Chapter 196 Little Ai: You Want to Be a Dragon Rider, Right? (Two-in-one)
“Night…”
Shaya looked at his empty fourth Soul Pact Slot and fell into thought.
Speaking of which, because he could freely enter Historical Echoes and even rewrite past history, there were indeed quite a few logical questions.
Putting aside topics similar to the grandfather paradox, following the experience in the Historical Echo of Escarnia at the end of the Third Era, Shaya had already confirmed that historical correction forces and imaginary zones were real. Many temporal paradoxes could be explained by these.
However, even among the familiars Shaya had contracted, there were differences.
Shaya’s third Soul Pact, Crimson, was contracted in the Historical Echo of that Ancient Azure Court five hundred years ago.
According to the experience of Little White Silver Spirit, he could freely bring Crimson out of the Historical Echo using the Soul Pact Slot and return to the current time.
Moreover, Crimson’s growth also maintained a pace comparable to his own. There wouldn’t be a situation where he returned to five hundred years later, while Crimson had naturally grown for five hundred years, transforming from a novice into a powerhouse.
However, that was because Crimson’s Soul Pact with him was a Master-Servant Contract.
Master-Servant Contract—as the name implies, it meant that both parties of the contract were led by Shaya, the Beast Tamer. That was why Crimson had followed him to five hundred years later.
But the contract Shaya had signed with Night was an Equal Contract, different from a Master-Servant Contract.
Although if Night wanted to, it could also enter Shaya’s Soul Pact Slot.
In fact, during their time together in the Historical Echo of the First Era… Little Black Dragon of Darkness and Shaya’s relationship was no different from other familiars who had signed Master-Servant Contracts, like Silver and Sparkle.
Under Shaya’s strategy of fine food and lavish treatment, Night’s compatibility and intimacy were quickly maxed out.
Its daily image had changed from the sole offspring of the Dragon King, a proud and elegant ancient dragon royal… to a goofy husky that, like Silver, would lie on Shaya’s head all day and doze off.
But the nature of an Equal Contract destined that Shaya and Night were actually equals.
There was no relationship of one party being subservient to the other, unlike Crimson.
Shaya was a human from the Fourth Era, while Night was a creature from the First Era…
For Shaya, the journey into the Historical Echo of the First Era was merely a segment of his life. He was just a passerby in that historical period, and the reality of the Fourth Era was the solid ground beneath his feet.
But for Night, it was indeed a creature of the First Era.
Since there was no binding of a Master-Servant Contract, and no clear subordinate relationship, the situation of Shaya and Night being separated by two eras would indeed occur.
“My journey in the First Era was bound to have an end, but that wasn’t the case for Night.”
“Even if I left the Historical Echo, it could still live alone in the First Era.”
“And this current situation…”
“This means that after the First Era, Night continued to grow alone in the Western Continent…”
“If it were a familiar of an ordinary race, then from the First Era to the Fourth Era, spanning nearly ten thousand years… it would probably have already withered with age and been buried by the sharp blade of time.”
“After all, even for a Legend Species familiar, several thousand to nearly ten thousand years is too long. It’s enough to turn a domineering beast king into dry bones…”
“Damn, I almost got hit by the ‘lifespan theory’ iron fist without noticing.”
Shaya couldn’t help but complain in his heart.
“But Night is different.”
“It is the descendant who inherited all the Divinity and Power of the Ancient Dragon Royal Court Lord, an innate Mythical Creature.”
“From the Quicksilver Snake, the lifespan of Mythical Creatures is close to infinite. For a pure-blooded ancient dragon, several thousand years is truly nothing.”
Of course, even Mythical Creatures could fall, for example, by being hunted by other Mythical Creatures and having their Divinity devoured.
But if that were the case, Shaya’s fourth Soul Pact would have shattered long ago.
The backlash from a broken Soul Pact on one’s mental power was very severe. In severe cases, it could even turn a Legendary Beast Tamer into a vegetative state.
