Chapter 959 — A Private Invitation

The clamorous roars and stirring music had become a faint humming in the distance, and that oppressive irritation weighing on his heart gradually receded. In Gaoyang's eyes, the arena egg had even regained a certain beauty.

It was like a crystal egg lit from within, lying quietly in a nest wrought of metal and concrete, gestating blood, machine oil, and steel.

It was Tarrande that had "laid" this egg... so then what had laid the Tarrande of today? Those dragons reveling around the arena... were they lost in the revelry, or lost in being lost itself?

Gaoyang's thoughts spread uncontrollably for some reason, until Metzen's voice suddenly sounded, like low rolling thunder, startling him out of his musings: "Still thinking about that arena? Sorry... thinking about it now, Noretta and I were so focused on letting you see the 'complete Tarrande' that we didn't consider Loren human aesthetics and worldview. Some things that seriously clash with human tastes really shouldn't have been shown to you."

"No, I wasn't bothered by that," Gaoyang shook his head. "I was just thinking about something else."

"That's good," Metzen seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, then shook her head. "Actually, Noretta and I were both a little... overexcited. Few dragons ever get the chance to openly show visitors like you around Tarrande... I hope the things we were so eager to present to you didn't give you any bad impressions."

Gaoyang laughed: "Not at all. Actually, I'm quite... happy."

This was not mere politeness; he genuinely found this journey through Tarrande novel and interesting. Setting aside the occasional deep thoughts and worries about the situation behind Tarrande, this eye-opening trip was even a pleasant surprise to him—after all, in his previous life he had never lived to see CyberXunk 2077...

He would count this trip as a dream fulfilled.

Noretta, of course, had no idea what was really going on in Gaoyang's mind. She clearly assumed his words were mostly polite, and so could only answer with a stretch of awkward yet courteous laughter.

And the brilliantly lit land of Tarrande receded swiftly behind them amid the young blue dragon lady's awkward laughter, gradually retreating into the deepest reaches of the night.

In the two days that followed, Metzen and Noretta became the "dedicated guides" for Gaoyang and his companions.

Led by the two dragon ladies, Gaoyang, Amber, and Virodai wandered through nearly every corner of the great metropolis of Agondor, and even visited two nearby cities as well as the factory clusters in the coastal region. After the astonishment and unpreparedness of the first day, Gaoyang and the others calmed down and began to tour this bizarre world with something close to a sightseeing frame of mind.

Amber seemed delighted—though she could not make heads or tails of these dragons who were nothing like the ones in the legends, she had clearly given up trying to figure it out. Relaxing her mind, she began to earnestly enjoy the dragons' hospitality and the pleasures of the tour.

Even Virodai gave free rein to her curiosity, treating the journey with the mindset of a tourist and a "scholar." She eagerly struck up conversations with the dragons she had newly befriended, asking about the customs and ways of Tarrande, or borrowing from Metzen some texts that had passed through Omega's translation, trying to understand the cultural shifts and legendary tales of dragonkind—anyone could see that she was truly enjoying all of it, rather than wearing, as she did in ordinary days, a mask of perpetual calm and perpetual smiles.

But Gaoyang knew that this "sightseeing" trip was not the whole of his visit to Tarrande. The truly important part of this journey... still lay in his meeting with the Dragon God Enya.

He did not have to wait long.

On the fourth day after arriving in Tarrande, that high-ranking dragon priest with golden slit pupils and a solemn bearing appeared before him once again—at that moment Gao Cenxing was on some mountain peak outside Agondor with Metzen, looking out over the scenery. Beneath the night sky, Tarrande's lamplight and starlight shone in mutual reflection, and a vast curtain of aurora had just happened to form overhead, a sight rarely seen in the human world. And that dragon priest emerged directly from the night sky, as though by some teleportation technique.

"My lord wishes to meet with you alone," Hragor said, coming before Gaoyang and conveying the will of the Dragon God Enya.

"A meeting alone?" Amber, who had been off to the side enjoying the view, came over in surprise. "Not bringing us this time?"

"Please forgive me," said Hragor, who seemed able to maintain the most flawless bearing toward anyone. He smiled and nodded to Amber. "This is my lord's will."

Amber and Virodai, watching from the sidelines, immediately frowned slightly, but Gaoyang was not at all surprised by this turn of events—in fact, he had been wondering since yesterday when this moment would arrive. He showed a faint smile and said to Hragor, "So it seems He is finally going to discuss some deeper matters with me. When do we set out?"

"If it is convenient for you, right now," Hragor said at once. "I can take you directly to the upper sanctum."

Gaoyang thought for a moment, reached into his pocket for the mechanical watch he carried, popped open the lid and glanced at the time, then put it away and nodded to Hragor. "It is quite convenient—the timing is just right."

Hragor's gaze rested for a moment on Gaoyang's mechanical watch, but he quickly shifted his eyes away and stepped forward. He slightly spread his hands, and a pale golden halo materialized out of thin air, completely enveloping the area where Gaoyang stood. "Then allow me to escort you."

The next second, the pale golden halo abruptly expanded, transforming into a beam of light connecting heaven and earth; when the beam dispersed, Gaoyang and this high-ranking dragon priest had vanished from before the others.

(End of this chapter)