The human Archmage Scholar’s ritual continued at the center of the altar, where he stirred the free-floating Magic Power in the air, much like stirring a galaxy of twinkling stars. On the altar’s surface, runes ignited by Magic Power lit up one by one with the Archmage’s motions, and an azure Giant Dragon apparition arose within the spell circle, staying behind the scholar and overlapping with the human’s form.

As the mage lifted his head, the Giant Dragon apparition raised its noble head with him, emitting a deafening roar. Space tore apart, and behind the rift, a chaotic expanse with a dangerous hue appeared.

From the fissure, four figures emerged.

The Red Dragon Priest was a stout Dwarf with a dense chestnut-red beard; he looked like a tree stump, with red hair like a profusion of roots. The Dwarf Priest looked gravely at the human mage at the center.

The Green Dragon Priest was a slender, beautiful Elf whose large eyes, glowing with spirit, watched the human mage intently.

The White Dragon Priest, riding on a carriage of frost, burst through the rift; even in human form, the Merfolk’s distinctive fins and scales remained evident, the bewitching Mermaid appearing like a frosty queen. Her cold gaze was directed at the human at the center.

As space collapsed, a four-meter-tall giant humanoid form broke through the rift, adorned with a tattered ceremonial robe, the Black Dragon Priest looked angrily at the center’s Blue Dragon Priest.

On the dark walls, five Giant Dragon apparitions fought each other, roaring and howling, nearly drowning out the sound of the ritual itself.

Ultimately, the azure apparition unfurled its vast wings, and four radiant tributes melded into the body of the Blue Dragon.

The four Dragon Priests kneeled on one knee.

"I offer here the steadfastness of Freheimer."

"I offer here the purity of Princess."

"I offer here the tranquility of Irason."

"I offer here the strength of Ohmhead."

At the center, the human mage began his chant.

"The wisdom of Morocoy will perpetuate the era of the Giant Dragons."

The powers of five types of Giant Dragons converged as the human mage raised his hand. They melded with one another, accelerating in their fusion until they became one, and a searing light began to flicker.

At the heart of the magic power storm, something was taking shape.

It was a crown, with a body forged of diamond and the tips adorned with twinkling gemstones of five colors.

The Crown of the Era.

Morocoy, the Human Crown.

The human mage, intoxicated by the brilliance, reached out his fingers, the Crown almost within grasp.

Upon the completion of the ritual, humans, inheriting the power from the Giant Dragons, would become the masters of a new era.

Only one sentence remained.

"My people inherit the crown from the hands of the Giant Dragons, to become the masters of the new era."

The descending gemstone crown was but a hair’s breadth from his fingertips.

Lyle watched nervously, while the scholar and Irason shifted their gaze away.

An angry roar echoed to the heavens, accompanied by a plummeting light from the sky that expelled all else.

All evil had no place to hide.

Under that light, the crown shattered in an instant.

"I do not permit! To have claws and flames roaring over the heads of my kin!"

"I do not permit! For my kin to struggle and howl for their lives!"

"I do not permit! For any race to be supreme over humans!"

"In the name of the Holy Light! Dragons, to your death!"

"Henceforth, in the realms of humans, no other race is allowed. Wherever humans tread, evil shall end! For we are the new masters of the era!"

"This is the era of the Holy Light!"

With the earth-shaking wail of the dragons, the five Dragon Priests collapsed to the ground.

The times had changed, they felt it, miles away, the leader of the Giant Dragons, the Dragon King, had been slain, dying at the hands of a human who wielded the power of the holy light. Radiance illuminated the land, forming an eternal daylight. This world was celebrating the birth of a new king.

But it was not them, the Dragon Priests, who fell alongside the Giant Dragons.

The human mage wailed in agony at the center of the altar, his body beginning to break apart, his blood flowing onto the ground. The blood stained his robes red, tarnishing the rite of a king to worthlessness.

Blood at the corner of his eyes blurred his vision, he stood up with difficulty, looking bitterly at four companions like himself.

"We have failed."

Feeling the life force dying inside him with the Giant Dragon, the human mage knew he didn’t have much time left. He forcefully circulated his magic power, severing his connection with his kin to prevent the decay from disrupting the other mages.

The physical tearing was painful, but the spiritual unwillingness was even more heart-wrenching.

The dying mage abandoned his composure, his blood staining his golden hair, as he howled hysterically.

"Why! Why us!"

"We’ve been through so much! We’ve sacrificed so much! We’ve given up so much! And in the end, we’ve lost everything!"

The Merfolk’s words were choked with sobs and tears, "My brothers, we need to accept our failure. We must accept the reality, our kin are waiting for us, the Dragon Kin have not fallen, we must preserve our hope."

"What hope! The Giant Dragons are finished! All of them! All of them! My efforts with Morocoy have become a joke! All the sacrifices were meaningless!"

"Then you should do what you must, Blue Dragon Priest! The Merfolk and Elves themselves live on the edges of the world, the Dwarves dwell underground. Only your tribe of mages and the kin of the Black Dragon Priest ancient humans need to be prepared."

"For the onslaught of the era, the assault of the holy light."

With that, the White Dragon Priest left the altar, vanishing behind the rift.

One by one, the Dragon Priests departed, abandoning all expectations of the future at this place, leaving with disappointment and desolation.

Mr. Scholar remained in place, feeling his body gradually wither. He watched the Black Dragon Priest slowly rise.

"We have failed like this, left with nothing."

"We still have each other. And the will passed down to us by the Giant Dragons. Their names, their souls."

The Black Dragon Priest touched the area over his heart.

"The soul of the Giant Dragon."

"I thought you would feel the same as me, after I lost my guide, the Giant Dragon Morocoy. I thought our responsibilities were the same, Ca..."

The Black Dragon Priest interrupted Mr. Scholar.

"They are the same, my brother. Precisely because of the sins we carry, we must preserve ourselves. We are the remnants of the Giant Dragons, we must exist."

"From now on, call me Ohmhead, I am the surviving soul of the Black Dragon, I am an unrivaled force."

"I understand, Brother Ohmhead."

"Cast aside human names, preserve the will of the Giant Dragons."

"I am Morocoy."

Mr. Scholar’s memory froze at that moment.

Standing behind Lyle, who was face-stricken, Mr. Scholar patted his head.

"Finished watching, shall we start the experiment now?"

Lyle looked at Mr. Scholar in shock.

"Teacher, Morocoy is..."

"The name of the Giant Dragon I inherited."

"Every Dragon Priest made a similar choice, to forget their own names, to inherit the will of the Giant Dragons."

"This is the soul of the Giant Dragon."

"Our bond with the Giant Dragons."