Chapter 228: A Shocking Turn Of Events, The Ancient Dragon Awakens

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RUMBLE!

As Riven spoke those final words, the entire throne room trembled with sudden violence. His eyes widened in shock while everyone present gasped, watching the gigantic dragon skeleton begin to shake. A faint red aura rose from the ancient bones, growing steadily brighter and hotter until it shifted from red to deep orange and then to brilliant yellow, exactly like living fire. The flames quickly encompassed the entire skeleton, wrapping around every rib, every joint, and every towering horn. At the same moment the pure essence of the Dungeon Core flew toward the massive form, settling into the center of the ribcage and giving the long-dead creature a small, steady heartbeat.

The cavern shook even more violently as the ancient dragon skeleton fully stirred awake. Riven and Vladimir stood frozen in place, witnessing everything unfold with pure disbelief written across their faces.

Just when they had believed the dragon had already passed away peacefully centuries ago, it turned out she was still somehow alive, eternally tied to this dungeon because her very heart had become its core.

FLUOSH!

Waves of red, orange, and yellow flames surged across the colossal bones. They coiled tightly around the massive ribcage, raced up the long spine like living serpents, and ignited the towering horns until the pair blazed like twin pillars of pure fire. The empty eye sockets of the thirty-meter skull suddenly flared with twin orbs of molten gold, and a low, resonant growl rolled through the throne room like distant thunder, shaking loose dust and small crystals from the ceiling.

"Who... dareth... trespass my... grave...!"

The voice was ancient and layered, half-whisper and half-roar. It was clearly feminine yet carried the crushing weight of entire mountains, filled with centuries of buried power and lingering pride.

Dust and loose crystals continued to rain down from above. The glowing Dungeon Core — Ignias’ own heart — pulsed once, then twice, before sending a thick stream of crimson essence flooding into the skeleton. The bones groaned loudly, as if they were slowly remembering the feel of living flesh. Muscles of pure flame began weaving themselves between the ribs. Translucent membranes of fire stretched and formed between the enormous wing bones. Sharp claws of solid magma grew at the tips of the skeletal fingers that still clutched the empty space where the core had once rested.

The Dungeon Core floated away from Riven’s open hand on its own and deposited itself firmly inside Ignias’ ribcage. A powerful shockwave of heat and flame erupted outward, pushing both Riven and Vladimir several steps backward.

"This is ridiculous...! You were still alive...! Of course the Dungeon Core was still connected...!" Riven muttered, eyes narrowed as he watched the transformation continue.

System windows immediately began flickering and glitching across his vision in rapid succession.

[ERROR. ERROR. ERROR.]

[Critical Error detected. True Gate Ruler has been detected. Dominion over the Gate is being compromised...]

[Authority of Pride is being contested by residual Will of the Former World...]

[Warning: Gate Core integrity unstable. Risk of losing ownership increasing: 17%... 23%... 31%...]

[To avoid losing the dominion over the Gate, please solve the dispute as soon as possible.]

"Fuck. Just what I needed for today," Riven sighed heavily, staring up at the giant dragon that was steadily reforming itself before their eyes.

Vladimir staggered further back, the Dual Flame Dragon Axes trembling in his hands as if the weapons themselves recognized their ancestral source standing right in front of them. "Riven... is this real?! Tell me this is just some leftover spirit or something and not an actual fucking Ancient Dragon! Do you seriously think we can even face something like this?!"

Riven did not answer right away. He simply gazed at Ignias’ majestic figure. Even reduced to pure bones and living flame, her presence, her soul, and a large portion of her original power still remained intact and overwhelming.

The Shadow Self stood slightly ahead of them both, black feathers still trailing from their earlier transformation, claws half-formed and ready for battle if needed. Its voice remained calm and almost clinical. "The heart was never fully extinguished, it seems. Perhaps the soul remained sealed inside all this time, and claiming the core simply stirred what was left of her, Main Body. Though she might technically be some form of Undead... or not. It’s hard to say. Even as a giant skeleton of fire and bone, she still radiates pure life."

Riven stepped forward without hesitation, placing himself firmly between the rising titan and the other two. His full aura manifested at once, revealing his true power. With his actual body present instead of merely channeling magic through a Shadow, he became an entirely different level of threat.

Ignias narrowed her glowing golden eyes as she felt the immense pressure of his presence. This man was no ordinary human, nor even a normal mortal. Whatever he truly was intrigued her deeply, yet the dragoness did not voice her curiosity. Pure wrath still flowed through her ethereal body of bone and flame.

The Sovereign Codex resting against Riven’s person hummed loudly. Pride’s authority pushed outward in a golden-black wave of pressure that tried to reassert control over the Gate, yet it constantly failed against Ignias’ overwhelming presence, which itself carried a faint gleam of true divinity.

Ancient Dragons, from everything Riven had discovered in his previous life and the knowledge he had gathered since, were beings that stood far above ordinary dragons. They were often praised and worshipped as living Dragon Gods by entire civilizations.

Ignias herself might have been among the weaker members of that legendary rank, yet the power she still possessed was very much the real deal.

Now the critical question remained: what would she do next?

What was her true plan after all these years of silence?

She clearly seemed upset and territorial, but Riven wanted to see if there was still a chance to reason with her, to find some form of common ground. And if push came to shove, he was even willing to let her keep her dungeon if that was what she truly desired after everything she had endured.

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