Reborn as the Last van Ambrose
Chapter 183: Ritual End

Chapter 183: Ritual End

The battle between Ao Guang and Mo Xuan reached new levels of destruction as both combatants fought with desperate intensity. The chamber’s ancient architecture crumbled under the assault of techniques that had never been meant for enclosed spaces.

Mo Xuan’s soul-powered attacks were becoming more erratic but devastatingly effective. His crystallized essence formed weapons that cut through Ao Guang’s water defenses like they were made of paper.

"Soul Dominion: Agony Incarnate!" Mo Xuan’s latest technique transformed his sacrificed soul fragments into physical weapons. The attack struck Ao Guang in the chest, and for the first time since the battle began, the Dragon King cried out.

"Impressive," Ao Guang gasped, blood running down his torso where the soul-attack had torn through his scales. "But you’re becoming less sane with each technique you use."

Indeed, Mo Xuan’s appearance was becoming more monstrous by the moment. The translucent skin was now completely transparent in places, showing the crystallized soul energy that had replaced his blood. His movements were jerky and unpredictable, as if his consciousness was fragmenting along with his soul.

"Sanity is a luxury I can’t afford," Mo Xuan replied. "I’ll gladly sacrifice my mind if it means destroying you!"

"Aquatic Dominion: Crushing Depths!" Ao Guang summoned the pressure of the deepest ocean trenches, focusing it into a concentrated attack that should have pulverized anything in its path.

But Mo Xuan’s transformed body simply absorbed the pressure, converting it into more soul energy. "You still don’t understand, do you? Physical attacks can’t harm someone who has transcended flesh!"

The sorcerer’s counterattack was his most devastating yet. "Soul Dominion: Existence Negation!"

The technique that followed wasn’t just an attack—it was an attempt to erase Ao Guang from reality entirely. The Dragon King barely managed to dodge, but the attack grazed his left arm, and where it touched, his scales simply ceased to exist.

"Impossible," Ao Guang breathed, staring at the perfect void where his arm had been. The wound wasn’t bleeding—there was simply nothing there anymore.

"Nothing is impossible when you’re willing to pay the ultimate price," Mo Xuan laughed, his voice now completely unhinged. "I’ve sacrificed half my soul for this power. What have you sacrificed?"

Ao Guang tried to heal the void where his arm had been, but his water magic couldn’t restore something that had been completely erased from existence. For the first time in millennia, the Dragon King found himself at a genuine disadvantage.

"You’re right," Ao Guang admitted, dodging another attack by mere inches. "I’ve never been willing to sacrifice everything for victory. Perhaps that’s my weakness."

"Perhaps it is," Mo Xuan agreed, gathering power for what would clearly be his killing blow. "And now you’ll pay the price for your restraint!"

The sorcerer began to glow with the combined light of all the soul fragments he had sacrificed. His form was barely humanoid anymore, more a collection of crystallized anguish and rage held together by will alone.

"Soul Dominion: Absolute Annihilation!"

The attack that was built around Mo Xuan’s transformed body was beyond anything he had used before. This was the complete unmaking of everything Ao Guang was, had been, or ever could be.

Ao Guang raised his remaining arm in a desperate attempt to defend himself, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough. Mo Xuan’s soul-sacrifice had pushed him beyond the realm of conventional power into something that approached divine authority.

"Any last words?" Mo Xuan asked, his voice now a symphony of madness and triumph.

"Yes," Ao Guang replied calmly. "You should have paid attention to what was happening above us."

Mo Xuan frowned, confused by the non-sequitur. But before he could question it further, the chamber was filled with a sound that dwarfed even their epic battle.

CRACK.

The sound was like the breaking of the world itself. Above them, the Dragon Emperor’s egg, which had been showing cracks for hours, finally gave way completely. Not just a few fragments falling, but the entire shell splitting apart like a flower blooming in reverse.

Mo Xuan looked up just in time to see a piece of eggshell the size of a building falling directly toward him. But that wasn’t what made him freeze in terror.

It was what was inside.

The Dragon Emperor was falling.

Not emerging gracefully, not awakening slowly—falling like a meteor toward the chamber floor. The being that hit the stone was beyond description. Larger than any dragon Mo Xuan had ever seen.

The impact when the Dragon Emperor struck the floor was beyond sound, beyond feeling. It was a fundamental alteration of reality itself. The chamber floor cracked in patterns that hurt to look at, and the air filled with so much raw power that breathing became difficult.

Mo Xuan’s carefully prepared killing blow dissolved like mist as every scrap of his attention was drawn to the massive dragon now lying motionless on the chamber floor. The Dragon Emperor’s breathing was slow and steady, but each exhale sent ripples of power through the air that made Mo Xuan’s soul-enhanced abilities seem insignificant.

"No," Mo Xuan whispered, his madness temporarily replaced by dawning horror. "Not yet. I’m not ready. I need more time to—"

"Time," came a voice that seemed to speak directly into their minds rather than their ears, "is not a luxury that mortals control."

The Dragon Emperor’s eyes opened.

They were not the eyes of any creature that had ever lived.

When that terrible gaze fell upon Mo Xuan, the sorcerer’s crystallized soul energy began to crack. Not from any attack, but simply from being perceived by something so fundamentally superior.

"You have been playing with forces beyond your understanding," the Dragon Emperor said. "Did you believe your small manipulations would go unnoticed?"

Mo Xuan tried to speak, tried to explain his grand plan, tried to justify his actions. But the words died in his throat as he realized the scope of what he was facing.

This wasn’t just a powerful dragon that had awakened from sleep. This was a being that existed on a completely different level of reality, something that made his own power seem like a child’s toy.

"I..." Mo Xuan began, but couldn’t finish.

The Dragon Emperor’s attention turned to Ao Guang, who was still missing his left arm but somehow seemed less concerned about it now.

"Child," the Emperor said, and in that single word was contained affection, sorrow, and regret.

"Father," Ao Guang replied, bowing deeply despite his injuries. "You’re finally awake."

"Sleep," the Dragon Emperor said thoughtfully, "is a relative concept for beings like me. I have been aware of everything that transpired. Every war, every manipulation, every small tragedy that led to this moment."

His gaze returned to Mo Xuan, who was now trembling as his soul-enhanced form began to deteriorate under the weight of the Emperor’s attention.

"And now," the Dragon Emperor continued, his voice carrying the finality of absolute judgment, "it is time for this charade to end."

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