However, Shaya’s fourth Soul Pact was intact, which indicated that Night should have survived safely, from the First Era to the Fourth Era.
“However, since it followed me, it means Night should not have embarked on that Path to Godhood…”
“Not a deity, yet it survived from the First Era to the Fourth Era…”
“Tsk…”
In Shaya’s heart, a certain guess gradually became clearer, making it increasingly impossible for him to ignore.
It was suspected to have survived for several eras, and it did not walk the traditional Path to Godhood, but chose to transcend the boundaries of the Throne, embarking on a new path different from that of deities.
Shaya only knew of two such existences in the Fourth Era.
One was naturally his Golden Elf Teacher, Shī Jiang.
And the other one…
Naturally, it was the master of the Shadow Council—
“Queen of the Night,” Augustina.
Moreover, according to the rumors Shaya had learned.
Augustina and Heiser actually knew each other long ago and were like best friends… but no one knew how they met.
Coupled with the Dragon of Darkness and Augustina, who also specialized in the Authority of Shadow and Darkness.
Even their Soul Pact Slot was the same, the fourth Soul Pact.
So many facts could not be explained by coincidence.
“Hiss…”
“She even told me in the Historical Echo of Escarnia in the Third Era that the Third Era was our first meeting and encounter.”
“And our contract was caused by that ‘First Embrace’ of the True Ancestor of the Blood Race.”
“When Crimson Moon was killed and the imaginary zone ended, the ‘First Embrace’ contract originating from the Blood Race lost its effect, would automatically be lifted, and would no longer occupy my Soul Pact.”
“So it turns out that before you became the True Ancestor of the Blood Race, your original race wasn’t Human, but an ancient dragon, right?”
Shaya recalled the appearance of the True Ancestor Heiji earnestly explaining to him in that Thousand-year City in Escarnia.
I knew it—
You people who play with intel have dark hearts.
Each one is a layered cake, and one piece of intel can be split into several to sell. It looks like the truth was revealed then, but in reality, after one layer was revealed, there was a second layer.
They would never fully explain until the very end.
No wonder the rumor of his teacher and Augustina being best friends spread throughout the Western Continent…
In “Shaya’s Flying House,” Heiser often held Night and played with it, even when listening to his lectures. She could be considered half of its caretaker.
In addition, one was an ancient dragon and the other an elf, both belonging to one of the Three Great Royal Courts of that time, and both survivors of that Great Calamity.
How could their relationship not be good?
Shaya took a deep breath, calming the ripples in his heart.
Thinking about it carefully, the fact that Night was Augustina was, in the end, no big deal.
Or rather, whether he discovered this truth or not had no significant impact on him.
After all, Augustina and the Shadow Council behind her had always been steadfast allies to Shaya’s side.
When they hunted Goodrian, it was Augustina who delivered the final blow to the desperate Goodrian in the Astral Realm.
And when the situation in the Imperial Capital was turbulent and precarious, and most other forces on the Western Continent were watching with folded arms, the Shadow Council did not hesitate to stand with the Royal Family, or rather, with Shaya and Isadorella.
Originally, Shaya was somewhat puzzled why the Shadow Council so firmly supported his side when the situation was unclear, and why Augustina even violated the unwritten rule of the Shadow Council always maintaining neutrality on the Western Continent and personally intervened in that legendary battle.
Now, it seemed that the inexplicable goodwill and inclination had been explained.
And although the fact that his originally goofy baby dragon had suddenly transformed into a high-and-mighty, long-legged elder sister made Shaya feel a bit regretful.
He quite liked that cute, obedient little black dragon of darkness.
But after all, this was ultimately due to Shaya’s irresponsibility first, for not considering the difference between their mismatched timelines, making him a hands-off manager.
It was left alone in the First Era, and had to rely on itself to become self-reliant. Now it had transformed into a human and grown into a prominent figure like the “Queen of the Night”…
It was already quite good that it could still remember the friendship from the First Era and become his staunch ally.
The two of them had an Equal Contract relationship, with no notion of subordination.
