Chapter 43: The First Bloodmage

Tiamat's wrinkled dragon hide gradually began to smooth out, its bones creaking like an ancient mechanism being restored and recalibrated after countless years. Its dragon eyes slowly closed as it curled up like a drowsy infant, slipping into slumber.

Aegon rolled over and climbed down from the dragon saddle mounted on the horned crown of its head. The floor beneath his feet was made of an extremely hard metal, radiating waves of scorching heat.

"The demigod monster is right beneath us?" Aegon asked, stamping his foot on instinct.

Pan nodded slightly, his expression grave. "It is the origin of everything—and the very core of this ascension plan. When all the true dragon bloodlines of the Valyria Peninsula gather here, the King-tier Dragons will first purge the beastly nature from the divine blood. Then, using human Dragonblood, the divine aspects of that blood will be neutralized.

In this way, only the immortal essence of the divine blood remains, making it possible for you to absorb it."

Aegon picked up on the elder's wording and asked in confusion, "Us? Aren't you ascending with the council members?"

Pan let out a sigh, his eyes filled with fatigue and ancient weariness. "I've endured for thousands of years. My own source has long been depleted. No amount of godliness would make a difference for me now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Pan's figure dissolved like drifting smoke into countless fragments, gradually vanishing from sight.

A white dragon descended from the sky—ridden by the female dragon knight who had earlier led Aegon.

"Prince Aegon, please come with me. The council members have prepared a banquet in your honor, up in the floating city above," the female knight said, still seated on the dragon's back, extending a hand toward him in invitation.

Aegon nodded slightly, then climbed up onto the white dragon using both hands and feet, settling in behind the knight.

The white dragon beat its wings and soared upward, flying straight back toward the floating pavilion they had encountered on their descent. At the entrance of a protruding cave, Aegon and the female knight dismounted.

They followed a rope-woven suspension ladder for a short distance until Aegon was led to a stone tower. Half of the structure was embedded into the cave wall, making it appear as though it had grown directly out of the rock itself.

Aegon reached out and pushed open the heavy bronze doors of the banquet hall. The murmur of conversation spilled out immediately from within. Inside, everyone wore the resplendent robes of the Dragonlord Council, adorned in gold and silver trim that clearly marked their status.

The walls around them were built from black obsidian, gleaming with an eerie, mysterious sheen under the light of the blazing torches.

As soon as Aegon stepped into the hall, he was overwhelmed by an intense atmosphere of decadence, causing him to frown slightly.

At the very center of the banquet was a grotesque display—a feast of female bodies.

Exquisitely prepared dishes made from rare and exotic ingredients were laid out across finely crafted long tables. The "plates" holding these delicacies were the bodies of graceful, alluring women.

Some lay in languid poses, clothed in nothing but a few wisps of sheer fabric. Their snow-white skin and sensual curves were exposed without the slightest restraint, offered openly to the eyes of those present.

Their faces bore expressions of flattery and submissiveness. Reduced to mere instruments for visual and physical indulgence, they showed no shame—only eagerness to use their flesh to please and satisfy the council members' twisted, insatiable gazes.

"Welcome, Aegon," the Head of House Edderion called out with a hearty laugh, striding over with two goblets filled with blood-red wine in hand.

Aegon reached out and took the offered goblet, then clinked it lightly against the other.

"Cheers."

Clink! With a crisp sound, the two glasses collided, and both men downed their drinks in one go.

Seeing Aegon's cooperative attitude, the expressions of the dozen or so council members who had been watching him intently began to ease slightly.

What followed was the usual round of pleasantries and introductions. Aegon exchanged brief greetings with each of the council members—among them even the Head of House Aurélion, who had once opposed House Targaryen.

But faced with the shared goal of the grand plan, the two seemed to understand each other without the need for words, silently agreeing to let the past grudges remain buried.

Once Aegon had become somewhat acquainted with the others...

Pan's figure appeared at just that moment in the banquet hall. The elder raised both hands gently, and only after the hall gradually quieted down did he begin to speak.

"Since Aegon has now joined the Dragon Pillar, we'll start the Dragonlord Council ahead of schedule today—and take this opportunity to show him the progress of the grand plan."

Aegon noticed everyone's eyes turn to him. He responded with a slight smile, giving a polite nod to the room as he raised his cup.

Pan slowly descended to the floor, then turned and walked toward an iron door at the back of the banquet hall. Seeing this, the Head of House Edderion lightly patted Aegon on the shoulder, signaling for him to follow.

Aegon obeyed and followed them. After passing through the iron door, he was met with a vast cavern even more expansive than the banquet hall. Countless opulent magical crystal chandeliers hung overhead, illuminating the entire space in brilliant light.

