NOVEL NEXT Chapter 85: FUTURE SELF!
They screamed in unison. With one last look at their child…
They acted. Without hesitation.
Their souls exploded.
The Dragon Emperor staggered as soul shockwaves tore through the array, searing directly into his core. His body was scorched, his aura unsteady. He hadn't expected this.
Not this. And yet—
Kaeryx, protected by the final sacrificial layer they had left behind, remained untouched. The explosion curved around him like a divine shield, leaving only warmth.
Ethan, still trapped inside, could only stare. Their bodies… their voices… gone. Sacrificed. Just to keep him alive. He clenched his tiny claw, his heart hollow yet burning.
He hoped the Dragon Emperor had perished in the explosion. If not… then Draeven and Aephyra's sacrifice, all their desperate preparations, would have been in vain.
But then—
The smoke and dust hanging in the air slowly began to part.
Through the fading haze, a silhouette emerged, calmly hovering in the sky. Ethan's breath hitched.
That form—unmistakable. Regal. Dominant.
It was the Dragon Emperor.
Alive.
Not just alive — unscathed. It seemed the Dragon Emperor survived and quite easily at that...
A soft sigh escaped the figure's lips, his voice strangely disappointed. "I suffered a huge loss this time. A large portion of the Dragon population perished when the damage was redirected through me… Had I taken that explosion head-on, I would have certainly died."
Then, his gaze shifted downward, locking onto Ethan.
Cold. Measured. Absolute.
"It's unfortunate," he murmured, "that a young hatchling had to witness the pathetic death of his parents…"
The last of the smoke dispersed. The Dragon Emperor's form was now fully revealed. The killing intent he radiated wasn't just pressure—it was a force that bent the air itself. Kaeryx's chest tightened, his breath caught in his throat.
He couldn't breathe.
Yet still—he resisted.
With trembling defiance, Kaeryx gathered every ounce of strength he had and opened his maw, unleashing a flame breath straight at the Dragon Emperor.
The flames were small, flickering, almost harmless at a glance—but something in them made the Dragon Emperor's lips twitch.
'This flame…' he thought, eyes narrowing.
'It's a fusion. The Eternal Pyre of Aephyra… and Draeven's Soul Flame. Perfectly combined. No rejection, no imbalance—this hatchling managed to merge them seamlessly. A feat even his parents could not accomplish.'
For a moment, the Dragon Emperor stood silent, staring at the flicker of flame.
'A monster born from monsters…' he thought grimly. 'It's a tragedy to end such talent here. But it must be done. I cannot let this threat mature.'
He raised his hand slowly, the space around his palm distorting from the sheer energy it gathered. The temperature dropped. Reality itself trembled.
"You are a mistake," the Dragon Emperor said in a calm, emotionless voice. "A threat Heaven never intended. I do this world a mercy… by erasing you."
He waved his hand.
Ethan didn't even see what struck him. There was no light, no sound—just instant darkness. As if the world had vanished in a single blink.
Emptiness.
Silence.
Then, like a drop of ink falling into still water, a faint glow pulsed in the void.
A blue prompt appeared before him.
[Kaeryx is dead]
[First Summoning Act is over]
[Break Kaeryx's Fate to summon Kaeryx the Dragon God!]
Ethan's eyes widened in disbelief.
Kaeryx… died?
And yet, he was still here.
Still conscious. Still… alive?
He looked around the dark void, confused.
'I didn't die?' His heart beat faster at this thought. It was then he remembered. Unfated Scoin.
He barely understood how it worked. All he knew was that it let him summon beings—powerful ones—who defied logic and fate itself. But now… it was revealing something far deeper. Something that bent the rules of life and death.
[Criteria to use Fate-breaker in Unfated Scoin has been achieved]
[Fatebreaking points needed to break Kaeryx's fate of untimely death: 1000 Fatebreaking points]
His breath hitched. 'I can… bring him back?
No, not just bring him back. Rewrite his death. Reshape fate itself.'
A wave of exhilaration surged through him. He clenched his fists tightly.
'This… this changes everything.'
He wasn't helpless anymore. He wasn't just a passenger watching monsters slaughter those around him. No—he held power. Power that could rewrite destiny.
And Kaeryx—Kaeryx was no ordinary summon. He was born of two monstrous talents, forged in desperation, and now dead too soon. But if he could rewrite that fate… what would Kaeryx become?
'If he grows stronger here… and I summon him back to Earth... he'll crush those Thunderwing Drakes like flies!'