Shaya, naturally, had no standing to act like a high-and-mighty master in front of the current Augustina.
“I just feel… so embarrassed.”
Shaya couldn’t help but cover his face.
With Shaya’s current Status, his mental power had long been incomparably strong. Any minor event he had experienced in the past could be recalled with ease, down to every single detail.
Therefore, Shaya naturally did not forget the grand promises he had made when signing the contract with Night.
“I will eventually become a Dragon Rider.”
The same sentence, in the context of that time, was full of soaring ambition and high spirits.
But—in another context.
This sentence had a completely different meaning.
“Dragon Rider?”
A clear and cold voice sounded from behind Shaya.
The blonde-haired maiden, wearing plain white pajamas, stood at the doorway of the balcony, tilting her head slightly and looking at Shaya with a hint of doubt.
“Nothing… I just had another embarrassing moment, I’m used to it.”
“Yeah, I need to be more careful next time I enter a Historical Echo. I absolutely can’t sign any more contracts casually.”
“Otherwise, a careless mistake could be embarrassing, or I might even get hit by the ‘lifespan theory’ iron fist.”
Shaya waved his hand, yawning as he walked to Aerora’s side.
Then, he put his coat on her.
“Why did you come out wearing only pajamas? You’re not listening at all…”
“Although it’s early autumn now, the cold wind in the early morning is still quite strong. What if you catch a cold?”
Feeling the still warm coat being unexpectedly placed on her by Shaya, Aerora blinked her sky-blue eyes.
“Shaya… my contracted Rungoniumad has been fully unsealed.”
“Hmm, so what?”
“As a Holy Spear that anchors the world, Rungoniumad can provide its chosen contractor with great protection—such as eternal youth and immortality, immunity to all diseases…”
“Let alone this little bit of cold wind in the early morning. Even the highest-level curse forbidden spell cast by the ‘Prophet of Plague’ from the Black Tower wouldn’t be able to infect me…”
Her words were interrupted by Shaya halfway through.
Shaya reached out and placed his hand on the blonde maiden’s head, giving her a customary head pat while feeling the smooth texture of her light golden hair.
“Nonsense, do you think I don’t know that? If a powerful being beyond the Legendary rank could catch a cold from a gust of wind, then I think there would be no need for transcendence practitioners in this world to cultivate.”
“But seeing you like this makes me feel heartbroken, and I’m just not happy.”
“So don’t do this again, understand?”
Aerora looked at Shaya with her sky-blue beautiful eyes for a while, and after a long time, she nodded: “Oh.”
“That’s right, that’s my beautiful girl.”
Shaya reluctantly moved his hand away from the maiden’s head: “After breakfast in the Netherworld, we’ll go to the Shadow Council.”
“Shadow Council?”
Aerora frowned her delicate eyebrows.
When she heard this word, she felt her long-dormant intuition being triggered again.
“Are you going to the Shadow Council this time because of that Queen of the Night, Augustina?”
“What did you encounter in the Historical Echo of the First Era? Did you interact with that Queen of the Night?”
“Little Ai, when did your intuition advance again?”
“Excuse me, are you about to advance from ‘Intuition A+’ to ‘Intuition EX’?”
Shaya suppressed the urge to complain and said faintly: “It’s nothing, just confirming some things.”
“Also, I’ll go to the Shadow Council to gather some intel and purchase some extraordinary resources that aren’t available in the White Tower and the Imperial warehouse.”
“That Historical Echo is indeed a bit tricky. I want to make full preparations next.”
Although Shaya felt that his guess was likely correct, given that so many details matched up, it couldn’t be explained by mere coincidence.
But it was just a guess, not the truth.
Aerora looked at Shaya deeply again.
Although Shaya seemed to be speaking dismissively, she knew very well that the more he acted like this, the more it indicated that the matter Shaya was facing was quite difficult, and even Shaya himself was not very confident.
But she did not show her concern.
Because it was Shaya’s decision, and what she could do was to support him unconditionally.
She just obediently nodded again:
“Oh.”