The cavern was so massive and empty that no matter how far Aegon looked, he couldn't see its outer edges. Everywhere the light reached, enormous transparent crystal vessels stood in orderly rows.

These cylindrical vessels were sealed tightly at both ends with metal caps. From each one, thick metal tubes extended upward, connecting to the black stone ceiling above.

Each vessel was filled with a thick yellow liquid, and submerged within were dragon-like specimens of all shapes and forms—some with dragon heads and human bodies, others with human torsos and dragon claws, and even some with insect bodies and dragon heads. The variations were endless.

Aegon couldn't help but widen his eyes, his gaze drifting nervously from one vessel to another, unnerved by the eerie presence of the preserved creatures. A part of him feared they might suddenly awaken and lunge at him from the fluid.

Just then, the Head of House Edderion gave Aegon another pat on the shoulder, startling him.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Edderion said with a smile. Under the bright lights above, his grin took on an unsettling, almost chilling quality.

Aegon merely gave a silent nod in response.

"These test subjects were all pioneers from the ancient era," Edderion said, pointing toward a creature with a human body and fleshy wings. He spoke with a touch of melancholy. "They were once ancient Bloodmages. These pioneers sacrificed their own lives and bodies in the process of cultivating synthetic true dragon blood."

The group's footsteps echoed with a steady clatter, reverberating through the vast, hollow chamber.

Aegon followed alongside the dozen council members, making their way deeper into the ancient exhibition hall.

He began to notice that the deeper they went, the larger the vessels became.

After walking for several minutes, even the smallest of the vessels stood over ten meters tall. The largest one visible was a towering fifty meters, its top brushing against the cavern ceiling. Countless metal tubes crisscrossed its upper and lower ends, and the surface of the crystal vessel was covered in blurred, indistinct rune-like markings—symbols that looked to be some form of sorcerous seal.

"What is this..."

Aegon suddenly froze in shock. His pupils shrank sharply as he locked eyes on a crystal vessel over ten meters tall. Inside it stood a humanoid dragon creature, more than three meters high—and it was alive. Its bulging dragon eyes followed Aegon and the others intently, tracking their every move.

"This is the latest result of the grand plan," said the Head of House Edderion in a hushed voice. He stepped forward and wiped off the base of the vessel, revealing a line of High Valyrian text engraved into the surface.

[Synthetic Type, House Aurélion Experiment No. 8233874; True Dragonblood Rank: Dragonborn; Immortality Compatibility: 76%; Estimated Lifespan: 243 years; Danger Level: Maximum]

Aegon struggled to steady his racing heart. They're using their own kin for experiments... no wonder they were capable of extracting the bloodline from an entire house.

The Head of House Edderion was grinning with fanatical glee. He licked his lips and said with a chuckle, "Isn't it a perfect lifeform, Aegon? This member of House Aurélion was created using only the True Dragonblood extracted from a hundred Valyrians. Even the dragon used to filter the beastliness in the divine blood was just a regular magic dragon.

And yet, its lifespan has already reached over two hundred years.

Once the grand plan begins, countless Valyrians will offer their dragon blood to us. The Dragonlords will then filter out the beastliness, refining it completely. When that time comes, the amount of immortal matter we'll be able to absorb will reach a terrifying level. Achieving demi-godhood won't be just some foolish fantasy anymore."

Aegon opened his mouth, but all he managed to say was, "Impressive."

They continued deeper inside, eventually passing through the vast hall and entering a circular metal chamber. The entire room was forged from solid metal. At the center stood fifteen towering seats, made from the same alloy as the steel floor found at the deepest depths of the Abyss. Each seat was twice the height of a man, entangled with countless translucent tubes, their hollow tips all angled inward.

"Aegon, this is where you'll need to remain when the final ascension ritual takes place. Outside of this chamber, the rest of the Valyria Peninsula will be torn to ashes by the Source Refining Array."

Pan turned around, his expression blank as he addressed Aegon in a cold, flat tone.

"When the time comes, you must focus. Use your spiritual power to keep your dragon firmly under control. If the dragon collapses under the pressure of the beastliness in the divine blood, your body will follow—and you will die.

This is precisely why Aegon was given a seat in the ascension ritual despite protocol. His dragon has already broken through the shackles of physical evolution. Its resilience surpasses that of all fourteen of you Dragonlords combined. With Tiamat sharing the burden, the success of this ascension plan is no longer in doubt."

As he listened, Aegon couldn't help but wonder to himself, Could the Valyrian ascension plan really succeed... because of me and Tiamat?