Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 249: Book 4: Chapter 14: A Dragon never Forgets

Read chapter 249 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 14 The Hydra’s breath washed over him in a blink, it felt as though the purple aetheric energy passed over his form and then through it, like he had stepped across the plane of a gentle waterfall. As the water passed over his back, he felt a flash of searing heat from his spine, the spots where his enchantments and grafted aether gems sat in his skin. The heat died away as quickly as it came, leaving him standing as he was. He wasn’t dead. Turning to the side, he could see that Kate was also alive. She looked just as shocked as he was, her eyes affixed wide as she patted down her body as if expecting to find a bullet wound hidden somewhere on her person. After some time, he looked back to Amnios, the Hydra still peered at him from that far-to-close head. The Hydra’s other heads were also watching them intently, as if they were expecting something, waiting for some sort of event, an enraptured audience watching the clown juggle some flaming swords. “I don’t understand,” Alex said. The heads did their fast huddle conversation before responding to his unspoken ask. “Our breath would have destroyed any spell that was controlling or altering your mind. It looks like there was nothing of the sort.” That was interesting information. Not only did Alex not know mind control was a thing that would be done, there were also countermeasures to it. Of course, knowing he wasn’t under such a spell was also great relief. “Then that leaves only one thing,” Amnios continued. “You are telling us, the truth.” A deep rumbling murmur came from the Hydra as it seemed to hum to itself. Even that humming rattled the cavern, making Alex fear a cave in that would crush his body flat. After a few moments, it stopped and the beast lowered all of its heads toward the ground, training fourteen eyes on him. “Well then, little hatch-ling,” it said. “Let’s talk.” And so, Alex and Kate did their best to explain their entire story. From arriving in the forest, to the Kobolds—creatures the Hydra seemed to know of already, and was seemingly greatly amused by—the Terraxum soldiers, the vote, and the warfront. All the way to their escape from the political clutches, their travel, the Hive Dungeon and the tokens and their new golden handcuffs. It all came spilling out with the Hydra barely stopping them to ask a question or add commentary. When they were finally done, Amnios only nodded its many heads and hummed yet again. Alex didn’t like the humming, but felt asking it to stop would be rude in a way that would risk his life once more, so he stayed silent. “You’re story intrigues us,” Amnios said. “Being from another world, forced to prove your worth to the dark heavens. And you have done much in such a short time, even by the standards of you low races.” The last comment felt like a bit of a jab, but Alex bit his tongue. “I know of these Primal Chimera to which you speak, and there are indeed powerful in strange ways. Even the Kin has trouble eradicating their hives completely. They always seem to come back. But that is neither here nor there, if what you say is the truth… it is possible that I am but a memory that thinks itself to be real.” Alex nodded as the beast voiced aloud the problem at hand. Dungeons were weird and strange things. The System could have trapped the Amnios into a pocket dimension connected back to Aetherios, or simply made a copy when forming a Dungeon spontaneously. Knowing which was impossible. And trying to break Amnios out of the dungeon—it would spell death for Amnios and everyone involved. There was no doubt in Alex’s mind that the combined might of Urhara Empire could take down the Hydra. Their Emperor and Empress alone might be able to do so, and Alex had no idea how many other hidden powerhouses the Empire had. That wasn’t even going into the question of “how”, as the Chimera’s seemed to have a unique set of advantages, their copying of Alex and the others after the Queen had eaten their flesh, but also the Ascended golden ene