A surge of hope, fire, and hunger ignited inside Ethan.
This wasn't just about survival anymore.
This was power. Power that bent the heavens.
This is what it means to be Unfated.
Another prompt flickered before him.
[Do you want to break Kaeryx's Fate?]
[Yes] [No]
Ethan didn't hesitate. His voice echoed through the dark, resolute and sharp.
"Yes!" he shouted.
The void trembled. The prompt glowed with brilliant blue, then shattered into a cascade of starlight.
Something ancient and divine stirred in the abyss—something massive, something awakening.
And Kaeryx's story was far from over.
[Kaeryx's Fate has been forcefully broken from the shackles of his destiny…]
[You've gained a subordinate: Kaeryx, The Flame Sovereign.]
[You've obtained Supreme Affinity to Fire.]
[You've gained Max-Level Control over the Fire Element.]
[Kaeryx has awakened the Talent: FUTURE SELF!]
[Help Kaeryx pass the Second Summoning Act to return to Nexa.]
Then, like a curtain lifting, Ethan's vision returned.
A voice echoed inside his mind—clear, powerful, and reverent.
'Master?'
It was Kaeryx.
Somehow, after his fate was broken, Kaeryx's intelligence had leapt—sharpened and refined like a blade forged in divine flame. The raw instinct of a hatchling had been replaced with clarity, presence… and loyalty.
Ethan blinked, disoriented for a moment. It was one thing to command people on Earth, to lead a team in normal life. But this?
A monstrous dragon calling him Master?
It was bizarre. Unreal. Yet somehow, it felt right.
He let out a long, quiet sigh.
'Follow my guidance,' he said firmly in his mind, 'and I'll take you to heights even you can't imagine.'
Kaeryx didn't question it. His soul resonated with Ethan's. A silent oath had been formed in the chaos.
It was then Ethan noticed where he was. Back in that cavern. Back to the beginning.
Before him stood the massive forms of two dragons—Draeven and Aephyra.
But their sizes slowly shrank, returning to their humanoid draconic forms.
He watched as they approached Kaeryx, their expressions full of warmth, sorrow, pride—everything they'd held back, poured out. They nuzzled their son, who responded in turn, instinctively, emotionally. They had no idea what had just occurred.
And then… they left.
Ethan could've taken control of Kaeryx right then. He could have stepped out of the formation, used his new fire mastery, done something—anything—to alter what was to come.
But he didn't.
He understood now—deeply—that some events had to unfold exactly as they did before. If he interfered too soon, the Dragon Emperor might not bring Draeven and Aephyra back to Kaeryx when he came for the kill. Their sacrifice, their explosion of soul, all of it hinged on precise timing.
So Ethan waited.
He guided Kaeryx's body to remain still, to sleep, just like before.
And when the Dragon Emperor returned—when he revealed their broken, half-conscious forms floating beside him—then, and only then…
Kaeryx would take action and rise.
And the world would witness the flame that refused to be extinguished.
Though Kaeryx's fate had been shattered, what Ethan had truly bought was not salvation—but a chance.
A fragile opportunity.
Kaeryx hadn't been freed completely… not yet. He had merely slipped the noose. And only by rising above—by defeating, maybe even killing, the Dragon Emperor—could that noose be truly burned away.
Ethan understood that clearly. Fate-Breaker was a power beyond logic, a power that bent rules, but it didn't offer guarantees. It laid the pieces. He had to make the right moves.
And one mistake, just one… Kaeryx would die again.
And Ethan didn't want to find out what would happen if he failed. If there was a penalty for losing twice… he didn't want to pay it.
Time passed slowly, painfully. Every second ticked with tension. Kaeryx was restless, confused. His tiny heart thumped hard with worry, flames curling around his throat in silent desperation.
Ethan could feel it all. That turmoil, the overwhelming instinct to do something. To move, to cry out, to act.
But he ignored it—just like before. He had to.
He watched silently through Kaeryx's eyes, as the moment began to approach.
Then… he felt it.
The air shifted. A pressure so heavy it bent the world itself.
"Now," Ethan murmured softly in the shared mind.
Kaeryx's gaze lifted to the sky.
And there he was.
Hovering like a god, shrouded in dominance and absolute calm. The Dragon Emperor. Eyes emotionless, aura boundless.
And beside him—suspended as if by invisible chains—were Draeven and Aephyra.
Their bodies were limp, pale. Barely breathing. Blood trailed from their lips, their scales cracked and dim.