Sovereign of the Ashes

The first to emerge from the clouds was a large bird with a pure white body.

While slightly smaller than Tourmaline’s brother, its wingspan easily exceeded a thousand meters.

Following closely was a massive yellow crab, measuring over two thousand meters in width. Despite its vast width, the crab was notably flat and flew horizontally as it descended from the sky.

The third to appear was a white tiger, with a crescent moon mark on its forehead. Comparable in size to the large bird, it carried an air of majesty that surpassed the others.

The white tiger gracefully stepped the air as it descended from the sky, exuding a noble presence.

The last to emerge from the dark clouds was a two-headed giant gray wolf.

The sheer size of these four behemoths and their immense oppressive aura were shocking to Sein.

Without a doubt, they were the kings of magic beasts with a life level of Rank Four or above, ruling vast magic beast forests and commanding the allegiance of billions of lesser creatures.

Each of the four behemoths, along with Tourmaline’s brother, possessed unique characteristics that made their assembly a terrifying sight. Such a gathering was definitely not something Sein, a mere Rank One mage, could easily engage with.

Thankfully, Tourmaline’s thick turtle shell shielded Sein from the overwhelming aura coming from all directions.

A layer of light green energy film quietly manifested around Tourmaline, preventing Sein from being completely overwhelmed by the auras of these formidable creatures.

It was the appearance of this light green energy barrier that caused the group of behemoths, each measuring over a thousand meters, to notice Sein, Yuri, and Sev, who were concealed near Tourmaline’s leg.

The joy and thrill evident in Black Oblivion, the flood dragon, upon reuniting with its sibling, was unmistakable.

It had been nearly 1,500 years since Black Oblivion and Tourmaline had last seen each other.

Tourmaline had ventured to the Boundless South Sea on its eldest brother’s suggestion and the Summer Guardian’s assignment.

Given Black Oblivion’s free-spirited nature, it was uninterested in boring duties like suppressing the eye of the sea.

Rather than spending centuries or even millennia in the same place, Black Oblivion preferred to roam the seas.

Over the past few millennia, Black Oblivion had not only traversed half of the Magus World but also ventured into several planes within the Magus Alliance.

Tourmaline’s family, including their parents, were all rather introverted, except for its fourth brother, Black Oblivion, who was notably different.

In the past few hundred years, Black Oblivion had even been plotting with the other magic beast kings of the Magus World, as well as the foreign gods of the Magus Alliance, to wage an interplanar war.

It was truly a creature who could not stay idle, aptly described by Tourmaline’s third sister as “a handful”.

Black Oblivion and Tourmaline let out distinctive dragon roars simultaneously—a unique form of communication in their family that was incomprehensible to outsiders like Sein.

Although he did not understand their conversation, it was obvious that Tourmaline was extremely delighted.

Its eyes narrowed joyfully, and its tail swished around.

While Tourmaline was talking with Black Oblivion, who was descending from the sky, the other four behemoths stood quietly around.

Despite being Black Oblivion’s friends, they were very respectful toward the flood dragon. It was almost as if they were its subordinates instead.

Sein could not help but wonder if such hierarchy between friends was unique to magic beasts. Regardless, he eagerly used his crystal ball to record these impressive creatures with formidable statures.

Sein was probably the only Rank One mage in the Viridescent Land to have such a close encounter with creatures of Rank Four and above.

Hence, the images captured by his crystal ball were invaluable. Sein believed that even his mentor, Lorianne, would be intrigued by his experiences.

The family reunion between Black Oblivion and Tourmaline concluded quickly.

Tourmaline moved closer to Black Oblivion, looking almost like a child clinging to its elder brother.

It was then that Black Oblivion came to its senses and noticed the “ants” beneath Tourmaline.

Ignoring Yuri and Sev, the flood dragon settled its dark dragon gaze on Sein.

Its interest in Sein was not due to his identity as a mage from the Magus World, but rather the wisp of Planar Light within Sein’s body.

Like Tourmaline, Black Oblivion held a significant amount of the plane’s origin energy in its body. This was a clear sign that it was favored by the planar will of the Magus World.

Although the amount of origin energy within Sein was as minuscule as a drop in the ocean compared to the massive reserves within Black Oblivion and Tourmaline, its essence remained the same.

This shared origin energy was the reason Black Oblivion regarded Sein with curiosity rather than hostility.

Sein, in turn, also sensed a certain affinity with Black Oblivion. Although it was not as strong as with Tourmaline, it was sufficient to put him at ease.

“I’ve met a few so-called ‘Children of the Plane’, but you’re different from them. Where did you get your origin energy?” Black Oblivion asked via mental focus, turning its large black dragon head toward Sein.

Black Oblivion’s voice, transmitted mentally, carried a sense of majesty and weight, distinctly different from the calmness of Tourmaline and Lorianne.

Despite sensing no malice, Sein felt immense pressure.

“The esteemed Summer Guardian gifted me a wisp of Planar Light as a reward for winning first place in the Regional Inter-Divine Tower Academy War,” Sein replied, gazing up at the black flood dragon in the sky.

“Oh... the Summer Guardian, huh? That sounds like what she’d do, considering her nature.” Black Oblivion nodded in understanding.

The disparity between Sein and Black Oblivion’s life levels was immense.

Just as Sein, at this stage, rarely engaged in conversation with ordinary humans, Black Oblivion turned its attention back to Tourmaline after briefly inquiring about the origin of the Planar Light in Sein’s body.

Driven by the protective instinct seen in every elder sibling, Black Oblivion had come to escort Tourmaline home.

After all, this was Tourmaline’s first time away from home.

Although Tourmaline was its only younger sibling, Black Oblivion fulfilled its role as an elder brother diligently.

Their next destination was Sage’s Forest in the east.

In terms of size, the Sage’s Forest and its many neighboring forests were as vast as the Marmett Union Alliance’s territory.

It would be no small feat for even Tourmaline to traverse that expanse.

Black Oblivion looked like it wanted to introduce its “friends” to Tourmaline, so this was where Sein and Tourmaline would part ways.

Sein watched as Tourmaline began to fade into the distance. The dragon turtle turned its head back to look at Sein.

Sev, the owl that had been perched on Sein’s shoulder, spread its wings and flew toward Tourmaline, eventually landing inside the turtle shell at Tourmaline’s neck.

Ideally, it would have preferred to stay on top of Tourmaline’s head, but with Tourmaline’s brother and several other formidable and magic beast kings nearby, Sev opted not to take the risk.