Ashardalon

"Collaborate?" "With a demon from the Abyss? Do you truly take me for one of those red dragons whose brains are filled with nothing but magma?" Controlling the flame avatar, Cassius let out a cold sneer. "Whether gods or demons, all are merely parts following the rules that govern the world. I see no issue with that." Jezralslak simply gazed at the avatar, speaking as if reciting poetry. "There is something I have wanted to tell you since ten years ago." The demon raised his head slightly, the fire of vengeance blazing ever fiercer in his eyes. "Cassius, your mother was slain by half-elven, half-human mongrels, and even you fled in utter humiliation. That was an absolute insult to the noble dignity of red dragons. "Do you not wish to take vengeance upon them?" That voice was like a black hole, drawing the thoughts of others toward the Abyss. Yet Cassius merely spread his wings slightly and said calmly, "Do you honestly think my present self lacks that ability? "Vengeance against humanity? Hundreds of thousands bend the knee to my draconic majesty, and more than a million souls across all of Anzeta tremble beneath my wings. "Whether to exact vengeance rests entirely upon my own whim, not in the hands of some trapped abyssal demon on the Astral Plane who can barely even save himself." Jezralslak shook his head with apparent regret, sneering, "What harsh words. You are going to break my heart. "As I thought, the trajectory of fate has shifted. I know not which entity intervened, but you are no longer who you once were. "Tsk, tsk. What a pity that I poured my heart into peering into the destiny of the Material Plane, practicing my lines hundreds, thousands of times, only for none of them to be of any use in the end." Cassius stared fixedly at that gaunt, hideous face, finding the demon utterly nonchalant. "If your sole purpose in luring me here was this, our negotiations end now. Your illusory promise of vengeance is completely useless to me. "As for collaborating with you? I imagine that deformed frost giant represents the ultimate fate of anyone who works with demons—reduced to ash, offering everything to the Abyss." The demon met his gaze, completely unbothered. "You mean Koman?" "He was nothing more than a lowly consumable." His voice was dismissive, as though describing an ant he could crush at will. "Besides, I am not like those vile devils who delight in playing word games with contract clauses. "Did that frost giant truly fail to get what he wanted? In a mere three years, he attained power rivaling that of a balor, granting him the tremendous honor of launching a direct charge against the nemesis he could never have defeated otherwise. All he paid was a negligible scrap of life. "To me, the sole reason for his existence was so that you could come to the Astral Plane." The demon paused, a trace of fervor creeping into his expression. "You, however, are different, my most perfect partner. You are the destined contractor. You can become a new king alongside me, a creator of a new world." Jezralslak's tone was intensely fervent and appeared extraordinarily sincere, devoid of any discernible disguise. Even Cassius could not detect a single flaw in his emotion. Cassius's pupils flickered as he mocked, "How worthy of a so-called 'Lord of Vengeance,' dressing up the act of discarding a pawn in such grand, noble terms. "So if I were to collaborate with you, what would I gain? To turn into a mindless balor as well?" Jezralslak paid no heed to the red dragon's ridicule; instead, an excited, mysterious smile spread across his face. "Of course not, my dear partner. "Have you heard of Ashardalon?" Cassius froze for an instant, though he did not let it show. He had heard the name from rumors in his past life. Supposedly, it belonged to a terrifying red dragon of unknown Challenge Rating, known as the 'Heart of Blasphemy.' He resided in a mysterious realm within the Astral Sea called the Bastion of Broken Souls, and was even venerated as a deity by numerous cults. Back in Version 4.0 of his past life, over a dozen top-tier players who had broken through the Level 20 threshold took on a quest to assault that bastion together, only to suffer a total party wipe. It had become sensational news across the forums. Yet the demon's profound eyes seemed to pierce right through the flame avatar to the red dragon's true body on the Material Plane, catching the subtle shift in his expression. "It seems you have heard of him." Jezralslak let out a low chuckle. The heavy iron chains bound around the demon rattled noisily as he slowly raised his gaunt arm. Boundless chaotic mist gathered from the distance, forming a massive curtain across the void. Cassius instantly grew vigilant, ready to sever the connection to his flame avatar at any moment. Yet the demon saw through him once more and laughed, "Do not be nervous. This is merely a small demonstration." Cassius steadied himself at once and began erecting mental wards. If this continued, he would simply be led by the nose by this cunning old demon until he unwittingly fell straight into the Abyss. He turned his flame avatar around to look at the shroud of chaotic smoke in the sky. The chaotic fog churned, weaving a bizarre, grotesque image. The being depicted within roughly resembled an ancient red dragon in its absolute prime, yet it possessed striking, grotesque features. The red dragon had a demonic visage, and upon its chest was a terrible scar shaped like a large, winged humanoid—a balor. His eyes burned like twin spheres of radiant flame, and faint light constantly flickered between his claws and teeth. "What a magnificent work of art. This is Ashardalon, an arrogant red dragon of boundless might. Upon suffering a fatal blow, this dragon summoned a balor and bound it to his chest as a second heart, thereby gaining near-immortal power. "Haha, I even knew that pitiful demon—Ammet the Soul-Eater. He was immensely powerful, and I once even considered devouring him. Who could have thought he would now be reduced to screaming endlessly inside Ashardalon's chest?" The demon offered his explanation with gleeful enthusiasm. "Formidable indeed," Cassius echoed with a sigh, gazing up at that terrifying draconic fiend, yet he was not seduced by that overwhelming power. Instead, a strange thought arose in his mind: if the 'Lord of Vengeance' before him were embedded into his own chest, would the consciousness controlling the body truly still be his own? Or, like the famed Ship of Theseus paradox, once his body was corrupted by the Abyss and his parts replaced by chaotic energy, would that newly born fiendish creature still be him? Koman had already returned to the Abyss. Perhaps the Cassius of the original world had died long ago as well. Died amidst the honeyed words of this 'Lord of Vengeance,' Jezralslak. Believing he was avenging his mother, his mind had actually long been twisted by the will of the Abyss, reduced to a part of the boundless chaos, sacrificing everything to expand the Abyss. Taking advantage of the moment the demon was engrossed in the phantom display, Cassius quietly opened his interface to peer at the entity's information, a faint light flickering within his Cataclysmic Dragon Eye. [Lord of Vengeance - Jezralslak] [Status: Sealed] [Challenge Rating: ???] In an instant, Cassius's pupils dilated sharply.