Void Evolution System

It all happened so fast that August couldn't even properly perceive it.

He changed. Eris changed as well. Everyone who wasn't in their dragon form was immediately revealed.

Eris' dark dragon form was definitely majestic. Her sharp and pristine horns, her ferocious appearance, those scales that seemed impenetrable by any and all means, and a wingspan that one almost couldn't believe belonged to a young dragon.

It was something that should have captured the attention of anyone watching instantly.

Though, nobody was watching anymore. With mana phasing out of existence for a second, the broadcasts and other similar mechanisms like the barrier around the two territories all shut down.

The only person to see Eris' transition was August.

And, at first, August thought that the only person who would witness his was her.

His shining azure scales, more beautiful than those of any other dragon, his magisterial crown and his aura that slightly surpassed Eris' dark dragon lineage, and that iconic facial structure that no dragon old enough to remember could forget.

The visage of an Azure Dragon. For the first time in millions of years, it had appeared in Arulion.

And though the barrier couldn't be easily replaced, as it was only created through the efforts of several dragons over many days, the projections were different.

They were maintained by a system that brought them back on the second mana returned to the atmosphere.

So it was not just Eris that saw what he had become.

No, his appearance and his aura were transmitted across the entirety of Arulion.

That was when the surreal events began.

Massive auras swarmed the sky.

They arrived in an instant. All of them knew where the third stage was being held, and all of them had unimaginable power.

They were figures that the dragon kingdom hadn't seen in many millennia, but they'd returned for one purpose.

They sensed that aura immediately.

"QINGLONG!"

A booming voice split the skies.

August's body was immediately frozen by a massive pressure.

Under the weight of a Holy Dragon's aura, he could only find it in him to do one thing.

"Go. Go back to the Sanctuary. NOW!"

It was a message transmitted through the team communicator, but only two people understood what it meant.

They also felt those auras. Nobody in the surrounding few million kilometers could ignore it, let alone the people at its epicenter.

Valerie and Melania both gritted their teeth, but they came to the same conclusion.

They didn't understand what was happening. August never explained his origins to them, after all.

But his message unequivocally meant that those auras were targeting him, and if they didn't want to be caught up in the madness, they had to leave as soon as possible.

The thought to help…

It definitely appeared, but it disappeared immediately. No matter their current strength, they could not do anything against the auras that were now hovering above the two nameless territories.

If they stayed and instead became hostages…then they would directly cause the ruination of August Void.

Their feelings didn't matter anymore.

They had to do as he said.

They had to retreat.

Valerie didn't continue her sacred duel, nor did Melania continue to push the geniuses she was fighting. They instantly put mana into the rings that Damien gave them and disappeared.

August…was not so fortunate.

Because those auras were locked onto him. Because they would not let him go.

In the single instant it took for him to send that message and for Valerie and Melania to receive and act upon it, the Holy Dragons in the air had already lowered themselves so that they could be seen.

Each and every one of them was large enough to dwarf the heavens. When six of them came together as one, the sight was beyond horrifying.

Andromedus, the Holy Dragon of Light.

Noctum, the Holy Dragon of Darkness.

Ignaqtus, the Holy Dragon of Fire.

Shuilong, the Holy Dragon of Water.

Noxus, the Holy Dragon of Space.

Aion, the Holy Dragon of Fate.

They were beings that could only be seen in legends, but now they all stood before August, staring at him with different eyes.

Only Noxus seemed indifferent to his existence.

The rest, particularly Shuilong, stared at him with only the intent to kill.

And at their level, that was enough.

"KAHAK!"

August coughed out a mouthful of blood. Merely being in the presence of these dragons made it impossible for him to do anything.

As for Eris who was next to him, she could only watch on with widened eyes.

'Qing…long…?'

Did she hear it right?

Was the holy ancestor of the Liqua Clan saying that the same August that she had been fighting was a descendant of that Azure Dragon?

"Boy, identify yourself."

Noctum was the one who spoke.

He eased Shuilong's aura somewhat with his own so August could talk.

But it was merely an empty gesture.

'Kindness from one of them?'

August wanted to laugh. It was pathetic even to believe such a thing possible.

They just wanted him to reveal how he arrived in Arulion, how he managed to appear even though the ancestor whose bloodline he carried was long dead.

They wanted to know what happened to Qinglong, because if he managed to survive somehow, none of them could feel safe.

"I…"

August responded nonetheless.

With a grin on his face that lacked a fear of death, he responded.

"I am August Void, direct descendant of Qinglong, and the true heir to the throne," he said, refusing to stop even though Shuilong's aura once again became unbearable.

With blood leaking from his lips, he continued.

"I am the person who was fated to stand above all of you. I am the person who will kill all of you traitorous bastards in the future, so if you value your lives, then you should kill me now."

His eyes were like tsunamis of energy, forcing his opinion on everyone around him.

If he believed it so, then it could be no other way.

That kind of light, that kind of mentality…

'...is exactly like Qinglong.'

Perhaps Noxus was the only one able to have such calm thoughts at the moment. After all, he was the only one that didn't participate in the battle against Qinglong.

'Nevertheless, it is too early for you, young one.'

It was an undeserved attitude, because as he said, this was the moment that he would die.

There was nothing in the world that could prevent them from taking his life. After all, Qinglong was the demon that lived in the hearts of these emperors, forever eating away at their souls despite being a figment of the past.

Still, August grinned.

No matter how perilous this situation was, it didn't affect him.

Because he had a backer that even these Holy Dragons could not match.

If they truly made the decision to end his life…

…then he could guarantee that they would not meet happy endings.

Damien was the source of August's confidence, and it wasn't an unwarranted feeling. Damien would not allow August to die.

However, in this particular case, he was not the person coming to August's rescue.

Perhaps the mana wave had created an opportunity, because when the Holy Dragons moved to suppress August, someone else moved as well.

All mana systems slowly roared back to life, and that revealed one fact to the world.

Well, to Aion specifically before anyone else.

His body jolted as the information poured into his mind.

Despite being covered in scales, one could almost see his face turning pale.

Something more important than even August's existence had revealed itself.

Something detrimental to Arulion.

'The vault…'

Aion's eyes widened, showing an expression that he had not expressed in millions of years.

'The vault has been emptied.'