Two minutes later, the group was right above the Green Lotus Lake. Adept Horse jumped off the gale and used his newly acquired Frost to freeze the water in a few seconds. The others landed and stood on the ice, looking at Dragon as he stayed in the heart of the lake.
Neither side seemed eager to break the silence.
It was an eerie picture. They had been companions, and Dragon had been a leader to some of them. After being apart for a year, they should be giving him a warm welcome.
Yet all they felt was confusion, anxiety, and wariness. They were ready to fight.
Dragon didn’t seem affected by their reaction.
Finally, Gao Yang said, “We have much to ask, Dragon, but just one question first.”
Dragon looked at him quietly.
“Are you a friend or a foe now?”
Dragon’s gaze slowly swept over all those behind Gao Yang. In an airy tone, he said, “So, this is the strongest team you can form at present.”
All of them felt their hearts clench. They kept their senses sharp in preparation for a coming threat—or even an existing one. They gathered energy in their hands. The tension was palpable.
In fact, if Gao Yang hadn’t emphasized that they would not initiate a fight, some of them would’ve made their moves.
Dragon saw their hostility, but didn’t react.
He took a step forward.
It almost stopped their heartbeats.
“You only have one chance,” Dragon said quietly. “Are you ready?”
There was a stretch of silence.
“Captain!” Adept Horse called out.
“Stop hesitating, bro!” Wang Zikai shouted. “I’ll go first!”
“Brother Yang, you lose if you hesitate!” Zhang Wei chimed in anxiously.
The same wariness was reflected on everyone’s face. The terrifying pressure threatened to break their tense nerves. But Gao Yang didn’t say anything, and before he gave the go-ahead, none of them was allowed to make a move.
Dragon took another step forward.
Everyone got into a fighting stance.
“Gao Yang!” Vermilion Bird shouted.
“Give the order, Captain!” Chen Ying urged.
Qing Ling frowned, already surrounding herself with a dozen Black Gold weapons. Sёarᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Hong Xiaoxiao, Liao Liao, and Gregor quietly activated their Talents to protect their companions.
Gao Yang remained silent still, and Dragon took another step.
Hum.
An Absolute Barrier expanded from Gao Yang’s feet and shielded everyone. Meanwhile, Dragon lifted his right hand. A Black Gold tablet spun in his palm—the Miracle Rune Circuit!
Incredible energy bloomed, radiating countless beams in all directions. The light shot through everything, even the Absolute Barrier, but...nothing happened. They didn’t sense any damage, or anything for that matter.
“Captain, we may already be inside his domain!” Liao Liao said with a pale face.
“Whoa, is this level 8 Overlord?” Dr. Jia was more amazed than scared.
The light retracted with such speed that it gave them whiplash. The Miracle Rune Circuit in Dragon’s hand transformed into a golden key with ever-changing shape.
Face pale with blood trickling down his lips, Dragon smiled.
“You’re lucky, Gao Yang.”
He closed his hand around the key.
Tremendous energy surged one more, but there was no single point of origin. Instead, it felt as if an omnipresent energy had suddenly reached flash point, instantly destroying all, transforming all, and dominating all.
Time and space stilled once more. Gao Yang could no longer move. The feeling was familiar to him—it was how he had felt when he opened the Gates of Closure in the sweet dream of victory. The world felt like an oil painting submerged in water. All those featured in the painting slowly melted into spreading colors.
It was as if he had fallen into a limbo and would become part of it.
One man alone was clear and intact:
Dragon.
He was the only visible reality in this blurred world, and the key in his hand, an absolute truth.
His right hand was shaking, as if the truth was too much for him to hold steadily with one hand. His left hand joined to hold it. Finally, his hands stopped shaking.
He stabbed the key into his heart.
Vibrant colors rushed out of him, turning into an elegant, organized array of radiant light. The lines quickly drew a grandiose and dream-like yet vivid door in the air.
The Gates of Closure.
At that moment, Gao Yang finally came to a realization.
Dragon was the Gates of Closure.
He had been chasing himself—to become himself.
“Are you crying, Captain?”
“Yes. People cry when they are sad. Is it so strange?”
“So you were sad?”
“I just remembered a dream I had a long time ago.”
“What dream?”
“I dreamed that I opened the Gates of Closure but saw nothing. I was sad.”
...
The Gates of Closure came into being like countless moments instilled into eternity. It felt like all the information and intentions in the universe had been compressed into shape. No one could bear it, understand it, or even describe it.
They were merely ants feeling a thunderous quake when a giant walked past. Their very souls were shaking with deference. Never could an ant understand what had happened, yet it would spend its whole life seeking an answer.
Gao Yang became himself again.
Dragon was gone.
The Gates of Closure would dwarf even a mountain. The abstract door sketched by the light morphed into a concrete structure that looked solemn and firmly lodged in reality. It was incredibly similar to the Gates Qilin had created in illusions. Made of Black Gold, it was covered in reliefs.
Greed monsters, wrath monsters, and delusion monsters formed a chaotic tableau while pride monsters watched from the sides. Above them was a life monster giving birth to and embracing all, while a death monster served as the foundation and the weapon that would pierce through all of them.
There were differences, too.
No blood mist seeped from the crack of the Gates. And while the reliefs were still, they seemed infinitely far like the cold, imposing cosmos, as if it would suck the souls of all those gazing at it.
They had to look away after a few seconds.
“Captain Dragon...”
Heavenly Dog was the first to speak up. His voice was clear, and his eyes were red.
“He wasn’t disqualified as a leader.”