Just as expected.
The dragon's body gradually became transparent under the moonlight, like sand being blown away by the wind, turning into countless light spots that dispersed into the surrounding air.
"Sigh."
Ian looked up at the valley ahead, where the eerie Bronze Gate began to shake violently again. He understood that perhaps the only way to end this endless battle was to destroy the mysterious gate in front of him.
"Seems like I have to destroy this thing? Shadowless Storm, break!" Ian's magic wand traced complex patterns in the air, causing the air to twist instantly, forming a vortex of countless invisible blades that crazily sliced at the Bronze Gate — yet, in the piercing shrieks of metal and magic colliding, not even a scratch was left on the gate's surface.
The dark brown rust still clung tightly to it.
The Bronze Gate stood immovable.
As if silently mocking Ian's futile efforts.
"I refuse to believe I can't deal with you!" Ian's magic wand burst with a dazzling green light, and the power of the Avada Plague surged out like a tidal wave, filling the air with a nauseating stench of decay. The force he called Evil Energy struck the Bronze Gate forcefully but failed to leave any marks on it.
The Bronze Gate was evidently not a form of special life.
"Damn it, Yaya." Ian frowned, releasing his Fiery Fire, the flames surged toward the Bronze Gate like a living creature, scorching the ground with blackened grooves.
All things perish.
However, the moment the Fiery Fire touched the Bronze Gate, it was consumed, disappearing entirely on the gate's surface, leaving only a few wisps of smoke curling upward. The supposed all-destroying Fiery Fire not only failed to shake the Bronze Gate, but the magic power sustaining the magic was also directly dissolved.
Ian could clearly sense this.
"How is this possible?"
Ian's eyes flickered continuously, staring at the Bronze Gate in astonishment.
As an Alchemy Master, Ian was familiar with almost all magic materials in the world, yet he had never seen something so hard. Now he felt a bit tempted to take the Bronze Gate back for study.
Could it be more useful than Dragon Hide?
However.
How can I make it stop? Ian looked at the Bronze Gate, which operated without any interference, feeling utterly troubled; for the rare time, he felt his knowledge was somewhat inadequate.
And just at this moment.
The Bronze Gate emitted a low hum.
The chaotic airflow stirred once more.
It came.
It's here again.
It was still that colossal dragon blotting out the sky.
However.
This time, the dragon that burst out no longer breathed fire, enveloped in exceedingly bright golden lightning, it dove down with the force of thunder, the sonic boom from its descent pained Ian's eardrums.
The target was Ian.
Clearly.
This time, the dragon seemed to have learned, not spewing its dragon's breath, but launching a direct, savage charge! Witnessing this, Ian's eyes couldn't help flickering violently.
Perhaps.
Things weren't just as he thought; the dragon would not just reset and loop. If it were resetting, the memory should also be wiped, right? But the dragon's behavior suggested it remembered every encounter.
More like continuously reviving?
Tom would have been thrilled watching this, wouldn't he?
Before Ian could think it through, the onslaught of the Ancient Giant Dragon was already upon him — its mountainous body tearing through the air, bringing violent airflow directly towards Ian!
Ian remained calm and composed, the magic wand rotated in his palm.
"Taste the constraint of gravity."
He commanded the ground's gravity.
And then.
The dragon's charging momentum suddenly halted, terrified to find its body becoming as light as a feather, uncontrollably ascending into the sky, unable to dive toward Ian anymore.
"Roar!"
It seemed all it could do was rage futilely.
"Come down."
Ian tapped his magic wand lightly.
The gravity upon the Ancient Giant Dragon intensified immensely. The dragon crashed down like a cannonball, creating a thunderous boom, the earth dented into a large pit.
This naturally wouldn't cause any harm to the dragon, but due to the persistent extreme gravity, it lay in the pit unable to lift its massive body, let alone fly to the sky.
"Let me try something."
Ian walked to the edge of the pit, pointing his magic wand at the Ancient Giant Dragon inside.
"Evil Energy Burst!"
Endless green spread out, engulfing the Ancient Giant Dragon completely. This was magic targeting life and soul, the highest advanced power of the Avada Kedavra spell.
"Soul Annihilation!"
Even the progenitor of Dark Arts would have praised its darkness.
Under Ian's magic.
The dragon's body, corroded by the green Evil Energy, collapsed once more.
"Can it come out again after destroying the soul?" Ian, with a look of verification, gazed at the Bronze Gate, where the fog inside soon violently surged and spun again.
Quickly.
The dragon flew out of the Bronze Gate once more, it was still it, with the annihilated soul still intact, an eeriness once more transcending Ian's understanding, far beyond the realms Ian was familiar with.
"Roar!"
The dragon still roared.
But.
Unlike before.
The moment it stormed out of the Bronze Gate, it suddenly halted.
In its vertical pupils, pure rage was no longer present; instead was a mix of fear and despair. This time, it did not attack Ian but tried escaping desperately, flapping its wings in the opposite direction.
Is it fleeing?
It certainly is.
The sound of the Ancient Giant Dragon flapping its wings came with a clear tremor.
It was evidently truly frightened by Ian.
It's evident.
Even an invincible creature, before absolute power, can feel helpless fear. Ian took back his gaze, looking at the Bronze Gate in the valley.
At this moment.
Due to the dragon flying out.
The Bronze Gate resumed tranquility once more.
"What exactly is this?" Ian's brow furrowed deeply. He murmured to himself, his magic wand gently twirling between his fingers, "A temporal rift? An illusion barrier? Or some sort of resurrection gate?"
Realizing his knowledge was lacking in this.
He had to rely on imagination.
"Could it be the Gate of Destiny?" Ian continuously speculated within his heart, not truly understanding why this dragon must endure endless death and rebirth. Yes, if it were a temporal rift, why repeat releasing the same dragon? If it were an illusion, why did the texture feel so real?
After a moment of hesitation.
Ian decided to approach the mysterious Bronze Gate.
However.
Before he could fly over.
"Roar!!!!"
It was the commotion raised by the Ancient Giant Dragon. Before Ian could start examining the peculiar Bronze Gate, a heart-wrenching dragon roar suddenly echoed from the distant sky.
"Hmm?"
Ian spun around suddenly.
Pupils contracted sharply.
He definitely saw a bizarre scene causing his scalp to prick with disbelief, unable to explain it. The fleeing Ancient Giant Dragon was now hovering mid-air, struggling wildly.
Indeed, it had flown out.
But.
Right now.
It seemed as if it reached an invisible boundary of a barrier, indeterminable and unseen.
An invisible force trapped it, not just that, its scales lost luster visibly, turning dull and cracked, its plump flesh weathered like dry sand crumbling down.
Exposing skeletal remains.
In the next moment.
The jagged frame was immediately covered with web-like cracks, eventually disintegrating into dust in the night breeze. The entire process spanned a few breaths, yet seemingly enacted a breathtaking time acceleration.
This long-lived creature.
Was shockingly advanced through its lifespan by an unseen hand pressing life's fast-forward button.
Completing a millennium of decay in a moment.
Nothing fell down.
Ian stared, scalp tingling, witnessing the entire scene, and looked again at the Bronze Gate. As expected, the chaotic mist within was already forming the silhouette of the unfortunate Ancient Giant Dragon.
It was going to fly out again.
Yet no one knew the purpose of its emergence.
No matter the effort.
No matter the choice.
It could not escape death.
Endless cycle.
Endless reincarnation.
"It surely has to do with Destiny..."
Ian flew to the front of the Bronze Gate, yet couldn't find any familiar elements — in contrast, on the Bronze Gate, he unexpectedly saw the Rune Language symbols representing the God of Death.