Chapter 887: Isolde Queen of Winged Frost, Isolde The Light Accursed
The hall was lined with statues and murals, filling every corner with their presence.
The Frost Wyverns were already gigantic creatures, and their statues were made even bigger.
Some random places in the halls had altars, with some having drops of blood floating over them, while some had a Wyvernoid tooth or other pieces.
The deeper they went into the hall, the fewer the statues and murals.
“Those whose statues stand here, in one way or another, contributed to changing the fate of us Frost Wyverns for the better.”
“The ones who have contributed the most are given the status of royalty, something that is passed on to their offspring even after their deaths,” she explained, and a glint crossed through Ryuk’s eyes.
He had thought it weird that the Wyvernoid Kingdom was divided into two sides, the commoners and the royals, even though, apart from a more refined aura of the royals, he didn’t see that much difference.
But now, he understood.
“The one who has contributed the most is the most royal of all royalties.”
“And since the history of Frost Wyverns, there has only been one such person deserving of that title,” she said, coming to a pause.
Coincidentally, they both arrived at the end of the hall.
In this place, there was no other statue around.
Just a single statue, one of a humongous six-winged Frost Wyvern, and on her head an equally gigantic crown.
But what was more was behind this Frost; it depicted someone else.
A feminine figure standing atop this Frost Wyvern like its rider.
The entire statue was covered in bizarre dark cracks that radiated smoke of pitch-black fog from its depths, giving it a cursed appearance.
“Her name was Isolde,”
The blindfolded woman forced out as Ryuk stood silently before the statue.
“At a time when the world was more chaotic than ever, she stood as an unwavering pillar for the Frost Wyverns.”
“Her scars earned her the name Isolde, Queen of Winged Frost, and though a Frost Wyvern, she held power greater than even the Mighty Frost Dragons.”
“What became of her in the end?” he asked, as a result of her cursed appearance.
“One choice destroyed everything she built: her loyalty.”
She explained as Ryuk’s brows creased.
“We Frost Wyverns do not love or welcome the idea of being fused with other races. We’re an independent race that loves freedom more than life itself, making most of us remain loyal only to ourselves.”
“Isolde was different.”
“She chose to form a bond, and in a war that had nothing to do with us Frost Wyverns, one far beyond our very existence, she remained loyal to that bond, to the hurricane who waged it.”
The woman explained as Ryuk listened silently.
“If all she had done was walk herself into that war and never returned, she, of course, would have been praised as a righteous, loyal hero, but no.”
“Before the war, Isolde gave an order that ninety-nine percent of the Frost Wyverns opposed, yet were forced to obey. And in that single war, half of the mightiest among us fell in battle,” she narrated as Ryuk’s heart jumped a bit.
“She didn’t just get herself destroyed. She dragged down so many royalties with her.”
“A foolish move that cost us Frost Wyverns so much.”
“Her name, which had once become an illumination, died overnight, and she became referred to as Isolde, The Light Accursed.”
“Just like royalties, the deeds of Frost Wyverns are passed on to their generations.”
“And this is where she comes in, Isha.” She explained, but Ryuk could already pick up the clues.
“Isha is Isolde’s offspring?” Ryuk muttered, only to be corrected.
“Her daughter.”
“Isolde was pregnant with one before the war.”
“We all thought verily she must have died with her, but who would have thought…” The woman mused under her breath before she continued,
“When a Frost Wyvern appears before the gate, their ancestor blessing is recognized, and they will be given either the royalty identification or the commoner identification.”
“When Isha came in, her identification was immediately different, and that was how she was recognized to have a familial link with the Accursed, hence her imprisonment.”
‘I understand it all now.’
“You said your uncle gave you her egg. Then he must have been in that war, or in a way be linked to it,”
“But according to sources, none who went into that war survived, or were ever seen again. So how had he done it?”
The lady probed, but Ryuk’s eyes locked onto her figure instead.
The figure of the one who rode upon the Frost Wyvern.
“Her…” he called out.
“What is her name?”
He asked, and the woman had her brows creased, though her eyes remained hidden behind the blindfold
She replied,
“No Frost Wyvern knows her name except for Isolde. All we know is that she’s a True Dragon.”
“One of the most powerful there could be,” she said, and Ryuk hummed silently, giving one last look at the statue before he turned.
“I have all I want, so… I’ll take my leave now.”
The straightforwardness made her pause as she looked at his disappearing back.
She thought he would have asked or said more.
Said it was unfair for Isha to have been imprisoned due to the simple ties she had with someone.
But he had made no comments at all, nor asked any other questions.
She didn’t stop him from leaving, neither tried to.
Instead, she lifted her hands and conjured forth a door out of the Ancestral Ground.
He moved towards it, but just a step away from disappearing within, he turned slightly and whispered,
“I’m sorry.”
Even after he left, with the door fading away, the words of his still resonated continuously through the Ancestral Grounds, and Isolde remained rooted to where she was, unable to move an inch.
‘I’m sorry,’
the words resonated again and again, and then,
DROP!
The sound of something dropping onto the ground echoed out, and she raised her hand to her face, watching as teardrops quickly pooled on her fingers.
“I… I am in tears?”
She could not understand.
There was no pain in her heart, though for reasons unknown it repeatedly quaked within her.
‘I’m sorry,’ the words echoed out once more within her, and she was left asking:
“Who is he?”
Just published a New Book, titled Mecha Devourer System.