“From the olden days, it has been believed that anyone who slays a dragon will be cursed. Even Sigurd, who covered himself in dragon’s blood to become invulnerable, died a tragic death,” Demian began quietly. “Ancestor Cardenas was born a dragon, so she was not cursed to die an untimely death like mortals were. However, she took on the price of slaying dragons in the place of the founding emperor. She lost her transcendental powers and her original form, and she was given a human body and a human lifespan.0

“If she had remained a dragon, Ancestor Cardenas would likely be alive today. The average lifespan of a dragon is close to ten thousand years, enough time to see civilizations rise and fall. However, the hate and malice left behind by her dying kin physically wore her down, and she ended up passing away before the first emperor.0

“The descendants she left behind prospered, and the Archducal House of Cardenas gradually expanded. And here we are, centuries later. But not everyone knows this story.”2

The true secret came after this.0

Paradoxically, Ancestor Cardenas had been able to reach the Demigod Tier because she gave up her superior, non-human body. Even though she lost her original form, she retained the same organs, which gave her far more power than the incomplete dragon traits they had now. Possessing all six abhijna,[1] she was able to look into the future and forewarned of the ruinous end to come. 1

“Ragna, my death will...0