmth to them, but not the raging inferno she was expecting.

Her jaw dropped when she took in Tigris's new form.

Gone were the charred, black scales, and in their place were scales etched in flames. At first glance, one could mistake Tigris's new scales for the tiger-like scales of his brother, but his were different. Tigris's stripes weren't like a tiger's, but instead they snaked about, creating a distinct flame-like pattern on his body. Also, they weren't entirely orange. They were a bit darker, almost red. If Ignis was a tiger, then Tigris was fire itself.

[Inferno Archdragon – Level 1000]

Even he was surprised at his new body. "H-How?"

"This is your new form, archdragon," Darthin stated. "We have a lot to talk about."

Tigris stared at the god, as if he were a pest. "And why should I listen to you, human?"

"You really should," Meera said. "He's the god Darthin, the Master of Skills. He's going to change your whole life. Trust me, it's worth talking to him."

Darthin gave her a look that spoke volumes about what he honestly thought about her. "Your work here is done."

Before she could say anything more, he was gone, and the world started moving again. The dragons began roaring again, but instantly fell silent as they took in Tigris.

"Oh, that motherf…" She looked to Tigris. "He froze me as he gave you the new system."

Tigris snorted in response. Then he was swarmed by the dragon horde as they came to him to pledge their fealty, or so she figured, as they spoke in their own tongue. She dropped down to Ignis and continued on her work.

With his chest wound closed and a brand new heart in the empty cavity, Ignis was physically fine. She needed to see if she could truly awaken dead animals.

"Rise," she commanded.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then she heard Ignis' first heartbeat, thrumming like a war drum. Then a moment later, another thrum, followed by another. Slowly, his heart started beating again, and he quaked. His eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he saw was his brother towering over them all.

"Brother…"

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